Little Oaks Academy

Dear LOA Families and Staff,

Thank you for being part of the LOA Community. Below you'll find news, updates and reminders.

Saturday, August 3rd – Volunteer Day @ LOA from 9AM - Noon

Monday, September 2nd – Labor Day (School Closed)

LOA has been rated as the best daycare in Knoxville!

"Little Oaks Academy is the epitome of what a daycare should be. It's a safe, fun, and loving environment where children can grow and thrive. The dedicated staff, amazing admins, and nonprofit nature make it a standout choice for any parent looking for the best daycare in Knoxville."

If you've had a positive experience at LOA, please leave us a Google review!

Thank you to everyone who has already left a review.

We are pleased to announce that Angela Tucker has accepted the position of Executive Director for Little Oaks Academy.

Angela has been with LOA since this spring in the Assistant Director role and has a Bachelor's of University Studies with a concentration in Child Development. We are excited to have Angela in this role and are committed to her success with LOA. Laura will continue to work alongside Angela to ensure a smooth transition. Next, we'll be advertising for an Assistant Director.

Please feel free to send any questions for the board to board@littleoaksacademy.org.

We are excited to roll out the Procare Parent App. This app will take the place of Tadpoles, with which we have experienced a number of issues. The Procare Parent App does everything Tadpoles does, but better! We have done a test run with Infant A and have had positive feedback from both staff and parents. Beginning on Monday, August 5th you will not get daily reports in Tadpoles for your little one.

You should have received an invite for the Procare App via the email address that we have on file at the school. Please download the app and turn on notifications! We will use the messaging system in the app to communicate with you and you won't want to miss anything. If you have any questions or issues please stop by the office and visit with Angela.

Don't delete Tadpoles just yet, we will make a final decision at the end of August based upon feedback from staff and parents this month. Please wait until then to remove the app from your devices.

Volunteering around the school is a great opportunity to meet other families and help the school be its best. Any contribution is welcome, big or small!

Volunteer Work Day @ LOA

Please join us this this Saturday (8/3) for a volunteer workday around the center starting at 9AM. We will be concentrating on organizing and clearing the 2nd floor. Pizza and beverages will be provided at 12PM sharp!

Thank you to the teachers who have been working hard to prepping, sorting and organizing in advance of the big upstairs clean out!

Parent Committees

We are hoping to establish parent committees to tackle various projects and initiatives around the school. Initially, we'd like to set up a committee for each of the following:

• Facility (Minor Maintenance & Repairs, Landscaping, Beautification, etc.)
• Staff Wellness (Teacher Appreciation Week, Benevolence, etc.),
• Family Engagement (Newsletters, Family Nights, etc.), and the big one....
• Grant Writing.

All drinks are $1 off with proof of employment

+ Hoppy Meals to include a single smash burger, one side, one beer, and a Yee-Haw merch prize for only $14.00!

Thank you for all that you do!

Morgan Smythe will photograph LOA on Thursday, August 8th. We're hoping to capture some beautiful images of the school, staff and students to be featured on our website. If you are interested in having your classroom featured, please let the front office know.

Infant A visited many places in July; we explored the jungle and the beach, we went camping, and finished our trip in Paris for the Olympics.

Infant B focused on the celebration of our country in July! We did many handprint and footprint art activities to create Patriotic artwork.

Infant C has done lots of moving this month! We are building gross motor confidence!

This month our kiddos in Toddler A & B have celebrated our nation's birthday, investigated dinosaurs, and played in the garden!

Two A spent most of July talking about animals throughout the world and experimenting with different kinds of painting tools to make our own versions of the animals.

Two B learned about different kinds of insects and what they eat. We also introduced our new class pets, Ringo and Starr (our Hercules beetles).

During the month of July, Preschool A started working on counting! We used our new Ice Cream counting activity and our Dinosaur Counting activity! The children loved them both!

Preschool B This month we have been focusing on emotions and discussing ways we can work through those big emotions while some of our friends are preparing for kindergarten.

An enormous thank you to our Employee of the Month- Laura O'Rear!

Laura has worked behind the scenes at LOA for many years, but more recently stepped into the very demanding role of Interim Executive Director. She has tirelessly kept LOA moving forward, working long days, nights and weekends with unwavering dedication, professionalism, and cheerfulness.

Her contribution to LOA over the last few months cannot be overstated and the Board of Directors owes her an enormous debt of gratitude. Thank you for everything you do, Laura!

August 17th at 10am - Knoxville Botanical Gardens

August 17th - Ijams Nature Center

Ijams Nature Center

August 30th

Saturday, August 3rd

Volunteer clean-up day at LOA, 9AM-Noon

Tuesday, August 27th

Each child should come to school in their swimsuit or water clothes with sunscreen applied. They will need a towel, change of clothes (including shoes) and a swim diaper if necessary.

Please do not send your child to school in a swim diaper, they will be changed before going outside.

Angela Tucker, Executive Director

director@littleoaksacademy.org

Liz Morris, Office Manager

officemanager@littleoaksacademy.org

Laura O’Rear

accounts@littleoaksacademy.org

Board of Directors

board@littleoaksacademy.org