District News

​TK & K Registration

Have a child entering TK or Kindergarten at Ormondale next year?  Attend the Kinder Tour on Wednesday 1/22 at 8:30am or TK Tour on Friday 1/24 at 8:30am and learn all about Ormondale's Kinder and TK programs. 

Principal Hovland and parents will be available to answer questions.

GET READY FOR ORMONDALE'S SCIENCE FAIR AND INVENTION CONVENTION!

The Fair starts on Tuesday February 4th, when students can bring their displays to the Ormondale MUR just before school. Ormondale's Science Night will be held on Thursday the 6th from 5:30pm- 7:00 pm. It's a time when families can come to view the displays, and hear what our resident Scientists and Inventors have been up to! Please plan to come a little early and have dinner as there will be food trucks at Ormondale to help with the dinner time crunch - Stay tuned for Food Trucks list!

SECOND GRADES SUPER FOOD OF THE MONTH OF JANUARY:  CITRUS!

Citrus fruits are oranges, grapefruits, lemons, limes and citron.  Citrus not only helps to keep us healthy, but it helps keep our sugar levels (glucose) stay steady longer and not spike.    

Oranges have a score of 45 for sugar and grapefruit has a score of 25.  Raisins have a score of 64 and Gatorade has a score of 89.  

Candy, sugar cereal, ice cream, soda and junk food have high glucose levels and scores.  These foods spike our sugar levels up high and make us hyper.  Then, we get a sugar crash and are tired and grumpy.  

Vitamin C is healthy and very good for us.  Citrus is high in Vitamin C.  It helps us to have a strong immune system, which helps keep us from getting sick with a cold or the flu.  

Citrus is also high in fiber.  An orange has 2.3 grams of fiber and a tangerine has 1.6 grams of fiber.  A grown woman needs 25 grams of fiber a day, so eat lots of citrus!

Do you want to keep looking young and have soft, full skin?  Then eat lots of citrus, because it raises collagen levels.  Collagen builds new, healthy cells, like the ones that build new skin.

Bad “LDL” cholesterol and triglycerides block our arteries, which can cause a heart attack.  Oranges and red grapefruit lower these bad levels.  

Now that you know how good citrus is for you, be sure to add it to your healthy diet.  And don't forget a healthy treat every now and then.   Click below for our Easy Lemon Sugar Cookies recipe.

sweet thanks to our cocoa breakfast volunteers!

A special thanks to our dedicated team of cocoa breakfast volunteers who braved chilly and wet conditions to warm up our wonderful 4th and 5th graders! Shout out to Aimee Blum, Elizabeth Rubin, Julie Harding and Barbara Costa for making this sweet tradition such a hit last Friday!

Foundation News

Your Foundation Dollars at Work

Week 14:  Weather Stations - Engineering Weather Safe Buildings for Tomorrow

The Next Generation Science Standards program instituted in recent years includes a unit on weather for all 3rd grade classes. The new curriculum teaches how natural forces change the weather; local weather-related problems such as wildfires, floods, wind and storms; and extreme weather around the globe with a spotlight on climate change. The unit culminates in a challenge to create a weather-safe community.

With a grant from the Portola Valley Schools Foundation, the 3rd grade teachers purchased three analog weather stations with thermometers, hygrometers and storm glass weather predictors to give their students a visual understanding of temperature changes, barometric pressure and humidity,. They also bought books for their students to do research.

And, because the unit includes a final challenge to build a weather-safe structure, they purchased an industrial fan to create a wind tunnel where students will test their final creations.
“Hands on projects always capture the imagination of students,” teacher Daphna Woolfe said, “and make the learning all that more memorable.”

YES! PROTECT PORTOLA VALLEY SCHOOLS 

This March, Portola Valley and Woodside voters will have the opportunity to vote YES on an essential local parcel tax renewal measure to keep highly qualified teachers in the classroom and maintain outstanding academic programs in the Portola Valley School District.  Click here to show your support for this measure now by putting your name on the endorsement list. 
​
Your endorsement will lend credibility to our effort and demonstrate that this measure is supported broadly.

For more information about this measure, visit www.yesforportolavalleyschools.com or email the Yes4PortolaValleySchools campaign co-chairs Nelly Wolfson [email protected] or Josh Harmssen [email protected].

If you are interested, please contact Nelly Wolfson [email protected] or Josh Harmssen [email protected].

Community NEWS HEADLINES - click button for details

• PANTHER'S CAMP, SIGN UPS AVAILABLE NOW!
  
• LITERACY VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES AT REDWOOD CITY MIDDLE SCHOOLS 
• JEFF ARONS' SPRING TENNIS PROGRAM AT SACRED HEART SCHOOL
• NEW FITNESS CLASSES AT ALPINE
• REGISTER TODAY FOR GIRLS SOFTBALL 2020 SPRING SEASON!
• WAIT UNTIL 8TH
• KIDS & ADULTS HIP HOP CLASSES WITH SANGINI
• WINDMILL SCHOOL LAUREL EDUCATION CENTER WINTER LINEUP
• PORTOLA VALLEY COMMUNITY CLASSES
• ALPINE LITTLE LEAGUE SPRING 2020
• CHESS KING WINTER/SPRING 2020 SESSION
• REDWOOD CITY GIRLS SOFTBALL REGISTRATION
• YES! I ENDORSE PORTOLA VALLEY SCHOOLS​

Community postings will now be on their own page of the PTO website - please click the button to see all of the community news details. Guidelines for submission remain the same. 

If you no longer wish to receive this newsletter, please click unsubscribe below.