Thornhill Elementary PFC Newsletter
Volume 27, Issue 34, April 28, 2020
In This Issue...
- More buzz from Principal Daubenspeck
- Pick up your Auction prizes!
- The Thornhill Library is open (on your computer)
- Hop on the PFC train to glory and fame!
- The Read-a-thon is coming
- Thornhill's YouTube channel is hopping
- FOOOOOOOODDDD
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From the Principal
Dear Thornhill Families,
I hope you are well and I think of you all often. I hope that you are managing these unprecedented times and please know that we care so much about your kids and you! We know this has not been easy for anyone and we are now slowly settling into a routine with this new reality. Your child's teacher and all the Thornhill staff have been working non-stop to ensure we create the best experiences in learning to make your child feel connected. As you know, the times they are changing at a rapid pace and we must continue to lift each other up and stay in good spirits despite ALL the uncertainty. We've Got This!
Bee Update
Well, I am sad to report that the bees were a bigger undertaking than your principal had the time to invest. Bees need caretakers and people who fully understand the complexity of caring for bees. As much as I wanted to keep the bees and learn this, I did not have all the gear and hives needed to tend to them. So I had to make the difficult decision to have them move to an experienced bee keeper. That was hard as I felt two swarms of bees came to my home and that is special. This second hive moved to Oakland! I am happy to say that although I miss them so much, they are now thriving and doing well in their new home.
We miss you!
Love,
Mr. Daubenspeck
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Auction Winnings Drive-By This Saturday
Still looking for your auction goods? We will be distributing cookbooks, puzzles, and misc remaining items this Saturday, May 2 from 1-3pm at the school. This is a drive-by, say-hi-and-bye-in-the-same-breath event. Quick, efficient, and sure to brighten your day.
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(Virtually) Visit the Thornhill Library!
Our incredible librarian Marie Fox has created a wonderful site for the Thornhill Library, complete with activities and videos for National Poetry Month, an interactive book report tool, Harry Potter resources, a dedicated YouTube channel and more. You need to be logged into your student’s Google account to access the site, so be sure to do that before going to the URL. THANK YOU MS. FOX!!!
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Open PFC Board Positions
Hello Thunderbirds!
We know two things for sure right now 1) We don’t know for sure what the rest of this year will look like, including next academic year. 2) Whatever happens, we’ll need volunteers to work together to keep Thornhill as wonderful as it is.
There are a number of key positions we need to fill next year on the Parent-Faculty Club (PFC) Board. There are a lot of Board roles because the more people working together, the less for each person to do, and the more focused you can be on something that interests you. In the spirit of continuity, many of our current parent volunteers have agreed to continue on as board members to help groom new members coming in for the first time. Next year will be a unique opportunity to enter the board and learn from veteran members.
The following positions are open for next year:
- President co-chair with Rex Crum (current president)
- Vice President of Fundraising
- Auction Chair
- Member-at-Large (TK-2nd)
- 5th Grade Liaison
- Grants and Solicitations
- Hospitality Chair
- Room Parents Chair
- Spring Fling Event Chair
- Newsletter Editor
- Webmaster
Find full job descriptions for the executive board and board on our website. Please respond with interest and inquiries to Mark Lecker at memberatlarge2@thornhillschool.org.
Thank you!
-Parent Faculty Club (PFC)
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Read-a-thon Launches on May 4!
Be on the lookout for information coming to your inbox about our (virtual) Read-a-thon, running from May 4 to May 22. It will be a great opportunity to encourage our Thunderbirds to focus on reading at home and raise money to support our school community.
Prizes, which support local bookstores, will be awarded for minutes read and funds raised! Videos to encourage reading will be shared!
Let's show up in our virtual space to support our school and reading during this time!
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Check Out Thornhill’s YouTube Channel
First, it started with bees. Then it grew, and now there are MORE, DIFFERENT BEES. Thornhill’s YouTube channel is now buzzing with videos from Thornhill faculty reading stories, helping the earth, getting way too close (IMHO) to bees, and more. Go to it!
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Shelter In Your Face
Shelter in place sucks, but Thornhill families are eating and cooking their feelings in delicious, creative ways. We asked you to share your quarantine food photos, and now we're hungry.
(credit: Steimle fam)
(credit: Erin Fredrick)
(credit: Kate McCarthy)
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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