Sunday, 5 August 2018
Paly Link
A PTSA Publication
The Paly Link is published every Sunday, except on school breaks.
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Calendar
Upcoming Events
Thu, Aug 9
Back to School Staff Appreciation Luncheon, 10am, MAC
Freshman Pizza Dinner, 4pm, Paly Quad
Fri, Aug 10
Paly Athletics Freshman Orientation, 11am, Big Gym
Picture Day, shifts from 8:30am-2:30pm, Peery Athletic Center
Mon, Aug 13
First Day of School!
Tue, Aug 14
Returning Volunteer Meeting for the C&CC, 8:30am,Social Studies Resource Center (800 building).
New Volunteer Meeting for the C&CC, 10am,Social Studies Resource Center (800 building)
Thu, Aug 16
Bike Mobile, 2:30pm to 6:00pm, outside of Peery Athletic

For a complete list of all school events, go to the Paly Google Calendar
School days and vacations are published in the 2018-19 Academic Calendar
Paly & PTSA Items
paly viking ship logo
Call for Paly Site Council  
The Paly Site Council is currently seeking candidates for TWO parent representatives. Those elected will serve from September 2018 to June 2020. The Council meets on Monday afternoons, once a month; See the Paly website for details:  http://www.paly.net/site-council , or feel free to ask questions of our retiring parent reps: Jonake Bose ( firefly@boseahmad.com ) or Anjana Joshi ( anjanajoshi_canada@yahoo.com )
To submit your name for consideration, please write a brief, one paragraph statement which includes your reasons for wanting to serve on Site Council, as well as any other information you feel is relevant. (This is also the text that will appear on the ballot.) Submit your nomination to Carolyn Benfield:  cbenfield@pausd.org  with the subject line "Site Council". The election will be held in August; deadline for your submission is August 15. Parents and guardians of Paly students grades 9-11 are eligible, with the exception of PAUSD employees. (Candidates must have a student at Paly throughout their term of office, so unfortunately, parents of seniors aren't eligible.)
1st Annual Paly Athletics Freshman Orientation
Friday, August 10th at 11:00am in the Big Gym
For incoming Freshman who are interested in participating in sports at Paly this orientation will answer many questions about the athletic department and feature a key note speaker from Positive Coaching Alliance.  
For any questions please contact  palyathletics@gmail.com  
Go Vikings!
Back to School Staff Appreciation Luncheon
Thursday, August 9th, 10:00 AM - 1:30 PM, MAC Patio
Much loved kick off event for the Paly Teachers and Staff. Help us welcome the Paly staff back to school with a luncheon of catered food with student/parent made deserts and fresh fruits!  We need help throughout the morning and afternoon, please consider signing up. Details on tasks and more will be sent to you as we get closer to the date. All food must be nut free.
Questions? Contact: Helen Li,   helenhuili@gmail.com  
Sign up links below:
Members
Guests (no login required)

Freshman Pizza Dinner
Thursday, August 9th, 4pm - 8pm, Paly Quad
Recruiting parents and guardians to help serve the Paly freshmen dinner after their orientation. We need help with set up, serving, clean up. Great chance to re-connect with parents, guardians and students while distributing dinner. 
Questions? Please contact Sally-Ann Rudd  sallyann_r@yahoo.com  or Beth Martin at  bmartin@pausd.org
Link to sign ups:
Members
Guests (no login required)

Picture Day
Friday, August 10th, shifts from 8:30am - 2:30pm
Peery Athletic Center
Please consider helping Paly students during the Picture Day for sophomore, juniors and seniors.
Questions? e-mail Beth Martin  bmartin@pausd.org  
Link to sign ups:
Members
Guests (no login required)
Commuting to Paly
According to California law, anyone under age 18 must wear a bicycle helmet if using the following modes of transportation: bicycle, non-motorized scooter, skateboard, inline/roller skates or as a passenger. Not wearing a helmet can result in a traffic citation  plus  traffic class attendance. PAPD has hired traffic officers this year.

Biking, scootering, skating, walking : Here is a map of suggested routes to Paly for bikers and pedestrians: Map of Bike Routes . This map highlights streets which have less cars and less stop signs. Bryant St. (official bike route) has less cars because parts are blocked off to cars but not bikes (at El Verano Ave., Matadero Creek Bridge, Lowell Ave.).   Biking is not recommended on the street or sidewalk of Embarcadero Road  (too unsafe, too many turning cars). Bikers must dismount from bikes if there is a pedestrian in the bike tunnel (PAPD monitors occasionally). U-locks are the recommended bike locks; cable locks are easy to cut. Locking the front wheel and frame to the bike rack is ideal.The Paly bike cages are NEVER locked—bicyclists should lock their bikes. If bikes are stolen, it's often due to lack of locking or leaving them overnight. For after school activities, we recommend moving your bike to where there are people.

Walking:  Pedestrians at the crosswalk (T&C to Paly) on Embarcadero Rd. should be sure the cars have stopped at the traffic light before stepping off the curb into the crosswalk. This is a busy intersection and cars sometimes miss seeing the traffic light or run the red light.

Driving:  Please avoid driving on Bryant St. (official bike route). Cars on Churchill Ave. may not drive straight over the train tracks (towards El Camino) during 7:45-8:30 am on weekdays (left turn only). Do not park in the Southgate neighborhood (houses near Churchill Ave.) for more than 2 hours without a Southgate permit (exclusive to neighborhood).

Parking on campus:  Parking permit must be visible, available for purchase at the ASB Bookkeeper’s Office in the Tower Building (for Seniors & Juniors only; limited supply available). Paly will announce when permit enforcement will begin. Visitors to Paly may pick up a 1-day permit, available in the Main Office, Tower Building.

Free Shuttles:  There are two FREE shuttles which travel on Embarcadero Road. The Embarcadero Shuttle runs approximately every 20 minutes, Monday through Friday from 7:00am to 10:25am and then 3:20pm to 7:15pm. Both shuttles have times during the middle of the day where they are unavailable.
Questions or feedback on commuting issues? Contact Dana Wong and Christine Baker, Paly PTA Transportation Safety Representatives at:  paly.commute@gmail.com
Bike Mobile
Thursday, August 16, 2:30-6:00, Peery Athletic
FREE   bike tune-ups, repairs, parts . . .
"We can fix flat tires, adjust brakes and gears, and even replace broken or worn-out parts like brake pads, chains, seats, grips and tires. We can usually replace shifters, brake calipers, and brake levers. We don’t stock wheels or crank sets. Occasionally, someone will actually go to a shop to buy the part they need and then we install it for them."
The amount of time spent per bike depends on the number of bikes waiting.
FREE   assessment of proper bike helmet fitting
Brought to you by Safe Routes to School, City of Palo Alto, Office of Transportation
Questions? Contact Dana Wong and Christine Baker, Paly PTA Transportation Safety Representatives at:  paly.commute@gmail.com
College and Career Center
C&CClogo.jpg
Volunteering in the College & Career Center (CCC) 2018-2019 School Year   
The College and Career Center is located on the 1 st  floor of the Tower Building. It is staffed by more than 40 parent volunteers who serve students and support our college and career advisors by performing administrative tasks and acting as the C&CC receptionist during a weekly 2 hour shift. Opportunities to work as a substitute or on special projects may also be available. Parents who sign up and work as substitutes and/or who work on special projects, will have priority for open “regular” shifts the following school year. To keep things running smoothly and seamlessly from year to year, we rely on returning volunteers for their experience in helping the CCC run efficiently.

All returning parent volunteers are *required* to come to the Returning Volunteer Meeting on Tuesday Aug. 14 at 8:30am in the Social Studies Resource Center (800 building).

Parents of 10, 11 and 12 graders who would like to become new   volunteers, substitutes, or work on special projects should come to a New Volunteer Training Meeting on Tuesday., Aug. 14 at 10am in the Social Studies Resource Center (800 building).   We currently have 3 open shifts on Tuesdays and the following special project positions:

  • Hospitality (1-2 positions): make ~ 225 treat boxes for college admission representatives visiting Paly Sept. – Nov.
  • Career Programs Fair Chair: work with Crystal Laguna to plan our Career Programs fair in March; hosts ~ 20 private vocational programs and our local community colleges from the Bay Area. The Career Program Chair will help organize and reach out to private vocational programs that may be interested in participating in our fair and with the publicity for the event. 
  • Parent Liaison for Career Speakers Series:  meet with Career Speakers student committee (dates TBD) and help organize two week Speaker Series that is help in the spring, late Feb/early March; coordinate work with staff leads Beth Martin and Karla Larson
 
Available shifts will be assigned on a lottery basis with priority given to 12 grade, 11 grade, and 10 grade parents. Attendance at the training is required in order to be eligible to volunteer in C &CC. 
 
New/resuming shifts begin the week of August 14. For more information, contact C&CC Volunteer Coordinators Dara Knoblock daraknoblock@gmail.com  or Parissa Mohamadi parissa_mohamadi@yahoo.com.
 
The C&CC holds an open house after each parent night in the Fall so there are other opportunities to get to know more about C&CC. There is also a wealth of information in Naviance and on  www.paly.net/college
PTAC and PAUSD
Community Contributions to PiE Make a Difference
PiE has just launched its 2018-2019 fundraising campaign. Please consider pledging your contribution as our kids need the support of the whole community. PiE funds go to every Palo Alto district school and provide each principal with the funding needed to staff many essential programs for the students and families at each school location. From our classroom aides, to teachers for STEAM-focused electives, music and art, to caring counselors and mentors, PiE-funded staff impact on our kids every day. Between now and September 4, you can double your impact via the $500,000 Back-To-School Challenge Grant which matches every dollar donated to PiE. Please donate today! http://papie.org/donate/
Venture, a new Musical
Aug 12, 2pm , Lucie Stern Theatre
Venture, a new musical by Paly's own Michael Najar will be presented at one performance on August 12 at 2:00p as part of TheatreWorks New Works/Next Generation. Come see Paly Theatre students perform selections from last spring's Silicon Valley themed musical. Ticket information:
Community News
Palo Alto Chinese School is Accepting New Enrollment NOW for 2018
2019 school year starts on 8/17/2018
Palo Alto Chinese School has been serving the community in Chinese language instructions for 55 years, and is accepting new enrollment. Class meets every Friday 7-9 PM at JLS Middle School. There are two tracks. The Mandarin track is offered from Preschool to Grade 12, for students from heritage families. The Chinese as a Second Language (CSL) track is offered from intro, beginning, intermediate to advanced level for students with various exposure to Chinese language. Please join us for a school open house and classroom visit on 8/17 and 8/24. For more info, check http://www.paloaltochineseschool.org/ or email contact@paloaltochineseschool.org .