Notes from Oak

• Wed, Jan 15 - Spelling Bee 1:00 pm in Multi

• Mon, Jan 20 - Martin Luther King Holiday/ No School

• Tues, Jan 21 - Staff Development Day, No School

• Thurs, Jan 23- Imagination Machine School Assembly

• Thurs, Jan 29 - Geography Bee: Noon - 3:00 pm in Multi.
  

• Fri, Jan 31 - Movie Night - 5-9 pm in Multi

It is so nice to see the students this week. I had a chance to visit all the classrooms, see your children engaged in academic conversations, demonstrate productive struggle as well as, laugh and catch up with friends and staff. I just love coming back and seeing their smiles. We welcomed some new families in the first, fourth, and sixth grades this week and are making sure they transition well into our community.

Have you heard your neighbors talking about wanting to know more about Oak School? Perhaps a new family just moved into the area and they are looking at different school options. Maybe a neighbor has preschool-age children and they are inquiring about Oak School. Please let families know Oak School is open for tours. Feel free to pass along my email address. I would be happy to set up a time to provide a personal tour and answer questions about the Oak School community. kattell@lasdschools.org

Help is needed during lunch in our Sewing Club which meets every Tuesday, Noon - 12:45pm in Rm 16. Please contact the office if you are interested in helping out.

Winter is a great time for learning in the classrooms because students are familiar with routines and procedures and ready to fly. The teachers spend some time this week reminding students of expectations and getting into the groove of working together as a class.

There are some areas where we can use your support, as well:

On-campus:

1. Always sign in. We teach students to look for “trusted adults,” and trusted adults wear badges. Make it a habit to stop by the office. In the event of an emergency, like an earthquake, we know you are campus and will look for you!

2. Use adult restrooms. During school hours, the student restrooms are for children only. Adult options are the “community” bathroom by the oak tree sculpture at the front of the school or the two in the office.

3. Volunteer for noon duty. It’s fun! Learn how to play 4-square, visit the native garden, and discover “the secret life of kids,” at school! :) Please don a stylish orange vest and check-in with Lisa Wong when you are here. She’ll get you set up!

4. Establish a meeting spot after school. The lunch picnic tables are our designated meeting spot, not in the hallways by the classroom. Your presence is very exciting and may disrupt end-of-day routines.

5. Observe parking lot etiquette. Drive in the drive zones and if you must park, park in a spot. Working together and being observant of everyone’s children has made our parking lot a safer place to be! Keep it up!

For students:

*Plan to arrive at school between 8:15-8:25 am

.

*Please place lunches or forgotten items on the table in the office. Your child knows to come look for it/them there. Or, leave them home and let it be a learning experience for your child.

*After school, students must have an adult who has been arranged to watch them after they have been dismissed if they are staying on campus. Classes in session are still using the blacktop and playground between K-2 dismissal, a reminder please do not have students use the play structure, blacktop or field until the last group of students are released. M, T, W, F that is at 3:00 pm and Thur it is at 1:45 pm.

* Please make sure to keep personal playground equipment at home, this can create issues and conflict.

Looking for an after-school enrichment activity for rainy winter afternoons? Oak's winter after-school enrichment programs are enrolling! Many classes are starting in January, after the holiday. We have sports, languages, sciences, art, math, coding, debate and a host of other fun classes for all grade levels.

Get more information and sign your student up for winter enrichment programs here: https://www.oakschool.org/oakavenue/7034-Oak-Enrichment-Programs.html.

Sign up soon! Classes fill quickly and under-enrolled classes will be cancelled.
If you have questions, please contact the enrichment providers directly or Pam Smith at pcsmith04@comcast.net.

Welcome back! I hope you had a fun and relaxing break, and getting back into the school routine. Thank you to all who made it to our PTA meeting on Wednesday, and a special thanks to Oak librarian, Celia Forrest, for sharing with us all the wonderful pieces of our library program.

PTA Meeting

Please attend our next PTA meeting on Wednesday, January 23rd at 8:45am in the Multi. As promised from our November meeting, we will be having a discussion and Q & A about homework at Oak and communications about student performance. You also don’t want to miss all of the important PTA updates and - the HOT CHOCOLATE BAR!! Hope to see you there!

Oak Spring Auction and Social

It’s January, which means our Spring Fling and Silent Auction are just around the corner. Save the date for Saturday, March 21st at the Juniper Hotel in Cupertino! There are a few changes this year (besides the location), so be on the look out for more information. The auction committee is forming, and we would love your help. Email scbpayne@gmail.com for more information.

PTA Highlights

November and December are busy months for everyone, including the PTA. While we were celebrating and enjoying good food, your PTA dollars paid for:

• Library books

• Assemblies

• Field trip transportation

• Staff Development

• Chrome books

• Halloween Parties

• Staff Appreciation

Sincerely,

Sara Payne

Oak PTA President

oakptapresident@gmail.com

Oak Apparel

OAK SCHOOL PTA ANONYMOUS SUGGESTION BOX

Double Your Donation

Let’s start the year off strong by raising the final $500,000 to reach our 2019-20 goal of $3.4 million. Generous donations from families like you enable your student's school to offer music, PE, STEM, art, computer science, and more.

Donate to LAEF Today. Any amount would be greatly appreciated, and help us reach our goal of 100% participation.

Also, find out if your company will match your donation to LAEF and be sure to apply. Last school year, LAEF received over $840,000 from corporate matches!

Tour Blach Intermediate School

Are you a future Blach parent and interested in what the future holds in junior high school for your child? You’re invited to tour our National Blue Ribbon Blach Intermediate School. Meet the principal, talk with students and teachers, and visit classrooms.

Learn how classroom instruction, innovative curriculum, and an unparalleled array of electives prepare students for success in high school, college and beyond. Blach is a welcoming and inclusive junior high school that focuses on the whole child and empowers and engages students to become global citizens and lifelong learners.

Take a look at the Blach video in our media gallery and please sign up using this link to join the tour that is most convenient for you. Tour dates are as follows:

Friday, January 24, 1:30pm-3:00pm

Friday, March 13, 9:30am-11am

Monday, March 16, 1:30pm-3pm

Also, please Save the Date for our Junior High School Information Nights on February 6 at 7 pm. More information will be provided to our families in upcoming newsletters.

Dear Oak Community,

Thank you so much for supporting the victims of the Kincade fires. Thanks to your generosity the Oak Community was able to share gifts with more than 1,000 kids! Our goal was 500 but on December 14th we delivered 1,045 gifts to the children who came to the Healdsburg Free Store to see Santa!

The following week more donations came in so we delivered more than 50 gifts to the Ronald McDonald House in Palo Alto.

We are so grateful to be part of a community that cares. Thank you for helping us bring joy to the Kincade community!

With gratitude,

Chase, Austin, Mikito, Liam, John, and all of our friends at Oak who joined us during lunches to help us exceed our goal!

Mission:

It is Oak School’s mission to ensure high levels of learning for all students. Every day we respectfully collaborate to develop confident, resilient, joyful learners who care about the Oak School community and become responsible citizens.

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