1. education
2. school

U P C OMING EVENTS
11.6
NOVEMBER 2014
67 2
ISSUE
A Publication
of the Kensington
Hilltop PTA
VOLUME
Kenvue
In This Issue: Korematsu Panel 1 • It’s Go Time for the Garden Party 2 • Success! 3 •
Dads’ Club Thanks and There’s More To Do 4• We Love Ms. Mc! 5 • Who Cares?
Kensington Cares! 5 • Kids’ Corner: Room 22’s Native American Skits 6
PTA Meeting
Thursday, November 6
7:00 PM MPR
Free Childcare!
11.10 - 11.11
No School/Veteran’s Day
Monday - Tuesday
November 10-11
11.13
Parent Education Night
Thursday, November 13, 6 PM
11.18
Dads’ Club General Meeting
Tuesday, November 18
7:00 PM in the MPR
11.22
KEF Garden Party
Saturday, November 22
Mira Vista Country Club
Korematsu Panel
(formerly Portola)
Every year as our children grow, we are faced with choices. Cloth or disposable diapers?
Organic food or not? Public school or private? How we make our decisions is influenced by a
number of factors, but often personal accounts carry tremendous weight.
We welcome you to join us for our November PTA Association meeting which features our
very own Kensington Hilltop graduates who have gone on to Korematsu Middle School, formerly Portola Middle School. On November 6th, they’ll come back and tell us what their experience has been like over the past year or two.
To Kindergarten, 1st and 2nd grade parents, middle school may seem to be a long time away,
but believe it or not, middle school is just right around the corner. It’s a great idea to start think-
11.25
Minimum Day
Tuesday, November 26
11.26 - 11.28
Thanksgiving Holiday
No School
Wednesday - Friday
November 27 - 29
ing now about the choices open to you and your children so you both have time to educate
yourselves about the pros and cons.
If you’ve heard the panel before, we invite you to come back again because every year our
local middle school continues to change and improve, and we’re excited to share some of the
changes that have been happening recently.
Principal Burnham will be attending, and there will be plenty of time for Q&A. We will also
have a construction update on the new campus that is set to open in the Winter of 2015. Please
join us in the library for this informative panel on November 6th at 7:00 PM.
Kari Tindol
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karinatindol@hotmail.com
Submit your articles
to Kenvue!
12.1 - 12.4
Fall Book Fair
Monday - Thursday
December 1- 4
8:00 AM - 3:00 PM School Library
12.3
Book Fair Family Night
Wednesday, December 3
5:00 - 7:00 PM School Library
12.9
Dads’ Club Pub Night
Tuesday, December 9
7:00 PM The Arlington
12.19
Minimum Day
Friday, December 19
12.22 - 1.2
Winter Break
Monday, December 22 Friday, January 2
Classes Reconvene January 5
1.5
School Resumes
Monday, January 5
1.8
PTA Meeting
Thursday, January 8
7:00 PM
Free Childcare
It’s Go Time for
the Garden Party!
There’s no other way to put it: In Kensington, it’s all
about the Garden Party. True, there’s no garden involved
(the name is a throwback to the days when the event was at Blake Garden), but it is one heck
of a party. Get your sitter sorted out and dust off your dancing shoes – the evening of November 22nd, everyone will be at Mira Vista Country Club.
In between drinks and dancing, let’s not forget: In this one night, the Garden Party raises 40
percent of the money needed to keep our kids in all the great programs that have been cut by
the state or the district over the years. We’re talking about art, library, P.E., vocal music, science lab, and computer lab. Not to mention reading and math intervention, accelerated math,
and outdoor classrooms. The Garden Party is key to KEF’s success at making sure our school is
a wonderful place for our kids.
The theme this year is “Passport to Celebrate,” and Garden Party Chair Kim Keller is cooking
up some new twists. Enter a raffle to win a Party Passport to many of the year’s best shindigs
or another to take home the Dads’ Club “Barrow of Booze,” a wheelbarrow piled with enough
bottles of wine, beer, and spirits to get you and your pals through the winter in good cheer.
The highlight of the evening will come when the floor is cleared for dancing. Thank Kensington dads Christian Thompson, Theo Lengyel, Andy Ramm, and Rahul Iyer for the music. And,
speaking of dads, it’s anyone’s best guess what the Dads’ Club will come up with for their
never-dull performance.
Come hungry: You’ll be welcomed with a cocktail, and, according to tradition, Hilltop alumni
will pass hors d’oeuvres. The food will be delicacies from around the world, with a chef’s station serving heartier fare. Wine and beer will flow freely all night till everyone on the dance
floor has tossed their shoes aside.
But the real stars of the evening will be the silent- and live auction items. Competition will be
fierce, as always, for the spectacular art projects the kids have been working on in Winoka’s
KEF art class. Watch for photos of the projects on Facebook (follow Kensington Education
Foundation) and Instagram (follow Kensington_Edu_Foundation)!
Once you’ve nabbed the auction items you want, think about who else is on your list. The Garden Party has become a favorite place for savvy shoppers to load up on holiday and birthday
gifts. If you’re going to spend on presents anyway, why
Garden Party
Saturday, November 22
5 - 11 PM
Mira Vista Country Club
★★★★
Purchase your tickets!
kensingtonhilltop.org
/gardenparty
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not send that money to our kids? Your friends and family
will love the restaurant certificates, gift baskets, fine art,
and one-of-a-kind adventures you can pick up at the
auction. Give your umpteenth wedding anniversary a
boost with a weekend sports-car loaner from Michael
Stead Porsche in Walnut Creek. Pretty up your yard
with a patio set donated by Restoration Hardware. Or
give someone NFL bragging rights with a VIP tour of the
49ers’ new stadium.
Plus, you can fill your calendar with epic parties
View the online catalog
Wednesday, November 5
★★★★
Start bidding!
Wednesday, Nov. 12-19
★★★★
Purchase your tickets
kensingtonhilltop.org
/gardenparty
filled with people you know and more you’ll
love once you do get to know them. Party chief
Annemarie Charlesworth has some good ones on
deck: You won’t want to miss a four-course tasting
at the urban-chic Botella Republic wine bar and
restaurant in downtown Berkeley. And your kids
may not forgive you if you fail to sign up for the
family movie party at Rialto Cerrito Theatre. There’s
also a magical moonlight kayaking trip in Sausalito,
a father-son campout, and the return of last year’s
popular Sisterhood clothing swap for the ladies.
If you want to skip the auction shopping and just
make a tax-deductible donation to support KEF’s
programs at the event, well, our hat’s off to you. Just
Raise the Paddle at the live auction.
Preparations for the Garden Party are in full swing, and party chair Kim Keller can use whatever help you can give: “I am delighted by the generosity of those in our school and community for all they’ve donated to our event, as well as the time given by our incredible team
of volunteers. We would love to recruit even more help and certainly more donations.” If you
have any time or auction items you can offer, please contact Kim at kellerkim19@gmail.com.
Garden Party tickets are $60 in advance, $70 at the door, so order your tickets now. Doors
open at 5 p.m., and the music and dancing will continue until 11 p.m. To buy tickets, view
items that will be up for auction at the Garden Party, as well as bid on online-only items up till
November 19, go to http://www.kensingtonhilltop.org/gardenparty.
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Success!
Congratulations to all of our students who took part in last summer’s Kensington Never Stops
Reading program. There were just over 200 participants!
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Dads’ Club
Thanks and
There’s
More To Do
First off, the Dads’ Club would like to give a big thanks to everyone who was able to make it to
Before...
the Dad’s Club Work Party at the Tahara/Akiyama home on October 5th. With your help, we
demolished their kitchen, built a deck, and did some landscaping, some indoor painting, and
even a few other small odd jobs.
Special thanks to Matt Shogren who led the charge, organization, and kept working until
every last thing was done. Also, special thanks to Mark Wijsen for spearheading the building
of the deck. And of course, last but not least, thanks to Patrick and Jennifer for being wonderful
hosts and for providing refreshments and food. It was hard work, but happy homeowners at
the end of the day means a job well done.
If you too would like a bunch of motivated parents to take care of those long-lingering projects
After!
around the house, don’t forget to bid on your very own Dads’ Club Work Party during the live
auction at this year’s Garden Party…
…And speaking of the Garden Party, our next big call for volun-
teers will be to help set up and tear down the Garden Party, as well as staff the bar during the
event (there is never a shortage of volunteers for that job).
We’ll start Friday afternoon loading up the truck with decorations and materials. Early Saturday morning, we will unload the truck at the Mira Vista Country Club and start setting up for
the big event. We’ll need volunteers for loading Friday afternoon, unloading early Saturday
morning, and setting up Saturday morning and afternoon. But wait, there’s more. Saturday
night after the festivities (and after staffing the bar), we’ll need volunteers for tear down to help
put everything back in the truck again. [There are rumors of another after party at the Arlington
for all of those who help clean up.] Finally, Sunday morning we will unload the truck back at
the school and put everything away for next year. It sounds like a lot of work, and it is, but as
WE NEED YOU!
★★★★
Sign up to help
for the Garden Party
★★★★
the old saying goes, “many hands make light work.”
We have sign up sheets online, and we will talk more about the Garden Party (and ask you to
sign up) at our next Dads’ Club meeting on Tuesday, November 18th, just a few days before
the big night.
Finally, our annual pub meeting will be Tuesday December 9th at the Arlington. It’s a time for
us to say thanks for all you do, and you can congratulate yourselves on a job well done. As
always, the first round is on us.
For more information, contact Matt Fillingim. We look forward to seeing you soon!
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We Love Ms. Mc!
As many of you know longtime Kensington kindergarten teacher Ms. McReynolds has taken the
year off of teaching to fight an illness. Some students have been sending Ms. Mc letters in the
2 0 1 4 Fa l l
B o o k Fa i r !
★★★
8am - 3pm
Monday, December 1 Thursday, December 4
★★★
Family Night
5-7pm
Wednesday, December 3 ★★★
Where?
School Library
on North side of campus
★★★
mail and it really means a lot to her and really lifts her spirits. Recovery can be intensely isolating - especially for such a social person as Ms. Mc.
On a recent Friday during lunch recess students were invited to make a card for Ms. Mc. The
response from the students was overwhelming – nearly 50 beautiful cards were lovingly made!
We’d like to encourage students who know Ms. Mc to continue to write letters or draw pictures
for her. These letters can be delivered to the School Office. We will then pace the mailings to
Ms. Mc so that she receives a steady stream of support. Hearing from students and the community is very meaningful to Ms. Mc. and aids in her recovery.
As things progress, we may be able to arrange meal delivery or special activities around some
of Ms. Mc’s favorite holidays - we all know how much she loves a party! Thanks to the Kensington Hilltop community for all your caring and love!
Noemi Hollander (parent & loving friend of Ms. Mc’s family since childhood)
& Serena Heaslip (Kensington Cares)
You can reach us via email at: noemi.hollander@gmail.com and serenaheaslip@yahoo.com
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Can you
volunteer?
email KEF Librarian,
Kim Paige
kimpaige55@gmail.
com
Who Cares? Kensington Cares!
Kensington Cares is a committee made up of all of us. When a member of our school community faces a hardship like serious illness, surgery, an accident, etc. our community comes
together to try to help. We make the family meals and help with transportation of students and
with playdates, etc.
When a need arises an email goes out to those on the Kensington Cares email list and we then
volunteer to provide the support that is needed. If you’re not on the list and would like to be,
then please let me know. And if you have or know of a need, let me know and I’ll do my best
to coordinate support.
Thank you!
Serena Heaslip
serenaheaslip@yahoo.com or 510-290-8095
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Kids’ Corner
★★★
Submit photos,
writing, art,
field trip reports
from your class
for upcoming
editions of Kenvue
★★★
Media releases
are required
for all student
photos.
★★★
Download the
release form.
Room 22’s
Native American Skits
Ms. Krohn’s 5th grade class completely immersed themselves in their Native American studies.
From research, to writing, prop and scene making they studied the cultures, beliefs, and ways
of life for different Native American tribes from all regions of the country. Their efforts culminated in skits which illustrated their chosen tribes traditions, and were performed for their buddy
class, and the other 5th grade classes.
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