Weekly Roar
Weekly Roar, April 25, 2024
Letter from the Principal
Dear Loyola families…
It’s the countdown for the 2024 LASD Junior Olympics! We are only two days away from this annual event that has been in a tradition in our district for over 60 years! This year, it takes place at Los Altos HS on Saturday, April 27th. Opening ceremonies begin at 9:00 am and then our 4th, 5th and 6th graders will compete in various events against students from all of our other elementary schools. If you do not have a child in any of those grade levels, you are still invited to attend this wonderful community event and cheer on our athletes! I hope to see you there!
In other news, I ask you all to join me in congratulating our Loyola Employees of the Year! We are so proud of them and happy for them! They will be recognized at our district-wide staff event on May 1st.
Teacher of the Year: Mrs. Cassie Kavanagh, 3rd grade teacher
Classified Employee of the Year: Mrs. Kim Guesman, Librarian
Switching gears, LASD would like to engage you in providing feedback about our draft strategic plan/LCAP to continue to provide a world-class education for our students. Your feedback is very much appreciated and will be used to inform the goals, actions, and services provided in the Los Altos School District.
Please click here to complete the survey. The survey will close on Monday, May 6th, 2024. Thank you for taking the time to complete this survey. Your voice is critical, valued and appreciated.
And finally, as an important reminder, our 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th graders have begun taking the CAASPP, our State testing. As mentioned in early communications, please make every effort to have your child here and on time each day. Thank you.
Please see below for some more important information about our school.
Wishing you all a wonderful weekend and sending my very best.
In service to you,
Mr. Julian
Principal
Golden Lion Paw Award Winners
Each Friday at our weekly assembly, we award students who are displaying behavior that aligns with our Character Trait of the Month. They receive a Golden Lion Paw Award. Each week moving forward, I will provide you with each class’s winner and the description for why each winner was selected. Here are last week’s winners! Congratulations to each of them.
Quick Dates
April 27: Junior Olympics (4-6th)
May 18: Los Altos Pet Parade @ 10am
May 21: Spring Music Concert
May 23: Open House
May 24: Minimum Day (Dismissal at 12:15)
May 27: Memorial Day (NO SCHOOL)
May 31: Minimum Day (Dismissal at 12:15)
June 5th: Last Day of School
PTA Corner
On your marks! Get set! Go! Junior Olympics is this weekend and we’re so excited! This incredibly fun day is a fantastic district-wide event! It’s a chance for our children to compete in the athletic events of their choice; to showcase the hard work they’ve put in training for their events. It’s a chance for our athletes to bond together as a team and show us all how strong their school spirit and Lion pride is. And it’s a chance for us parents to come together to support our athletes and show how strong our Loyola Community is! And, we need YOUR help with the Loyola hospitality tent, opening ceremony, and clean-up. Please sign-up here if you can volunteer!
We’ll see you all this Saturday, April 27th, 8am-4pm, at Los Altos High School as we cheer on all the athletes competing and representing Loyola. Come early as parking is limited at the high school (overflow parking will be available at Almond Elementary and the Community Center). For more information, please check out the LASD Junior Olympics website here. GO LIONS!
Donate to LAEF to fund PE teachers and more! We still need to raise $200,000 for this school year. In addition to preparing our students for this week’s LASD Junior Olympics, our PE teachers help all TK-6th grade students learn a wide variety of physical and social-emotional skills. Find out How LAEF Funding Works and why your financial support is the only way to fund teachers in our district. This year we are currently $200,000 below our goal. Future LASD staffing decisions are made based on the amount of funding LAEF can provide to our school district this year.
Take advantage of our Challenge Match!
Thanks to the generosity of four families, every dollar you donate to LAEF today will get DOUBLED, up to $32,000 through May 31, 2024. Donations of any amount and type will get doubled, including cash, checks, donor-advised funds, stock, and those made through employer-giving portals.
We’re looking for additional representatives from Loyola to serve on the LAEF Board for the 2024-25 school year Join a fantastic group of parents representing each of our nine LASD schools. If you are interested in learning more about this important opportunity, please reach out to your Loyola LAEF Board representative, Nita Poloju, at LoyolaReps@LAEFonline.org.
Library Corner
Our TK-3rd grade students were treated to a special visit from author/illustrator Ben Clanton last Friday, April 19th. A big thank-you to Linden Tree Books for bringing Ben to our campus. Please see the video below for a sneak peek into Ben's lively presentation.
77th Annual Los Altos Pet Parade!
Join the Loyola Elementary Group and march in the parade on Saturday, May 18 in downtown Los Altos. Please join the Loyola community as we march with our pets at the 2024 Kiwanis Pet Parade (meeting location will be disclosed once we know it)! The Parade starts promptly at 10am. This is a beloved community tradition since 1948, the Los Altos Kiwanis Pet Parade is a celebration that attracts thousands of people every year, along with their pets, wagons, bicycles, parents and neighbors. Hundreds of kids and their dogs, cats, birds, chickens – participate, (no horses, unfortunately), as well as youth groups, marching bands and dignitaries in vintage cars. For details go to: https://downtownlosaltos.org/event/los-altos-kiwanis-pet-parade/
LIVING CLASSROOM GARDEN HELP NEEDED!
Want to help make our school gardens look great? With all of the recent rains, Living Classroom can really use some help keeping up with the weeds in both the edible and native gardens at all of our schools. This could be a fun social event for parents at drop off time once a week or perhaps at lunchtime when the kids could be given some direction and help out. Weekend help is also welcome. We are also looking for folks to continue to help care for the school gardens over the summer. Please contact Living Classroom Garden Manager Sandi Elefant if you can lend a hand!
770 Berry Avenue ・ Los Altos, CA 94040 ・ 650-254-2400