Oak Knoll School News

September 10, 2017 
                     
 
 Otter W eekly
In This Issue
Join Our Mailing List
To Do
Checklist  for Parents 
> Donate to the PTO & MPAEF

> Ask your employer if they will match your donation

> Review the bike and carline safety rules below

Scroll down for more details on these & other items. 

This Week 


Monday, September 11
  • NO SCHOOL on Monday - Staff Development Day
Wednesday, September 13
  • Balclutha Field Trip (Becker/Emmert), 11:30am-10:00am (next day)
  • PTO Executive Board Meeting, 8:15am, Teacher's Lounge
Thursday, September 14
  • Free used instructional books and novels available at Hillview, 6:30-8:30pm, between Gym & D Building
Thursday, September 14 & Friday, September 15
  • Picture Days, Various time at Oak Knoll

Looking Ahead 


Tuesday, September 19
  • Speaker Series, Safe Routes: Between Home and School - Why Safe Routes Matter and How to Make Them Happen, 6:30pm, Hillview PAC
Sunday, September 24 
  • MPAEF New Family Social, 3:00-5:00pm
Wednesday, September 25
  • Balclutha Field Trip (Austin), 11:30am-10:00am (next day)
  • Free used instructional books and novels available at Oak Knoll, 9:00am-12:00pm, outside the Small Gym
Tuesday, September 26
  • Oak Knoll Parent Book Club, 8:30-9:30am
Friday, October 6
  • Fall Family Picnic, 5:00-7:00pm
See the
Oak Knoll calendar for more important dates and events 
Please Read the Newsletter
We realize the newsletter often looks long! We do our best to provide useful information whilst not overloading parents, and it really just takes a few minutes to scan. Please take a moment to digest school news, make a note of relevant dates, watch quick video clips, and enjoy the photos. You will be better informed on how Oak Knoll rocks, and how we can all work together to make it the best school possible for our children. 
           
MPCSD Gets Social
New ways to catch up with MPCSD! If you're on Twitter, follow @goMPCSD for all the tweets and cute photos from district principals and campuses. And if you tweet, share your school story with   #gompcsd. 

If you want more details about upcoming initiatives and what's going on behind the scenes, videos of Board meetings are now uploaded to our website  www.mpcsd.org. Find our Twitter and Vimeo channel on the district homepage. Let's get social!

How Your Dollars Make a Difference
Support Our PTO & the MPAEF

Our PTO funds many enrichment programs, community events, assemblies, field trips, instructional materials, and more -  stuff which helps make Oak Knoll the school it is!
  • Enrichment programs and events, such as Science Fair, Book Fair, Science Olympiad, and annual 4th/5th Grade Musical
  • Field trips, specifically tailored by grade and tied to curriculum 
  • Supplemental classroom materials which enhance curriculum and learning experience
  • Community events, such as the New Family Social, the Fall Family Picnic, and Friends & Family Day
Thank you to the 20% of Oak Knoll families who have donated to the PTO. Help us get to 100%! Click here   for more  information  and to donate today!


In addition to supporting our PTO, please also make a contribution to the Menlo Park-Atherton Education Foundation (MPAEF), our valued partner, providing vital funding to increase the per-pupil spending in our District.
Corporate Matching - Increase Your Donations
Make your donations go further! 

Double your contribution with corporate-matching funds available through your employer. Many generous employers will match all or a portion of their employee's donation, and this adds up to more money for our school.  To start, check your employer's internal website for information and links.  If you do not find information there, contact your company's Human Resources department which should be able to provide you with information on how to submit your matching request. 

Want to find out if your company participates?  Check here for information on corporate matching and a quick list of potentially participating companies.  

Contact Nancy Lieberman for PTO corporate matching questions or  [email protected] for MPAEF corporate matching questions. 

If you are on campus, check out the wonderful Oak Knoll staff and their photos currently on the bulletin board outside the office.


Oak Knoll continues to partner with the Menlo Park Police Department, and Office Ferguson is a regular guest at school providing our students with important safety tips.  She appeared on KNOL last week to share some specific bike safety points with the students. You can watch and review the clip here.

Look out for other safety advice from Officer Ferguson  throughout  the school year. In the meantime, please  review additional information for all  Oak Knoll Bikers here.

A few reminders on safety in the Oak Knoll carline:
  • Do not walk your children across carline, enter school at the crosswalk by the bike racks 
  • For the health of our children, please refrain from idling in the carline
  • Do not text or do email on your phone while in carline 
  • To enter the drop-off/pick-up line, you must turn onto Oak Knoll Lane from Oakdell Drive
  • Please be courteous and alternate cars from either side when cars are backed up
  • You may NOT enter the carpool queue from White Oak Avenue, Oak Avenue, or by turning left into the parking lot on Oak Knoll Lane
  • No left turn/no U-turn is allowed during drop-off and pick-up times from White Oak Drive at Oak Knoll Lane. During this time, it is illegal to merge into the carline from this intersection
  • Pull all the way forward in car line for drop-off, allowing cars to pull in behind you
  • Drivers may not leave their cars to assist exiting children. Volunteers or staff will assist your child if needed

Watch some Oak Knoll students summarize carline safety rules:


 


 For more information and a diagram on carline procedures please click here.  

 

After School Programs started last week, but there is still room in many classes and a few don't start until this week. Sign up today! 

Check out these exciting classes that still have room:
To learn more about class details please check the ASP webpage .
 
Picture Day
Smile! The Oak Knoll Fall Photos are coming up on Thursday, September 14 and Friday September 15 - your child's teacher will share the specific day and time. iClickSmiles will take individual photos of your child at school. There are no forms to fill out ahead of time. You will receive an email with login information 7-10 days after picture day.  

Free Books Give Away
Enjoy a variety of FREE BOOKS looking for new homes!

Hillview Middle School and Oak Knoll School will be giving away for free our obsolete and damaged instructional materials, textbooks and English language novels. Come with your own bags and enjoy our collections of books!
  • September 14, 2017 from 6:30pm-8:30pm
    • Hillview Middle School
    • 1100 Elder Avenue, Menlo Park
    • The showing will be located on the Hillview campus facing Santa Cruz Avenue between the Gymnasium and our D building.
       
  • September 25th 9:00am-12:00pm 
    • Oak Knoll School
    • 1895 Oak Knoll Lane, Menlo Park, CA 94025.
    • The showing will be located on the Oak Knoll campus inside the small gym.


Between Home and School - Why Safe Routes Matter and How to Make Them A Reality

A talk and panel discussion including Jen Wolosin, MPCSD parent and Founder and Chair, Parents for Safe Routes; Kirsten Keith, MPCSD parent and Mayor of Menlo Park Mayor; and Bianca Walser, Menlo Park Complete Streets Commission Chair

Tuesday, September 19, 2017, 6:30pm

In 1969, 50% of kids nationwide walked or biked to school and enjoyed the benefits of healthier bodies and minds, increased independence and confidence, and greater community connectedness. In contrast, just 13% of American kids walked or biked to school in 2009. If you're tired of driving your kids less than a mile to school, and/or are worried about traffic and safety on the streets, come learn how your fellow parents are advocating for children in our community to be able to walk and bike to school safely, and be inspired to join the Safe Routes movement. A Q&A period will follow the talk and panel discussion.

To learn more about the Parents for Safe Routes organization and find out how you can help, visit their website at https://www.parents4saferoutes.org/ and read their newsletter
  
New to Oak Knoll? You're invited to the MPAEF New Family Social!

We look forward to welcoming all new families and those with new kindergartners to a casual New Family Social on Sunday, September 24 from 3-5 p.m. at Hillview, hosted by the MPAEF. Our goal is to make this a fun and informative afternoon for you. You will meet other new/incoming parents and families and hear from district leaders, including Erik Burmeister, our new Superintendent, as well as school principals, School Board members and MPAEF and PTO leaders. We will also have Daffy Dave entertaining the younger kids, games for the middle schoolers and treats for all. 

Please bring the whole family!   Click here to RSVP .
 
How do we get our kids to think beyond themselves in a world that is becoming more and more a selfie world.   Please join S chool Counselor Nicole Scott and School Psychologist Jenny Ryan this fall in a Parent Book Club with the book Unselfie: Why Empathetic Kids Succeed in Our All-About-Me World by Dr, Michelle Borba. 

Our goal in reading this book is to help our students shift their focus from I, me and Mine to we, us and ours.   Each week we will   read a different section and then meet to discuss.  The meetings are low pressure and fun.  

We hope you can join us: September 26th, October 3rd, 10th, 17 and 24th 8:30-9:30am. 

Please email Nicole Scott if you are interested in joining.  The Location of the meeting will depend on the number of participants.
 
Order Scholastic Books
Here at Oak Knoll we are working on growing readers who will read for fun well into adulthood.  Part of that effort involves getting great books into the hands of our great kids. 

This year, our amazing Oak Knoll Reading Specialist, Jacqui Cebrian, will be coordinating online ordering through the Scholastic Book Clubs.   If you are not accessing the book clubs through your classroom teacher's account, follow these simple instructions:
 
Go online to:  scholastic.com/newparent
Look up her name:    Ms. Cebrian
Or enter Class Code:   FM6CL
Follow the instructions to place your order.

First deadline is September 29, 2017

If you have any questions, contact Jacqui Cebrian.

Food, Bouncy Houses, Games, Karaoke & more

Mark your calendars for the Oak Knoll Fall Family Picnic on Friday, October 6, from 5:00-7:00pm in the big playground. Everyone is welcome to join in the community fun at this all-school event. 

More details and food orders to come!  If you have any questions please email   [email protected]  
 
Hello, Otters!  We've had such fun seeing the uniqueness of each  Otterwear  order and love that each child can show Oak Knoll pride in a way that best expresses his/her own sense of self.

This week's featured  Otterwear item... Ollie Hair Elastics! Easily change the background color for even more fun!
 
New Kindergarten Girl Scout Troop
Is your Kindergarten daughter interested in becoming a Girl Scout? A new Oak Knoll Daisies troop is forming and inviting Kindergarten girls to join. An information meeting will be held in the next few weeks. If this troop is of interest, please contact  fellow Oak Knoll parent and Daisies troop leader  Rachel Maclay for more information.   

To read more about Girl Scouts, please visit girlscoutsnorcal.org.

MPAEF Events
Mark Your Calendar!
We have a lot of fun activities on deck to further build community AND help support our kids and our schools. Make sure to add these to your calendar and bring your friends!
 
New Family Social
Sept. 24, 2017, 3-5 p.m. @ Hillview
 
Dine Out in Menlo Park - Lunch and Dinner
Oct. 23, 24, 25, 26, 2017
Participating restaurants will donate a percentage of their proceeds to the  MPAEF  for all meals served these days.
 
Wine Walk on Santa Cruz Ave.
Dec. 2, 2017
Enjoy wines from small, local boutique wineries of the Santa Cruz Mountains poured in various designated stores up and down Santa Cruz Avenue. All ticket proceeds benefit the  MPAEF
 
Auction and Party
Mar. 17, 2018
Have fun, eat, drink and bid on parent and community donated items ranging from vacations in Hawaii to neighborhood pizza parties to teacher donated activities for your kids.
 
Online Auction
Mar, 18-22, 2018
If you can't make it to the party, you can still bid on the auction items online!
 
Schoolhouse Rocks 5K & Fun Run
May 20, 2018
Lace up your running shoes, recruit your neighbors and friends and grab your whole family to join this annual fundraising run. 
 
Volunteer with the MPAEF
Want to volunteer with the MPAEF? We are always looking for more parents to help us! 
E-mail us at  [email protected]  or  [email protected]  to learn more.
 
Community News
To read about events, activities and charitable initiatives in the local community, please click here.

Community News
  • Cub Scout Pack 222 Ice Cream Social
  • Girl Scouts Information Night
  • Safe Routes to School
  • Ragazzi Boys Chorus Auditions
  • Ragazzi Boys Chorus' Music and Movement class open
  • Ongoing Study on Executive Function
  • Creative Art For Young Children 
Parent Education Series
  • Social Contagion: How to Catch Resilience, Lee Daniel Kravetz and Julie Lythcott-Haims
  • Clearing the Smokescreen: The Evidence on Marijuana,  Tauheed Zaman, M.D.
  • The Well-Balanced Student: Challenge Success, Stanford University
Community Service Opportunities
  • Family Hands-On Volunteering with the Oshman Family Jewish Community Center
  • Ravenswood School District: Adopt-a-School and Adopt-a-Teacher
     

Newsletter Details
Please send submissions to [email protected]  for Oak Knoll news and events. For the Community News, send submissions to [email protected]. The deadline for both email addresses is by noon on the Wednesday prior to publication date

To read past Oak Knoll PTO newsletters, please visit our archives on the Get School News page.