Hidden Valley Hawk Talk Newsletter, Issue #6
Monday, October 9, 2023
Oct 13
Hidden Valley Fun Run
Oct 25
School Picture Day
Oct 31
Halloween Parade at 8:30 AM
Nov. 10
No school - Veteran's Day (Observed)
Nov. 13-17
Super minimum dismissal/ Parent and teacher conferences
Nov. 20-24
No school - Fall Break
#MaytheFUNbewithyou
Congrats Team Sampson for winning the Week 2 Hashtag contest (see above) and Team Brandt for the winning Week 2 logo contest. Pick out your comfiest and enjoy your PJ day!
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With just 4 days left to go, we are in the Fun Run home stretch and are at 69% our donation goal and 90% participation. Excitement is building on campus for race day. Thank you for continually showing up for our learning community and the support you've provided to make our Fun Run a success! Let’s bring this over the finish line!
INSIDER TIP: Did you know donations are tax deductible and some companies will match your donation? All donors receive a tax receipt with their donation.
Also, this week we will be sending home (or handing out in class, for the younger students) Fun Run shirts and Hawk Sunglasses to wear to school on Friday, October 13. Pull out all the orange and blue gear you and your Hawks have. Get creative!
DAY OF FUN RUN LOGISTICS
Below is the Fun Run schedule for Friday, October 13th. We still need volunteers especially for set up and the first races (there will be coffee and donuts!) so sign up and get a front row seat to the action. If you can’t volunteer but want to cheer on your child, you can join us in the designated adult cheering section during the race time. If you can't make it, your child's buddy will be there to cheer them on! Check in on the lower blacktop at least 15 mins before your child’s race time, so that you don’t miss the start.
On Friday, your child will need: comfortable running shoes, their HAWK t-shirt, a water bottle and HAWK spirit! During the race, there is no requirement for students to run, or complete a certain number of laps. Just do your best!
Please reach out to your class Fun Run rep should you have additional questions.
Week 3 Winners
It was a very close race but Team Hirsh won the Flash Fundraiser week by one donor and had the most donors week over week. We can’t wait to hear your school theme day idea.
Everyone, 124 Hawks, with at least three donations was entered into this week’s raffle. Congratulations to Talia Crotti (Horky) who won the Fairfax Theater Movie tickets.
Final Week Contests
Which team will take the top spot? It’s anybody's race! There are 7 Hawks with over 10 donations but there is still time to grab the grand prize, Principal for the Day, awarded to the individual with the most number of donors. The class with the most number of donations will win a Virtual Reality enBridgement class.
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Also in the prize mix is an extra recess for the top earning class and all classes that have 100% participation! Congrats to Team Selby and Team Sottile for joining the 100% participation/extra recess club! Here are the class standings as we head into the final stretch:
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#WhenIsayFunYousayRUN!
-Your Fun Run Crew (Mike Cassin and Sandra Murtagh)
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Hello Hidden Valley Families!
We are in the home stretch of our Fun Run campaign! Help us meet our goal. As of last Friday morning, we have raised $47,000 and 89% participation. This is great, but we’d love to make it all the way to $70,000! Send around those pages to friends and family and ask them to help our wonderful school. And don’t forget: DONATIONS ARE TAX DEDUCTIBLE!
On Friday, October 6th, we held our second PTO meeting of the year. This time, it was combined with our DEI committee and the School Site Council. During the meeting, we received an update from our Fun Run team and discussed volunteer needs, including a new Popsicle Rep (thanks, Mike!) and volunteers for yard duty and Walk and Roll to School. As always, if you’re interested in volunteering, please reach out!
“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” The overarching theme of the remainder of the PTO meeting was brainstorming ways to improve inclusion on and off campus within the Hidden Valley community. We are far better together than we are apart. Those in attendance participated in small group discussions about cultural differences within our own experiences. We then built on those small discussions to come up with a list of ideas to help improve inclusion. Suggestions included: (1) greater standardization between classes of a single grade level; (2) exposure to languages other than English through music, games and/or lunch clubs; (3) varied times for activities and meetings (evenings and/or Zoom); and (4) a cultural night, either at the HV level or district-wide.
We still have work to do! Please join us for our next meeting! Keep your eye on the Hawk Talk for date and time.
Have a great week!
Team PTO
From the library
To highlight the value of free and open access to information, we celebrated Banned Books Week. This year’s theme was “Let Freedom Read”. We discussed several of the challenged books in our library including: Julian is a Mermaid, I am Jazz, Drama, George, Separate is Never Equal, and Front Desk, among others.
Students listened to the read aloud, Worm Loves Worm. It is about two worms in love that decide to get married, and with help from Cricket, Beetle, Spider, and the Bees they have everything they need and more, but which one will be the bride and which the groom? This book has been challenged because of LGBTQ content. The classes had great discussions about the freedom to read and express ideas. Books that share ideas different than our own present ‘windows’ into others’ perspectives and thinking.
THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING ARTS EDUCATION @ HIDDEN VALLEY!
These amazing programs, teachers and supplies would not be possible without your support. There are many ways to support arts education at our schools.
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Monthly payment plan at a level that feels right for your family.
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Matching donation from your employer. Check with your HR department!
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Donate through your business and become a YES Business Partner.
Every week we will have a question of the week spanning varied subjects sometime including the content within the newsletter. The first one to respond gets a callout next week.
Week 6 Question:
Who is California's newest Senator?
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1) Nancy Pelosi
2) Gavin Newsom
3) Alex Padilla
4) Laphonza Butler
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Please post your answers here
Last week's quickest responder Sara Wilson. The answer was: Shakespeare
Congratulations, Sara!
