From the Principal
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Happy Thanksgiving!
While probably not the first to celebrate Thanksgiving in North America (Canada may have been first), we generally regard the event in 1621 at the Plymouth Plantation as the origin of Thanksgiving in our country. Thanksgiving is a holiday to express thankfulness, appreciation, and gratitude for the family, friends, colleagues and community that we have all been blessed with.
I wanted to take a moment (on behalf of myself and the entire La Entrada Staff) to let you know how thankful and appreciative we are, and how blessed we feel, to have the opportunity to work with and get to know the students and families of La Entrada. Our students amaze us each day with their curiosity and drive for learning. The support, contribution, and partnership we get from our parents and families is central to our mission. We are, indeed, very blessed.
We wish you all a wonderful, relaxing Thanksgiving break.
I also wanted to give special thanks to Sonya Dineen, our assistant principal, who has gone above and beyond during the last few weeks. As some of you know, I injured my knee at the end of October. In early November I had knee surgery. While the surgery went well, recovery has had complications (I developed a blood clot) and has been slower than I anticipated. It has been hard to not be around as much as I would like, but I have felt so comforted by the fact that Sonya has been there. I am very thankful for her.
Happy Thanksgiving to all.
Larry
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PTA News
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HOLIDAY FAIRE
The Holiday Faire, one of the PTA's highlight events of the year, is coming on Tuesday December 7th!
At the Holiday Faire we will have 8 exciting gift-making projects for the children to participate in. There will also be a special 8th grade project this year in addition to the holiday cards to our country's military personnel. Larry and Sonya have devised a great schedule so that all children at each grade level will participate at the same time. Samples of all the projects will be on display in the PTA bulletin board after the Thanksgiving break.
Volunteers: Please visit the Jooners website to sign up to help. It is a great day to experience La Entrada spirit, have fun with other parents and see the kids in action!
ART FOR ARTS SAKE FUNDRAISER A BIG SUCCESS!
The art note cards are back from the printer and ready to be sent home. So look out for your order in your child's backpack starting this Monday!
Thank you everybody who contributed to make this Fundraiser another big success. The proceeeds of this project will allow the music and art teachers to buy special supplies that will be used to enrich our children's art and music education. Without this support, they wouldn't be able to provide the kind of instruction they do!
Special thanks to all the teachers and parent volunteers who helped with the various stages of this Art Fundraiser: the drawing sessions, the ordering process or the packaging of the finished sets of note cards. A ver special thank-you also goes to Kris Bobier and Tom Coates, the parents of Las Lomitas alumni, who continue to volunteer their time for the district and - once again! - scanned all the drawings. Much appreciation also goes to Marja Rudge and Marie Stosz for their assistance in the office.
Finally, a heartfel thank-you to all the students for creating such remarkable pieces of art! Melissa Jordan and Anna Ralston (Co-chairs)
GIRL SCOUT BOOK DRIVE
Girl Scout Troop 31652 would like to thank everyone who supported our book drive to help create a library for needy students at San Francisco City Academy in the Tenderloin District. We had over 400 beautiful used books donated from our school community and 52 new books were adopted to add to this library. If you still have books that you would like to donate, please contact leslieking@comcast.net or kristin@eberweinfamily.com and we will be happy to pick up
additional books. We are also looking for children's magazines (either gently used or new subscriptions). Thank you again for your generous support. These books will definitely make a difference!
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School News
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WASHINGTON DC TRIP FUNDRAISER @ RUBIO'S FRESH MEXICAN GRILL!
On Thursday, December 2 between 2pm and 9pm, Rubio's Fresh Mexican Grill will donate 20% of your purchase to the 8th Grade Washington DC trip scholarship fund! Rubio's is located at El Camino Real & Middle Ave, near the big Safeway. Click here for the flyer and either eat at Rubio's, take food to go, or pick up a Rubio's a-Go-Go catering order. If you haven't tried Rubio's yet, now is a great time to try their delicious World Famous Fish Tacos, Grilled Gourmet Tacos, Wrapsaladas, Marinated & Chargrilled Chicken or Steak Burritos, etc. Be sure and bring the flyer with you on Thursday, December 2nd!
WHAT'S UP IN SCIENCE?
From Whitney Thwaite and John Akers.
The 8th grade is focused on Forces in Fluids. We are using the lab to demonstrate and actually see what is Archimedes Principle, what is Pascal all about, why does what Bernoulli discover help airplanes fly and what exactly is the difference between Boyles's and Charles law and how it affects us. The labs could get messy and noisy. We will also begin advertising the science faire and I am hoping that many of the students will do projects with physics in mind.
SUMMER VACATIONS
A week at horse camp? Crossing the Great Wall of China? The yearbook is looking for great pictures of activities, vacations, events that your La Entrada student did over the summer. Please submit a picture and brief description to Mrs. Rianda either via email or hard copy so that she can scan in your photo by Tuesday, November 23rd.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR 8TH GRADERS WHO LIVE IN ATHERTON OR WOODSIDE Updated November 19, 2010
Note: Last week's article on this topic had an incorrect link to the Sequoia District transfer forms. That has been corrected.
Many years ago, the Sequoia Union High School District adopted a policy that allows students who live in the Woodside High School attendance zone to attend Menlo-Atherton High School along with all the other La Entrada students who matriculate to M-A. Over the years, the process for notifying the La Entrada students who live in the Woodside H.S. attendance zone of this opportunity and having them apply for M-A has varied a little bit, and this year the Sequoia District is making it simpler.
This year, LE students who live in Woodside or Atherton need for fill out an "Open Enrollment Transfer" form, which can be obtained at the SUHSD website by clicking here. This form must be submitted to the Sequoia District Office no later than January 21, 2010. It's as simple as that. No lottery, no mystery. Even if M-A is declared "full," at a future date, LE students who have followed this process will be admitted to Menlo-Atherton High school for 2011-12 under existing Board Policies. For more information about SUHSD's transfer policy, click here.
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| From the Las Lomitas Education Foundation | 
In the spirit of Thanksgiving, we would like to give thanks to all the parents who have generously donated to the Foundation so far. Your early support is truly meaningful, because it provides the District an estimate on what funding it would have to potentially bring in new teachers and/or facilities to address overcrowded classrooms next year. The financial health of the District is still precarious, so parent donations do make a difference. In early December we will be sending home a thank you list recognizing all the parent donors as of the end of November.
If you did not have a chance to donate yet, please click here to do so now! We need all families to give what is meaningful and significant to them. To date, we have achieved $198,000 of the $250,000 Challenge Grant Match. We only need $52,000 to meet our goal! Any new gift or increase over last year will be matched dollar for dollar. The deadline for the Challenge Grant is December 31.
And again, the District's spending decisions occur in the beginning of 2011, so reaching our goal by the end of December will have a significant impact on planning.
Thank you, and have a Happy Thanksgiving.
DON'T FORGET TO SHOP THE FOUNDATION!!
Best prices for you, Cash for our Kids
www.llefshopping.com
NORDSTROM, AMAZON, APPLE STORE, BEST BUY, WINE.COM, CHEEKY MONKEY, KEPLER'S, & MANY OTHERS
New additions this week: FANDANGO, 1-800-FLOWERS, ORBITZ, WITH MORE TO COME
 |  | | Follow the Foundation on Twitter | Find the Foundation on Facebook |
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| Community News |
Remember to mention La Entrada at the register and Kepler's donates 10% back to our school.
Theatre classes! Portola Valley Theatre Conservatory has posted new after school classes for winter 201. Visit our website at www.pvtc-ca.org or email info@pvtc-ca.org for more information. Online registration begins November 16th. Classes begin the week of January 3rd.
Twas the Night Before Christmas
Several students from La Entrada will be performing in 'Twas the Night Before Christmas this holiday season. Presented by Dancers Repertory Theatre and Menlo Park Academy of Dance. Performances are at the Woodside Performing Arts Center on Sun., Dec., 5th (1pm and 4pm), Sat., Dec., 11th, (1pm and 4pm) and Sun., Dec.,12th, (1pm and 4pm). Tickets are available at www.twasthenight.org or call 650-323-5292. All seats are reserved.
Used Musical Instruments Needed
East Palo Alto Kids Foundation is partnering with For Youth By Youth to provide elementary band instruction to students in East Palo Alto. FYBY seeks band instruments in fair condition for this program and can make minor repairs to the instruments. Please notify La Entrada parent Jeannette Kennedy or EPAK board member Julie Mahowald if you have one of the following instruments to donate: Trumpet, Altos Saxophone, Baritone horn or Euphonium (not baritone sax),Tuba or Sousaphone.
Soccer Tryouts for Spring 2011 Club Teams
Alpine FC and MP Strikers are pleased to announce tryouts for spring 2011 competitive soccer teams. The two clubs have formed an alliance in order to better serve all of the soccer-playing children in the communities of Menlo Park, Atherton, Portola Valley and Woodside. Tryout Dates: December 4, 5, 11 and 12 for U8-U10 players (birthdays after 7/31/2000). Online preregistration is required. To find out more about the clubs, coaches, and tryouts for other age groups, please go to: alpinefc.org or mpstrikersfc.com.
Holiday Camp Menlo: Dec 20-23 and Dec 27-30
Fun times at the pool and at the gym during vacation! Two 4-day camps offered for ages 5-10, 8:45am-1:00pm. Swimming in the warm pool includes one 45-minute lesson per day plus free play. Indoor and dry land activities, athletic games, and structured play. Home base at the Burgess Park Pools in Menlo Park. Click here for info and registration.
Junior Triathlon Team: Live Healthy! Be Strong! Have Fun! Join any time!
Year-round program offers healthy, professional, athletic instruction and activities with a club-like feel. Not just Swim+Bike+Run! Be part of a community of kids with active lifestyles. For ages 7-18 with age-appropriate workouts Mon-Thu and Sat. Home base at Holbrook-Palmer Park in Atherton, swimming at Burgess Park Pools. Beginners welcomed. Click here for info and registration. |
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