From our June issue
Lakeside Elementary School
Cynthia Gingerich
What do you want to be when you grow up? Ask a few random Lakeside students, and some will say they want to be an amphibian biologist. Dr. Kerry Kriger, founder of the public charity Save the Frogs, brought his informative, inspiring, and entertaining presentation to a school assembly in April. Dr. Kriger explained that amphibian populations have been declining worldwide at unprecedented rates, and nearly one-third of the world’s 6,000 amphibian species are threatened with extinction. At least 200 species have completely disappeared since 1979. His foundation’s mission is to protect amphibian populations and to promote a society that respects and appreciates nature and wildlife. On April 30, Lakeside students celebrated Save The Frogs day.
Lakeside Community Foundation held their annual fundraiser auction on May 15. This year’s adults-only party featured local wine from Muccigrosso Vineyards and chocolates from award-winning Saratoga Chocolates. The live auction was lively as parents and alumni bid for donated items, such as sports tickets, vacation rentals, and class-made works of art.
Upcoming events:
June 4
Spirit day and end-of-school barbecue
Camp-out on campus
June 7
Lakeside PTA meeting, 3 pm
Lakeside Foundation meeting, 6 pm
June 9
Fifth-grade promotion
June 11
Last day of school
From our May issue
Lakeside Elementary School
Cynthia Gingerich
One of Lakeside’s most popular fundraisers, the foundation auction, will be held on May 15, in a different style, time, and location from previous years. This year’s adults-only event will feature wines from local vintners, including wine-tasting with Muccigrosso Vineyards, a popular family-run winery in the Santa Cruz Mountains. The gala will be located at the Las Cumbres Community Center for invited guests and adults only. Tickets must be purchased in advance by May 10. Cost is $50 per person or $75 per couple.
Fifth Graders Hike to Science Camp
In mid-May, Lakeside’s fifth-graders will attend Walden West Science Center where they will live and learn outdoors for five days and four nights. Walden West’s science-camp program includes hands-on lessons in the natural sciences so that students develop an understanding and appreciation of the environment. This year, instead of being chauffeured to camp by parents, Mrs. Wingfield’s fifth-graders will hike several miles from Lakeside school via Lake Ranch Reservoir to Walden West near Sanborn County Park in Saratoga.
From our April issue
Lakeside Elementary School
Cynthia Gingerich
Lakeside’s talent show in February was well attended by family and friends. Students displayed their skills in line dancing, ballet, yoga, gymnastics, reading poetry, singing, and playing musical instruments. A short film was cast, directed, filmed, edited, and produced by a student.
To celebrate the first day of spring in the northern hemisphere, Lakeside PTA invited the San Jose Astronomical Association to present a “star party” at school. On that dark Saturday evening, astronomers from SJAA set up several high-powered telescopes and invited students to find Saturn, Jupiter, the moon, and star clusters. After viewing the night skies and the astronomical objects in them, PTA hosted a dessert party in the Lakeside Community Center.
Lakeside’s traditional May Day celebration will be held on Friday, April 30.
Community members are invited to attend the celebration on Friday morning. Students from each grade will present a special song or skit to welcome spring, with the senior grades dancing for the parent-education session.
Lakeside PTA is sponsoring a parent education session presented by Project Cornerstone on Monday, April 5 from 6:45 to 8:15 p.m. in the Lakeside Community Center.
Project Cornerstone (projectcornerstone.org) educates communities throughout Santa Clara County about the essential building blocks necessary for healthy child and youth development, including adult role models, positive peer influence, and caring school climates. Parents and guardians of elementary and middle school children in the Santa Cruz Mountains are invited to attend.
Upcoming Events
Monday, April 5, 6:45 p.m
Project Cornerstone presents Parent Education, Lakeside Community Center
Monday, April 19
Lakeside PTA meeting, 3 p.m.
Lakeside Foundation meeting, 6 p.m.
Friday, April 30, 9 a.m.
May Day celebration
From our March issue
Lakeside Jumps into a Record
Kathy McKinney
On February 1, Lakeside students joined more than 88,000 Californians to break the Guinness world record for “the most people jumping rope at the same time.” Starting at exactly 9 a.m., Lakeside students, teachers, and parents jumped rope for ten minutes. (No easy feat—try it.) The previous Guinness world record, 59,000 simultaneous rope jumpers, was set in Australia.
With childhood obesity reaching epidemic levels in California, the California Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance organized this world record attempt to encourage jumping rope as a cheap, easy, and efficient way to increase physical activity. If you ask a Lakeside student, they’ll tell you it’s just plain fun.
Lakeside Students Help Haiti
Cynthia Gingerich
When Heather Wingfield’s class of fourth- and fifth-graders heard about the devastating earthquake in Haiti, they started collecting change in a large water bottle in the school office. Soon students, staff, teachers, and parents were filling the bottle with cash and coins. Everyone responded to the urgent need for money for water, food, shelter, and medical supplies. By the end of January, Mrs. Wingfield’s class had collected more than $600 and an anonymous donor from the Lakeside community contributed an additional $500.
Lakeside Kindergarten Yoga
Dr. Brenda Taylor
Oatmeal, oranges, olives, MMMmm so good, OHMmmmm. The room echos. Kathy Olavarri’s kindergarten class at Lakeside has started a language-arts lesson combined with their weekly yoga practice.
They sail off on a journey around the world exploring plants and animals with yoga poses. Many of these poses are quickly recognized with their catchy rhyming words. They learn about growing plants, the cycles of the moon, and the changing of the seasons. Focusing their breath while counting with their hands they send good thoughts to people they love like mom, dad, grandma, grandpa, friends, classmates, neighbors, and even Dr. B. Thanks to their new-found self expression in yoga, the Lakeside kindergarteners know what’s up from down and how to breathe.
From our February issue
Lakeside Trustees Complete AB1234 Training
Cynthia Gingerich
Lakeside Joint School District trustees, the superintendent/principal, and several members of the public recently participated in the Local Government Ethics and Public Service Laws and Principles training provided by the Office of the County Counsel of the County of Santa Clara. California law requires many locally elected officials to receive this training.
The training covered public official ethics, the Brown Act (open meeting laws), and the Fair Political Practices Act. “At Lakeside, our staff and volunteer board are determined to learn from the experts to fully understand their roles. Our mindset is to do not just what is required, but what we ought to do. We set our standards above the level of minimum legal compliance,” said Bob Chrisman, superintendent and principal.
Participants received information on the nature of a conflict of interest, descriptions of the prohibitions on the use of public funds for ballot measure campaigns, and best practices for conducting meetings with transparency. The training included ample question-and-answer opportunities. New member Les Niles commented, “This session really impressed me with the huge responsibility of serving on the board of trustees.”
Lakeside events in February
February 8 - Foundation meeting, 6 p.m.
February 22 - PTA meeting, 3 p.m.
From our January issue
Lakeside Elementary School
Cynthia Gingerich
Children’s holiday parade
On Saturday, December 5, Lakeside participated in the 53rd Annual Los Gatos Children’s Holiday Parade. Students and parents marched and sang holiday songs while our Orff music specialist, Casey Lelake, accompanied on guitar.
Lakeside winter program
On the evening of Wednesday, December 16, it was standing room only in the Lakeside Community Center as students performed musical numbers for family and friends. Each class sang seasonal songs and the 4th/5th- graders performed a sword dance. Together we celebrated the arrival of the holiday season and the beginning of winter.
Events
Week of January 4 to 8,
First annual white elephant silent auction. A great way to discreetly dispose of a gift you didn’t really want in exchange for something better.
Friday, January 22
PTA winter family dinner and movie night, 6 p.m. BYO dinner and pillow and blankie, and settle in to watch Disney’s Earth.
Saturday, January 23
Electronic waste recycling drive, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Deliver your old electronics and household appliances to Lakeside, such as computer monitors, television sets, and microwaves to discard them responsibly for free. EarthCare Recycling keeps your electronic waste from going into local or international landfills.
