Thornhill Elementary PFC Newsletter
Volume 24, Issue 22, February 10, 2017
From The PFC Co-Presidents...
Hi Thunderbird Families,
Many thanks to the parents who attended coffee with the principal and PFC co-presidents last Friday morning. It was great to meet some new parents, as well as reconnect with some familiar faces. The parents were treated to a peek at a school singalong. We hope to make this a monthly event and that we will see you at one of our coffees soon!
As you probably already know, February is African-American History Month. One of the many ways that OUSD and Thornhill are celebrating and acknowledging African-American History month is through a Literature Read-In. Parents and community volunteers choose age appropriate books that focus on African-American history and culture, or are written/illustrated by African-Americans. We both had the chance to read in our children's classrooms this week and we appreciated how attentive and engaged the students were with the books (and with us)! Thanks to Rachel Estrella, PFC Diversity Chair and Lea Stafford for coordinating this great event, and for the coffee and snacks.
Earlier this week, Mr. Daubenspeck and our teaching staff took a field trip to the Oakland Museum of California to see the All Power to the People: Black Panthers at 50 exhibit. We look forward to hearing how their visit inspires teaching moments in the classroom.
It’s not too late for you to visit this exhibit, but hurry - it closes at the end of the month.
Please mark your calendars for our school MLK Oratorical Fest on Monday, February 27 at 9 a.m. Parents are welcome to attend!
Have a wonderful weekend,
Shauna and Shanyn
Valentine’s Day Auction Ticket Sale
Thinking about a special gift for Valentine’s Day for your lovebird?
Get tickets for the auction – and join us on Saturday, March 11th, from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. at the Ascension Cathedral Community Center (4700 Lincoln Avenue, Oakland CA) for “A spring evening in a blue garden”.
Tickets are on sale at:
https://thornhill.schoolauction.net/auction2017/tickets/ticket_sales
For only three days, February 13 -15, tickets will be on sale for a reduced price of $50 per person, or $99 for a couple.
As a bonus, every ticket sold by February 15 will be entered in a raffle for two gift certificates of $25 each for Lin Jia Asian Kitchen.
Show your LOVE and support for Thornhill!
Only 4 more weeks! The auction is coming!
For our upcoming auction, we are still in need of auction items:
- You have a cabin or a house in the mountains, on a lake or in the wine country for a stay-cation? We would like to have it!
- Are you the chef at your home? Host a dinner!
- Do you have season tickets for sports, music, golf or a spa? Share it with the school!
- You have another cool idea for our auction like a tour “behind the scenes”, DJ for a night, the gift of a nice haircut, plant a tree, teach a skill? Let us know!
Please contact Solvig at benefit@thornhillschool.org
What else do we need?
Lea Stafford worked on a decoration theme and we are looking for the items listed below. If you can donate or borrow some of these items, we would be very happy and so would our auction budget.
- Small bottles - Clear glass or light blue.
- Small jars - Clear glass or light blue.
- Pots/planters not more than 12 inches high.
- Silver pails.
- Extra watering cans.
- Wooden ladder, not higher than 5 feet, or standard ladder height.
Please contact Lea: lea@leastafford.com
Town Hall Meeting on OUSD Finances
Want to know more about the OUSD Budget?
Do you have questions or concerns about how the cuts will impact schools?
Come to an OUSD Budget Town Hall – sponsored by the Montera PTO and the Montera Site Council on Wednesday, Feb. 15 at 7 p.m. in the MUR (Multi-Use-Room).
Speakers include:
Dr. Devin Dillon, Interim Superintendent OUSD
Nina Senn, District 4 School Board Representative
Vernon Hal, Senior Business Officer OUSD
Kim Davis, Montera parent and co-founder of Parents United for Public Schools
This event is open to all District 4 residents.
California School Parent Survey
Oakland Unified School District is asking that district parents participate in the 2016-2017 OUSD Parent School Survey. This survey is an opportunity for you to help Thornhill by sharing your opinions about it.
Thornhill Parents CHKS Survey Link
The district wants to learn about Thornhill's efforts to promote academic success and well-being for every student, and how well the school is supporting you in order to be a true partner in your child’s education.
If you have more than one child at Thornhill, you may fill out a separate survey for each child – or just focus on the experience of one of your children. Each parent or caregiver may fill out the survey according to their experience with Oakland Unified.
No one can tell who filled out this survey. Your answers are completely private.
Thank you for participating. Your opinion matters.
OUSD Directory of Community Based Resources for Students and Families
Robert "Skip" Dousa, Recovery/Intervention Coach II
Program Manager-TUPE Program/CHKS Administrator
Oakland Unified School District
925 321-0818 cell
Dads Club Meeting
February’s Third Thursday mixer and planning meeting is coming up on Thursday, Feb. 16, 8-9:30 p.m. at Monaghan’s. As always the meeting is no-host, adults-only, open to all, free to attend. Give us an hour, and you’ll hear about upcoming events like Auction Night, Movie Night, and Night at the A’s. Get more involved, and drink BEER doing it!
Doug's Drama Camp at Montclair Elementary
Do your children act dramatic at home?
Do you ever think, "This kid should win an Oscar for this performance" as he or she pleads with you for a snack just before dinner?
Well, then get your aspiring Daniel Day-Lewis or Meryl Streep on stage.
These are full day camps with extended care from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Details at http://www.dougsdrama.com/
Library News
Read-In Update...
A big thank you to Rachel Estrella and Lea Stafford for coordinating the African American Literature Read-In this year. And another big thank you to all of our guest readers! Now in its third year, the Read-In is a wonderful way for the Thornhill community to connect with each other and share their love of reading.
More Donations
Thank you to Charlotte and Jack Fithian and their family for donating some awesome books to the library: Booked, by Kwame Alexander and March: Book Two and March: Book Three by John Lewis. Thank you so much from all of the students at Thornhill!
Be sure to look at the list of books on the Thornhill Library Amazon Wishlist. There are so many wonderful titles to choose from, and the library would love to have them on our shelves. Feel free to support our local bookstores by making your purchases there. As always, thank you for supporting the library!
Happy Reading,
Maura Hennessy
Librarian
Schoolwide Box Tops Contest Ends February 14!
Please try to fill the Valentine Collection Sheet that was sent home with your child in early December, and have your child turn it in to their teacher on Monday or Tuesday. (Send it in, even if it’s not full!) Or, you can just put your cut out Box Tops in a baggie and write your child’s name and teacher on the bag. If you need another Collection Sheet, just email me and I’ll email it to you.
OUR GOALS:
· Raise $2000 in free money for our kids with Box Tops this year
· 100% participation! (Even 1 Box Top counts)
If each student brings in 25 Box Tops by Feb. 14, we will raise $1000 during this first contest period!
PRIZES:
1) The classroom that collects the most Box Tops wins a Cupcake Party in February.
2) All classrooms with 100% participation win a Popsicle Party in February.
3) Everyone who brings in Box Tops will be entered in a drawing. 5 lucky winners will get a Yogofina $5 Gift Card.
4) The student who brings in the most Box Tops gets a $20 gift card to A Great Good Place For Books.
Winners will be announced on February 21.
Thank you for your support!
-Amy Teeling escrip@thornhillschool.org
About The PFC Newsletter
The Thornhill Parent-Faculty Club (PFC) eNews team publishes this weekly newsletter each Friday in the school year to communicate school, PFC and OUSD news, events and information.
Email submissions to our Newsletter Chair, Rex Crum, at newsletter@thornhillschool.org by 3 p.m. Wednesday for approval, including Word or Text files with links and no formatting and 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 is not accepted.
THANK YOU to everyone who submits articles and to PFC Board Members, Teachers, VP of Communications Mavis Scanlon, PFC Co-Presidents Shauna Fithian and Shanyn Lloyd-Gibson and Principal Steve Daubenspeck. Member of Oakland Unified School District (OUSD).
Email: newsletter@thornhillschool.org
Website: thornhillschool.org
Location: 5880 Thornhill Drive, Oakland, CA, United States
Phone: (510) 339-6800