Weekly Family Update #25
February 7, 2021
Principal's Message
Hello Falcon Families,
This past week was National School Counseling Week. I cannot thank our counselors enough for their hard work and dedication to our students. Ms. Bohn, Mrs. Stromberg, Mr. Tahapary, and Mr. Lightner work tirelessly to ensure that students are meeting their academic and personal goals and also provide emotional support for our Falcons. I am grateful for their work.
Congratulations to our PTSA sponsored January Character Counts Breakfast of Champions winners. I really enjoy cruising around 92127 passing out awards and yard signs. It is my favorite time of the month! I love meeting families and seeing those happy smiling Falcons!
Huge shout out to our 7th grade Science Team! They put together over 500 individual Mystery Substance Lab kits last week that will be coming home to our Falcons for some science in your kitchens. It is going to be a great opportunity for our kids to get their hands on some real tangible science. Our entire science department is working on more of these type of opportunities and our Falcon Foundation has committed funding to help pay for all of the supplies. Our 8th grade team has five different take home labs they are building right now!! Thank you to our staff and Foundation for making science come alive for our Falcons.
Don’t forget, due to the holidays next week, this week is a little odd. There is no asynchronous Friday this week. Friday 2/12 will be an odd period plus connections schedule, just like a typical Monday. Here is the schedule for the next two weeks:
Mon. 2/8: 1,3, Connections, 7
Tues. 2/9: 2,4, Office Hours, 8
Wed. 2/10: 1,3, Office Hours, 7
Thur. 2/11: 2,4, Connections, 8
Fri: 2/12: 1,3, Connections, 7
Mon. 2/15: Holiday, No School
Tues. 2/16: 2,4, Office Hours, 8
Wed. 2/17: 1,3, Office Hours, 7
Thur. 2/18: 2,4, Connections, 8
Fri: 2/19: Holiday, No School
Thanks for all you do for our Oak Valley Community! Go Falcons!
Beaming with Falcon Pride,
Mr. Young
Colin Young
Principal
Oak Valley Middle School
PTSA Breakfast of Champions
Congratulations to our Breakfast of Champions winners for the month of January. Each month we highlight one of the 6 Character Counts! pillars; staff selects two students each year who embody those characteristics. Mr. Young delivered a certificate, yard sign, and a little breakfast treat to each winner.
Thank to the PTSA for sponsoring this event each year!!
Congratulations to all of our winners for the month of Respect!
Tyler B
Maxwell A
Miranda A
Connor C
Annalise D
Anya D
Chris Angelo F
Pradyun G
Kushi G
Eliza H
Tanya J
Reagan K
Audrey L
Alana L
Noah N
Tanay P
Tanisha P
Hithin P
Ezra R
Alex R
Isabelle R
Lilah S
Congratulations to our Spelling Bee Winner!
Thank you and a job well done goes out to all 100 students who participated in this year's Spelling Bee.
This year's runner-up is 6th grader, Jacob W.
A BIG CONGRSTULATIONS goes out to our 2021 OVMS Spelling Bee Champion, 8th grader, Junnie N. Junnie will be moving on to represent our school in The San Diego Union-Tribune Countywide Spelling Bee on March 17.
We wish her luck from the entire Falcon Family!
New Information
National School Counseling Week
OVMS PSTA and ASB Celebrate the Lunar New Year
Falcon Families, please join our PTSA and ASB as we celebrate the Lunar New Year. Our goal is to create cultural awareness and promote diversity at OVMS and the 4S community. Please see the flyers below for your chance to participate in the fun!
We are hosting a Chinese Culture knowledge challenge with lots of prizes for participants. We are also hosting a dine out fundraiser at Spicy House in CMR for the next 3 weeks!! Make sure to mention Oak Valley when you order.
Thank you to our PTSA and ASB for putting together this activity for all our Falcon Families.
Celebrate African American History Month
This week I encourage all families to check out the website for the National Museum of African American History and Culture which is located in Washington D.C. and is part of the Smithsonian Institute. There are virtual tours, heritage resources, and live lectures! You can find the link HERE.
Join us as we learn about, champion, and celebrate, what makes us uniquely different as individuals and what binds us together as one Falcon Family. This is what makes us exceptional Falcons.
Shortened February Break
NEW! Attention 8th Graders: Preparation for High School
Soon our 8th Grade Families will begin to think about the transition to High School. If you will be attending a high school in PUSD, there will be a newsletter coming out with information on all of the virtual family nights and student presentations. Information will include times and virtual links. All student presentations will be held the week of March 15th. Students will hear about their future high school and receive information on how to start selecting their courses.
For families that are placing a transfer request, your student would need to attend the high school presentation of the high school that they are slated to attend, not the one they are choosing to transfer to. When they select their courses within synergy, they will need the high school codes for the school they are slated to attend (home location). Don’t worry, all virtual presentations will be recorded and accessible on the high school websites.
Student Presentations
Week of March 15th
Family Presentations:
Mt Carmel High School: March 2nd
Westview High School: March 9th
Poway High School: March 16th
Rancho Bernardo High School: March 16th
Del Norte High School: March 23rd
Caring Connections Counseling (CCC)
Continuing Information
Intradistrict Transfers
For students who live in another school district and would like to attend a PUSD school, PUSD will accept Interdistrict Attendance Permit requests for the 2021-2022 school year starting February 1, 2021. Please note that the document must first be signed by your district of residence before it is submitted to PUSD.
Decisions on transfers are made by the Student Attendance and Discipline Office, not Oak Valley Middle School staff.
PTSA Art Corps - Volunteers Needed!
We hope to offer three lessons per class over that time period, so we hope to have several volunteers in each class. You do not need to have an art background. Art Corps lessons are being modified to be delivered via distance learning, and we plan on a brief orientation (virtual) as soon as we collect the names of all interested parent volunteers and finalize the modified program details. Please sign up if you are interested in learning more: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090C45AEAB2FA7FB6-ovms7
Order Your Yearbook!
You may have asked yourself, “Is yearbook still happening this year?” Yes it is! There’s never been a more interesting year to document than 2020-2021. Make sure you reserve a copy today! Online payment plans are available. And thanks for your help in contributing photos, captions and stories along the way.
Last day to order personalization is January 29, 2021!
(Please be sure you select Oak Valley Middle School in San Diego).
8th Grade Dedications Close Soon!
8th grade dedication ad sales are coming to a close. These dedications go in the back of the yearbook and can be any size from 1/8th of a page to a full page.
The deadline to submit is Friday February 5th. For directions and more information, please visit the Oak Valley website and click on the orange box that says "Buy your 8th grade dedication here" to complete the order!
If you have questions, you can contact the yearbook advisor Rhea
Dawn Smith at rdsmith@powayusd.com.
Asynchronous Fridays
Asynchronous Fridays are a day for students to work independently and for teachers to have time to prep, grade and collaborate as seen in the details presented at the last Board Meeting (bulleted below) as well as work with students needing support. This is still a work in progress and staff will continue the conversation to adjust as we move forward.
For Students:
· Review and preview work from the week to deepen learning
· Review feedback and complete corrections
· Independent learning time
· Reduce screen time
· Additional support time with peers and staff
For Teachers:
· Provide timely feedback to students; including grades
· Review assessments and plan based on student needs
· Complete required COVID attendance tracking
· Collaboration
· Professional learning
· Office hours to provide support to individual student
New Weekly Bell Schedule and Monthly Calendar
Our new weekly schedule started after Winter Break. This schedule should be much simpler and easier to follow for students.
Please see the attached weekly bell schedule HERE and below.
There is also a new monthly calendar attached HERE and below. We will follow this same weekly schedule pattern for the reminder of the year, unless the School Board changes our current school model, with the exception of a few weeks where we have to adjust for holidays. Please look at both of these documents closely.
Continuing Reopening Information
Parent Academy
Oak Valley Middle School
Email: coyoung@powayusd.com
Location: 16055 Winecreek Road, San Diego, CA, USA
Phone: (858) 487-2939