Dear Lafayette Community,

It's been a week, hasn't it? I don't want to overshadow all of the wonderful things we have happening at school right now. Those are in this Dolphin Digest too! But the big topic has continued to be budgets (district and school), and we have some action items for you below, so let's dive right in, Dolphins!

In this week's Dolphin Digest:

💖 Volunteer Corner
🧐 Eye on School Budgets - Get Informed and Take Action Here
🚲 It's Time to Sign Up for Wheel Kids Bike Camp - Session 2!
📖 Author Oliver Chin Visits Lafayette! Order Signed Books by March 20th
⚾ May 4th - Giants vs Rockies with Lafayette - Buy tickets by April 4
📷 Lately at Lafayette (photos)
📅 Calendar at a Glance
👋 Community (Non-PTA) Corner

PTA Leadership for 2025/26 - Many of the members of this year's PTA Executive Board will end their terms this summer. We are open for nominations of potential leaders to pass the torch to! Please fill out this form to nominate yourself or someone else. Elections will take place at the next General Association meeting on April 9th.

Field Day - We are getting ready to put together the picnic of the year! We need your help. Reply to this email to get started.

Gala and Auction - Start planning an epic Count-Me-In* with friends, pass along restaurant, hotel or retail connections for our auction, or just raise your hand to be part of the amazing team! We'll put out the call for these soon, so hold on to those amazing ideas!

* What's a Count-Me-In? Also known as a CMI, it's an event hosted by Lafayette parents/teachers/staff to raise funds and build community. You decide what you want to host, how many people can sign up, and whether it's for kids, families, or adults only. People donate a set amount to sign up. After the gala/auction is over, you host the event! It could be a class, an activity, a party... anything you can think of (and pull off)! A few of last year's incredible CMIs:

• S'mores & Bonfire at Ocean Beach
• PJs, Pizza, and Pinot Movie Night
• Wine tasting nights
• Progressive Dinner
• Kids' Cake Decorating Class
• Bootcamp Class
• Kids' Cooking Class (taught by a 5th grader)
• Escape Room with Ms. Tong
• Tie Dye/Ice Cream Making with 4th Grade Teachers
• Popsicles at the Playground with Kinder Teachers

Tip: Host with one or two co-hosts to share the planning.

Thanks again to everyone who attended the PTA meeting last week. In case you missed it, here are the slides from the meeting. You can also watch last Friday's virtual town hall meeting with SFUSD Superintendent Dr. Maria Su. Over 200 people wrote in questions from all over the city, and they may have covered some questions you have.

We'll keep you informed as the situation develops, but there are two things you can do to influence the process, if you haven't already:

TELL US WHAT YOU THINK. Fill out this quick survey on how you believe the PTA's $190,000 should be spent to help fill the gaps in this coming year's budget, and what our fundraising goals should look like moving forward. This survey is designed for our entire community: parents, caregivers, teachers and staff. So far, we have 38 responses. Lafayette has 470+ students. Please go and fill out the survey now! It's quick, and you might thank yourself next year.

PUSH BACK. Let the EPC (Enrollment Placement Center) know that over-enrolling our classrooms and forcing combined grade classrooms is not only the wrong move for our kids' education, it's NOT ALLOWED. Here is an email template and contact info. 

One thing is for sure: We're motivated to make our auction/gala a success! Make sure April 26th is marked in your calendar, and please stay tuned for ticket info.

Session 2:  April 11 to May 30th
 
Wheel Kids Bike Camp session 1 is coming to a close and in order to run Session 2, they need a few more sign-ups!

Does your child love to ride bikes? Or do they want to get better at riding? Sign up for Wheel Kids! It's our new after-school bicycle club on Fridays right after school. They will pick your child up at Lafayette, explore the many trails in Golden Gate Park, teach new biking skills, and then drop the students back off at Lafayette for pickup. And if you don't have your own bike or equipment, Wheel Kids can provide it.
Sign up and tell your friends!

Thank you to everyone who participated in the Read-a-thon! Forms were due last Friday. We're tallying the minutes read and funds raised as fast as we can, but just with the funds readers raised online, we're past $24k and well on our way to our $30k goal. Time to get excited about our upcoming author visit to celebrate our reading success!

Students will meet local author Oliver Chin on Monday, March 24th. You can preorder books here by Friday, March 20th and receive them (signed by Oliver) after the visit. Sales benefit Lafayette with 40% coming back to the PTA!

Students will read Oliver's books in school with their teachers and librarian Ms. Jer. You can also read his books at home to familiarize your child with his work. Meeting the author will be that much more exciting when kids know the books. Check out titles like Awesome Asian Americans, The Discovery of Chess, The Year of the Snake, and more. Many of Oliver's books are available as e-books and print via the public library.

Contact the Read-a-thon team at LafayetteReads@gmail.com with any questions. 

Join fellow Lafayette Elementary School students, faculty, family and friends for an exciting time at the ballpark as the Giants take on the Rockies! This is a fantastic opportunity for colleagues, friends, and family to enjoy America's favorite pastime. Mark your calendars for Sunday, May 4th, and help us celebrate Star Wars Day at the ballpark! Don't miss out on the fun! $5 of every ticket sold will benefit Lafayette Elementary. 

BUY TICKETS HERE BY APRIL 4th at 11:05am.

May The Fourth Be With You!

May 04, 2025 1:05 PM PDT
Oracle Park
24 Willie Mays Plaza, San Francisco, CA 94107, US
Purchase Deadline: Apr 04, 2025 11:05 AM PDT

Tickets: https://fevo-enterprise.com/event/Lafayetteelementary54

We were thrilled to see strong turnout at last Wednesday's PTA meeting. Over 40 people attended via Zoom as well. This community really cares!

Neither the rainy days nor the time change could stop our volunteers this week! Thank you to all of the Stop, Drop and Go volunteers for being there no matter what.

Here are just a few of the sweet and funny messages Read-a-thon donors left for students on the fundraising page. We're all so proud!

MARCH 24

- Author Oliver Chin visits Lafayette

MARCH 28-APRIL 4

- NO SCHOOL - Spring Break

APRIL 4

- Last day to buy tickets for Giants vs Rockies with Lafayette

- Coffee with Mr. K

APRIL 7

- Bike & Roll to School Day

APRIL 9

- PTA Meeting - Executive Board Elections

APRIL 16-19

- School musical performances

APRIL 26

- Fundraising gala and auction @ 6pm

MAY 4

- Giants vs Rockies with Lafayette @ 1:05pm

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.

We have our first recommendation for ways to celebrate our 5th graders as they complete elementary school! 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!

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