Foothill e-Gazette  

  Published by the Foothill PFA                                                       February 20, 2019
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Important Dates 

Feb 20 - PFA Meeting at 7 pm in the Library

Mar 11 - No School Teacher In Service Day

For the complete Foothill calendar, click here.

In This Issue
5th Grade Parent/ Guardian Information Night
6th Grade Course Booklet
7th & 8th Grade Course Booklet
MDUSD Lunch Accounts
PFA Meeting Tonight
Ed Fund & Tech Fund Update
Join the PFA Board for 2019-20
Health Fair
Northgate Open House
Dine & Donate
Donors Choose
Important Dates for 8th Grade Families
Volunteer for Events at Foothill
After School Sports
Konstella at Foothill
Shop and Earn for Foothill
Community Announcements
Online Parent Community
                                                                                                                                                   
5th Grade Parent/ Guardian Night - Wednesday, February 27

This is an informational meeting for parents/ guardians of incoming 6th graders.  This event is for parents/ guardians only.

Date: Wednesday, February 27
Time: 7 pm - 8 pm
Location: Foothill Multi-Use Room

                                                                                                                                                   
6th Grade Course Booklet 2019-2020 & Elective Link

If you have an incoming 6th grader for the 2019-2020 school year please see the link bellow for Foothill's 6th Grade Course Booklet 2019-2020.

Incoming 6th graders will select one elective for 6th grade through the Google Form Elective Link which is available through March 1.
  

                                                                                                                                                   
7th & 8th Grade Course Booklet 2019-2020

For our current 6th and 7th graders, selection for electives will be done through their student AERIES account. Our administrators have visited the 6th and 7th grades to advise students on the elective process.
 
The window for selecting electives opened on Wednesday, February 13 and will now close on Monday, February 25. Our academic counselors, administrators and/or staff will be available in the A-6 lab, upon request, to assist students with their selection through February 25. Check in the front office if the lab is not open.   
 
We strongly encourage you to discuss with your child their choices and make a decision on the electives together. Elective course offerings are based on student signup, teacher availability and teacher credentialing. Courses may change in duration (i.e. yearlong to semester) or be cancelled based on student interest and staffing

 

                                                                                                                                                   
MDUSD Lunch Accounts

Here is  the link to add money to your child's lunch account. Additionally, here is  the link to check for the menu selection.

                                                                                                                                                   
Important PFA Meeting Tonight at 7 pm in the Library

At tonight's meeting we will be discussing and voting on several staff budget commitments for 2019/20 that affect library staffing, computer staff support and class size reduction funding. Not only is a quorum needed to vote, but your voice and opinions about where and how our PFA dollars are spent next year is very important. Click here for a link to the agenda. Moving forward in March and April we will be having additional discussions about budget priorities for next year with the final budg et approval vote happening at the May meeting. A reminder that all parents/ guardians of Foothill students are members of the PFA and are encouraged to participate.

Melissa Sunbury
PFA President

                                                                                                                                                   
Ed Fund and Tech Fund Update

Big THANK YOU to all the families that have donated to Ed Fund/ Tech Fund, whether through payroll deduction, check or by asking for matching from their employer. We are still short of our budget but are closing the gap!    
 
Current totals are:
Ed Fund : $82,150 (budget is $95,250). This money supports a number of initiatives, including a reduction in class size in math and science, library hours during brunch and lunch, technology support for student chromebooks and a crossing guard to help our kids get to school safely!

Tech Fund: $21,731 (budget is $22,500).  This money was deployed to purchase new chromebooks for our students.

Matching Fund: $13,777 (budget is $10,000).  This money will be used to support Ed Fund.  

Help your company feel good about itself (and possibly get a tax advantage!) by Asking for the Match!!    
Any questions or need your receipt?  Contact me at  seattlefoley@gmail.com

Anne Foley
Ed Fund/ Tech Fund Chair

                                                                                                                                                   
Get Involved at Foothill - PFA Board Members Needed for 2019-2020 PFA
 
 
The PFA needs YOU in 2019/2020!  Be a part of the PFA volunteer team that help s make Foothill great. Opportunities are available to meet a variety of interest levels and time commitments. If you have questions or are interested in getting more involved next year, contact Melissa Sunbury at  president.foothillpfa@gmail.com   

A list of PFA Board position descriptions can be found here 

                                                                                                                                                   
Health Fair
  
The Health Fair will be held on Wednesday, March 13 from 8:00 am to 2:00 pm. Students will attend the fair during their physical education class, and may also attend during their brunch period and after school.  

The purpose of the health fair is to increase health and safety awareness through education and prevention. 

If you would like to volunteer, be on the look out for a Sign Up Genius that will be coming out soon. We are in need of both volunteers and donations.

Kelly Moore & Heather LeSieur

                                                                                                                                                   
Northgate Open House 
  
Northgate Open House is scheduled for Thursday, February 21 at 6 pm. While this is primarily an event for current families to see what their students are doing in the different classes, it can also be an opportunity for current 8th grade students to see the classrooms and project displays.  

                                                                                                                                                   
Foothill Dine & Donate

The n ext Dine & Donate is scheduled for March 19 at Chipotle. Mark your calen d ars and plan for a night when y ou can support Foothill a nd you don't have to cook!

A big thanks to our FUNdraising team, Bonnie Bullis, Lisa Berndt and Sarah Bettelheim for organizing all the Dine & Donate events. 

                                                                                                                                                   
Donors Choose Projects from Foothill
 
We appreciate all of the financial support our community donates to all of our programs. Providing a list of our teacher's Donors Choose projects is not intended to keep hitting the same people up financially. However, we are sharing this list since our community members were asking for local funding opportunities. Donors Choose is designed to reach contributors beyond the parents and guardians at Foothill Middle School. 

 
All of these projects are terrific and we hope you will support them.  If you know someone who would like to donate, pass this email on! All of these projects need to be funded by the middle of March.

Mr. Meier has two projects -   Amazing Audio for Student Created Films and another project request for tablets to help his students create animated films.


Mr. Davis from wood shop has a project request for a MIG welder for the welding class.


Ms. Wesser-Singh has a project request " Keep Calm and Picnic On!"  She is requesting a picnic table for outside the classroom to be used for collaborative learning while being outdoors.


                                                                                                                                                   
For Your Planning - 8th Grade Families
   
Friday, May 31  - 8th Grade Activity Day 8:15 am to 4:30 pm

Monday, June 3  - 8th Grade Party 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm MU 

Wednesday, June 5  - 8th Grade Promotion 10:00 am - 11:00 am Foothill Sports Field
 
                                                                                                                                                   
Volunteer for Events and Activities at Foothill

Foothill needs parent volunteers throughout the year to help with various events and activities such as Teacher Appreciation Lunch, Change Wars, Open House, etc.  These events usually require only a few hours of time. Pl ease click the link below to sign up . You will then be contacted by the PFA chair of the event at a later date.
 
                                                                                                                                                   
After School Sports

Interested in any upcoming sports? Here are some upcoming important dates for Spring 2019 Sports!
 
Coed Intramural Beach Volleyball 2.0 @ HF
Days: T & TH 3:30 - 5pm
Season: 2/19 - 3/28
Cost: $275
 
Coed Competitve Golf
Tryouts: 2/26 & 2/28
Days: M-TH 3:30 - 5 pm
Season: 3/4 - 5/22
Cost: $400
 
Coed 3 on 3 Basketball Tournament
Pre-Tourney Meeting: 3/14
Days: M-TH 3:30 - 5 pm
Season 3/18 - 3/21
Cost: $25
 
Coed 3 on 3 Basketball 2.0
Days: M & W 3:30 - 5 pm
Season 3/25 - 5/8
Cost: $130

Registration is online! Register here.

If you have any questions, feel free to email either Athletic Director, Phillip Wcislo at wcislo@walnut-creek.org or Assistant Athletic Director, Chris Chavez at  cchavez@walnut-creek.org
                                                                                                                                                   
Student Directory Goes Online - Konstella at Foothill

New this year, Foothill PFA will be moving to an online directory using Konstella.

Go to www.konstella.com, then click on "Find Your School" and type in Foothill.

Enter your email address to receive an invitation and then follow the link to register.  You will be prompted to enter a password as well as add a child.  If you have multiple children at Foothill, you can add each one to their grade.  You will be able to set your privacy preferences to select what information is shared in the directory.

You may also download the Konstella app for your phone so that you can have directory and calendar information on the go.  Konstella also allows you to sync our calendar with your Google, iPhone, or other online calendars.

Besides the directory feature, we plan to use Konstella's calendar feature to keep parents informed of important events.  Consider joining now to be ready for back to school in August.

                                                                                                                                                   
Shop at Amazon to Earn for Foothill

Remember, you can support Foothill every time you shop Amazon.  Foothill's special link earns up to  5% for Foothill each time you shop!

Take a minute,  click this link  and then bookmark it to the top of your browser. Ask your student to help you :)
 
This link is also available on the homepage of the  Foothill PFA website . 

There is more information available on the  Fundraising page of the PFA Website.  Thanks for shopping for Foothill!  
  
                                                                                                                                                   
Community Announcements

Af ter School Center Located Right on Campus!
 
The Creek Teen Youth Center has been part of Foothill  Middle School  for the last 14 years.  We are open Monday-Friday right after school until 6 pm.  We offer great  after school  snacks, on-site tutoring, homework help, computers, outdoor activities, games, arts, community service and so much more!!! Take a look at our website to see what we currently have going on.
 
                               
 
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TAPS (Teen and Parent Service Society)
 
Calling all 8th Grade Girls!
 
Do you like to volunteer? Make new friends? Help your community?
 
Consider joining TAPS (Teen and Parent Service Society), and becoming part of a very special group of young women. TAPS is sure to be an enriching part of your high school years. New Membership applications are now being accepted. 
 
Email Daniela Rinard at danielarinard@gmail.com for more details. Visit our website for more information.
 
We hope to hear from you soon!   
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Kinsella Youth Theatre

If you are interested in youth theater for your 4th - 8th grade student please click here for more information.


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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.

                                                                                                                                                   
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.

                                                                                                                                                   

  
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.