Oak Hills Newsletter
Week of August 29, 2022
Message from the Principal
Dear Oak Hills Families,
We hope you and your families had a restful and enjoyable summer! Today, we welcome teachers and staff back to kick off the 2022-2023 school year. Every year, we experience a lot of emotions ranging from excitement, hope, and just like our students, butterflies too! This week during professional development, we will reflect on our work last year, collaborate about our mission and goals, and prepare to welcome students to all our learning spaces. It is so important for us to be thoughtful and make plans on how to support each and every student.
By 4pm today (Monday), your family will receive information on your student's class assignment via ParentSquare. Teachers will be sending you a welcome letter and details specific to their class and important dates and events to note in September. Our enrollment continues to change and fluctuate every few days with new students enrolling and withdrawing for varied reasons. Across the district, enrollment is down. At Oak Hills, enrollment is slightly lower than projections given by the district in late spring. We always hope for stability in our staffing. I will keep families posted if there are major changes in staffing.
If you do not have access to ParentSquare, please contact our school office at (503) 356-2410 from 7:30am-4:00pm Monday-Friday.
We look forward to connecting with you at the Supply Drop Off and Meet Your Teacher outdoor event on Thursday, September 1st from 2:30-3:30pm. Students will walk up to their teacher's classroom window and deliver the supplies. There will be signage around the campus to guide you to the right classroom space.
Most of the future school-sponsored events will be held inside the school. We are very excited to welcome all families back into Oak Hills.
Mark your calendars: Back to School Night will be on Thursday, September 15th. Families will be able to visit the inside of the school, meet teachers and staff, and visit your student's classroom(s). Details including time will be finalized soon. Stay tuned.
We look forward to welcoming all our students back to school! As always, we look forward to your partnership.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Do
Thao Do-Gwilliam
Important Dates--Mark Your Calendars
Thursday, September 1: Supply Drop Off/Meet and Greet Staff 2:30-3:30pm (outdoor event)
Tuesday, September 6: First day of school; Grades 1-5
Tuesday, September 6: Oak Hills Kindergarten Meet & Greet (by appointment only); No school for kindergarten students
Wednesday, September 7: Oak Hills Kindergarten Meet & Greet (by appointment only); No school for kindergarten students
Thursday, September 8: First Day for Kinders last names A-L only
Friday, September 9: First Day for Kinders last names M-Z only
Monday, September 12th: First day of school for all kindergarten students
Thursday, September 15: Vision Screening (More details to follow)
Thursday, September 15: Back to School Night (Evening in-person event) Time: TBD
Wednesday, September 21: PTO meeting 7pm (in-person and zoom option available)
Thursday, September 28 Picture Day
Friday, October 14 NO SCHOOL--Staff Development Workday
School Beautification Day--THANK YOU!
We had students, families, neighbors, and staff here on Saturday to beautify our school campus. Thank you to everyone who coordinated the event and to all who showed up with tools, bark mulch, flowers, helping hands, and donuts!
The front looks beautiful, and the back of the campus near portables and the playground are pristine. Students and staff will appreciate the care.
Kindergarten News---Newsletter has updates!
Arrival/Dismissal Procedures and Transportation
Student Drop Off
Our school doors will be open at 7:45am for students to access breakfast or report to supervised "morning mix" areas until 8am. Students may enter in three ways: through the front doors of the school (car drop off), the rear breezeway doors nearest to the portable classrooms (walkers or bike riders), or through the bus doors (school bus riders). Each of these three entrances will be supervised by Oak Hills staff until the start of the school day. Our entrance under the small covered area (near the playground) and the doors to our first-grade classrooms will no longer serve as arrival or dismissal doors. Please use either the front door or rear breezeway door as an alternative route.
Dismissal for Walkers and Bikers
All walkers and bikers will dismiss from the rear of the building, near the breezeway doors. Walkers and bikers from kindergarten, third grade, and fourth grade will exit from the breezeway doors. Walkers and bikers from our first grade, second grade, and fifth grade classrooms will use the large covered area, near the rear breezeway, as a central departure space. If your child arrives to school before 8am, they will need to remain indoors, in their assigned grade level “morning mix” area, unless they are eating breakfast in the cafeteria.
Student Car Pick Up
All Oak Hills families will receive a Driveline car pick up number. Even if your family does not plan on using car pick-up regularly, we want to make sure you are assigned a number and are prepared in the event that you do.
We will distribute family car pick up numbers for Driveline at the Meet & Greet/Supply Drop off event on Thursday (9/1) from 2:30-3:30pm. If you are unable to make it, we will send it via mail on Friday. We highly recommend biking or walk routes if at all possible to avoid backlog of traffic in the neighborhood. It will be important that your daily transportation plan remains consistent from day to day. Please communicate your child’s dismissal plan prior to the first day of school.
Our parking lot is a busy place during arrival and dismissal times. When you arrive, we ask that you make a single line as you enter the parking lot. Have your Driveline number displayed on your dash or in your passenger side window. A staff member will enter this number, which will signal your child’s teacher that you have arrived. Please pull all of the way forward and remain at the wheel. Staff members will help direct students to their correct vehicle. All students must enter cars through the passenger side doors. For our youngest learners, this may mean that extra seat belt buckling practice would be helpful in the coming week.
Efficiency in loading will ensure a safe and speedy dismissal for all. We appreciate your ongoing partnership!
Bus Information
Elementary students who live more than one mile from school are eligible for bus service. Your child’s information is automatically sent to the Transportation Department when you enroll at your school. If the student is eligible for bus service, they will automatically be assigned a bus route. You will receive an email in late August with your student's routing information. Also included will be instructions for accessing E-Link to find bus stop location, pickup and drop off times. Due to the smaller number of students, after-school routes are more generic in nature and are generated to serve a larger area of the District. For this reason, a student’s regular route stop may be closer to their home than the corresponding after-school route stop.
Each BSD bus has the route number displayed next to the front door on the passenger side and under the driver’s window on the driver’s side with white numbers on a black background. Your student's routing information includes the bus route number.
School buses can become delayed due to unpredictable traffic conditions. A traffic snarl, traffic accident or a longer-than-scheduled loading at a previous bus stop can easily throw your bus 10-15 minutes off schedule. Please arrive a few minutes early to your child’s bus stop. If your child’s bus is running late, please allow at least 15 minutes before calling Dispatch at 503-356-4200.
https://www.beaverton.k12.or.us/departments/transportation/bus-routes
Meet our Oak Hills 2022-2023 Staff
1: Rachel Brock, Ann Marie Caplan, Krisi Guerra, Polly Selby
2 : Wendy Evans, BrieAnne Perrigan, Brie Rennie, Keely Rios3 : Ben Porter, Taylor Thompson, Kirsten Yamada,
4: Maggie Nice, Michael Gelling, Margaret Willis
5 : Jim Clarkson, Rylan Lester, Laura Manning,ALC: Colleen Seitz, Lori Therrien
Music: Evelyn Boling, Sally Wall
PE: Ryan Herd, Mike Vanoudenhaegen
Resource: Emily Dignan, Ashley Smith
ELD: Alicia Bermudez
Assistant Principal: Erika Hansen
Counselor: Shelly Ray
Student Success Coach: Karen McCarty
Academic Coaches: Toni Fisher, Pamela VenableSpeech/Language: Ashley Purser
School Psychologist: Andrew Sickler
Social Worker: Kaylin Noblin
Front office: Marylou Hosack, Dawn Marie Powers, Rhonda Michael (Health Assistant)
School nurse: Heather O'Leary, Kris Cribbins (Nurse Assistant)
Custodians: Diane Persuad, Eric Snider
Nutrition Services: Char Foss, Brenda Glenn
Para Educators: Jill Erickson, Heather Kahnert, Chris Kirnak, Teresa Laakso, Andrea Miller,
Kathy Moshinsky, Kris Nicholson, Julie Roach, Ingalill Shead, Nicole Smith
Library/Media: Leilani Larsen
Tech Support: Pete Sinclair
Tech IA: Anna Vallee
Please give a warm welcome to our new staff:
Kris Cribbins (Nurse Assistant), Emily Dignan (Resource), Korina Grover (Kindergarten), Heather O'Leary (Nurse), Kaylin Noblin (Social Worker), Ashley Smith (Resource),
Dawn Marie Powers (Principal's Secretary/Office Manager), Sally Wall (Music)
Oak Hills COVID Updates
As we move into the coming school year, we continue to work closely with Washington County, using their guidelines and protocols to ensure the safety of our students and staff. During times of high transmission, we will communicate with our school community so you remain informed. You may choose to send your child to school with a mask or without. We will have a separate isolation room to care for students exhibiting symptoms of Covid-19, minimizing the risk of exposure to classmates who may be accessing the health room for an ice pack. In the event that we reach levels of higher transmission, we will also look closely as large-scale events to determine if an outdoor setting, mask recommendations, distancing reminders, etc. would be more appropriate.
We will need your continued partnership throughout the coming year. Please pay close attention to possible symptoms of Covid-19. Communicate with the school office if your child will remain at home due to illness with any Covid-19 related symptoms or if your child tests positive. We appreciate your shared concern for the health and well-being of our students and staff.
Apply for Free/Reduced Price Meal Benefits
District message: Please consider applying if you feel your family may qualify for free or reduced price meal benefits. It is confidential, school staff have no way of knowing which students receive meal benefits and which students do not. Beyond meals, there are MANY benefits to students, families, and school funding.
The household income requirements have changed: As an example, a family of four can have a total household income of up to $83,249 and qualify for meal benefits.
A meal benefits application can be completed online on our app SCHOOL CAFE, an account will need to be set up. Make sure to apply during summer since applications expire at the end of June each school year. We highly recommend that families apply! For more information on meal benefits, please visit the Meal Benefits webpage.
More information here: https://www.beaverton.k12.or.us/departments/nutrition-services/meal-benefits
News from your PTO
PTO partners with Oak Hills to build community, support students, families, and staff.
*Please stop by the PTO table during supply drop off to meet current board members and learn about upcoming events and volunteer opportunities!
*Kinder Families, please review the flyer above. Stop by for a moment to say hello, learn about volunteer opportunities, and enjoy coffee and donuts with fellow parents and guardians.
*The first PTO meeting will be Wednesday, Sept 21st at 7pm in person at the school. There will be an option to listen via Zoom - link will be posted soon.
*Stay tuned for more information about the Back to School Picnic in September!
*Volunteer Opportunities
If you would like to contribute in any way, big or small, please review the link below for the background check application. A reminder to volunteers who have volunteered in the past to please recheck to see if you are still active in the system.
Thao Do-Gwilliam
Email: thao_do_gwilliam@beaverton.k12.or.us
Website: https://oakhills.beaverton.k12.or.us
Location: 2625 Northwest 153rd Avenue, Beaverton, OR, USA
Phone: 503.356.2410