Thornhill Elementary PFC Newsletter
Volume 24, Issue 15, December 9, 2016
Principal's Note...
Dear Thornhill Community,
As we head into the weekend, my heart goes out to the victims and families of last week's Ghost Ship warehouse fire. Such a tragic event hangs heavy in our hearts in Oakland and I hope we can keep these people in our thoughts.
Highlight of the Week- Our amazing 5th grade lunch monitors really did a great job on Thursday during our rainy day. Our 5th graders support lower grades during lunch with adult supervision. So proud of our lunch monitors!
Meet an Astronaut- The first African- American female astronaut in space Dr. Mae Jemison will be at YMCA Circle Lab Launch event Monday, Dec. 12, at 3:45 p.m. at the East Oakland YMCA. Let’s get some Thunderbirds out there!
Have great weekend.
Mr. Daubenspeck
Family Game Night!
We look forward to seeing you all next Tuesday, Dec. 13, at 6:00 p.m. in the Multi-purpose for our Family Game Night.
We reached our fall fundraising goal ($190,000) and want to say THANK YOU to the Thornhill community.
Come enjoy some hot cocoa and holiday treats.
This is the first of several events this school year where we can all come together as a school community just for the fun of it!
Thank you,
Shauna & Shanyn
PFC Co-Presidents
OUSD Enrollment
OUSD's open enrollment period started Dec. 5, and ends Jan. 20.
Open enrollment is for students that will be attending a new school in 2017-2018, at the TK, elementary, middle or high school levels. District resources to help guide families through the options process include the Oakland School Finder, the 2017-2018 Enrollment Options Guide, and enrollment options fairs across the district.
Thornhill will have Enrollment Options Guides available on the table in the school lobby (not the office), but WILL NOT have options forms. These forms have to be downloaded from the OUSD website. More information can be found here, and the Enrollment Options Guide can be found here.
If your children are currently enrolled at Thornhill and will be returning next year, please keep an eye out in the spring for an “intent to return” form from the school. These forms can be returned to the Thornhill school office.
Any questions? Contact the OUSD Student Welcome Center at 510-273-1600. The Center is open from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., Mon.-Fri.
Thornhill Annual Food Drive
Hello Thunderbirds!
It's time to start our annual food drive to support the Alameda County Food Bank. Every year we see the big collection bins in the lobby filled with food that we distribute to the Alameda County Food Bank to help make a hunger free community.
Here are a few facts about the Alameda County Food Bank:
- It has been in business since 1985 with a mission to have a hunger free community
- It’s an organization that provides food for 240 non profit agencies in Alameda County
- The ACFB distributes enough food for about 380,000 meals weekly
Here are some ideas of what to donate:
- non-perishable items
- canned fruits and vegetables
- bags or boxes of rice
- dried pasta
- boxes of cereal
The food bins are here now and the food drive will continue through the first week of January. So let’s all start donating now!
Yours truly,
Lola Harris, 4th grade
Community Service Officer
School-wide Box Tops Contest
Collect Box Tops for Thornhill until Feb. 14!
Today you will receive information in your child’s backpack about the school-wide Box Tops contest we’re having over the next 2 months. You will get instructions, descriptions of the prizes and a Collection Sheet, on which you can glue your clipped Box Tops.
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 before 2/14, we will raise $1000 during this first contest period!
Box Tops can be found on hundreds of products you already buy, and each one is worth 10 cents. Encourage your children to do search for and cut out the Box Tops – they will think it’s fun!
Thank you for your support!
-Amy Teeling escrip@thornhillschool.org
One Warm Coat Donation Drive
Thornhill Dads Club is sponsoring a donation drive this holiday season, working with national charity One Warm Coat. Please look for the collection bin in the school lobby and bring in clean, gently used coats of all types and sizes to donate.
Did you know that a warm winter coat is a budget “extra” for 1 in 5 children living in poverty in the U.S.? All coats collected by the Thornhill community will directly benefit local needs when we deliver them to Alameda County Social Services and East Oakland Youth Development Center. Make sure your kids know, and have them help clean out your closets while giving to the less fortunate this season.
Mural Update
We've raised $4,344 of our $5,000 goal, but we still need your help!
The campaign ends this week, and if every family helps, we will reach our goal.
As a 2016 National Blue Ribbon School, it is now time for Thornhill to look as grand as it is to our kids!
Three easy ways you can help:
- Donate today! gofundme.com/thornhill-mural
- Spread the word! Friends and family want to help….just ask!! And don't forget about corporate matching - see if your company will match!!!
- Lend the mural team your digital projector! If you have equipment you think we might be able to use, please contact us: mural@thornhillschool.org
Many parents are donating their talents, time and the necessary equipment to help us make this happen.
Our goal is $5,000 and the design team (Thornhill parents) has launched a GoFundMe campaign to make it easy for you to contribute and tell others.
Visit: gofundme.com/thornhill-mural and please give whatever you can today!
THANK YOU to all of the Thornhill families and friends of Thornhill that have helped us get so far with this exciting school project!!
THANK YOU also to the families and friends that will help us close the remaining gap in this final week - your help is critical to our success!!!
Remember, please donate then, share the link!!
NOLL/SOLL Little League Signups
Early Registration ends on December 12.
After December 12, an additional $25 fee comes into effect for our last week of registration. Please register now. Early registration helps the league by providing us valuable early information in order to plan field, equipment and coaching needs.
Please note that registration will close on December 19 for Competitive divisions, ages 8 through 14, and closes for the T-Ball and Farm divisions on January 17.
You can find more information and register now at http://www.nollsoll.com/registration-information/. We are open to boys and girls age 5 through 16 in Oakland, Piedmont, Emeryville and Berkeley (south of Virginia St). If you are interested in coaching, please sign up as a coach by following the 'Register a Coach' link.
TELL FRIENDS, FAMILY and NEIGHBORS
Please spread the word to friends, family, neighbors and school friends so they do not miss our deadlines. If you have a school newsletter please submit a notice that our registration ends in two weeks for the older age groups.
TRYOUTS
We will hold player evaluations on January 7, 8 and 14. We will assign players to a try out slot after registration has closed. You should receive an email before January 1st with a time for your player to try out. We will be holding a Winter Warm up clinic for players ages 8, 9 and 10 who have not been to player evaluations before so they can get experience and a comfort level before they get to the tryout day. We will send out more information shortly on date, time and location.
CHALLENGER DIVISION
If you know families with kids age 7-18 with disabilities, let them know that we have an active Challenger Division and would love to have them join our program. Find out more at http://www.nollsoll.com/noll/challenger.
SCHOLARSHIPS
NOLL/SOLL offers scholarships to families in need. If someone you know or families at your school have a financial need which prevents them from signing up, please encourage them to use our scholarship form at http://www.nollsoll.com/registration-information/.
You can reach out registration page directly at Sportability by going to http://www.sportability.com/spx/leagues/Client.asp?ClientID=2
Spirit Wear Pop-Up Shop
Our additional pop-up times are Wednesday afternoon, Super-Fun Adventure Time POP-Up with guest host, Pam from 4 p.m. - 6 p.m., and Thursday afternoon from 2:15 p.m. - 4 p.m. in the school lobby.
Orders will be taken until Friday the 16th, for all special order T-shirts. Mugs, blankets, water bottles, duffel bags are available now, until supplies last!
Any questions, I can be reached via spirit@thornhillschool.org.
Go Thunderbirds!
Silvana Swafford
Library News
Winter Bingo
The Oakland Public Library is once again offering Winter Bingo! Complete a row on the Bingo card and bring it to any OPL library branch between Dec. 17, 2016 and Jan. 14, 2017 for a prize. The Winter Bingo card and instructions can be found here.
Donation!
Thank you to Audrey Oh and her family for donating two beautiful picture book biographies: Nadia, The Girl Who Couldn’t Sit Still, by Karlin Gray, and Hillary, by Jonah Winter!
Check out the Amazon Wishlist to see which books the library would love to add to the collection. Feel free to support our local bookstores by making your purchases there. As always, thank you for supporting the library!
Happy Holidays,
Maura Hennessy
Librarian
Lost and Found Items
Hi Parents!
Are you missing a jacket, sweater or something your child may have left behind?
Please come check out our lost and found, located in the lobby of the cafeteria. It is filled with items that have been left behind at school. We will be donating all items to charity on December 16. Your precious items may be gone for good if you don't claim them soon!
Also ... Are you wondering what to get for your amazing Thornhill teacher/staff who works so effortlessly helping our children to learn and grow?
Please check out the "teachers favorite things" binder located in the school office for ideas. Teachers have filled out what they love to make our gift buying experience simple!
Happy holidays!!!
Mona and Christina- PFC Hospitality chairs
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