Osterizer
January 30, 2022
Great Kindness Challenge and 100th Day Celebrations at Oster
Thursday was a blast as both the 100th day and the Great Kindness Challenge merged. Thank you Oster cougars for showing us what it means to be kind. Here are just a few highlights from the week. Go Cougars!
Update of COVID Testing Procedures at Oster
In our continued effort to provide our families with up-to-date information, the district wanted to reach out to share a change to our on-site testing process. Late Thursday night, the district received a communication from Grapefruit Health that there will be an ongoing change in the school-based testing process.
Grapefruit Health will be immediately shifting to nasal-only swabs. The change in process is effective today as per FDA regulations. Technicians on-site will be there to assist any students for whom oral swabbing has been the norm. If at any time you would like to opt-out of weekly on-campus testing, a parent or guardian can email OptOut@GrapefruitTesting.com and withdraw consent.
We apologize for the short notice but wanted to ensure you had this information moving forward as this shift in practice is outside of our control.
We continue to encourage all families to test weekly though on-campus testing continues to be optional. If you would like to opt your student into weekly testing at school, you can fill out the health consent form here.
If you have any questions regarding testing protocol, you can contact Grapefruit directly at admin@grapefruittesting.com.
Thank you for your continued partnership as we work together in support of health and safety for everyone in Union School District.
Homework request - Student absent
If your child will be out of school for COVID-related issues and you would like to request work from the teacher, please email the teacher directly. Once you request the work, please know it will take the teacher a day or two to gather all of the school work before they can get it to you. We appreciate your patience and understanding as the teachers and staff are all working very hard to meet every student's needs.
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/
Mark Your Calendars!
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.
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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