Hello Thunderbirds,

The Annual Fund campaign wraps up this Monday, September 30! We are so grateful for the families who have participated. If you haven't yet, it's not too late! Don't miss your chance to contribute and help us reach our goal to provide critical programs and personnel for our students that are not covered by state or district funding. Plus, EVERY class that achieves 80% participation will earn a popsicle party! Final results will be posted on Tuesday, October 1.

This week we want to highlight two very special programs at Thornhill, Gardening and Music! 

Plant, Grow, Learn: The Thornhill Gardening Program

Several years ago, we were lucky enough to add Alexis Lavine-Moore to our team. She has (literally!) brought new life to our Thornhill garden and our campus. Our TK/K/1st grade students have access to biweekly garden instruction. They are getting those little fingers dirty and learning so much in the process.

Students in grades 2-5 also have access to gardening activities upon their teachers' requests, with the PFC covering the cost of any additional hours. Each grade’s class schedule is thoughtfully designed to ensure every student benefits from at least four enrichment sessions. While the types of classes may vary by grade, all students receive a well-rounded learning experience at Thornhill.

Your contribution to the Thornhill Annual Fund directly supports incredible programs for our student community, such as Ms. Alexis and the Thornhill Garden Program.

It has been my deep pleasure to revitalize the garden spaces at Thornhill and grow the garden and gardening program with the children and teachers of Thornhill over the last 8 years!

I have been teaching environmental education and gardening with elementary school children and adults for more than 20 years. I have a master’s degree in Geology and deep passion for teaching people of all ages about our connection with the earth and nature. I have been growing my own organic fruits and vegetables for decades, especially during my last 18+ years living in the Bay Area where food can be grown year-round. I am the mother of two girls, ages 11 and 13, who attend Julia Morgan School for Girls and Montera Middle School, and I have been teaching gardening at Thornhill for the last 6 years. My husband Aerin and I own and manage Magic Gardens Landscaping.

During gardening classes in the school garden, we care for the garden through weeding, watering, planting, harvesting, composting, and working the soil. We learn hands-on about biology, ecology, sustainability, nutrition, and the cycles and web of life. We experience our deep connection with the natural world, how we can nurture it, and how it nurtures us. We eat food from the garden in a mindful way, through harvesting with gratitude, observing our food (to make sure we’re not eating bugs or dirt, but also to become familiar with it), smelling our food, and then enjoying the fruits and veggies of our labor. Being an integral part of the garden’s growth and life cycles instills a sense of environmental stewardship in our students and gives them the rewards of working in community to create something wonderful.

 -Ms. Alexis

Groove and Learn: Music with Living Jazz

We are excited to partner with Living Jazz again this school year! Currently, the Living Jazz music program is being offered to our 2nd-grade students during Thornhill’s first semester. In the second semester, the program will also expand to include TK, Kindergarten and 1st grade classes. 

Building on the strong musical foundation students already receive in TK/K/1st through their classroom activities, the second semester Living Jazz program will focus on teaching music through movement. **Note: Grades 3-5 weekly music program is funded by OUSD with Ms. Linda Green as their dedicated teacher.

Your contribution to the Thornhill Annual Fund directly supports incredible programs for our student community, such as Music with Living Jazz. 

The Living Jazz Children’s Project (LJCP) provides jazz rooted performing arts education. Their mission is to transform lives through music. The organization is dedicated to designing education and performance programs that empower children and adults, inspire creative growth and unite diverse communities. Fundamental to its work is the understanding that music is an inherent component of a healthy and vibrant society and the belief that every child and adult has the right to accessible, high quality music immersion experiences.  

THE CURRICULUM

Rhythm Component

Students in LJCP rhythm classes learn about each other’s cultural backgrounds and demonstrate unity and respect for one another in their class and onstage. Our teaching artists instruct in their respective specialties which have included: Body Music, Hambone, Afro Cuban percussion, Puerto Rican Bomba/Xica, South African percussion, and/or Hip Hop rhythm and rhyme.

Choral Component 

Students learn how music can be a tool for cultural empowerment and social change. At the end of the term, they perform songs at Oakland’s only nondenominational musical tribute to Dr. King, In the Name Of Love. This event honors Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and features the best talent that the Bay Area has to offer. LJCP students have the opportunity of a lifetime performing alongside these greats.

Dance Component

Our current dance faculty specialize in forms that are integral to the roots and branches of jazz music traditions. Depending on their instructor, students will learn Afro Cuban or Afro Brazilian folkloric and social dances, or Turf dancing, the prized Bay Area-grown discipline of Hip Hop dance.

Ready to contribute? Great! There are a variety of ways to submit your contribution:

You can double or triple your contribution by taking advantage of your corporate match benefit. Many companies, both large and small, will match donations made by their employees. To see if your employer offers matching gifts, visit Charity Navigator to submit a match request online. It only takes five minutes.

If you've already submitted a company match (thank you!), please send us an email to annualfund@thornhillschool.org to let us know that you've completed the process, as we aren’t always notified automatically.

Thank you for your continued support!

Selam Brown, Stefani Miller, Deepa Lounsbury & Annie Sartor

Annual Fund co-Chairs

annualfund@thornhillschool.org