Notes From Oak
October 10th, 2019
Important Dates
Friday, October 11th- Crazy Feet Day
Saturday, October 12th- Walk a Thon - Theme- TEAM OAK - 8 am - noon
Thursday, October 17th- Minimum Day- K released at 12:00, 1st - 6th released at 12:15 pm
Tuesday, October 22nd- Picture Make-up day
Tuesday, October 22nd - October Surprise 8:15 am on Blacktop
Friday, October 25th- Spooktacular 2:30-4:30 pm in MUR and Blacktop (correction in time)
Thursday, October 31st- Halloween, all parties from 11:30 am- noon; Parade at 12:55 pm
Friday, November 1st- End of Trimester 1
STEM Lunch Club
Recess 101 Leadership Training
Sewing Club during Lunch
Principal's Message
District-wide Earthquake Drill on Thursday, October 17th
Next week we will have our district-wide drill, we look forward to practicing with your child on procedures to help keep them safe when and if an earthquake happens while school is in session. Next week’s Notes from Oak will include tips and procedures for parents, as well.
District Minimum Day, Thursday October 17th
Next Thursday will be a Minimum Day. Kindergarten will be released at 12:00pm and Grades 1-6 at 12:15pm . During this time, teachers will meet in Grade Level teams to learn and plan together.
Oak Tours
As we move into October, there may be parents new to the area or those who are thinking about school for the 2020-2021 school year. We want to make sure families who live in our area know how incredible our wonderful Oak community is for their children. If you know someone who might be interested in a tour of Oak School, please contact kattell@lasdschools.org
Halloween- Thursday, October 31
11:30-12:00 Class Parties
12:45 students change into costumes and parents arrive
Parade begins at 1:00 pm on blacktop-
Students in grades 1 through 6 should wear regular clothes Thursday morning, and bring costumes in their school bags (only Kinders are allowed to come in costume).
Students will go to lunch recess, eat and play according to their regular schedule. When bell rings students will go to their regular class as usual. Each grade will have changing rooms designated for girls and boys. Costume guidelines: Age appropriate attire, with no violent themes, no excessive blood or gore, no weapons, and no scary masks. Non-scary masks are permitted, if vision is not impaired.
Students will walk in a circle around a route on the blacktop. They can walk with students in their grade level, their buddies or even their siblings. We want to make sure students have the opportunity to walk with who they would like to walk with in the parade.
Parents are invited to watch and/or take photos from the parent viewing area outside the parade route. Please arrive early, and allow extra time to walk from a potentially distant parking space. When parking, do not block residential driveways. In case of rain, the parade will be canceled and students can dress up in their costumes for their grade-level and class parties.
STEM Lunch Club - Volunteers Needed
We are looking for parents who might want to assist the STEM Lunch Club where interested students build and create. Currently, we are hosting the STEM Lunch Club on Thursdays. Students in Grades 4-6 come to the STEM Lab from 12:00-12:20pm, followed by students in Grades 1-3 from 12:20-12:45pm. If you would like to volunteer during this time as an assistant, please contact Mrs. Attell.
Thank you Oak Gives Back Volunteers!!
Oak Gives Back had close to 30 volunteers come pack 7,000 meals for Rise Against Hunger at the Los Altos Methodist Church this past Saturday. It was truly rewarding to see such amazing teamwork between students and parents working side-by-side together to pack soy, rice, dehydrated veggies and vitamin packs to send to the hungry in countries such as Vietnam, Korea and Thailand. Go Oak!! Our next event will be in Jan/Feb serving meals at Hope's Corner. We hope to see you there!!
ANNUAL 6th GRADE SPOOKTACULAR
Our very own Oak 6th graders will be hosting the Halloween Spooktacular on Friday, October 25th from 2:30pm - 4:30pm in the multi and on the blacktop after school.
This fun and spooky event helps the 6th grade raise funds for their class gift to Oak and their end of year 6th Grade pool party. It is also a wonderful event for our 6th graders to show their leadership, teamwork, and creativity.
Please be sure to join your children and enjoy this fun afternoon and support our 6th graders. Activities include:
Haunted House. With lights-on tours for younger kids, and lights-off tours for thrill seekers,
Fun Carnival Games.
Food Sales. All 6th graders will be showcasing their best baking skills for an amazing Bake Sale. Pizza and drinks will be available too!
Raffle. The 6th grade class have brought together an enticing array of Raffle prizes!
Tickets are good for the Raffle AND all other Spooktacular activities. Tickets will be available before and after school Wednesday, October 21tst - 25th.
Like to Bike - Now Open to all Grades!
Great news! Like to Bike class is now open to all grades! Like to Bike is a class for students with biking experience, where kids learn to bike to new places, and learn fun games that they can play with their friends there.
We start by meeting at Oak every Saturday at 3:00pm and bike to nearby parks and schools such as Blach, McKenzie Park, Heritage Oaks Park, and Loyola. When we arrive, we will play fun games and provide snacks.
Learn more and/or sign up on our website:
Samika Arun and Priya Kumar
Oak Alumni & Current Blach Students
PTA Message
Dear Oak Families -
Thank you so much to all of you who attended our PTA Association Meeting yesterday. It was great to see you, and I appreciate you sharing your thoughts and ideas. We especially enjoyed hearing from two of our 6th grade CFOs (Cougar Facilitators at Oak), and learning about this new leadership development program.
This year, LASD has contracted with a vendor called Classroom Parent to be our new district-wide directory service. You will receive an invitation to set up an account and login. When you create your account, you will choose what information you would like to include in the directory. If you have any questions, let me know.
We are looking forward to seeing everyone this weekend at the Walkathon, and on Friday, September 25th for the Spooktacular, hosted by our wonderful sixth graders!
PTA Highlights
One of the questions we hear most frequently is “Where does my PTA donation go?” In September, as we were settling into our school routines, your PTA donations:
Supported our many Back to School events
Purchased new balls, games, and playground toys for recess
Renewed magazine subscriptions for students in the library
Provided busses for this week’s third-grade field trip
Thank you for your generous support!
Our Lifesavers this week are....
Bryan Payne, John Boyd (Oak Uncle), Joe Commedatore, and Vik Banthia These wonderful volunteers jumped into action on short notice to build, sand, paint, and move a new rope climber for our Walk-a-thon obstacle course. Thank you team!
Lee Yazdani, our wonderful school secretary, for correcting our kindergarten classes in our forthcoming Classroom Parent online directory.
Don’t forget, Oak Apparel is available here!
Sincerely,
Tara Williamson
Oak PTA President
What’s Next in the Community Engagement Process for Facilities
On September 25th and October 5th, the Community Engagement for Facilities Project Team (“Project Team”), led by MIG, hosted charrettes at Blach and Egan, respectively. With active engagement of a diverse cross section of our community of over 200 people on September 25th and over 250 on October 5th, participants at small group tables went over previously considered solutions for facilities and introduced new ideas.
We thank each and every participant for their engagement in the process as equal stakeholders and their help in providing insight into discerning a solution to this complex issue.
At LASD’s regularly scheduled board meeting on October 28th, MIG will report on the charrettes and discuss the upcoming November workshops with the LASD Board.
Please join us for one of the upcoming Workshops
(Each workshop will have the same format, so please only attend one)
Saturday, November 2,
9:30-11:30am
Egan Junior High School Multipurpose Room
100 W. Portola Ave.
OR
Monday, November 4,
6:30-8:30pm
Blach Intermediate School Multipurpose Room
1120 Covington Rd.
Participants in the workshops will have a chance to discuss, evaluate and weigh public support for the community-generated ideas from the charrettes. MIG will then organize and summarize the results, which will be presented to the LASD Board in January.
For more information visit our Community Engagement on Facilities page.
Please email communityengagement@lasdschools.org with any questions.
SELPA 1 CAC and related groups
Decoding Dyslexia CA
Please come join SELPA 1 CAC as we talk about what dyslexia is, the California Department of Education Dyslexia Guidelines and the importance of early identification. The presentation will include an abbreviated dyslexia simulation so participants can gain an understanding of what it is like to be dyslexic.
Wednesday, October 16,
7:00pm - 8:00pm
Springer Elementary Multi
1120 Rose Ave, Mountain View
MVLA Parent Education Event
The MVLA Parent Education Speaker Series presents:
Max Stossel
Education in the Age of Distraction
Thursday, Oct. 17, 2019
7:00 - 9:00 PM
MVHS Spartan Theatre | 3535 Truman Ave, Mountain View, CA
Join us as Max Stossel, Head of Education at the Center for Humane Technology, explores the ways technology is designed to be addictive and distracting, highlights how social media is impacting adolescent minds, and recommends ways to help our kids build a healthier relationship with technology.
To register for this free event, go to https://mvla2019-20-maxstossel.eventbrite.com
Sponsored by Los Altos Educational Foundation (LAEF), MVLA High School Foundation, Mountain View Educational Foundation (MVEF), and Los Altos-Mountain View PTA Council.
Here’s a big THANK YOU to the 79 staff, parent and community volunteers who helped us reach out to our district families during our LAEF Phonathon. We appreciate that you arranged time out of your busy schedule to help. You did a fantastic job promoting LAEF and explaining the importance of 100% participation.
We are well on our way to our 2019-20 goal of $3.4M. If you have yet to make your annual donation to LAEF, Donate or Pledge today and help fund teachers at your neighborhood school this year. The suggested donation is $1,200 per student or $120/month per student. Every donation of any amount is appreciated.
Once you’ve made your donation to LAEF, be sure to request a corporate match, if it’s available. Find out if your company offers corporate matching.
Learn more about exactly what LAEF is funding this school year.
Oak School
Email: kattell@lasdschools.org
Website: https://oakschool.org/
Location: 1501 Oak Avenue, Los Altos, CA, USA
Phone: (650) 237-3900
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Oakavenueschool/
Twitter: @OakPrincipal
