Cornell Chronicle 5/22/26
 |
CORNELL CHRONICLE May 22, 2026 Cornell strives to support a safe and secure learning environment that treats all students with dignity, respect, and high expectations. |
| CALENDAR OF EVENTS |
| May 25 | No School - Memorial Day |
| May 27 | Hot Dogs/Silly Hats/Kick Ball (5th grade vs teachers) |
| May 29 | Coffee with the Principal |
| June 1 | AHS Senior Walk at Cornell, 8:30am |
| June 5 | 5th grade promotion ceremony, 12:30-1:30pm |
| June 5 | Last day of school |
| PRINCIPALLY SPEAKING |
Dear Coyote Families,
We had a great week at school! Our fourth graders had a wonderful time at Camp Campbell. I had the opportunity to visit and it was great to see our students in nature and pushing past their comfort zones! They have grown up so much!
Coming up this Wednesday we will have our hotdog lunch and annual staff versus fifth grade kickball game. It should be an exciting matchup! Friday is our last Coffee with Cat just after the 8:30 bell. Lastly, many grade levels will have their end of the year field trips this coming week and next. Please consider being a chaperone.
Have a wonderful weekend!
In community,
Catherine
| CORNELL NEWS |
Silly Hat Day!
It’s time for our annual Hotdog, Kickball & Silly Hat Day on Wednesday May 27th. Students are encouraged to design and make their own silly hats at home using feathers, paper, stickers, pom-poms, recycled materials, or anything else that sparks creativity. The sillier, the better! We can’t wait to see everyone’s wonderful hat creations.
Silly Hat Day at Cornell, June 4th, 2014!
End-of-Year Absences Reminder from the School District
Many parents are unaware that taking a vacation or going out of town for a family emergency during school is an unexcused absence, and subjects their child (or children) to laws related to truancy. The AUSD practice for students who leave for vacation or family emergencies during the last 30 days of school is that students who are absent 10 or more consecutive days of school and not returning before the last week of school will be dis-enrolled to avoid being reported as truant.
Students must be re-enrolled at the Enrollment Office after returning to Albany; however there is no guarantee that the student will receive the same school assignment. Returning students will be treated as new applicants and will be assigned to an elementary school based on space availability.
Students with interdistrict permits with excessive absences may be in violation of the Interdistrict Attendance Agreement and risk losing their permit to attend school in Albany.
No vacation-related independent study requests for the last two weeks of school will be accepted.
| CORNELL LIBRARY CORNER |
Weekly Library Spotlight
PAST DUE: All library books were expected to be returned and fines resolved by 5/22/26 . If your student(s) still have books on their accounts, you’ll receive an email by Saturday and I ask that books be returned ASAP so that end-of-year inventorying can start. Thanks for doing your part to make sure our collection is complete and can be enjoyed by everyone!
NOTE: 4th graders have an extended deadline until Tues, 5/26 because of Camp Campbell.
This week’s content:
We explored books that relate to Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month this week:
TK: In Mai's Áo Dài we enjoyed learning about traditional Vietnamese clothes and Tết celebrations. Mai and her family bring a modern take to a beautiful family tradition!
Kinder: Home in a lunchbox is a 2025 Caldecott winner that beautifully captures the challenges of immigrating from Hong Kong and ways food can keep us connected to our home and spark new friendships.
1st: Little bird Laila decides to teach her parents English and the kids love her “pop quizzes.” Kelly Yang’s new picture book is based on her personal experience as an Asian American.
2nd: Kids were inspired by the true story of Jadav Payeng, The boy who grew a forest, and enjoyed seeing him talk about his inspiration to care for nature in a short video documentary.
3rd: Navigating night focuses on a girl helping her father deliver food from their family’s restaurant She learn about his immigration story during the Chinese Cultural Revolution and their appreciation for each other deepens. I’m predicting this one will get a Caldecott next year already, it’s stunning!
4th: I am an American presents the Wong Kim Ark’s landmark 1898 Supreme Court case protecting birthright citizenship. We paired this read aloud with guided digital research and looked at website sources, signs of credibility and explored primary documents in our national archives.
5th: A line can go anywhere teaches about local, artist, activist, and arts education advocate Ruth Asawa. It gave us a chance to learn about Japanese American experiences in California including WW2 internment and ways Ruth and others showed resilience and spoke up for their civil rights.
Library Fan Art Poster Contest
Students were amazed by their peers’ fan art and voted for Kids’ Choice Awards all week. Winners will be announced Tuesday morning!
Ms. Kate, Cornell’s Teacher Librarian, is reachable anytime at kbowman@ausdk12.org to respond to any questions, needs, or requests.| PTA NEWS |
Rising 6th-Grade Orientation for Students Receiving Special Education Services
The Albany Middle School (AMS) will hold an orientation for incoming, rising 6th-Grade students receiving special education services next Wednesday, May 27th at 6pm; it will begin in the AMS Library with a presentation, followed by time for questions and answers, and conclude with a school tour. The Principal has invited the appropriate AMS staff members to attend. (This is in addition to, not instead of, yesterday’s general, Incoming 6th-Grade Family Orientation Night that took place in the AMS Gym).
In addition, ALL incoming, rising 6th-Grade students receiving Special Education services are also encouraged to attend the “Where Everybody Belongs” (WEB) Orientation on Tu, 8/11, 8:30a-12p.
🌿 Sunday in the Cornell Garden 🌱
Join us Sunday, May 31 from 2-4pm in the school garden! This is the final Sunday in the garden for the school year! Many of the kids have been able to enjoy the garden on Mondays and Fridays thanks to Coach Joel! Visit the garden on May 31 so your kids can show you their favorite spot and all the plants they have cared for over the year. We will also have pumpkin seeds so kids can see how big of a pumpkin they can grow over the summer.
Cornell PTA Instagram @cornellpta
Cornell Wear eStore is always here with t-shirts, hoodies and more for the whole family!
| FROM AUSD |
From the Superintendent, AUSD Community Newsletter, May 2026
Check out AUSD and Community Events for events and seasonal camps in our neighborhood!
| 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)
Attendance (absences) : cornellattendance@ausdk12.orgLINK TO 2025-26 AUSD SCHOOL CALENDAR
LINK TO BOARD OF EDUCATION MEMBERS