Principal's Note Winter break begins Monday, December 23 and we return to school on Thursday, January 2. If your family will be traveling beyond these dates, please report your absences using Skyward Family Access. I'd like to remind you, that all absences (vacations, religious holidays, doctor appointments, illnesses, family emergencies, etc) should be entered in Skyward Family Access. A few reminders when it comes to attendance: - Children are considered unexcused without an entry in Skyward Family Access or a call to the attendance line (763-745-5755) from a parent or guardian.
- Students will also be marked unexcused if they arrive late to school and are not escorted into the office by a parent or adult.
- When you are submitting the attendance request in Skyward Family Access, you must be logged in as a parent, not a student.
- Calls to the attendance line (763-745-5755) should be reserved for last-minute attendance requests or changes.
- Remember to also reach out to your classroom teacher to notify them of a planned full-day or multi-day absence.
Enjoy the winter break! Heroes December 13 - December is all about Citizenship Mr. Sycks' Monthly Challenge 30 Frog kicks (Lay on your back, bring your knees into your chest and push your legs straight out) Lost and Found Lost and Found will be donated tomorrow, December 20 after school. Please have your child check for lost items. Anything with a name in it, is returned to the owner. Order Your Yearbook Yearbooks can be ordered on the Lifetouch website for $15.00. Oakwood's yearbook ID code is 1263420. The deadline to order is March 25. The Sheridan Story December 21 through January 5, 4-5 pound bags of food provided for free over winter break at all Twin Cities YMCA branches. Simply go to the front desk and ask for a bag of food. No membership is required. To find the nearest location, visit The Sheridan Story website. Follow Oakwood PTA on Facebook Follow the Oakwood PTA on Facebook for announcements, events and volunteer opportunities! From the Oakwood PTA We want to wish everyone a safe and fun winter break and a wonderful Holiday Season. We are so thankful to all of the students, parents and teachers for an incredible start to the 2019-2020 school year. We braved some rough waters with our fundraising efforts but with an incredibly successful outcome, setting us up for an awesome second half of the school year! We are looking forward to working with all of you to make 2020 a wonderful year for Oakwood students and families! Reflections Art Program Thanks to all the student artists that submitted art in November! Mark your calendars for the Reflections Art Program ceremony Thursday, January 9, 6:30-7:30 p.m. in the gym. There will be an art show with all our student artwork, a short presentation where we recognize each student, hand out Reflections certificates and medals. We will find out that night which students will move on the State Reflections contest in the spring! Winning entries will be kept after the ceremony and delivered to the Minnesota PTA office in Bloomington for the state competition. Culture Quest Culture Quest is an interactive family event that carries on our tradition of celebrating the numerous cultures and experiences of Oakwood families. Please consider volunteering to share your cultural heritage, or about a country where you've lived or traveled, through a table display at Culture Quest. Tables will be provided. Interested or want to learn more? Contact Natalie at culturequest@oakwoodpta.org. How to Earn? Box Tops Makes it Easy! No more clipping. No more dropping Box Tops in the bucket. All you need is your phone. Download the Box Tops app, shop as you normally would, then simply scan your store receipts to find participating products. The app will automatically credit Oakwood's Box Tops earnings online. Twice a year, your Oakwood will receive a check! Oakwood Family Directory As a reminder, all Oakwood families need to create an account and input family information to be included in the directory. You will not be able to access friends in the directory without creating an account and setting up your family profile. Get started at Membership Toolkit. We Need You for Culture Quest – Thursday, January 16, 6:00-8:00 p.m. Volunteers are needed to help with this event. Please volunteer today! December Wayzata Legislative Action Committee Update The Wayzata Legislative Action Committee (LAC) met Wednesday, November 11. Scott Croonquist, executive director of the Association of Metropolitan School Districts (AMSD), presented the 2020 AMSD Legislative Platform and Position Papers. AMSD, which Wayzata Public Schools is a member of, advocates for metropolitan school districts and works to advance legislation that supports student achievement. The LAC also discussed the draft of the 2020 Wayzata Legislative Platform, which Annie McDaniels, citizen chair of the Wayzata LAC, will present at the Monday, December 16 Wayzata School Board Work Session. In the coming months, members of the Wayzata LAC will be meeting with senators and representatives from the nine senate and house districts that represent Wayzata Public Schools to discuss these legislative positions. The Wayzata LAC is a non-partisan group of citizens that monitors legislative activity as it affects K-12 education and advocates positions on behalf of the district. For more information, please visit the Wayzata Committees webpage or contact Annie McDaniels or Seanne Falconeer, your school’s Wayzata LAC representative. Cold, Flu, and Lice… What Can You Do to Help? Influenza, commonly called “the flu”, is a contagious respiratory illness caused by the influenza virus, which infects the nose, throat, and lungs. It can cause mild to severe illness, and at times can lead to death. If your child will be out sick with the flu, they must be without a fever for over 24 hours before returning to school. When contacting the school to report that your child is sick, please be specific including if the fever is 100 or greater and if your child has a cough or a sore throat. More information is available on the Minnesota Department of Health website. Head lice are a common problem for children in childcare settings and schools and anybody can get it. Most cases of head lice are acquired outside of school. Remember to check your child’s head after returning from a play date or sleepover – two common settings where head lice are spread. Regular observation by parents can also be an effective way to detect and quickly treat head lice. More information is available on the Minnesota Department of Health or CDC websites as well as ways to treat head lice. When to keep your child home from school Home Base is Hiring! If you enjoy working with school-age children between PreK to grade 5, you may be qualified to work in our Home Base before- and after-school childcare program! You must be available to work after school during the school year and we have summer hours, too. Typical shifts are three hours, between 2:00 and 6:00 p.m. (up to four-hour shifts possible). Starting pay for Program Assistants is $14.78 per hour and $17.09 per hour for Program Instructors. Apply online today! Wayzata Education Fund's Thank a Teacher Program We have a lot of amazing teachers and staff here at Wayzata Public Schools. What better way to show them you appreciate them by giving back to our schools? From November 21 to December 17, any donation through Wayzata Education Fund's Thank A Teacher program will come with a certificate of appreciation to that teacher or staff member from the student named in the donation. As a bonus, any donation of $25 or more also comes with a bundlet from Nothing Bundt Cakes-Minnetonka, our generous partner in this program. Say thank you and support a good cause all in one! We've had so many great Ask Ali questions in our inbox – thanks to all who have submitted! Ali, along with her network of local experts, has been working hard to answer these questions. Responses are posted every Monday on her blog at partnersinpreventionmn.org/askali. Parents, you've got to check out the responses to these questions! There are some interesting ones that have been asked; chances are you might be wondering some of these things. Winter after school class opportunities at Oakwood: Cat's Kids Yoga Art Lab Financial assistance is available, find more information here or call 763-745-5200. Upcoming Events: Young Scientist Roundtable: Man's Best Friend Helping to Treat Brain Cancer -There is groundbreaking work being done at the University of Minnesota’s Veterinary Medical Center and Masonic Cancer Center in the treatment of brain tumors in dogs. Dr. Liz Pluhar, Board Certified Veterinary Neurosurgeon and Director of the Canine Brain Tumor Clinical Trials Program, will discuss new immunotherapies that greatly extended the survival of canine patients with Glioblastoma (GB) and how these are to be translated into trials in human GB patients. *note date change from the printed calendar Wednesday, January 15 at 7 p.m., Central Middle School Auditorium Parenting with Vision: Bully Proofing Your Kids - Bullying is experienced in a variety of forms and can be distressing for both kids and parents. Navigating the dynamics of bullying can be complicated and has become even more difficult with the prevalence of cell phones and social media. Parents may feel overwhelmed, defenseless and caught off guard when issues of bullying emerge with their child. Learn about the different types of bullying that exist, who is likely to be affected, and what parents can be attuned to, and leave with tools that can be used within parent-child relationships to be preventative and responsive to issues of bullying. January 13 at 7 p.m., Central Middle School Auditorium **Most examples in this presentation will pertain to students within the ages of kindergarten through 8th grade. However, all parents, grandparents, and caregivers are invited to attend. Events are free with no registration required. Thursday, January 9, 2020 6:30 PM - 7:30 PM Thursday, January 16, 2020 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM Friday, January 17, 2020 7:45 AM - 9:00 AM Thursday, January 30, 2020 5:00 PM - 6:00 PM Friday, February 14, 2020 7:45 AM - 9:00 AM Friday, February 28, 2020 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM Thursday, March 5, 2020 6:30 PM - 7:15 PM Friday, March 13, 2020 7:45 AM - 9:00 AM Monday, January 13, 2020 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM Wednesday, January 15, 2020 7:00 PM - 8:45 PM Tuesday, January 21, 2020 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM Wednesday, January 22, 2020 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM Thursday, January 23, 2020 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM Monday, January 13, 2020 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM Monday, January 27, 2020 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM 17340 County Road 6, Plymouth, MN 55447 | 763-745-5700 |