Thornhill Elementary PFC Newsletter
Volume 28, Issue 28, March 9, 2021
In This Issue (bolded items are new contributions for this week)
Note from our PFC Co-Presidents
How to Become an OUSD Substitute Teacher
Spirit Wear is Here!
Auction Meeting - This Wednesday!
Annual Spring Read-a-Thon
SAVE THE DATE: Take Out Event at Taps & Take Out
Enrichment Classes
California Healthy Kids Parent Survey
Kindergarten Heritage Dolls
OUSD Family Resources
OUSD Announcements
Individual Class Packets
Calendar of Important Dates
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A Note from our PFC Co-Presidents
Hello Thunderbirds!
We've got an exciting week ahead with our Thornhill yard opening for some safe social time. In the event that you haven’t seen the Konstella post, beginning this week, the Thornhill playground is open from 3-6pm, Monday through Friday. There are some protocols to follow, so please click on this link for more details.
The spirit wear is in and we are getting it ready for distribution! Our auction committee is also working diligently to get this year's very different looking auction off the ground and rolling.
As we look forward to next year please reach out if you would like to join our team or assist in any capacity. In these trying times the more hands on deck, the stronger we'll sail through.
May your winds be fair and your seas gentle. Stay safe out there.
Alicia & Rex
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How to Become an OUSD Substitute Teacher
A great way to help our teachers, school and community is to become a substitute for OUSD. The process is fairly simple and right now we're at an all-time low for humans that can step into a classroom to give our hardworking teachers a break! This is the single most effective thing you can do to help out in a BIG way. If you’re interested and have a college degree, just follow these steps:
Register for the CBEST Test
Check the OUSD hiring page for information on how to apply to be a sub
Once you're done, make sure you let Thornhill know you're ready to go! Any questions about the process can be directed to Alicia Streight, astreight@gmail.com
Thanks,
Alicia Streight
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Spirit Wear is Here!
The spirit wear gear has arrived! If you are looking for your baseball tee from your annual fund donation or from your spirit wear order, we will have them all ready for you to pick up on Thursday, March 18 from 3pm - 6pm. Come to the Thornhill Drive side playground entrance, and get ready to be decked out!
Thanks!
Nisan Perera, Spirit Wear Coordinator
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Auction Meeting - TOMORROW NIGHT!
May Day May Day! Our Virtual Auction will be on Saturday, May 1 - Save the Date!
We are enthusiastically looking for donated items and hosted parties! Think about physical items as well as gift certificates or a virtual party you’d like to host (wine tasting? Food tasting? Bingo? Board games? Jackbox?). Please go directly to the Auction page and fill out the form if you have something to donate to raise money for Thornhill. Just have an idea? Email benefit@thornhillschool.org and we’ll talk it through with you!
Please join us this Wednesday at 7pm for an Auction planning meeting. We would love to see new faces and new ideas along with people with a few hours to dedicate to this great cause of raising money for our beloved school.
See the event on Konstella for more details and the Zoom info.
Hope to see you there!
Maya Hiersoux, Benefit Auction Chair
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Annual Spring Read-a-thon
Add your reader to the Read-a-thon here and follow the instructions by searching for your classroom teacher.
The Read-a-thon is also a fundraiser for the PFC, which provides funding for the library and PFC staff. Any and all support is very much appreciated. But most importantly, everyone is welcome to join in the reading fun!
All Thornhill "bookworms" who activate their Read-a-Thon page will receive some tasty gummy (book) worms, which can be picked up at Thornhill, on Alhambra Lane. (If you require an alternative to standard gummy worms, please contact marie.fox@ousd.org).
Prizes for top readers and fundraisers in each classroom will be gift certificates to local bookstores. And teachers and staff will be encouraging our readers throughout: Stay tuned for activities (make a bookmark! create your own book cover! share a shelfie! dress as a favorite character!) and videos (they might just see a favorite teacher get a pie in the face – or the librarian dye her hair bright colors!) to cheer them on.
Thank you for your support of our amazing readers!
Marie Fox, Librarian
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SAVE THE DATE: Take Out Event at Taps & Take Out
Taps & Take Out will be hosting another fundraising event for us! This time it will be over 3 days and some outdoor dining will be available as well. Visit our Dine Outs page and keep an eye out for a Konstella event with more details.
Tuesday, March 23: 4-8pm.
Wednesday, March 24: 4-8pm
Thursday, March 25: 3:30-7:30pm
Thanks,
Christina Gibbons, Merchant Partnerships Coordinator
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Enrichment Update
Thornhill enrichment partner Doug Cole will be offering online storytelling and puppetry classes on Thursdays from 3:15-4:15. More info and registration at http://www.dougsdrama.com
Thanks,
Teresa Contreras, Enrichment Coordinator
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California Healthy Kids Parent Survey (CHKS)
Please complete the CHKS 2021 Parent Survey! This survey is an opportunity for you to help Thornhill by sharing your opinions about it. We want to learn about this school’s efforts to promote academic success and well-being for every student. We also want to know how well the school is supporting you to be a true partner in your child’s education. If you have more than one child at this school, you may either fill out a separate survey for each child or just focus on the experience of one of your children at Thornhill.
Thank you,
Sherry Kaetzel, Thornhill Secretary
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Kindergarten Heritage Dolls
Are you a new family to Thornhill? Did your child arrive to our school community after Kindergarten and would you like them to have a Heritage Doll hung in the Multipurpose Room? We want to make sure every Thornhill child/family is represented on the walls of the Multipurpose Room! When students return to campus, the dolls will be there, ready to greet them.
All Heritage Dolls will be due the last week of March. Email bonnie.forbes@ousd.org for more information.
Thank you!
Bonnie Forbes, Kindergarten Teacher
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OUSD Family Resources
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OUSD Announcements
Please find OUSD announcements and events here, including several upcoming Info and Listening sessions about reopening and insight from the medical community.
Upcoming OUSD Reopening Info Sessions
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Individual Class Printed Packets
If your teacher tells you that printed materials need to be picked up, they will continue to be in the same spot — on the fence near the TK trailer and the Alhambra entrance.
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Calendar
Wednesday, March 10: Auction Meeting (7-8pm, see Konstella for info) March 15 - April 2: Read-A-Thon - save the dates! Tuesday, March 23 - Thursday, March 25: Take Out for Thornhill: Taps & Takeout (see Konstella for info) Monday, March 29: NO SCHOOL for Cesar Chavez Day Monday, April 5 - Friday, April 9 - SPRING BREAK! Monday, April 12: PFC Meeting (5:30-7pm, see Konstella for info) Saturday, May 1: Virtual Benefit Auction for Thornhill (more details to come)
Be sure also to subscribe to the Thornhill Google Calendar here, and download the OUSD District calendar here.
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About the Thornhill Newsletter
The Thornhill Parent-Faculty Club (PFC) eNews team publishes this weekly newsletter each Tuesday in the school year to communicate school, PFC and OUSD news, events and information.
Email submissions to our Newsletter Chair, Jill Evans, at newsletter@thornhillschool.org by 8 p.m. Thursday for approval—nothing sent after this will be included in the following week’s newsletter unless there are extremely compelling extenuating circumstances. It’s fine to include text in the body of the email with links and no formatting, and attach photos preferably as 150 x 150, 72 dpi JPG or GIFs only (not embedded in email or Word file). Submissions may be edited for spelling, grammar, brevity and clarity. Advertising and items not related to Thornhill are not accepted, as we need to keep the newsletter focused on need-to-know info for the community.
THANK YOU to everyone who submits articles and to PFC Board Members, Teachers, VPs of Communications Erin Proudfoot & Evie Nagy, PFC Presidents Rex Crum & Alicia Streight, and Principal Steve Daubenspeck. Member of Oakland Unified School District (OUSD).
Email: webmaster@thornhillschool.org
Website: thornhillschool.org
Location: 5880 Thornhill Drive, Oakland, CA, USA
Phone: 510-339-6800