JLS PTA eNews
February 11, 2019
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Important Dates:
February 11 - Site Council Meeting
February 13 - Signed Registration Forms Due | Connections Coffee | Gunn Course Selection Workshop
February 14-18 - No School
February 19 - Benefit Concert and SoCal Parent Meeting
February 20 - 7th/8th Middle School Choir Festival
February 22 - Student Store Open | JLS "Disco" Dance
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JLS "Disco" Dance Coming Up!
JLS will be hosting their Second dance of the year on
Friday, February 22nd, from 7:00 pm to 9:30 pm for 6th and 7th grades. 8th grade will end at 10:00 pm. Doors close at 7:30 pm and there will be no early pick-up. The theme of this dance is "Disco.” Tickets will be sold February 19th-22nd at lunch by the cafeteria for $5. Students will need to have their student ID as well. Tickets can also be purchased on February 21st and 22nd after school until 3:30 in front of the cafeteria. Concessions will be sold at the dance; please bring small bills for purchases. As always,
JLS Dress Code applies. We hope to see you there.
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Important Advocacy Information
Scroll down to the “PTAC News" section for:
- Follow-up information of PTAC’s Special Meeting on February 6;
- Upcoming meeting on February 13 with guest Joe Simitian; and
- Related petition.
Read, learn, advocate
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New Crosswalk Safety Enhancements Coming Soon to El Camino Real
Caltrans is installing Pedestrian Hybrid Beacons (PHBs) at several intersections along El Camino Real from San Jose to San Francisco. PHBs are flashing signals that tell drivers to stop when pedestrians are crossing the roadway. The installation process at the intersections in Palo Alto (Vista Ave, Barron Ave, Fernando Ave, College Ave, and Palo Alto Ave) is scheduled to begin Monday, February 11th. The full project should be completed by summer 2019. Please see the City of Palo Alto’s
Stop for Pedestrians flyer for more information on how drivers and pedestrians should use these crosswalk safety enhancements. For questions about the project, contact Caltrans Public Information Officer for District 4,
Victor Gauthier.
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PG&E Gas Pipeline Replacement Work on Loma Verde
Mid February - Mid April
PG&E will be working on the 400 block of Loma Verde Avenue, between the intersections of Kipling and Waverley tentatively beginning February 19th. The project will involve trenching in the street to excavate and replace parts of the pipeline. Student commuters should avoid the area, and can take Cowper or Bryant to JLS (the regular recommended routes). Click on the picture to see the full JLS Walk & Roll map.
For more information on the PG&E project, please see the
City of Palo Alto's website. Any timeline changes or delays will be noted there.
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Commuters' Corner
Do you ever wonder why so many bicyclists ride in the center of the travel lane? Curious if it's safer to ride on the sidewalk than in the street? Get answers to those questions and more in our new
FAQ sheet on Sharing the Road.
Bike Light Giveaway / Bike Index Registration
Thank you to all who registered bikes during our bike light giveaway! Winners will be contacted by email. It's never too late to register your bike(s).
Click here to get started and contact
BikeIndexJLS@gmail.com if you have any questions. Your PTA Transportation Safety Reps are here to help.
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Each Friday! Superintendent's Weekly Board Update
Read Dr. Don Austin's Weekly Board Update, published new each Friday on the
District website.
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Parent Ed Night: Learn the Basic ABCs About LGBTQ+ Youth
Wednesday, March 13, 7 pm, Fletcher Middle School Café
This Parent Ed event is organized by the Fletcher Middle School PTA and staff, and is open/relevant to anyone, not just Fletcher families. Our event will be about understanding gender identities, sexual orientation, how to support LGBTQ+ youth in our community, and more. Open to all families with the purpose of supporting youth so we can be an inclusive and
welcoming community. Translation (Spanish and Mandarin) available if requested 3 days in advance. Please email
klee@pausd.org to request. Special guests include Miriam Stevenson (PAUSD’s Director of Student Services), Valerie Royaltey-Quandt (Greene Middle School Principal), Melissa Howell (Fletcher Middle School Principal), Diana Hernandez and Ryan Fouts (Project Outlet Education Coordinator and Program Director), Shounak Dharap (PAUSD Board of Education member), Sally G. (former PAUSD parent), and Julian G. (former PAUSD student). Also available: City and school library resource tables and great prizes! Have a question you’d like addressed?
Fill out this anonymous form by Monday, March 11th.
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PTAC Special Meeting - Stanford G.U.P. - Fully Mitigate
On Wednesday, February 6th, PTAC held a Special Meeting for the General Association focusing on the Stanford G.U.P. A number of resource materials were provided to all school communities, PTAs and PTSAs. We heard from Teachers’ Union (Teri Baldwin), CSEA (Meb Steiner), PAUSD Board (Dr. Jennifer DiBrienza) and PAUSD Superintendent (Dr. Don Austin), Nixon PTA President (Matthew Hayes), Palo Verde PTA President (Karolina Werner), Safe Routes To School Committee (Peter Phillips), and others. The association had a robust discussion on the issue of the largest development in the history of the County, and developed a strategies around letter writing campaigns to Stanford University and County Board Supervisors, via electronic and paper format. Each school community is choosing to do their own letter or letters addressing a focus that mostly impact them, e.g., Nixon PTA (focus on after-school child care). All PTAC-provided resource material, including PTAC Fact Sheet, as well as email addresses are posted and updated on the
PTAC website.
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General Association Meeting
Wednesday, February 13, 9-11 am, 25 Churchill Ave, District Office Board Room
Please join us. We welcome all. We invited Santa Clara County Board Supervisor,
Joe Simitian, to speak to us about the Teacher Housing and Update on the Stanford GUP Development Agreement. You don’t want to miss this.
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Call to Action: Please Sign the Petition
Palo Alto PTA Council urges you to take action. Parents, Teachers, Staff, PAUSD Students, Palo Alto Neighbors, and Colleagues, too! Please sign the online petition to speak up and voice your concerns.
The message is simple: Stanford to safeguard our children's education with full mitigation. PAUSD students who come with no tax dollars for their education in a public school is just not right. Full mitigation will safeguard our children’s education now and for future generations of school children.
Please Sign the Petition.
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2019 Annual CAC Sweetheart Awards - Call for Nominations
Is there a bus driver, friend, teacher, administrator, neighbor, aide, crossing guard, coach, fellow student, therapist, physician, volunteer or relative that has done something (however large or small) for your special needs child with an IEP or 504? Honor that person by nominating him or her for a CAC Sweetheart Award.
Submit nominations using this online form before
Thursday, February 14th (early submissions welcome). The Awards Ceremony will be on Wednesday, February 27th from 6-8pm at Nixon Elementary School. For more information or questions contact
sweethearts.award@gmail.com or go to
cacpaloalto.org. Co-sponsored by Palo Alto Community Advisory Committee for Special Education and the Palo Alto Council of PTAs.
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2019 Palo Alto Chinese New Year Fair
Sunday, February 24, 2-5 pm, Mitchell Park Community Center, 3700 Middlefield Rd
The Palo Alto Chinese Community cordially invites you and your family to celebrate 2019 Chinese New Year, the Year of the Pig. This fourth annual Chinese New Year Fair features performances of Chinese folk music, instruments, and dances by students from the Palo Alto Unified School District and local talents. The fun and festive celebration showcases Chinese art, cultural exhibitions, game booths, delicious foods and many more! The event admission is free and all proceeds from activities, food, etc. will be donated to support the Palo Alto schools. We look forward to seeing students, parents, teachers, staff, neighbors, and friends. This large-scale event is organized by the Palo Alto Chinese Parents Community in collaboration with the City of Palo Alto and Palo Alto Council of PTAs. Parking is limited, so please walk, bike, or share a ride.
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Volunteer – An Hour a Week Could Change a K-5 Student’s Life
Over 80% of East Palo Alto and eastern Menlo Park students are performing below grade level in reading and math. As a classroom volunteer, you will work with the same teacher and student every week for an hour during the school year. It’s an opportunity to build a relationship with a student and impact his or her life. All Students Matter provides training and coordinates logistics with you and your schedule in mind. Sign up now and start mid-September.
Learn more,
sign up to volunteer, or you're welcome to contact
Keri Tully. You can make a real difference!
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Be Inspired at the Mothers Symposium
Saturday, February 23, 9 am - noon; Palo Alto High School Performing Arts Center
Please join us for the 14th Mothers Symposium, #Mothering: Finding your Authentic Self. This year our program will include a panel of three remarkable women to discuss grounded mothering in the age of social media. For more information and tickets:
motherssymposium.org.
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Rise Together Education's Annual Fundraising Gala
Friday, March 15, 7-11 pm, Domenico Winery, 1697 Industrial Rd, San Carlos
Please join us for an evening of friendship, wine tasting, dinner, and dancing. Win vacation accommodations, dinner at local restaurants, and priceless experiences bidding on over 50 silent auction items. Let's raise our paddles during the live auction to raise funds for high achieving, low income Palo Alto students to assist with their plans to attend and graduate from a 4 year college program.
Buy your tickets today! Put together a table of ten! Early Bird Pricing ends February 28th. Tickets can also be purchased with a check made payable to Rise Together Education Inc and sent to 380 Hamilton Avenue, P.O. Box 29, Palo Alto, CA 94301. Please click here for a
sneak peek at the auction catalog.
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Nominate Great People for Awards (Due March 1)
Call for Nominations for HSA 2019. Each year the Palo Alto Council of PTAs may bestow one of several California State PTA Honorary Service Awards to individuals or organizations that have demonstrated outstanding service to children and youth in our community. The individuals or organization nominated must make far-reaching, notable contributions. The PTA Council HSA Committee selects persons or groups who have benefited children and youth on a district-wide or Palo Alto community level. We also have awards that honor exceptional PTA volunteers at the unit (school) level. If you know of someone or an organization that deserves to be honored,
please complete this form. Recipients will be announced at our Honorary Service Award Reception on Thursday, April 25th, 2019.
Visit here past recipients. Deadline for Nominations is March 1st.
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