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Oakwood Elementary News

December 15, 2020

OakwoodElementary NewsDecember 15, 2020

A note from Mrs. Stewart

Feeling fortunate

Dear Oakwood Community,


I just want to take a minute to thank all our families and our staff for all the work you are doing each and every day to make in-person and remote schooling possible for our kids. We are so fortunate to have options available to suit everyone's needs. Let's recognize the fact that this isn't easy to do and that it requires all of us to work together to do our parts.


Thank you families for being so diligent about watching your children for symptoms, keeping them home when they are sick, being patient and gracious when your children have had to be quarantined, and for so many more things that you are doing daily.


Thank you in-person teaching staff for skillfully managing to keep our very active students separated, masked and safe. The amount of quarantining we have had to do is minimal, and that is because of the extraordinary efforts you are making to restructure your classrooms and the way you have altered the way you instruct students.


Thank you to our BLFH staff for developing an amazing online learning format that is meeting the needs of so many of our Oakwood families. You have taken this on and have made it great. We miss seeing you here, but are so grateful for the work you are doing.


Thank you to our classroom assistants, special education classroom assistants, cafeteria staff, and substitute employees for working hard to keep our day flowing during this most difficult time to run a school. Without all of these important people doing the work they do, our days would fall apart.


Thank you to our custodial team for the over-the-top disinfecting job they are doing. Our building has never been so clean and because of you and your efforts, the virus is being kept at bay.


Thank you to our front office staff, Mr. Rodney, Mrs. Halula and Ms. Donna for working so hard to keep on top of all of the new Covid-related procedures all the while keeping our office running so smoothly.


Thank you to our Oakland County nurses, Rob and Halie, for guiding our staff and families so skillfully. We appreciate the support and the medical knowledge you bring.


I am feeling fortunate for all of you. We are doing the hard work in order to do what is best for our kids and I want to be sure you all know how much I notice you and what you do. Thank you all for doing the work and for putting our kids first.


Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all!


~Coy Stewart

Health and Safety

Updated Covid information from OCHD~ This week came with some updates that I wanted to make sure everyone is aware of. Firstly, the Oakland County Health Department has endorsed the change of quarantine time from 14 days to 10 days. Quarantining is to be done by those who were a close contact of someone suspected or positive for COVID-19. Quarantine can now end 10 days after last close contact as long as the quarantined person does not have any symptoms. Symptom monitoring should continue however for the full 14 days. The following documents on the K-12 Education Webpage has been updated to reflect this change:


To bus or not to bus? ~ Please remember that the bus is one place that we are unable to keep kids 6 feet apart. Therefore, when a student is Covid positive, we usually have to quarantine quite a few children. If you have the ability to drive your child(ren) to and from school, please consider this.


How to respond to symptoms ~ If anyone in your household is experiencing symptoms as defined on this OCHD Symptom Checklist children should not be sent to school whether they are symptomatic or not. For example, if you and your second grader have symptoms as described on the checklist linked above, your kindergarten and fourth grade students cannot come to school. The office staff will explain your response options and let you know when all children in your home will be cleared to return to school.

Here is the latest news to keep you connected

Adopt-a-Family ~ This year we collected $1750 to spend on families in need. We were able to help out our OCEF family and two Oakwood families who reached out for help. Thank you to our amazing school community for your generosity.


Food and Toy Drive ~ Thanks to you we were able to send a good amount of non-perishable food items and some toys to OCEF. Thank you to Neil and Robin Loughlin for coming to pick the items up and for delivering them to St. Anne's Church for us!


Candy Cane Grams ~ Oakwood 5th graders are selling candy canes to fundraise for their Mackinac trip scheduled to happen in May 2021. Candy canes are $1. Kids can purchase a candy cane for themselves or have one sent to a friend!


Spirit Week ~ As you know, we are having holiday spirit week this week. Here is a reminder of what is happening for the remainder of this week. Friday, you can send in $1 to wear PJs to support our Mackinac trip, but kids can still wear their jammies even if you don't send a dollar.


Morning Announcements ~ Every day during the morning announcements, Mrs. Stewart announces children's birthdays. It is a very popular part of the announcement routine, and kids really look forward to having their birthday announced. When we return to school in January, we are going to add an achievement recognition announcement to our routine. We would love to recognize our students for earning a belt in martial arts class, moving up a level in dance, volunteering time in a soup kitchen, having a piece of writing published, etc. In January you will receive a link to a Google form that you can submit if your child has accomplished something that Mrs. Stewart could announce during morning announcements. There will be more detailed information coming after the new year.

Positivity Project - P2 - Self-Control

This week kids are learning all about the character trait of SELF-CONTROL. So, why does self-control matter? For individuals, self-control helps them delay the short-term gain in pursuit of a greater, long-term success. This strength is associated with having an “internal locus of control;” of being in control of (and responsible for) your own personal choices – and the outcomes of those choices. It gives people the power to diet, study for an exam, or practice a musical instrument. Some psychologists have likened self-control to a muscle: it gets stronger the more it’s used. It's good to know that if we lack self-control, it's something we can build within ourselves.


You can access more information about what kids learned about SELF-CONTROL here.

Upcoming Events

December 14-18 ~ Oakwood Holiday Spirit Week & 5th grade Candy Cane Gram sale


December 18 ~ Last day of school before break


January 4 ~ School resumes