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PFC President's Message
November 2017 President's Message
Holiday Greetings and #GivingTuesday Can you believe we are at the end of our first trimester, and running headlong into parent/teacher conferences the busy holiday season? I am so thankful for the generous spirit of our parents who have made some really fabulous things happen at our school this year. Our reading and math specialists are hard at work helping our students gain confidence and improve their skills. Our Co-Lab and Science teachers have been busy leading all of our kids through hand-on experiments and robot-building. And, our chorus and music instructors are teaching the fine arts of performance and music appreciation.
Thank you again, to everyone who makes our PFC so successful. I hope the holiday season is full of positive and memorable events for everyone! Cheers! Jill Ridlehoover PFC President 2017-18 |
In the spirit of #GivingTuesday, I would also like to remind you about the 
Also in the Spirit of Giving, each year our parents generously support our December 
PFC President's Message - September 22, 2017
Happy First Day of Fall, Ya'll! Here we are, at the end of our 4th week of school and the first day of Fall. Your Parent Faculty Club has been busy kicking off the school year and getting ready for many events and activities. I am so impressed with the many parents who have taken the lead in so many different roles - from figuring out how to be an incredible Room Parent to learning how to lead an Art Awareness session to organizing our important fund raisers. Our parents are doing an amazing job of making things happen. Thank you! It is our goal to provide something that appeals to and inspires each person, so you and your children will feel included in and proud to be a part of our community. Now that parents are getting settled into the groove of the fall schedule, I’ve had several of you stop me to ask how you can help out at school. There are many ways you can help, from a few hours helping with Picture Day or at Lunch Patrol or helping with Kindergarten stations, to coordinating some of our larger events. Whether you have a few spare hours or even more, there’s always something you can do to contribute to our incredible Walnut Acres Community. Here is a list of options, complete with links so you can easily sign up now… Daily School Community Needs: Picture Day Helpers: Next week, Monday and Tuesday, Sept 25 and 26. We need a few more parents to help the photographers at Picture Days. From 8:00 am - noon, you will collect students from the classrooms and then keep them in order and on task while they wait to be photographed. If you help for 3 hours or more, you will get $35 off your photo order. Picture Day Sign Up. Drive Thru Greeter: Each month, a different grade is responsible for helping at the Drive Thru from 7:40 - 8:00 am. Click on the links below to sign up for a few days during your month(s): Lunch Patrol: Lunch Patrol/First Aid volunteers are needed Monday thru Friday (except Wednesdays) from 11:20 am -1 pm. During the shifts, every volunteer will help keep children safe in the lunchroom and on the playground. One of the volunteers will also be asked to help with the First Aid cart. We ask that each family volunteer for Lunch Duty a minimum of 3 times per school year. For those new to Lunch Patrol/First Aid, click on the sign up link for more information. Lunch Patrol Sign Up. Rainy Day Helpers: When rainy days (or extra HOT days) come, we depend on parents to help supervise students in the classrooms during lunchtime. This list is for parents who cannot commit to a specific day, but would like to be notified on any day that Lunch Helpers are needed. The office will send a message when parents are needed on a particular day and you can come help if you are available. Rainy Day Sign Up. Community Service Activities: Community Service Day: Come support Walnut Creek Community Service Day by helping out at our school on Saturday, October 14, from 9:00 am - noon. All participants must sign up on the City of Walnut Creek's Community Service Day website which includes all the project details and required registration information. This year's Walnut Acres projects are Updating the Landscaping in the Kindergarten/1st Grade classroom area and Repainting the Map and Checkerboard on the Blacktop. If you have landscaping or painting expertise and are available to be a team lead, please contact Courtney at communityserviceday@walnutacrespfc.net. Toy and Clothing Drive: each year in December, we hold a Toy and Clothing Drive to collect gently used toys and clothing to donate to another MDUSD elementary school, Shore Acres in Bay Point. If you are cleaning out clothes and toys, please put them aside so you can pass them to other local kids in December. Community Events: Walk and Roll to School Day, Wednesday, October 4th is Walnut Acres first Walk & Roll to School Day of the new school year. We will be celebrating National Walk to School Day that day, along with Foothill Middle School. And, for this event, we will be celebrating the completion of the Safe Routes to Schools construction around Walnut Acres and Foothill schools, much of which was accomplished by parents like you voicing their concerns and working with the City of Walnut Creek to make much needed improvements in our walking and biking school routes. If you would like to help with this event, please sign up! Walk and Roll Sign Up. Community Events that Need Leaders: Carnival: As many of you are aware, we are not currently planning to hold our annual Fall Carnival this year. We were unable to find a team to coordinate the carnival, HOWEVER, if there are some parents out there who really want to to make a Fall Community Event happen this year, we do still have Sunday, October 22 open! One idea that has been discussed is a variation on the carnival that includes a Bike Rodeo and a Climbing Wall (we have the contacts for you), as well as a small assortment of some of our other carnival favorites (but without the traditional carney games and bevy of prizes). If leading this type of event appeals to you, and you are available to make it happen in on a short timeline (just 4 weeks!), let us know! Contact Anna at vpactivities@walnutacrespfc.net.by Wednesday, September 27. Book Fair: The Book Fair is also off the calendar this year, as we do not have someone to lead it. But, when the people from Scholastic heard that we needed help, they generously offered to staff the Book Fair for us. They will do all the set up and selling, we just need one parent to be a liaison between Scholastic and the school. This would include coordinating the use of the MUR with our chorus and band instructors, requesting a permit from the district, and making sure the custodial team is prepared for the delivery and removal of the Book Fair items. You would NOT need to be at the book fair every day, nor will you have to recruit a large group of volunteers. If you are this parent and are ready to make the Book Fair happen, please contact Anna atvpactivities@walnutacrespfc.net by Wednesday, September 27. The tentative Book Fair dates are November 6 - 9, right before the Readathon which begins on November 13. Greater Community Conversation Series: MDUSD invites you to join Dr. Nellie Meyer, MDUSD Superintendent, for a public discussion centered on important topics relevant to Walnut Creek schools. The Community Conversation Series brings together area residents so they can connect with MDUSD leadership and share their insights related to district successes and challenges. Wednesday, September 27 at 6:00 pm on the Walnut Acres MUR.
Thank you again, to everyone who makes our PFC so successful. This year promises to be full of fun and memorable events for everyone! Cheers! Jill Ridlehoover PFC President 2017-18 |
May 2017 PFC President's Message
Dear Walnut Acres Families, My term officially ends this Tuesday, and I am so honored to have had the opportunity to serve as your PFC President these last 2 years. Over that time, we've built community, brought in new parent leaders, coordinated with our district, and exceeded our fundraising goals. The Academy Awards last Thursday were a wonderful culminating event, as it was a celebration of teachers, employees, parents and volunteer organizations throughout our district. Our CUYT drama groups from Walnut Acres and Foothill both performed too! Here's a photo of our fabulous nominees from Walnut Acres:
Jane Erdiakoff, Sha Clark, and Megan Zeitler (as well as Chrissie Cattalini, Lauren Lux, and Doug Grebe not pictured here) were all nominated for various teacher award categories, and our wonderful "Mrs. E" was even nominated in TWO categories: Most Inspirational and Lifetime Achievement"! Megan Zeitler won for Outstanding Community Involvement for her work at Walnut Acres that she has done while simultaneously volunteering to run a reading program for struggling students at 10 other MDUSD schools. Consuelo Sanchez and Amanda Smith were both nominated for Outstanding Classified Employee, and we were so pleased to celebrate their deep commitment and warm relationships with students and families at our school! Our Walnut Acres PFC was also nominated, as Outstanding Volunteer Organization, and Jill Ridlehoover, Hanna Svensson Grant, and I attended on behalf of our team.
I hope you all can attend our PFC meeting this Tuesday night, where I will pass the gavel over to Jill Ridlehoover and her new PFC team, who are already planning great things for the coming year. Jill is a natural for the President's role, as she has personally volunteered in so many different ways at our school over the past 4 years. It is so clear that our community has the passion and drive to come together for students here at Walnut Acres and beyond. Have a Happy Mothers Day Weekend, and thank you to each and every one of you who contribute your time, talents, and funds to our community public schools! Sincerely, Cherise Khaund PFC President 2015-17 |
March 23, 2017
Hi Walnut Acres Parents, Thank you to those of you who came to our PFC meeting on Tuesday night, and for celebrating our wonderful auction success! We are in great shape for meeting our fundraising goals for the remainder of the school year. We are now focused on finding the incredible volunteers who are going to help us have a successful year - next year. There are some vital positions open that we need to fill soon, before we finalize our 2017-18 budget.
The Deadline to fill these important roles is Tuesday, April 11th! Since these roles are linked to our budget, if they remain unfulfilled, we will need to discuss budget cuts at our April PFC Meeting. See the full list of nominations and open positions here. All nominees will be voted in at our May PFC meeting, along with the budget for the 2017-18 school year. Attached is a rough draft budget that was handed out at the March PFC Meeting. This will give you an idea of how much funding we must cut for any unfilled position, as we cannot budget for any Fundraisers with open positions. (Note that Carnival and Auction have line items under both Income and Expenses.) If you are interested or have ideas of who may be perfect for these roles, please talk to a current Executive Committee member or contact me directly at president@walnutacrespfc.net. More details about the key positions can be found at the end of this message. Thank you all for everything you do for our school. Your commitment is what makes our community such a wonderful place for our kids to grow up! In gratitude, Cherise Khaund PFC President 2015-17 *** In order for the PFC to continue funding vital services like our Reading Specialist, Teachers' Aides, Science Lab, Performing Arts, Technology, and more, we need to know how much money we will be able to raise next year. In order to raise those funds, we need leaders and/or teams of leaders to take on some of our most vital fundraisers...
Either one is available - which do you prefer? *** Did you like the Online Auction this year? Did you miss the Live Auction? In addition, if the Auction Team decides to hold a Live Auction, they will have the opportunity to plan the event from the ground up - from theme/logo and decorations, to menu and music, to hiring an auctioneer and securing a location, etc. Luckily, the past Auction planners have taken excellent notes and some are still available on campus to offer guidance, support and lessons learned. But, we cannot commit our PFC budget to a Live Auction without a fully staffed team. Are you ready to gather your group of friends and tackle next year's Auction? ***
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If you love the time-honored tradition that is the Walnut Acres Auction, we need you! Whether it is live or online-only, the WA Auction is most do-able if there is a small army of parents taking on the many different jobs. Some of the primary roles are filled (Donations Co-Leads, Kids Buy-In Party Coordinator, and Teacher Treats Coordinator) but two key positions, 
January 2017 - Happy New Year!
Dear Walnut Acres parents, Time sure flies. My 2nd and final year as your PFC President is already halfway over! It has been such a joy to build community here with so many of you... We want to make sure that all our wonderful PFC fundraisers and activities are in good hands to continue successfully next year, and so now is the time to tell us what YOU are interested in. Please take a minute right now to click through this short survey: https://goo.gl/forms/vMesRihqEXRetmET2, to help us match your interests and skills with the ideal role for 2017-18. This doesn't commit you to a role, it just gives us a starting point for conversations, so click on anything that you may consider. You can nominate others for positions there too! Our Nominating Committee will meet soon, and the more voices at that table we have, the more representation we'll get on our PFC across grade levels. Just check YES on the survey to join the Nominating Committee, or let me know, and we'll set a meeting date during the school day or in the evening based on the group's availability. We're attempting a transparent nominations process this year online, so click here to see the status of all positions. Thank you to those who have already accepted nominations for leadership roles! This list shows who is continuing in a role, who has been nominated so far, and which roles are completely open. More than one person can be nominated for any role, and we'll add names as we receive them. Your volunteerism is what creates more opportunities for our kids here at Walnut Acres, and it's a fun way to get to know other parents, too. There are even roles that can work for the schedule of those who work full-time. Please respond ASAP to our interest survey. Thank you for all that you do to make Walnut Acres a warm and welcoming community! Sincerely, Cherise Khaund PFC President 2015-17 |
Nov 2016 - Thankful for Community Building
Dear Walnut Acres Families, As we enter the winter holiday season, I have been reflecting on how much community means to us. From creating connections within your child's classroom, to organizing schoolwide events like Readathon and Buy-In Parties, to sharing with a school across our district in Bay Point, each of you make such a difference in our community. I am so thankful to be among you! Here are some wonderful opportunities for you to connect with our community now:
And, YOU can be a part of building community right here at Walnut Acres for the coming school year. We need a Nominations Chair (or two), to lead a committee to help recruit and place PFC Board positions for next year. With members from each grade level, the committee helps to match parent interests and talents with each of the open Board positions. They meet in January-March, with a goal of filling all positions by the end of March. Please let me know if you may be interested in joining the Nominations committee. It's a great way to discover and connect the talents of our parents to the roles they can play in leading our next PFC team. Also, please give a warm welcome to our new VP of Communications, Jill Ridlehoover! Jill was voted in at our last PFC meeting, to replace Kristin Shopp who recently moved to London. Jill has stellar experience and skills for this role, as she already writes our eNews, is a room parent, and is running our Read-a-thon. Thank you so much, Jill, for contributing your time and talents! Parent-Teacher conferences Dec 5-16th are a crucial way to connect with your child's teacher, so please remember to sign up. The short days of school during those last few weeks are designed to create the space and time for teachers to meet with each of us parents, to ensure a strong partnership together in the education of our kids. Finally, I look forward to celebrating our accomplishments with all of you at our PFC Holiday Party. May your families enjoy this holiday giving season, spreading love and community near and far. Sincerely, Cherise Khaund PFC President 2015-17 p.s. shopping for Cyber-Monday? Click here for our PFC Amazon link that gives a % back to Walnut Acres! |
May 2016
Hi Walnut Acres parents, Can you believe this school year is almost over? Thank you to all parents who held leadership roles on the PFC Board this year! If you missed last week's PFC meeting, please look for a little thank you for your "co-mint-ment" in your PFC folder at school this week. Please give a warm welcome to our new 2016-17 Executive Committee members: Elise Lewis as Financial Secretary and Brooke Giddings as Secretary! Thanks also to everyone who joined our new PFC 2016-17 Board. See the full list here who were officially voted in last Tuesday. Welcome to our team! It was especially heartwarming to see our Community Service position filled during the PFC meeting right before our vote by Jessica Johnson, as I know ShoreAcres and Meadow Homes really count on our long-standing relationship of giving. Thank you for your generosity of spirit! Our 2016-17 budget is now official. See it here. It is a winning compromise of the initial proposed options: raising Jaguar Fund to $650 (instead of $800) while protecting from major cuts by keeping a small Online Auction. (you may review the full PFC mtg budget handout here.) Please note the following key changes from past years:
Our 2016-17 PFC draft calendar is now posted on our website here. Event details are in the Konstella calendar, which you can link directly to your google calendar too. I hope to see you all at Open House this Thursday night, where our wonderful students will display their work and talents! Please pitch in to volunteer a short shift (click here) to set up or serve dinner - together we can keep those lines moving smoothly. PFC Board members who are leaving your roles, please remember to meet up with the new person in your position before school is out to pass on any binders, USB drives and especially advice to them. So much of Walnut Acres runs on the fuel of parent donations and volunteers, and it brings us together as a community in so many ways. Thank you all for everything that you do, and have an adventurous and rejuvenating summer! Sincerely, Cherise Khaund PFC President 2015-2017 "Do all the good you can, to all the people you can, for as long as you can." - John Wesley |
February 22, 2016
Hello Walnut Acres Parents, What amazing inventors and scientists our students are... Congratulations to all our science fair participants and winners! Our students are learning to be generous and thoughtful of others too. They collected SO many pennies - showing that every little bit adds up to a lot for children's health. These experiences are all made possible by YOU. Your participation in our PFC survey, at meetings, and throughout the school means so much. A special thank you to all who have contributed to the Jaguar Fund - see our Donor's Circle list here - and remember it's never to late to give to Jaguar Fund. The PFC executive board is trying out new ways to keep you informed, and recently posted a PFC infographic on our website and around school. Our thermometer on the school wall this year shows our current progress on fundraising for ALL efforts, including Jaguar Fund, Gift wrap, Auction, Readathon and Golf. I do need to share with you this latest news on our finances: PFC savings funds (known as "Strategic Planning funds") have been spent each of the last few years to maintain valuable programs even when expenditures exceeded intake. The Strategic Planning Committee has now met and officially determined what PFC budget-watchers knew was coming: The savings account is too small to continue drawing from the account for next year's PFC budget. They recommend that the remaining funds be kept for a "rainy day" account. That could mean inevitable cuts to the 2016-17 PFC budget, and/or an increase in fundraising. We will need to think long and hard about whether we are willing to cut items like our crossing guard or counselor, that we have paid for via savings in the past. The good news is, we have a dedicated and tireless Grape Gatsby Auction team bringing you great deals, unique experiences, and an incredible party! Here are a few fun ways you can pitch in right now:
You are all invited to come to our PFC meeting Tuesday night (7pm, library, with tea and treats). We'll share details of finances and fun, as well as our Hot Topic of Safe Routes to School, with an action plan from the City about pending improvements to our crosswalks and streets. National Bike to School Day is coming up May 4th! I feel so fortunate to be a part of this tremendously talented community. See you Tuesday night! Sincerely,
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