Here's what's happening this week!

EARLY DISMISSAL ALL WEEK

A reminder that there is early dismissal this week for Parent Teacher Conferences. That means that every day has Wednesday hours: 12:40 dismissal (TK + K) and 12:50 dismissal (1st-5th).

THE SCHOLASTIC BOOK FAIR

The Scholastic Book Fair is coming up next week! Sign up to help volunteer or check your students' schedule. You can also set up an e-wallet here so they don't have to bring cash to school to buy their books.

PLEASE ASSIGN YOUR STUDENT(S) TO A CLASSROOM ON KONSTELLA

This will ensure that you are notified of any post made on your child's classroom page. For instructions on how to assign your student to a classroom, please check out my instructional video here. Brb, gonna go tell my 8 year old I'm officially a YouTuber. Skibidi Ohio sigma cringe, etc. (am I doing this right?)

Here's how the end of the year is looking so far: 

Thanks all and see you on the yard!

Courtney

📌 STEAM Program volunteers - We are starting a module that includes Lego robotics  and could use some extra hands on deck to support our young engineers as they build and program their bots.

📌 Scholastic Book Fair volunteers - Volunteers help keep the shelves stocked and assist younger students in putting together their book wishlists.

📌 Help decorate the Auditorium for Student Council Inauguration! - Help Ms. Baba get the Auditorium decorated for our Student Council Inauguration on Monday December 1st. Supervisor Connie Chan will be there to help us celebrate these students' commitment to responsibility and service in our school.  

💸 Donate to Elkus Ranch field trip - Help our Kindergarten classes go to Elkus Ranch in Half Moon Bay to learn about gardening, taking care of farm animals, working on a ranch, sustainability, and so much more!

💸 Donate to help our school library - Help Lafayette's school librarian, Ms. Jer, provide flexible seating to our students to help foster a more positive library community!

The Scholastic Book Fair is just a few weeks away! You can preview the fair and buy books online through our official Lafayette Fair Page here.
 
When: Monday, November 17 through Friday, November 21
Where: In school, across from the library. 

All classes will have an opportunity to stop by the fair during the week, and we'll be open after school during Parent Teacher Conference time for parents and caregivers. On Tuesday and Thursday, we'll also have two special early evening times to check out the fair after school.

You can set up an e-wallet ahead of time as a convenient way for your kids to pay at the fair. However, we will also accept cash and credit cards.

Look out in the coming weeks for the physical Scholastic preview flyer, volunteer opportunities, and the final class schedule! And if you have any questions in the meantime, please feel free to reach out to Book Fair co-chairs:

Justin Haywald -- justin.haywald@gmail.com 
Anna Jordan -- amoyles@gmail.com 

Does your student enjoy creating art, music or dance? Or have an interest in writing, producing films, and taking photos? Then let them unleash their inner artist with PTA Reflections!  

The theme for the 2056-26 Reflections Art Program is “I Belong"  

All Lafayette students are invited to participate and submit original artwork in one of six areas:

• Dance Choreography
• Literature
• Photography
• Film Production
• Music Composition
• Visual Arts

The submission deadline is Monday, December 1st, 2025 and you can submit the art piece here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdJN6ght_9xwT7oZEx2KUAAAIvqvQBIXGA58AlKxBIlOZvuMA/viewform?usp=header

*Interpretation of the theme is highly considered during the review process.

To learn more about selection criteria and more information can be found here: www.pta.org/home/programs/reflections/awards.

Lafayette Elementary participates in this program every year and are so proud of the finalists from last year inspired by the 2024-2025 Reflections theme, “Accepting Imperfection”:

MUSIC COMPOSITION (3rd Grade - 5th Grade)
Lucas Friedman-Fernandez, 5th Grade
Accepting Imperfection

DANCE CHOREOGRAPHY (3rd Grade - 5th Grade)
Nova Summers, 4th Grade  **Advanced to State Level
Looking

VISUAL ARTS (Pre-K - 2nd Grade)
Andrew Bell, Kindergarten    **Advanced to State Level
Two Worlds Crashing
watercolor and chalk

VISUAL ARTS (3rd Grade - 5th Grade)
Cora Youngren, 3rd Grade   **Advanced to State Level
Living with Asthma
watercolor and pastels

PHOTOGRAPHY (3rd Grade - 5th Grade)
Evelyn Uritam, 5th Grade    **Advanced to State Level
A Seventh Month Old Reindeer

For questions please contact:  LafayetteReflections@gmail.com

Shannon Hughes: shannonhughes8@gmail.com  |  415-259-8113
Christina Youngren: c.youngren@comcast.net  |  415-722-6305

PTA President Meghan Butler sent out a school-wide message this past week about what the PTA is doing to support Lafayette families that may be impacted by ICE presence and loss of SNAP benefits. Her message can be read in full here.

Lafayette parent Cristina Manzanares helps manage a FREE weekly community rescue pantry called “Pantry 38.” Their mission: To rescue perfectly good food from across the food groups and redistribute to our Richmond District neighborhood all while strengthening and building our community connections one family at a time. The pantry is held (1-3 per week) in the outer Richmond and open to all residents living in The Richmond District.

How to join: If you have Facebook, please join the private group.  When you click “Join” make sure to answer all the questions before submitting your request.
https://m.facebook.com/groups/1248827793638251/?ref=share&mibextid=wwXIfr

We also have a great supplemental food pantry program through The Richmond Neighborhood Center located on 30th and Balboa. For more information about the RNC food pantry, and for opportunities to donate or volunteer, visit their website at: https://richmondsf.org/food-security/

There's no better way to make an impact than to become an active advocate for this community. Join now and make your voice heard!

Lafayette Elementary PTA • 501(c)3 Non-Profit Organization • Tax ID# 94-6172049