Thornhill Elementary PFC Newsletter
Volume 28, Issue 31, March 30, 2021
In This Issue (bolded items are new contributions for this week)
Note from our Principal
ParentSquare and Re-opening Communications
Did Someone say Party? And Other Auction Updates
Read-a-Thon Update and April 1st Assembly
Library Donations
Thornhill is Hiring!
Taps and Takeout...a Huge Success!
How to Become an OUSD Substitute Teacher
California Healthy Kids Parent Survey
OUSD Family Resources
OUSD Announcements
Individual Class Printed Packets
Calendar of Important Dates
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A Note from our Principal
Dear Thornhill Community,
Thank you for your patience and flexibility as we welcome back our Thunderbirds for the first day of in-person school in a year! Super huge thanks to Christa Pennacchio who supported the traffic. And a huge thank you to third grade teacher Teresa Contreras, our school site safety lead. Lastly, our members of the school safety team, who have been planning with us for weeks:
Sherry Kaetzel
Lisette Ruane (Zettie)
Bree Lancaster
Coach Zach Johnson
Yvette Russell
Tracy Arrowsmith
Siobhan Cushing
Ali Metzler
Susie Gelbron
A HUGE thanks to our custodians, Dejaun Love and Deandre Sullivan, for getting our school clean!
I am happy to report that we completed our health screening process and had everyone in the gate by 12:37pm on day one! Clearly our group A folks were prepared and had their ParentSquare app visible. Thanks, this really helps us to be efficient.
Day 1 = Joy and happiness reigned supreme as students reconnected with their teachers and classmates!
Thank you all for being such a wonderful community!
Mr. Daubenspeck
P.S. Next week is Spring Break! Enjoy your time away - including time away from this newsletter. There won't be a newsletter next week!
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ParentSquare and Re-opening Communications
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Did Someone Say "Party"? And Other Auction Updates
Hello families,
Spring has sprung! And that means Thornhill's annual auction is just around the corner. The auction will be virtual this year, which means you can attend in your PJs and don't need a babysitter!
The Auction is Saturday, May 1st at 6pm so please mark it on your calendar.
There are a few virtual parties this year as well, like a Harry Potter virtual tour of London that happens this Wednesday, March 31, at 3:30pm. Click here to purchase a ticket for your family - we still have plenty of room!
There are also virtual escape rooms for the kiddos, one for grades 2-3 and one for grades 4-5. Plus, take a look at the auction website to see the adults-only virtual events, like whiskey tasting (5 spots left!) and a Mai Tai Magic Show.
Other exciting news is that we will be raffling a Peloton Bike, so get ready to purchase tickets and tell your family and friends! The price is $50 for 1 ticket for $50 or $200 for 5 tickets - that's 5 tickets for the price of 4 so you can donate one to OUSD staff or keep it for yourself.
Important Auction News:
Register - for free - for our May Day live virtual auction on Saturday, May 1 at 6pm!
Sign up you and your kiddos for a virtual Harry Potter Tour that takes place this Wednesday, March 31 at 3:30pm! --> THAT'S TOMORROW!
Did you know that Thornhill has an Instagram account? Follow it for more information at @thornhillpfc!
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Read-a-Thon Update & April Fools Assembly
All of our Thunderbirds should be incredibly proud of the amazing work they have put into this year’s Read-a-thon! I am genuinely blown away by the time these students have been putting into this, and also deeply grateful for all of the support from the whole community.
Current standings:
Readers registered: 287
Raised more than an incredible $29,000
Read more than 150,000 minutes as a school community!
It’s no April Fool’s Joke: please save the date!
Thursday, April 1st at 5pm, Ms. Calkins and Ms. Fox will host a fun celebration of all that our readers have accomplished. (Zoom info in Konstella)
Be prepared for some wacky events to take place to celebrate! Teachers will be getting pies in faces! Eggs on heads?! Spinning on heads?
Come dressed as a favorite book character!
Share images of your student reading during the Read-a-thon, please send them to marie.fox@ousd.org or drop them here, we will share them during the celebration!
Listen to a reading from Thornhill parent and author Claudia Walker, of her book The ABCs of HBCUs.
A reminder that prizes for 500 and 1000 minutes read (Zoom celebrations of lunch with the librarian and a movie) will take place after spring break, so that all who meet those levels will be able to participate!
Happy Reading!
Ms. Fox, Librarian
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Library Donations
A sincere thank you to the following families who have donated amazing new books for our library - I can't wait to share these with our students!
The Oh Family
The Pullman Family
The Yokomizo Family
Thank you for all of the incredible support!
Mrs. Fox, Librarian
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Thornhill is Hiring!
The PFC is currently hiring for Teacher's Aides to help with in-person school! Resumes or questions can be sent to the PFC at: personnel@thornhillschool.org.
Thank you,
Rachel Gardunio, PFC VP of Personnel
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Taps and Takeout....a Huge Success!
The 3 Day Event was a great success! Here's a breakdown of the revenue generated each night.
Tuesday: $1239
Wednesday: $992
Thursday: $1040
Total: $3271
Check to Thornhill = $655 (20%)
Our three fundraiser Take Out events in 2021 have generated as follows for a grand total of $1,265!
$300 Pattys & Buns
$310 Montesacro Pinseria
$655 Taps & Take Out
Thank you!
Christina Gibbons, Merchant Partnerships Coordinator
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How to Become an OUSD Substitute Teacher
A great way to help our teachers, school and community is to become a substitute for OUSD. The process is fairly simple and right now we're at an all-time low for humans that can step into a classroom to give our hardworking teachers a break! This is the single most effective thing you can do to help out in a BIG way. If you’re interested and have a college degree, just follow these steps:
Register for the CBEST Test
Check the OUSD hiring page for information on how to apply to be a sub
Once you're done, make sure you let Thornhill know you're ready to go! Any questions about the process can be directed to Alicia Streight, astreight@gmail.com. With the in-person school announcement this past weekend, we know some parents are itching to volunteer and/or give money to help the cause. Becoming a substitute is one of the ways, but we know many won’t be able to pursue this option. Please hang tight as we work with Mr. Daubenspeck to see if, and then how, parents might be able to help. There will be a QuickDrop volunteer opportunity!
Thanks,
Alicia Streight
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California Healthy Kids Parent Survey (CHKS)
Please complete the CHKS 2021 Parent Survey! This survey is an opportunity for you to help Thornhill by sharing your opinions about it. We want to learn about this school’s efforts to promote academic success and well-being for every student. We also want to know how well the school is supporting you to be a true partner in your child’s education. If you have more than one child at this school, you may either fill out a separate survey for each child or just focus on the experience of one of your children at Thornhill.
Thank you,
Sherry Kaetzel, Thornhill Secretary
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OUSD Family Resources
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OUSD Announcements
Please find OUSD announcements and events here, including past Info and a recorded webinar on the re-opening this week and Fall planning.
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Individual Class Printed Packets
If your teacher tells you that printed materials need to be picked up, they will continue to be in the same spot — on the fence near the TK trailer and the Alhambra entrance.
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Calendar
March 15 - April 2: Read-A-Thon - sign up your student!
Tuesday, March 30: In-Person School start date for TK-2nd and priority students
Wednesday, March 31: Auction Meeting (7-8pm, see Konstella for info)
Thursday, April 1: Read-A-Thon Wrap-Up celebration (5-6pm, Zoom info in Konstella)
Monday, April 5 - Friday, April 9: SPRING BREAK!
Monday, April 12: PFC Meeting (5:30-7pm, see Konstella for info)
Saturday, April 17: Thornhill Family Trivia Night (more details to come)
Monday, April 19: In-Person School start date for 3rd-5th
Saturday, May 1: Virtual Benefit Auction for Thornhill
Be sure also to subscribe to the Thornhill Google Calendar here, and download the OUSD District calendar here.
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About the Thornhill Newsletter
The Thornhill Parent-Faculty Club (PFC) eNews team publishes this weekly newsletter each Tuesday in the school year to communicate school, PFC and OUSD news, events and information.
Email submissions to our Newsletter Chair, Jill Evans, at newsletter@thornhillschool.org by 8 p.m. Thursday for approval—nothing sent after this will be included in the following week’s newsletter unless there are extremely compelling extenuating circumstances. It’s fine to include text in the body of the email with links and no formatting, and attach 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 and items not related to Thornhill are not accepted, as we need to keep the newsletter focused on need-to-know info for the community.
THANK YOU to everyone who submits articles and to PFC Board Members, Teachers, VPs of Communications Erin Proudfoot & Evie Nagy, PFC Presidents Rex Crum & Alicia Streight, and Principal Steve Daubenspeck. Member of Oakland Unified School District (OUSD).
Email: webmaster@thornhillschool.org
Website: thornhillschool.org
Location: 5880 Thornhill Drive, Oakland, CA, USA
Phone: 510-339-6800