Thornhill Elementary PFC Newsletter
Volume 24, Issue 29, March 31, 2017
Principal's Letter
Dear Thunderbird Families,
By now, you are probably excited about having time for Spring Recess. You may even already be en route somewhere for the break. Our amazing staff has been working so hard, and I am sure you agree that our most awesome Thunderbird staff are due for their well-deserved Spring Recess...I hope you all can also enjoy some time off to recharge and spend time with family and friends!
And the winners are:
The auction results are in, and we have two Principals For a Day. One will be first-grader Madeline! We just had a conference call and she is excited! Our other Principal For a Day is Lukas in fourth grade. We are excited about them both assuming their posts this spring.
Super Important...
Our budget...We are in a serious fiscal situation and rely on your support. As you know we are trying to retain our current support staff and we will not be able to get near to the present day levels without your generous contributions.
Key support positions at Thornhill are "STIP," or Substitute Teacher Incentive Plan subs. STIP subs like Mrs. Anderson, Mr. Smith and Mrs. Pope provide intervention and support for students and staff. Due to cutbacks, we now cannot afford all three. This year was the first year we had so much support for Thornhill and, although it made a difference, OUSD is not in a position to support the extra staff that are key to our success.
At Fund-A-Need, we got a great start, thanks to your donations. We will need a significant amount more so please give what you can and send this link to others that can help keep our school on a trajectory of success.
Once again, please give what you can so we can fund these critical positions. You can give in increments of $50 to $1,000 or more. All those that give $250 or more get a copy of any of my four releases on Band Camp.
Click on this link to donate to our Principal's Fund-A-Need
Giving $250 or more to FUND A NEED? Pick a Mr. D. release FREE
https://stevedaubenspeck.bandcamp.com/album/black-dog-duppy-iv
THANKS SO MUCH and HAVE A WONDERFUL BREAK!
Mr. Daubenspeck
Library News
Get ready for the first-ever Thornhill Read-a-Thon!
Our kick-off assembly for students will take place April 17. Make sure you put the Pajama Night Read-In, Thursday, April 20, from 6:30-7:30 p.m. on the calendar.
How it Works. Students will have their own webpage on the Thornhill Read-a-Thon site. Sponsors can donate directly through a student's webpage and leave fun and motivating messages for the students while they’re at it. The more sponsors, the more prizes for your student. Our 10 days of Read-a-Thon reading sessions at school will continue to build our Thunderbird culture of readers. More great news: 90 percent of the funds raised by the Read-a-Thon are donated to the school, with 15 percent going to the readers as prizes. And the class that raises the most donations will get an ice cream party!
Watch for information coming home with your student after Spring Break.
If you can volunteer to reach out to local businesses for Read-a-Thon sponsorship, please contact Adimika:adimika@gmail.com.
Thanks for supporting the Read-a-Thon!
Adimika Arthur and Maura Hennessy
Donate!
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
Amazon Wishlist: http://amzn.com/w/219PC0APLF3X5
Thornhill Library: http://thornhilllibrary.org
Thornhill Library Blog: http://thornhilllibrary.blogspot.com/
Thornhill Night at the A's
The Thornhill Dads Club is preparing for one of the school's most-popular events, the annual Thornhill Night at the A's.
This year's night will take place on Friday, April 21, when the A's face the Seattle Mariners (the hometown and favorite team of your humble newsletter editor, Rex Crum). Thornhill Elementary School students, parents and their friends and families can purchase discounted tickets in two different seating sections.
And...To get the kids fired up for the game, the A’s mascot, Stomper, will stop by Thornhill for a visit on the morning of Wednesday, April 12. Stomper will sign autographs and pose for photos with students, teachers and parents for about an hour before school starts. Be sure to wear your A’s gear and bring your camera!
Stomper’s visit is always a fun school event as we prepare for Thornhill Night At The A’s. Tickets cost $32 for Field Level seats and $20 for the Plaza Outfield section. A portion of each ticket sold will go directly back to the school. Tickets have to be purchased through the above link in order for Thornhill to get its donation credit from the A's.
Dads Club is also planning on holding a Thornhill tailgate, with a food truck, at the Coliseum prior to the game. Last year, more than 300 Thornhill parents and students attended the game, so we could we could use some help with tables and chairs for the pre-game tailgate. If you have something you can volunteer, please contact Robert Jacobs at rjacobs@robertjacobsassociates.com. Robert has generously taken the reins with organizing this year's event and deserves a beer or two bought for him at the game.
And...The A's have cut the price of beer at games this year, too. All the more reason to attend.
Back-To-School Donation Drive Update
Thanks to everyone who donated for our Back to School Donation Drive.
All gifts have been distributed, if you did NOT receive your gifts you may have forgotten
to include your child’s name and/or teacher. Please email bsdd@thornhillschool.org and
we can arrange delivery of your gift.
Tax forms - if you donated in 2016, you can use the form below for your donation and
fill in the amount and dates.
Thanks again for all your help,
Christine Volden Pereira
Dear Thunderbird Donor,
Thank you for supporting Thornhill Elementary School!
With your donation, we exceeded this year's fundraising goals and raised over $160,000. We would like to take this moment to acknowledge your support. We believe that the effort and principle of donating creates an environment that benefits all our kids, at school and at home. With these funds Thornhill can provide the type of education we all value.
It couldn't be done without your help.
Sincerely,
Christine Pereira, Angela Engel and the Thornhill PFC
Below is the receipt for your donation along with Thornhill's tax identification number for your records.
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Date:
Donor:
Amount:
Recipient: Thornhill PFC
Tax ID#: 94-2529197
Spirit Days--April 12
Dear Thornhill Families,
I wanted to inform you about an upcoming Spirit Day. Actually, two Spirit Days! April 10 and 12 will be Thornhill’s first FAVORITES DAYS!
These Spirit Days revolve around your favorite things. Here are some examples of what a student could wear.
If their favorite color is purple, wear purple!
If their favorite sport is baseball, wear a jersey!
If their favorite book is Harry Potter, dress up as Ron Weasley!
If their favorite food is pizza, dress up like pizza!
You can speak your favorite language!
Favorite animal, favorite teacher, favorite plant… Etc...
Just remember that all school rules still apply. No weapons or characters from inappropriate books or movies.
I hope you enjoy your break and will be excited to see all the fun ideas you come up with! Once more, April 10 and April will both be Favorites Days!
Sincerely,
Charlotte Fithian,
Student Council President
Thornhill Teams' Battle of the Bay Results
This past weekend was the "Battle of the Bay" for our two Thornhill Farm A Baseball teams! The Giants played the A's and were very excited to be joined by all three first grade teachers: Mrs. Holman, Mrs. Holland, and Ms. Forbes. We enjoyed a beautiful day together and celebrated both teams' victory with a potluck. Thanks to all!
Auction Karma!
We need you! Two more schools have their auctions coming up. They supported our auction and we hope to send volunteers to theirs. Take a look! It's easy and fun.
Please visit the Sign Up Genius site to volunteer.
Let me know if you have any questions.
Thanks,
Anne Mawdsley
Art News
There are three public exhibits of student art in the Montclair Village.
Farmstead Is hosting the work of the TK/K art enrichment class. Currently displayed are the vibrant Red Fire Roosters heralding the New Year. Soon, a new exhibit of creative works inspired by the art and stories of Eric Carle will be up.
Montclair Sports has a Spring Bouquet exhibit currently. Soon their gallery will feature 'textural' bunnies by the 1-2 art enrichment class.
Yogofina is hosting an exhibit of Aurora Borealis watercolors done by Mr. Wilkins' 5th graders.
Please go view the artworks, consider giving these generous and art-loving businesses your business, and applaud and congratulate our Thornhill students.
Thanks,
Tricia Larsen
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 to have waffles for breakfast for the 18th-straight morning?
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/
Montera Welcome Day and Enrichment Survey
Montera Middle School is hosting events over the summer to welcome new students and families:
6th Grade Bridge Days, 9 AM – 1:50 PM
Thursday, August 10th, Friday, August 11th
Mandatory Registration for ALL Students
Thursday, August 10: 6th grade 1-6 PM
Friday, August 11 All Students 1-6 PM
Thursday, August 17: Make Up all students
Montera Multi-Use Room (MUR)
New Family Pizza Social & Orientation
Thursday, August 17th 6-7:30 PM - MUR
The whole family is invited to come, eat, greet, meet and learn.
Visit www.monteramiddleshcool.org for details
Separately, the Montera PTO is conducting a quick survey to gather feedback on the types of enrichment programs that your student would enjoy in the after-school program as well as any lunchtime clubs. Your feedback is very important in helping shape the kinds of after-school enrichment activities Montera can offer next fall. Thank you for your participation. https://goo.gl/forms/KI03JgN7EfQuGADG3
And Finally...
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