Oak Middle School
Thursday, November 9, 2023
Dear Oak Middle School Families,
On Wednesday, November 8, we met as a whole school to learn from and honor some of our local Veterans. The following Veterans were in attendance: Ruben Garcia Corporal- US Army (Daughter Eva L. Garcia), Chris Rapp- Specialist 4th Class, Signal Corps. Army (Granddaughter Emma Rapp), and Jeff Mills- Sergeant US Army (Sons, Jackson Mills, Alexander Mills). Olivia Asumeng, Shreyas Pokala, and Yaqoot Roummah conducted live interviews of the following Veterans: Veterans Chad Portas - Special Forces- US Army (Son Rocco Portas), Carrie Miller - Petty Officer 3rd Class - US Navy (Son Brady Miller), Seamus Shanley - Corporal - US Marines. (Daughter Maeve Shanley, and nephew Lawrence Pratte).
The Veterans shared valuable insights learned during their time in the armed forces. Some of the themes that came up were hard work and determination, the importance of strong community, building unity through personal connections, and the lessons they learned from service and sacrifice that have since been applied in various aspects of life. Hopefully all students gained a deeper appreciation for the sacrifices and service of veterans. Thank you to all Veterans, we honor your service and appreciate all you have done and continue to do for our country.
A special thank you to Mr. Tony Uglialoro and the band for playing a number of Patriotic songs. Thank you to Worcester's North High School's Jr. NROTC for the Presentation of Colors. Also, a big shoutout to our IT department! It was a wonderful community event organized by Mr. Robert Dunn, Ms. Maura Egan, Ms. Courtney Mulcahy, and Mr. Doug Kershaw. Thank you for making this happen! We hope to continue this tradition at Oak Middle School for years to come.
I am sending my weekly newsletter out a few days early. I hope everyone enjoys the long weekend. When students return to school on Monday, November 13 it will be a Day 1.
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
Scott Yonker
Assistant Principal Grade 7
508-841-1213
Michelle Dillon
Assistant Principal Grade 8
mdillon@shrewsbury.k12.ma.us
508-841-1205
How Do Students and Their Parents Receive Overdue Notifications on Schoology?
OMS Football Team raises over $2,100 for Breast Cancer Awareness
On October 26th, the Oak Middle School Football team and families participated in a Playing for Pink game to raise funds and awareness for breast cancer. The OMS team and families were able to raise over $2,100 dollars to benefit a 501 (3) c non-profit Massachusetts organization, Runway for Recovery (https://runwayforrecovery.org/). Runway for Recovery provides families with a continuum of support along their journey with breast cancer. They deploy funding toward families who have lost a loved one to breast cancer or those families who have a caregiver living with stage IV breast cancer. With careful stewardship, Runway bolsters these families with a combination of financial support and wraparound services from counseling to academic support.
Free and Reduced Lunch Application
Although meals are free for all students regardless of income, we encourage families who
would otherwise qualify for free or reduced price meals [based upon household
income/economic need] to complete the Free/Reduced Price Meal Application so as to
potentially be eligible for free or reduced fees for busing, Extended School Care, or athletics.
Click here to access that form
Destination Imagination
Welcome to a new season of Destination Imagination at Shrewsbury Public Schools! We officially begin the new season with our virtual informational meeting on November 9th from 7:00 pm to 8:00pm when we will provide an overview of what is to be expected for the upcoming season including tournament plans, training, challenge overview, deadlines and lots more. Come to just listen or ask questions! All Shrewsbury Public School students in grades K-12 are eligible to join at team.
To sign up for the meeting, click on the "Shrewsbury Destination Imagination Learn More" Google form.
The cost is $100 per student ($75 for students whose parents help manage or appraise the team). Checks can be dropped off on the day of the meeting or at another time. We do not want the fee to be a barrier to participation; if your child wants to participate but you are in financial need, please contact Central Office Administrative Assistant Blake Stewart at bstewart@shrewsbury.k12.ma.us (all inquiries will be confidential).
We will be answering questions at the end of the meeting. Registration for students and teams are open till Dec 1st 2023.
We hope you can join us to kick off the 2023-24 Destination Imagination Season!
Destination Imagination Virtual Info meet link
Meeting ID: 569 856 9800
Passcode: 426681
If you have any questions about the program, contact Rajani Vijayakumar rvijayakumar@shrewsbury.k12.ma.us
Cookie Cutters for Sale!
🐝🐝🐝Oak Spelling Bee🐝🐝🐝
Ready for this year's Spelling Bee? Sign-up genius is now taking registrations. Only 50 spots available per school; please register by Friday, November 17th to save your seat!
Oak: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/8050B4CA5A828ABF49-45434696-oakspelling#/
School Attendance
As we approach our 30th day of school, it is important to remind families of the Massachusetts laws around student attendance and absenteeism. The Massachusetts’ compulsory school attendance law (G.L. c. 76, § 1) outlines attendance requirements for students between the ages of 6-16. Section 1B of this law outlines the requirements of the school principal to notify and meet with the families of any student who has 5 or more unexcused absences. Over the next couple of weeks, you may receive a notification from the school regarding your child’s attendance thus far this school year. Massachusetts defines chronic absenteeism as a student who misses 10% or more of days they are enrolled- regardless of whether or not these days are excused or unexcused. Therefore if a student has been enrolled at Oak for these 30 days of school, they will be trending toward being considered (by the commonwealth) as chronically absent if they have missed 3 school days so far. Consistent school attendance is critical for many reasons. We will be reviewing student attendance and identifying steps to support our students who are trending toward chronic absenteeism.
Child Safe Procedures
If your child is going to be absent or late to school, we require that you telephone us either the night before or first thing in the morning on the day of the absence. Parents/guardians should call 508-841-1200 and select 1 at the prompt for the Oak Attendance Line. We ask that you spell your child(ren)'s first and last name slowly and clearly. If we have not received a call to report an absence, the school will be in contact with the parent or emergency contact to confirm the child’s safety. Please help our busy office staff by always calling us when your child will be absent or tardy.
Just a reminder that if a child is absent from school, they cannot participate in any afterschool activities that day.
The Oak Food Pantry
The Food For Families Food Pantry at OMS will be open soon! This year we are offering 2 different options for families as we recognize that every situation is different. Any family, no matter how big or small the need, can access the pantry. It does not matter if your need is short term or long term, the pantry is here for you. We understand that food insecurity is on the rise and we want to help our OMS families.
Option 1 is our Weekender Program: Each Friday, students can pick up a bag from the health office that will include individual portion size foods for 2 breakfasts and 2 lunches, along with a sleeve of crackers and 2 snacks. (Breakfast may be small cereal boxes, breakfast bars, instant oatmeal, small shelf stable milk, instant breakfast packet, small pancake mix. Lunch will be small mac and cheese or other pasta cups, tuna fish, canned chicken, soups). This is meant to help families who need support when school is not in session on the weekends.
Option 2 is our Biweekly Program: Every other Friday, families will receive 2 bags of groceries, one with a minimum of 12 lbs of food (including food items for breakfast, lunch and dinner and rotating staple items like peanut butter, jelly, cooking oil, condiments) and the other with household items (paper towels, napkins, toothpaste, dish soap, laundry soap, trash bags, deodorant, bar soap, etc.) This program requires that an adult family member come to school and pick up the bags during school hours. The bags will be ready by 9:00 A.M. Friday morning of the pick up week, located in the health office.
For both programs, pickup is in the Health Office. This program is confidential and no documentation of need is required.
If you are in need please contact the OMS nurses by calling 508-841-1204 or emailing them at oaknurse@shrewbury.k12.ma.us. Referrals can be made by anyone. Please reach out if you are in need.
Save the Dates!
November
11/10 No School - Veterans Day
11/13 - No HW DUE
11/21 - No HW Assigned
11/22 - No School
11/23 - Thanksgiving
11/24 - No School
11/27 - No HW DUE
Photos Of the Week
7 Teal's Got Talent
Guitar Club
Clubs, Sports, and Activities
SKI CLUB
We will be offering a Ski Club for the 2024 winter season. The Ski Club is not a team. All skiers and snowboarders are welcome to join! Registration opens October 24, 2023 and acceptance will be on a first-come first-served basis. Please note that we are limited to 100 students. Please read the attached letter for more information!
The Late Bus
We are now offering a FREE late bus services for students on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. The buses will depart from SHS at 3:50pm and from the middle schools at 4:20pm.
This is a limited service with fixed bus stops. It is not intended to provide service to all neighborhoods due to financial limitations.
There are three bus routes with centralized stops coming from each campus. Please look at the schedule below to decide which route and stop is best for your family. Please know that times are approximate and the actual time your child gets off the bus may be different from the time posted in the schedule. Parents are responsible for making arrangements for their students to get home from the centralized bus stops.
While there is no charge for this service, families will need to sign up for the late bus via the middle schools Google form or the high school Google form. You can sign up for your student(s) to take the bus home regularly or only as needed. In order to sign up, you will need to know the bus route (red, green, or blue) and the bus stop number where the student will get off the bus. Please consult our color-coded schedule before you access the Google form.
SHS students will also be able to sign themselves up. We ask that you sign up by noon on the day your child will take the bus. You will need to complete the Google form for each child in your family who will take the late bus.
Here is the link to our website for your reference: https://schools.shrewsburyma.gov/transportation/late-bus
Please contact April Yu, email transportation@shrewsbury.k12.ma.us or phone 508-841-8363, with questions.
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: