Notes From Oak

September 12, 2019

Important Dates

Monday, September 16th Full Day of Kindergarten starts today!
September 20th, International Festival 5:00- 7:00 pm on the Blacktop
Monday, September 23rd-27th, Walden West for Sixth Grade
Tuesday, September 24- Picture Day- (adjustment made, we will need only one day with the sixth graders gone- Makeup day is Oct. 22)
Friday, September 27- No School for Students- Professional Development for teachers
Thursday, October 3rd- Walk and Bike to School Day

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Scientific sketching Leaves in Sixth grade Science

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How do you sketch scientifically?

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Scientific Leaf sketching

Principal Message

This has been another amazing week. Last night, we enjoyed meeting with parents at our annual New Parent Orientation. In addition, we held our first PTA meeting of the year, where we heard from two LASD School Board members: Bryan Johnson and Shali Srikay as they shared the Community Engagement process.

School Site Council

If you love learning more about data, boy I have the group for you! Specifics about student performance and how the staff addresses students’ needs are the focus of the School Site Council. Not only do we look at student data, but we also plan how we address scores, communicate to our community and develop a parent survey. More information about the School Site Council If this is the group for you, please email Mrs. Attell at kattell@lasdschools.org

Yard Supervision Staffing- As we move into the new year, we still have some staffing needed on the schoolyard during lunchtime. This can be a paid position and I would love to find some consistency in staffing. If you are interested in being paid for your time, to see how students play on our playground, this is a great way to become involved. Please contact Mrs. Attell if you are interested at kattell@lasdschools.org

Sewing/Knitting club is back! We are bringing the Sewing and knitting club back to Oak Lunch Recess. In the past, Oak School had a Sewing and Knitting Club one day a week where students in grades 1-6 could go to a room during Lunch Recess and learn these skills. We are looking for a few interested parents, grandparents or community volunteers who might be able to assist. If you are interested or know someone who might be able to help please contact- Sachsterri@gmail.com

Back to School Forms and Direct Ask Campaign

We are asking all families to complete the online BTS Campaign Forms. Thank you to those who have responded. If you have not yet had a chance, please take a moment to…

...Join the Oak PTA.

...Contribute to the PTA funded programs that benefit our kids every day.

...Donate to the Library Birthday Book Club and the Birthday Marquee

...Purchase a yearbook

...Ensure a right-size Walk-a-Thon T-shirt

We are more than halfway to our $100K Campaign Goal. You can help us cross the finish line!

PTA Message

Hello Team Oak!

It was great to see so many of you at our PTA meeting last night! We value hearing from you, and truly appreciate you taking the time to attend the meeting, speak up and ask questions. LASD Board members Bryan Johnson and Shali Sirkay attended to give an update on the Community Engagement Process for Facilities. There will be multiple upcoming opportunities to learn about the current facilities options, and to brainstorm new solutions. To learn more about this critical process and how you can be involved, please visit the community engagement website.

What is UpToUs? UpToUs is the web-based communications platform Oak uses for school-wide and grade level communications, as well as for volunteer sign-ups and community notifications. We’ve heard you asking “When will UpToUs be available?” We have been working through several new challenges this year, but I think we have found a solution. We are working on getting it going as soon as we can. If you are new to Oak, or if you have not been a part of UpToUs in the past, fill out this google form to ensure you are included in our UpToUs communities.

Save the Date

Oak’s Annual International Festival and Potluck

Friday, September 20, 5:00pm - 7:00pm, Oak Blacktop

Join us for one of Oak’s favorite community events. Enjoy delicious food from around the world (including churros), learn about countries and cultures, and meet new people as we celebrate the amazing diversity of our community. We are always looking to add more booths, so if you would like to showcase a specific country, contact Leena Faerber (lfaerber@gmail.com).

Our Lifesavers this week are....

Celisa Date, our Library Volunteer Coordinator, who worked quickly to get our library volunteers ready to go a week early this year! Thank you!

Melissa Sgroi, our Hospitality chair. Thank you for stepping up and providing wonderful food and hospitality for our New Family Night and PTA meeting. It was delicious and beautifully presented!

Sara Payne

Oak PTA President

oakptapresidents@lasdschools.org

Walk-a-Thon is coming!

Mark your calendars for Saturday, October 12 and join us for the Oak School Walk-a-thon! This year’s sports-related them is Team Oak Walks, and is designed to bring our kids to the forefront of Team Oak. We will use student artwork on our T-shirts, let students create our decorations and backdrops, and encourage student-driven fundraising! Keep an eye out for information on volunteering, instructions for helping your child set up his/her own fundraising page on PledgeStar, and other ways to be involved.

If you have a young artist at home, we will continue to collect student artwork for use in our Walk-a-thon decorations. We are looking for pictures, drawings, paintings, collages, etc. celebrating our Team Oak Walks theme. A new envelope will be placed in the Oak school office to collect the artwork.

Oak Gives Back Volunteer Event

Welcome back to a brand new school year! Oak Gives Back is now in our 3rd year and has been hard at work lining up volunteer opportunities for our Oak students to give back to the community. Be on the lookout for projects throughout the year.

Rise Against Hunger- Meal Packing, Sat. Oct. 5,

Oak Gives Back will be participating in Compassion Week on Saturday, Oct. 5th (3:30-5pm) at the Los Altos United Methodist Church packaging meals for the organization Rise Against Hunger. Oak Gives Back will be working alongside hundreds of volunteers from our Los Altos community, including boys/girls from Scouts, and other elementary schools, to pack 10,000 meals that will be sent into areas of disaster or starvation. 30 spaces available for students ages 5+ with an accompanying parent. Sign-ups will be available soon.

Shred Dog Fundraiser

For all of you outdoorsy Oak families: Shred Dog, a new kid’s outdoor apparel brand for kid’s age 4-14, is offering 20% off all apparel and giving 20% back to Oak Avenue School’s PTA. Use discount code OAK20X20 at https://www.shreddog.com through the end of September to donate 20% of your purchase back to Oak School.

District Announcements

The MVLA Parent Education Speaker Series presents:

W.Thomas Boyce, M.D.

The Orchid and the Dandelion: Why Some Children Struggle and How All Can Thrive

Thursday, Sept. 26, 2019

- 7:00 - 9:00 pm | MVHS Spartan Theatre | 3535 Truman Ave, Mountain View, CA

Join us as developmental pediatrician, Dr. Thomas Boyce, delves into results from four decades of research and clinical practice – exploring his major discovery that reveals how both genetic make-up and environment shape behavior.

Dr. Boyce will explore how the “dandelion” child (hearty, resilient, healthy) is able to survive and flourish under most circumstances and the “orchid” child (sensitive, susceptible, fragile) when given the right support, can thrive as much as, if not more, than other children.

Dr. Boyce will share how we as parents can better nurture and support the unique characteristics of both types of children.

To register for this free event, go to https://mvla2019-20-thomasboyce.eventbrite.com

Sponsored by Los Altos Educational Foundation (LAEF), MVLA High School Foundation, Mountain View Educational Foundation

LAEF

Our annual LAEF Phonathon is coming up on October 1st and 2nd. If you haven't yet made a donation to LAEF, please donate or pledge today and Save Us a Call!

With a goal of $3.4M, every donation of any amount is appreciated. LAEF strives for 100% participation from all of our families.

Read the full scoop on how your child will benefit from LAEF this school year.
Watch a 2-minute video and find out why our public schools need your financial support.

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.

We are grateful to all the parents who’ve contributed to LAEF this school year. You are making a difference in your child’s education, and strengthening your neighborhood school!