Oak Knoll PTO
Otter Weekly
January 18, 2015
      En Espa�ol 
To Do
In This Issue
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This Week 


Monday, January 19
  • MLK Day - NO SCHOOL

Tuesday, January 20

  • Recology Field Trip (Fuller, Sanchez), 11:45am-3:00pm

Friday, January 23

  • 5th Grade Vision Testing

Saturday, January 24

  • 3rd Grade Speech & Debate Tournament

Sunday, January 25

  • 4th/5th Grade Speech & Debate Tournament

Looking Ahead  


Monday, January 26

  • Recology Field Trip (Coldoff, Veneman), 11:45am-3:00pm

Tuesday, January 27

  • Dine Out to Support Our Schools
  • Parent Talk "Mindfulness and Parenting," 7:00-8:30pm, Library

Thursday, February 5

  • Family Math Night, 5:30-7:30pm, Gym

Friday, February 6

  • Staff Appreciation Lunch

Saturday, February 7

  • Winterfest, 5:00-7:00pm, Gym

See the Oak Knoll calendar for more important dates and events 
No School Monday
There is no school on Monday for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. School resumes Tuesday, January 20. 
      
Parent Coffee Talks
Last Tuesday parents gathered in the gym after drop-off for coffee and casual conversation with Kristen Gracia, Nicole Scott (counselor) and Jenny Ryan (psychologist) on what Oak Knoll is doing to support students in the areas of friendship, social skills and compassion.

Parent Coffee Talks will continue to be held each month. For the Love of Reading will be the topic for the next talk on February 10 when Kristen Gracia, Jacqui Cebrian (reading specialist) and Jane Bennion (librarian) will cover the many ways you can rev your reader, reluctant or roaring, along the road to reading sucess.

Mark your calendars with upcoming Parent Coffee Talk dates: February 10, March 10, April 7, May 12, all at 8:15am in the Gym. 
      
Spelling Bee
Oak Knoll's Scripps sponsored Spelling Bee was amazing! Our 4th and 5th grade spellers demonstrated poise, outstanding effort, and sportsmanship as classmates, teachers, administrators, and parents watched "best effort" in action. Challenged with ever more difficult words... Spencer Dreyer from Mr. Fuller's 5th grade classroom prevailed over the tied second place finishers, Xavier Nicholas from Mr. Cline's 4th grade classroom and Sofia Lucas, from Mrs. Nulman's 4th grade class.  Third Place went to Katie Lorenz in Mrs. Murphy's 4th grade classroom. Spencer now moves on to the Northern California written challenge, as he reaches for the Nationals in Washington DC.

Congratulations go to all of our spellers. Oak Knoll is proud of each and every one of you!

Ms. Murphy:  Bridgid Cutright, Katie Lorenz, Alt. Sophia Preston
Ms. Nulman:  Owen Hsu, Sofia Lucas, Alt. Jake Bianchi
Ms. Becker/Emmert:  Grant Moffitt, Penelope Stinson,  Alt. Patrick Schick
Mr. Cline:  Xavier Nicholas, Coral Rothenberg, Alt. Rebecca Blau
Ms. Bouret:  Carlo Espinosa, Logan Aboudara, Alt. Mercedes Khan, Libby Newman
Mr. Coldoff:  Eliza Hawley, Ella Hartmanis, Alt. Maddie Weeks
Ms. Sanchez:  Luke Jensen, Julian Montoya, Alt. Carolyn Cobos
Ms. Tom: Chiara Cline, Clara Reinhold, Alt. Audrey Ha, Katie Spivakovsky
Mr. Fuller:  Spencer Dreyer, Jacob Callahan, Alt. Ekta Chilukuri
Ms. Veneman:  Malone Lohmann, Reese Stewart, Alt. Randeep Nandal 
      
Staff Highlights
Joyce Chan, K-1-2 Multi-Age Teacher

Favorite thing about Oak Knoll: Everyone at Oak Knoll embraces all children's unique and individual learning styles, personalities, and characters. I feel surrounded by the staff and children's high energy and spirit everyday!

A passion of yours: My dad is the founder of a Seal of Love Charitable Foundation. It's focus is on providing a loving and caring environment for children and families living in poverty. It has reached out to families in Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, and China. I hope to help in any way possible to ease the pain and suffering of these children and their families.

A fun fact about yourself: I love trail running and folding origami!

A favorite quote: "It's not that I'm so smart; it's just that I stay with problems longer." -Albert Einstein

Dylan Cline, 4/5 Grade Teacher

Favorite thing about Oak Knoll: We have a culture of collaboration and innovation amongst our staff that makes Oak Knoll an exciting place to be an educator. Working with and learning from each other helps us all to learn and improve even at things we're already good at, which is the same thing we want our students to do.

A passion of yours: Here at school, I love to do community service projects with my class. My classes have donated video game systems to Lucile Packard Children's Hospital, toys to the Ronald McDonald House and Toys for Tots, and money to the typhoon victims in the Philippines last year. It's beautiful to see students getting excited about philanthropic efforts.

A fun fact about you: I play ice hockey a few times a week. If teaching hadn't been my calling I'd obviously be playing professional hockey right now.

A favorite quote: "If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough." -Albert Einstein 
      
Teachers Report - Collaborative Planning Day
Parents,

We were fortunate to be able to send a team of teachers and staff to the Learning and the Brain Conference in Boston this past November, where they learned about cutting-edge brain research, child development and learning differences. On Monday, January 5th, our teachers and staff returned from the break for a valuable professional development day led by members of that Oak Knoll team, focusing on Learning and the Brain, and Attention.  Teachers had the opportunity to attend sessions on a variety of topics, including changing how we teach the whole class and individual students to maximize student attention and engagement, addressing learning needs with technology and taking brain breaks to increase blood flow.  Following the workshops, many teachers enthusiastically reported that they couldn't wait to take all that they had learned back to their classrooms the following day.

These are a few of my top takeaways:
-The importance of teaching kids what to listen and look for. For younger kids, teach them to listen for, "This is important," and for older kids, to look for text cues.
-The pre-frontal cortex, which manages attention and other executive functioning skills, doesn't fully develop until around the age of 25.
-Go backwards to move forward. When we start with the end goal and move backwards through the steps, it helps children to understand the process and what they are working towards .
-We all process information at different speeds, and in different ways.
-Reading on e-Readers and phones with a larger font can support greater attention to what we are reading because there is less text to focus on.
-www.learningworksforkids.com is a great resource for identifying video games and digital media that can support your child in a specific area.

Our professional development day was an incredible reminder, not only of all that we can do to support students' attention and engagement, but also what a thoughtful and dedicated staff we have that is able to teach and collaborate around this work.  I look forward to sharing more of what our staff is working on in the coming weeks!

Leah Kessler
Vice Principal 
      
Parent Education
Mindfulness and Parenting : Finding Grace Amidst the Chaos
Presented by Dr. Amy Saltzman
Oak Knoll Library January 27, 7:00-8:30pm

Mindfulness is simply paying attention to your life experience here and now with kindness and curiosity.

Join Dr. Amy Saltzman for an introductory evening to learn how you can apply Mindfulness to the complex, sometimes overwhelming responsibilities of daily life with children and experience grace amidst the chaos. Dr. Saltzman will also discuss how Mindfulness can benefit children by enhancing focus, impulse control, emotional intelligence, and compassion.

Dr. Amy Saltzman is a Menlo Park-based holistic physician, Mindfulness coach, scientist, wife, and mother. Her passion is supporting people of all ages in enhancing their well being and discovering the Still Quiet Place within. She is recognized by her peers as a visionary and pioneer in the fields of holistic medicine and Mindfulness for youth. For more information on Dr. Saltzman, including her book and two CDs, please visit http://www.stillquietplace.com/.                         
2015-2016 PTO Board Nominating Committee
We are looking for parents from each grade level to form the Nominating Committee to slate the Oak Knoll PTO Board for 2015-2016.  The committee is chaired by the current OK PTO Parliamentarian, Tracy Watt, and will involve a few meetings starting in February.  The board slate will be submitted to the PTO Board and Membership for approval in May.  The only restriction for this committee is that they are excluded for being nominated to officer positions for the slate which they are creating.  

For a list of positions and their descriptions, please click here.  

If you are interested in joining the Nominating Committee or if you are interested in serving on the Oak Knoll PTO Board for next year (or you want to nominate someone you know!), please email Tracy Watt directly.  

"Fiesta!" - Teacher & Staff AppreciationnLuncheon
Please help show our love to our "Muy Especial" teachers and staff with a Valentine lunch on Friday, February 6 in the teachers lounge.

Consider signing up for an available item to bring or a shift to serve at the Teacher & Staff Luncheon. You can view the complete sign up sheet and details here.

If you have any questions contact: janet.falkner@gmail.com, apotischman@me.com.  
      
Volunteers Needed for Winterfest
Are you interested in making connections with other Oak Knoll families, within and outside our school neighborhood?  Do you want to help build our Oak Knoll Community by planning a winter carnival at Oak Knoll?  Please join us!   For more information about volunteering for Winterfest on February 7, 5:00-7:00pm, please contact Jenni Djafari.  
      
Family Math Night
Count on attending Family Math Night, Thursday, February 5 from 5:30-7:30pm in the Oak Knoll Gym. Enjoy fun and engaging activities with your children that will get them to think about and make sense of numbers.
  • Explore 8 hands-on stationsChoose from 3 activity levels at each station
  • Create projects to take home
  • Go at your own pace
  • Reinforce classroom learning

This event is great for Kindergarten through 3rd grade, but all students are welcome. No RSVP necessary, just show up. Contact Jody Buckley for more information.

      
Save The Date: Friends and Family Day
SAVE THE DATE!  Friday, March 6 is Oak Knoll's 17th annual Friends and Family Day.  Invite a friend or family member to come to school in the morning to get a glimpse of our campus and classrooms.  Times for each grade level and details will be posted soon.   
      
MPAEF News
Dine Out to Support Our Schools Tuesday, January 27

Grab your kids (or book a sitter for date night)  and head to one of these great Menlo Park restaurants to support our inaugural MPAEF Dine Out program on Tuesday, January 27.
A percentage of the proceeds from these participating restaurants Amicis East Coast Pizzeria Menlo Park,  Celia's Mexican Restaurant, Jeffrey's Hamburgers,  Mardini's and Menlo Grill Bistro & Bar will be generously given to the MPAEF to support our four schools.

More details can be found on www.mpaef.org. Bon apetit!

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MPAEF Donor Roll Is Online Now - Please Check Your Family's Attribution by January 28

The MPAEF Donor Roll recognizes families who generously donated to the 2014-2015 Annual Parent Campaign. The Donor Roll strives to thank every donor and family with the attribution that they prefer. Please take a look at the Donor Roll to be sure you and/or your family are named correctly. The deadline to send your corrections to the MPAEF is January 28th, at which time the Donor Roll will be prepared for inclusion in the printed Auction Catalog. Click here to see the Donor Roll. Click here to send your corrections to the MPAEF office.  

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Save the Date for the 2015 MPAEF Spring Event & Auction: A Night in Old Hollywood

Please join us for a night of fun and glamour on Saturday, April 11, with dinner bites, dancing and casino.
 
In the meantime, the time to donate to the auction is now! We'd love fun adventures, unique getaways, and themed parties for kids and adults alike. Tickets to sporting events or fine wines are fabulous as well. Knit like a pro or love to bake? Consider offering lessons! No donation is too small or too creative, and you can donate individually or as part of group. Look at the following categories, pick one, and commit today! Click here for category details and the online donation form.
  • Destinations, Adventures & Getaways
  • Parties, Events, and Experiences for Adults K.I.T. - Kids In Training
  • Parties, Events & Experiences for Kids
  • Sporting Events & Memorabilia
  • Exceptional Wines & Wine Experiences

Visit the Spring Auction page for more information.

Questions about what or how to donate? Email Flavia Herrod.
Already organized and want to donate now? Click here for our online donation form.
To get your creative juices flowing you can view last year's auction catalog here.

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Shop for the MPAEF

 

Help our schools earn money as you plan your February & Spring breaks. Stay on top of your new years resolution with new fitness gear or treat yourself at your favorite merchant. Just go to Shop.MPAEF.org, book your travel or shop at your favorite merchant. Earn money for our schools when you shop. Shop now!

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Thank You To Our New and Returning Business Partners

Please support those businesses who support our schools!

Scott Kaloust, DDS, MS, Menlo Park Orthodontics
DLM Architecture
Menlo Partners Staffing
Peninsula Pet Hospital
RGM and Associates
Cameron L. Aboudara, D.D.S. MS
Gould Jacobson Dermatology
Nicole Scarborough Photography
Personify
Cheeky Monkey Toys
Riviera Partners
Texture Hair Design
Habibi's Salon     

                  

Community Sponsored News
M-A Grizzlies Lacrosse Free Demo Day! 
 Join us for M-A Grizzlies Spring Lacrosse! FREE Demo for Girls ages 8 - 11 & Boys 7 - 9  on Sunday Jan 25th  from 1 - 2 at Hillview Middle School Field- we have openings on our GU9 & GU11 & BU9 teams. See our site www.MenloAthertonLacrosse.com for more information.  Please email us to let us know if you can attend.  No equipment required, we will have loaner sticks. 

Legends Baseball

What: Legends Baseball Holiday Camps & Clinics!

Where: Burgess Little League Field - 701 Laurel St, Menlo Park 

When: Feb 16th (Presidents' Day), Feb 17-20 (Presidents' Week), April 20-24th (Spring Break)  

Cost: $75-$85/day 

Ages: 6-12 all skill levels

Questions?: Call David: 650.387.4427 or Email: info@menloparklegends.com 

More Info/Website: www.menloparklegends.com 

To Register: https://legendsbaseball.campbrainregistration.com 

 

Mandarin for those who don't speak Mandarin at home

Hwa Shin Chinese School is celebrating its 20th anniversary providing a practical approach to learning conversational Mandarin Chinese. Certified, high-quality teachers, individual attention with small class sizes, engaging workbooks and multimedia. After school classes are currently in session at Oak Knoll, Laurel  and Encinal. Enrollment is open for new and transfer students. Also, Saturday classes for K to 12 graders start Jan 17 at Jordan Middle School in Palo Alto.  Visit www.hwashinschool.org, call 408.807.1088 or email to hwashinschool@yahoo.com.

 

Silicon Valley Boychoir

Auditions for the spring semester will be held by appointment through Friday, January 16. Auditions are open to boys ages 7-12.  Older boys with choral experience may audition for upper levels. The multi-level choir is held after school in downtown Palo Alto, 600 Homer Ave. and performs locally. SVB provides a personalized approach to teaching singing, music theory, and sight-singing, and provides flexible scheduling for busy families.

Email: info@svboychoir.org or call 650-424-1242 Visit http://svboychoir.org 

 

Ragazzi Boys Chorus Free SingFest Minicamp

Saturday, January 17, 2015, 9:30am - 1pm, Redwood City

Ragazzi performs its own concert series, sings the National Anthem at a spring SF Giants game, tours domestically and internationally, and collaborates with other prestigious Bay Area arts organizations. Contact: ragazzi@ragazzi.org  or 650-342-8785.  Minicamp is free, but advance registration is required. Can't make it to SingFest but want to audition?  Go to  http://ragazzi.org/join-us/book-audition/

 

Ragazzi Boys Chorus' Music and Movement class open

Mondays 4:15-5pm, Feb. 2 - May 11, 178 Clinton St, Redwood City

Ragazzi Boys Chorus' engaging Orff-Schulwerk-based class for active young boys is now open. It's a great option for boys not quite old enough for Ragazzi's main program. This class is tailored for boys ages 5-7 with little or no previous musical experience. A child-developmental approach fosters boys' creativity and curiosity. Students explore rhythm games, channel their energy through music learning and learn concepts they can apply in any musical setting.  $260 for 13 weeks; early-bird and sibling discounts. Contact ragazzi@ragazzi.org, 650-342-8785. Register & more info at http://ragazzi.org/program/music-movement/ 

 

Green Kids Conference

Topic: Experiments and Research work in any environmental related area pertaining to environmental sustainability and green living that protects or improves human health and the environment. We encourage you to showcase your model/ prototype/sample along with your poster on June 13, 2015.

Submit entry form before April 15, 2015

Applicants must be children under 18 years of age as of June 13, 2015. Register Here 

                      
Quick Links
Newsletter Submissions
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. 

Newsletter Archives
To read past Oak Knoll PTO newsletters, please visit our archives.