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Mon, Sep 16 11:11am

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Dear Lafayette Community,

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend! Now, let's get ready for the week with your weekly Dolphin Digest!

Monday evening, September 16th, there are two back-to-back events I'm hoping to attend: at 5:30pm online will be this year's first meeting of Lafayette's English Learners Advisory Council (ELAC), and then at 6:30pm up the hill at George Washington High School, the mayoral candidates will be speaking on SF public education. I hope to see many of you at one or both! Details are below.

In this week's Dolphin Digest:

🚘 Volunteers Needed: Parking Fundraiser October 5th, 6th
🎭 Spotlight on After-School Enrichment: Creative Drama - Signups Open Now
💗 First PTA Meeting Kicked Off the School Year Strong!
😊 School Social Work Newsletter from Emily Newman
🌐 English Learners Advisory Committee Meeting - September 16th
🍩 Donut Dash - September 29th! Check Out Those Donor Comments
🎉 Spirit Fridays! Buy Spirit Wear, Meet the PTA, & More
📷 Lately at Lafayette
👋 Community (Non-PTA) Corner:
- Mayoral Candidates Speak Up on SF Public Education - September 16th
- Lafayette Elementary Welcomes You to Grade Level Playground Playdates

Join the PTA

🚘 Volunteers Needed: Parking Fundraiser October 5th, 6th

During the upcoming Hardly Strictly Bluegrass music festival, Lafayette PTA is holding a parking fundraiser at Lafayette's schoolyard to raise funds. This will be Oct 5, Saturday, and 6, Sunday. And we will need many volunteers!

We will be open to event goers from 10am to 8pm on both days. Volunteers will receive payments, guide cars to each parking spot, and staff the lot. We will need to fill 20 volunteer shifts (2 volunteers for each shift and we will have 5 shifts each day). This is a great opportunity to raise money from and connect with the public! In the past three years, we have held this annual fundraiser and successfully raised thousands of dollars each time. Please join us and make this fundraiser a success again this year!

To sign up for a shift, please put your name and contact info in this signup sheet.

Questions? Contact Yusuke Wada, yusuke.wada@gmail.com.

🎭 Spotlight on After-School Enrichment: Creative Drama - Signups Open Now

Is your child a budding actor? Or do they want to have fun with friends and get creative? Lafayette is offering two after-school Creative Drama classes through New Conservatory Theatre Center that start the week of September 23rd. The classes are fun, engaging, and involve a lot of games and movement. Any level of experience is welcome.

Sign up now on Homeroom.com:

Grades 1-2

Grades 3-5

💗 First PTA Meeting Kicked Off the School Year Strong!

Thank you to everyone who joined us for the first PTA meeting of the year last Wednesday! Quick highlights: We approved a fresh budget for the year, heard PTA survey results and committee updates, and learned from teachers Ms. Young and Ms. Tong about how technology is used at school. See photos toward the end of this newsletter for a book recommendation for grown-ups navigating tech with kids!

And in case you weren't able to make it (or want to relive the magic)... View the slides from the September PTA meeting right here.

In approving the proposed budget, our PTA has now fully funded the STEAM teacher position for this year!* This would not have been possible without all of the support from our school community, so THANK YOU to everyone who has donated and/or worked so hard to raise funds.

*For anyone who missed this info, last year's SFUSD budget cuts left Lafayette without any district funding for our beloved STEAM classes, among other losses. But our PTA dipped into rainy day savings to fund a partial STEAM position as well as a part-time teacher position to support the 4th/5th classrooms. (School funds also pay for a part-time English Language Development specialist position, held by that same 4th/5th teacher, Ms. Brook.) Now, with last year's amazing gala results and our strong financial position, we have been able to restore that partial STEAM position to a full-time position!

😊 School Social Work Newsletter from Emily Newman

In her School Social Work Newsletter for September, Lafayette school social worker Emily Newman shares about Latinx Heritage Month, resources for ADHD in schools (but advises consulting your doctor), and more!

Check out Emily's School Social Work September Newsletter right here.

Emily is also looking for crafty volunteers to help her make displays at school celebrating various cultures. If that sounds like you, please contact Emily at newmane1@sfusd.edu.

🌐 English Learners Advisory Committee Meeting - September 16th

Everyone is welcome at the ELAC meeting on September 16th! What's ELAC? It's the English Learners Advisory Committee. This group is not a part of the PTA, but we want everyone to know about it because ELAC is so important for our community.

Learn more and advise the school about:
★ Systems and programs to support English learner students Lafayette.
★ Reclassification and what it means for your child.
★ How the school uses designated funds to support English Learners programs and
more!

September 16th, Monday

5:30-6:30pm

VIRTUAL MEETING

Google Meet Link: https://meet.google.com/msy-twdo-kmu?hs=224

Join by phone:

(US) +1 740-759-1139
PIN: 124226859

More members needed! Contact Ms. Brook at brookl@sfusd.edu or fill out this form and bring to school: ELAC Flyer [pdf]

🍩 Donut Dash - September 29th! Check Out Those Donor Comments

Wow, based on registration so far, you Dolphins really love the Donut Dash! Over 80 runners are registered so far.

Now, donut forget to set up your Give Butter page if you're fundraising. This is something new we're trying this year. Your Give Butter fundraising page will be super easy to text to friends/family or share on social media. Let's get that dough!

STEP 1 - Register for the run:

Online registration is open NOW and will close the evening of September 23rd.

STEP 2 - Fundraise:

To fundraise, you can create a fundraising page here: https://givebutter.com/donutdash2024. Click the "Make Your Page" button and follow the prompts. Then, text the link to your top contacts or post on your favorite social media!

It's pretty easy, but if you get stuck, find instructions on how to set up your page here (scroll down to Fundraising).

If you want to collect funds manually, you can still use this form.

You donut want to miss this run!

Sunday, September 29th
5K starts at 8:30 am
1 mile starts at 9:15 am

All runners will be rewarded with a customized donut (or allergy-friendly alternative such as a Rice Krispie Treat)!

Find all of the details on the Donut Dash Info Page, and feel free to email donutdashsf@gmail.com with any questions. See you at the starting line!

🎉 Spirit Fridays! Buy Spirit Wear, Meet the PTA, & More

The Spiritwear and Hospitality committees will be teaming up every Friday in September (6th, 13th, 20th and 27th) to bring you fresh coffee (free!) and various Lafayette branded items (for purchase via credit card or Apple Pay). Stop by to say hi, fuel up for the day and consider joining the PTA if you’re not already a member!

📷 Lately at Lafayette

Student work brightening the hallways:

Thank you to our teachers, Ms. Tong and Ms. Young, for presenting their Tech Talk! Book recommendation: Digital for Good: Raising Kids to Thrive in an Online World by Richard Culatta. Available: SFPL, bookshop.org, or wherever you get books

PTA President Erin Feher Montoya speaking to the PTA meeting attendees:

Autumn Carnival Cochairs Mariela Pauli and Priscilla Lindsey talked about the all fun we're going to have on October 26th... and all of the volunteers we'll need to make it happen!

Treasurer Will Chinn gave a detailed budget presentation.

Donut Dash chair Kate Scott talked about the upcoming fun run on September 29th. It's a big day needing helpers for registration and day-of coordination.

As usual, we wrapped up with a raffle, including school swag and gifts from local businesses. This month, we had bagels from Laundromat, bouquets from Mimi Clarke, a copy of Mother Tongue magazine, bottles of wine, and more.

You get a raffle ticket just for coming, and you can get more tickets for raising your hand to help with all sorts of needs! A bunch of Dolphin Digest readers also got an extra ticket from spotting last week's bonus raffle ticket offer! More to come...

Thanks always to our wonderful Stop, Drop and Go volunteers for keeping mornings safe and friendly!

And finally, let's give a big hand to everyone who helped us get the PTA Welcome Packets ready: Guillermo Alcantara, Meghan Butler, Will Chinn, and Gail Standiford!

📅 Calendar at a Glance

SEPTEMBER 20, 27

Spirit Fridays 🐬 Wear school colors! PTA morning table will have spirit wear for sale, plus coffee etc.

SEPTEMBER 16

- ELAC Meeting @ 5:30-6:30pm, Lafayette

- Mayoral Candidates Speak on SF Public Ed @ 6:30-8:30pm, George Washington High School

SEPTEMBER 21

Grade Level Playdates - PreK, K, 1st, 2nd (parent-organized)

SEPTEMBER 22

Grade Level Playdates - 3rd, 4th, 5th (parent-organized)

SEPTEMBER 29

Donut Dash - Lafayette's fun run in Golden Gate Park

OCTOBER 2

National Custodian Day

OCTOBER 5 & 6

Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Parking Fundraiser - VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

View the Calendar on Konstella

👋 Community (Non-PTA) Corner

Community announcements are shared as a service to our members and are not from the PTA. Do you have events, resources, or other info to share with the community? Email lafayetteschoolpta@gmail.com to request a spot in the Dolphin Digest.

Mayoral Candidates Speak Up on SF Public Education - September 16th

September 16

6:30-8:30pm

George Washington High School, 600 32nd Ave

Join San Francisco Parent Coalition for an important evening to hear from mayoral candidates London Breed, Mark Farrell, Daniel Lurie, Aaron Peskin, and Ahsha Safai as they share how they would support San Francisco’s public schools if elected this November. Learn more about these candidates’ visions for improving public education in the city, and how they plan to collaborate with the school district and community to ensure bright futures for our students. Facilitated by Alexis Madrigal, KQED.

Interpretation will be available in Spanish, Cantonese, and American Sign Language.

RSVP FOR SEPTEMBER 16th! George Washington High School at 600 32nd Ave in the Richmond.

Doors will open at 6:00pm, program begins at 6:30pm.

Child care available for those that RSVP ahead of time.

Virtual option: We will also livestream OR provide YouTube recording after event. RSVP is for *in-person* attendance and to receive livestream instructions.