The Otter Weekly

 

 

Oak Knoll School

1895 Oak Knoll Lane

Menlo Park, California 94025

650-854-4433                                             September 30, 2012 

Oak Knoll Elementary PTO Newsletter
To Do
In This Issue
Where NOT to Park
Clothes Needed
Ollie Salutes
Are You In?
Otterwear Pick Up
Book Fair
Costume Drive
Choice Lunch
Hot Lunch Volunteers
Basketball Registration
Walk to School Day
Speaker: Linda Silvius
Grade-Level Parties
Community Annoucements
Join Our Mailing List
Quick Links

This Week  

 

Monday, October 1

  • Claim your Otterwear at drop off or pick up
  • Kindergarten: Mornings Plus 2 extended day begins  

Monday, October 1 - Thursday, October 4

  • Costume Drive Week

Wednesday, October 3

  • International Walk to School Day

Thursday, October 4

  • Hogan/ Howard/ Wood: Hidden Villa; 8:30am-11:30am

Thursday, October 4 - Friday, October 5 

  • Multi-Age 3,4,5: Monterey Bay Aquarium; 1:30pm-2:00pm (overnight)   

Friday, October 5

  • All 3rd Grade: Ardenwood Farms; 9:15am-2:30pm 
  • 2nd Grade Social; 5:00pm-7:00pm   

Looking Ahead 

  

Monday, October 8
  • Columbus Day: SCHOOL IN SESSION 

Wednesday, October 10

  • PTO Board Meeting 

Friday, October 12 

  • San Fillipo: Hidden Villa; 8:30am-11:30am  

Thursday, October 18

  • Minimum Day - All grades dismissed at 11:20am  

Monday, Oct 22 - Friday, Oct 26

  • Book Fair

Friday, November 9

  • Picture Make-up Day 

Announcements from the Office




Where NOT to Park!

 

Many cars have been parking along Oak Ave between Oak Knoll Lane and Lemon. This is NOT permitted during morning drop off time to ensure the safety of students biking/walking to school. The Menlo Park Police have been alerted and will begin ticketing parked cars this week. 

 

Clothes Needed


The office needs boys and girls shorts and underwear in all sizes. Thank you for any donations.    


Ollie Salutes

"Are You In" Campaign Team

Thank you to Cyndy Hogan, Pam Nootbaar, Meg McGraw-Scherer, Rhonda Bucklin & Linda Knoll and all the parent volunteers and students who staffed the table and waved signs in the mornings during the campaign.  Through their many hours this summer as well as during these past few weeks at the start of school and along with the generosity of our school community, we were able to reach our goal!

Special thanks to Jayd Almquist, our Art teacher, for making the Are You In thermometers that were hung outside the Gym and Victor Baraza, our school custodian, who wore the Are You In sign for us while safely escorting our kids at the crosswalk each morning.


Bike Safety Committee

Thank you to Sidney Marks, Radhika Anne, & Annette Lewis, our Bike Safety Committee & Dr. Sarah Westfall, our PE teacher, for all their hard work educating our children about proper bike safety rules, organizing the Bike Rodeo, bike assemblies, helmet fittings, and the Bike Safety Ride on Sunday morning!

You Otter Know

 
   

The Oak Knoll PTO and the Foundation THANKS all of our families and teachers and staff who have come together during the past four weeks to support Oak Knoll. Your donations to the Oak Knoll PTO and the Foundation make a real difference in the education that Oak Knoll provides to our children.

 

 

 

 

 

THANK YOU! 

Your donations to the Oak Knoll PTO are still coming in and being counted but we reached our goal of $180,000 to help fund field trips, assemblies and classroom supplies & curriculum materials for your children.

 

We had record participation this year of 93%!  We are still counting the results but all the classes that reached 100% will get an additional recess.

 

THANK YOU AGAIN to all Oak Knoll families and teachers and staff who supported Oak Knoll by donating to the PTO.

 

If you have any feedback about the campaign this year, please send an email to us with any comments.

     

     

 

THANK YOU to the many families and teachers who donated or pledged to the Foundation during the joint campaign. The gifts from 24% of our District families, as well as teachers and community members, total $889,818.  This is a great first step in reaching our goals of meeting the District's $4 million need and raising participation to 80% of District families.

 

If you haven't yet pledged or donated to the Foundation, please join us in supporting Laurel, Encinal, Oak Knoll, and Hillview. Pledging is a great option for families who want to spread out their giving: You can enter your donation amount and select a date by which you can fulfill the pledge.  Or you can choose convenient monthly installments. And don't forget about Corporate Matching-local companies like Adobe, Apple, Electronic Arts, and many more can help extend your donation.  

 

Click HERE to plan your giving today!
 

 

 

Come Pick up your Otterwear this Monday, October 1st!

 

The wait is over, and your awesome Otterwear has arrived. Come pick it up this Monday during drop off or pick up.   

 

When:  Monday, Oct 1st: 7:45-8:15 am or 2:30-3:00 pm

Where: Oak Knoll Playroom/Old Multi

Who:    Parents or their children who placed Otterwear orders

 

Please note that the blue tie-dye t-shirts were so popular that we only received a partial order. We will fulfill orders for them based on a first come, first serve basis and then deliver the remaining as soon as we receive them. Any questions, please contact Stephanie Chen.    

otterwearBack to top

Get Groovy with a New Book 


Groove on down to the the Oak Knoll Book Fair October 22 - October 26. This year's Fair will be out of sight and we need lots of fab volunteers to make it a hit!   
  
It would be so nifty if you could help with set-up, take down, cashiering and general volunteer help. Contact Tamara Russel if you can make the scene. 
 
Gotta split!  
 

Halloween Costume Drive

 

It's time to start digging out your kids' outgrown costumes and spooky decorations!  The annual Caring and Sharing Costume Drive will be held Monday, October 1 - Thursday, October 4. The Girl Scouts will be collecting your gently used costumes at pick-up for local kids in need.


Order Choice Lunch - It's Easy! 

 

Choice Lunch has made it easy to order hot lunch for your child. Click here to see how "EasyOrder" works.

Hot Lunch Volunteers Needed

 

Do you want to meet other parents at your child's school? Do you want to earn a lunch credit for every shift you work? We are still looking for volunteers to hand out prepared lunches. It is really easy. You can volunteer once a month or every week! Please email Naed and join the hot lunch team.


Basketball Registration Opens October 1st   

 

3rd, 4th & 5th grade Oak Knoll students can register to play basketball on October 1st. This is a recreational league offered by the city of Menlo Park and organized by the After School Sports Program. All practices are held at Oak Knoll facilities and games are held against other schools in the Arrillaga Gymnasium in Menlo Park. No prior experience necessary. To register your child please visit sportability. Registration ends October 22nd. NO LATE REGISTRATIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED. All teams are coached by parent volunteers. If you are interested in coaching, please email Laura Huber, Erica Galles or Monica Young. There will be a mandatory coaches meeting at 5:45pm on Thursday, November 1 for team selection. Practices will begin late November and games will begin in January. For more information about the basketball program visit the Oak Knoll School website.

 

International Walk to School Day 

  

October 3rd is International Walk to School Day! All schools in the District will be celebrating with parades and music on the way to school and prizes for walkers and bikers as they arrive! If you can't walk all the way to school, pick a spot where you can safely park and walk the last half mile or so. Get some exercise and reduce traffic around school!

Transportation Safety committees at each school are looking for volunteers to lead walking groups, staff prize tables and help promote Walk to School Day. If you're interested please contact Kathy Schrenk at [email protected].


Speaker: Linda Silvius, "Project Cornerstone-Building Climate in our Community" 

    

Thursday, October 4, 7:00 - 8:30 p.m., Hillview Performing Arts Center, 1100 Elder Avenue, Menlo Park

Join us as Linda Silvius, School Partnerships Director at Project Cornerstone, introduces us to Project Cornerstone. She will describe what the developmental assets are and how we can help develop these valuable assets-the positive values, relationships and experiences youth need to thrive-in our students. Come see the exciting work Hillview is doing on climate and learn how this project will carry forward to our other schools to meet a District-wide climate goal.



Grade-Level Parties    

 

SECOND GRADE "BYODinner & DESSERT" 

Please join us again as we get together with other Oak Knoll families who have second-graders for a fun evening out! Reconnect with old friends and make some new ones! Bring a picnic dinner and we will provide the dessert and the fun!

Siblings welcome. See you there!

Friday, October 5th; 5pm-7pm

Lunch Tables ~ Upper Playground

Questions? Contact Grade Level Coordinators for Second-Grade: Gina Skinner or Alison Matthews.

 

FOURTH GRADE MOVIE NIGHT
Fourth Grade Movie Night for Kids Only
Friday, November 2nd from 6:30-8:15pm in the Gym

 

FIFTH GRADE MOVIE NIGHT
Fifth Grade Movie Night for Kids Only
Friday, November 16th from 7-8:45pm in the Gym

Community Corner

Author Talk: Sharon Creech, The Great Unexpected Tuesday, October 2nd at 3pm, Hicklebees, 1378 Lincoln Ave., San Jose. Sharon Creech, Newbery Award winning author of Walk Two Moons, The Wanderer, and Love That Dog will talk about her newest book, The Great Unexpected.  For more information click here
 
Bully Prevention Workshop at Kuk Sool Won Saturday, October 6, 1:30-3 p.m., in the Elm Room at the Arrillaga Rec Center. This free workshop for parents and kids (4th through 8th grades) will focus on ways we can work together to learn to be up-standers instead of by-standers and work to end bullying in our community.Register online at menloparkmartialarts.com or call  650-787-2226.
 
Gamble Garden Community Day  Sunday, October 7, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Gamble Garden, 1431 Waverley Street, Palo Alto. Enjoy a day outdoors exploring the gardens with your kids. Free children's activities, plant sale, bring a picnic or enjoy the food trucks there. More Information: http://www.gamblegarden.org/events/events.html 
 
Saturday, October 13, 8am-6pm, Woodside High School's Main Gym, 199 Churchill Road, Woodside. Come see the Menlo-Atherton Robotics team at CalGames competing for the last time with this year's FIRST Silicon Valley Regional Winning Robot!! Admission is free. More Information at www.marobotics.org.

Grades (K-8)
Menlo-Atherton Volleyball Community Clinic  Friday, October 5, 4:00 - 6:30pm (Registration 3:45- 4pm), Menlo-Atherton Gym, 555 Middlefield Rd, Atherton. The M-A Girls Volleyball team welcomes all kids K-8th grade to participate in the Fall 2012 community clinic fundraiser. Click here for Flier and Registration Form.

Come join Dance Expressions in Menlo Park at the Arrillaga Family Recreation Center. Classes are offered for kids ages 3 and up. For more information: www.danceexpressions5678.com.
 
(Grades 7-12)
Menlo Park Library Teen Fall Book Club  Saturday, October 6th from 3:00-4:30 p.m. and Saturday, November 3rd from 3:00-4:30 p.m., Menlo Park Library, 800 Alma St, Menlo Park. Our popular Book Club program for grades 7-12 returns for the fall. The Friends of the Menlo Park Library will provide free books and snacks to participants.
 
(Ages 6-9)
Group Piano Classes for Children at the Arrillaga Recreation Center. Students (ages 6 to 9) are grouped according to their age and ability into small classes and meet once a week for a 50 minute class. We hold a recital at the end of the session.
 
(Ages 5 to 10)
Menlo Tennis Academy 10/Under Program, Following the USTA 10/Under program, classes are offered Monday and Wednesday afternoons. Go to: www.menloswim.com/menlo/youth_tennis.html.

(All Ages)
Gingerbread Houses (Parent & Child) at the Arrillaga Recreation Center  In this fun class, we will use a variety of supplies to decorate your own, one of a kind Gingerbread House.  

Speaker: "Inspire Great Thinkers, Building a Generation of Leaders" by John Hunter 
Wednesday, October 3, 9 a.m., Trinity School, 2650 Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park. Visionary educator John Hunter is a musician, filmmaker and award-winning teacher who speaks on innovative ways to prepare young people to be compassionate global citizens. $20 at the door.

October 5-7, Bayside Performing Arts Center in San Mateo. Tickets are available online at www.menloweballet.org, or via phone at 1-800-595-4849.

Saturday, October 6, 7:30 - 11 a.m., 300 Middlefield Road, Menlo Park. Donations for event entry at the door.
   
November 9 and 10, at Christ Episcopal Church, 1040 Border Rd., Los Altos. Celebrate the experience of being a girl through a colorful presentation of historical and contemporary fashions. Tickets are $30 ($20 is tax-deductible). For reserved seat information, visit paloaltoauxiliary.com or call 650-364-2588
 
For past community news, click here

Please submit announcements and flyers to [email protected] for Oak Knoll events. For the Community Corner, send submissions to [email protected]. The deadline for both email addresses is by noon on the Wednesday prior to publication date. Guidelines for submission are available online.