Volume 3 Issue 10 | June 2020
Home & School Club
Dear Leigh Families,

We hope you are all staying safe and healthy. The official end of year for our Home & School Club is June 30th so we wanted to do a quick wrap up before we head into the new school year. We would like to share with you where we spent your donations this year, say a huge thank you to all of our donors and volunteers, introduce you to next year's board, and share a few reminders about programs available for Leigh families.

We want to confirm that due to the ongoing social distancing requirements, we have postponed the Stampede to next year: Sunday, May 16th, 2021.

The Leigh face masks we purchased for our teachers and staff are proving to be very popular! We are currently in the process of sourcing similar face masks for our students. These will be available for purchase on our website in a few weeks. We will notify you as soon as they are available.

Thank you to everyone for your support during the past few months. This has been a challenging time for everyone and we are so grateful for our amazing Leigh community!

With gratitude,
Aine & Tamara
LHSC Co-Presidents
Where did we spend our money this year?

Through our Annual Giving Drive, we raised $31,491 in donations and $9,044 in Corporate Matching. Through our Chromebook Drive on Giving Tuesday in November we raised, via donations and corporate matches, a total of $17,227. This included a matching donation of $10,000 from one of our Leigh families. We also received the following large donations:

  • $5,000 … donation + corporate match from the Gabriel Family
  • $10,750 … donation from an anonymous donor
  • $24,000 … donation + corporate match from an anonymous donor
  • $25,000 … donation from an anonymous donor

Thank you so much to all of our families for your very generous donations which continue to make an enormous impact and ensure that we can support important programs for our students. We are incredibly grateful to you all. Thank you for making a difference at Leigh!

Your donations allowed us to fund the following (note: this is a high level overview — more details are available on our website ).

  • Classroom resources ($8,400)
  • Science Department donation ($10,000)
  • Art Department donation ($10,000)
  • Chromebooks ($17,000)
  • Staff grants ($13,000)
  • Calculators for math/SPED classes ($6,000)
  • Laptops for the library ($10,000)
  • Professional development for staff ($6,000)
  • Mental Health Support ($4,500)
  • COVID support ($3,000)
  • Staff Appreciation ($3,000)
  • Campus Beautification ($2,000)
  • Misc: College & Career Center, communications, tax prep etc
Thank You to All of Our Volunteers!

Thank you to all of our wonderful parents who have volunteered their time at Leigh this year. We are so grateful for your support with the following programs and activities:
  • HSC Board & Committees
  • Registration Day
  • Book Room
  • Back To School Night
  • College & Career Center
  • Campus Beautification
  • Staff Appreciation
  • Adulting 101 Program
  • Challenge Day Support
  • Measure K Parcel Tax Campaign
  • Grad Night Planning
  • Stampede 5K Run/Walk Planning
We Love our Teachers and Staff!

Thank you so much to everyone who wrote thank you cards and emails to our teachers and to all those who mailed and emailed gift cards. They were so appreciated! Thank you for helping us show our gratitude for everything our teachers and staff have done for our students this year and especially during these past challenging months.

On behalf of all of our families, the HSC also gifted each teacher and staff member with a Leigh face mask. They were loved by everyone, and added so much to the school spirit during these difficult times. 
View our Speaker Series Webinar Recordings


We held three webinars during the last few weeks of school. The webinar recordings and accompanying slide decks are available on our website . We encourage you to check them out!

We hope to continue our Speaker Series in the next school year. If you have a topic you would like to learn about, please let us know. Email us at communications@leighhsc.org .
How Schools are Funded

  • Where do California’s Public School Funds Come From
  • Prop 13 and how it impacts school funding
  • Where do CUHSD/Leigh funds come from
  • How is CUHSD/Leigh money spent
Booster Clubs at Leigh and What They Do

Representatives from each of our boosters shared the work they do to support our school

  • Home & School Club
  • PAPA
  • Sports Boosters
  • Spirit Boosters
CUHSD Education Foundation

Learn about the CUHSD Education Foundation and how it supports our students and teachers in our district and at Leigh.
Adulting 101 Program for Leigh Students

Earlier this year, Mrs. Butler had been working with parent volunteers and Leigh Staff to develop a curriculum for an Adulting 101 workshop for seniors. As a result of Shelter-In-Place, Mrs. Butler asked the Home & School Club to coordinate an online version of this program for ALL students. The program is available on our website . Please encourage your students to check it out. Students can learn how to cook healthy food, write a resume, interview for a job and manage money, among other important life skills. A huge thank you to the parents and staff who made this happen.

Sandra McGonagle, Sylvia Branca, Michelle Fisher (Leigh Parents)
Nathalie Goricanec (Leigh Staff)


Tammi Hall, Nina Hokeness, Stacey Strachman (Leigh Parents)


Ashleigh Coffeng (Leigh Parent); Kristine Grim (Leigh Parent/Staff)


Tammi Hall (Leigh Parent), Kristi Blumstein (Leigh Parent Alumni)


 Andrew Hogg (Leigh Parent); Seana McKean-Saul (Leigh Staff)
Mental Health Support for our families
Learn skills and strategies to manage stress - HAERT™️ Program

The HAERT program is free to Leigh families and consists of short videos (5-15mins) and accompanying handouts focused on helping students develop skills and strategies to manage stress. Click here to access the videos .  
 
COVID-19 Teen TOOLBOX Free Resources

A wealth of free resources from Gina Biegl , local therapist and owner of  Stressed Teens , can be found at https://www.stressedteens.com/covid-19-tool-kit
Thank you to our 2019-20 Board and Committee Members, and we extend a warm welcome to our 2020-21 Board and Committee members...


  • Co-Presidents - Aine O'Donovan & Tamara Strachman
  • Vice President - Ashleigh Coffeng
  • Treasurer - Amy Hogg
  • Auditor - Doug Evans
  • Secretary - Jenny Green
  • Parliamentarian - Gretchen Gabriel
  • Technology/Google Drive Support - Rama Nemani
  • Communications - Amy Gardner, Angie Lu & Susan Smith
  • Community Building, incl. Freshman Orientation, BTSN and Leigh Stampede - Susan Dahl, Andrew Hogg, Mike Norcia
  • Academic Tutoring Coordinator - Rama Nemani
  • Mental Health & Wellbeing - Kristin Welter
  • Campus Beautification - Kelly Masini, Tamiko House & Ashleigh Coffeng
  • Staff Appreciation - Amanda Bierly, Alexis Hoekstra, Amy Sells
  • Grad Night - Kristina Williams & Kris Suzuki
  • District Rep, Facilities - Tamara Strachman
  • District Rep, Finance - Doug Evans
  • Sports Booster Liaison - Kristina Williams
  • Spirit Booster Liaison - Claire Whitehead
  • PAPA Booster Liaison - Sean Simonson
  • Additional committee members - Oren Katzir, Anne Harro
Join our HSC Team!

We would like to invite you to join our team for the school year 2020-21. All skills and interests are needed. We typically have a variety of projects such as community building, financial management, communications, fundraising, project planning, gardening, writing, technology support, volunteer coordination, College & Career Center support, etc. We also need parents for once-off projects such as the Stampede 5K Run/Walk scheduled for May 16th, 2021, and Senior Grad Night in June 2021. Next year there may also be new tasks as the school navigates our new learning environment. 

Being on the board is a great way to support Leigh, to learn more about our school, and to get to know other parents in the community. However, we understand that many of you may want to help but just don't have the time or energy right now to think about exactly how. That is totally ok. We can add you to the team and figure out the details when we are all in a better place :-)

Please do get in touch if you would like to join us next year, have any suggestions for projects you would like to see happen, need support with anything, or have any questions at all. Email us at president@leighhsc.org .
Why Do Parents Volunteer at Leigh?


We asked our Board and Committee parents why they volunteer at Leigh. Here are some of the responses...

"I volunteer because I want the school to run well and efficiently, and the more people that help, the better a school will be."

"To be the change we want to see."

"I am a huge supporter of public schools and the role they play in bringing our community together. Leigh Home & School Club plays a vital role by allowing parents to provide further support for our school's mission. As a Board member I get to help direct and focus this parent support to provide maximum benefit to the students. I also get to be involved in the community and meet all of the amazing administrators, teachers, students and parents."

"I volunteer to serve as a role model for my children so they will see the value of volunteering in our community and want to do the same when they are older, and to learn more about Leigh from the teachers' and administration's perspective."

"I volunteer because I believe there is a direct correlation between parent engagement and student success. It is important to show our students that we care. This can include anything from being aware of what is happening on campus, to showing up for an hour to help on a task, to organizing an event in its entirety. If I only make a difference in the life of just one student, then I am happy!"

"I volunteer because I want to make a difference in our community, and be a part of creating a positive environment for all of our students, parents and teachers."

"Home & School Club is a non-profit, volunteer organization whose main focus is to foster a healthy, positive school environment for all students. Volunteering allows me to make a contribution to the school and stay aware of what is happening at the school and in my students' academic lives. It also allows me to hang out with some really wonderful people."

"I volunteer because I enjoy giving back to my community, supporting our amazing staff and making Leigh a better place for all our students. I enjoy knowing what is going on in the school, because my students don't always communicate everything with me!"

"I volunteer because I want to have a positive influence on the school and because sometimes we have the option to complain or do and it's always better to 'do.' I volunteer because I want to role model for my children (if you want change, make it happen), and because it's rewarding to give back to the community - and it's appreciated!"



We would be delighted to have you join our team next year!
Please reach out to the HSC president at president@leighhsc.org. We would love to hear from you!
Leigh High School Home and School Club is an all volunteer 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
Tax ID # is 77-0199809. All donations are tax-deductible.