Thurston Happenings

IMPORTANT DATES

9/24 SchoolPower Dodgeball Sign Up 8:30AM Sharp
9/25 Thurston PTA Meeting 9AM in library
9/26 New Families Welcome Tea 9AM-10:30AM (at Kitchen in the Canyon)
9/26 WEB Leaders meet with 6th graders during ESP
9/27 TOW Bonanza 3PM-6PM

Please join us for the 9AM September 25 Thurston PTA Meeting in the TMS colabatory (library). Coffee, tea and breakfast items will be provided.

TMS counselors will be leading a "Dialogue Workshop". This is a sampling from a larger demonstration that comes from Challenge Success, a program through Stanford University that promotes healthy balances in students' lives, which LBHS has already fully adopted.The Dialogue Workshop will start with a short skit performed by students followed by an open small group discussion about the issues related to student stress and pressure.

Thurston PTA Needs your help!

Thurston has 687 students
73 families have joined PTA with the "single membership"
98 families have joined PTA with the "family membership" (counts as 2 memberships)

Total: 171 families have joined Thurston PTA
Total Thurston PTA memberships: 296

(includes teachers/staff who joined PTA)

We are still in need of 79 Thurston PTA members

Please help us reach our goal of 375 Thurston PTA members.

Thank you to everyone that has already joined!

JOIN THURSTON PTA TODAY

You can also send cash or check in a sealed envelope to Thurston PTA and drop off in office. Cash/check/e-checks/cc can all be done online too. Once we receive your cash or check, we mark you off as payment received. Otherwise, we can enter your payment in manually if you don't want to go online.

Thurston PTA is here for our kids, teachers and school.

$15 per person

$30 per family (counts as 2 memberships)

Click Here to join

Our goal is 375 members. We currently have 296 Thurston PTA members.

JOIN PTA (No Volunteering Required!)

Thurston PTA helps enrich the education of all Thurston students.

We support, promote, manage, sponsor, and organize countless programs, including:

After School Clubs Buses
Teacher Grants
8th Gr. Museum of Tolerance Field Trip
SMART Card Awards
Thurston PTA College Scholarship
Student Assistance
6th Grade Million Word Readers
6th Grade Oral History Project
Staff Appreciation Week
Smart Drawings & Supplies
8th Grade Promotion

7th & 8th Grade Passion Project Field Trip
6th – 8th Grade Medals
Smart Assemblies
Coffee Talk
Fin the Shark Mascot
Gold Cards
United in Kindness
Sports Swap
Beach Clean-up
Academic Awards
Destination Imagination
ASB & PALS
Student Leadership
6th Gr. W.E.B. Days
Angels Family Night

Library support
Positive Postcards
Club Registration Fees
PTA Reflections Art Contest
Wave Rider Day
Kindness Challenge
Campus Culture Signs
Book Swap
Assembly Support
Attendance Certificates
New Student Support
P.E. Equipment Support
Blue & Gold Awards

Did you miss last Wednesday's LBUSD

Back to School Report at City Hall?

The district provided families with a wealth of information about our 4 LBUSD schools.

Click HERE to view the slide presentation. Great information was provided and is worthwhile to check it out.

Did you know.........

Per pupil spending for 2018-19 was $21,462
Property tax revenue for 2019-20 is estimated at $57.7

million.

The total budget for this year is roughly $64 million.
All organic produce. Locally sourced for meal prep and in our salad

bars offered at each school.

Environmentally Conscious- No plastic straws and utensils are biodegradable.
This year we’re incorporating more vegan and vegetarian meal options.
Piloting new breakfast program at TOW.
LBHS has 21 AP classes
Current enrollment at all 4 schools is 2,781 students:

Thurston Middle School: 687 students

Top of the World Elementary: 580 students

El Morro Elementary: 459 students

Laguna Beach High School: 1,055 students

Thurston getting a new field next summer! View the link to see the design.

That's just a small sample of the information the school district provided.

Click HERE to view all the slide presentations.

Meet the Thurston Team

This week we are pleased to highlight:

Michelle Martinez

Teacher, Social Studies

Birthday - December 15

Tell us about yourself:

I was born in Pasadena, California but primarily grew up in El Paso, Texas. I have been a social studies teacher for 27 years and have taught at Thurston for 15 years. I’ve been happily married for 30 years and have three children who attended both Thurston and LBHS. All three of my children attended Baylor University in Texas. My son, Beau, is a Pharmacist, my daughter, Noelle, is a Forensic Archaeologist/Anthropologist, and my son, Elijah, works in film in Atlanta. I also have two precious rescue dogs from Laguna Beach Animal Shelter named Matilda and Marley.

What is the best advice you have for students?

My best advice to students- Know your “Dash” in life, who you are, and make a positive impact on the world!

What game or movie universe would you most like to live in?

Outlander

What do you consider to be your best find?

Second edition book “Gone with the Wind”

What’s your favorite genre of book or movie?

Historical Fiction

Why did you decide to do the work you are doing now?

I wanted students to love history as much as I do.

Where is the most relaxing place you’ve ever been?

Ireland

Photo: Michelle Martinez's doggies!

Thank you Michelle Martinez for participating in our Thurston

team interview!

Thank you to Summer Thacker for volunteering for Ball Room Last Week!

And thank you Faith Mills for Chairing our Super Hike Program!

Ball Room Sign Up

A parent volunteer is needed at lunch time each day to check out balls.

The job entails showing up at the specified time, going to the Ball Room, pulling out the sign-out sheet for the balls, monitoring that kids sign the balls out.

After 45 minutes and the end of lunch, the kids will return the balls, the parent volunteer puts the sign-out sheet away and the job is completed.

You can sign up for a weekly, monthly, or one time experience. It takes less than one hour of your time. Questions? Contact Ball Room Chair Leslie Heard HERE

Click Here for Ball Room Sign Up

Super Hike volunteers make a commitment to be at school during a specific time to accompany the students on their P.E. hike. The hike is always on a block day (Thursday/Friday) and usually takes place once a month. It is a fun and invigorating opportunity to spend time with the kids and we are grateful for your desire to be a part of it.

Sports Swap is just around the corner!

Now is the time to set aside your gently used sporting good items to donate or consign to Sports Swap, such as surfboards, paddle boards, skimboards, boogie boards, snow boards, skateboards, bikes, razors, scooters, wetsuits, ski & snowboarding clothing and sports-related items!

Click Here to RSVP

Thurston families, please ask your child(ren) today if they would like to enter the annual Reflections Art Contest.

PTA Reflections Art Contest

QUICK FACTS:

The Reflections contest theme is “Look Within”.
It is the 51^st year of the contest.
Our LBUSD school deadline is Friday October 25 at 2PM.
Students of all ages/abilities welcome.
Thurston students submit your entries in the Thurston office.
Students may submit as many entries as they like in any of 6 categories: literature, photography, visual art (2D and 3D), music composition, dance choreography, film making.
District Exhibit/Reception at TOW for all LBUSD schools: 11/21, 5PM
Thurson PTA will have a pizza party at lunchtime for all TMS students that entered. Date to be determined soon. Gluten-free, dairy-free, vegetarian/vegan options available too.

Questions? Please contact Thurston PTA Reflections Chair Lori Werstein at:

loriwerstein@yahoo.com

Click here for Reflections entry form and rules

BACK TO SCHOOL BONANZA!

Friday, September 27: 3-6 PM. All families and community members welcome! Location: TOW Elementary School

Seeking family & business sponsors for Thurston PTA's

Kindness Challenge

(Kindness Challenge coming January 2020. Logo designed by Thurston art teacher Ivy Leighton)

StuNews donated $5,000 worth of free advertising for our Kindness Challenge. Sponsors that donate $350+ will get their logo in the StuNews ads twice a week for the entire year (plus t-shirts, banner, PTA Newsletters and website).

Click here for more information on sponsorship

To pay online for Sponsorship via cash/check/e-check/credi card

click HERE