Thornhill Elementary PFC Newsletter
Volume 25, Issue 2, September 8, 2017
Back To School Donation Drive Update
The Back to School Drive is in full swing!
Thank you so much to the families who have already donated! Just one week in and we've already raised over $8,500, a great start. There is a three-way tie for the class with the most participation so far, with Mr. Thompson's TK class, Ms. Gustafson's 4th grade class, and Ms. Holman's 1st grade class in a close race! Who will pull ahead?
Your support provides all of our students with the programs and staff that make help make Thornhill an amazing Blue Ribbon school. Check your child's homework folder this week for more information on how to give (there's even a self-addressed, stamped envelope to make it extra easy!). You can also visit the Thornhill website for more details, or pay via PayPal.
Have questions? Send a note to bsdd@thornhillschool.org.
Thank you,
Adrienne Selke and Rianna Stoll, BSDD Co-Chairs
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Konstella Rollout
Thornhill is rolling out a new communication platform, Konstella, a one-stop shop for all school related communication. As we transition to Konstella, we will be integrating functionality in phases. The initial launch will focus on our school directory as well as our events platform, volunteer sign-up and communication with fellow parents. Beyond that, Konstella will eventually be the primary platform for teacher communications, but for now, teachers will utilize their preferred existing methods, with Konstella as an option.
All registered parents will be automatically uploaded in Konstella; the default privacy setting will be that personal information is not visible. You will get an email to set up your account in the next few weeks. If you do not set up your account, you will still receive important email communications from the school. Setting up your account will allow you to respond to events, sign up to volunteer and interact with other parents.
As Konstella becomes the primary communication medium at Thornhill, please note that the existing Thornhill Elementary School Families Facebook group will continue to be a place to connect with past and present Thornhill families as well as members of our community; however, it will not be used to communicate official PFC, Thornhill, or OUSD information. We will still continue to send this weekly newsletter on Fridays to those who have opted in.
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State Testing Results
To parents of students that were in grades 3-5 last year: by now, you should have received results (at home) of your child testing that was taken last spring, the SBAC test. Below are links to videos on how to understand these student scores.
• Understanding Your 2016–17 Student Score Report (Length: 5:32) This video will help parents and students learn about the 2016–17 Student Score Report of year-end standardized test results.
• Entendiendo el reporte individual de los resultados 2016–17 de CAASPP (Length: 7:02) Explica el reporte individual de los resultados 2016–17 de CAASPP.
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Library News
Welcome back to the Thornhill Elementary Library News! If you don’t already know me, I’m your librarian, Maura Hennessy (Mrs. Hennessy to the students), and we are off to a great start. We had a refresher on library etiquette during class visits the first week, and now we are sharing some stories, hearing about new books, and getting to know each other.
I love the library and I hope your students will too. So much learning happens in the library! The library program cultivates student literacy through the simple pleasure of hearing a story and sharing our thoughts in a group setting; choosing books to read in the classroom; and fun activities that let us grow as learners.
Class visits to the library give students the opportunity to explore and learn more about the ideas and concepts that inspire and interest them. The faculty and I collaborate to extend what students are learning in class through library activities. Library centers and makerspaces let students take charge of their own learning and explore STREAM concepts, practice library skills, and conduct research. Author visits inspire our students to read and write, and show them that authors are real people!
My goal is to inspire students to be lifelong readers and library lovers, and I hope each student has that wonderful experience of finding that book that “hooks” them on reading before they leave Thornhill Elementary.
Donations!
Our library could always use new books! Please consider donating to the library, and check out our robust Amazon Wish List to see which titles we would love to have on our shelves!
Thank you to James Yokomizo and family for donating: The Book of Mistakes; How to Get Your Teacher Ready; Now; This is How We Do It; Today; Fall is for School; Tinyville Town, Time for School! And thank you to Preston and Hayden Chin and family for donating: The Great Pet Escape; What Were the Twin Towers?; My Weird School, Class Pet Mess!; Dog Man, A Tale of Two Kitties.
Happy Reading,
Maura Hennessy
Librarian
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Bollywood Party!
Welcome back to school with the first adult auction party of the 2017-18 year!
Cancel that Air India flight and come party at Club Bombay Beats!!! (aka Fairlane Drive). Enjoy a night of Bollywood hits and hot Bhangra music with dance lesson! There will be a dance floor, heavy Indian snacks, and tasty exotic drinks.
Date: September 16
Time: 7:30-11pm
Location: Chera Residence
Price: $60
Availability: 50 tickets
Hosted by: Thornhill Bollywood Crew: Chera, Desai, Jiwani/Daya, Lau/Sharma, Neurgaonkar/Moorthy, Sudat and Patel families
Link to buy: https://thornhill. schoolauction.net/auction2017/ catalog/show/249
Contact for more info: Jyoti at jchera@gmail.com or Sujata at sujatan@hotmail.com
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Cub Scouts - New Family Information Night
Be Adventurous. Build Self-Esteem. Make Friends.
The goal of Cub Scouting is to develop outdoors skills, while building leadership traits, being respectful to others, doing community service, and increasing personal achievement.
And Cub Scouting is also about having fun.
Scouting activities might include:
- Gaining outdoor skills and learning from nature
- Games, Crafts, Archery, Service Projects
- Pinewood Derby: design, build & race your own model car
- Staying overnight on USS Pampanito Submarine
- Camping, Hiking, Summer Camp options & more
When: Thursday, September 14, 2017 at 6:30 pm
Where: Chabot Elementary Multi-Purpose Room, 6686 Chabot Rd
Serving the Montclair and Rockridge area for over 80 years, Pack 202 welcomes boys in grades 1-5 and their participating families of all backgrounds and compositions to join the fun. Come learn more about Scouting at our new family information night.
For more information please contact Pack 202 at pack202oakland@gmail.com.
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Dates To Remember...
There is no end the activities and events going on at Thornhill, and you can always find information about what's going on at the school by visiting the calendar page of the school website.
In the meantime, here are a few upcoming dates to keep in mind...
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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, VPs of Communications Erin Proudfoot and Pamela Schwartz, 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