Foothill PFA Newsletter - August 15, 2018

Please check HomeLink after 4:00 pm on Wednesday, August 15 for your child's school schedule. As we are balancing classes, there may be scheduling changes. The schedule in HomeLink must be followed for accountability of students.

We look forward to a wonderful school year!

Welcome and Welcome-back to Foothill from the PFA!

The 2018-2019 school year begins tomorrow and I am excited for another great school year to begin. Last week's Walk Thru was a big success thanks to the 50+ volunteers that donated their time to make the day run more quickly and smoothly for all! THANK YOU VOLUNTEERS!

Every parent at Foothill is automatically a member of the Parent Faculty Association. Getting involved and attending PFA meetings is one of the best ways to stay engaged and informed about what is going on at Foothill. Parent involvement through volunteering or donations to the Ed. Fund play a critical roll in enabling us to offer instructional programs, activities and facilities that distinguish Foothill.

Our first meeting this year will be Wednesday, August 29 at 7 pm in the library. However, we generally meet the third Wednesday of each month, and the agenda for the meeting is published on the PFA website the week prior. Please join us. Come meet Kim Vaiana, our new principal and learn what the Parent Faculty Association at Foothill is all about.

I hope the 2018-2019 school year will be exciting, engaging, educational and successful for both you and your students.

I look forward to meeting and working with you. If you have questions of any sort, please feel free to reach out if to me at [email protected]

Melissa Sunbury - PFA President

What are the Foothill Education and the Foothill Technology Funds?

The Foothill Educational Fund ("Ed Fund") and the Foothill Technology Fund ("Tech Fund") are

administered by the Foothill PFA to help our school bridge the gap between public funding and

the current, true cost of the quality education our students enjoy at Foothill.

These funds pay for programs and staff positions that would be unavailable to our

students through public funding alone.

The Ed Fund provides funding for:

Smaller class sizes for math and science in all grades
Lunchtime library access for all students
Computer lab instructional assistant
Crossing Guards

The Tech Fund provides funding for:

Progress towards a 1 computer per 1 student ("1:1") ratio in math, science and English classes
Educational software updates

These funds are supported by generous donations from you, our Foothill families. Although

donations are not a requirement of enrollment at Foothill, we truly appreciate your generosity.

The goal of these funds is to achieve 100% participation regardless of the dollar amount,

however, suggested donations for the 2018/2019 school year are:

Ed Fund: $325 per student

Tech Fund: $100 per student

You can donate at Walk Through on August 9th, or you can make an online donation now using

the links below:

Ed Fund Donation Link

Tech Fund Donation Link

If you donate online, please print a copy of your receipt to bring to Walk Through to expedite

your way through the Ed/Tech Fund line.

Double Your Donation with Corporate Matching!

The donations you make to the Education and Technology Funds may be eligible for Corporate

Matching Funds. It is usually a very quick process to request a matching request as most

employers offer corporate matching via online portals on your corporate intranet. Typically all

you will need is the following information:

Our name: Foothill Parent-Faculty Association
Our address: 2775 Cedro Lane, Walnut Creek, CA 94598
Our tax ID number: #68-0015686
The date and amount of your gift

Please consider asking about whether your employer will match your donation.

** Thank you for your generous support of Foothill Middle School! During these times of

budget constraints in education, we rely on the support of every family to continue to

deliver an outstanding education for Foothill students. **

Anne Foley

2018-2019 Ed and Tech Fund Chair

[email protected]

Annual Welcome Back Breakfast for all Parents, Teachers and Staff

Join your fellow parents, teachers and staff at the annual Foothill PFA Welcome Back Breakfast on Friday, 8/24. There will be coffee and breakfast treats that you can enjoy while catching up with friends and teachers you haven't seen all summer.

We also need volunteers to help provide breakfast items for the event. Sign Up Here to bring something. If possible, please have items to the Library between 7:00-7:30 am that morning.

The event starts at 7:45 am.

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!

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.

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.

PFA Volunteer Sign-Up

Welcome Back from After School Sports!

We are so excited to have another great year of athletic programs to offer! Sports are coming up and registration is open!

Upcoming Sports:

Girls Competitive Volleyball:

Come try out for Foothill's Competitive Volleyball Teams! We have a 7th grade and an 8th grade "A" level team that will be competing this season against other schools in the area to prepare for the tournament at the end of the season! This is a great opportunity to be able to represent Foothill and get some great playing experience!

Try Outs:

Both 7th grade and 8th grade try outs will be on 8/28 & 8/29, 4:30 - 6 PM.

Registration Deadline: 8/23

Season Details:

8/30 - 10/26, Mondays - Thursdays

Practices at 4:30 - 6 PM.

Game Schedule: TBA

Girls Intramural Volleyball:

If you want to start learning the sport of volleyball, then come out and try Foothill's Girl's Intramural Volleyball Program! Coaches create separate, but evenly skill balanced, teams where they will help work on the fundamentals during practices to ensure you are learning and improving skills. Beginners are very welcome! After your team has had multiple practice sessions, you get to put your new skills to the test as your team gets to play against other Intramural teams in scheduled games! Games are played against Foothill and Walnut Creek Intermediate teams only. Also, at the end of the season, you get to participate in the JAMBOREE where we spend all day playing against all of the other teams!

Season Dates: 9/11 - 10/18, Tuesdays - Thursdays, 3:30 - 4:30 PM

Registration Deadline: 9/6

Game Schedule: TBA

Coed 3 on 3 Basketball:

Interested in getting down basketball fundamentals and using the sport to get to know other athletes? Then come join the City's Coed 3 on 3 Basketball Program! Fun small sided games after running drills with coaches who are there to get the fundamentals down. Teams are randomized each day so it's a new group of teammates each time!

Season Dates: 9/10 - 10/17, Mondays and Wednesdays, 3:30 - 4:30 PM.

Registration Deadline: 9/6

Sign-ups are online! Click here to get registered and check out some of our other programs!

If you have any questions please feel free to contact:

[email protected]

Thank you!

Phillip Wcislo | Athletic Director - After School Sports

Foothill Middle School & Walnut Creek Intermediate

City of Walnut Creek Recreation

Ph (925)-256-3539 | [email protected]

Community Announcements

Run~Jog~Walk in the YoursHumanly 5K to support education both locally and throughout the world.

PEAK Education Foundation, which supports the 5 Northgate-area schools, including Foothill is partnering with YoursHumanly, for their 5K Break a Sweat for Education run on October 6 at Heather Farm . Register as part of the PEAK Team and Foothill will receive a portion of the proceeds. You'll be supporting education both at home and abroad.

To learn more about YoursHumanly and their mission to provide greater access to education for children in underserved communities around the world, click here .

To learn more details about the race, click here

When registering, be sure to select the PEAK TEAM , or when it asks "How Did You Learn about the Race" during the registration process, indicate PEAK.

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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 [email protected] 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 [email protected]. 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.

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