Oak Middle School
Sunday, January 22 2023
Diversity Club Preparing to Celebrate Black History Month
Dear Oak Middle School Families,
Happy Lunar New Year for those who celebrate!
The Oak Students were hard at work this week. It is always a highlight of my day when I get to join teachers and students in their classrooms. During a visit to an 8th grade Science classroom students were balancing chemical equations. One group of students acknowledged that balancing equations is new and “kind of hard”, but also that it is like a puzzle and “kind of fun”. When I left the group of students they were trying to balance the carbon dioxide on both sides of the equation through trial and error. I am forever impressed with Oak students' overall positive attitude, willingness to try new things (that may be challenging), and putting forth their best effort. Please encourage your child to keep up the hard work. We are looking forward to a wonderful week ahead!
Please see below a special message from Oak Middle School's Project 351 Ambassador Prisha Nair.
Please reach out with any questions or concerns as our goal is to work together to make sure each and every child has a wonderful year at OMS.
In partnership,
Hallie Burak
Principal
508-841-1210
Anne Koertge
Assistant Principal Grade 7
508-841-1205
Scott Yonker
Assistant Principal Grade 8
508-841-1213
Message from Project 351 Ambassador: Prisha Nair
On Saturday, January 14, along with over 300 other kids, my perspective on the world changed, all because of Project 351. Project 351 is an impactful organization that empowers young people to think about the change that they can make in the world. As the 2023 8th grade ambassador from the town of Shrewsbury, I had no idea what the day held in store for me. The day began at my regional bus stop in Worcester where I met other kids and chaperones and rode all the way to Boston making new friends along the way. Then we kicked off Launch Day at Faneuil Hall with inspirational words from Project 351 alumni, Governor Maura Healy, and founder Carolyn Casey.
At Faneuil Hall we split up with our teams and traveled to 4 different service sites around Boston. My service site was a Cradles to Crayons donation factory. Cradles to Crayons is a nonprofit partner of Project 351 that provides clothes, shoes, and books for kids from birth to the age of 12. Within the city of Boston alone 1 in every 2 children will experience clothing insecurity in their lifetime and for Massachusetts the number becomes 3 in 1. Their goal is to end clothing insecurity in the commonwealth of Massachusetts.
As a team of ambassadors we helped sort, quality check, clean, and put together boxes of orders so they were ready to be shipped off to different regions of Massachusetts. At the end of the day, we learned that all 370 of us impacted approximately 6,152 lives. It was motivating and inspiring to know that in only 4 hours of work we impacted so many lives. Project 351 showed that we had to be the change we wanted in the world and that together we could make a difference.
CHINESE SPRING FESTIVAL, JANUARY 22ND
The 2023, Year of the Rabbit, Chinese New Year celebration party will be held at the Shrewsbury High School Auditorium on Sunday, January 22nd from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. The organizers are Massachusetts Beijing Chinese Language School, Shrewsbury High School Mandarin classes, Oak/Sherwood Middle School Mandarin classes, St. John’s High School Mandarin Classes, and Mulan Performing Arts Association. Please see the program flier below. Free of admission up to the capacity of the auditorium.
Parent Search Committee Volunteers
Parents, we are looking for diverse members of our community to participate in search committees for open roles for the 2023-2024 school year. If you are interested and willing to serve, please go to this link to add your name, email, and phone number, and include any schools where you might be willing to serve as a parent representative to a search committee. If you volunteer, you may be contacted by me or another member of our District Leadership Team to ask for your participation.
SHS Course Registration for all Current 8th Graders
We are approaching that time of year when we begin to register all 8th grade students for classes at Shrewsbury High School. Mark your calendars: An information night for the parents of all incoming grade 9 students is planned to take place at SHS on Monday, 2/13/23 at 6:30 (Snow Date Tuesday 2/14/23 at 6:30 PM). Stay tuned for more information regarding high school registration in the OMS Weekly Newsletter in the coming weeks.
2023 Shrewsbury Public School K-12 Winter Art Exhibition (Virtual)
Team Information
2023-2024 Preschool Lottery Application and Survey Now Open
The 2023-2024 Shrewsbury Public Schools Preschool Lottery Application and Survey opened on Tuesday, January 3rd. All students who will be at least 3 years old by August 31st, 2023 are eligible to apply. We encourage all age-eligible families to complete the form even if they do not plan to send their child to preschool with Shrewsbury Public Schools for the 2023-2024 school year, as this is valuable information for us.
Please click here to complete the form. The application closes at 5:00 p.m. on Friday, January 27th. For more information, please visit our registration webpage.
SHREWSBURY DAY @ RAILERS: 1/22/23
Join family and friends to cheer on the Worcester Railers on Sunday, January 22nd, at 3:05PM at the DCU Center, as the Railers take on the Trois-Rivières Lions from Quebec!
Tickets start at ONLY $17! When you purchase you will receive a unique link to share with family & friends. Everyone who buys from your link will sit with you at the game. Pay separately but sit together! Tickets will immediately be delivered to your phone once purchased.
Purchase your tickets here: https://www.railershc.com/shrewsburyday
***Reminder***
If your child will be dismissed early, please send a note in with them that morning. This helps us speed up the dismissal process. Thank you for your help!
Save the Dates
1/20/23 - No Homework Weekend
1/25/23 - Cycle 3 Ends
1/26/23 - Cycle 4 Starts
2/7/23 - Early Release 11:35am Dismissal
2/13/23 at 6:30 PM at SHS - Informational Parent Meeting on Course Selection Process
Monday, February 20th- Friday February 24th: February Vacation
3/7/23 - Early Release 11:35am Dismissal
Sleep Health Advisory Committee Update
Sleep Health Advisory Timeline
The remaining timeline regarding this project, which could result in changing school start times for the 2023-2024 school year, is as follows:
January 25: Potential additional School Committee discussion and vote (if necessary)
February 1: Last recommended date opportunity for School Committee discussion/vote (if necessary)
Cell Phone Policy
Just a reminder that students are not allowed to use their cell phones during the school day. If a child ever needs to contact a parent/guardian they should come to the main office. We ask that parents/guardians not “text” or call students directly during the school day. Please call 508-841-1200 to have a message relayed to your child.
FEBRUARY PTO MEETING
The February PTO meeting will be Monday, February 6th, @ 7PM in the Oak Media Center.
Join us as we look ahead to:
Our Power of Purpose fundraiser in March
A 7th Grade dance in March
An 8th Grade dance in May
Plans for Teacher Appreciation Week
**The PTO is looking for members to join and help fill roles, including fundraising coordinator and communications, as we have current members leaving at the end of the school year.
The SMS PTO serves both Sherwood and Oak and we welcome parents from grades 5-8!
📷📸📷📸Photos of the Week📷📸📷📸
Diversity Club
8 Red Modeling Mixtures and Pure Substances
8 Red Modeling Mixtures and Pure Substances
8 Red Modeling Mixtures and Pure Substances
8 Red Modeling Mixtures and Pure Substances
7 Teal trying on Vietnamese hat!
Caught being good - Officer Valliere helping out the short staffed cafeteria
7 Red Advisory - Mindfulness with Mr. Jordan Grinstein
TRAX came to visit!
The Basketball Games
Snow at Recess
🎭🎨🖌️🎵Sports and Activities🏀⚽🏅🏈
Volleyball Club
Registration is now open through the parent portal.
Seats are limited and will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis. Payment is due at the
time of registration, and unpaid registrations will be automatically deleted. Classes cost $40 for
the six-week session. Class fees are non-refundable unless SPS has to cancel the class.
Volleyball – Thursdays, 3:00-4:00, starting February 9th
Please visit our website for complete class information including schedules and instructions on
how to register https://schools.shrewsburyma.gov/oak/after-school-activities-program
If you have any questions about the ASAP program, please contact:
Karen Isaacson, Director of Extended Learning
Dungeons and Drama Club
We Are Hiring
Daily Substitutes
Paraprofessional Support Staff
Shrewsbury Public Schools are seeking to hire paraprofessional support staff. We are very pleased that we are 99% fully staffed for teacher and other professional educator roles as we start the school year. Like in many employment sectors in the current economy, we are also working hard to fill certain open positions. If you or someone you know is interested in making a positive difference in the life of a child, please consider joining us as a paraprofessional in our schools. We are in need of: child-specific aides who work to support individual students with special learning needs; applied behavior analysis technicians who typically work to support individual students on the autism spectrum; and special education instructional assistants. Experience working with children is a plus but not required, and we will provide training. There are positions open at all grade spans, both full-time with benefits and part-time, and the hours are great for parents with children in school. For more information and to apply, please go to https://schools.shrewsburyma.gov/hr/currentopenings. Please forward this information along, including to local college students seeking part-time work and those considering a career change to education. If you have questions, please email Lindsey Stasiowski, Human Resources Manager, at lstasiowski@shrewsbury.k12.ma.us or call her at (508) 841-8483. Thank you!
If you see something, say something!
The Locker
The Locker is a donation based program housed at Oak that helps families in the district that could use support with clothing and personal care items. We are happy to help you in the most discreet way possible, information will be kept confidential. It would be helpful to have as much information you can provide in what you are looking for and what will be most useful to your family.
We recognize that each student has their own preferences in what they would like to wear as far as styles and colors. If your child would be interested in helping us select items, we can arrange for them to come to the neatly organized closet and choose their own items.
Items can be sent home with your student if they are comfortable or pick up can be arranged through the health office.
Please complete this form if you would like help:
Questions? We are here to help!
Mrs. Hallie Burak
Ms. Anne Koertge
Mr. Scott Yonker
Helpful Links
The Late Bus is Back!
We are thrilled to announce that we will continue to offer FREE late bus services for students at Shrewsbury High School, Oak Middle School, and Sherwood Middle School starting Monday, September 19th, 2022. Late buses will run on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. The buses will depart from SHS at 3:30pm and from the middle schools at 4:00pm.
This is a limited service with fixed bus stops. It is not intended to provide service to all neighborhoods due to financial limitations.
Please click the following link for all the details:
https://schools.shrewsburyma.gov/transportation/late-bus
Registration is open and the late bus service will start next Monday, the 19th.