Newsletter - April 2020

LOOKING AHEAD...

Wednesday, May 13th:  Early Release at 12:30 pm

Friday, May 15th:  PTO Popcorn Day

Friday, May 29th:  Field Day...3rd - 5th grade @ 12:10 - 1:15 pm / K - 2nd grade @ 1:20 - 2:25 pm

Monday, June 1st:  Rain date for Field Day

Annual Online Registration Now Open!

Click on the above link to register your student for the upcoming 2020-2021 school year.

Dear Oakwood School Families,

These are certainly troubling and uncertain times that we find ourselves in.  This is something that none of us have ever experienced and hopefully will ever experience again.  I would like to thank all of you for your patience, flexibility, and understanding as the OASD has tirelessly worked to meet the ever changing needs of this situation.  Please know that you and your students have been first and foremost in our thoughts. We truly miss each and every one of you and can’t wait for things to return to “normal” again.  In the meantime we are continuing to wish all of you well.

With that said, it is that time of year when we once again start to begin the process of creating class lists for the 2020-21 school year.  As we close out the 2019-2020 school year, we will be saying goodbye to one of our beloved Oakwood teachers- Mr. Brian Megale. The Oakwood School Family and OASD would like to take this opportunity to thank him for over 25 years of service.  He touched the lives of many and will be greatly missed. As a result of this retirement, the Oakwood staff will be in the process of recruiting and hiring this Spring and Summer. This is a task that we take most seriously as we look to find individuals that fit our school’s culture and belief systems.

Class lists are created with the belief that student needs are best met through heterogeneous/mixed groups that take into consideration such variables as student numbers, boy/girl ratios, student behaviors, and achievement levels. The services of our special education teachers and other academic specialists also impact a student’s placement. As a result, requests for classroom placements are usually not necessary.

The talents of our teachers at Oakwood Elementary are diverse. Matching teaching and learning styles requires appropriate knowledge of both the learner and the teacher.  In order to create balanced classes, Parent/guardian requests for assignment of students to specific teachers prior to receiving notice of placement will be carefully limited to assure an equal opportunity for all students.

The staff at Oakwood Elementary firmly believes in an equal opportunity for all students. We will again utilize the process that was used in the past for classroom placements, considering requests only after balanced classes are first constructed for the upcoming school year.

If parents still would like to submit a request, they must base the request upon a legitimate need of the student, not upon teacher popularity or rumor. Recommendations of other parents are not educational reasons for requesting a teacher. The teacher who may work well with your child’s needs does not necessarily possess the same instructional style that was important for your neighbor’s child or even a brother or sister.

If a parent has an educational reason to support a classroom placement, the following guidelines should be followed:

• Please submit a Request for Specific Teacher of Class Prior to Assignment, stating the reasons why such a placement is important for your child's education. 
• All recommendations should be emailed directly to Mrs. Martin @ susan.martin@oshkosh.k12.wi.us by Friday, April 24th. No requests received after this date will be honored.

The staff at Oakwood Elementary is charged with the significant task of creating balanced classes to contribute to the learning environment for ALL students. When parent requests conflict with that goal, honoring the request may not be possible. Due to the need to balance classes, distribute learning abilities, place students together in workable groups, and numerous other variables that must be considered, we are unable to guarantee that requests will be honored. All families will be notified of their child’s classroom placement in August, 2020.

We appreciate our parents as partners in their child’s education. Classroom placements are a very difficult task for our school each year. Thank you for your understanding of the magnitude of this task and its challenges.

Wishing you well,  

Susan L. Martin
Oakwood Elementary Principal  

Hi Oakwood Families!!

Please continue to follow the Safer At Home order set by Governor Evers. For a great explanation of what that order really means please click on this link. Reminder: this means that kids should not be hanging out or playing with other kids that do not live with them. Feel free to tell them that Nurse Liz said so!