Oakland Orbit - Family Edition
8.19.22
Dear Oakland Families,
Please see below for some updates from our building and the district. This is where you will find important info throughout the year.
We have successfully blasted off into our new school year and are ready to spend the year in the Oakland Orbit! Have a wonderful weekend ahead!
Sincerely,
Rebecca Adams - Principal
Lindsay Burns - Assistant Principal
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News from the Nurse
All grades: please pack an extra set of clothes in your students' backpacks.
Kindergarten parents: kindergarten state eye exams are due October 15th, if not submitted already.
Kindergarten and 2nd grade parents: state dental forms are due by May 15th, but please submit as soon as they are able, if you haven't already done so.
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D34 and Oakland Orchestra - New and Returning Musicians
Beginning Orchestra
Beginning Orchestra Information (shown in the images below - click the link for live hyperlinks)
Returning Orchestra
Returning Orchestra Student Information (shown in the images below - click the link for live hyperlinks)
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Does your child love to read? We do, too!
Read at Home with the Principals is an opportunity for your family to sign up for a raffle where one family will be chosen per month. The sign up will only come out once (so if you are interested, please sign up now) and from those respondents, names will be chosen to take us through the entire year.
What is Read at Home with the Principals?
Once per month our principals will go to the home of the selected family, a park near your house, or another agreed upon location (like the local library) to read a few stories to a group of students. Families that are chosen can invite other students from the neighborhood or classmates of their kiddos to join in the fun as well!
Families selected from the raffle will be contacted in advance to determine a date that works for your family and for us. The principals will arrive around 4 pm and stay for about 30 minutes sharing stories and laughs!
This is a completely voluntary and optional event that will take place once per month from September to May. Don't worry if your family isn't chosen from the raffle this year, we will have many family events this year at school!
If you would like the chance for your family to be selected for this reading event, please fill out THIS FORM by August 31st.
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Boosters Information
Upcoming Events
Thursday, August 25th
5 - 7 pm @ Oakland
Boosters Meeting
Tuesday, August 30th
6 pm @ Oakland
Booster Booyah (adults only - not affiliated with Oakland Elementary)
Thursday, September 22nd
7 pm @ Anastasia's
Link to Booster's Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/538219846679972/?ref=share
Link to Boosters website:
Oakland Spirit Wear
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Food Service
2022-23 school year Lunch Prices: Student: $2.95 Milk Only: $0.35 Reduced: $0.40
If you need assistance in helping your family with lunch prices, please refer to opportunities for assistance listed below.
Families receiving Free/Reduced Benefits are reminded to re-apply each year. This benefit does not automatically renew. An Income Eligibility Application and a Fee Waiver Form must be filled out to renew your benefits for the current school year.
We will be using Nutrition Bars (salad bar) once again in the lunchroom. There will be 2 fruit & 2 veggie choices for students to choose from at lunch. They must pick 1 or the other but they can take both.
There will also be condiments available to help students flavor their food to their liking.
As a reminder: STUDENTS ARE NOT PERMITTED TO DRINK SODA/POP AT SCHOOL. Please DO NOT send your child with carbonated beverages in their lunches.
August Lunch Menu
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Upcoming Dates
8/25 Boosters Back to School Picnic Event
8/30 Boosters Meeting
9/5 No School
9/12 K-2 Curriculum Night 6-7 pm
9/15 Picture Day!
9/15 3-5 Curriculum Night 6-7pm
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Healthy Snacks
We have updated our approved snack list for the coming year. Please be sure to only send items from the list below with your child for snack:
Teddy Grahams Pretzels Mini Muffins (Peanut free) Cheez It Crackers Goldfish Crackers Whole Grain Pop Tart Whole Grain Rice Krispie Treat Mini Rice Cakes (Peanut Free) Animal Crackers Yogurt Cup, Tube or Squeeze Pouch Applesauce Cup or Squeeze Pouch Welch’s or Mott's Fruit Snacks Fruit Cup or Squeeze Pouch String Cheese Cheese Cubes Raisins Craisins Fresh Fruit Fresh Veggies
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Seeking Volunteers for Doctoral Candidate Research
Subject: Request for Participant Recruitment in Doctoral Research
Dear Families (Parents/Guardians) of District 34,
My name is Rebecca Adams and I am the Principal of Oakland Elementary School in Antioch CCSD 34. I am working on completing my doctoral dissertation for Aurora University. As an educator for the last 20 years, my personal passion has always been how we get families more involved in the school life of their children. As an educator in this district, I am very excited to potentially hear from our own families on methods that can foster more engagement for our families.
Parental / family engagement has long been a topic of interest for schools, namely surrounding how to get more of it to occur, The purpose of my study is to get real data from district families regarding their perceptions, beliefs, and wants in the areas of family engagement in the school life of their child and how schools can use that information to reach our families to the betterment of the students we care for each day. The title of my study is Family Engagement: Maximizing the Impact.
I would love to be able to find out from families in this district how they want to be involved and how to capitalize on your motivations for involvement. I have received permission to recruit District 34 families for participation in this voluntary research.
Please note, this study is in no way affiliated with District 34, the research is my own and the district has graciously allowed me to be able to reach out to you. District 34 is sending this out on my behalf as a courtesy to assist me in reaching and hearing from multiple voices and experiences.
Included in this communication, you will find a link to a survey to determine if criteria is able to be met for the target samples within this research. Not all that fill out this survey will be needed for the research. Should you be selected, I will reach out to you to set up a time where we can meet virtually for approximately 30 minutes of time for an interview. All study participants will be entered into a raffle for the chance to win one of five $25 Amazon gift cards.
Please reach out to me with any questions that you might have. If you consent to being a prospective participant in research that is not affiliated with District 34, please fill out this link: https://auroraedd.iad1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_9WSdk7GhoddaV7M. The information in this survey will provide me with your contact and demographic information to assist in the selection of participants that are from varied backgrounds.
I can be reached via the method listed below. Thank you for the opportunity to partner with you in determining how we can best reach our students’ families.
Sincerely,
Rebecca Adams
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District Level Updates
Human Resources
Technology
iPad Refresh
All K-8 students have been given iPads now that school has started. This iPad will have a district approved case installed on each one that can not be removed due to the warranty on the iPads. Each student will also be given a new apple cord and apple charging brick. These items need to be kept for the entire year and returned with the iPad each year or there will be a replacement fee assessed for these items. If there is an issue with the items working, please contact your building administrator to get a different one as soon as possible.
Self-Service Application
The Technology Department is adding an application to all iPads for the roll out this new school year. The application is called Self-service and allows students to control what is on the home screen of the iPads. This application allows students and staff the ability to install or reinstall apps to the iPad using an established menu of approved apps. The iPads will start with limited applications installed on them but there will be many applications in the self-service library to choose to add if needed. Staff and students will be able to delete apps from the home screen and iPad, but self-service allows the program to be reinstalled easily. More instructions on this application will be discussed with students once school resumes.
Business Office
Information for Meal Service for your student:
Send in money for student lunch
$2.95 paid
$0.40 reduced
milk only $0.35
Cash or check in an envelope with first and last name and teacher name.
Instructions on how to add money by credit card. Click here
Lunch and fee waiver forms are on D34 website under Parent forms. Click here