Thornhill Elementary PFC Newsletter
Volume 26, Issue 19, December 18, 2018
From the Principal
Dear Thunderbird Families,
We are all as excited as you to have a Winter Recess. As you can imagine our staff has worked very hard to make Thornhill the wonderful place that it is. But is time for us to take in the holidays and recharge. We hope you all get to do the same and perhaps enjoy some winter activities. And just a note that we’re taking a two-week break from the newsletter, so the next one you’ll get will be on Tuesday, January 8. Wishing you all a beautiful holiday season. See you next year!!
Sincerely,
Mr. Daubenspeck
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Enrichment Performances Tomorrow!
Enrichment wrap-up performances will be on Wednesday, December 19th.
3:45 - 4:00 3 O'clock Rock
4:05 - 4:35 African Dance
4:40 - 4:55 Martial Arts
5:00 - 5:15 Jazz Band
6:30 - 7:30 Doug's Drama (1-2) Performance
Come and support all the hard work our students put into their classes!
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Help Make the Thornhill Auction Amazing!
Calling all volunteers! The next Auction Committee Meeting is Thursday, December 20 at 6pm. We'll meet at Peet's in Montclair Village (2066 Antioch Court, Oakland, CA 94611). We need a Volunteer Coordinator, Sponsorship Lead, Games Coordinator, Experiences Lead and help procuring donations. Please join the fun...coffee's on us!
--Kim Olofsen & Kay Chinn, Auction Co-Chairs
P.S. Auction date is Saturday, March 2!
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Adventure Time Families!
For AT Families interested in contributing towards a collection for staff holiday gifts, there is a PayPal pool setup here to collect funds. It will be open through Wednesday, December 19 at 5pm.
The fund will be divided evenly across all 8 staff with gift cards (likely Amazon or Visa).
Also, there is a card in the AT portable near the sign-out binders; we invite everyone to sign and express your well-wishes for our AT staff to have a wonderful winter break.
Thank you!
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More amazing Winter Host-a-Party events are available!
Maybe you still need to get a gift for your kid(s) this holiday, or maybe you just need some pampering and want to reconnect with friends after all the holiday madness. How about purchase a ticket to join the Thornhill Pedi-Party for Kids and Parents? Or sign up to decorate gluten-free Valentine cookies with a new Thornhill parent, Jessica Weiss. The benefit of giving these great gifts is that you will also be supporting our efforts to raise the much needed funds to keep our Thornhill programs going and make our school great.
January 11: Pedi-Party for Kids and Parents, 6:30pm. Click here to purchase tickets.
February 9: Valentines Cookie Decorating Party, 2:00pm-4:00pm. Click here to purchase tickets.
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Congratulations Walkathon Fundraisers!
Thank you to everyone who walked, donated, volunteered and gathered pledges for our 2018 Turkey Trot Walkathon: We earned almost $22,000 for PE, art, classroom aides, and music, library and computer classes. Well done!
Congratulations as well to the kids who won across many categories!
Class with the highest Walkathon participation - Ms. Steimle's Kindergarten class (100%) - you earned a class otter pop party!
Class with the most laps walked - Mr. Wilkins' 5th grade class walked the most laps (554 laps) - you earned a class otter pop party!
Top fundraiser student - Lillian R. ($690) - you earned a Thunderbird Spirit wear pack (will be delivered to your classroom on Fri 12/21)!
TK students with most laps walked - Ari K., Asher L., Reza D. had a 3-way tie (15 laps each)
Kindergarten student with most laps walked - Eleanor C. (37 laps)
1st grade student with most laps walked - Sutton N. (54 laps)
2nd grade student with most laps walked - Ty S. (64 laps)
3rd grade student with most laps walked - Julian T. (64 laps)
4th grade student with most laps walked - Wonder K. (62 laps)
5th grade student with most laps walked - Zoe P. (76 laps) and Zoe walked more laps than any other student! You win a $25 Toy Store Gift Card in your classroom this Friday 12/21!
Students who raised $100 or more will receive a Thornhill Drawstring Bag in their classrooms this Friday 12/21.
Students who raised $250 or more will receive a Thornhill Drawstring Bag AND a Thornhill Water Bottle in their classrooms this Friday 12/21.
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New Enrichment Registration System!
It's that time of year for our next round of enrichment! To streamline our booking, we are excited to announce that we have adopted a new registration system that will allow us to sign up and track all enrichment classes in one place, online. (Woo hoo!)
On Monday, January 7 at 7:00am, enrichment enrollment will open here. The *only* way to register for classes is online through this new system, so everyone will have an equal chance to sign up for classes. (Can we get another Woo hoo!)
In advance of enrollment opening, feel free to create an account, view the schedule, and add your children into your account. There are a few classes still coming in, but everything will be finalized by January 7.
How to book classes:
Visit https://www.joinhomeroom.com/sites/thornhill-elementary-oakland
While viewing classes, you can filter by grade or day of the week at the top.
To learn more about a program, click “See Details” which will provide you with more information on the course and the company leading it.
When enrollment opens and you’re ready to book, click “add” and you’ll notice the course turn teal and a number pop up in your cart (upper right hand corner) Note: You can add all your classes and students at once and will be asked to assign classes to specific students once you check out.
Once you’re done selecting classes, click your cart button (upper right hand corner) and you’ll be prompted to review your selections.
At checkout, you’ll then assign students to each class as well as their dismissal for that day.
Once all information has been added, you’ll finalize your purchase by adding in your credit card (note: if you are a scholarship student, you will be provided a code to book the class at zero cost).
Lastly, once all classes have been booked, you’ll be able to see them in your Homeroom account and add them to your calendar.
Look out for a confirmation email that gets sent immediately after purchase and as a reminder 48 hours before class starts.
If you ever have any questions or need to support, feel free to use the chat box in the lower right hand corner on the site.
Scholarship
If you are interested in applying for a scholarship, all program providers will offer one full scholarship per session, awarded on a need-based honor system. Need is defined as children who would otherwise not be able to afford the After-School Program. You may begin submitting your request for the scholarship form from Sally NOW. Request period will close on Thursday, January 10, Scholarships are awarded on a first come first serve basis. Please email Sally at sally.bonini@sbcglobal.net with “scholarship” in the subject line.
We're looking forward to another great season!
Best,
The Enrichment Team
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It’s Time to Enroll in OUSD if you are starting at a new school!
Enrollment Season opened on Nov. 5, 2018 and closes on February 8, 2019.
If you have a child entering TK or Kindergarten, please go to: https://www.ousd.org/domain/159 and enroll your student. Please let any of your neighbors know before it is too late.
If you have a kid NOT in TK or Kindergarten returning to Thornhill, there is nothing for you to do now. Sherry will send an "are you returning?" form in late Spring.
We have one last informational meeting on Thursday, January 17 from 6:30-7:30pm for new parents interested in Thornhill. No RSVP is required. Adults only.
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Calendar
The website always has the latest calendar information, and here's what's coming up!
Wednesday, December 19: Winter Music Performance (9am, grades TK-2)
Wednesday, December 19: Enrichment Wrap-Up Performances (3:45-5:30pm)
Friday, December 21: Last Day of Fall PFC Enrichment Classes
Monday, December 24 - Friday, January 4: Winter Break (no school)
Monday, January 7: Back to school, enrichment enrollment opens at 7am
Monday, January 21: MLK Holiday (no school)
Tuesday, January 22: Spring Enrichment Classes Begin
Friday, January 25: Staff Development Day (no school)
Be sure also to download the OUSD District calendar here and subscribe to our Google 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, Evie Nagy, at newsletter@thornhillschool.org by 3 p.m. Thursday for approval—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.
THANK YOU to everyone who submits articles and to PFC Board Members, Teachers, VP of Communications Erin Proudfoot, PFC President Rex Crum, 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