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The Paly Link is distributed on Sundays, except during school breaks and holidays. Changes will be highlighted as New/Updated/Corrected. To submit an article, see Submission Guidelines at the end.
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Calendar
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November |
College Visits & Scholarship deadlines (
C&CC)
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| Tuesday |
Dec. 6 & Dec. 13 |
Parent Ed: Maintaining Wellness at Home, 6-7:30pm,
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| Thursday |
Dec. 8 |
10th Grade Parent Social,
7:30
- 9:00 pm;
864 Cedro Way, Stanford New (PTSA)
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| Thursday |
Dec 8 |
PALY Sports Boosters Holiday Boutique (Paly) 3 p.m - 9 p.m |
| Friday |
Dec. 9 |
Staff Appreciation Luncheon (PTSA) Volunteers Needed, see below
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| Saturday |
Dec. 10 |
PAUSD Code Fest, 1-5pm, JLS Auditorium (
flyer)
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| Monday |
Dec. 12 |
Site Council, 3:45-5:30pm, EWC |
| Tuesday |
Dec. 13 |
Bell Schedule Review Committee, 3:05-4:30pm, EWC (
Paly)
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| Thursday |
Dec. 15 |
Town and Country shopping evening (Rise Together Education fundraiser) 4-7pm
(Paly) New |
| Friday |
Dec. 16 |
End of Semester One
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| Tuesday |
Jan. 3 |
No School for Students (Teacher Work Day)
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| Wednesday |
Jan. 4 |
First Day of Semester Two ("C" day)
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| Tuesday |
Jan. 10 |
Freshman Assembly during FLEX |
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PTSA Items
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10th Grade Parent Social
New
Thursday, Dec 8, 7:30 - 9:00 pm; 864 Cedro Way, Stanford
Please join us for a potluck parent social this
Thursday, December 8. Check for an email from UptoUs to RSVP if possible. Let's unwind as this first semester comes to an end, but before finals. We hope to see you there!
Morning Munchies During Finals - Volunteers Needed
New
December 14th, 9:30 - 11:00, December 15th and 16th, 8:15 - 9:45, meet at the Library for instructions
Are you looking for an opportunity to support our students? We need volunteers to set up and supervise snack distribution tables around campus during finals. This is a great way to meet parents and to
wish our students good luck!
Please sign up at:
goo.gl/HwX6yv
This program is sponsored by the PTSA and Paly.
Questions? Contact Gayle Black:
black.gayle@gmail.com
, Sondra Zenger:
Sondra.zenger@gmail.com
, or Marci Kirk Stevens:
marcikirkstevens@gmail.com
Staff Appreciation Luncheon
December 9th, at Paly Performance Arts Center
Enjoy the holiday season by showing our staff how much we value them at the staff holiday appreciation luncheon. This is a FUN way to demonstrate our appreciation. Although the main course will be catered, it would be delightful to have a full set of volunteers to help with other tasks, including baking dessert. Not a baker? We could use your help setting up, decorating and clean up too. Or, grab a tray to pass out appetizers. Link to Volunteer:
Staff Appreciation Sign Up
Meals on Wheels Volunteers Needed: Throughout the School Year
Looking for a way to support others in an impactful, immediate and easy way? Please consider being a Meals on Wheels Volunteer for our Paly community! The Meals on Wheels program brings emergency meals to Paly families in crisis. If you would like to volunteer, please sign up here:
Are you a family in crisis and in need of help with some comforting dinners delivered to your door? That's what the Meals on Wheels volunteers are here for! They are ready and happy to help! Please contact Lori Merritt at
lomerritt@yahoo.com or call 650-644-6876. Include any dietary restrictions.
Americanized Chinese Parents of Paly
This is a group for Americanized Chinese Parents of Paly and Jordan students who embrace both the values of American culture and Chinese culture. Parents in this group speak English in their homes and value a balance of academics, social time, and extracurriculars. To be added to our mailing list, please email your name to:
americanized.chinese.parents@gmail.com
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Paly Items
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Town and Country shopping evening to benefit Rise Together Education
New
Thursday, Dec. 15, 4-7pm, Town and Country Shopping Center
Get your holiday shopping done and help support Paly low-income students with their college dream. Shop at
Diptyque and Toss on Dec. 15th and they will donate 10% of their proceeds to
Rise Together Education. Stop by our table in front of Ambassador toys for an update on participating retailers between
4-7pm, and if you're shopping early just mention Rise Together and they will add your purchase donation to the fundraiser.
Call for Mentors! Rise Together Education (RTE)
relies on community members to inspire, motivate, and encourage students as they navigate the college preparation process. An RTE mentor may help a high school junior or senior:
- navigate nationalized testing (ACT or SAT)
- edit essays
- guide students through the application process
- apply for scholarships
- and other needs related to pursuing a college education
To ensure that students are able to foster strong relationships with their mentors, as well as to make sure students academic needs are met, we require all mentors to commit to at least 1-year with RTE. Of course, we'd love for mentors to follow students through the years and continue to provide support. Interested in Mentoring? Fill out this
form so we can learn more about you.
Earn Free $ for Paly Sports Boosters!
Download the free Benefit mobile app which lets you instantly buy gift cards from more than 200 major retailers, supermarkets and restaurants - including Safeway, Starbucks and Target. Redeem the cards in the checkout line or online. Simply designate Palo Alto High School Sports Boosters as your beneficiary. Paly Boosters receives $100 for every 10 apps downloaded from now until November 30th. All purchases earn up to 20% for our athletes!
Contacts:
Lisa Rimsa
mcrimsa@aol.com
650 319-5263;
Sandy Silver
ssilver@gmail.com
Paly Sports Boosters - Tiny Prints Fundraiser for Holiday Cards
The Paly Sports Boosters has partnered with Tiny Prints to help with the ordering and printing of your Holiday Cards. Tiny Prints is a leading retailer of premium personalized photo cards and has been recognized for their high quality prints and unmatched customer service. Each card ordered is also hand reviewed before it's printed to ensure quality and accuracy. To start your order through Tiny Prints, please click on the link below which will lead you to our co-branded Tiny Prints
Paly Sports Booster Passes for Winter/Spring Sports, reduced rates!
See
http://paly.net/boosters/sports-boosters for more information. Reduced Rates! Available for purchase online or at Winter Sports parents meeting on November 17th. Students, $20, Single $25, Family $40; Seniors $15! Here is the new form.
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College & Career Center
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Lunchtime Speaker Needed
The Paly Career Month Lunchtime Speaker Series Team is in the process of planning the March 2017 Career Month! As always, we need speakers from various fields so if you know anyone who you think would make a good speaker please email us at
palycareermonth@gmail.com
with recommendations and their contact information.
Additionally, an important part of the Career Month Speaker Series is the fact that we supply a free lunch to students who attend these talks. Unfortunately, this food is not free, so we need donations from parents to make this a possibility. The recommended donation is $10, but we appreciate any contribution.
For more info about this event, please visit
this page and click on "Career Education."
College Rep Visits for Seniors (and Juniors, if space is available)
Students must have their teacher's permission one day in advance if missing class. Pick up a form in the C&CC, or download it at admit-class-form-college-and-career-center . Bring the signed form the day of the visit to ensure the absence from class is cleared and marked as an activity rather than a truancy. College visits scheduled for the next two weeks are listed below. For a full list of all visits through Spring, login to Naviance using your user ID and password; click on the "Colleges" tab then click "view all upcoming college visits" within the "my colleges" section. Or, you can check the calendar on www.paly.net/college .
Due to increased student attendance and limited space in the College Center, we are no longer able to permit parents to attend college representative visits, please click to read more information about this policy.
ON-CAMPUS VISITS:
OFF CAMPUS:
University of Colorado at Colorado Springs 12/10 Santa Clara
Scholarships and contests/competitions expiring through December 18, 2016:
Hamilton Prize for Creativity--Wesleyan University: Deadline 12/15
New
NFIB Young Entrepreneur Award: Deadline 12/18
New
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PAUSD
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PAUSD Code Fest New
Sat Dec 10, 1-5 pm, JLS Middle School, 480 E. Meadow Dr, Palo Alto
Calling all PAUSD families to participate in a newer, bigger, better Code Fest during the Computer Science Education week. This event is free, open to all. There are several highly qualified presenters including several Gunn High School students. All sessions are hands-on and cater to all levels from beginner to experienced programmers for all ages 5 and up. For registration and other details, go to: bit.ly/pausdcodefest2016
Renaming Schools Advisory Committee (RSAC) Survey
The PAUSD School Board created a Renaming Schools Advisory Committee (
RSAC
) and charged this committee to explore and recommend processes for naming or renaming schools based on community input and feedback. The community consists of students, parents, alumni, former parents, community members, and PAUSD teachers and staff. With this short
survey
, we would like to get your initial input concerning the criteria you consider to be most important for the naming of any district school. Your input will help the
RSAC
understand the community's values, and alongside other data, help inform the Committee's discussions and recommendations to the Board. The
survey
is very short and we appreciate you taking two or three minutes to give your input by completing and submitting this seven question survey
. Simply click the following link to begin
https://pausd.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_8JuFGmlO3CJ3Qgd
Food Service Department Open Forums
Palo Alto USD invites parents, employees, students, and community members to a series of
Food Services Department Community Open Forums held throughout the 2016-17 school year. Please visit:
https://www.pausd.org/food-service-department-open-forum
Arts Education Volunteers Needed
The Palo Alto Council of PTA's
http://ptac.paloaltopta.org/
seeks Arts Education Volunteers to support high quality arts education for all students and to share best practices and programs. Goals might include communicating about visual and performing art programs taking place at PAUSD schools and encouraging collaborative opportunities. All PTA members (both parents and teachers) are welcome to volunteer. Please contact PTAC President Audrey Gold (
president@paloaltopta.org
) if interested.
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Community and Volunteer Service
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Community Service and Service-Learning for High School Students New
Get Involved Palo Alto is a 501(3)c organization that helps local students connect to their interests via community service, service-learning, internships, and career education. Looking for an organization that matches your student's interests? Check out our vetted
lists of nonprofits by interest category. Need to find an opportunity that matches your student's schedule? See the
Calendar of current projects. Visit the Get Involved Palo Alto website for more helpful resources:
Getinvolvedpa.com
Looking for an opportunity to help kids in need? Volunteer for DreamCatchers!
DreamCatchers runs an after-school enrichment program for low-income PAUSD middle school students - right here at Paly in the afternoons and evenings
Monday through Thursday. We are looking for the following:
- One-on-One Tutors (high school students) or Classroom Assistants (like a classroom aide - we need adults as well as high school students): contact Miguel Fittoria at
miguel@dreamcatchersyouth.org
- Adults or experienced high schoolers interested in helping with graphic design, web design, curriculum support, or general non-profit help, please contact Barbara Klausner at
barbara@dreamcatchersyouth.org
Family Holiday Volunteering
If you're looking for a way to get your family into the holiday spirit by helping others, check out
http://familyholidayhelpers.org, a non-profit web site created by a mom of two PAUSD students to help families find local volunteering opportunities during the holiday season. There are a variety of local opportunities for families, such as prepping/serving food for Thanksgiving, working a shift at a food bank or holiday warehouse, or donating food or gifts for those in need. Happy volunteering!
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Community
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Palo Alto City Council will hold two Neighborhood Town Hall meetings
New
College Terrace: Wednesday, Dec. 7, 7 - 9 p.m., Escondido Elementary School, 890 Escondido Road
Barron Park: Wednesday, Dec. 14, 7-9pm, Barron Park Elementary School, 800 Barron Ave
Palo Alto City Council will hold two Neighborhood Town Hall meetings in December as a continuation of their initiative to strengthen city engagement. The format is a moderated discussion between community members, councilmembers and city staff to talk about issues of specific concern. Community members can suggest topics they would like to talk about by sending an email to info@cityofpaloalto.org.
The website with this information is here:
Finals Cram Slam New
Mon & Tue, Dec. 12 & 13, 6-9pm. Mitchell Park Community Center, 3700 Middlefield Rd
Stressed on finals week? Mitchell Park Library has you covered. You can study in the library, or drop in at the Teen Center for snacks and emotional support. Lots of games like air hockey, ping-pong table, and video games to help you destress in the Teen Center. There will be calming therapy dogs in the library you can pet to help you decompress before the chaos begins! Open to high school students who are studying for finals.
Be Safe. Be Seen. Bike lights are required by law for riding after dusk.
With shorter days, students are bike commuting in the dark when bicycle lights and reflectors are required by law. Visibility begins to decline at dusk, so bicyclists should turn on their lights as soon as light begins to fade. A handlebar headlight makes a bicycle visible to others and illuminates the road so the rider can see. Higher powered lights do a better job. Tail lights and reflectors should be mounted on something stable where they won't be obscured by bags, panniers or other gear on the bike. Lights are vastly superior to reflectors, so a rear red light is recommended for maximum visibility.
Make a difference: Tutor Low Income East Palo Alto 5
th
Graders in Reading or Writing - 8 one hour sessions
If you've enjoyed helping in your own child's classroom, or just love literacy, please consider tutoring 5th graders at Brentwood School in East Palo Alto (near IKEA). It is a special project to work with low income students from February 6th - March 31st. Volunteers would work in the same classroom one day per week, for an hour either at 9:45 am (reading) or 11:40 am (writing). All Students Matter provides a brief training in January and coordinates all details. You can make a real difference! To sign up, visit
www.allstudentsmatter.org
or to learn more contact Keri Tully at
keritully@gmail.com
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Palo Alto Chamber Orchestra (PACO) Opens its 51st Season!
Dec 18, 3pm
Holiday Extravaganza (Senior Orchestra)
Cubberley Theatre, 4000 Middlefield Rd. Palo Alto
.
Admission is FREE except for the Holiday Extravaganza (Adults $10, 18 & under FREE)
Award-winning youth orchestra PACO's Senior Orchestra will open its season with music by Handel, Britten and more. There is something for everyone at PACO concerts from small ensemble pieces to orchestra music as these dedicated musicians present an extraordinary passion for music making! Mark your calendars for the Holiday Extravaganza with guest performers from the Pacific Ballet Academy and Cantabile Youth Singers. More info and compete line-up of concerts on the 2016-17 season brochure or visitwww.pacomusic.org.
Walk & Roll to Palo Alto Libraries
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NEW Suggested Walking & Bicycling Routes Map
Check out City of Palo Alto 's new Walk & Roll map with suggested walking and bicycling routes to Palo Alto libraries from every neighborhood citywide. Palo Alto libraries are popular after-school destinations and they often are the center of fun family outings. Walking and bicycling is an active, healthy, fun way to get there! See the new Walk & Roll to Libraries brochure with map here
http://www.cityofpaloalto.org/documents/PASRTL_Map_Brochure_092116.pdf
Palo Alto Philharmonic Concerto Movement Competition
The Palo Alto Philharmonic is sponsoring a Concerto Movement Competition open to school-aged music students including both instrumentalists and vocalists. Each applicant should submit an unedited audio CD (5-15 minutes long) of his or her performance of a movement from a concerto or concert piece for soloist and orchestra. Applications, along with the demo CD and a non-refundable fee of $30 must be postmarked by December 31, 2016. For more information or to download an application form: http://www.paphil.org/pages/about/cmc.html
Sleep Study for Youth 18-21
The Department of Psychiatry at Stanford University is recruiting 18-21 year old youth to participate in a paid research study on sleep and mood. You and your youth will receive up to $215 for completing the study. For more information about this study, please contact
dailyrest@stanford.edu
or (650) 736-2689 or go to
http://med.stanford.edu/psychiatry/research/dailyreststudy.html.
For general information about participant rights, contact 1-866-680-2906.
Sign up for Paly Glass Weekend Workshops
Sat & Sun. Jan. 7-8, Feb. 4-5, March 4-5, April 1-2, May 6-7, June 3-4 9-3 pm at Paly's Glass Studio. The workshop will focus on beginning glass blowing techniques. It's an incredible, fun, hands-on experience and it benefits the Paly Fiery Arts Program. Repeating students progress from their last session. Advanced Sign up required. Class limit is 4. Teens and adults. $425 per person. Open to the public.
How To Get A Bike License
In Palo Alto bicycle licenses are required. Bike licenses help PAPD connect recovered stolen bikes to their owners and also can help emergency responders connect a bicyclist with family after an accident if the cyclist isn't carrying ID. You can get a license at any Palo Alto Fire Station between 4:00-5:00 pm. As long as they are not out on an emergency call, someone will be available to issue a license to you.
Check Your Student's Helmet!
Bicycle helmets should be replaced every five years, even if they appear undamaged because the rigid foam in the helmet will break down with time and won't protect your head in a collision. Helmets with cracks in the outer plastic shell should be replaced, as should helmets that are too small. (The helmet should touch the top of your student's head. To find out if it touches, put your finger in an air vent at the top of the helmet.) For tips on getting the helmet adjusted properly, see our new helmet
flyer.
Love Art and Art History?
Interested in O'Keeffe, Rivera, Thiebaud, or Jacob Lawrence?
Volunteer docents needed to give presentations about the lives and work of Master Artists to PAUSD elementary students. Training provided by Arts Coordinator, Sharon Ferguson. Art History background preferred but not required. Flexible hours. Volunteer docent meetings/training at held at Art Education, 25F Churchill Ave. For more information contact Emily at Art Education (650) 329-3939
Classroom Volunteers Needed - An Hour a Week Could Change a Student's Life
If you've enjoyed spending time in your child's classroom, please join other parents volunteering in east Menlo Park or East Palo Alto schools where there are virtually no parent volunteers. You'll help tutor kids in grades K-4. Over 80% of students are performing below grade level in reading and math. Work once a week in the same classroom for about an hour, building relationships with students. All Students Matter provides training and coordinates everything. We start in mid-September. You can make a real difference! To learn more or sign up, visit www.allstudentsmatter.org or contact Keri Tully at
keritully@gmail.com.
Trail Closure/Tree Removal Along San Francisquito Creek
As part of the
San Francisquito Creek flood control project, the Bay/San Francisquito Creek trail that runs from Geng and Embarcadero Road to the Friendship Bridge (through the Baylands Athletic Center, along the Golf Course) will soon be closed. The flood control project is scheduled to begin September 1, but the trail may be closed as early as mid-August. On the Palo Alto side of the creek, the trail is expected to be closed for the entire two-year duration of the project. Signs are being posted along the trail in advance to warn users about the upcoming closure and tree removals that are required for the construction project
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About the Paly Link
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The Paly Link is a Paly PTSA publication, emailed on Sundays, except during school breaks and holidays. Changes will be highlighted as
New/
Updated/
Corrected.
Deadline for submissions: noon on Saturday, the day before publication. Flyers must be submitted by noon on Thursday. Items run no earlier than 3 weeks before the event.
To submit an item, send to palylink@paloaltopta.org. Include a header or title line, then a line listing the date, time and location of the event. Follow with a brief (2-4 sentence) description of the activity, with the most important information first. List email, contact information and web links last. Items are published at the discretion of the editors.
--Shuchi Grover, Pavan Bakshi, and Anh Quan Paly Link Editors
--Bala Aiyar, Paly Link List Manager and Gordon Craig, Paly Link Webmaster
Click Here to sign up a new email address to receive the Link. Click on the "Update Profile/Email Address" link below to update an existing address.
Paly Link on the Web, Paly PTSA Web Site,
Paly Web Site, Paly Sports
Palo Alto PTA Council Web Site, Parent Education Events,
Community Service, Community Sports |
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