Newsletter - April 2021

Oakwood Elementary School

1225 N. Oakwood Rd. #920-424-0315

Principal:  Mrs. Susan Martin

---

 

Monday, April 12th:  Wisconsin Forward Testing begins

Wednesday, April 14th:  Early Release @ 12:30 pm

Monday, April 16th:  Books for One School One Book going home with students 

 

---

 

 

• ​​​​​Jackets need to be worn outside unless the temperature reaches 50 degrees.  Between 50 and 60, long sleeves must still be worn. 
• Boots still need to be worn on the playground and field until both areas dry up.

• Our playground can be extremely wet and muddy this time of year!  Please consider packing a spare set of clothes in your child’s backpack. This may help avoid a phone call to parents at work for dry clothes if a mud or rain puddle is encountered outside.

---

 

 

A friendly reminder:

Due to Covid and for safety precautions, Kobussen is still not allowing students to ride any other bus than their normally assigned route.  

 

---

 

 

 

Welcome Back from Spring Break!!

It’s the last nine weeks of the 2020-2021 School Year!!

Even as I write those words, I can’t believe I am saying them.  What a year this has been!  From starting out hybrid to going virtual and now to finally being face-to-face.  Vaccines are here and it finally feels like the world is slowly coming back to normal.  Spring is in the air and with it brings a lot of exciting things here at Oakwood!!

Wisconsin Forward Testing

Beginning the week of April 12 and continuing through the month of April, we will be administering the Wisconsin Forward Exam.  It is VERY important that your student(s) are at school to participate in this testing.  They should be well rested and get a good night sleep the night before so they can do their very best each day.

 

	ELA Session 2 - Writing 15 min	ELA Session 3 - Listening 15 min	ELA Session 4 - Reading 40 min	Math Session 1 40 min (grade 3 - 6)	Math Session 2 40 min (grades 3-5)	Science Session 1 30 min	Science Session 2 30 min	Science Session 3 30 min	Social Stud Session 1 35 min
Grade 3	April 26  8:30 AM	April 26 8:30 AM	April 27 8:30 AM	April 28 8:30 AM	April 29 8:30 AM
Grade 4	April 19  8:45 AM	April 19 8:45 AM	April 20 8:45 AM	April 21 8:45 AM	April 22 8:45 AM	April 23  8:45 AM	April 23 8:45 AM	April 23 1:00 PM	April 19 1:00 PM
Grade 5	April 19  8:00 AM	April 19 8:00 AM	April 20 8:45 AM	April 21 8:45 AM	April 22 8:45 AM
Eacad  Grade 3	Apr. 12  9:00 AM	April 12 9:30 AM	April 12 10:00 AM	April 13 8:30 AM	April 13 9:30 AM
Eacad Grade 4	Apr. 12 9:00 AM	April 12 9:30 AM	April 12 10:00 AM	April 13 8:30 AM	April 13 9:30 AM	April 14 9:45 AM	April 14 10:30 AM	April 15 9:00 AM	April 15 10:00 AM
Eacad  Grade 5	Apr. 12 9:00 AM	April 12 9:30 AM	April 12 10:00 AM	April 13 8:30 AM	April 13 9:30 AM

 

One School, One Book - Kick Off 4/14

We are excited to announce the return of One School, One Book again this year!  This exciting program promotes family time, as our entire school community reads a book together at home with activities provided at school each day.  Culminating in an At-Home Family Stem Night and an all-school picnic out in Sheldon Nature Area!!

There is no better way to get better at reading than reading and talking about books!!  

Stay tuned to find out which book we have chosen for this year!

 

2021-2022 School Year

Even as we are wrapping up this school year, we are already working on plans for next school year.  We are working on creating our school goals, purchasing supplies, moving things around and creating class lists.  

As we close out the 2020-21 school year, we will be saying goodbye to one of our Oakwood teachers, Mrs. Mary Sienkiewicz.  The Oakwood School Family and OASD would like to take this opportunity to thank her for her years of service. She 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 any requests for a specific teacher, stating the reasons why such a placement is important for your child's education. 

• All requests should be emailed directly to Mrs. Martin @ susan.martin@oshkosh.k12.wi.us by Friday, April 30th. 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, 2021.

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.

 

Thank you PTO

The PTO at Oakwood has always gone above and beyond to support our staff and students.   We have and continue to be grateful for their support.  

Just prior to Spring Break, we received another amazing generous gift from them that there are not enough words to express the gratitude we feel.  The whole month of March “Read Across America”  was celebrated by exposing students to diverse texts about people and places that are different from us.  Each week we had different themes that ranged from families to influential people.  For our final week we asked the PTO if they would be willing to purchase a book for each classroom each day of the week.  That’s 20 books a day for 5 days!!  They said YES!  So each day our students and staff received a wrapped book as a gift.  The teacher received a letter the night before from Mrs. Gehrke (our Reading Specialist) introducing the letter.  There was deep conversation, rich learning experiences, and pure JOY as a result!!!

Thank you PTO   Click this link to watch a special thank you video.

As always, if you have any questions, concerns,  or there is something amazing you would like to share, please don’t hesitate to call or email me.

Wishing you all well,

Susan L Martin - Principal

susan.martin@oshkosh.k12.wi.us

(920)424-0315  EXT 4502

 

---

 

 

Get ready for the 2021-22 school year!

 

The Oshkosh Area School District’s Annual Student Update (Enrollment) for returning K-12 students and for new 4K students will take place April 1 - September 1, 2021.  Students must be enrolled by September 1.  However, the sooner you complete this process, the better!

This annual enrollment process is required and secures a student’s place at school for the next school year.  The process is done through the Infinite Campus (IC) Parent Portal and includes updating demographic and contact information.  NOTE: Fees and payments for the 2021-2022 school year cannot be paid until mid-August, additional information will be provided at that time.

• Instructions:  CLICK HERE for step-by-Step Instructions 

  • NOTE:  This process should be completed on a desktop computer, laptop, or tablet.  It is not recommended to use a cell phone.

• Link:  CLICK HERE to log in to your Infinite Campus (IC) Parent Portal and click on the “Online Registration” link (located on the bottom left side of the home screen)

  • NOTE:  This link will be active/available as of 8 a.m. on April 1, 2021.

  • HELP:  If you do not have an Infinite Campus Parent Portal Account OR need your password reset, complete the following form:  https://forms.gle/bEXT8Wd8t5c2dcTC8 

• Contact:  If you have any questions or need assistance during the online annual enrollment process, you can contact your child’s school office OR the OASD Administration Office at 920.424.0395.

• In-person Support:  If you need in-person assistance/access to a device or internet, a Central Registration Day will be held at Oshkosh North High School on August 10, 2021.  More information will be provided in the coming months. 

Additional information regarding the 2021-2022 school year, including important dates, will be provided to families by their child(ren)’s school. 

Thank you for choosing the Oshkosh Area School District for your student’s educational experience.  We look forward to continuing to work with your family to meet your student’s individual needs and provide them with the best education possible.

---

 

 

Tri-County Dental Clinic

Oakwood will be participating in the Free Dental Care Program through the Tri-County Dental Clinic again this year.  If your Preschool, Kindergarten, and/or Elementary school child(ren) are eligible for free or reduced hot lunch, or have a Forward card from Medicaid (Badger Care) and DO NOT have private dental insurance, they can receive free dental care on the mobile unit.

Although Oakwood has not set up dates for the services yet, we are collecting the registration paperwork.  Registration paperwork went home with students in late February.  If you did not receive paperwork, please contact the school office to have a packet sent home with your student.

---

 

America Heart Association Kids Heart Challenge

Join Oakwood Elementary School in this year’s Kids Heart Challenge service-learning program. It benefits our students, school community and the American Heart Association.

We’ll have fun activities in PE classes in April with all online donations due Friday, April 30th. 

This year we are accepting online-only donations and have all-school thank you gifts.

Visit www2.heart.org/goto/oakwood and take the online challenge to Be Kind, Move More or Choose Water.

EVERY class that has 50% of the students take the online challenge will get a $25 Amazon gift card.

We’d love to see EVERY student take this challenge!

Thank you, too, for raising donations to help heart hero kids just like Finn! (WATCH)

All-School Bonuses & thank you gifts: 

• Raise $500 Receive the “Egg” Keychain and Jax clip to hold your keychains 
• Raise $1,000 Receive the Jax Keychain 
• Raise $1,500 Receive Disco PLUSH Keychain
• Raise $2,000 Receive “Hatched Egg” Keychain = It’s a Mystery!!

---

 

 

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) affords parents and students who are 18 years of age or older ("eligible students") certain rights with respect to the student's education records.  These rights are:

1.      The right to inspect and review the student's education records within 45 days after the day a written request is received.

2.      The right to request the amendment of the student’s education records that the parent or eligible student believes are inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise in violation of the student’s privacy rights under FERPA.

3.      The right to provide written consent before the school discloses personally identifiable information (PII) from the student's education records, except to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosure without con­sent.

4.      The right to know that school districts can disclose education records to each other without parent consent if student is enrolling or transferring to another district.

5.      The right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by a school to comply with the requirements of FERPA.  The name and address of the Office that administers FERPA are:

Family Policy Compliance Office

U.S. Department of Education

400 Maryland Avenue, SW

Washington, DC  20202

Note:  for a review of additional details for each of the above items, please go to the following website:  http://www2.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/ferpa/lea-officials.html

---

 

Please click on the link below for Suicide Prevention Resources for 2021

2021SuicidePreventionModelNotice1.pdf

 

---

 

FOOD SERVICE DEPARTMENT -- JOB POSTINGS

 

Webster Elementary:  Lunch Shift - 10:35 - 12:50

North High:  Assistant Cook - CACFP Program Production - 5 hours per day - 11:00 - 4:30

North High ;  Cook Helper - Program Returns - 4.5 hours per day - 10:45 - 3:45

West High;  Assistant Cook Float - 6:30 - 12:30 - 5.5 hours per day or more if needed

West High;  Assistant Cook - Bread Room - 7.75 hours per day - 6:15 - 2:30

West High:  Assistant Cook -  7.75 hours per day - 6:15 - 2:30

West High:  Cook Helper - Dish Machine/Cashier - 3.5 hours per day - 10:45 - 2:45

Substitute Workers - flexible to work at any school

**Apply on WECAN for any of the above positions. 

If you have any questions, please contact Jenny Wallace, Food Service Secretary, Oshkosh West High School at 920-424-4936.

---

 

Dear Parents and Students:

I wanted to reach out again to share some important information regarding our Covid-19 guidelines. 

Here are some things your school nurse is asking you to do to help us:

• Notify me if you are currently under quarantine or isolation (elizabeth.lynch@oshkosh.k12.wi.us)

• Continue to monitor your student’s health by using the OASD Student Daily Health Screen

  • If you are able to answer “yes” to any of the questions, DO NOT send your child or their siblings to school. Please notify the school that your child and siblings will be absent and state the reason for staying home.

  • We will call you to determine a return-to-school date. This is a new part of our job this year that can feel very invasive. We have to call and ask questions regarding your child’s health. Your cooperation will help us to follow the guidelines and continue to keep the doors open for in-person learning. 

• Don't send your child to school if anyone in your house:

  • is waiting for Covid test results 

  • has a positive test result

  • is having symptoms consistent with Covid.

• Update your Infinite Campus contact information so we can get a hold of you if your children need to be picked up from school. If you can not do it yourself, please contact your school’s front office. 

• Understand our team of Covid contact tracers are following protocol from the Wisconsin Department of Health Services and the Winnebago County Public Health Department. We follow these protocols to keep your children and the staff in our schools as safe as possible during a pandemic. 

• If you have questions or concerns please contact me: elizabeth.lynch@oshkosh.k12.wi.us

 

---

Specialists Updates

Click on the tabs below to see what news in art, music and phy ed at Oakwood!

---

 

Community Flyers and Events

The Oshkosh Area School District invites families to explore all that Oshkosh has to offer. A variety of community events, activities, and resources are available on the District's new Community Links webpage. This listing is updated in real-time so please check back often to stay in the know!