Dear Lafayette Community,

If you're looking for ways to help Lafayette, there are LOTS in this week's newsletter. Keep reading to get the details on volunteering for the Donut Dash (Sep 29), Hardly Strictly parking fundraiser (Oct 5 and 6), Lost & Found, English Language Advisory Committee, and School Site Council.

Coming soon will be volunteer sign-up for the Autumn Carnival (Oct 26), Halloween Festival (Oct 31), and reading volunteers!

And, if you missed last week's event at Washington and want to see the recording of the mayoral candidates talking about SF public education, we've got the video at the end of this newsletter. Let's dive in, shall we?

In this week's Dolphin Digest:

🍩 ONE MORE DAY to Register Online for the Donut Dash - September 29th! 
💻 For Multilingual Families: Tech Night - October 2nd
🚘 Volunteers Needed: Parking Fundraiser October 5th, 6th
🍂 Mark Your Calendar for Lafayette's Autumn Carnival - October 26th
🎭 LAST CHANCE - Spotlight on After-School Enrichment: Creative Drama
😱 Help Needed at the Lost & Found!
✋ Looking for Parent Members in School Committees
🎉 Spirit Fridays! Buy Spirit Wear, Meet the PTA, & More
🕰️ Checking in on SFUSD's "Resource Alignment Initiative"
📷 Lately at Lafayette
📅 Calendar at a Glance 
👋 Community (Non-PTA) Corner: VIDEO - Mayoral Candidates Speak Up on SF Public Education

Ready for the Donut Dash, everyone? If you're one of the 150+ people registered for the fun run on September 29th, save time on race day: pick up your bib and t-shirt at school:

Bib/T-shirt pickup for registered runners

Thursday and Friday (September 26th and 27th)

7:30-8:15am

Lafayette Schoolyard 

To make race day happen, we'll need volunteers to help out along the course, making sure runners know which way to go and such. Please sign up if you can! 

STEP 2 (Optional) - Fundraise:

Once you're registered, 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.

• Sunday, September 29th
• Starting line: Stow Lake Drive next to Pioneer Log Cabin Meadow 
• 5K starts at 8:30 am 
• 1 mile starts at 9:15 am 

For families who speak a language other than English at home, Lafayette's English Learners Advisory Committee presents Multilingual Tech Night on October 2nd at 5pm at the school's library.

Get help using apps you need as a Lafayette family, like ParentVUE, Seesaw, Google Classroom, and Konstella! All of your tech questions, answered!

Interpreters will be there to support Chinese and Spanish speakers, and for all other languages, staff will be prepared to use the district's phone service for interpretation. 

To attend, send an email to Lori Brook (brookl@sfusd.edu).

Lafayette's beloved Autumn Carnival is back! Make sure to save the date.

Autumn Carnival Oct 26th (12–4pm) will have:

• Inflatable slides and obstacle course

• Various carnival games (for prizes)

• DJ (music)

• Photo station with hay bale pyramid and props

• Pumpkins for sale, pumpkin crafts

• All the activities, food, and beverages from Teacher/Parent tables!

• Cakewalk (nut-free)

• Costume contest

Volunteer sign-up coming soon! 

Details of games and activities will be provided on the day of the event. For more info on the Autumn Carnival email co-chairs Mariela (mariela.pauli@gmail.com) or Priscilla (priscillalindsey81@gmail.com). 

Thank you ALL in advance for your participation and time. We are super excited to get the party started!

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 THIS WEEK. 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 - Wednesdays

Grades 3-5 - Tuesdays

The Lost & Found is getting unruly! Lafayette dad Eliot, who is now super busy spending his days as "Mr. Eliot" teaching Room 218, needs another volunteer or two to keep Lost & Found organized so that items can be reunited with their owners.

Flexible schedule, but this would be great for someone who has a little time after morning drop-off most days to check for names, and who can occasionally spend a little more time straightening things up.

Just reply to this email to get started! Eliot will show you the ropes.

A huge THANK YOU to Eliot for so diligently taking care of Lost & Found. He saw a need and took the initiative to do something about it!

Our school committees are looking for more parent members. These are meaningful ways to contribute to your child's school, so please check them out!

English Learners Advisory Committee

What is it? ELAC is a committee for parents or other community members who want to advocate for English Learners. 

ELAC: What We Do!   

Multilingual Learner Program Guide: A guide for parents and students who speak languages other than English at home

Interested in ELAC? Contact Ms. Brook at brookl@sfusd.edu or fill out this form and bring to school: ELAC Flyer [pdf]

School Site Council (SSC)

What is it? SSC is a group that represents parents, students, community members, and school staff in the school governance process.

About SSCs

Interested in SSC? Contact Mr. Kassebaum at kassebaumk@sfusd.edu. 

The Spirit Wear and Hospitality committees have been teaming up every Friday in September to bring you fresh coffee (free!) and various Lafayette branded items (for purchase via credit card or Apple Pay). This Friday, September 27th, is the last one for now. Stop by to say hi, fuel up for the day and consider joining the PTA if you’re not already a member!

Future Spirit Wear sales will be announced in the Dolphin Digest.

As you know if you've been keeping an eye on the district's potential plans to close/co-locate/merge some schools, September 18th was planned to bring the announcement of which schools would be closed. The district postponed the announcement until October, so no news for now.

SFUSD: Message from Superintendent Wayne: Revised Timeline for School Closures Announcement

SFGate: San Francisco school district postpones highly anticipated school closures list

Board of Education Meetings, next one is Tuesday, September 24th  

Thanks to our Teacher Appreciation Committee for providing a bagel breakfast for teachers last Friday!

Donut Dash chair Kate Scott has been out on the yard every Friday morning helping folks sign up for next weekend's fun run! 

I hate to bring down the mood, but it's time to play another game of What's Wrong With This Picture? Please remember, and tell anyone who is bringing your child to school... Morning drop-off comes with 2 choices if you're driving: park legally OR use Stop, Drop and Go. Please do not double-park!

Finally, thanks always to our fantastic Stop, Drop and Go volunteers for their bright smiles on foggy mornings as they help students get to school safely.

SEPTEMBER 27

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

SEPTEMBER 29

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

OCTOBER 2

- National Custodian Day

- Multilingual Tech Night @ 5-6pm - Lafayette Elementary Library

OCTOBER 5 & 6

Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Parking Fundraiser - VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

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.

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