Funding Excellence
in Edu
cation
~ March 2019 ~
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When everyone gives, everyone wins!
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Orinda schools continuously rank among the top K-12 schools statewide!
Congratulations to Miramonte High School for earning the distinction of California Distinguished School, one of only two high schools in Contra Costa County to win this award in 2019. GO MATS!
The value proposition of an award-winning Orinda public school education is rich with benefits that far outweigh an annual contribution of $650 per students. Give today and help our schools stay at the top!
Donate today.
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Look at what EFO donations enable for ALL Orinda students:
these are just a sampling of what makes Orinda schools unique!
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Annual NatureBridge field trip:
EFO dollars fund more than academics
Everyone knows that EFO dollars support academic and enrichment education, but did you know that EFO's reach extends far beyond the classroom? How far you ask? Try Olympic National Park in Washington!
Every year, senior Miramonte students are eligible for an optional six-day field field trip to NatureBridge, an educational facility in Olympic National Park in Washington. Led by teacher Jennifer Moore and other Miramonte teachers and staff members, the popular "OPI Trip" provides students an opportunity to explore an area of tremendous geological, biological, and ecological diversity, including glacial regions, temperate rain forests, coastal mountains, and rocky coastlines. In addition, students visit the site of the ongoing Elwha River restoration project, site of the largest dam removal project in U.S. History.
OPI was an amazing way to bond with friends both new and old in a beautiful nature setting! - Lexi Berryhill
In addition to their observational learnings, the itinerary included hiking and canoeing during the day, amusing evening programs after dinner and an overnight backpacking trip to the coast. This year's intrepid group of 62 students braved record snowfall and cold temperatures. A fantastic time was had by all, and many fun memories were made to last a lifetime!
"The highlight of my senior year. A week without technology was a blessing in disguise. I became close with people who I didn't know before and even closer with my good friends."
- Bridget Tague
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Looking for plans for this Saturday night?
The Musical Orindans
Come and enjoy your favorite Broadway and jazz tunes performed by Orindan musicians, Leslie Darwin O'Brien and Marc Levine. All proceeds to benefit EFO. Special thanks to Orinda Jazz for their sponsorship.
Saturday, March 9th at 7pm
Holy Shepherd Lutheran Church
433 Moraga Way
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Up Close with OUSD's new Art teacher:
Introducing Janet Robinson
Art is standing with one hand extended into the universe and one hand extended into the world, and letting ourselves be a conduit for passing energy. - Albert Einstein
 Young art students at Glorietta and Sleepy Hollow are working at the intersection of art, science and history, thanks to their new art teacher, Janet Robinson. Aboriginal art, the works of Picasso and the rich quilting traditions of the descendants of slaves in Gees Bend, Alabama are all in the works, and for Glorietta third grader Owen Walsh, this blend is a winning formula: "I love that Mrs. Robinson always teaches about the subject and the art!"
As another example of this integrated curriculum, students created a multi-media Chinook salmon painting using watercolors, oil pastels, chalk pastels and acrylic paint, while simultaneously learning about the habitat and life cycle of salmon.
"Janet brings such a rich context to the work. With the Aboriginal piece, she would point out a color and talk about how it came from a tree that was native to the area. She brings out so many layers," says Julie Atkinson, co-president of the Glorietta Parents Club, who has volunteered extensively in the art room this year.
Robinson brings this integrative approach to students thanks to a lifetime steeped in arts education. She completed her bachelors at UC Berkeley, her Masters in city planning from Cornell University and her teaching credential from Cal State San Marcos. All of this is balanced with copious mom-credibility! "As a mother of two children, my informal education in child development right in my own home has been invaluable," she says.
Robinson has spent years expanding on her education, taking classes in drawing, painting, printmaking, Photoshop and art history. She was also a docent at the San Diego Museum of Art where she led tours, visited schools and taught children's classes.
When Robinson and her husband moved to Truckee two years ago, she brought art to the public elementary schools in the Tahoe Truckee Union School District through a non-profit organization (Arts For The Schools). In that job, she carried her materials in the back of her car and drove from her home in Truckee over Donner Pass to get to work in Lake Tahoe. She finds her current commute, from Kensington to Orinda, much easier!
Welcome Janet - our students are lucky to have you as their teacher!
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