Dear Family,

Please pay particular attention to our Earthquake/Tsunami Relief efforts for Japan (see the article below for details). Any help you can give, through your children, to the victims of this devastating disaster is appreciated.

This event is also a reminder to be grateful for all that we have, including the wonderful people we celebrate in our lives. I want to recognize two such individuals here at Edna Maguire.

First grade teacher Nandita Stachon is Edna's nominee for this year's Golden Bell and Elizabeth Terwilliger Teacher Award for excellence in teaching. She and other Mill Valley school nominees will be honored at an awards ceremony on April 29.

Nandita has been a teacher in the Mill Valley School District for 11 years. She is well respected at our school and in the community. Nandita holds her students to high standards for behavior, manners, social skills and achieving their personal best. In addition, she contributes her time and talent to various school and district organizations, including the PTA, School Site Council, Sunshine Committee and the District's Report Card Design Team.

The Elizabeth Terwilliger Foundation also grants a Student Community Service Award, and this year's recipient is Edna Maguire fifth grader Alana Reiss. Alana, along with her synagogue, donated trees through a non-profit organization after major fires in Israel. She and her family buy and donate food and toys to homeless shelters in San Francisco. They also make matzo ball soup for families with sick members. And each year during Chanukah, Alana and her brother pick a charity to give money to instead of receiving gifts themselves. If that's not enough to impress you, Alana is also involved in animal charities, homeless kids' programs and a nonprofit that helps poor kids in Southeast Asia.

It is my pleasure to honor these amazing members of Edna Maguire who benefit our community and beyond. Congratulations Nandita and Alana!

All the Best,

This Thursday, March 24, Edna Maguire will sponsor "The Thousand Cranes Project" for Earthquake and Tsunami Relief in Japan. We encourage each child to bring $1 - preferably of his or her own money - to contribute to a class envelope.

At the end of the day, we will collect the envelopes and make a cash contribution to the Salesforce.com Foundation on behalf of Edna Maguire. Salesforce.com Foundation will match our funds, dollar for dollar, and will work with a Japan-based organization focused on emergency relief and recovery efforts. For more information, and to make your own additional contributions, please go to SalesForce.com Foundation. Thank you Edna parent and Salesforce.com Foundation Executive Director, Suzanne DiBianca, for facilitating this for us!

We also hope the students of Edna Maguire will join us in folding 1,000 origami cranes as a symbolic gesture to the children of Japan. An ancient Japanese legend promises that anyone who folds 1,000 origami cranes will be granted a wish by a crane, such as long life or recovery from illness or injury. We will be folding cranes in some of the classrooms and at lunch recess but will need more than one crane from each student to reach our goal of 1000. If you would like to make a crane at home, please stop by the office to pick up a piece of origami paper and click here to view written and video instructions. Once we have 1000 cranes, we will deliver them to the Japanese consulate as a gesture of good will. We hope the cranes will then be forwarded to a school or orphanage in Japan.

You can also find more information on how to help the earthquake victims, and make donations to the American Red Cross Japan Earthquake and Pacific Tsunami Relief, at www.redcross.org. Or text REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation.

If you have any questions, please contact Janie Karp at jkarpj@comcast.net or Kit Harris at kitharris57@gmail.com. If you would like to help with the cranes, please contact Mari Allen at allenmari@hotmail.com.

Thank you for your care and support.