Thornhill Elementary PFC Newsletter
Volume 28, Issue 12, October 28, 2020
In This Issue
A Message from Mr. Daubenspeck
Note from our PFC Co-Presidents
Thornhill Annual Fund Update
Chipotle Take Out Night
Partnership with Oakland Roots Sports Club
Green Team Update
Conferences and Report Cards
Individual Class Packets
Calendar of Important Dates
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A Message from Mr. Daubenspeck
Our school community faced a very frightening event this week when a fire broke out nearby. We are deeply grateful to the Oakland Fire Department for their quick response and their ability to keep it from spreading beyond the two homes that were directly impacted. Many of our families and teachers live close to the incident and had to evacuate. Unfortunately, one of our Thornhill families lost their home and vehicles. Our hearts go out to them during these difficult times. As of now, they are not in need of any help, but they do want to convey their sincere appreciation of the outpouring of support they’ve received from the Thornhill community.
In response to this tragedy, every Thornhill teacher will discuss the facts of what happened and will provide students with an opportunity to talk about the event. If there are students that need additional support, we have trained staff that are available to support students in small groups. Your child’s teacher has or will communicate the details of these additional supports.
Stay safe,
Mr. Daubenspeck
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From our PFC Co-Presidents
Aloha...
It might be hard to believe, but October is almost over. And that means one of the biggest days of the year is almost here: Halloween.
Normally, we would be having Thornhill’s big annual Halloween Parade on the school grounds. Anyone who has been here for more than a year knows what a big deal this is. Kids get dressed up, parents arrive long before the parade to find a place to park, and then we all gather in the play yard to take in a spectacle that is only rivaled by the Super Bowl.
Of course, this year, things are different. But, while we won’t be together at school, that doesn’t mean we can’t celebrate Halloween. If you are on Facebook and are a member of Thornhill’s Parent Group, why don’t you share photos of your Thunderbirds in their Halloween best? Or, share photos of yourself dressed up in your costume, even if that costume is just “Parent On A Zoom Call”.
Whatever you do for the holiday, we encourage you to have fun and remain safe.
Mahalo,
Rex Crum and Alicia Streight
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Thornhill Annual Fund
Thank you to everyone who has already donated to our Thornhill Annual Fund! We’re three weeks in and 25% of our Thunderbird families have participated so far. We’ve raised $85,832 in donations and $12,080 in corporate matches, for a total of $97,912. Ms. Steimle’s Kindergarten class is leading the way with 39% participation!! If you donate or set up an installment plan by the end of October (THREE DAYS TO GO!!), your little Thunderbird will get a Thornhill baseball tee!
Thank you for investing in our students!
Adrienne Selke and Rianna Stoll, Annual Fund Co-Chairs
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Chipotle Take Out Night - 33% comes back to Thornhill!
Mark your calendar, your dinner plans are set. Stop by the Chipotle at 3017 Broadway in Oakland for our fundraiser on Wednesday, November 4 from 5:00pm - 9:00pm and 33% (!!!) comes back to our school.
Participating Location: 3017 Broadway, Oakland.
(Plenty of parking! Next to Sprouts Market)
Time: 5pm - 9pm
Visit Konstella or our Dine Outs page for more info. Share our flyer with your friends & family!
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Oakland Roots Sports Club Partners with Thornhill
Oakland Roots, Oakland’s professional soccer team, has partnered with Thornhill Elementary to donate a portion of all ticket purchases made by Thornhill Families back to the school!
Oakland Roots 2021 Membership Deposits ($51.00) are available now. Use code THORNHILL21 when you place your deposit(s) and Roots will donate 15% to the Thornhill Parent Faculty Club.
Learn more on our Shop & Earn Page. To place your deposit, visit oaklandrootssc.com/tickets or contact Aaron Leavitt at aleavitt@rootssc.com.
Christina Gibbons, Merchant Partnerships Chair
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Join the Green Team!
Hello Everyone! A quick hello from your parent Sustainability PFC representative and Thornhill Green Team member! After some of the early school year mind-fog and Zoom scheduling has settled a bit, I thought I'd reach out to re-invite those who have been part of Thornhill's Green Team and invite ANYONE who may be interested in getting involved with our Green Team to sign up here via Konstella! We are a group of adults and kiddos who strive to improve our home and school's sustainability practices. Let's put our heads together to see how we can safely work on sustainability concepts from our homes and within the community.
Elyse Bart, Green Team Representative
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Conferences and Report Cards
Parent-teacher conferences are the week of November 30 to December 4. All days are minimum days. Report cards will be available to parents via Aeries beginning November 16. Please make sure that you have an Aeries Parent Portal! I still have a handful of parents who have not set up an account and registered their students. NO REPORT CARDS WILL BE MAILED OR AVAILABLE FOR PICKUP!
If you have any questions, please email me directly (sherry.kaetzel@ousd.org).
Thanks,
Sherry Kaetzel, Thornhill Secretary
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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, November 4: Take Out for Thornhill: Chipotle (5-9pm) Monday, November 9: PFC meeting (5:30-6:30pm, Zoom link in Konstella) Wednesday, November 11: No School: in lieu of Veterans Day Monday, November 23 - Friday, November 27: Thanksgiving Break Thursday, December 10: Zachary’s (details TBA)
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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