Osterizer
January 23, 2022
Oster's TK/Kinder Orientaiton this Thursday.
TK/Kindergarten Orientation for the 2022-2023 school year will be this Thursday, January 27 at 6:00 PM. If you have another child who will be joining us next school year, or you have friends or neighbors with incoming TK/kindergarteners please let them know about this event. A link to sign up is on our website and listed below. TK/Kindergarten registration begins February 1, online.
To confirm your attendance, all attendees must pre-register by filling out the Google Form below.
Message From Mrs. Taormina
In the case of an actual lockdown emergency, parents play an essential role in helping us be as prepared as possible. Some of the ways parents can help before an emergency occurs are as follows:
1. Be sure that your child's Health and Student information is accurate and up-to-date. Make sure your list of emergency contacts is updated. Only those people other than the parent, who can take your child from school, should be listed on the student information system. Inform these people that you have listed them as authorized persons to take your child in an emergency.
2. Prepare your child. Let your child know who might be picking them up if you cannot do so. If you work out of the local area, be sure that your child understands that it may take you many hours to reach them. Reassure them that they will be cared for until you arrive. Children who are well-prepared experience less fear.
What should you do as a parent?
- Remain calm because school is one of the safest places for your child to be during an emergency. School personnel will remain with children at all times.
- Do not call the school. If local phones are working, they will be needed for emergency personnel.
- Please do not drive directly to the school. This is especially true when we are in a lockdown situation, but rather check your email for regular updates and communication from either the District or Oster School on student release procedures.
Please take this opportunity to review your family emergency plan with your children. If you do not have a plan in place, there is no time like the present to develop and practice it with your family.
Great Kindness Challenge
Next week the Great Kindness Challenge begins! During this week, the students and staff spread acts of kindness to one another through activities such as posting positive notes, creating posters, or participating in “No one plays alone” during recess. Every year, Oster participates, so be sure to ask your student what acts of kindness they did during the week.
Oster's Silent Auction begins TOMORROW, January 24, through Friday, January 28!
Our annual Silent Auction is here and we need your help to raise funds for Oster! The auction will be fully virtual this year, so you can browse our wide variety of items from the comfort of your home! We have over 50 items donated, including wine tasting, hotel stays, restaurant gift certificates, and more!
The web address for the auction is: https://www.biddingowl.com/OsterHomeandSchoolClub
Here's how to register on the Silent Auction website:
1) Enter the auction's web address into your browser's address field.
2) Click on Register (top right corner) and follow the short registration process. If you have already set up an account, skip this step and use your login information.
3) You will be directed to your email to confirm your registration. Once you have confirmed, sign back in as a bidder and start bidding.
To Place a Bid:
1) Browse the Categories in Oster's auction.
2) Select the item you would like to bid on.
3) Enter the correct Bid Amount into the field provided.
4) Click Bid and Confirm Bid.
To Purchase Your Winning Items:
1) Log in to your Bidder Account to view your Bidder History.
2) Click on the Shopping Cart in the top right corner of the page and follow the short checkout process. Only items that you've WON can be checked out.
You will be notified when to pick up your winning items following the close of the auction. Good Luck!
How do students' excused and unexcused absences affect School funding?
However, if your child is ill or has any symptoms of COVID, please keep them at home until they are symptom-free and test negative. It is important for students to be well to do their best learning and not infect others at school. Those are excused absences, and the loss of funding is unavoidable and understandable.
However, if a family decides to extend their weekend away by a day or two, or take a longer vacation than scheduled by the school, then those absences are unexcused. The school and the district also lose funding for every student every day they have an unexcused absence. With this understanding, please make a concerted effort to make sure that your children are in school every day, barring illness, and to schedule vacations and other "elective absences" around our school calendar.
Remember, there is a cost to the students as well when they miss school. It is important that they be in school to take advantage of the learning opportunities available to them each day. Parents cannot recreate what happens in a classroom at home by doing homework sheets. Aside from illness, the teachers and staff greatly appreciate parents making every effort to have their child in school every day. Thank you!
Reporting Student Absences
Lunch Drop Off Procedure
Sometimes there is a need to drop off lunch for a child at school. Lunches that are dropped off in the office during school hours will be placed on the lunch cart located outside the office. The cart is placed just outside the office at lunchtime, and the students can retrieve the lunch from the cart. Please go over this procedure with your child and let them know to check the cart for their snack or lunch.
Oster Yearbook Information
If you haven't already ordered your Oster Yearbook, please consider ordering now to ensure you get a copy. We have to give our final count to the printer on February 1, and we plan to order a very limited amount of extra copies.
Yearbooks are available to order for $30 each. You can purchase online through Balfour at: http://bit.ly/OsterYB
Schoolhouse Rock Live!
3rd-5th graders - There is still time to register for our in-person production of Schoolhouse Rock! Join your friends for a guaranteed fun time with this humorous musical theater production. No experience necessary--just enthusiasm. Rehearsal starts Wednesday, February 2 after school.
For more details visit: https://www.startingarts.com/events/spring-22-oster-shr/
January Science Quiz
The quiz opens on Monday, January 24. Topics are Matter and Geometric Shapes. Visit the HSC home page for more info: https://osterhsc.membershiptoolkit.com/home
Mark Your Calendars!
1/27 TK/Kindergarten Parent Orientation Night @ 6:00 pm via zoom
1/28 Run Hide Defend School Drill
2/1 Registration for 2020-21 School Year Begins
2/2 Global Play Day
2/7 USD Board Meeting @ 6:00
2/9 HSC Meeting @ 6:00
2/14 Valentine's Day
2/21-2/25 Presidents WEek observed: No School
USD COVID Dashboard
Although COVID notifications are on hold until February 11th the District will continue to maintain a Dashboard of COVID-19 positive cases through the rest of the 2021-22 school year. The dashboard includes a weekly case count of students and staff by school site. To receive an update on Oster's weekly reported cases, please click on the link below.
The District dashboard is published each Friday at 5 pm and can be located on USD's COVID-19 Information page at https://www.unionsd.org/about/covid-19-response#h.m61isujeu3an
County of Santa Clara Offering Limited Free At-Home COVID-19 Antigen Tests for Families
Those who live, work, or attend school (students included) in Santa Clara County can sign up online, then pick up test from one of four distribution sites.
The County of Santa Clara is offering a limited number of free at-home COVID-19 antigen tests to those who live, work, or attend school in the county, with four distribution locations opening on an appointment basis starting this Saturday, January 22, 2022.
The County recommends that the antigen tests be used for those who have symptoms of COVID-19 or to end isolation or quarantine periods early for those who have tested positive, or for those who have been exposed to a person with COVID-19 (when a more-sensitive PCR test is not available).
Those who live, work, or attend school in the county may sign up through www.sccfreetest.org to obtain four at-home tests. Those able to secure an appointment may choose from one of the distribution locations for pick up at a chosen time, with the first slots available this Saturday.
Each individual will be assigned a unique QR code which must be displayed to receive the tests. Tests are not available on a drop-in basis without an appointment.
Sign-ups are done through the same www.sccfreetest.org portal used for County clinic testing, and scheduling began earlier today, with a limit of one appointment per person. Each person will receive four iHealth COVID-19 Antigen Rapid Tests. Pick-up sites are designed for drive-through operation; however, individuals can also arrive without a vehicle and get the tests so long as they have an appointment.
Grapefruit COVID Testing
The Community testing hubs will be open on Monday, January 17th from 7am to 7pm.
Click here for the times and walk-in/appointment options for Dartmouth MS.
Click here for the times and walk-in/appointment options for Union MS.
Please understand that if you use the testing Hub, due to demand, the lines have been longer than usual, as is the case at many local testing sites.
In addition to the testing Hubs weekly Covid testing will continue in 2022 during the school day as an additional measure for our students and staff. USD is still committed to providing this additional support during the school day and if you would like to sign up your child for weekly no-cost COVID PCR testing through Grapefruit click the link below to sign up. Oster's testing day is every Friday.
If you would like your child to receive free weekly COVID testing at Oster please fill out the form below.
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OSTER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Website: https://oster.unionsd.org/
Location: 1855 Lencar Way, San Jose, CA, USA
Phone: (408)266-8121
Twitter: @OsterElementary