Dear Marin Families,

This was an exciting week at Marin!! We celebrated the 100th Day of School alongside Kindness Week. Students across all grades participated in activities such as thanking buddies for helping them to grow as readers and friends, playing Kindness Bingo to identify ways to show care for others, and creating posters and cards to spread kindness throughout our community.

Throughout the week, some students asked their teachers questions about the National Walkout, and teachers used these moments to reaffirm that at Marin, all students belong, all students are valued, and our school is a safe place for everyone.

If you haven’t already, please complete Intent to Return for 2026-27 school year forms as soon as possible. The deadline is tomorrow, January 31! (3 different forms for different grade levels.) This information will help us with planning for next year.

• Current TK students: https://www.parentsquare.com/feeds/69053304

• Current K-4th students: https://www.parentsquare.com/feeds/69193842

• Current 5th grade students: https://www.parentsquare.com/feeds/69194566

Have a great weekend,

Melisa Pfohl, Principal

PTA Meeting on Wednesday

Join us for our next PTA meeting on Wednesday, February 4th at 6:30 PM in the school library (with a Google Meet option). We’ll share updates on upcoming events, fundraising efforts, and the PTA budget. Dinner will be provided and all families are welcome—we hope to see you there.

Lost & Found Clean Out

Our Lost & Found is quite full. Please stop by the yellow bin and metal shelves near the lunch shelter and atrium doors to rescue your lost items. 

AEF First Mondays at Little Star Pizza Little Star Pizza will donate 10% of all sales — take-out and dine-in — to Albany Education Foundation on Monday, Feb. 2, and every first Monday of the month. Warm up with some delicious food from Little Star!  AEF funds grants for teachers. Thank you for supporting Little Star Pizza and Albany Education Foundation! Black History Month Celebration Student performances from across Albany schools will be highlighted. Thursday, February 12, 6–8pm, Albany High School Little Theater. All are welcome! Please come and celebrate with us! Lunar New Year Celebration  Join us for the Lunar New Year Celebration hosted by AUSD Asian Pacific Islander Parent Engagement Group (API-PEG). February 28, 4–6pm, Ocean View Elementary MPR. Food and volunteer sign up https://forms.gle/mGkDymidKpbZ4tk58 Join API-PEG Group email by filling out this form. You can also find us on Facebook and Instagram. If you have any questions, please email AlbanyAPIparents@gmail.com. Dance Camp Is Back! Albany Dance Company (ADC), Albany High’s dance group, will be once again hosting a one-day dance camp for students in grades K–8 on March 20, 8am–3:30pm, Albany Unified’s staff professional development day—a no-school day for students!  We hope this event will help out AUSD families by providing a day of fun activities for their students while also introducing them to our dance program at Albany High. Cost is $45 per dancer, $50 after March 3. Register with the QR code above in the flyer or at http://bit.ly/ADCDanceCamp26.   SchoolCARE Volunteers Needed SchoolCARE needs passionate volunteers to assist with Spring fundraising efforts. Please join our team in supporting public education in Albany. Sign up at the links below for each activity: Brochure Distribution: Distribute fundraising brochures throughout Albany. Routes take 1–2 hours and can be a fun family activity.  In-Person Promotion: Help us promote our Spring campaign during school drop-off the week of April 27.  Host a Lawn Sign: We will drop off and pick up the signs for a two-month display!  Science Olympiad Elementary Teams Forming Now! Science Olympiad is a nationwide competition where students compete in STEM-related challenges across topics like earth science, biology, chemistry, physics, and engineering. Division A is the elementary division, where 3rd–6th graders can compete by constructing a vehicle made of pasta, decoding ciphers, identifying stars, and more. We recommend forming a team of 8 friends of a similar age group to ensure compatibility amongst the students.  Find out more about SciOly Division A. Sign-up form is here. Questions? Contact us at scioly.div.a@gmail.com. Superintendent's Community Update Click here for the Superintendent's Community Update.