September 24, 2014
Whenever I visit Hawaii, I catch myself wishing I could live there. I love the beautiful weather, the tropical plant life, the warm sand and soothing sounds of the ocean as well as the relaxed culture. However, when I return home, I also recognize how much I love the change of seasons, the spectrum of color exhibited across our magnificent mountains and canyons, and the excitement of beginning another school year.
We have had a busy first few weeks at Oakwood. Between Grandparent’s Day, the Book Fair, Parent Teacher Conferences, Books and Bagels, the No Sales Fundraiser, and Community Council elections, our days and weeks have been full. Each one of these activities has been very successful due to your participation and support. Thank you for helping to make our school so successful.
We have a lot of good news to share.
- Our fundraiser was very successful. We earned approximately $10,000 through your generous support and donations. Our students are excited about the additional fieldtrips, assemblies, incentive programs, and increased classroom technology these funds will help make available to them. I can’t thank you enough for supporting your children’s education through the fundraising event.
- We are excited to announce that Mrs. Petersen has been approved to teach fourth grade full-time for the remainder of this school year. The change will take place on Monday, September 29. We know our fourth grade students will benefit from the lower class sizes this will allow.
- School Community Council elections were held during SEPs; with the four new council members taking their place on the council beginning in October. As a reminder, the School Community Council helps determine how Oakwood’s State Trust Land Funds will be used to enhance student learning. This is an important responsibility and I appreciate your investment in the process by voting to fill the vacancies with dedicated parents. Check the website for a complete roster of SCC membership.
- As an FYI – The Parking Lot Rules and Procedures were distributed at SEP Conferences and are posted on our school website. I’ve noticed that things have been moving much more efficiently and most importantly, SAFELY. I want to acknowledge and thank Kari Sikorski for the planning and direction of our parking lot during drop-off and pick-up times. Parents, thank you for helping to keep our children safe – we appreciate your efforts.
Last week I attended a Principal’s Literacy Seminar where we made site visits to other elementary schools in the valley. These schools were selected for principal’s observation as models of literacy instruction. I came away from the conference and site visit with deep appreciation for our teachers at Oakwood. First of all, we are already doing everything that was demonstrated – small group instruction, interventions for struggling students, re-teaching sessions for those who need additional time and support for certain concepts, differentiated teaching, assessing formally and informally, and using data to target instruction. We are providing top instruction and carefully watching student progress.
In closing, I want to thank you again for your generous donations. These funds go to supporting teachers, classrooms, and students. We could not provide the literacy programs and interventions we have in place at Oakwood without your financial support.
Sincerely,
Dianne Phillips
Principal
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