Harmony Salmon Creek School · Occidental, California
Seven events
this fall.
Jump in anywhere.
shARK is the parent-run foundation behind our school: the money and the many hands behind the farm and garden, theater, library books, and the everyday supplies the district budget never quite stretches to.
You don't have to join a committee or know anyone. Come to one, come to all of them, bring whoever you like.
This Friday
Welcome Back Dinner
Come find our shARK table: pledge forms, the fall calendar, and someone to answer questions.
September → December
This fall's shARK events
Seven events, and every one of them is better with more of us there. Bring the kids, bring a neighbor, come to as many as you can. No membership, no dues, nothing to sign up for first.
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FridaySep 18Next up
Glow Party
Take your kids to their first dance party. DJs, black lights, confetti cannons, and a serious number of glow sticks. Concessions available!
6–9pm · Harmony Salmon Creek School
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SaturdayOct 3
Autumn Gather
Our biggest gathering of the fall, out with the Farm and Garden program. Bring a neighbor who doesn't have kids here.
Harmony Salmon Creek School · details soon
Buy ticketsComing soon! -
FridayOct 16
Fall Festival
Volunteer during school hours and be part of the seasonal magic. Face painting, food, flower crowns and crafts.
Harmony Salmon Creek School · details soon
Buy ticketsComing soon! -
FridayNov 13
Move-a-thon
The kids move, we cheer, the community sponsors them. Our biggest fundraiser of the year and, by a distance, the loudest.
Harmony Salmon Creek School · details soon
Buy ticketsComing soon! -
ThursdayDec 3
Occidental Tree Lighting
Downtown with the whole village, not just the school. shARK helps host.
Downtown Occidental · details soon
Buy ticketsComing soon! -
SaturdayDec 5
Pancake Breakfast + Giving Tree
Come for the pancakes, stay for the Giving Tree. Breakfast on campus, holidays officially open.
Harmony Salmon Creek School · details soon
Buy ticketsComing soon! -
ThursdayDec 17
Winter Festival
A seasonal celebration before the holiday break, with our beloved evening walk in the redwoods and sweet treats.
Harmony Salmon Creek School · details soon
Buy ticketsComing soon!
Volunteering
Where we need hands
Every event on this page runs on volunteers, and most jobs are a couple of hours with a clear finish. No committee, no meetings, nothing that follows you home. Specific roles for this fall are being confirmed. In the meantime, tell us what you're good at and we'll find you something real.
Tell us what you can do
Whatever you're good at and however much time you've got. Two hours at one event is genuinely useful. And you'll meet more people in an afternoon here than in a year of waving at pickup.
The annual campaign
What the district budget doesn't cover, we do.
Last year this community raised more than $75,000. Fifty thousand of it went straight to the school as two block grants; the rest paid for community events, classroom and supply requests from teachers, seasonal giving and staff appreciation.
This school year we aim to raise $75,000: $50,000 to the school as two block grants, and $25,000 direct to vendors and in-kind purchases. See exactly where it goes
No amount is too small, and no family is expected to give more than they can. If the suggested amount doesn't work for yours, give what does. It all counts the same.
$75,000
our goal for 2026–27
$350
suggested, per student, per year
$35
a month, August to May
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Download form
Pledge for the year
Printable form, due October 8. Return it to the front office
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Pledge with PayPal
Or pledge with PayPal
$350 a year, or $35 a month
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Open Venmo
Or pledge with Venmo
@HarmonyArk
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Donate
Give once instead
Any amount, any time
More than one student? Larger families pay a reduced monthly rate: $70 a month for two, $95 for three. Annual pledges are $700 and $1,050.
Our ask is one of the lowest in Sonoma County, where most schools ask $500–1,000. shARK is a 501(c)(3), so your gift is tax deductible. Tax ID 68-0257153.
2026–27 funding priorities
Where the $75,000 goes
Fifty thousand reaches the school as two block grants; the remaining twenty-five goes straight to vendors and in-kind purchases. It pays for three things.
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School food & garden
- Healthy breakfast and lunch: scratch-cooked on site, with fresh local ingredients, free to every student
- Farm and garden education: a block grant supports place-based learning on our own half-acre
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Events & seasonal festivals
- Glow Party, Autumn Gather, Fall Festival, Winter Solstice, Spring Maypole Festival
- Young Writers Showcase
- Teacher and staff appreciation, winter and spring
- End-of-year celebrations
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Sports, enrichment & requests
- Afterschool sports: coaches, refs and uniforms
- Science, music and art enrichment
- A camera for a documentary film project
- TK/Kinder sensory garden · middle school planners · music support
- Scholarship requests and other asks from school staff
Open to everyone
Every board meeting is open
Second Thursday of the month, 10am to noon, at The Altamont. Come once and listen. That is all it takes to know what's going on.
Can't make a weekday morning? Email us and we'll send the notes.
- Sep10
- Oct8
- Nov12
- Dec10
- Jan14
- Feb11
- Mar11
- Apr8
- May13
- Jun10
Since 1989
Parent-run since 1989
The Salmon Creek Harmony ARK (shARK) is an independent nonprofit education foundation supporting Harmony Elementary and Salmon Creek Middle School. We're parents and neighbors, grandparents, and teachers both retired and current. Every dollar we raise stays on this campus.
Over the years this community has funded playground structures, the school garden and local food program, and enrichment classes. The board meets monthly and the meetings are open to anyone.