Thornhill Elementary PFC Newsletter
Volume 28, Issue 29, March 16, 2021
In This Issue (bolded items are new contributions for this week)
Note from our Principal
Spirit Wear Pickup Date Change → Wednesday!
May Day, May Day! Save the Date!
Read-a-Thon Update
Need Help with Sora for Library?
3 Nights: Taps & Take Out PFC Fundraiser - March 23, 24, 25
How to Become an OUSD Substitute Teacher
California Healthy Kids Parent Survey
Kindergarten Heritage Dolls
OUSD Family Resources
OUSD Announcements
Individual Class Packets
Calendar of Important Dates
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A Note from our Principal
Dear Thornhill Families,
I am certain that you have heard about the tentative agreement between OUSD and OEA. I have not yet learned of details regarding the opening of school and unfortunately do not have new information to report at this time. Rest assured, I have been working on this for Thornhill for some time now. When we have clarity from OUSD regarding the details of reopening, I will get you all that information as soon as possible.
As you can imagine, there are a lot of moving parts to juggle and my goal is to communicate in a clear and timely manner with you. I suspect that I will be learning a lot more this week, as details will be forthcoming once we know if OEA has ratified this agreement. I will be meeting with staff and am confident that with the support of OUSD we will have a plan to reopen safely.
While we see this as an exciting time to get our kids back in person, we are also aware that not having a lot of information is challenging. I want to thank you for your patience and understanding as we navigate this new phase of returning to school.
Due to necessary teacher planning time for the possible reopening of TK-2nd on March 30th, there will be no report card conferences next week. The scheduled minimum days of March 22-March 26th will still be in effect in order to support teachers’ classroom and curriculum preparation. Thank you for your understanding and flexibility.
Best,
Mr. Daubenspeck
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Quick Note from the PFC
With the tentative in-person school announcement yesterday, we know some parents are itching to volunteer and/or give money to help the cause. Becoming a substitute is one of the ways (information in this newsletter), 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.
THANK YOU PARENTS & FAMILIES!!!
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Spirit Wear Pickup Date Change → Wednesday!
We have to change the pickup date for Spirit Wear and the annual fund donation gift. Looks like it’ll be raining all day Thursday, so we’ll be doing it tomorrow, Wednesday, March 17 from 3-6pm instead.
Come to the Thornhill Drive side playground entrance, and get ready to be decked out!
See you there!
Nisan Perera and Kay Chinn, Spirit Wear Co-chairs
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May Day, May Day! Our Virtual Auction will be on Saturday, May 1 - Save the Date!
What's the time? It's auction time!
Kind of like Hammer Time. And really, it's all about MAY Day.
Because it's also SOS time.
It's time to GIVE a little to GET a LOT.
We need your help and we need your support to provide the kids with the AMAZING experience we all want for them. Please click on all these links to learn more:
Please join us every Wednesday at 7 pm for an hour to help keep our community strong. See Konstella for Zoom details. Or, take 2 minutes to fill out the survey that came out on Konstella.
Also, save the date for our super fun Trivia night on Saturday, April 17 at 5pm. More details to come!
Cheers,
Maya Hiersoux, Benefit Auction Chair
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Read-a-Thon Update
On our second day of the Read-a-thon we already have:
226 readers registered.
Raised over $11,000!!!
Read more than 19,000 minutes as a school community: Wow!
You can still join! sign your student up here!
Readers can earn prizes:
"Bookworms" for all who sign up are available on Alhambra Lane (contact marie.fox@ousd.org if you need an alternative to traditional gummy worms).
Hit 500 minutes read and they can join a celebratory zoom lunch with the librarian!
Hit 1000 minutes read and they can join a celebratory zoom movie watching party!
Each classroom's winners of the most minutes read and the most funds raised will get a giftcard to a local bookstore.
Teachers will do silly things to keep everyone motivated!
Check out more information and find resources to keep your readers engaged here.
Let's keep this momentum going, and read, Thunderbirds, read!
Marie Fox, Librarian
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Need Help with Sora for Library?
Sora Office Hours:
Ms. Fox will be available for anyone who has questions about Sora or needs help using it! Parents, teachers and students are all welcome to stop by during this time to learn about the e-book app.
Wednesday, March 17 from 1:45-2:15pm: Zoom info on Konstella
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3 Nights: Taps and Take Out Fundraiser - March 23, 24, 25
We are heading back to Taps and Take Out for a fundraiser over three (3) nights in order to lighten the load on the staff and reduce wait times for orders. They are graciously donating 20% of orders for these nights back to Thornhill PFC. There will be limited indoor and outdoor seating for those who want to enjoy a socially distant meal out of the house.
Tuesday, March 23rd: TK-1st grade families (4-8pm)
Wednesday, March 24th: 2nd-3rd grade families (4-8pm)
Thursday, March 25th: 4th-5th grade families (3:30-8pm)
Order online or by phone.
If you have children in multiple grades on different nights, no stress, choose the night that is best for you, or come twice! If you can't make your scheduled night, please still come out on another night.
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 tentative in-person school announcement yesterday, 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.
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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Kindergarten Heritage Dolls
Are you a new family to Thornhill? Did your child arrive to our school community after Kindergarten and would you like them to have a Heritage Doll hung in the Multipurpose Room? We want to make sure every Thornhill child/family is represented on the walls of the Multipurpose Room! When students return to campus, the dolls will be there, ready to greet them.
All Heritage Dolls will be due the last week of March. Email bonnie.forbes@ousd.org for more information.
Thank you!
Bonnie Forbes, Kindergarten Teacher
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OUSD Family Resources
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OUSD Announcements
Please find OUSD announcements and events here, including past Info and Listening sessions about reopening and insight from the medical community.
OUSD Reopening Info Sessions
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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
- Wednesday, March 17: Spirit Wear Pick-Up (3-6pm, Thornhill Drive)
- Wednesday, March 17: Auction Meeting (7-8pm, see Konstella for info)
- March 15 - April 2: Read-A-Thon - sign up your student!
- Monday, March 22 - Friday, March 26: Minimum Days for teacher planning (no parent teacher conferences)
- Tuesday, March 23 - Thursday, March 25: Take Out for Thornhill: Taps and Takeout (see Konstella for info)
Monday, March 29: NO SCHOOL for Cesar Chavez Day
Tuesday, March 30: (Potential) In-Person School start date for TK-2nd and priority students
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: (Potential) 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