As both an educator and a parent, I want to be clear that the safety and well-being of students and staff continue to be a top priority. It is important to be thoughtful of both physical and emotional safety as we hear news of tragic events.
One way to keep our children emotionally safe during times of tragedy, is to be aware of how they are exposed to news of big events. As I drove to work the day after the last week's terrible event, I was bombarded by station after station recounting graphic details. I was saddened by the thought of youth that were being inundated by social media articles and news coverage that were not developmentally appropriate. The emotional impact of this exposure on our children is a very serious concern. As parents, it is important to be aware of what conversations our children are having and how they are exposed to details of tragic events.
Resources for talking to young people in times of tragedy
Thank you to the members of the Student Council for organizing the "Kindness Heart Chain" activity during lunch last week. Many LP students wrote something nice or drew on paper, then Student Council members stapled the papers into heart shapes and formed them into a chain to help promote kindness and caring. What a great idea and very appropriate for Valentine's week!
Thanks to all of the parents who came in to volunteer for class parties last week as well.
JOIN US TONIGHT (Wednesday, February 21) at 7pm in Room 4 for our LP PTA Meeting!
This is the sole evening
meeting of the year and
MSD Superintendent Bruce
Burns will be attending and updating us on current district happenings.
We will hear from Stephanie Richards and Lindsay Garrity at this evening meeting as well.
Want to Get Involved in a PTA Role?
It's that time of year where we are looking for parents who are ready to take the dive into being more involved at LP!
The PTA Nominating Committee is looking for parents who want to help on
variety of PTA committees! If you are interested in hearing more about the volunteer opportunities and commitment, please contact one of our
PTA Nominating Committee Members:
Your LP PTA works hard to provide programs and events which are educational and fun throughout the year. We would love to hear your thoughts about some of these programs so that we can continue to sponsor events which are of interest to our LP community. Please complete this short survey to help us plan for future events. Survey closes
Friday, February 23rd.
LP PTA is happy to introduce the new Kindness Club!!
This student club will meet monthly to focus on big and small acts of kindness. First up, we will be painting BUDDY BENCHES for our school. Our first meeting is
Thursday, February 22nd at 12:25 in the Art Room and is open to all 2nd-5th graders. We would love to see anyone interested - no need to sign up beforehand!
4th/5th Grade Book Club News
Our next book is "Crenshaw" by Katherine Applegate - a phenomenal story worth reading.
The next book club meeting will be on Wednesday, March 28th.
For questions - please contact Anna Maguire 510-735-4879
ISO: Yearbook Photos!!!
The yearbook is underway and we need photos! Hundreds of photos, thousands of photos, millions of photos!
We want every child to be represented in the yearbook, so please consider sending in pictures of your child at school, the Fun Run, Variety Show, Halloween parade, spirit assemblies, field trips and holiday parties. We would also really love pictures from special events (Native American Day, Immigration Day, etc.)
Please title your emails to help us organize photos. Even simple titles such as "Mrs. Pearce Kindergarten" or "4th grade field trip" would be great.
Send photos (highest resolution possible) to Brenna Butler at
[email protected]
Save The Date:
San Ramon Valley Council of PTAs:
Parenting & Beyond 2018... Speaker Series
"Ways to Have Critical Family Conversations About Balancing Digital Life, Managing Apps and
Staying Positive on Social Media"
Wednesday, March 21, 2018
7:00 - 9:00 pm
Optional Pre-purchased Dinner at6:30pm
Join us for an engaging evening of learning as Merve Lapus, Director of Professional Services at Common Sense Media, will speak on Ways to Have Critical Family Conversations About Balancing Digital Life, Managing Apps and Staying Positive on Social Media. He will share eye-opening videos and statistics from surveys of more than 2,600 8-18 year-olds and over 1,800 parents, and lead us in a discussion about strategies for tackling the parenting issues surrounding devices and digital life.
In his presentation, Merve will focus on tips and suggestions for how families can address important issues of handling media and technology. He will introduce us to Common Sense Media's Connecting Families webpage, which offers tools to open up great conversations about tough topics like Cyberbullying, Video Games and the Internet. Since SRVUSD uses Common Sense Media as the main resource to teach digital citizenship lessons in all our schools, parents will get a closer look at the messages and instructions that our kids receive in class. For more information on the digital citizenship curriculum, please check out the
SRVUSD Digital Citizenship Website.
Come one, come all... enjoy fun games of family dodgeball!
Mark your calendars!
Table Talk Question:
In honor of the recent Presidents' Day, ask your kids- what would be the first thing you would do if you were the President of the United States?
From the Library
Winter Olympics excitement continues this week in the library! We are reading Olympic themed books and reviewing our nonfiction selection of winter sports books. The books we are reading are Tacky and the Winter Games by Helen Lester, Snowman Paul at the Winter Olympics by Yossi Lapid, Learning to Ski with Mr. Magee by Chris Van Dusen, Max and Marla by Alexandra Boiger, and Cara's Kindness by Kristi Yamaguchi. The bookmark challenge also begins this week. Entries are accepted February 20th - March 16th this year. I will be reviewing the guidelines this week during student's library time.
Constance Russell
LP Librarian
Also Happening
Senator Glazer & Assemblywoman Baker:
Joint town hall tour!
Continuing an unprecedented display of bipartisan teamwork, Sen. Steve Glazer (D-Orinda) and Assemblywoman Catharine Baker (R-Dublin) resume their joint town hall tour through their mutual East Bay districts.
Glazer and Baker are holding two local bipartisan town halls within the next few weeks:
February 22 in Walnut Creek and March 5 in Orinda.
Nowhere else in the United States have two elected officials from opposing parties joined together in such a sustained effort to listen to voters' concerns without regard to party affiliation!
Walnut Creek Joint Legislative Town Hall
When:
Thursday, February 22, 2018 From 6:30 p.m. To 7:30 p.m.
Where:
Bancroft Elementary Multi-Purpose Room
2200 Parish Drive
Walnut Creek, CA 94598
Orinda Joint Legislative Town Hall
When:
Monday, March 5, 2018
From 6:30 p.m. To 7:30 p.m.
Where:
Orinda Library Auditorium
26 Orinda Way
Orinda, CA 94563
Please join Senator Steven M. Glazer and Assemblywoman Catharine B. Baker at a joint legislative town hall. Come share your thoughts on the issues you care about and get an update on the legislature's plans for 2018.
This year in partnership with a local Santa Cruz company, Bagito, we will be selling a four pack reusable produce bag perfect for bagging our fruits and vegetables for $8.00! We also have our own panther proud sturdy reusable bags perfect for those grocery runs or carrying our library books around!
Samples will be placed in the office for you to check out! More details to follow in our next publication!
Tickets for the MEF Auction Gala, Bubbles to Burgundy, are on sale now! Last year's event sold out, so don't wait and buy yours today by clicking here. Tickets are $125 per person.
The Gala, taking place onSaturday, April 14that the Moraga Country Club, will include exclusive silent and live auctions, food and dancing. All proceeds will benefit the Moraga Education Foundation which supports every student attending public schools in Moraga, every day!
Experience laughter and chills as you meet the kooky and charmingly creepy characters of The Addams Family - A New Musical Comedy at Campolindo High School.Wednesday Addams, the ultimate princess of darkness, has grown up and fallen in love with a sweet, smart young man from a respectable family - a man her parents have never met.But that's about to change on the fateful and hilarious night when the two families meet at the Addams Family mansion. Sit back and savor the morbid hospitality of Gomez, Morticia, Pugsley, Grandma, Lurch and the beloved weirdo, Uncle Fester, as the memorable occasion brings out family secrets and the best -- and worst -- in everyone involved!
The show will run fromMarch 16-25at Campolindo High School,300 Moraga Road, Moraga. Tickets are $25.
For info on show times and to purchase tickets, visit
The PTA Nominating Committee is looking for parents who want to help on
Winter Olympics excitement continues this week in the library! We are reading Olympic themed books and reviewing our nonfiction selection of winter sports books. The books we are reading are 
