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The Otter Weekly

 

Oak Knoll School

1895 Oak Knoll Lane

Menlo Park, California 94025

650-854-4433                                            January 6, 2013 

Oak Knoll Elementary PTO Newsletter
To Do
In This Issue
School Visitors Reminder
Flu Shots
ELAC Meeting
MPAEF
Safety Volunteers Needed
Bike Safety Tips
Car Line Congestion
Safety Vests
Ollie Salutes
Wild Zone Now Open
Otter Mileage Club
After School Classes - Winter
GLI Workshops
Hot Lunch
5th Grade Outdoor Ed
ParentEd
Family Volunteer Opportunities
Community Announcements
Join Our Mailing List
Quick Links

This Week  

 

Monday, January 7

  • School resumes

 

Wednesday, January 9

  • Site Council Meeting; 3:30pm, Staff Room
  • PTO Board Meeting; 8:15am, Staff Room
  • ELAC Meeting; 6-7:15pm, Laurel School Library

 

Friday, January 11

  • Multi-Age K-2: Mayer Theater; 10:15am-12:30pm  

Looking Ahead 

 

 

Tuesday, January 15

  • MPAEF Board Meeting; 8:45am, TERC

 

Wednesday, January 16

 

  • 5th Grade Outdoor Education Parent Information Meeting (optional); 6:30 pm, Library
  • "Parenting in the Digital Age" Parent Ed talk with Gloria Moskowitz-Sweet; 
    6:30-8:30pm, Hillview Performing Arts Center
     

Monday, January 21

  • NO SCHOOL - Martin Luther King Jr. Day

 

Wednesday, January 23 

  • Safe Routes to Oak Knoll Neighborhood Meeting; 7:00pm, Library

 

Monday, Jan 28 - Friday, Feb 1

  • 5th Grade: Outdoor Education

School Office Announcements




School Visitors & Volunteers - Sign-in & wear a name tag
  
For security and safety reasons, don't forget to sign-in at the front office and wear a "School Visitor" name tag when helping at school or visiting campus.      

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Flu Shots  
 
There are some very bad bugs among us. Fortunately, we have great news on how to keep them contained. Thanks to the incredible generosity of the Page Family Foundation, every child in the Bay Area, from ages 4 through 18 can receive a FREE flu shot at participating Target Pharmacy� locations through the Shoo The Flu program. This will help protect not only our children against the ravages of influenza, but also everyone with whom they come in contact. And having healthy kids means higher rates of school attendance and lower rates of flu.


Learn more about the program at ShooTheFlu.org.  

ELAC Meeting

  

Oak Knoll and Laurel School will be having an ELAC meeting on Wednesday, January 9, 2013 from 6:00-7:15PM at the Laurel School library. Invitations have been sent out to all EL families.

 

Childcare will be available. Please rsvp to Cheryl Marelich, Oak Knoll EL teacher: [email protected] 

 

 


MPAEF


THANK YOU TO OUR NEW BUSINESS AND REALTOR PARTNERS!
 
Please support those businesses and realtors who support our schools!  Thank you to these new 2012-13 business and realtor sponsors:
 
Business Partners
European Styling Parlour
Intuitive Environments
 
Realtor Partners
Mary Gullixson, Alain Pinel Realtors
Carol MacCorkle, Coldwell Banker
 
Click here to become a Business or Realtor partner!
  
 
SHOP HERE AND EARN FREE MONEY FOR OUR SCHOOLS!

While shopping on-line you can earn money for our schools by clicking here and making your purchases. 

You can make a purchase on Amazon, and an average 5% of the purchase will be earned for the MPAEF.
When you click through our link everything will look like it normally does on Amazon, just make your purchase and we will receive the credit!

Shopping elsewhere? The eScrip shopping portal provides access to numerous retailers, including Nordstrom, Macy's, J. Crew, Apple, Nike, Brookstone, and many others. If you have not signed up for eScrip, you will need to do so first.  Click here to sign up for eScrip.    
 
Traffic Safety

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED - Traffic Safety

 

Have you ever worried about your child's safety when riding his/her bike to school? Have you ever been frustrated by the traffic around school?  Do you find the carline aggravating at times?  A new PTO committee is determined to work on some of these issues.

Starting in late January, we are targeting several areas to station volunteers to educate and direct parents and students how better to get to and from school to increase safety and ultimately efficiency.  We will need 7 parents each morning, rain and shine, 7:45-8:10 to be at these posts, directing parents and students. Prior to this, we will run spots on KNOL educating students about safety and the implementation of some new procedures.  The hope is that by re-training parents and students, teaching some better habits, we can create a more safe environment for our students while traveling back and forth to school.  We will start with the morning drop-off at first, expanding to afternoons later.

If you are interested in helping out, please contact Betsy Muhlner.

 


Parents -- WEAR YOUR BIKE HELMETS

 

Please set a good example for our students: All adults should wear a properly fitted helmet when riding a bicycle.

 

Bike Safety REMINDERS:

  • Use HAND SIGNALS when turning LEFT or RIGHT and STOPPING.  Many accidents happen because cars and other bikers have no indication when a bike is stopping or turning.
  • Do not talk on your cell phone - you can get a ticket if you're not using a hands-free device while talking on your phone
  • Do not TEXT while riding your bike

Practice good bike safety by modeling proper bike etiquette for your kids.  For more info, please click here.

 

Car Line Congestion -- at drop-off and pick-up

 

Due to the recent cold and wet weather, the flow of our car line in the mornings and afternoons has been more congested.  Please remember the rules: 
  • In the mornings, PULL FORWARD TO THE FRONT OF THE LINE
  • In the afternoons, PULL INTO YOUR DESIGNATED SECTION BASED ON YOUR LAST NAME
  • DO NOT WALK THROUGH THE PARKING LOT - pedestrians cause cars to stop unnecessarily and prevent a smooth flow of cars in & out of the parking lot
  • DO NOT LINGER & CHAT with other parents and teachers
  • DO NOT LEAVE YOUR CAR 

Safety Vests for Students!  

 

In December Mr. Ackerman and Mrs. Gracia handed out dozens of Safety Vests to Oak Knoll student bike riders. If your child received a vest, please encourage them to wear it when they ride their bike to and from school. If your child did not receive a vest yet, tell them to keep on the look out because our school principals will be out at the bike racks again soon, giving away more!

 

Ollie Salutes
Thank you to all the families for bringing in their coins and dollars from home to raise $4,867 from Oak Knoll students and for all your direct donations to help Lucy Lunt get a van for her family for the holidays. Thanks to your generosity and holiday giving, Lucy's family got their wish!

 

PTO Volunteer Opportunities
hearthands

Wild Zone Now Open    

 

Thanks to the several volunteers who came forward, the Wild Zone (WZ) is now open. The WZ open days will alternate between Wednesdays & Thursdays throughout the school year.  The space is limited to 30 students at a time for safety reasons and can only open if two adult volunteers are present.  Please tell your child to look for an "open sign" which will be placed near the WZ entrance.  If we get additional volunteers, we may try to open the WZ more frequently.  To volunteer, please contact Andrea Potischman.

Wild Zone Open Days 
                                                            
Thurs. Jan. 10     Thurs. March 7         Thurs. May 2
Wed. Jan. 16       Wed. March 13         Wed. May 8
Thurs. Jan. 24     Thurs. March 21       Thurs. May 16
Wed. Jan 30        Thurs. April 4           Wed. May 22
Thurs. Feb. 7       Wed. April 10           Thurs. May 30
Wed. Feb. 13       Thurs. April 18          Wed. June 5
Thurs. Feb 21       Wed. April 24        
Wed. Feb 27

Otter Mileage Club  

 

We need parent volunteers before school (7:55-8:10am) and during lunch recess (12:00-1:00pm) to help with the "Otter Mileage Club."  We have a ticket system and kids choose to run and walk and need their ticket punched as each lap is completed. Tickets are turned in daily and kids are recognized on KNOL. 

Please email Sarah Westfall if you can help.

 

You Otter Know

After School Classes - Winter Session  

 

After School Classes Winter Session will start January 14 and end March 15, 2013. Please check the schedule on our website for more info.  We are offering most of the same classes. Unfortunately, Lacrosse and Hi-Five Sports will not be holding Winter sessions. We have a few new vendors so check the school website.

 

Please contact Aarti Chandna or Kimberly Hartz Foster with any suggestions/questions.


Girls Leadership Institute 'Real Parents, Real Daughters' Workshops - Grades 2/3  

  

Led by professional educators, girls will learn important skills for developing healthy relationships, managing conflict, expressing their real emotions and becoming stronger leaders. 

These workshops allow parents and daughters to laugh and learn about themselves in a safe environment. Every family will have fun together while learning about friendship, feelings, apologies and healthy conflict. Each workshop is 90 minutes long, once a week, for four consecutive weeks.
 
Who: Girls in grades 2 and 3 and one parent
 
Program:
Week One: Standing Up For Yourself
Week Two: Sharing Feelings
Week Three: Double Sorry
Week Four: Choices For Friend Trouble

Price: $195 includes tuition for both parent and child for the four weeks
Scholarship assistance available; please inquire.    
 
When:  
Four consecutive Tuesdays  
January 15, 22, 29 and February 5
6:00pm -7:30pm at Oak Knoll in the Library

Sign up link
 
Any questions or issues, please contact Tracy Watt.

Hot Lunch Line - New Rules!      

  

We are really excited about the changes to speed up the hot lunch lines.
Check out the video below and don't
forget to order lunches for the first week back from break!!!
Please email Allison Pereur with any questions.

Hot Lunch
Choice Lunch

Outdoor Education for 5th Graders!  

    

It's that time of year again. Time to prepare our 5th graders for a great experience at Outdoor Ed! Our 5th graders will be gone from January 28th - February 1st. Paperwork and checks (made out to the Oak Knoll PTO for $254 per child) were due before the holiday break. The teachers sent home information packets in December.

There is an OPTIONAL 5th grade parent information night on January 16th at 6:30pm in the Oak Knoll Library. If you have any questions, contact the Oak Knoll office.

District News
ParentEd

"You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

Gloria Moskowitz-Sweet, PPSC, LCSW and Erica Pelavin, LCSW, Ph.D. from My Digital TAT2
Wednesday, January 16, 2013, 6:30-8:30pm
Hillview Performing Arts Center

 

 

Parenting during the digital age presents special challenges. Parents typically don't have role models themselves and there are few clear guidelines about how to manage their children's behavior. My Digital TAT2 specializes in how today's children are growing up in a "living out loud" digital world and believes in creating an online community based in kindness and respect. This interactive presentation will provide an overview of the current digital landscape and explore the benefits and challenges parents and children are facing today as they live in a 24-hour digital media world.

 

Through short video clips and group discussion, parents will learn about cyber-bullying, digital 'footprints,' social networking sites and common sense strategies for cyber-safety. Overuse and supervision will also be explored. Parents will leave with better cyber-sense along with tools to help guide their children to become smart, ethical producers and consumers of technology.

 

***

"Take It Personally" Study Group 
with Project Cornerstone
 Wednesdays, January 23 - February 27, 2013
6:30-8:00pm 
Hillview Library

Presented by Our District
 
  
 
 
Building assets in our children might be some of the most important work we do as parents. How can we help our kids thrive? What is most important in helping my child succeed in school academically AND in life? How can I show my child I support their efforts and dreams? These questions and more will be answered in a 6-week parent study group series, Take It Personally. Project Cornerstone staff will facilitate our discussion on developing the whole child as we move over the course of six weeks from awareness to action: what assets are most important for youth to thrive and how can we help them develop these assets. Please plan to attend all six sessions. If you can't make it to the first one, come to the second but we won't be able to allow newcomers after that!
 
 Please RSVP to Pam Larkin at [email protected]. See you there!

 

Some of the comments from Encinal parents who attended the first session:

 

  "The Project Cornerstone class has been the best 9 hours I have spent learning how to be a better parent and friend. Being a parent is complicated. This class and the network I have built from this class have given me the tools and the ideas I now rely on every day."

 

-Parent of Kinder & 2nd grader

 

"This class taught me simple and effective ways to help kids be successful.  I used to think this kind of work took specialized training, required some kind of sixth sense or enormous amounts of time. Not so! Each little positive interaction I instigate builds assets that kids need to thrive. Linda Silvius reminded us repeatedly that our goal is to 'create 1000's of moments in time where kids feel valued, loved and respected.' I totally embrace that challenge and feel it is within my capability to make it happen."

 

 -Parent of 3rd & 7th graders 

  

  

*** 


Tuesday, January 29, 2013, 7 p.m.
Hillview Performing Arts Center

 

The Friends of the Menlo Park Library present a special evening with Stanford Psychology Professor and Author Dr. Carol S. Dweck, PhD, whose work has demonstrated the role of mindsets in student motivation and has shown how praise for intelligence can undermine motivation and learning. With a growth, rather than fixed, mindset people believe that their most basic abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work-brains and talent are just the starting point. This view creates a love of learning and a resilience that is essential for great accomplishment. To register, click here.

***

Upcoming Events
 

Wednesday, January 30, 2013 9am, Gideon Hausner Jewish Day School, Palo Alto

or 7pm, St. Andrews Episcopal School, Saratoga

  

"The Hidden Logic of Teenagers: How to Hear What They Aren't Saying" Mike Riera, Ph.D., Head of School, Brentwood School

Thursday, January 31, 2013, 7:00 - 8:30 p.m., M-A Center for the Performing Arts. 

Ticket registration: http://mikerieramenloatherton.eventbrite.com


 

 

For a complete listing of all parent education events in and around our community, please visit the district's
ParentEd webpage.   

  

  

Family Volunteer Opportunities
The Family Giving Tree - Become an elf! The Family Giving Tree needs your help to wrap and sort presents they collect to fulfill holiday wishes of low-income kids around the Bay Area. Volunteers are needed most days from now until January 4 at the Holiday Wish Drive Warehouse in Cupertino. Click here to see the volunteer calendar and find a day with open slots that works for your family. For more info, call 408-946-3111.

Haven House/InnVision Shelter Network -  A nonprofit dedicated to ending homelessness on the Peninsula. We depend on the generous time and talent of our  community to help homeless families and individuals return to permanent housing and self-sufficiency. Click here to find a variety of ways you can engage with IVSN to support our mission. For more info, contact Lynnelle Bilsey.

Riley's Place -  Our Youth Volunteer Program offers kids aged 8 through 15, wonderful and meaningful opportunities to volunteer.  Children gain hands-on experience and learn how to feed, exercise, groom, pet, socialize and care for all our animals, most of which were rescued. At Riley's Place, youth are very involved, have a whole lot of fun, and take pride in being the touchstone of our organization. For more information, contact Renette Rambeau.
 
Lytton Gardens - Whether you want to volunteer on your own or with a group, we can help you use your time and talents to enrich the lives of our seniors. Volunteers bring friendship, intellectual stimulation, and entertainment to the residents of Lytton Gardens. For more info, [email protected] .

My New Red Shoes - Stop by with your friends or family to help us out in our office, sew a gift bag or sort shoes! We offer on-site volunteer opportunities the second and fourth Tuesday of every month from 4pm-5:30pm.  Tasks will vary based on our specific needs at the time.  Private group volunteer opportunities available, too. For more info, contact Becca Moos
  
Ecumenical Hunger Program - our 35 year old, private, non-profit, community-based organization located in East Palo Alto provides emergency food, clothing, case management, and household essentials to families in need in East Palo Alto, Menlo Park, and Palo Alto. We have a range of jobs including packing food boxes, interviewing clients, sorting food and clothing, and data entry.  For more info, contact Melanie Jones-Carter.

Community Corner

The Fratello Marionettes in "Aladdin" at the Menlo Park Library
Friday, January 11, 6:30 p.m., 800 Alma Street, Menlo Park . Join the amazing Fratello Marionettes in their exciting adaptation of the popular Aladdin legend from "The 1001 Arabian Nights"! Watch as Aladdin thwarts the evil sorcerer, discovers the magical lamp, befriends the powerful genie, and saves the princess. Traditional music and intricate costumes showcase storytelling from ancient cultures of the Far East. Utilizing dramatic staging, we present this magical tale as it has never been seen before.
 

The Menlo-Atherton High School Fashion Show: "iM-Agine...A Bright Future" 

 Saturday, February 23, 1 p.m., 4 p.m., and 7:30 p.m. in the Performing Arts Center. We will highlight fashions from local stores and the seniors will model and dance. There will be a luncheon at 11:30 a.m. a.m.More information regarding ticket sales/prices will be available soon.

 

(ages 5 and under)

Mandarin/English Bilingual Storytime at Menlo Park Library 

Every Thursday at 10:15 a.m., 800 Alma Street, Menlo Park. Activities include stories, songs, finger plays and plenty of fun with Ms. Stephanie. For more information, call (650) 330-2530 or www.menloparklibrary.org/children.html.

 

(grades 1-12)

Sports Skills Clinics at Paye's Place on MLK Day! 

Monday, January 21, 595 Industrial Road, San Carlos. Players can attend either a Half Day session from 9:00am-12:00pm or 1:00pm-4:00pm OR you can register for an All Day Session from 9:00-4:00pm (bring a lunch). http://payesplace.com/

 

Boys' Lacrosse Workouts at SixFifty 

January 8, 15, and 22, at 2798 Bay Road, Redwood City. http://sixfiftylacrosse.com/msboyswinterindoor/ 

 

HSPT and ISEE Test Prep and School Application Seminars 

Test prep seminars for HSPT and ISEE (upper, middle and lower levels) and school applications (essay writing) available. Contact [email protected] or call 324-1662 directly for scheduling. 

 

(students of all ages)
Afterschool KidFit Class
Tuesdays, January 8 to February 19, 3:45 to 4:45 p.m., Arrillaga Family Recreation Center, Menlo Park. Kick-start your kids' knowledge of weights and structured routines for a life-long habit of exercise, respect, and health. 

(Pre-School - 5th Grade)
Young Chefs Academy
Tuesdays at Arrillaga Family Recreation Center, Menlo Park. Learn to cook delicious recipes with age appropriate curriculum and recipes. For details and to register, go to  http://www.egovlink.com/menlopark/classes/class_list.asp  and search on "Young Chefs."
  
(Girls Age 8-10)
Mothers and Daughters Needed for a Stanford Study on Social InteractionThe Center for Interdisciplinary Brain Sciences Research at Stanford is looking for mothers and their 8-10 year old daughters for a study of brain function during social interaction. If you are interested, please download our flyer from www.dropbox.com/sh/dtadl5g1mhulza5/dfr7j01lWJ/FLYER_MDA.pdf for more information. 
  
(Grades pre-K to 5th)
Creative Art for Young Children, Winter Session
January 9 to March 23, Portola Valley Town Center, 765 Portola Road, Portola Valley.  Focus on the color BLUE! Different days and times for different age groups. Teacher: Jeannie Goldman. Register online at portolavalley.net, beginning December 17
  
 
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.