Our teachers, aides, and support staff members are some of the most passionate and experienced educators in the field, and I feel so incredibly fortunate to work with our caring team at Fairmeadow. Our community's expression of gratitude to our staff during teacher appreciation week last week was meaningful and appreciated. Kind notes, colorful flowers, delicious fare, and generous gifts captured just how much our students and families value our teachers. Thank you for expressing your thanks, and for making us all feel appreciated.

 

Please join us for our Whole School Learning Celebration this Tuesday evening, May 9th at Fairmeadow. Our annual school Science Fair will open in the MP Room starting at 6 pm, with the Learning Celebration starting at 6:45 pm on the blacktop. The purpose of this community gathering is to celebrate student growth and to showcase the student learning achieved during the 2016/17 school year. Our whole school assembly on the blacktop starting at 6:45 pm will feature student speakers and an introduction to the evening, followed by tours by your student to present their work and their learning in their classrooms. While the focus on Tuesday will be the showcase of learning in your child's current classroom, at the start of school the next school day, teachers will tour students through the next year's classrooms in our 'Move it Up Gallery Walk'. This will provide the children with an important opportunity to experience the next grade level's classrooms in anticipation of the transition to the next school year. 5th graders will welcome the 4th graders to their classrooms, and 5th graders will have the opportunity to tour their future middle school this upcoming Thursday. I look forward to seeing you all at this important school gathering, starting with the school-wide assembly at 6:45 pm on the blacktop. Be sure to visit the Science Fair before or after the Learning Celebration; the MP Room will be open from 6-8:30 pm!

 

Our English Language Advisory Committee (ELAC) will come together for our final meeting of the school year this Thursday, May 11th at 8:30 am. We will host this meeting in the Mitchell Park Library to learn more about our neighborhood library and the helpful summer resources the library has to offer. Participants will learn about child and teen activities offered through the city of Palo Alto, the library summer reading program, story times at the library, and how to apply for a library card. This event will also include a library tour by one of our skilled Palo Alto librarians. At 9:30 am, we will shift our focus to the upcoming transition to middle school for our 5th grade parents. ELAC is open to all Fairmeadow families, so please join us at the Mitchell Park Library this Thursday at 8:30 am for this informative ELAC meeting!

 

Last week you showed tremendous appreciation for our teachers and staff, and next week it is our chance to shower our volunteers with praise! Our many parent and community volunteers help to make Fairmeadow a welcoming, creative, and nurturing learning environment by serving as additional caring adults in our classrooms. All parent and community volunteers: please join us for a special event in your honor, next Thursday May 18th from 8:00 to 9:00 am. On the 2nd story patio our staff will assemble the annual Volunteer Breakfast, a delicious spread of sweet and savory bites to start your day off right. So whether you've worked in your child's classroom, spent time in Science Lab, the Library, or Spectra Art, whether you drove students in your car on a field trip, led a lunchtime activity or contributed time in any other way to our school, please be sure to join us for breakfast next Thursday.

 

One of our second grade teachers, Karen Easton, has recently been diagnosed with breast cancer and will undergo surgery this week, followed by treatment soon after. Our positive thoughts are with her and her family during this incredibly difficult time. Our Fairmeadow community has rallied around Karen and offered support in many ways. If you would like to contribute to these efforts, parents have organized a Meal Train for the Easton family, as well as a GoFundMe project to support with expenses. Please explore these pages to find out ways to get involved.

 

Thank you for the many ways you support our Fairmeadow students and our community. I look forward to seeing you at the Whole School Learning Celebration on May 9th at 6:45 pm!

 

Grant Althouse

Principal

Now thru May 21, Tue-Sat 10 am - 5 pm, Thu 10 am - 9 pm, Sun 1-5 pm, Closed Mon, Palo Alto Art Center, 1313 Newel Rd

This powerful show demonstrates the range and depth of the visual arts accomplishments of Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD) student-artists. Coordinated by PAUSD Arts Coordinator Sharon Ferguson, the show communicates the creative ideas and issues that are important to PAUSD student-artists. The technical expertise in combination with the aesthetic sophistication is astounding. All media and ages are represented K-12. 

Opa! Authentic Greek Cuisine, 140 University Ave

Opa! Authentic Greek Cuisine in Palo Alto is proud to invite you and your family to dine at the Opa! location in downtown Palo Alto as a part of the Opa! GiveBack Campaign. When one hears the word Opa!, it usually brings with it a sense of excitement and happiness! When dining at Opa! Palo Alto, mention your relationship to the Palo Alto School District to your server and a percentage of your bill will be given back to the Palo Alto Council of PTAs . At the end of each month, Opa! Palo Alto will write a check to PTAC! Dine out, and help GiveBack to the Palo Alto PTA community at the same time!

Sat and Sun, May 13 and 14, 10 am - 4 pm, Cubberley Community Center (FOPAL Children's Sale Room)

More than 13,000 kids' books, games, puzzles, CDs, and DVDs will be on sale at incredibly low prices at Friends of the Palo Alto Library's monthly book sale -- everything from board books and picture books to school age fiction and nonfiction titles to early teen fiction. All items are lightly used or new and are sorted by age level and subject matter. Many books in foreign languages. Over 50,000 books for adults in FOPAL's Main and Bargain rooms. More information here.

Sun. June 18, 3-7:30 pm, University Ave (closed to traffic)  

The City of Palo Alto has declared June 18 as World Music Day. World Music Day is a free music festival that takes place in cities around the world every year around the Summer Solstice. Now for the eighth year in Palo Alto, 50 professional and amateur musical groups will perform a wide variety of musical genres: jazz, pop, rock, classical, world music, choral, etc. All performances are free and open to the public. This is a fun and unique family event not to be missed. Book the date now and tell your friends. The organizers are also looking for musicians and event volunteers from our community, including students from our schools.  For information, click here or email info@pamusicday.org. World Music Day is presented by the Stanford Federal Credit Union and organized by the Palo Alto Recreation Foundation. Event sponsors include: The City of Palo Alto, the Palo Alto Weekly, Palo Alto Online, the Palo Alto Chamber of Commerce, the Palo Alto Downtown Business and Professional Association, Live SV, and News for Chinese.

Sat, May 13 and 20, 10 am - 12:30 pm, Museum of American Heritage, 351 Homer Ave

Students will learn about Binary mathematics, Boolean logic, and a variety of discrete digital logic circuits including: AND gates, OR gates, flip flops, counters, and timers. They will also learn to assemble and solder a human reaction timer built from discrete digital logic devices! 2-day course is $70.00 for members and $80.00 for non-members. Registration is required.  This event is for ages 10 and up. No exceptions.