Thank You, ThornChill Community!

What an incredible day! Thanks to YOU, we welcomed a record-breaking 491 attendees to this year's ThornChill Fall Festival! More than just a number, it reflects something truly special: our community showing up to connect, celebrate, and create memories together.

A heartfelt thank you to the many volunteers who made this event possible. 

Special recognition goes to Mr. Ray, Mr. Johnson, and Erik Gandhi for their hard work preparing the delicious food for our hungry festival-goers. Shout out to the wonderful ThunderDads for helping with setup and food service throughout the day. We put those shade tents to good use!

We'd also like to recognize our amazing BAC members: Vanessa Avery, Sarah Yazdani, Awet Kahsai, Ursela Knezevic, Crystal Melancon, Kemy Gekara, Dennis Otieno and Sarah Wright-Schreiberg for their early-morning setup help and willingness to jump in wherever needed. A big thank you to Gerald Lee for providing the coffee that kept us going throughout the day.

We are so grateful to BAC members Christine Fry and Samantha Grice for collecting, organizing and setting up the MASSIVE Costume Swap, helping families share and enjoy costumes in a fun and sustainable way. 

A HUGE thank you to Ibby Sasso, Cameron Fleischer, and the community members who donated pumpkins and their time at our craft stations. There were kids creating right up until 2pm! Special appreciation goes to Michelle Tholen for launching our inaugural Scarecrow Making Station, which quickly became a favorite activity for students. 

THANK YOU to all the families who shared a taste of their culture, traditions, and favorite recipes at our Passport Potluck! Seeing students and families explore foods from different backgrounds was a highlight of the day. And speaking personally... I'll definitely be bringing at least three times as much lumpia next year! 

A special shoutout to our Sustainability Team for the festive hay bales, chrysanthemums and especially for helping kick off Thornhill's playspace transformation with a beautiful Woodland Fairy Garden Glow-Up! This space offered community members a peaceful place to reflect, and relax in nature during the festival. The garden provided a glimpse of the thoughtful, community-centered outdoor spaces we hope to continue building together.

SHOUTOUT to Catalán Farm for joining ThornChill this year and their generous donation of CSA produce boxes and beautiful marigolds that brought color to our event. Catalán Farm offers fresh CSA boxes with convenient pickup right next door at St. John's Church! Maria Catalán is a farmer, community leader, and advocate for healthy AND sustainable food. Maria and her family cultivate a 15-acre farm in Hollister while helping other farmers succeed. Flyers are available in the school office, or you can join and learn more about Maria and her farm at https://www.catalanfarm.com/ ​

Our Community Tree!

Throughout the festival, students each decorated a unique leaf, sharing how they can help our community GROW. Combined, the leaves created a Thornhill community tree! The tree serves as a reflection of ThornChill itself: many individuals, backgrounds, talents, and experiences coming together to create something greater than any one of us could make alone. Just as every leaf contributes to the tree, every student, family, staff member, and volunteer contributes to what makes Thornhill unique.

Again, thank you to every family who attended, volunteered, donated, and helped keep us ROOTED IN OUR COMMUNITY!

491 people. Countless connections. One amazing community!

With full hearts and abundant gratitude, until next year,

Vanessa Lee and Danajane Katz
Your ThornChill Fall Festival Co-Chairs