Foothill e-Gazette  

  Published by the Foothill PFA                                                     November 1
, 2017
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Important Dates 

Nov 10 - No school - Veterans Day

Nov 15  - PFA Meeting @ 7:00 pm in the Library

Nov 17 - Coffee with Dave @ 7:45 am in the Library

Nov 20 - 24 - No school - Thanksgiving break

For the complete Foothill calendar, click here .

In This Issue
Community Service Day
PFA Meeting
Foothill's Education Fund
Shop and Earn for Foothill
Foothill PAC Representative Needed
Math Olympiads
6th Grade Homework Help
Intradistrict Transfer
Yearbook
Online Parent Community
Community Announcements
                                                                                                                                                   
Community Service Day - Thanks Volunteers - More Help Needed to Finish! 
 
Thanks to those who volunteered on Saturday for the Foothill Community Service Day Project, where six new trees were planted in front of the visitor parking area, and progress was made on refurbishing the landscaping in front of the faculty parking area and in the serenity garden.  

Unfortunately, we didn't have as many volunteers as we needed for this project and we were unable to finish.  We are looking to schedule an additional campus beautification day in the next couple of weeks.  With just 20 kids and their parent(s) we could finish creating welcoming and maintenance-free front medians in few hours.  

Every Foothill student who participates for 2 hours will receive a mile pass.  If you are interested in helping to finish this project, please email a couple of your available dates to Cricket Riley at   merancricket@yahoo.com .

                                                                                                                                                   
November PFA Meeting - Wednesday, November 15
 
The next PFA meeting will be held on Wednesday, November 15 at 7:00 pm in the Library. Every parent is automatically a member of the PFA and we encourage you to attend, share your voice and get involved. You can learn more about what is happening at the school, ask questions, raise issues, and if you wish, volunteer your services. Save the date. To view past meeting minutes, 
please click here
 
                                                                                                                                                   
FOOTHILL'S EDUCATION FUND   

It's not to late to contribute to the Ed Fund! We are currently short of our budgeted goal.    Your donation will help us reach it. We have made it even easier to donate by splitting your Ed Fund donation into 10 smaller payments. You can choose to donate $15, $30 or $60 a month for 10 months. Every dollar helps provide necessary funding for important school programs. Click here to find out how your Ed Fund dollars are spent.



For those who have already made a contribution, THANK YOU! We appreciate your generosity. Don't forget to get your donation matched by your employer. This is FREE MONEY for our school! 

It only takes a minute to submit a matching request and it makes a really big difference for our school. The information you will need is simply: 
 
                                                                                                                                                   
Shop for Foothill and Earn

Help earn money for Foothill every time you shop at Amazon and Sports Basement. 


null Please bookmark this link,  AMAZON SHOPPING,  AND share this link with your family and friends.  When you shop on Amazon using this link, Foothill receives a percentage donation based on your purchases. You must use this link for Foothill to receive credit. This link is also available on the homepage of the Foothill PFA website.  Just click on the banner link at the top of the homepage and your Amazon purchases will help support Foothill.


sports basement Sports Basement
 -  Become a Basementeer! Our longtime partner, Sports Basement, is spinning the traditional loyalty program into a win-win for their loyal customers and our community. Basementeer's receive 10% and give 10% back to Foothill. 
  • 10% off every item every day
  • 10% of profits back to your favorite local charity or school
So, on your next visit to Sports Basement, register as a Basementeer or update your account and select Foothill Middle School as your beneficiary!

There is more information available on the  PFA Website. Thanks for shopping for Foothill! 
                                                                                                                                                   
Foothill  Parent Advisory Committee Representative Needed
 
The PFA still needs a parent representative for the District's Parent Advisory Council (PAC). The PAC meets once a month and serves as an advisory group to the Superintendent and district staff.  The PAC helps bring the parent perspective to school policies,procedures, goals and initiatives, in addition to helping implement and monitor the elements of the Local Control Accountability Plan.  
To learn more about PAC click here and contact Melissa Sunbury at 
president.foothillpfa@gmail.com,if you are interested in serving in this role.
 
                                                                                                                                                   
Math Olympiads Team - It's Not Too Late to Join
 
Do you like math? Think it might be fun to test and challenge your math skills while competing on a Foothill Math Olympiad Team? Math Olympiads (MOEMS) is an international, contest based, but learning-focused program, for middle school students that opens up a new dimension of thinking about math and problem solving. The team is just getting started so it's not too late to join if you are interested. Meetings are currently scheduled for Thursdays at 7pm in the library. You can also learn more about the MOEMS program by visiting the official website: http://www.moems.org/ or contact John at, hsgohmllock@yahoo.com 


                                                                                                                                                   
Attention Parents of 6th Graders

Is your 6th grade student feeling stressed or overwhelmed with the adjustment to Middle School? Is he/she feeling unprepared for tests and quizzes or falling behind with homework assignments? If so we'd like to invite your student to the Study Skills Workshop. We will meet once per week in B5 on Thursdays during 6th Grade Lunch for 7 weeks. Our first meeting will be  Thursday 9/28/17. There is no need to register and it is voluntary. Contact Elizabeth Brathwaite with questions at  brathwaitee@mdusd.org.

                                                                                                                                                   
Intradistrict Transfer for the 2018-19 School Year 
(Transfers to schools within MDUSD)
 
Mt. Diablo Unified School District is going Online for Intradistrict Transfer Request for the 2018-19 school year.
  • Intradistrict Transfer requests began on Tuesday, October 17, 2017
  • The online application can be found at MDUSD 2018-2019 Intradistrict Transfers
  • For students currently enrolled in grades K-11 online applications must be submitted by November 17, 2017 for the 2018-19 school year.
  • No applications will be accepted after the November 17, 2017 deadline.
  • Paper applications will be longer be available. 
                                                                                                                                                   
Don't Forget to Order Your Yearbook!

Yearbooks  for the 2017-2018 school year are available to purchase online. 
 
Please visit www.yearbookordercenter.com and enter code 6047.

Yearbooks are $50.00 through NEW DATE OF: October 31, 2017.  Starting on November 01, 2017  the price will  increase to $65.00.

Please click here for the Yearbook flyer  and  8th Grade Ad flyer
 
                                                                                                                                                   
Online Parent Community

Need to ask a question, get reminders about upcoming PFA activities or connect with other parents at Foothill? Join the  Foothill Middle School Parents group on Facebook. Once logged in, request to join the group.

                                                                                                                                                   
Community Announcements

Turkey Trot - Runners and Volunteers Needed 
The annual Turkey Trot is just a few weeks away! VOLUNTEERS are needed to help this event run smoothly. There are opportunities to work passing out race materials in the days leading up to the race, as well as many different volunteer tasks on race day. 

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP TO VOLUNTEER 

Volunteer shifts are available as early as 5:00 am and the entire event is over by 11:30 a m leaving plenty of time to be home for turkey. If you're available, please consider donating just a  few hours of your time. You'll have fun - we promise!

Last year the Turkey Trot raised over $15,000 dollars for Northgate, Fo othill, Bancroft, Valle Verde, and Walnut Acres thru PEAK Education Foundation. This year we hope to raise even more but we need your help to make it happen. 

Runners - It's also not too late to register. To sign-up to run click REGISTER.
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Walnut Creek Little League
Announcing the opening of registration for the 2018 Baseball and Softball season for Walnut Creek Little League.  Take advantage of the early bird special and register prior to December 18.  Registration fees will increase by $50 on December 18, and the last day to register is January 3.

Visit our website at  wcbaseball.org  and click on the registration link at the top of the page.

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Troop 810 Walnut Creek

Looking for a Boy Scouts Troop to join?  Come meet the scouts of Troop 810.  Troop 810 is having a Rocket Day  on  Sunday, Nov. 12 from 2 - 4 pm  at Foothill Middle School,  2775 Cedro Lane, Walnut Creek.  We will be meeting on the grass field next to the school. Come look for our table. You will be building your own rocket, blasting it off and enjoying snacks and other games.

Troop 810 Scouts enjoy weekly troop meetings, monthly camp outs that include canoeing, hiking and snow camping, a rigorous merit badge program, and numerous activities towards achieving the BSA's objectives of developing character, citizenship, and personal fitness training. Troop 810 has been around since 1966 and has over 150 Eagle Scouts. We meet most Tuesdays at Foothill Middle School at  7:30 pm.

For more information and to RSVP, please contact Dorene Soe at  dalouie8@yahoo.com  
or  925-932-0733 . Please RSVP by  Nov. 6  so that we can make sure we have enough rockets and just in case of weather, we can notify you if plans change.


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Girl Scouts??? Girl Scouts!   
Come join our new  6th grade  Girl Scout troop.  Led by two Foothill Moms, this troop is a low-stress great way to make new friends and connect with other girls just starting out in middle school. 
 
Consider this:   Middle school brings more homework, more sports, more commitments, different friends, bodily changes, etc.  Girl Scouts may feel like "just one more thing" to do and to think about.   BUT......Girl Scouts is familiar, safe, comfortable, and constant.  Girl Scouts encourages girls to grow up with confidence, while having the consistent support of fellow Girl Scouts.  Girls at this age can participate as much or as little as they wish, but knowing that it's there can really anchor them in a time when everything else is changing. 
 
Our troop this year will:
  • Meet once every 4-6 weeks on Sunday afternoons
  • Occasionally have field trips, how often depends on parents/girls
  • Be CHILLED and relaxed - mostly fun badges, no stress this year as we learn about middle school and girls get used to all the changes they're facing
  • Require parent involvement (but not a lot)
Annual dues are $50 (+Girl Scout registration and uniform).   Our next meeting will be held on  Sunday, November 12.  For more information, please contact Marlo at  marlojohnston@comcast.net.  Hope to see your girls at the next meeting!

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If you know of an interesting community event or activity that you think the Foothill Community would benefit from knowing about, please send the information to foothill.enews@gmail.com so we can pass it along. Community Announcements will be included in the regular e-Gazette that is published the first and third Wednesdays of each month.

                                                                                                                                                   

  

The Foothill PFA publishes the e-Gazette the first and third Wednesdays each month. Our goal is to provide information to the Foothill community in a timely manner. To submit an article for review, please send 150 words or less article as text in an email to foothill.enews@gmail.com. Please send picture/clip art that you would like included with your article as an attachment in .jpg format. 

Please click here for the e-Gazette submission deadline and publication dates.