Weekly Family Update # 8
October 4, 2020
Principal's Message
Welcome to October! I cannot believe how quickly September has come and gone. Fall is my favorite season, with plenty of holidays, festive treats, and cooler weather (soon, I hope!!!).
I am really so impressed with the way your students have adapted to virtual learning. Our teachers are finding their groove and we are all making the best of a very tough situation. Keep it up Falcons!
There is lots of information in the newsletter this week. Thanks so much for being such a supportive and compassionate community. We will get through this!
Beaming with Falcon Pride,
Colin Young
Principal
Oak Valley Middle School
The furniture for the new building has arrived!!
ASB News
ASB Newsletter....Coming Soon!
Hello Falcons....ASB is in the process of organizing a newspaper, and we would love to get submissions from our fellow Falcons. If you have something you would like highlighted in the newsletter, fill out this Google form.Pumpkin Decorating Contest
Spooky season is coming up and boy do we have a fun challenge for you. ASB is hosting a pumpkin decorating contest. Be on the lookout for a link to a form where you can submit your photos! The categories are: Most School Spirit, Most Creative, and Most Halloween-ish. All submissions are due by October 21st and we will announce the winners for each category on October 30th. If you post your pictures on Instagram and tag @oakvalleyasb you could get a shout out. Good luck and may the best pumpkin win.
ASB Clubs
We have a few clubs that are up and running. You can find more information on the Oak Valley website.
- Robotics
- OVMS Studios Club
- Science Olympiad
- Oak Valley Peer Leaders/No Place For Hate
- Oak Valley Coding Club
- OVMS Pride Club
- Speech and Debate club
- Math Counts
2019-2020 OVMS Yearbooks
Oak Valley Celebrates Diversity
We encourage you to learn about some of the cultures and celebrations that are represented in our community.
Reminders From the Attendance Desk
Reminders From Attendance Desk
Attendance is required in each class/period (including Connections period “0”). If your student misses any class(es), a parent/guardian should call the 24/7 Attendance Hotline just as you normally would if classes were held on campus. The hotline # is 858-676-6963. Notifying your student’s teacher is also great, but only the Attendance Secretary can update your student’s attendance record. This includes if your student attended the wrong class by mistake.
If you have a medical note to provide, please email it to: kandrews@powayusd.com
If your student misses Zoom (technical issue, etc), please make sure they are still participating in class through Canvas. Zoom is not the only aspect of each class. Students should still check Canvas to access any non-zoom activities or assignments.
Is your student having Zoom issues? Please make sure your student follows this procedure daily:
1. Log on to MyPlan: myplan.powayusd.com
2. Click the blue “Zoom” icon. Make sure your student is logged in to Zoom (PUSD account).
3. Click the red “Canvas” icon to display all OVMS classes.
4. Find the Zoom link within your teacher’s Canvas page (different link per class).
If your student still can’t log on to Zoom, please make sure they have set up their PUSD Student Zoom Account.
Instructions can be found HERE:
Is Today an Odd Day or an Even Day??
We have an Odd/Even calendar posted on our website for your student so that they are sure to attend the correct classes each day. The Odd/Even calendar can be found HERE:
ODD day = periods 1, 3, (Lunch is period 5), and 7
EVEN day = periods 2, 4, (Lunch is period 6), and 8
Period “0” Connections = Monday and Thursday only. Does not follow Odd/Even.
Our OVMS Virtual Learning Bell Schedule can be found on our website. We recommend printing this out or writing it down and keeping this posted somewhere in the house to make sure your student follows the correct schedule depending on the day of the week (not every day is the same). The Bell Schedule can be found HERE.
PUSD Parenting Workshops
PUSD has two parenting classes starting in October. To view the available classes and to register, please visit the Parent Education tab on the PUSD website.
Red Ribbon Month
The Red Ribbon campaign is the oldest and largest drug prevention program in the nation. This year we are celebrating the entire month of October by taking a stand against drugs and show intolerance for drug use and the consequences to all Americans. By participating in our Friday spirit weeks, we can pledge to live a drug free life and pay tribute to DEA agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena who was killed in 1985. Thanks for participating.
PTSA
The OVMS PTSA will be applying for the National PTSA’s “School of Excellence” designation this year. The School of Excellence (SOE) is a recognition program that celebrates partnerships between PTSAs and schools to enrich the educational experience and overall well-being for students. Designated Schools of Excellence qualify for consideration of the Phoebe Apperson Hearst Award - a $2,000 grant.
The OVMS PTSA is looking for 4 committed parents, students, teachers, administrators or community members to join our SOE team! This team will work to identify a goal and implement a strategy to improve and promote family-school partnerships. If you are interested in being a part of OVMS’s SOE team, please email falconsptsa@gmail.com.
Join the PTSA!
The number one reason to join the Parent Teacher Student Association is to benefit your child and an opportunity to stay better informed and connected to other parents and the school.
Click HERE to join.
PTSA Reflections
Does your student enjoy the Arts? Help them share their talents by entering the PTA's annual Reflections Art Contest. The 2020-2021 theme is "I Matter Because..." Students may enter original pieces in any of these six categories Dance Choreography, Film Production, Literature, Music Composition, Photography, and Visual Arts.
Students should submit entries ONLINE. The Due Date for ALL entries is October 15, 2020.
The link for our OVMS ONLINE Reflections Program can be found here HERE. Please note, this link will serve OVMS students only!
For those students with limited internet access, a drop off box will be available at school office between 9:30am- 1:00pm from Oct 12 until Oct. 15, 2020. All required paperwork/information on the student, artwork and parent contact will need to be filled in entirely for the entry to be valid.
For questions, please contact Andrea at: reflectionsovms@gmail.com
Future Doctors of America
Falcons, are you interested in learning about more about the medical field, how the human body works and listening to interesting guest speakers? If so, join the Future Doctors of America Club! You can view an informational video about the club here.
OVMS Studios Club
Do you want to learn how to create amazing films and animations? If you do, you should join OVMS Studios, a club at Oak Valley. We will teach you everything from the basics, no experience is required. For more information, view this video. We will also submit the films we create to many contests, including the prestigious iVie festival, which is essentially an Oscars for aspiring filmmakers. Last year our club had tremendous success by getting 3rd in a film competition. We meet weekly via zoom meetings from 3:00-4:30 on Tuesdays. Our first meeting will be on September 29th. This will be more of an informational meeting, and we will discuss what we want to accomplish in the coming year. Sign-up information is in the above video, but you can also sign-up here.
Robotics Club
Hello! Are you looking for a fun, exciting, interesting club within robotics and coding, but don’t know how or where to learn more? The OVMS Robotics club is looking for hardworking, organized, and interested kids to join our team. You don’t need to know robots or coding. An open mind and a will to learn is all you need. If you are interested in joining the club, please complete the interest list on this google form. Send any questions to OVMS robotics president OVMSRobotics@gmail.com or Mr. Cox, club teacher representative. jcox@powayusd.com.
Oak Valley Coding Club
The Oak Valley Coding Club (OVCC) is a club dedicated to learning computer programming. This year all club activities will be entirely online. We plan to meet weekly and learn both basic computer science theory and hands on programming using Python. We are planning to participate in multiple competitions this year including the American Computer Science League (ACSL), USA Computing Olympiad (USACO), and multiple in-club competitions created through HackerRank.
We will have parent coaches, experienced club members, and Del Norte High School students teach classes, organize competitions, and discuss special topics. Some special topics last year included Android game development, connected graphs using Python, and basics of machine learning.
Whether you are already a good programmer, or interested in learning how to code, make games, compete, or just have fun coding, the coding club is for you! If you are interested in joining, signup here. For more information visit our website or contact us at oakvalleycodingclub@gmail.com
Oak Valley Falcon Foundation
Welcome “back” to school, Falcon Families! While school looks different and a little strange for now, we still have the same world-class educators and exceptional students filling our Zooms, Kahoots and FlipGrids. Your Oak Valley Foundation is already working behind the scenes to help fund programming, equipment, training and materials to support all Falcon students and faculty. Did you know Foundation donations funded the shade structures that are part of the new building? We were getting our campus ready for outdoor learning before it was cool! Want to learn more about past and future funding plans? Be sure to follow the Oak Valley Falcon Foundation on Facebook
We need your help funding the budget gaps between what Oak Valley is given for expenses versus what we need to maintain our highest standards in education. Can you help with a donation of $150 or more to fund things like Science class lab consumables that students can use at home? What about $300 to support our Gateway to Technology or Art electives for much needed, non-funded supplies? Make your tax-deductible donation now at www.oakvalleyfalconfoundation.com and help us support learning for all of our Falcons!
The Foundation is run by parent volunteers, and with only three short years at the school, our board is ever-changing. Want a voice in fundraising and spending? We’d love to have you join our board of directors. Contact Foundation President, Darrell Keller, at ovfalconfoundation@gmail.com for more information.
Checkout Library Books
Falcons, the Oak Valley Library is available for you to check out books! You can request books from our in-house library collection to pick up from school on Thursdays and keep at home to read for two weeks before returning them. We will accept requests up until 2:00pm on Wednesdays for the following day.
Click HERE for more information and to submit your request.
Weekly Tech Tip
Every week we will be featuring a Tech Tip to help students and families. This week is all about submitting a Google Doc to Canvas, which is the number one issue students have been reporting.
Having trouble submitting Google docs to Canvas?
Canvas can get confused when students have a personal Gmail account and also their school Gmail account. Many times the reason students can not submit to Canvas is that Canvas is trying to pull documents from their personal account. This issue is complicated by the fact that Google will automatically log you into your personal account every time you open it. So, the solution:
1. Students need to clear their browsing history by clicking on the three dots in the top right of the Chrome browser. Scroll down to "History" and select it. Then click on "Clear Browsing data".
2. Sign out of Google by clicking on their personal icon in the top right corner. They then need to click "sign out".
3. Completely close out of chrome.
4. Restart the computer.
5. When you open Chrome, make sure you are logging in with your school account NOT your personal account. This should direct Canvas to the correct Google account.
PUSD Parenting Academy
Oak Valley Middle School
Email: coyoung@powayusd.com
Website: https://www.powayusd.com/en-US/Schools/MS/OVMS/Home
Location: 16055 Winecreek Road, San Diego, CA, USA
Phone: (858) 487-2939
The Poway Unified School District (PUSD) is an equal opportunity employer/program and is committed to an active Nondiscrimination Program. PUSD prohibits discrimination, harassment, intimidation, and bullying based on actual or perceived race, color, ancestry, national origin, nationality, immigration status, ethnicity, ethnic group identification, age, religion, marital or parental status, physical or mental ability, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or gender expression or association with a person or a group with one or more of these actual or perceived characteristics. For more information, please contact: Title IX/Equity Compliance Officer, James Jimenez, Associate Superintendent of Personnel Support Services, Poway Unified School District, 15250 Avenue of Science, San Diego, CA 92128, 1-858-521-2800, extension 2761, jjimenez@powayusd.com