Dear Lafayette Community,

Happy Sunday! Let's catch up with the Dolphin Digest.

This newsletter's all gold as usual, but 2 major things to highlight:

1. It's Teacher Appreciation Week! Details right below. I sent this out earlier than usual so you have time for card making and/or quick shopping. 

2. Our Online Auction wraps up TONIGHT at 9pm, so best of luck with your bidding! These items have new beefed up descriptions, so give them a second look?

Bikes & Beers (one of the hosts is a Lafayette dad who worked at Blazing Saddles and has fixed 1,000+ bikes)

Pediatrician Live Chat (w/a Lafayette dad who's a doc and UCSF pediatrics prof)

In this week's Dolphin Digest:

🍎 Teacher Appreciation Week!
🚲 Bike and Roll to School - Wednesday, May 7
😍 PTA Association Meeting May 14th
📔 Time to Buy Your Yearbook and Submit Photos
😢 Goodbye Notes from Retiring Staff and Ms. Emily
🎨 Lafayette Student Art Featured in the Arts Department Newsletter!
✏️ Give Your Feedback on After-School Enrichment to Help Plan for Next Year
📷 Lately at Lafayette (photos) - Nature Bridge
📅 Calendar at a Glance 
👋 Community (Non-PTA) Corner: Graduation leis and camp recs

It's Teacher Appreciation Week! Whether you're having your children make cards, contributing to a class gift organized by your Room Parent, bringing in donations for teacher breakfasts, or all of the above, it's a special time to show our appreciation to ALL of the staff at Lafayette!

We still need a few things for the staff/teacher breakfasts. Please donate if you can!

Items should be dropped off in the teachers lounge at 7:30 AM on the day that you sign up for. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact crisel.ortiz@gmail.com.

Note: Please keep in mind that Lafayette is a no nut zone. All food on school grounds should be NUT FREE. 

In addition to your classroom teachers, who at Lafayette do you want to show special appreciation to this week? Cards and gifts can be delivered directly or brought to the school office. Any gesture of thanks means so much!

• Ms. Tong (STEAM Teacher)
• Ms. Brooks (4th-5th Support & English Language Development Specialist)
• Ms. Jer (Librarian)
• Mr. Tosano, Ms. Louie, and Ms. Carmen (Special Ed Resource)
• Ms. Chi (P.E. Teacher)
• Ms. G (Art)
• Mr. D (Music)
• Ms. Yuki (Office Staff)
• Amy and Marty (Crossing Guards)
• Mr. White and Penky (Custodians)
• Ms. Emily (School Social Worker)
• Ms. Price (Instructional Coach)
• Mr. K and Ms. Seaton (Principal and Asst. Principal)

You may also have staff who work with students on speech, mental health, support in the classroom, etc. So many dedicated people make Lafayette the place it is!

Bike and Roll to School Week is May 5th- 9th. Lafayette will celebrate on Wednesday, May 7th!

All you have to do to participate is walk or bike (skateboard, rollerblade, scoot...) to school. We will have walking school buses at the below locations. Meeting times will be announced soon.

• 36th & Fulton - Ms. Brook
• 30th & Balboa - Ms. Carpenter 
• 40th & Anza - Ms. Centeno
• 47th & Anza - Mr. Eliot (Bikes)

When you get to school on May 7th, look for a table set up in the school yard by the gate to get your prizes... reflective shoelaces! All students who walk/roll can grab one when they arrive at school.  

Please join us for this month's PTA meeting on May 14th at 6pm in the Lafayette Auditorium! It's the last one of the year, so expect to celebrate this year's success and look ahead to next year.

Child care and light refreshments provided. We'll also have fun door prizes for attendees!
In order to be eligible to vote on our motions you must be a paid member of the PTA for a minimum of 30 days.

If you can't join in person, join via Zoom.
MEETING LINK
Meeting ID: 873 8723 3183
Passcode: 933176

SEEKING YOUR PHOTOS

We're still savoring this year, but come June, we'll be looking back at the memories. Do you have great photos to share? Think field trips, special events, schoolyard shenanigans... We want it all for the yearbook.

Submit photos for the yearbook here!

HOW TO ORDER

If you have ordered in previous years, use the same login information at treering.com. If you are new to Treering, please use the purchasing link below.

Each book comes with 2 FREE custom pages that print in YOUR BOOK ONLY! Use the simple tools on Treering to add your own photos, graphics, and text to create a memory book within your school yearbook. Additional spreads are only $1.99! 

Order your Lafayette 2024-2025 Yearbook HERE!

Passcode (if asked): 1015718683474794

Please reach out to rcuevas86@gmail.com with any questions!

As Mr. K wrote in an email to all families last month, four wonderful members of our Dolphin family are swimming into the beckoning waters of retirement: Ms. Gina Martinez, 1st Grade, Ms. Rowena Tong, STEAM teacher, Ms. Darlene Wong-McKee, the Deaf & Hard of Hearing teacher, and Mr. Roderick White, School Custodian. We sincerely thank them for their many years of service, and we wish them a happy and fulfilling retirement.

Ms. Martinez's letter to families 

Ms. Wong-McKee's letter to families 

Ms. Tong's letter to families 

Mr. White's letter to families 

Our school social worker, Emily Newman, also will unfortunately not be returning to Lafayette next school year. She will be missed, but we wish her all the best with pursuing her clinical licensure. 💛

Read Ms. Emily's goodbye note to Lafayette families here.

Lafayette kindergarten art is featured in the SFUSD Arts Department Newsletter! (Page 43)

Lafayette kindergarten art will be on display April 19 - May 9 in the Children's Center at the Main Public Library as part of the SFUSD Youth ARTS Festival!

The enrichment/after school programming team is hard at work preparing our offerings for next year. We want to ensure we offer the programs you and your child(ren) enjoy most.

If your child took an after-school enrichment class this Winter/Spring, please fill out this survey by May 6th. If they were in multiple programs, please fill out one survey for each enrichment. Your feedback is incredibly helpful!

If you have questions about our after-school enrichment offerings, reach out to Kristen or Ms. Scully (kjkrieger@gmail.com, scullyc@sfusd.edu)

Thank you to our Stop, Drop and Go volunteers for showing up to keep mornings safe, every morning!

The 5th graders survived their two overnights at Nature Bridge! The PTA contributes funding every year to make this experience possible.

The "big kids" returned with many stories of learning about creatures in our environment and, of course, getting silly with friends. Also, direct quote: "The food was amazing." Core memories created!

And a HUGE thank-you to our teachers and parent chaperones (many not pictured)! I'm sure not every moment was this peaceful. 😉

MAY 5-9

- Teacher Appreciation Week - donate breakfast here

MAY 7

- Bike & Roll to School Day

MAY 14

- PTA Association Meeting @6pm

MAY 26

- NO SCHOOL - Memorial Day

MAY 29

- Field Day

JUNE 4

- Last Day of School/5th Grade Promotion

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.

A Lafayette family recommended Briana Louie for custom "graduation leis." Order here or use the above QR code from Briana's flyer.

As we mentioned previously: The families of 5th graders will soon be looking for ways to celebrate as their kids complete the final year of elementary school. 😢 Do you have any suggestions or recommendations for how to celebrate them? Graduation lei sources, sweet traditions, etc? We're happy to share them in the Dolphin Digest, so bring it on!

More camp resources from parents and teachers! See this page for even more.

We're putting together a camp that's all about improving your game, having a ton of fun, and learning from some seriously cool coaches.

• College Player Coaching
• Pro Player Visits! 
• Skill-Focused Fun
• Great Facilities at Skyline College

Camp Options (June 16th-20th):

Full Day (8:30 AM - 4:30 PM): $499
Extended Hours (7:30 AM - 5:30 PM): $549
Half Day (8:30 AM - 12:00 PM): $299

Ready to Sign Up?

Elite Strikers and Goalkeepers
Half Day Option
Full Day Camp
Extended Hours Option

Early Bird Discount Code for $50 off
"VSPORTS" (ends May 1)
Website: http://www.sfbaycity.org

Parent Cindy Lee wanted to share this camp recommendation. She says, "We have had a great time with her and just wanted to share in case people wanted another option for music."

Spend the summer with Music, Art & Adventure! We are a small, locally-owned day camp that meets in the Presidio, run by local musician/ecologist Emily Shumway and her husband, Harlan Hays, a San Francisco native and opera singer.

Music, Art and Adventure is 100% outdoors in the fresh, foggy air and we like it that way.  At camp, we get to know the local ecology through science, arts & crafts, music, games, and play.

Campers spend their days exploring places like Baker Beach, El Polin Spring, Crissy Field and Inspiration Point.

Other exciting events include field trips, guest artists, camp-wide olympics, and more.

2025 Sessions: 
July 14-July 18
July 21-25
July 28-August 1
August 4-8
August 11-15

Register at: www.MusicArtAdventure.com.

Parent Allie Summers wanted to share this rock band camp run by her kids' former music school.

Summer Camp 2025 | June 9 – August 29

Is your kid ready to shine on stage, write their own hit song, and star in a music video? Join Bird School of Music’s Summer Camp for an unforgettable week of creativity, collaboration, and serious musical fun!

Campers will:
🎤 Form bands and jam on their favorite songs
🎼 Write and record original music
🎬 Create and film their own music video
🎉 Perform in a live end-of-week concert for family and friends!

From first-timers to future rock stars, all skill levels are welcome. Our experienced instructors tailor each session to challenge beginners and advanced students alike.

👧 Who: Kids entering Grades 2–9
🕙 When: Choose any week from June 9 – August 29, 2025
📍 Where: Bird School of Music
💻 Sign up now: Click here to enroll!

Camp Options:
🎶 Full Day (10am–5pm): $800/week
🎶 Half Day (10am–2pm): $550/week
🌞 Early Drop-Off (from 9am): $40/day

Spaces fill fast—don’t miss your chance to rock this summer!

Thanks for reading this week.

Go Dolphins! 🐬

Patricia Wada

VP, Communications 2023–25

Pronouns: she/her/hers

Lafayette Elementary PTA

501(c)3 Non-Profit Organization

Tax ID# 94-6172049