Thornhill Elementary PFC Newsletter
Volume 24, Issue 20, January 27, 2017
From The PFC Co-Presidents...
Happy Friday Thunderbirds
We hope everyone is enjoying a break from the crazy weather we have endured this past week. We will definitely be taking advantage of the weather this weekend - hope you all will do the same!
Thanks to all who came out to our last PFC Meeting. Our school is only as good as the parents/guardians who support Thornhill. If you have yet to attend one of our meetings we urge you to attend. Our next meeting will be February 21 at 6 p.m.
There are many ways to support our school, not just monetarily ! Your time and ideas are just as valuable. As many of you may know OUSD is facing large budget cuts this year and the next, but we don’t yet know how this will impact Thornhill. We realize we have done quite a bit of fundraising this school year, but know it ALL goes to support many of the resources offered through our Thornhill community.
The Parent Faculty Club is raising money to maintain our wonderful staff of aides and supplement essential programs like music, art, computers and physical education. To guarantee this in the future, we will have our 31st Annual Benefit Auction at Oakland’s Ascension Cathedral Event Center on March 11 from 6-11 p.m. The theme is “A Spring Evening in a Blue Garden”. This event, unlike others, is a time for parents to come and have “adult time” with your fellow Thunderbirds all while having fun! Tickets are now on sale for only $99 per couple! Hurry before our Early Bird Special ends on January 31st.
Also don't forget Coffee with the Principal & PFC Co-Presidents, on February 3 at 8:25 a.m. in the lunch area behind the school. This is an opportunity for parents to connect with us and other parents. All parents are welcome to attend. This is one way for us to support each other and build community so we hope to see you soon!
Have a great weekend,
Shanyn & Shauna
PFC Co-Presidents
Auction Update
We still need you!
There are only six-and-a-half weeks until we celebrate on March 11 from 6-11 p.m. The theme of the auction is “A Spring Evening In A Blue Garden” and it will be held at the Greek Orthodox Cathedral Community Center.
And there are still many things that need to get done, and we can use all the help we can get.
First, we need someone who is willing and able to take financial care of the evening. If you are an accountant and willing to help, please send an email at benefit@thornhillschool.org
Second, we need a lot more help to solicit additional auction items. Please consider spending some time making phone calls and ask for donations, and contact us at benefit@thornhillschool.org and ask for a list of potential donors.
If this is not for you, maybe you could ask your neighbors and friends if they would like to donate something for your child’s school. Or, think of something you can do or donate. There are so many ways you can help make the auction a success.
Making a donation is really simple - print up the donor form or just grab one from the office. Fill it out and put it in the blue folder in the office. We really appreciate it.
THORNHILL DONOR FORM
Donor Name(s): _____________________________________________________
Address: ___________________________________________________________
Phone: ____________________________________________________________
Email: _____________________________________________________________
Donation Title: ______________________________________________________
Donation Description Please include a description to be used in the catalog. Please include details of any conditions or restrictions:
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Expiration Date (if applicable): _________________________________________
Maximum Number of Participants (if applicable): __________________________
Date of Event (if applicable): ___________________________________________
Cost per Participant (if applicable): ______________________________________
Total Value: ________________________________________________________
Please send this form to: Thornhill Elementary School, Parent Faculty Club, 5880 Thornhill Drive, Oakland, CA 94611 or email to: benefit@thornhillschool.org
Advertising
Feature your advertisement or a message in the Thunderbird Ball Benefit Catalog. This is your opportunity to send a message to a Thornhill child or the Thornhill Community at large.
Name of the Advertiser: ______________________________________________
Address: ___________________________________________________________
Phone: ____________________________________________________________
Email: _____________________________________________________________
❑ $ 750 - full page vertical (7.5”x10”)
❑ $500 – half page horizontal (7.5” x 4.75”)
❑ $250 – quarter page vertical (3.5”x4.75”)
❑ $100 – business card (3.2”x2”)
The ads are black and white and must be submitted to benefit@thornhillschool.org in PDF format on or before February 14.
Please send this form to: Thornhill Elementary School, Parent Faculty Club, 5880 Thornhill Drive, Oakland, CA 94611 or email to: benefit@thornhillschool.org
And don’t forget: Only the early Thunderbird gets the worm. Make sure to get your tickets before the prices go up on February 1.
https://thornhill.schoolauction.net/auction2017/tickets/ticket_sales
Last, but not least, a note from one of our donors:
Camp at the Lair of the Bear this Summer!
Enjoy an unforgettable summer camp vacation with your family at the Lair. You don't need to be a Cal alum to camp with us. And there's a new family discount for Thornhill families: 15 percent off Week 2 (June 17–24) or Week 10 (August 12– 9). For more information, visit lairofthebear.org or give us a call at 510-900-8255 or email us at lair@alumni.berkeley.edu
Dads Club
Thornhill Dads Club is taking an active role in helping to plan this year’s Auction Night. We are hunting for donated items that Dads Club can offer for the live or silent auction. We need your skills and ideas!
Are you a skilled handyman around the house?
Do you or your company have season tickets anywhere?
Have a ski condo?
Work at a consumer-facing business that could donate its services?
Do you like to plan & host theme parties?
Know anybody famous?
We’re seeking creative, potentially lucrative auction items to populate the Dads Club table! All donations are potentially tax-deductible. Please contact DadsClub@ThornhillSchool.org with any/all suggestions.
SOCIALIZE with Dads Club! Ever wonder why we don’t host a GOLF outing, BOWLING night or POKER game? Why not plan one?
Dads Club will happily sponsor and promote any outing to our 190+ member list – all you have to do is ask! We’ll continue to host our monthly planning meetings every 3rd Thursday at Monaghan’s, but you know what they say about “all work and no play…”
Library News
Donations!
Another shout out to Audrey Oh and her family for donating two more books to the library: Rad American Women A-Z, by Kate Schatz, and The Art of Miss Chew, by Patricia Polacco. Thank you so much from all of the students at Thornhill! That brings our total donations to 34 so far this year. Wow!
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!
Maura Hennessy
Librarian
Volunteers Needed for the African American Literature Read-In
February is African American History Month! To celebrate, schools and libraries across the nation are participating in a National Read-In by holding a variety of literacy-focused activities designed to celebrate the work of African American authors.
The National Read-In is an event that started in 1990 and for the past three years, Oakland has hosted a citywide read-in that spans an entire week. This year’s citywide read-in will take place the week of February 6. Lea Stafford and I are coordinating the event and we will be asking for parent volunteers to sign up to read to our classes on the mornings of Wednesday, February 8, and Friday, February 10.
Maura Hennessey, our fantastic librarian, will put together a selection of books to choose from or you can suggest one of your favorites, as long as it is age appropriate and written by an African American author. If you are interested in volunteering, please be on the lookout for an email from your room parent, which will have a link to a sign-up sheet—It’s coming soon! If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at diversity@thornhillschool.org.
Hope to see you there!
Rachel Estrella
Diversity Chair
Linda Beach Preschool Open House
Linda Beach Cooperative Preschool will be having a family Open House on Saturday, February 4 from 10 a.m. - 12 p.m. This is a fun event for the whole family where you can explore the classroom and playground, meet the teachers, and speak to current families. Linda Beach offers affordable cooperative preschool programs for children ages 2 years 9 months and older, and a Pre-K program for children 4.5 years and older that does not require parent classroom participation.
Family Open House, Saturday February 4, 10 a.m. - 12 p.m.
400 Highland Ave, Piedmont, CA
Enrichment Classes Update
For anyone involved in afterschool enrichment classes, remember, the fall session ends this week.
There are no enrichment classes next week January 30 – February 3.
The spring session start Monday, February 6.
Support Thornhill PFC When Shopping for Valentine’s Day Gifts!
Planning to get something for your sweetheart? Don’t forget to shop at Amazon Smile, and 0.5 percent will be donated to Thornhill Parent-Faculty Club. Amazon has a large variety of gifts that are perfect for Valentine's Day including electronics, jewelry, clothing and more.
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