PTO Membership Team                                                                  MPAEF School Team 

Cyndy Hogan                                                                                     Jennifer Levey

Kathy Motamedi                                                                                 Dimitra Anderson

Tamara Russel                                                                                   Linda Knoll

Meg Scherer                                                                                       Sharon Purcell

Jill Wurster                                                                                          Ashley Honerkamp

Tracy Watt

Join fellow parents for Oak Knoll's "Be A Student For The Night" on Wednesday, October 2, from 7:00-8:15 pm.  You will have the opportunity to participate in some of the same activities that your children do on a weekly basis.  This fun night is an opportunity for Oak Knoll's wonderful Specialist Teachers to showcase the work they do with our children.  Join Bee Tee, Emily Chiet and Rachel Knight for music, Sarah Westfall for physical education, Jane Bennion for library time, and Jayd Almquist for art.

An e-mail invitation and further details will be coming soon.  Mark your calendars so that you don't miss out!  

There will be a FREE bike inspection provided in front of Oak Knoll this Wednesday, September 25 before school, 7:30-8:30 am.  Come by the bike rack area and let the professional mechanics from Menlo Velo look over your child's ride. They will check brakes, pump up tires, adjust helmets, and provide a general safety check. Due to popular demand, bike inspections will be limited to student bikes. The first 20 participants will receive a special bike prize!  Date for the last inspection is October 4.

If you participated in previous inspections, the prizes have arrived! Come by the table and pick yours up.  Briiiing, Briiiing! 

Questions can be sent to Janet Bellantoni.

If your daughter is interested in joining Girl Scouts this year, please contact Allison Chao, Oak Knoll Girl Scouts Liaison.  She is gathering a list of interested girls as well as parents who are interested in co-leading new troops this year.

For more info about Girl Scouts, please go to:  www.girlscoutsnorcal.org

3rd, 4th & 5th grade Oak Knoll students can register to play basketball starting September 29. This is a recreational league offered by the city of Menlo Park and organized by the Oak Knoll 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 is necessary.  Practices will begin late November and games will most likely begin in December and end in mid-March. 

To register your child please visit sportability.  Registration ends October 25. NO LATE REGISTRATIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED. All teams are coached by parent volunteers. If you are interested in coaching, please email Laura Huber, Stefano Baldassi, Noelle Carpenter or Nancy Witeck.  For more information about the basketball program visit the Oak Knoll website Basketball Page.

If you child did not do their drawing for Noteworthy Art last week, he/she will this week.   Now is the perfect time to help your child come up with creative ideas for their artwork.  A great design leads to nice gift opportunities and a special keepsake that you and your child will love!  Your child's drawing will be reproduced on high quality notecards and packaged with envelopes in sets of 12. 

A proof and order form will come home in October and the Noteworthy Art cards will be delivered before the holidays.  If you have questions about this exciting Oak Knoll PTO fundraiser, please contact Annie Peterson, Betsy Muhlner, Karen Wang or Mary Karen Lundh. 

It is time once again for the annual Oak Knoll Caring & Sharing Halloween costume drive from October 2-4.  Please donate new or gently used children's costumes and/or Halloween decorations.  Costumes and decorations will be donated to local kids and area non-profits serving children and families.  Oak Knoll Girl Scouts will be collecting donations each morning.  We are also looking for volunteers to help with sorting and distribution the week after the drive.

For questions or to volunteer, please feel free to contact the Caring and Sharing Committee Co-Chairs  Kathy Motamedi, Lisa Langer or Nancy Lieberman.

Please help to make a child's Halloween really fun!

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We have been observing the car line and noticed that the street traffic backs all the way up to Oakdell before the dismissal bell rings. We would like to suggest arriving to the car line at 3:00 instead of coming early to get in line. By 3:05 the car line moves quickly because the students are out in front of the school ready to load. We have supervision out in front of the school to watch the students until every student is picked up. Overall, we are happy with the car line improvements. The car line time has been cut in half and runs more smoothly.

Thanks for your support.

For the safety of ALL of our students, please do not drop off or pick up your children in the NO STOPPING/NO PARKING zones around school.  This behavior creates a very real hazard for bikers and pedestrians by putting your car directly in their path of travel, sometimes suddenly. Please consider using the carline to drop off/pick up your child instead; it is more safe for ALL of our students.   

"Staying Healthy One Step at a Time!"

Otter Mileage Club is free and students can join any time. We run every morning Monday through Friday 7:55am to 8:10am, and every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday 12:00 to 1:00pm. Be sure to have your student wear shoes that are appropriate for running and a water bottle so they can stay hydrated. We will not run if it is raining or when school is not in session.

The benefits are priceless! Run, skip, walk, leap, or hop as many laps as you can and earn prizes and incentives! Did you know starting the day with physical activity, gives your child a jump start on learning. For more information on physical activity and the brain / learning please visit http://www.sparkinglife.org.

Every running session your child will fill out a 'ticket'. For every lap completed the ticket is punched by an adult volunteer on the track. These are counted and put into a database. We keep track of all laps completed at school (PE, Otter Mileage Club, and classroom laps). Students receive incentives for each 5 miles (30 laps) completed and each month there are a variety of themed incentives. September is apples. 

Can parents get involved? Absolutely! If you can help monitor the track, punch lap tickets, count weekly tickets, or help hand out incentives. Please fill out the volunteer form and return to Sarah Westfall or email swestfall@mpcsd.org  (Subject Line: Otter Mileage Volunteer.) We are using Sign-up Genius for Scheduling. You will receive information and a link for noontime scheduling. 

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

NJB Winter Basketball.  September 27 Deadline for registration Registration is open at www.redwoodnjb.org.  Our focus is on skills-based instruction, personal growth, and positive competition for kids from 1^st through 8^th grades in MP, Atherton, PV, Woodside, or EPA.  The season runs from November through February. Deadline for early registration with reduced fees is 9/27!