Notes From Oak

• Wednesday, November 20th - Friday, November 23rd - 4th Grade to Coloma

• Monday, November 25th - Tuesday, November 26th- Parent-Teacher Conferences

• Wednesday, November 27th - Friday, November 29th- Thanksgiving Holiday Break

• Sunday, December 1st - Festival of Lights Parade

• Tuesday, December 3rd - 5th Grade Parent Meeting Pigeon Pt Info - 6 pm

• Thursday, December 5th- Kindergarten & New Parent Informational Night- 7 pm in the MUR

• Wednesday, December 11th - Linden Tree Book Faire

• Thursday, December 12th - Vision Screening for K, 2nd & 5th Grades

• Monday, December 16th- Winter Concert and PTA Bake Sale - 1 pm in Multi

• Monday, December 23rd- January 3rd- Winter Break

• Monday, January 6th- Classes Resume

• Thursday, January 9th - Walk/Bike to School
• Wednesday, January 15th - PTA Meeting - 8:45 am
  
• Wednesday, January 15th - Spelling Bee (rescheduled from 12/11)
  

Feeling Thankful

As we make our way into the Thanksgiving holiday, I want to express my gratitude to the students, families and the incredible staff we have here at Oak Avenue School. How blessed I feel to be part of this special community. I wish a restful and peaceful time with family and friends and look forward to seeing you in December!

Preparing for Conferences

It is hard to believe we are gearing up for Parent-Teacher Conferences, this is a great time to think about the goals your child has established for themselves this year. As I shared earlier, I set a goal for myself to read with every child in Kindergarten through third grade. So far I have read with 59 out of 179 students in those grades. While 33 % isn’t bad, I think I need to pick up the pace. As our teachers and parents prepare to meet next week, I thought a timely article would be helpful. Preparing for Parent-Teacher Conferences- http://www.nea.org/home/60103.htm

Social-Emotional Learning

Project Cornerstone, Common Sense Media and the CARES Responsive Classroom matrix have been Oak School’s approach to Social Emotional Learning this year.

In November our parent volunteers and teachers have presented lessons to students around expressing acceptance of others, performing intentional acts of caring, understanding our words have power in person and digitally.

In addition, they have connected the ideas of Empathy and Self-Control into the instruction of these important topics. At home, it would be wonderful if parents could also reinforce this message. How are we showing our care for others? How are we understanding differences of those around us? How do we filter our words and show self-control? There is lots of research out there around how multiple exposure to concepts can impact learning and behavior. Specifically, it takes seven times to learn new words and 21 times to change a behavior. Your help in reinforcing these key concepts is helpful.

Oak Avenue School Tours

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

Dear Oak Community,

With Thanksgiving right around the corner, I have been thinking about how thankful I am to have found such a wonderful school community for our family. As my kids have grown as students and people, I have found a team of teachers always willing to go the extra mile, a community of parents dedicated to making sure all of our children thrive, and, most importantly, true friendship.

I want to give a heartfelt “Thank you” to all the teachers, staff, parents, and students that make Oak the incredible community that it is. I hope you all enjoy the Thanksgiving break!

Oak’s lifesavers this week are:

Our entire PTA Executive Board! Keeping the PTA running is a team effort, and I could not do it without the dedication and hard work from this great team.

Many thanks to:

Jen Oku & Andi Lorincz -- Co Vice-Presidents (Non Fundraising)

Angela Kao & Shweta Kumari -- Co Vice-Presidents (Fundraising)

Rajesh Shakkarwar -- Secretary

Christina Selle -- Treasurer

Pam Bayer -- Financial Secretary

Isabel Gilbert -- Historian

Jennifer Tucker -- Auditor

Sara Payne

Oak PTA President

oakptapresident@gmail.com

Oak Apparel

OAK SCHOOL PTA ANONYMOUS SUGGESTION BOX

Double Your Donation

The District Nurses will be doing vision screening, both near and far, at Oak School for all Kindergarten, 2nd, and 5th grades on 12/12/19. If your child has glasses or contacts, please make sure that they wear them to school on the day of the screening. The nurse will mail a referral form to the parents of students who do not pass the vision screening.

Missing a lunch box or a jacket? Please check our lost and found cabinet for missing items. All unclaimed items will be donated on Friday, December 20.

Our hands-on lessons promote environmental literacy and stewardship.

Living Classroom is in need of more volunteers!...With more teachers than ever before signing up for our fun and engaging lessons, we need your help to meet our lesson demand!

Please join us for our upcoming Winter Docent Training on Monday* mornings in December from 9-Noon (12/2, 12/9 & 12/16) at the Los Altos School District iLearn Studio located at 201 Covington Road in Los Altos.

Our trainings are fun, educational and even include breakfast! The suggested commitment is only 6 hours a month and, in turn, we invite you to join us for our docent enrichment events which include socials, hikes, garden tours, workshops and lectures.

No experience or green thumb necessary as we teach you everything you need to know!

Living Classroom Winter Docent Training

Mondays 9-Noon 12/2, 12/9 & 12/16

Los Altos School District – iLearn Studio

201 Covington Road, Los Altos

*Can’t make Mondays? Ask us about our apprentice-style training!

Click here to view and/or print out flyer!

RSVP/Questions? Email livingclassroom@lasdschools.org or call (650) 947-1103.

Check us out at www.living-classroom.org

Who we are:

We are a dedicated group of trained volunteers who teach hands-on garden-based lessons to students in grades K-8.

Why volunteer?

Living Classroom is about more than just teaching students how to plant in the garden. It’s about using the edible and native plant gardens at each school as living laboratories and engaging student learning in fun and relevant ways. Most of our standard-aligned lessons are interdisciplinary and tie into science, social studies and math curriculum. Our hands-on lessons also get kids outside (green time vs. screen time), encourage healthy eating habits, and promote environmental literacy and stewardship.

Volunteering with Living Classroom offers a way for docents to act locally to help protect our environment and nurture our future environmental stewards!

You don’t have to have a green thumb to be an amazing Living Classroom docent. In fact, our program is a great way to learn how to turn that black thumb into a green one!

Living Classroom docents enjoy ongoing educational programs, hikes, field trips, social activities and a wonderful sense of community. Just seeing the students smile and get excited when a docent arrives to give a lesson is rewarding and priceless!

The commitment is only 6 hours (3 lessons) a month and you can tailor the program to fit your interests and availability.

Thanks and we hope to see you in the gardens soon!

Living Classroom Staff

A group of LASD families has offered to match every dollar donated before December 31st, up to a total of $50,000. Your donation will be doubled if you give now!

We have raised 70% of our $3.4M goal for this school year. We need your help to finish the job. Donate or Pledge Today!

Find out more about the teachers and staff that LAEF funds.

Tour Blach Intermediate and Egan Junior High Schools!

Interested in what the future holds in junior high school for your child? You’re invited to tour Blach Intermediate and Egan Junior High schools--both National Blue Ribbon schools.

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. Our welcoming and inclusive junior high schools focus on the whole child, and empower and engage students to become global citizens and lifelong learners.

Take a look at the Egan and Blach videos in our media gallery and please sign up using the links below to join a tour!

Blach Intermediate School Tours

Sign-Up for One Date Here!

Monday, December 9, 9:30am-11:00am

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

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

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

Egan Junior High School Tour Sign-Up

Friday, December 6, 9:00am-10:30am

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

Festival of Lights Parade: Sunday, 12/01 at 6:00 pm

Join your friends and neighbors for an amazing Los Altos holiday tradition! Since 1977, the Festival of Lights Parade has brought "A Child's Holiday Fantasy" to life.

Visit www.losaltosparade.com for a route map and viewing guidelines (for example, please do not set up before noon on Sunday, and do not use chalk or tape to mark your spots), or even to volunteer.

Our Oak Cougar Mascot will be marching in the parade

We look forward to seeing you and your family at the parade!

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