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- Spring Session of After School Programs Begins
Tuesday, March 29
- Marine Science Institute Field Trip (Quarre, Brewbaker), 8:30am-12:30pm
Wednesday, March 30
- Marine Science Institute Field Trip (Kelley, Johnston), 8:30am-12:30pm
Thursday, March 31
- Woodside Store Field Trip (McColloch), 9:15am-1:15pm
Friday, April 1
- NO SCHOOL - Collaborative Planning Day
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April 4 - April 8
Wednesday, April 13
- Hillview's 5th Grade Parent Information Night, 6:30-8:30pm, Hillview PAC
Saturday, April 16 - Sunday, April 17
- 2nd Annual Hillview Debate Tournament
Wednesday, April 20
- 4th Grade Missions & Portfolio Night, 7:00pm
Thursday, April 21-Thursday, April 28
- MPAEF Online Silent Auction
Saturday, April 30
- MPAEF Auction "The Wild Wild West," 6:30-10:00pm, MacArthur Park
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Reminder that there is no school this coming Friday, April 1 (Collaborative Planning Day), and next week April 4 - April 8 for Spring Break.
The Otter Weekly will take a break on Sunday, April 3, and return Sunday, April 10.
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Mandatory Student Re-Enrollment Due Last Friday
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Thank you to the 75% of MPCSD families who submitted their 2016-17 re-enrollment before the deadline. Reminders were sent to all families who have not submitted. Re-enrollment is required for all MPCSD students so even though your plans for next year may not be finalized, please complete the re-enrollment process in any case. You always have the option of contacting the District's Registrar to update your enrollment status. If Internet access is an issue, a computer is available at the District office at 181 Encinal Ave., Atherton. If you have any questions about this process, please contact the District at registrar@mpcsd.org.
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Spring After-School Programs Begin This Week
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Some classes still have availability - register today!
The Spring session of after-school programs at Oak Knoll begins tomorrow, running March 28 through June 10, 2016 (no classes on 4/1-4/8 and 5/30). These enrichment classes are wonderful opportunities for your child to try a variety of new activities and sports, or continue the current classes they have been enjoying so far. Check out the After-School Program schedule to learn more and register for classes. *New classes this spring: The After School Music Academy's ukulele (K-2) and guitar (3-5) classes; Soccer Shots (K-2); Starfire Coding (1-5)*
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As part of Oak Knoll's theme this year we have encouraged our students to CONNECT with each other, the community, the world. A wonderful way to connect with the community is with a "free range project."
So, what is a Free Range Project?
The project is to challenge parents to allow their child(ren) to "stretch" by doing something independently.
The project follows this simple 3 step format:
- Sign up by completing our commitment form by March 30.
- Work together with your child(ren) to decide what they will do.
- Using our forms (that we will email you), capture your feelings and your child's feelings BEFORE and AFTER the project. The final project reflections will not be due until end of April.
To read Kristen Gracia's full letter on the Free Range Project, please click here.
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Call for Service Award Nominations
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Tell Us About an Exceptional Volunteer!
Every year our District is fortunate to have parents, teachers, staff, and community volunteers give generously of their time, skills, and creativity to our schools. Many programs would not exist if not for this formidable group of volunteers, the "Pillars of our Community". Honorary Service Awards (HSAs) and School Service Awards (SSAs) recognize individuals who have contributed in an extraordinary way to our District and/or school(s). Please take a moment to nominate someone you know who goes above and beyond to make a difference in our schools. To nominate an individual, please complete the online nomination form by Sunday, April 3.
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Oak Knoll Site Council Opening
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The Oak Knoll Site Council, a group consisting of Oak Knoll's Principal, Assistant Principal, teachers, staff, and elected parents, is the body responsible for developing and monitoring the School Site Plan. This plan specifies the goals and metrics that drive the school's major decisions on academics, school environment, social-emotional well-being, technology, and any other significant areas related to the running of the school. The Site Council is also responsible for creating, implementing and evaluating the annual parent survey. The Oak Knoll Site Council has one open parent position (out of five regular parent positions) for the two year term from 2016-2017 thru 2017-2018. The council meets approximately once a month after school. All meetings are open to the public. Interested candidates should submit their name, a brief description of their background, and reasons for wanting to serve on the council to Tracy Watt by Monday, April 11. Any questions about being a parent on the SITE Council? Please contact Tracy Watt.
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 On Thursday and Saturday, to sold out shows and standing ovations, 4th and 5th Graders from Oak Knoll performed in our production of Music Man Jr. at the Hillview Performing Art Center (PAC). Many students also got to watch part of the show at a special performance on Friday in the Oak Knoll Gym.
Oak Knoll's production of The Music Man Jr. would not have been possible without the passion, expertise and dedication of our own Bee Tee, who served as both the Oak Knoll Director and Musical Instructor for both The Music Man Jr. and the recent third-grade production of The Lion King. And, very special thanks also go out to Bill Hairston, Sarah Westfall, Julia Appleby, Julie Gosler and Diana Pohlman who all contributed countless hours to help make this production possible. Without them and Mrs. Tee, our 4th and 5th grade cast members would not have had the opportunity to participate in such a memorable production.
Also, thank you to committee leads Allison Hoiberg, Amy Gee, Andrea Auerbach, Marieke Arizini, Sharon Purcell, Gina Preston, Mary Nada, Melissa Engelkemier, Christie Connaghan, Tracy Roeder and Kara Hardin and the many volunteers who supported the production through costuming, promotions, ticketing, concessions, show supervision and much more. Finally, thank you to Katie DeAnda, Bob Crabb and the student technical crew at Hillview.
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Hillview Site Council Seeking Parent Nominees
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The Hillview Site Council, a group consisting of Hillview's Principal, teachers and staff, student representatives, and elected parents, is the body responsible for developing and monitoring the School Site Plan. This plan specifies the goals and metrics that drive major decisions on academics, the school environment, social-emotional well-being, technology, and any other significant areas related to the running of the school. The Site Council is also responsible for creating, implementing and evaluating the annual school survey.
The Hillview Site Council has two open parent positions (out of five regular parent positions) for the two year term from 2016-2017 thru 2017-2018. The council meets approximately once a month after school. All meetings are open to the public.
Interested parents should submit their name, a brief description of their background, and reasons for wanting to serve on the council to Andrea Luskin by Monday, April 11. We will hold an election on Monday, April 18, at 3:30 in the Hillview front office conference room. Candidates must be present at the meeting. All parents of Hillview students, or of incoming Hillview students for the 2016/17 school year. who are in attendance at the meeting, are eligible to vote.
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Hillview's 2nd Annual Debate Tournament
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Come join us for Hillview's 2nd Annual Debate Tournament
Saturday, April 16, 2016 - Check In starts @ 8:30am & Awards start @ ca. 5:15pm
All students will compete for 5 rounds, followed by "Best Speaker" awards and an optional "Exhibition Match" between the top teams.
Sunday, April 17, 2016 - Roll Call starts @ 9:00am & Final Awards start @ ca. 3:30pm
The top teams return! All rounds are Single Elimination and immediately followed by awards. The day ends with a Championship round for 1st & 2nd place.
Who can register? Any 1st - 8th grader with Speech & Debate experience / understanding of Parliamentary Debate. We only have 120 spots and had over a 110 debaters at the last tournament, so sign up ASAP! Participation Fee: $25 per Student
The Hillview Debate Club is responsible for covering the cost of the tournament, including the awards, supplies and use of facilities.
Registration Deadline: Friday, April 1, 2016
New!!! Tournament of Champions (TOC) Points: 3 points per win, 1 point per loss
1st - 3rd graders will need 19 points to enter the TOC. You will likely need to attend 2 or more tournaments to reach 19 points.
4th - 8th graders will need 29 points to enter the TOC. You will likely need to attend 3 or more tournaments to reach 29 points.
Please visit the website for the full details and to register.
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Girls Leadership Institute Workshops for 4/5 Grade
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The Oak Knoll PTO has arranged to bring the Girls Leadership Institute to Oak Knoll for one final workshop of the school year, so don't miss this opportunity to register for Part 2 of the 4/5 grade 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.
Cost: $210 for 4/5 grade workshops
Dates: Wednesdays, April 27, May 4, May 11 and May 18, 2016, 6:00pm-7:30pm at Oak Knoll.
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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Oak Knoll Spanish Program
It has been exciting hearing Spanish being used throughout Oak Knoll from students greeting each other with "¡Hola!" to the Pledge of Allegiance being recited in Spanish in every class. I am so happy to see Spanish becoming part of the children's learning experience.
Fifth Grade
This semester we have completed a family unit, focusing on the members of the family and family traditions throughout the Spanish-speaking world. We are currently working on the meals of the day and foods from the market with a discussion about meal traditions in the Spanish-speaking world. We have learned about the three meals of the day and different kinds of food. The children have been practicing dialogues, from ordering a pizza in Spanish to buying fresh produce at a market. To conclude the unit, the children are inventing their own restaurants and creating menus in Spanish.
K - 4 Program
It has been wonderful getting to know the Kindergarten through fourth grade classes. We are currently working on food groups and meals in Spanish and learning the sad story of a pizza in the song "Soy Una Pizza" by Charlotte Diamond. Previously, we studied the calendar, weather, and seasons and learned the song "El Barquito" by José-Luis Orozco.
Performance
We were so fortunate to have José-Luis Orozco come and perform at Oak Knoll School on Monday, March 21. José-Luis Orozco is an award winning bilingual educator, children's author, and recording artist who has been teaching Spanish language and culture through music for over 40 years. The children and faculty had a great time singing and dancing along to his music and learning the cultural traditions behind each of his songs.
Remember, Spanish Club for grades 3-5 meets every Friday from 12:00 to 12:30pm. Recently we have had fun making foods like homemade tortillas, salsa, and ensalada de fruta as well as celebrating holidays around the Spanish-speaking world.
Muchas gracias,
Señora Cheek
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CDE Release of Student Information
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Dear MPCSD Parents,
As you may have heard in the news, the California Department of Education (CDE) is currently engaged in litigation regarding the disclosure of students' protected personal information and records arising from the court order in the Morgan Hill Union School District's Concerned Parents Association and the Concerned Parent Association v. California Department of Education lawsuit.
The CDE is being sued, not MPCSD. CDE, not MPCSD, is being asked to provide student identifiable information, which may include names, addresses, and mental/physical assessments of every student enrolled in any CA public school since 2008. There is litigation to block this order; however, there are no guarantees that these blocks will succeed. The only way to ensure that your child's private information will not be released is to complete THIS OBJECTION TO RELEASE form provided by the CDE and follow the directions to submit prior to April 1, 2016.
We are sorry for this inconvenience. We want you to be informed.
Thank you,
Menlo Park City School District
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 Calling all yokels, greenhorns, and city slickers! It's almost time to slap on your best cowboy duds, skedaddle over to the saloon, and wet your whistles at the MPAEF Wild Wild West Event & Auction. While you're partaking of the best grub Cookie can rattle up for y'all and taking a step or two around the dance floor, we'll be raising the funds we need to keep our district humming along with excellence. Before you start planning all the ruckus and fun you'll have at the party, we hope you'll consider one of our sponsorship opportunities and support this year's Fund-A-Need where your generous contributions will be used for guidance and wellness programs and activities. You'll find all the info here at http://mpaef.org/spring-auction. Now let's get to business.. All you fine folks in the MPCSD community are invited and event tickets go on sale starting Monday, March 28 here. Our online catalog will go live on our website and for you to print at home starting April 10. So giddy up and grab yer tickets while they're hot because space is limited... ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++Thanks to Our Realtor and Business Partners We want to take the opportunity to shout out some appreciation to just a few of our many realtor and business partners in the community. Thank you for your support! DIAMOND: Nelson Roberts Investment AdvisorsPLATINUM: Mary and Brent Gullixson, The Gullixson Team - Realtor Partner GOLD: Hessler Plastic SurgeryBRONZE: Studio RinconVivre Fitness and WellnessFrederickson Pribula Li HR Executive Search and ConsultingTITANIUM: Academic Trainers
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Destination Science: The Fun Science Day Camp for Curious Kids 5 to 11!
Designed to excite kids about science and build great life skills, our STEM-focused summer camps combine science, engineering, fun projects, teamwork, problem solving, outdoor games & many great-take homes that keep kids engaged! Visit our website or email us for more information. 888.909.2822.
Volunteer Opportunities
All Students Matter Informational Coffee
April 18, 10:00am; Menlo Park address provided upon RSVP
If you've wondered what All Students Matter is all about, then please join other local parents who are already volunteering with us in the K-4 classrooms to learn more. We invite you for coffee and refreshments while you hear about how you can make a true difference in the life of students in east Menlo Park and East Palo Alto by volunteering for an hour a week. Please email Jeanette Kennedy to RSVP.
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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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