CORNELL CHRONICLE 9/25/26
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CORNELL CHRONICLE September 25, 2026 Cornell strives to support a safe and secure learning environment that treats all students with dignity, respect, and high expectations. |
| CALENDAR OF EVENTS |
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Sep 30 |
Community Time: Cunamacue (Afro-Peruvian performance), 8:30, yard |
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Oct 1-2 |
Picture Days, mornings |
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Oct 2 |
Coffee with the Principal, 8:30am, yard |
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Oct 2 |
PTA Family Math Night, 5:30-7:30pm, MPR |
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Oct 3 |
Westbrae Pumpkin Patch Bake Sale, 11:30-3pm, Westbrae Nursery |
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Oct 3 |
Latino/x Heritage Month Celebrations, 1-4pm, AMS |
| Oct 9 | No School - Fall Brea |
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Oct 12 |
No School - Indigenous People's Day |
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Oct 17 |
Westbrae Pumpkin Patch Bake Sale, 11:30-3pm, Westbrae Nursery |
| Oct 30 | Halloween Parade |
Regular Weekly Schedule
Remember to set a reminder for Wednesday's early dismissal!TK & Kindergarten: 8:30-1:30 (Monday - Friday)
1st - 5th grades: 8:30-3:05 (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday)
Wednesdays for 1st - 5th grades: 8:30-1:45
| PRINCIPALLY SPEAKING |
Dear Coyote Families,
There are lots of happenings coming up at Cornell and in AUSD! Please take a look at all the information here in the Chronicle so you are up to speed!
Tomorrow (Saturday 9/26) the Albany Disability Squad (an AUSD Affinity Group) is hosting a picnic at Memorial Park, 3-5pm. This is a great opportunity for families of children with disabilities to find connection and build community.
On Wednesday 9/30 at 8:30 we will have our first Cornell Community Time. This is a Cornell tradition, where we gather in the morning approximately once a month on the grass outside for student performances, sing-alongs, special guest visitors, etc. This first Community Time, focused on honoring Latinx Heritage Month, will feature a performance from Cunamacue, an Afro-Peruvian dance troupe. Many thanks to the AUSD Affinity Group Familias Latinas de Albany for helping us organize this event. Parents and caregivers are warmly invited to join us.
School Photos will be taken on Thursday and Friday. Keep an eye out for a message from your child’s teacher about which day their class will have photos taken!
On Friday 10/2 at 8:30 you are all invited to join me for Coffee with the Principal. This is an informal opportunity to bring your questions, concerns, and ideas, and to connect with other families over a cup of coffee.
I am still looking for at least one more parent/caregiver to join our School Site Council. This group, made up of both parents/caregivers and teachers/staff, is responsible for our annual School Site Plan, including the budget. Meetings are held on Tuesdays from 4:00-5:30pm. This year, meetings will be Dec. 8th, Jan. 19th, March 2nd, and Apr. 20th, with an additional meeting added in May if needed to finalize the site plan and budget. Please complete this form if you are interested in serving on the School Site Council this year.
Reminder about afternoon dismissal: School is dismissed at 3:05 M/T/Th/F, and 1:45 on Wednesdays. After dismissal, all students are expected to go to an afterschool program, be promptly picked up by a parent/caregiver, or walk home on their own if they have parent permission to do so. Ten minutes after dismissal, any students who haven’t been picked up by a parent/caregiver or an afterschool provider will be sent to the office to call home. A teacher in an orange vest is on the yard for ten minutes to help students, answer parent questions, and send children to the office to call home if needed, but this is not a supervised student recess time. If your child walks home alone, please remind them that they are expected to leave promptly after dismissal.
On October 4, The Albany Library is hosting the Freedom to Read Festival, 12-5pm. This fun, family-friendly, all-ages event celebrates Banned Books Week. Albany’s Pride, AUSD’s LGBTQ+ families Affinity Group, invites families to join Banned Books Drag Bingo at 12:30.
Have a great weekend!
jen
| CORNELL ANNOUNCEMENT |
Community Time: Cunamacue (Afro-Peruvian performance), Wednesday, 9/30, 8:30am
Founded in 2010 in Oakland by Carmen Roman, Cunamacué is a dynamic performance group that celebrates Afro-Peruvian culture through music, dance, and theater, blending traditional Afro-Peruvian movements with modern dance and other African Diaspora influences to create contemporary expressions.
Attendance - Absences
1. What does it mean to “verify” my child’s absence?
When a student is absent, parents are required to call/send a note to the attendance department in order to
validate the reason for the child’s absence. We call this process "absence verification". Verification of an absence
does not mean that the absence is excused. CA Ed Code lists the reasons to excuse an absence.
2. What happens after I have called in my child’s absence?
The attendance clerk will then proceed to mark your child’s attendance record with an “Excused” or “Unexcused”
absence according to Ed Code and District policies.
3. What happens if I forget to call my child’s absence on the day of his/her absence?
You may call to verify your child’s absence up to 5 days after your child has been absent. Absences that are not
verified within the time allowed will be considered unexcused absences.
For more details, please refer to our Parent Handbook.
| CORNELL LIBRARY CORNER |
Weekly Library Spotlight
This week continued to focus on library organization and we also explored characteristics of different fiction sub-genres. TK-1st differentiated between realistic fiction and fantasy while older students were exposed to realistic fiction, historical fictions, fantasy and science fiction. Series in each were promoted and all found eager readers!
3rd Annual Cornell Library Halloween Poster Contest Launch
Please encourage your readers to participate in this year’s Halloween poster contest! This is a kids-only activity; caregivers and older siblings can encourage them and provide inspiration, but please let the kids do all the work and shine! Extra poster papers are available in the library. If anyone needs art supplies, please connect with me and I’ll send a set home so everyone has what they need to participate. Entries due: Wed, 10/15
Latino Heritage Month Guest Readers Needed
Kids are excited to host guest readers from our community who identify as Latino Oct 2nd-8th . If you would like to participate as a reader, please sign up here. Big thanks to the Familias Latinas de Albany for leading this great tradition!
Ms. Kate, Cornell’s Teacher Librarian, is reachable anytime at kbowman@ausdk12.org to respond to any questions, needs, or requests
| PTA NEWS |
Tea Collection on Fourth Street Give Back Days!
October 2-4 - Tea Collection on Fourth Street will be donating 15% of sales back to the Cornell PTA!
Westbrae Pumpkin Patch Bakesale!
It's time for the ever popular Pumpkin Patch at Westbrae nursery. The pumpkin patch is our biggest fundraiser aside from direct parent contributions. Please make sure to buy your Halloween pumpkins at Westrbae Nursery, and to spread the word.
This fundraiser is essential to the PTA and the more we can send people to the fantastic Westbrae Nursery the better! Tell your friends to buy their pumpkins there. Tell your enemies. Tell strangers in elevators. Buy pumpkins for strangers in elevators. Buy pumpkins and leave them in elevators for strangers. Just make sure the pumpkins come from Westbrae!
To support the Pumpkin Patch, we also do the Pumpkin Patch Bake Sale, and we need volunteers!
We need Bakers and Sellers!
Saturday October 3rd and Saturday October 17th
Sign up here: https://tinyurl.com/2026PumpkinPatchBakesale
Feel free to call or text me (Seth 510.847.5673) with questions, or send them to seth@redoakrealty.com
Math Night!
Friday October 2 from 6-8 in the Cornell MPR
Cornell Family Math Night is a night of community and fun! The PTA provides dinner and games for families to enjoy together. Many of these games tie in with math learning and games your children are learning in class! We’ll have activities for all grades.
We can’t do it without you! Sign up to help! We need parents to host games (Training provided! Math experience is not necessary!) And we need parents to help with food and prep! If you’re available to volunteer, please sign up by September 25.
We also need a head count to help us with food and planning. If you plan to attend, please RSVP here! by September 25.
Cornell PTA Instagram @cornellpta
Cornell Wear eStore is always here with t-shirts, hoodies and more for the whole family!
| FROM AUSD |
Superintendent's Community Update
Community Update from the Superintendent – August/September 2026
| COMMUNITY |
Link to AUSD Events and Announcements. This page features districtwide events, community events, and opportunities for AUSD students and families.
Latino/x Heritage Month Celebration
Saturday, October 3, 2026 from 1pm-4pm at Albany Middle School.
This event is open to all community members!
| 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 2026-27 AUSD SCHOOL CALENDAR
LINK TO BOARD OF EDUCATION MEMBERS