Cornell Chronicle 3/13/26
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CORNELL CHRONICLE March 13, 2026 Cornell strives to support a safe and secure learning environment that treats all students with dignity, respect, and high expectations. |
| CALENDAR OF EVENTS |
| Mar 14 | Dress rehearsal for CGT, OV MPR |
| Mar 17 | School Site Council Meeting, Rm. 26, 4pm |
| Mar 18 | Community Time: Cal Straw Band, yard, 8:30am |
| Mar 18 | AUSD Facilities Master Planning meeting, MPR, 6pm |
| Mar 19 | "Hawaiian Beach Party" (2nd grade musical), MPR, 6pm |
| Mar 20 | No school - Staff Development Day |
| Mar 28 | Cornell's Got Talent Show, OV MPR |
| PRINCIPALLY SPEAKING |
Dear Coyote Families,
Thank you teachers and parents for the time that everyone put into connecting during conferences. It was great to have you here! We have a busy week next week.
Our March safety drill will take place on Tuesday, 3/17 in the morning. Here are the previously shared resources regarding lockdown drills and how to talk about them with children: Tinybeans.com and Child Mind Institute. That afternoon, we also have a School Site Council meeting in Rm. 26. Here is the agenda for the SSC meeting.
On Wednesday, 3/18, please join us for our March Community Time, at 8:30am, out on the lawn. On Wednesday evening from 6 - 7:30pm we have a community meeting to discuss the AUSD Facilities Master Planning process and priorities for Cornell in the MPR. Dinner and childcare will be provided. Thank you PTA for sponsoring this! Please complete this form to RSVP for childcare that evening.
And lastly, next Friday, 3/20, is a staff development day for teachers, so students do not have school.
Families, just a few reminders about lunch… This is a nut free school, so please do not send students to school with snacks or meals containing nut products. Also we remind students not to share food with others. This is to prevent any reactions from students with food based allergies. Thank you again for your support with this.
In community,
Catherine Floresca
Principal
5th grade art (Ms. Freschl's class)
| CORNELL ANNOUNCEMENT |
Tardies and Early Pick Ups
For more detailed information, please refer to the Cornell Attendance webpage
Tardies: Students are expected to be in their class line as soon as the bell rings. Habitual tardiness is disruptive to the teacher and the other students and can impact a student's learning. Any student arriving after their bell rings must first go to the office for a tardy (pink) slip before entering their classrooms.
Early pick ups: A note should be e-mailed, ahead of time, to the teacher and the attendance clerk when it is necessary for your child to be picked up early for any reason during the school day. Parents/guardians must come to the office to pick up and sign out their children. The office will call the classroom to have your child come up to meet you. If your child is returning back to school on the same day, please come into the office and sign your child back into the school. If the pick up is for a medical appointment, remember to bring a medical note to the office.
| CORNELL LIBRARY CORNER |
Weekly Library Spotlight
Library instruction this week focused on Women’s History Month. Read-alouds focused on incredible women and were paired with multi-media content to bring their stories to life.
TK & Kinder: learned about naval engineer Raye Montague and her pioneering work using computer programming in ship design
1st: read Mae Among The Stars and watched Mae describe how she became the first African American female astronaut
2nd: enjoyed the illustrated poem, Drum Dream Girl, “inspired by the childhood of a Chinese-African-Cuban girl who broke Cuba's traditional taboo against female drummers”
3rd: learned about local, James Beard Award-winning chef, Alice Waters, and her Edible Schoolyard initiative by reading a book and watching a small documentary about the King Middle School site where it all began
4th: explored the impact Nichelle Nicholas had as an ground-breaking actor on Star Trek and diversity recruiter for NASA
5th: heard the story of our country’s “oldest student,” Mary Walker, who was enslaved for the first 15 years of her life and met her lifelong dream of learning to read at the age of 117
| PTA NEWS |
Volunteers Still Needed: Cornell's Got Talent!!
We’re looking for volunteers to help make this year’s Cornell's Got Talent Show, on Saturday, March 28th, a fun and successful event for our students and families! If you are able to help, please take a moment to review the available roles and sign up for a time slot that works for you in the Google Sheet. Thank you!!!
If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to Anne Xiong (annxpy@gmail.com) and Nery Castillo-McIntyre (castillo.nery@gmail.com)
Help shape the future of Cornell!
Wednesday, March 18, 2026
6:00 – 7:00pm
Cornell MPR & Zoom
Cornell is holding its Facilities Planning Meeting. Join to learn about the needs of Cornell and contribute to the discussion on what our facilities plan should focus on. Albany Unified is in the process of developing a Facilities Master Plan that will create a long-term vision for facilities upgrades throughout the District and identify priorities for immediate projects using Measure L bond funds. As part of this, each district site is working on identifying the most important projects for their campus and students.
Food & childcare (limited availability, RSVP required) provided for in-person attendees
Please RSVP HERE
For background, go to Facilities Planning Input (also available under Popular Links on www.ausdk12.org) to:
Learn about the current conditions on each campus and add your knowledge.
Help identify the most important guiding principles for prioritizing projects.
Ask questions: What do you want to know about the Facilities Master Plan?
Cornell PTA Instagram @cornellpta
Cornell Wear eStore is always here with t-shirts, hoodies and more for the whole family!
| FROM AUSD |
Link to the Superintendent's Community Update - none this week
Link to AUSD Events Page
API-PEG Parent Education Speaker Series
Join our workshop Resilience in the Sandbox: Preparing Our Children for What Comes Next, March 18, 7pm.Speaker Yahya Radman is a leadership educator and former collegiate coach. He partners with families to build resilience and discipline in youth. In this session, he will offer practical strategies for parents raising confident, self-reliant children in today’s demanding world. This presentation is geared to parents with students in all grades. You may join API-PEG Google Group here. Join API-PEG Group here. Find us on Facebook and Instagram. If you have any questions, please email AlbanyAPIparents@gmail.com.
Eid and Holi Celebration
Join the Celebration of Eid and Holi on Sunday, March 29, 1:00pm-4:30pm at Ocean View Elementary School. This event is hosted by SWANA, the Southwest Asian and North African Parent Engagement Group. All are welcome to attend! Scan the QR code above to RSVP and sign up for the Potluck.
| COMMUNITY |
| NOTES FROM THE OFFICE |
Please visit the Cornell website for general information.
OFFICE HOURS
Office Hours: 8:15am – 3:30pm
Office Phone: (510) 558-3700
Email: Sui-Ling (sangelidis@ausdk12.org), or Margaret (mglendening@ausdk12.org)
LINK TO 2025-26 AUSD SCHOOL CALENDAR
LINK TO BOARD OF EDUCATION MEMBERS