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Oak Knoll PTO
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Otter Weekly
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January 5, 2014
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Monday, January 6
- NO SCHOOL: Collaborative Planning Day
Tuesday, January 7
Wednesday, January 8
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Wednesday, January 15
- PTO Board Meeting: 8:15-10:00am
- MPCSD Transportation Dept Town Hall Meeting: 7:00-8:30pm, Hillview PAC
Thurssday, January 16
- MPAEF Board Meeting: 8:45-10:30am, TERC
Friday, January 17
Monday, January 20
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MPCSD Transportation Dept Hosting Town Hall Meetings on Traffic & Safety
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The District's Transportation Department warmly invites families and community members to two "Town Hall" meetings for updates and Q&A about traffic, student commutes, safety and parking at MPCSD campuses. Ask questions of the Public Works and Police departments of Atherton and Menlo Park as well as San Mateo County. Topics will include projects and news relating to how students, volunteers and parents get to and from school safely and easily.
Hillview & Oak Knoll Town Hall: Wednesday, January 15, 7-8:30pm, Hillview PAC
Encinal & Laurel Town Hall: Thursday, January 23, 7-8:30pm, Encinal Multipurpose Room
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Counselor's Corner - January Book of the Month
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During the Month of January all students K-5 will read Picasso and the Girl With A Ponytail by Laurence Anholt. This is a true story! Sylvette is a shy girl whose neighbor happens to be Pablo Picasso. When Picasso sees Sylvette he decides that he must paint her. He loves her face and her ponytail and thinks Sylvette would be a beautiful subject. She agrees to pose and Picasso creates many paintings and sculptures of his lovely neighbor. When the artwork becomes famous, Sylvette must really put aside her shyness. Eventually, Sylvette is able to achieve her own dream.
For more information on book of the month, and my office hours, please visit my Counselor's Corner webpage.
Nicole Scott,
School Counselor
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Otter Mileage - News from the Track
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We have transitioned to our new web-based reporting system - Student Lap Tracker. Our subscription to this service allows you to access your child's running information on-line. Click here to activate your account on Student Lap Tracker. This data is limited to total laps and monthly laps for only your child.
Student Lap Tracker follows FERPA guidelines for student data privacy, and it is our policy that student names are never publicly available on our website. For more information check out their website.
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After School Programs - Enrollment Open for Winter Session
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This Winter, in addition to most of the programs offered this Fall, we have added three new programs. "The Amazing World of Edible Art" and "American Food Tour" taught by Rainbow Chefs, as well as "21st Century Success Factors" taught by Starfire Education.
We hope you have the opportunity to take a look at the programs offered and sign up. We have not posted a deadline, but encourage you to sign up soon if you are interested, as several classes fill up quickly.
Please note that we are still waiting on responses from a few vendors.
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Hillview-sponsored Parent Ed Monthly Series - Upcoming Events
Hillview is providing free childcare at these events. Click here for the complete Speaker Series program. If you have any questions, email Jessica Raines.
Next Event:
Sleepy Students, The Adolescent Circadian Shift
Devin Prouty, Ph.D., Researcher/Expert
Wednesday, January 8 at 6:30pm at the Hillview Performing Arts Center (PAC).
With school, sports, extracurricular clubs and friends, our kids are constantly pressed for time and sleep seems to always be neglected. A psychologist at SRI and parent of the MPCSD community, Dr. Devin Prouty is well versed in the ever-changing sleep patterns and circadian rhythms of our growing teens. Attendees will leave with a blueprint for how to adapt to the hormonal changes that leave us with students struggling to stay alert and engaged day in and day out.
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Project Cornerstone's Take It Personally Class - Winter Session - 6 Week Series
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 facilitated by Pam Von Wiegand, founder of Project Cornerstone.
Six Tuesday evenings starting January 7, 20114 from 7-8:30pm at the Hillview PAC.
Please RSVP to Robin Soran.
For a complete listing of all the parent education events in and around our community, please visit the district's ParentEd webpage.
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Thank You for your Support!
The MPAEF would like to thank all our community for your support in 2013. Thanks to our students, teachers & principals, families, school & District staff, business partners and Board for your work and contributions. Our team includes all of you and it is the best team anyone could wish for. Happy 2014!
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Please Refresh Your eScrip Registration for the 2014
Now that the new year has arrived, please visit eScrip to register new cards and ensure you are making all the possible contributions to MPAEF through your purchases. Click here for MPAEF's eScrip program overview. Last year MPAEF earned $28,000 from eScrip, so your participation makes a difference.
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The time to DONATE to the MPAEF Spring Auction is NOW!
DEADLINE TO DONATE IS JUST **6** SHORT WEEKS AWAY - FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 14!
Join friends or go solo to donate adventures, getaways, unique experiences, and themed parties for both kids and parents! Donations of sports tickets or experiences and fine wines are also welcome! And back for 2014, the "In Training" category, which offers kids an opportunity to learn hands-on from a professional. Get creative! Get generous! Get involved!
Ready to donate? Click here for our online donation form!
Have questions about what or how to donate? Email Karen Dearing at auction@mpaef.org.
Need ideas for what to donate? View last year's auction catalog here.
Interested in joining the auction team? Volunteer here or email auction@mpaef.org for more information.
And mark your calendars for Saturday April 5, 2014 at the Sharon Heights Golf and Country Club for A Night in Monte Carlo!
See you in April!
Karen Dearing and Cyndy Hogan
2014 MPAEF Spring Auction Co-chairs
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SPORTS, CLASSES, ETC.
Dance Expressions. Classes starting January 6. Classes are offered weekly for students ages 3 years to young adult, beginning to advanced. Contact Maryanne at contactus@danceexpressions5678.com. All classes are held at the Arrillaga Family Recreation Center.
Portola Valley Theatre Conservatory.
Acting classes are open to students of all skill level, novice to experienced, Pre-K through high school. All classes begin Monday, January 6. Register online.
The Menlo Park Library
Seeking volunteers to participate in an online tutorial of Little Pim, a language learning system for a young audience. Attendees will subsequently become tutors who will assist patrons (preschool through first grad) in use of the software. Training begins February 8 from 1 to 3 p.m. Please contact Irish Atajar if interested.
Thursday afternoon school-age storytelling. Resumes January 9. Join the Menlo Park Library's resident tale-spinner, Storyteller John Weaver, for our Thursday Afternoon School-Age Storytelling series! It is something cool after school! No, not a story time; story telling. School-agers & adults alike will love these captivating, hilarious tales-all told without a book. Resuming January 9th, every Thursday afternoon at 4pm. For flyer, please visit the Children's Services webpage click on the event link to see the flyer.
Kids Sing! (Ages 5-9) Does your little one love singing? This is a fun age to begin learning the very basics of singing technique and music. Students will work on kid-friendly songs together in preparation for a performance at the end of 5 weeks. A $10 materials fee for cd is payable to the instructor on the first class. To register, click here!
Irish Dancing Class at the Arrillaga Recreation Center. (Ages 4-12) For fun, fitness and a taste of Irish culture, come join our new Irish Dance class. Building upon its historical roots as a traditional folk past time, modern Irish dancing blends Celtic Irish music and rhythms with the grace, speed and power of soft and hard shoe dance sets. Our goal is to teach Irish dancing to the best of each student's ability and to instill a sense of joy in this rich and dynamic dance form. To register click here!
Menlo Atherton Little League Registration is NOW OPEN! Registration for the upcoming 2014 Little League Season is open from now until January 10th. Late fees and wait lists will apply after that. To register, follow this link and click on the REGISTER HERE button.
Alpine Little League Registration is NOW OPEN!
Boys and girls between 5 and 12 years old can register for Spring Alpine Little League baseball. Tryouts will be held January 19 and 26. Register online.
EVENTS
Dangerous Food Explored at Lifetree Café Menlo Park. Wednesday, January 8 at 7p.m., and Thursday, January 9 at 9:15a.m. The program, "Dangerous Food: Is Your Supermarket Killing You?" features the filmed story of Joel Salatin, author of several books including Everything I Want to Do Is Illegal: War Stories From the Local Food Front, and Holy Cows and Hog Heaven: The Food Buyer's Guide to Farm Friendly Food. Healthy food strategies will be discussed. Free Admission. Location: Bethany Lutheran Church, 1095 Cloud Avenue, Menlo Park.
Silicon Valley Boyschoir. Friday, January 10. Auditions for the spring semester will be held Friday, January 10 or by appointment. Open to boys ages 7-12. The multi-level choir is held after school in downtown Palo Alto, 600 Homer Ave. and performs locally in May. Older boys with experience may audition for upper levels. Email: info@svboychoir.org or call 650-424-1242.
Java with Jerry. January 11, 9-10:30a.m. State Senator Jerry Hill invites you to coffee and conversation at Printers Café 320 South California Ave., Palo Alto, CA. Questions? Call district office at 650-212-3313
Eric Carle's art and literature workshop. Sunday, January 12th at 1pm. Join Betsy Halaby, formerly with Art in Action, in an art project inspired by Eric Carle's work. In addition to learning about Eric Carle's literature and illustrations, kids will have the opportunity to create their own piece of art. Registration required. Please email Michelle Burnham at burnham@plsinfo.org by January 4. Please include contact information and number of children who will participate.
Spirit of Uganda
Friday, January 17, 7p.m.
Carrington Hall at Sequoia High School in Redwood City. Come see this talented and inspiring group of children from Africa (age 11-18) perform riveting dancing, drumming, and singing from East Africa. This performance is organized by and benefits Empower African Children. Purchase your tickets online. Questions? Please email spiritofuganda2014bayarea@gmail.com.
For more information on events/opportunities listed above or events listed in prior newsletters, visit the District's Community Links page. |
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Please submit announcements and flyers to newsletter@oakknollschool.com for Oak Knoll events. For the Community Corner, send submissions to communitynews@mpcsd.org.
The deadline for both email addresses is by noon on the Wednesday prior to publication date. Guidelines for submission are available online.
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To read past Oak Knoll PTO newsletters, please visit our archives.
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