Tiger Tales
Our Newsletter for Families of Oakdale Elementary 7-26-21
Mrs. Houde & daughter (Charley)
Mrs. Houde's husband (Rick) and daughter (Charley)
Mrs. Houde's son (Cortlin)
Greetings Oakdale Families,
I hope your much needed summer break has been fun and relaxing so far. I was lucky enough to take a few days off last week to go up to the North Shore. It was nice to enjoy the beauty of nature and spend time with my children...who are both growing up WAY too fast!!!!
For those of you who I have not had the pleasure of meeting yet, I wanted to share a little about myself. I grew up in Eau Claire, WI (so yes...I am a Packers Fan) and moved to Minnesota when I attended college. Before coming to Oakdale Elementary, I taught kindergarten for 7 years at Dugsi Academy in St. Paul and coached gymnastics for 15 years. Oakdale has now been my “home” for the last 10 years and I have found it to have a "family feel". I started my career at Oakdale as a kindergarten teacher before moving into the role of Instructional Coach. As an Instructional Coach I was able to mentor teachers, lead professional development in the building and across ISD622, support curriculum development and work on many district level committees and projects. At the same time, I studied at Hamline University to complete my K-12 Administrative Licensure. My course work included completing my elementary admin hours working with Mrs. Buhl right here at Oakdale Elementary.
I currently live in Forest Lake, MN with my husband, Rick and two children - Charley, 5 and Cortlin, 3 1/2. (I do have quite a long commute...but I feel it is worth it to work with such an amazing group of students, staff and families!!!) Charley will be entering kindergarten this fall, so I can definitely relate to all of you who will have an incoming kindergartener. For my family, as with many of yours, last year was difficult and stressful at times due to social distancing, quarantines, working from home and worrying about the health of high-risk family members. That being said, as a family we had many things to be grateful for too. My children have become very close after spending so much time together, we created LOTS of family art projects and now we appreciate every moment with friends and relatives on a deeper level than before COVID.
As a school, I believe Oakdale also has a lot to celebrate as we reflect on last year. Just think about how much we have all grown our technology skills in such a short period of time. WOW!!! We also learned to be more flexible, creative, resilient and gracious as we navigated through a variety of learning models. I know many of you have questions around what the next school year will look like in terms of masks and other school procedures. We will strive to share out any updates with families as soon as they becomes available to avoid any confusion, frustration and/or unneeded stress. We are currently working to update our school website to ensure all information for the upcoming school year is accurate.
Below you will find our school supply list. Please "Save the Date" for Thursday, August 26th from 5:00 - 7:00 for Oakdale's Back to School Open House. We will share more information about this event and the upcoming school year soon. In the meantime, please feel free to reach out to me at anytime this summer if you have any questions or concerns about the upcoming school year.
I would like to close by sharing how truly honored I am to have been given the opportunity to support and lead this amazing school community during the 2021-22 school year. There is no place I would rather be than with all of you - my Oakdale Family!!! I hope each of you continues to have fun and stay safe this summer and I look forward to collaborating with you to ensure the 21-22 school year is GRRReat!!!
Together,
Melissa Houde
Interim Principal (School year 2021-2022)
Oakdale Elementary
651-702-8510
651-702-8591 (fax)
Oakdale Elementary School Website
Important information for the start of the school
School Hours
Oakdale school hours are 8:50 - 3:20.
First Day of School
Students in grades 1-5 begin class on Monday, August 30th. Kindergarten students start school on Tuesday, August 31st.
Riding the Bus
District 622 will have bus route information on the District website (www.isd622.org) by mid August. You may call (651) 621-1980 if you have questions related to transportation. Your child should meet the bus at the stop close to your home. If your child rides the bus, we suggest your child rides the bus on the first morning of school-this will minimize confusion. We also strongly encourage students that have bus transportation to use the bus as our family drop off and pick up line can be long.
School Supply lists
Oakdale's Little Library
Oakdale's Back to School Open House
More information to come later this summer!
Free Meal Program continues
Our Free Meal Program for students continues at Tartan High School and North High School. Please refer to the table located online at www.isd622.org/freemealprogram for pick-up hours. Check back for any changes that may occur week to week.
Contacts for Oakdale Families
Important School Numbers
Main Number: 651-702-8500
Office Coordinator: 651-702-8501 - hmolitoris@isd622.org
Principal: 651-702-8510 - mhoude@isd622.org
Attendance: 651-702-8502 -
Social Worker: jkula@isd622.org
Important District Numbers
COVID line: 651-748-7500
Technology Support: 651-748-7494
Community Resources
Free meal program --
Go to www.isd622.org/freemealprogram for more info.
Adventure Connection
Registration is open for before and afterschool care