Roadrunner Report
Oakland Elementary News: August 18, 2023.
Special Message on School Attendance
The start of the new school year will soon be here. I hope that during summer recess all of our Oakland families had a chance to bond and reflect and feel refreshed and ready to join us back in the classroom. We are all excited to have the kids back in school and ready to have the best year ever at Oakland.
One of our goals this year is to increase our communication and strengthen partnerships with families in a variety of ways. This special edition Roadrunner Report is meant to open the conversation specifically about the partnership we have in creating a positive school experience for kids and maximizing their time in school learning. There are and always will be times when it is important for sick/contagious kids to stay home from school. The purpose of this message is not to pressure families to send kids to school when they are clearly unwell, it is to help set up healthy boundaries and expectations for attendance. For obvious public health reasons during our return-to-learning phase of the pandemic we suspended all school truancy referrals and were very careful with any messaging regarding attendance. Now that we have a much better public health outlook, we hope that increased communication and collaboration will help attendance rates return to what was considered normal before 2020.
First, I’d like to briefly share with you the research which is clear. Students who miss 10 percent (approximately 1 day absent every two weeks) or more of school days for any reason, excused or unexcused are considered chronically absent. When students fit this criteria they are much more likely to struggle to be on grade level for reading in early years, experience academic frustration and confusion in middle school, and have difficulty staying on track to graduate in high school. Kids who chronically miss school or are often late to school not only miss out on opportunities to learn and grow academically, they also often have increased social anxiety and feel disconnected from their peers. Data shows that this is true for all students no matter their gender, race, or socio-economic status.
I would like attendance to be an ongoing conversation/collaboration that is revisited throughout the school year. I would like the emphasis to be on how we can support you in helping to make sure that attendance does not become a barrier in your kid's learning. The beginning of the school year is a fresh start and an opportunity to get off on the right foot. Here are a few reminders of ways that parents/caregivers can help.
Establish and follow a schedule. This may include but is not limited to establishing a specific bedtime, wake time, and screen time limitations. It may be good to start kids on a school schedule a week before school starts.
Talk to your students and stress to them how important it is for them to be in school. Not just for academic learning. Every day is an opportunity for them to interact with kids their age and develop appropriate social skills.
Exhaust all options and make great efforts as a parent/caregiver to get your kids to school(on-time). In the past several years we have seen a huge increase in absences/tardies that are a result of inconvenience.
Plan family vacations during school vacations.
Here are a few links for general information regarding attendance:
https://www.attendanceworks.org/chronic-absence/the-problem/10-facts-about-school-attendance/
https://www.athlosutah.org/attendance-matters-the-impact-of-tardiness-on-student-success/
Links with suggestions regarding establishing routines:
https://childmind.org/article/helping-kids-back-school-routine/
A Very Special announcement:
Hello! My name is Dan Lopez and I will be your PTA President for the school year 2023-2024. I am excited to work with our excellent PTA Board and members to coordinate and host many of our upcoming events and activities. If you have not already done so, I highly encourage you to become a PTA member (see https://www.oaklandpta.org/ for more info) and follow us on FaceBook. We will be communicating the most up-to-date information primarily via email to our members and on our FB page.
Next Saturday, Aug. 26rd at 5:00p, the district will be holding its annual "Get Connected" event at Royal Oak Middle School. This is a great opportunity to get together with other students and families from all over the district! The event will feature free ice cream, face painting, games, and other activities! The Oakland PTA will also be on site signing up PTA members. Please stop by and say hello!
I look forward to a great school year, and Go Roadrunners!
-Dan Lopez
Oakland PTA President
Class Placements Available in Mistar
Reminders:
New Additions to our team:
Mrs. Molly McCarthy - New Kindergarten Teacher
Mrs. Stephanie McDowell - New Second Grade Teacher
Mr. Andrew Opferman - New Third Grade Teacher
Mrs. Deanna Murray - New Physical Education Teacher
Mrs. Jessica Stickel - New Title 1 Intervention Teacher
Mrs. Vikki Kasperek - New Teacher of Students with Autism
August 22nd from 4-5PM Developmental Kindergarten & Kindergarten Meet and Greet
Oakland Spirit Wear:
Oakland PTA
School Supplies
ARRIVAL & DISMISSAL
It is extremely important that all drivers in the school drop-off/pick-up areas and surrounding streets be particularly cautious and mindful of the children and adult pedestrians. The safety of our entire community depends on everyone's commitment to safety at arrival and dismissal times every day.
* There is construction in the school vicinity. We will know more about the exact state of those projects in the next couple of weeks. Please plan accordingly and check future updates for any temporary adjustment to drop-off and pick-up locations.
Oakland Elementary important start and end times:
8:20 a.m. first bell; doors open; students admitted to building
8:25 a.m. second bell; morning session begins
3:30 p.m. afternoon dismissal
12:05 p.m. half day dismissal
Late Start Wednesdays Times:
9:20 a.m. first bell; doors open; students admitted to building
9:25 a.m. second bell; morning session begins
3:30 p.m. afternoon dismissalDrop Off Locations:
Mrs. Robinson- Door #11 Kalama Loop
Mrs. Kasperek- Door #1 Hudson
Ms. Fitzpatrick- Door #4 Brockton
Mrs. McCarthy- Door #4 Brockton
Mrs. Whaley- Door #4 Brockton
Mrs. Mentag- Door #7 Brockton
Mrs. Ross- Door #10 Kalama Loop
Ms. Kearns- Door #8 Kalama Loop
Mrs. McDowell- Door #9 Kalama Loop
Mr. Opferman- Door #19 Hudson
Ms. Parra- Door #17 Kalama Loop
Ms. Hopp- Door #21 Hudson
Ms. Yaw- Door #21 Hudson
Ms. Elson- Door #22 Hudson
Mrs. Degnore- Door #18 Kalama Loop
Young Oaks- Door #13 Kalama Loop2023-2024 Breakfast and Lunch:
Thanks to the Michigan School Meals Program every student can receive a free breakfast and lunch each day for the 2023-2024 school year. We will continue to ask students to pre-order lunch one day ahead. This helps avoid shortages and allows us to supply all students with suitable lunches. Lunch will be offered the first day of school with no pre-ordering. To access menus and other information pertaining to the lunch program please see the Food Services on the Royal Oak Schools website.
Important Note: Although all students can receive one lunch and one breakfast at no cost, it is still vital that eligible families fill out a free & reduced meal application or do so in the MISTAR Parent Portal. There are several academic and non-academic services provided at Oakland through grant funding that is based on accurate calculation of students who qualify for free or reduced meals.
Jason Taylor
Email: jason.taylor@royaloakschools.org
Website: https://www.royaloakschools.org/elementary/oakland/
Location: 2415 Brockton Avenue, Royal Oak, MI, USA
Phone: (248)542-4406
Twitter: @OaklandMrT