Thornhill Elementary PFC Newsletter
Volume 27, Issue 9, October 8, 2019
From the Principal
Dear Thornhill community,
We hope you are having a wonderful week. Thank you Elyse Bart and Bonnie Forbes for organizing the E-waste event at Thornhill this past Saturday. It was a success!
I would also like to thank you all for your donations during the Back To School Donation Drive. Your generosity does not go unnoticed. We are very grateful for these donations that go towards the breadth of experiences that make Thornhill a special place.
Reminder: NO SCHOOL ON MONDAY, OCTOBER 14th.
Below is a letter from Kevin Kordosky, Pam Kordosky's husband. We hope you have time to read it.
Have a great week!
Mr. Daubenspeck
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Dear Parents, Children, Teachers and Staff of Adventure Time and Thornhill Elementary School,
I cannot find the words; only tears, not of sadness, but of extraordinary joy. The amount of support and love you have given to Fiona and me has been overwhelming. The entire Thornhill community has expressed their love and respect for Pamela, and how much she will be missed. Fiona and I thank you all from the bottom of our hearts.
Thanking everyone individually would be painstaking. Steve, Rex, Paul, Krista, Kit, Mario – these are just a few of the scores of people involved to whom I send my love and extreme thanks.
Knowing how many lives Pamela has touched can only bring a smile to my face and warm feelings to my heart.
Thank you Thornhill for everything.
Fiona and I thank you,
Kevin Kordosky
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Possible power outage in Oakland
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First Auction meeting TOMORROW night!
Come join us for our first auction meeting of the year - TOMORROW night, Wednesday October 9, from 6-7:30pm. We will do a quick re-cap and talk about auction plans for this year. All are welcome - we would love your ideas and feedback!
We are meeting at Taps and Takeout, right next to Thornhill, across from 7-11.
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Fall Sweep it! This Saturday!
Come join your fellow Thunderbirds and community members in spiffying up our grounds! More hands, effort and smiles = quicker, easier, and more enjoyable work for us all! Can you spare an hour or 2 or 3 between 9am and noon this Saturday, October 12? Do you appreciate a trash-free school campus? Want to help teach our kiddos an experiential lesson on joining community in caring for our environment? Please come!
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Step on up for the Walkathon!
Thornhill Elementary School’s annual Walkathon is our largest family-friendly fundraising event of the year! Mark your calendars: Saturday, November 2 from 10am-4pm.
Students, parents, siblings, friends, teachers, and staff will be in their walking shoes, walking lap after lap around the school campus to raise funds in support of our Parent Faculty Club (PFC) enrichment and community programs. Our fundraising goal for the Walkathon this year is $20,000. More information, details and a prize list on the school website.
Here’s how it works:
Set up your student's online pledge account at funrun.com so they can collect pledges from friends and family. The pledges are a flat donation of any amount (not per lap walked).
There are a lot of parent volunteer opportunities (help out while your kids walk laps!). A sign-up via Konstella is coming soon.
On the day of the Walkathon (November 2!), join us anytime between 10am and 4pm and walk, walk, walk. The kids get prizes for number of laps walked as well as total number of laps per class. More details on the prizes coming soon!
Questions? Want to volunteer to help? Email walkathon@thornhillschool.org.
Keep the party going by attending the Hygge Party after the Walkathon in the evening, hosted by Becky Urbano and Dee Dee Mendoza. Just 4 spots left! Sign up here.
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Second annual Book Swap
We all love to read but are you drowning in your child's library? Perhaps the bookshelf needs a little refreshing? Maybe you simply need a bookshelf to be filled? Join the Thornhill PFC on November 2 at the Walkathon for the second annual Thornhill Book Swap. Bring a book. Take a book. Do both! Stay tuned for more details.
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TK and Kindergarten info nights are coming!
Does your Thornhill student have a younger sibling about to enter school? Do you have friends and neighbors who are interested in Thornhill? Come get to know our TK and Kindergarten teachers and learn more about the programs on Monday, November 4, 2019 from 6:00-7:00pm and Monday, January 13, 2020 from 6-7pm! No need to RSVP, just show up at the multipurpose room at 6pm. More information on our website.
These are ADULT-ONLY events so please make child care arrangements for children.
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Meet Thornhill’s P.E. teacher, Zach Johnson a.k.a. “Coach”!
I started working at Thornhill in November of 2014—first as a substitute PE teacher, then as a full time one. I’ve been a classroom teacher for Oakland Unified since 2000, and I've been a schoolteacher since 1992. Most of that time, I taught 2nd grade, but I've also taught 1st, 4th, and 5th.
PE is really important, particularly to elementary students. A healthy lifestyle, with physical activity, will result in a much higher quality of life and have long lasting, positive health effects.
I was not a jock, or even a sporty kid, growing up. I didn't like PE as a kid (gasp!), so I know and understand the reluctance that some kids feel about it. Those are the kids that I really want to reach, that I think I am best at reaching, and that need the knowledge of how physical activity can be something for them.
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Shop and eat for Thornhill
October Dine Out: Paulista Brazilian Kitchen and Taproom
By popular demand! Our next Dine Out night is at Paulista Brazilian Kitchen and Taproom, Oakland’s all-day Brazilian cafe, restaurant and craft beer taproom.
Wednesday, October 16
7:00am - 10:00pm
ALL day long — breakfast, lunch, dinner -- Paulista will generous donate 10% of their profits to Thornhill. They'll also set out a donation jar that will come right on over to our school. Check out the menu and plan your fun night out: paulista510.com
Shop & Earn
Did you know you can earn dough for Thornhill while shopping for Z bars? There is a promo program for just about anywhere you buy groceries or other everyday items — sign up for eScrip (Attn, Lucky shoppers!), order through Good Eggs, buy classroom supplies on Amazon, scan your Costco receipt to earn BoxTops, and the list goes on! Check out all the opportunities on our Shop & Earn page. A few seconds of your time can earn a lot for our school.
And THIS MONTH AND NEXT we earn 5% on your grocery delivery orders through Good Eggs -- enter school code TBIRD2019.
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Shoo The Flu - Tuesday, October 29
Thornhill will be participating in Shoo The Flu which will provide free flu vaccinations to students on Tuesday, October 29. Consent forms will be coming home in backpacks or you can download and sign the consent form and send it with your child(ren) if you want to participate.
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Your kid photos with MugsyClicks
You should have received an email from MugsyClicks (most likely yesterday) with a link to see your kid(s)’s photos. Promo codes offered for our kids’ pictures from MugsyClicks expire on Wednesday, October 30. Online, enter MUG5OFF at checkout for $5 OFF YOUR ORDER (with minimum purchase of $50) and enter 2U4FREE at checkout for FREE SHIPPING (with minimum purchase of $25).
Photo Make-Up day is Monday, October 28. More details to come on how to sign up.
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Calendar
The website always has the latest calendar information, and here's what's coming up:
- Wednesday, October 9: First Auction Meeting! (6-7:30pm, Taps & Takeout)
- Saturday, October 12: Thornhill Fall Sweep (9am-12pm)
- Monday, October 14: NO SCHOOL (In lieu of Lincoln’s Birthday)
- Wednesday, October 16: Dine Out at Paulista (7am-10pm)
- Monday, October 28: Photo Make-Up Day with MugsyClicks
- Tuesday, October 29: Shoo the Flu! (free flu shots for kids at Thornhill)
- Thursday, October 31: Halloween (12:50pm parade + minimum day)
- Saturday, November 2: Thornhill Walkathon
- Monday, November 4: PFC Meeting (6-7pm) + Taps and Takeout (7-9pm)
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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, Evie Nagy, 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, VP of Communications Erin Proudfoot, PFC President Rex Crum, 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