Thornhill Elementary PFC Newsletter

Hello Thunderbirds!

There is ONE DAY LEFT and we have reached 70% of our $260,000 goal with ONLY 58% of families participating. A big thank you to those of you who have helped get us this far, we appreciate your generosity! For anyone still on the fence, WE NEED YOUR HELP TO REACH OUR GOAL! It is only through contributions like yours that we can afford special programming for our kids like PE, Library, Gardening, Music and more.

We would love to see 100% of our families participate, with any amount counting toward participation. Help us get one step closer to our goal of $260,000 - CONTRIBUTE TODAY!

Several others are close behind! See how close your class is to

earning those delicious popsicles - the current class standings:

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

Contribute to the Annual Fund by Check

Contribute to the Annual Fund Online

IMPORTANT: If you’ve submitted a company match (thank you!), please send a quick email to annualfund@thornhillschool.org to let us know you’ve completed the process, since we aren’t always notified automatically.

We also see in the portal that the following companies have submitted matches, but we don’t know which families they belong to: Veeva, Genentech, Epic Games, Gilead Sciences, Apple, AAA, and Dropbox.

If one of these is your employer, please email us so we can give your class credit for your contribution.

Thank you for your continued support!

Stefani Miller, Vaidehi Seth, Annie Sartor & Ashley Hart

Annual Fund Committee

annualfund@thornhillschool.org

ThornChill is just around the corner, and we're looking for a few community members who can help us create a welcoming space for all of our families.

We're seeking loans or donations of:

* Shade tents/canopies

* 6-foot folding tables

These items will help keep families cool and provide plenty of space in our mess hall-style seating area, where classmates, and their families can relax, share a meal, and connect with one another throughout the festival.

If you have a shade tent or folding table you would be willing to lend or donate to the event, we would be incredibly grateful for your support. (Drop off Friday, October 16th and pick up Monday, October 19th, or take home right after the festival!)

Interested in helping? Sign up here: ThornChill Volunteer Sign Up Here:ThornChill Volunteer Sign Up or contact us at BAC@ThornhillSchool.org.

Thank you for bringing our community together! 🎃🍂🧡

Vanessa Lee and Danajane Katz

ThornChill Co-Chairs

Join Principal Scott on Wednesday October 7, 2026 for Coffee and a chat in the back patio. Hosted by the BIPOC Advisory Council

Hello Thornhill Community!

A group of teachers and staff are working together to update our safety plan (more communication to come, stay tuned!). We are seeking community support in two ways.

First, we'd like to collect donations of allergen-friendly granola bars to have extra food for students in case of emergency. Donations can be dropped in the labeled box in the front entryway.

Second, we'd love some volunteers to organize materials for the safety plan. If you are interested in supporting this, please reach out to Ms. Fox at marie.fox@ousd.org.

Thank you for helping us make the best possible plan for our site to be prepared in the event of an emergency. We sincerely appreciate your help!

Hello from the Thornhill library:

With the school year in full swing I hope that you have talked with your student about the books that they have checked out from the library.

I am excited to share that we have some great author/illustrator visits coming up! First we will host Jerrold Connors, whose latest book Stampede! was just released. He will present this funny and action packed book to Kindergarten through Second Grade on Monday October 5th in the MPR.

If anyone is interested in purchasing a signed book from local bookstore Mrs. Dalloway's, please click here for ordering instructions. They will be delivered to students the day of the visit.

And in just over a month, our Kindergarten and First Graders will welcome Alison Kim, author and illustrator of The Art of How Dogs Sleep on Monday November 3rd. Please click here to order a signed copy of her adorable book inspired by her own dogs and all of the ways they sleep.

I can't wait for our students to hear directly from these authors about what inspired them and how they created their works. Please let me know if you have any questions!

Ms. Fox

marie.fox@ousd.org

One of the many great activities at the ThornChill Fall Festival is the costume swap! Donate your old, gently-used kid costumes to the swap. At the festival, browse the costume swap and find your kid's next costume...for free!

We'll begin gathering costumes at morning drop off TOMORROW September 30. Now's the time to start digging out your old costumes and setting them aside for the swap!

Welcome to the 5th Grade Corner, your spot for all things 5th grade! We’ll share upcoming events, important dates, and updates as our fifth graders make the most of their final year at Thornhill. Stay tuned for everything from Promotion and the legendary 5th Grade Lock-In to the 5th Grade Yearbook, bake sales, special activities, and more!

Middle School Tours

It’s also time to start thinking about middle school! Below is a list of local OUSD middle schools. Click each school name to visit its tour information and registration page.

Middle School Tour Registration Link List:

Bret Harte Middle School (not open yet)

Claremont Middle School (not open yet)

Edna Brewer Middle School (open)

Montera Middle School (open)

Throughout the school year, our 4th- and 5th-grade families host bake sales to help support our upper-grade overnight field trips, a beloved Thornhill tradition! Fourth graders head to Coloma Outdoor Discovery School, while fifth graders visit Westminster Woods. Funds raised through our bake sales are split evenly between the 4th and 5th grades and help cover student scholarships and chaperone costs for these special trips.

Our First Bake Sale of the School Year is at ThornChill on Saturday 10/17!

What type of goodies do we welcome? EVERYTHING. Homemade or store bought. Cookies, cupcakes, brownies, homemade candies, whole cakes or confections! Anything festive and delicious. Anything that you love to make at this time of year, we would love to sell. :) Items can be single treats, individually bagged goodies or whole desserts. Just share what you'll bring in the signup comments and be sure to note allergen info when you bring your treats to the sale.

All are welcome to pitch in, regardless of the student's grade level.

SIGN-UP HERE 🍪

Thank you for supporting our 4th and 5th graders and helping make these special overnight trips possible. We’re excited to kick off our first bake sale at ThornChill!

Email bakesale@thornhillschool.org with any questions.

Thank you!

Catrina Vrankovich, Lisa Bays, Bianca Darville & Kathryn Miggels
PFC 5th Grade Liaisons

Hello!

I’m Annie Sartor, this school year’s PFC VP of Communications! This is for any Konstella group or committee that may need to share an all-school calendar event or Konstella blast at any point during the school year.

Not to worry, the process is super easy!

1) Within Konstella, create the announcement or calendar event on a computer/laptop (not the app). You have to be a "lead" in the committee to do so (email vpcommunications@thornhillschool.org to be added).

Here are the specific instructions:

1. In Konstella, click on the orange "Create" button and select either "One-Time Event" (if it's an event with a date and time, for example a meeting) or "Announcement" (if it's not date specific, for example an ask to buy auction tickets).
   
   

2. In terms of who you are sending it to, click "Select Groups" to select the originating committee, for example the Auction Committee.
   
   

3. Write the blast EXACTLY how you would like it to be seen to the community, complete with formatting, hyperlinks, and pictures. The Comms team is here to look over your blast for minor edits and then to send it, not to create it for you. That said, if you need help, I'm happy to assist with formatting a post, I just need a few days' notice.
   
   

4. Only use the "attachment" feature if it's a flyer you have to include - all other pictures should be inserted directly into the description itself. There is a "source code" option if the WYSIWYG editor isn't doing what you want it to.
   
   

5. Add other committee members as "Organizers" if you want them to have access to the blast and be able to edit it.
   
   

6. When done, click the orange "Next" button. Keep the box checked for "Add the activity to the Feed" and click the gray "Publish" button. This allows anyone in the group (including the Thornhill Communications admin account) to see it in the feed, but it doesn't bother the committee with an email. (FYI, while you are working on your blast, you can "Save Draft" but note that only you, as the creator, can access the draft. No other organizers will be able to see it.)
   
   

7. Don't worry - you don't have access to email the entire school so you cannot accidentally "goof" and do so. We know it's nerve-wracking when doing this for the first time and hitting a button that says "Publish" but you'll be okay! :)

2) To publish something school-wide: Once your blast or calendar event is published to your committee, please email Annie Sartor at vpcommunications@thornhillschool.org. If applicable, be sure to include the desired day, time and frequency for your post.

Unless you let Annie know that your Konstella announcement or calendar event is ready to be shared with the entire school, it will only be visible to your committee.

Keep in mind that your desired schedule may be adjusted to accommodate other committees or announcements so we can avoid overwhelming families with too many messages at once.

And there you go! Feel free to reach out if you need help!

Thank you!

Annie Sartor
PFC VP of Communications 2026-27

Do you live in OUSD School Board districts 2, 4, or 6 (find out here)? If so, your November ballot will ask you to vote on your school board representative. There are many opportunities to get to know the candidates in September and October. Below are the upcoming forums.

More details about all of the forums, plus links to register/RSVP, are available on the Oaklandside website.

Super Soccer Club, Oakland

Super Soccer Stars | Ages 5–8

The inaugural season is currently underway, and Season 2 registration is now open beginning Saturday, November 7th.

Families can learn more and register at SuperSoccerClub.com and check out @supersoccerclub on Instagram—including our new promo video—to get a feel for the program and what we’re building ⚽

Thank you for supporting local opportunities for Oakland kids.

Cole Arts Camp is offering day camps for upcoming school holidays:

Oct 12: Indigenous People's Day

Nov 11: Veterans Day

Thanksgiving: 23-25

Winter Break: Dec 21-24, 28-31, Jan 4, Jan 5

Details and registration at www.colearts.org

Be sure also to subscribe to the Thornhill Google Calendar here, and download the OUSD District calendar here.