Thornhill Elementary PFC Newsletter
Volume 25, Issue 4, September 22, 2017
Back To School Donation Drive Update
Thank you so much to the families who have already donated to this year's Back-To-School fundraising drive!
So far, 29 percent of our Thornhill families have participated and we have raised over $92,000! We are now halfway to our BSDD goal. The momentum is great!
Ms. LaFleur’s class and Mr. Thompson’s class tied highest participation rate at the halfway mark last week with 60 percent of their families participating! Way to set the pace for the rest of us!
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Konstella Rollout Update...
Thornhill’s new communication platform, Konstella is officially rolling out on Monday, September 25!
What to look for:
The primary parent/guardian whose email was listed in registration forms will receive a welcome email. Once you click on the link to join, you will be prompted to create a password and edit your privacy settings. From there, you can browse through the calendar and newsfeed as well as your child's class directory. You may also invite significant others to join the Konstella community by clicking on the “invite” button.
There's more info and screenshots on our website!
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, we hope that Konstella will eventually be the primary platform for teacher communications. However, for now, teachers will utilize their preferred existing methods, with Konstella as an option.
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.
This is what the Konstella invitation will look like
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Blueprint For Quality Schools--OUSD Survey
OUSD needs your input!
OUSD hosted a series of Blueprint for Quality Schools meetings last week. If you weren’t able to join, you can still provide your input! Please complete an online survey so that OUSD leadership can understand your priorities for our school sites over the next five years.
Go to www.ousd.org/blueprintsurvey to complete an online survey by Monday, September 25. Your input will help inform options that OUSD considers including:
Changing school buildings
Expanding, merging or closing schools
Changing the way the Central Office supports schools
Survey results and proposed options will be shared at community dialogues in early December. Please go to www.ousd.org/blueprintforquality to learn more and download the materials from last week’s meetings. Questions? Please email blueprintforquality@ousd.org.
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Library News!
The start of the school year has brought on a steady current of book donations to the library. These great titles were chosen from the Thornhill Library Amazon Wish List!
The students and I wish to thank the following for their thoughtful and generous library donations:
James Yokomizo and family for Shark Lady; How to Read A Story; Little i; The Sound of Silence; What Do You Do With A Problem?; and The Quest for Z
Ella Olofsen and family for Jabari Jumps; Super Saurus Saves Kindergarten; How to Find Gold; and What Do You Do With an Idea?
Audrey Oh and family for The Great Pasta Escape, and Another Way to Climb a Tree
Hannes and Anna Doeppner and family for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child; Beautiful Blue World; Threads of Blue; and The Book No One Ever Read
Luukas and Tuuli Rinta and family for The Chilly Adventures of Mr. Small, and Good Night, Planet
A Mystery Donor for donating Dory Dory Black Sheep; Eerie Elementary, The Science Fair is Freaky!; Eerie Elementary, School Freezes Over!; Ralph Tells a Story; and Hello Universe. If you are the mystery donor, please let me know so that I can make a spiffy label with your student’s name on it to affix to the inside cover of the book!
Keep in mind that the library will also accept used titles in good condition from the Wish List. Many great copies are available at lower prices!
Happy Reading,
Maura Hennessy
Librarian
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Dads Club
The Thornhill Dads Club invites you and your children to join us for this year's first, Movie Night!
Please save Friday, October 20, from 7-9 pm. Parents can use this as a date night and drop off your children or join us in the Multi-Purpose room at school. More details to follow.
Also, join us every third Thursday at Monaghan's on the Hill for our monthly meeting/social as we discuss all the upcoming events for the year!
If you can't make it to our meetings or events, support us by purchasing a Dad's club T-shirt.
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Dates To Remember...
If you ever need to find out what's going on at Thornhill, you can always find information by visiting the calendar page of the school website.
In the meantime...Keep in mind these upcoming events in October:
Friday, October 6: Science Collaboration (minimum day)
Monday, October 9: PFC Meeting (6-7:30pm)
Friday, October 13: Staff Development Day (no school)
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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