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Thursday, September 24
- MPAEF Board Meeting, 8:45-10:30am, TERC
Friday, September 25
- Last day to buy Fall Family Picnic tickets
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Monday, September 28
- Safe Moves Assembly on Traffic Safety
Wednesday, September 30
- End of PTO Membership Campaign
- Site Council, 3:30-4:30pm, Teacher's Lounge
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A Note From Mrs. Gracia On Smarter Balanced Assessment Scores (SBAC)
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Last school year the Oak Knoll Site Council developed rigorous goals for English Language Arts and Mathematics. One assessment we decided to use to measure our academic progress is the SBAC. This past spring our 3rd-5th graders persevered through this new computerized, adaptive nation-wide assessment. We set an aggressive goal for our upper grade student body of 85% proficient or above in both areas. We are excited to report that 86% of our 3rd-5th graders met or exceeded this goal in ELA and 87% did so in math. We are proud of this baseline and at the same time see opportunities for continuous improvement. Our Site Council will analyze this data further. Parents will receive student data in the mail. I want to remind you of the following information:
- This data is only one piece of a larger picture in regards to your child(ren)'s academic performance.
- This is the first time your child(ren) have taken this test.
- The SBAC is completely computerized and requires typed open responses.
- The SBAC is adaptive and continued to increase in rigor.
- This test was designed to measure students' learning of the newly adopted Common Core State Standards, moving away from rote memorization and promoting analytical skills.
At Oak Knoll we teach our students to have a growth mindset. They are not born great readers, amazing writers and skilled mathematicians; they get smart through hard work, continuous practice, and perseverance. If you choose to share SBAC scores with your child(ren), I encourage you to keep the conversation focused on their effort, experience, and perseverance, rather than their scores. Kristen Gracia
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Dear Parents,
When I first came to Oak Knoll, one of the aspects that I was most struck by was how embedded the school is within the local neighborhood. I love seeing the smiling faces of all of our students and parents arriving by foot, bicycle, bus and car each morning. The number of students arriving to school each day by bicycle and on foot is a unique strength of our school. It is important that we all do our part in keeping all of our students and families safe, regardless of which mode of transportation we choose.
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MPAEF & PTO Joint Campaign - Oak Knoll News
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Ten Reasons to Support Your Oak Knoll PTO and the MPAEF
10. Library Books and Our Librarian: In order to foster a love of reading that will serve our children for the rest of their lives, Jane Bennion takes great pride in placing the right book in every child's hands. Keep our libraries full of books and our students full of ideas.
9. Community-Building Events: Parties, picnics, spelling bees, debate competitions, and spirit days are highly anticipated and energizing for students, staff, teachers, and families. These diverse events also serve to strengthen the bonds of our already robust Oak Knoll community.
8. School Communications: It's a busy life, and we help out by keeping you as informed as possible with our weekly newsletters, district directory, website, and other important communications throughout the school year.
7. Classroom Supplies and Teacher Resources: A fully-stocked classroom means our appreciative teachers and staff can stay focused on their top priority: their students, our children.
6. Field Trips, Assemblies, and Lunchtime Programs: Visiting working farms or listening to an author read from her newest book broadens each child's horizon. Additionally, providing sports supervision and teacher-directed clubs at lunch allow kids to explore different activities during their free time.
5. Arts: Just ask Bee Tee, Emily Chiet, Rachel Knight, and Jayd Almquist. When we support the arts through donations, our students can express themselves on the stage, in acrylic paints, or through the beautifully complicated tubing of a French horn.
4. Science: You can't answer every question your child asks from "Why is the sky blue?" to "Why isn't Pluto a planet?" so thank goodness we have Gwen Solomon. Not only that, but when students discover the mysteries of the world, their universe expands with excitement. Be the spark of something amazing. Keep science flowing.
3. Innovative Electives, Technology, and Mini-Courses: In addition to the ground-breaking mini-courses at Hillview, we also are able to offer design-thinking workshops and educational techniques that hone creativity, flexibility, and collaboration. With your support, we can open our students' minds to new and better ways of doing things.
2. Wellness and Technology Guidance: On-site counselors and technology specialists are here to support the emotional well-being of our students as well as coach them on how to be technologically responsible and safe. Your donation helps us support the whole child, inside and out.
1. More Teachers and Their Professional Development: Having more teachers and giving them access to the latest educational research and best practices means we keep our class sizes small and teachers can foster deeper and more effective relationships with students.
Imagine your child's day without these people, programs, supplies, and events. It just wouldn't be Oak Knoll! All of this exists because of your support of the PTO and the MPAEF.
PTO donations are due by September 30. Please make your gift or pledge to the MPAEF by November 6. For more information, you can reach out to our PTO Membership Co-Chairs (Kathy Motamedi, Tamara Russel, Tracy Watt) at ptomembership@oakknollschool.com or our MPAEF ambassador for Oak Knoll, Ashley Honerkamp at oakknollmpaef@mpaef.org.
Thank you for your support!
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Oak Knoll is excited to add two more yard supervisors during lunch, in addition to our current staff, to support us providing more varied options for our students and coverage. Hours are 11:45-12:30, and 12:15-1:00. If you enjoy working with our amazing students, and are looking for part-time work, please contact Leah Kessler for more information.
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Parent Coffee Talks with Principal Gracia
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Last Tuesday, parents gathered in the Gym for the first Parent Coffee Talk of the 2015-2016 school year. Oak Knoll Counselor Nicole Scott and Principal Kristen Gracia talked about this year's school theme of "Connected", including planned activities which support the theme and its three parts: Connect to each other, Connect to our Community and Connect to the World. Check out Ms Scott's webpage for insights into current reading and lessons she is covering currently with students across the school.
Upcoming Parent Coffee Talks will be held on the following dates: 11/10, 12/8, 1/12, 2/9, 3/8. All meetings are right after drop-off in the Gym, from 8:15-9:15am. Mark your calendars and come join Mrs. Gracia and her team for some good discussions. Come connect!
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Fall Family Picnic - Buy Tickets by This FRIDAY 9/25
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Please join us for the Fall Family Picnic on Friday, October 2 from 5:00-7:00pm on the upper playground at Oak Knoll. There will be games, bouncy houses, karaoke, and delicious burritos catered by Mama Coco. Or bring your own picnic and join in the fun!
Food tickets are $10 per person and must be purchased by Friday, September 25. To buy tickets online click here. Or you can print out the order form and drop it in the Fall Family Picnic folder in the Oak Knoll office by September 25.
We would like all families to attend. Please consider purchasing sponsorship tickets.
Hope to see you there!
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Ollie Salutes the After School Programs/Classes Coordinators!
With the start of our first session of After School Classes this week, Ollie says a huge thank you to the After School Programs/Classes coordinators Mark Baker, Alison Buchanan, and Lindsey Hutchinson. Because of their hard work, our Otters are able to attend many fun and enriching classes after school, with even more new offerings this year!
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Girls Leadership Institute Workshops at Oak Knoll
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Girls Leadership Institute Workshops at Oak Knoll - Grades K/1, 2/3, and 4/5
GLI EVENTS FILL UP FAST - DON'T WAIT TO REGISTER!
The Oak Knoll PTO has arranged to bring the Girls Leadership Institute to Oak Knoll again this year, so don't miss your opportunity to priority register for one of the FOUR parent-daughter workshops on emotional intelligence offered by GLI. Parents and daughters will learn about identifying healthy relationships, finding their voices, and communicating more effectively. Girls will also develop resilient responses to conflict, challenges, and mistakes. Also new this year is the second part to the 4/5th grade workshop series.
Cost: $180 for K/1, $210 for 2/3 and 4/5
Visit the links for more information on each program:
Please note that the Oak Knoll PTO has facilitated GLI offering these workshops at Oak Knoll following several years of positive feedback from parents, but like other After School Programs, parents will register and contract with GLI as a private vendor.
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Nature Zone Volunteers Needed
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Come help keep the Oak Knoll Nature Zone open! The Nature Zone (formerly known as "The Wild Zone") is the fenced off area at the side of school (towards the back field/playground) where kids have the opportunity to explore nature and interact with trees, branches, leaves, dirt and all the "natural toys" within The Nature Zone.
In order to have the resource open to our students at lunchtime, we must have parent volunteers to supervise the area. Many shifts are still available - please visit our Nature Zone Volunteer Schedule, 2015-2016 and sign-up today!
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Thank you to those of you who use Hot Lunch regularly and have volunteered their time to fill many open volunteering slots this year!
The Hot Lunch program is entirely dependent on volunteers being there each day to serve the food, so this positive response from parents signing up to help is essential to keep the program running.
If you are a regular Hot Lunch user and received an email asking for a volunteer commitment but have not yet signed up yet, we still have open slots and need more help. No experience needed, no cooking, no washing dishes - simply help distribute pre-ordered packaged hot and cold lunches from Choicelunch and earn credits towards free lunches for your child(ren) for each shift worked.
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Want to see your Kindergartener in action on the playground? Volunteer for playground/yard duty! We need your help with short 45 minute shifts supervising the kindergarten yard from 10:00am to 10:45am (updated time!) daily. If you can help out once a week or even once a month, please contact Tara Carranza for more information.
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With every back-to-school purchase you make via MPAEF's shopping portal, you earn money for smaller classrooms, credentialed arts and science specialists, and our teachers'professional development. Simply start at Shop.MPAEF.org and then:
CLICK on your favorite merchant to activate our referral bonus. We have more than 80 great merchants including Amazon, Target, Nordstrom, and many more.
SHOP and pay for items as you normally would.
EARN up to 10% of your purchase total for our schools. It's that EASY!
We don't collect any personally identifiable information, so no new IDs or passwords to remember. Just start at Shop.MPAEF.org, click, shop, and earn for all our schools every time.
We've got scads of participating merchants, but start by getting your pens and pencils at Target, your new togs at Gap/Old Navy, and fall sports equipment at Sports Authority.
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Challenge Success Parent Education Event
September 25, 7 pm
Stanford University, Memorial Auditorium
Join Challenge Success, an organization founded at Stanford's Graduate School of Education, for our annual public parent education event. Sparking Creativity: Imagining Tomorrow's Schools features Harvard educator Tony Wagner and Challenge Success Co-Founders Dr. Denise Pope and Dr. Madeline Levine. For more information and event tickets, visit www.challengesuccess.org.
Learn Chinese, specifically if you don't speak Chinese at home
HwaShin Chinese School has been teaching Mandarin Chinese in Menlo Park Schools for over ten years, and is celebrating its 20th anniversary teaching Chinese on the Peninsula. After school classes are just starting at Oak Knoll, Laurel and Encinal. Enrollment is open for new and transfer students. Hwa Shin also runs classes on Saturday mornings from 9-11 at Jordan Middle School in Palo Alto.Sign up for classes twice per week (at school and on Saturday), and get special discount pricing. Visit www.hwashinschool.org, call 408.807.1088
M-A's Challenge Day
Monday-Wednesday, October 26-28, 8:15am-3:30pm
Join us as a facilitator for one day for this memorable workshop that helps freshmen break down barriers and create new levels of empathy and respect. Facilitators lead students through games, activities and trust-building exercises and are guided by a professional, trained Challenge Day leader. To volunteer, e-mail Julie Quinlan; put "Challenge Day Volunteer" in the subject line. St. Raymond Pumpkin Festival
October 9, 3:30-9 pm; October 10, 10:00am - 6:00pm
100 Santa Cruz Ave.
The St. Raymond Pumpkin Festival is a great family event with something for everyone... pony rides, climbing spider maze, bungee trampoline, train ride, face painting, carnival games, pumpkin sales, carnival games, food, beer garden, treats and more!
NJB Winter Basketball
Registration is now open. Our focus is on skills-based instruction, personal growth, and positive competition for kids from 1st through 8th grades in MP, Atherton, PV, Woodside, or EPA. The season runs from November through February. Deadline for early registration with reduced fees is 9/28!
Frozen Sing-Along
Saturday, October 3, 1:00-3:00pm, M-A PAC
Dress up as your favorite character and watch and sing along to Frozen! Win fun prizes! Limited seating; special "Fun Pack" for advance ticket buyers ($5.00 General Admission). Free for children 3 years old and under. Sponsored by the City of Menlo Park. Click here for more information and tickets.
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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.
To read past Oak Knoll PTO newsletters, please visit our archives.
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