Happy February, Oakland Families,
It’s hard to believe we are starting our sixth month of school, celebrating our 100th day this week. What an amazing accomplishment for everyone. I’m looking forward to this month with plenty of excitement, learning, and fun scheduled for your children and families. Make sure to come and participate with other students and families at our February events. What a great way to support your child’s social learning and connect with other families and friends to share parenting highs and lows. We can all learn better together. Check out the calendar to see what we have this month and watch our social media posts to know what is going on around Oakland.
Home Life notes
Here are some thoughts and ideas for home life hacks for a conversation with your children about what they can do each day at school.
1. Be a leader.
Tell them that leaders go first, set examples for others, and help when needed. Leaders lead with their actions, and sometimes, they use words. Good leaders do the right thing when no one is watching.
2. Be kind.
Being kind is doing and saying the right thing even if it means you get nothing. Kindness is more important than good grades. Grades are important and have tremendous value, but a child’s character is even more important.
3. Get back up.
Your kids are going to fail—they are going to fall at some point. Tell them that no matter what happens, we always get back up and try again. When they miss the shot, get back up. When they fail the quiz, get back up.
4. Be respectful.
Tell them to respect three things every day. Give respect to adults at school because they have authority and are in charge. Respect your peers in the way that you want to be respected. Respect the facility because we always leave places better than we found them.
5. Be an encourager.
Challenge your kids to use their words wisely. Ask them, “Do your words encourage others or tear them down?” Help them find ways to be an encourager each day by asking them who they can encourage today. Like kindness, this forces your kids to think past the surface of others and see the best in them. When they see the best, tell them to say it and to be an encourager.

It’s still cold outside: Make sure to wear your winter coat, hat and gloves. We do go outside for recess if the temperature is 20 degrees or above. We have extra coats, hats and gloves at Oakland for anyone who needs them, just ask.

JUST A FEW REMINDERS:

• *Dental Exams for Kindergarteners and 2nd graders are due May 15th. Please turn them in as soon as possible or contact the school nurse for a waiver.

• *5th grade Parents: It is not too early to schedule your 6th grade physical exam and immunizations for BJHS.

• Health Fair @ Oakland School. Mark your calendars for Thursday, March 2nd, from 6-7:30pm. Students and families are welcome to come for an evening filled with fun activities focusing on wellness and learning about healthy choices.

• Students who have a fever of 100 degrees or above, diarrhea, vomiting, rash or illness, should not attend school that day. They should be free of the illness or condition for 24 hours before returning to school.

If you have any questions please feel free to call or email me: Nurse Colleen @ 309-662-4302 or spaniolc@district87.org

Student Council will be selling Candy Grams to benefit the American Heart Association during the week of February 6-10! Each Candy Gram is $1.00. A note about how to purchase Candy Grams for your Oakland friends will come home with students soon.

• All student absences should be reported to the office by 9:30am on the day of the student's absence. The phone number for the school is (309)662-4302. State law requires schools and parents to attempt to contact each other when a child is absent. Please assist us by calling first. You can also report a student absence by sending an email to oaklandattendance@district87.org
  
• For students that are tardy or leaving early, the student sign-in/sign-out slips are now located in the office- See Mrs. Immke.
• If it is after 9:00, DO NOT let your child out of the car at side circle. Pull around to the front of the school to sign your child in.