Principal’s Notes

9-29-2020

After six weeks, our dismissal routines are set and students understand what they need to be doing and where they need to go when called. We will be moving the start of all dismissal procedures to begin at 4:00, this means vehicles and buses will now begin to load until around 4:05.
Recess Equipment: To keep the integrity of class cohorts, classes cannot share recess equipment. If any of our families can donate recess equipment, hula hoops, balls, chalk, jump ropes, etc., it would be much appreciated. A special thank you to families who were able to send items this week. THANK YOU!
Active Threat Plan (ATP) Drills: This year, students and staff will engage in four scenario-based ATP drills. This week will be our first drill. Teachers have been reviewing procedures with students and sharing what to expect during this drill. Students’ safety is of utmost importance, which is why we conduct these drills in all Pasco County Schools.
Scarecrow Festival: Saturday, October 10 is the annual festival held at the Pioneer Museum. Please reference the attached flyer for additional details about this fun event in Dade City. Scarecrow Festival

9-23-2020

Progress Reports were released for viewing on Friday. Please log into your Parent Portal to view your child’s report. Teachers will be reaching out to schedule either an in person or a virtual parent conference with families wanting to hear more about their child’s progress.
Due to Covid restrictions classes are unable to share recess equipment with other classes. Classes are looking for donations for their rooms of balls, jump ropes, hula hoops, etc.
Parents using the carline, If you are dropping off after 9:40am please park and walk your student to the office to sign in.

9-15-2020

Cancellation of Fall Events: Due to the COVID restrictions, the district has advised us that the following regular school events should NOT be held during the first semester: Fall Festival, Character Parades, and Holiday concerts. We will revisit school events during the second semester.

MSOL Parent Guidance: All MySchool Online parents are being asked to review the attached Parent Guidance document. The document reviews things parents should continue to do to support their students as they learn online, specifically sharing guidance and recommendations to consider during teacher instructional times. MSOL parents should click the link below to acknowledge they have received and read the Parent Guidance document. Parent Guidance for MSOL

INTENT TO RETURN: MSOL parents, we have continued to have families contact us about returning to the traditional setting of school. To make informed staffing decisions, please complete this form, letting us know your intentions for the remainder of the school year.

https://oes.pasco.k12.fl.us/mform/view.php?id=22462

9-9-2020

Changes to School Options: Over the last few weeks, we have had several changes to the options families want their children to attend school. To provide learning continuity for students, we are asking families to stick with your current learning model. Requests to change learning models can only be approved by Ms. Ramirez or me and will be considered on case-by-case bases. At this time, a change to your child’s current learning model will only be made at the end of the first quarter or the end of the semester.

Asbestos Letter: Click here to read the school’s annual asbestos notice shared with families.Flu Vaccines: Flu vaccines will be available in October. A date for when they will be given out at Oakstead has not been scheduled. Please watch for this information if you are interested in having your child receive the flu vaccine.

Free Breakfast/Lunch: Parents, please be looking for information to come out from the school district today or tomorrow about the availability of free breakfast and lunch for all students starting next week.

9-1-2020

Emergency Cards: Please complete the hard copies of the two emergency cards that were sent home in the green folders and return them to school, if your child attends school traditionally.

PLACE- Before and after school care is available here on campus.

Grade-Specific Information

9-29-2020

Out-Of-Field Teachers: According to the Florida Department of Education, parents must be notified when their child’s teacher is considered to be Out-Of-Field (OOF). This week we will be sending home letters to families of the following teachers who are OOF; Mr. Baldwin, Mrs. Diogenes, Mrs. Gartland, Mrs. Gault, Mrs. Poll, Mrs. Reamer, Mrs. Sanchez, and Mr. Tyson. Individuals who are teaching out-of-field are certified in at least one area and are qualified to teach but must take additional course work or testing to add a coverage/endorsement to their certificate. The state also requires a teacher to take coursework/inservice towards an English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) endorsement when the teacher is the primary language arts provider and/or reading teacher for an ESOL student.

9-23-2020

Kindergarten: Many of our recent registrations were kindergarteners. We were able to open up another kindergarten class and we welcome Ms. Britton to the Oakstead family.
5th Graders: Students in grades 5 – 12 will be invited to participate in the Gallup Student Poll in late September. The Gallup Student Poll provides students with a forum to express the opportunities and challenges in their daily lives. Gallup administers the poll and then aggregates and analyzes the results. The 24 core survey questions, demographic items, and additional index items will take the average student about 10 minutes to complete. The survey will be accessible through myPascoConnect. There will be a gray Gallup icon that will be pushed out to all students’ dashboards on Monday, September 28, 2020. This year, students will be taking the survey during school hours from September 28 – October 26. Gallup Student Letter ENG[1].pdf

9-15-2020

Elementary Grading: There was a slight change to the academic calendar to accommodate the delay of the school year (20_21 updated calendar .pdf ). We are at the mid-point of the first quarter, so progress reports are completed will be made available in the Parent Portal. Progress reports will be issued to students in 1st through 5th grade this Friday, September 18. The first quarter will end on October 16 and report cards are scheduled to be available on October 27.

Teachers are continually collecting information on students’ academic progress and the growth they make over time. The grades students earn and that are recorded in Canvas are only one of the data sources used by teachers to determine a students’ report card grade. Student progress is based on individual growth, rather than comparison with others. Grading descriptors outlined in The Elementary Reporting Guide will be followed when determining grades. We encourage parents to talk with their child’s teacher if they have questions.

Upcoming Events

9-29-2020

Virtual Book Fair: Our Book Fair will be open this Thursday, October 1 through October 14. Please support our school and promote reading with your kids. Our goal is to have 900 books purchased; this works out to be one book per student. Information about the fair can be found on the moving news runner on our school website’s main page or by clicking on this link. OES Virtual Book Fair

9-23-2020

Virtual Book Fair: Be on the look out for more information about our upcoming virtual book fair that is scheduled 10/1-10/14.Flu
Flu Shots:. Pasco County Schools will be offering no cost flu shots for students here at Oakstead on Wednesday, October 7. Please follow this link, complete the form and send in with your student.

https://www.pasco.k12.fl.us/ssps/page/influenza-information

2020-2021 Health Hero Flu Consent Form – English

9-15-2020

Parent Conference Night: We have received several inquiries on if we would be having Open House or Oakstead’s Fall Conference Night. This year will be focusing our time on parent/teacher conferences. We will host two evenings, Wednesday, October 14th, and Thursday, October 22nd. Teachers will be contacting families to schedule either face-to-face or Zoom conferences from 4:30 t0-7:00 PM on these nights. Conferences are a time for teachers to share academic progress with parents, so we ask that children are not in attendance.

School Pride

9-29-2020

Chick-Fil-A Spirit Night: Wednesday, October 7, is OES school spirit day. Below are The Spirit Day fliers about the event. One of the fliers has directions on how to submit a mobile order and have it count towards our Spirit Day. We appreciate your participation in one of the few fundraises we have scheduled for this year. Chick-Fil-A Mobile Spirit Day OES Chick-Fil-A Spirit Day

9-23-2020

Monday Shirts: The school-wide Shirt order was submitted this week. We will let everyone know when the order comes in.

9-15-2020

School Advisory Council: Each year, we ask parents to submit their name if they are interested in participating as a member of our School Advisory Council (SAC). We then hold an open vote, where parents decide who, from the list created, they would like to become members of our School Advisory Council. This year, we will be able to have all interested parents participate in SAC. Please submit your approval for the following parents to be on 2020-2021 School Advisory Council by Sunday, September 20: https://oes.pasco.k12.fl.us/mform/view.php?id=22956

New Members: Karen Campbell Ayers, Emanuela Ferrante, Jason Gill

Returning Members: Kim Flores, Sally Miller, Andrea Holley, Ashley Durand, Crystal Groger, Alicia Riek, Christine Taylor Cook

Be Involved

9-29-2020

Message from Food and Nutrition: On October 5, your student’s free or reduced status will be expiring. Currently, all students are eligible to receive free breakfast and lunch, regardless of their eligibility status. Free meals will be available until December 31. However, we still strongly encourage you to complete a new meal application if your household still qualifies. In addition to the meal benefits that will become effective on January 1, students eligible for free or reduced-price meals can receive free or discounted testing fees, camp registrations, high-speed internet, and other benefits. Schools also receive a portion of their funding based on the percentage of students who qualify for free or reduced-price meals based on their household meal application, regardless of whether that student is attending MySchoolOnline or in person. To review the eligibility guidelines and complete an application, please visit www.pascoschoolmeals.com.

9-23-2020

Bring Your Own Device: With so many students working from home using a school device we are left here with very little computers and iPads. If you are willing to send your child in with their device please complete the B.Y.O.D. form and send it in with your child.
MySchool Online Families: Our PE department has heard your concerns about the work load and will be sending home a calendar/schedule that outlines what students need to work on. This will also be shared to grade level websites so everything is in one place.

9-15-2020

MyLearning Canvas Course: Our teachers in the traditional setting and online are using a virtual curriculum through MyLearning this year. Each class has a Canvas course, which is integrated into the instructional routines of the classroom. Students who are learning full-time from home, work in the virtual platform regularly. We wanted to share this information with families who have students attending school in the traditional setting. Teachers are integrating MyLearning into their instruction, so if students are out for an extended period, they will be expected to continue working through the lessons in the Canvas course. If you have any questions, please email Ms. Ramirez or Mrs. Steinacker.

9-9-2020

Car Line Safety- Mr. Ferguson, our School Safety Guard, created a video that reviews the expectations of all families whose children are car riders. The video includes helpful safety reminders. For example, when families arrived at their numbered spot, cars should be put into park. Being in park ensures cars do not begin to move when staff and children are being loaded into vehicles. Cell phones are NEVER used while your vehicle is running on school property in the car rider line. This is a law put into effect last year. Your attention must be on the staff directing traffic, as well those moving around vehicles. We have several families that require their children to be loaded on the left side of the car. We have always required students to be loaded from the right side to keep this consistent and ensure there is space to safely open doors. If there is any way to move the front seat forward or have your child climb over to get in the back seat to be loaded from the right side, it would be appreciated.

9-1-2020

SAC-If, anyone, is interested in joining our School Advisory Council, please email Mrs. Nagy cnagy@pasco.k12.fl.us

PTA-Our OES PTA is an amazing organization. They can be counted on for support and current information related to our school. Please click here to learn more and join the PTA!