Oak Creek Elementary

Oak Creek Families,

Our 4th graders did an excellent job in their music performance this week. Thank you to all of our families who joined us for the experience, and to Mrs. McQuillen for all her time and effort!

As the end of the school year approaches, we are focusing our energy to make the most of the time your children spend here in school with us. Here are a few reminders for how you can help from home:

• Make sure they get plenty of exercise, water, and rest
• Help them remember to return their library books by May 31st
• Read the newsletters carefully so you don't miss important dates/events
• Ensure they are here every day, on time

Along with state testing, there is a lot of important learning and many fun events still to come!

Read below for important information, including the request for feedback on the reunification process, photos of student artwork, and more! If you have any questions, please see the FAQ section below, or feel free to reach out to myself or Tess Kristoffersson at kristoft@loswego.k12.or.us.

Thank you again for your support from home!

Barb Keeton

Updated in Every Edition:

• Principal's Message
• Dates to Remember
• PTO Corner

NEW In This Edition:

• Dress a Decade Spirit Day!
• Student Celebrating Asian Heritage Month
• Save the Date: Smart Start 2023!

Repeated Information:

• Request for Feedback on Evacuation/Reunification
• State Testing Reminders
• 2023-2024 Verification
• Purposeful People - May Focus: Creativity!
• Nurses' Newsletter

LOSD District News:

• Hiring for School Bus Drivers
• Lake Oswego Youth Football
• LOSD Cares
• Tualatin Food Pantry
• "I Love Lake Oswego" Clothing Closet
• SafeOregon
• Subscribe to Lake Oswego Schools App

May 15-25: OSAS Math (3rd, 4th, 5th)

May 24 and 25: 4th Grade Field Trip

May 26: Grade Prep Day - No School

May 29: Memorial Day - No School

June 1: PTO Family Science Night

June 2: Dress a Decade Spirit Day!

June 8: 5th Grade Promotion Ceremony

June 9: 5th Grade to Oaks Park

June 12: Last Day for Students! 11:00 Dismissal

June 12: PTO Beach Party; 4-6

Lake Oswego School District voters passed Measure 3-592, with approximately 72% of ballots cast in favor of the local option school levy in the Special Election on May 16, 2023. Renewing the levy protects class sizes, educator positions, instructional days, elective programming, and mental health supports in our school without increasing the current property tax rates. Passing the levy is a big win for our students.

Choose a decade and dress accordingly!

Last spirit day of the school year!

Smart Start is an opportunity specifically for our students with 504s and IEPs, and their parents and guardians, to make introductions and connect with their teachers and to feel prepared and welcomed for the start of school. Smart Start is in person on Thursday, Aug. 31,12:30-2:30 p.m.

Teachers will be familiar with your student’s plan and accommodations. To help get to know your students, please complete the attached one-page profile or create one on your own ahead of time, and give it to the teacher at the Smart Start introduction.

Also, to assist in your family’s preparation for the new school year use the Smart Start checklist for parents and guardians of students with 504s and IEPs.

See you on August 31!

On May 6th, William Wu, a 4th grader in Mrs.Conrow's class, performed a Lion Dance debut in Lansu Chinese Garden with students from other Portland school districts.

Thank you to his family for sharing these photos with us!

Thank you for your support and cooperation in response to the bomb threat at Oak Creek on Tuesday. A threat is always serious, and despite the concern it raises, our learning community handled the incident exceptionally well. Our district Reunification Strike Team would appreciate your feedback about your child and family's experience to keep improving our response. Please share your input in this form.

Please help your child be ready to do their best on the OSAS state assessment by helping them remember to:

• Get lots of exercise during the day and plenty of rest at night

• Eat a healthy breakfast

• Bring a book to read when they are finished

• Bring their CHARGED chromebook and headphones (we will provide them for students who do not bring their own from home)

• Leave smartphones/watches at home, or turn them into their teacher (If a student has a smartphone or watch during testing it can invalidate their test; smart phones and watches are an impropriety, per state assessment regulations)

• Try their best, have a great attitude and a growth mindset!

Please review the schedule below, and remember to send your student to school on time and avoid scheduling appointments on testing days if possible. Students do better when they can test with their class, instead of having to catch up at a different time.

Practice tests are available using this link https://osasportal.org/students.html

Beginning April 28, LOSD needs parents/guardians of all students enrolled for the 2023-24 school year to log into ParentVUE and review/update your students' information through the Register/Verify tab. This benefits both families and schools by:

• Ensuring that schools have accurate information to reach parents and other contacts in both emergency and non-emergency situations. Verification is important even if your address or contact information has not changed over the past year because the school may have incorrect information from a previous year.
• Confirming parent email addresses for Google Classroom and other applications to participate in your student's learning.
• Enabling distribution of key information in the district's K-12 Family Handbook. If you have forgotten your ParentVUE password, go to the login page, click "I am a Parent," then click "Forgot Password."
  
  

If you are unsure whether you have a ParentVUE account, contact your student's school. For assistance with the verification process, refer to the user guide on the LOSD website or contact your student's school.

Hey OCE!

Thank you for all of your support with Teacher Appreciation Week!

Coming soon!

OMSI Night at Oak Creek, June 1st, 4:30-7:30. Free to all OCE families. Sign up to join!

We will be celebrating Walk, Bike, & Roll to School Day on June 5th! The PTO encourages everyone who can to walk, bike, or roll to and from school. Leaving cars at home is better for the environment and helps us be active. For more information, visit the website. Calling volunteers to sign up (scroll past Garden sign up) to support students traveling from further distances. See you on the streets!

Field Day, June 6th, during the school day. If you would like to volunteer for the event, sign up here.

Last Day of School Beach Party, June 12th, 4-6p at Oak Creek. Stay tuned for additional details.

Get your yearbook!

All yearbooks will be delivered to the students in class June 8th. Orders must be in by June 5th. The PTO won't be selling yearbooks in front of the school this year. Instead, they will be delivered to students in class on June 8th. Please use this link to order for your student today! Orders must be received by June 5th to ensure delivery in class.

Fundraising Opportunities!

Celebrate your family’s time at OCE with a personalized, engraved brick paver placed in the patio in the front of the school! You can customize up to 8 lines of messaging. This timeless donation will always be there, even after your family has graduated out of the school. Proceeds support the PTO. Orders are due June 5th, and the bricks will be installed over the summer. Order your brick today!

Get your summer flowers / plants!

On May 20th, shop at Dennis’ 7 Dees with special code: Fundraise-OCE! Seven percent of your purchase will be donated to the OCE PTO.

Volunteer Opportunities!

May Art Literacy

Get your OCE spirit wear! Use this link to shop for all of your coyote gear.

Follow us on social media!

Facebook @ Oak Creek Elementary

Instagram @ Oak Creek Elementary PTO

Questions? OakCreekElementaryPTO@gmail.com

Oak Creek Elementary PTO Executive Committee

Kirstin Martin / President

Amanda Schade / Treasurer VP

Samantha McCaskey / Assistant Treasurer VP

Page Donnelly/ Membership VP

Brooke Mattern / Communications VP

Holli Hansford / Co-Events and Enrichment VP

Barry Hansford / Co-Events and Enrichment VP

Steve Farnham / Co-Fundraising VP

Heather Shoyer / Co-Fundraising VP

Lauren Terpstra / Parental Involvement VP

Rachel Wilde / Secretary VP

Teressa Raine / Sustainability VP

Dear Oak Creek Families,

During the month of May, we will be investing our time and attention on the character trait of CREATIVITY in our Social Emotional Learning (SEL) lessons, classrooms, and throughout our school community. CREATIVITY is one of three traits we have focused on throughout the year that helps students Be Well.

The definition students will be learning this month is: Creativity: Using your imagination to create something new or solve a problem.

One of the best things about being a human is our ability to imagine! We have this cool part of our brain that allows us to not just think about survival, but also about sparkly space pigeons or colorful caterpillars or a cardboard box that is secretly a rocket ship. It is that same imagination that makes a sandbox into the moon that is capable of imagining the world’s problems as opportunities for new, bold, innovative solutions. The only way we change the negative normals in our world is to have the Courage and Creativity to think differently and exercise our imagination to help make the world better!

In Partnership,

Roxanne Davidson

School Counselor

Asthma/Allergy Medications at School

It is critical to the health and safety of your student to bring ALL doctor recommended medications to school. Over the summer, speak with your doctor to get the proper supplies for school and then go to the LOSD web page to find the proper forms to be completed with the medications. If your student is in Elementary or Secondary and will store their meds at school, watch for a medication drop off time for your particular school. If they are in secondary and keeping their medication in their possession, please submit the proper paperwork so we are aware of where to find their medication in case of an emergency.

Individualized Health Plan? - Watch for an Email

If your child has a LOSD Individualized Health Plan (IHP) developed in consultation with your District Nurse, please watch for an email! Your response is needed to confirm or update your student's plan. We appreciate your prompt response.

Immunizations

Please review the OHA requirements and information on required immunizations for students. Please make arrangements to complete immunizations and update Synergy over the summer to avoid exclusion in 2024.

If you would like to speak to your school’s district nurse, click the link below for contact information.

Contact your District Nurse

www.lakerfootball.com

I Love Lake Oswego Clothing Closet has received an overwhelming amount of support and donation during the pandemic. We want to give back to our community and encourage our community to lean on us not for just hard times, but for up cycling, sustainability, and for our environment. In the past the closet was just for students, and since the pandemic we have opened our doors to anyone within our community.

Visit https://www.ilovelakeoswego.com for more information.

Parents-guardians who have concerns about a student’s well-being are encouraged to reach out to their principal and maintain strong lines of communication and partnership between students, families, staff, and other resources. SafeOregon is also an effective way to report a tip regarding safety threats or potential acts of violence to our students or schools. Students should also be aware that intentionally providing a false report is a serious offense. https://www.safeoregon.com/

In addition, below are reporting methods for parents-guardians or students to use to report issues related to racist, bias, or harassment incidents.

· Incident Report for Elementary School

· Incident Report for Middle Schools

· Incident Report for High Schools

Stay connected to the district and your school(s) and receive urgent notifications by subscribing to the Lake Oswego Schools App.

Reach out to us if you have any questions or need anything!

• Principal; Barb Keeton: keetonb@loswego.k12.or.us
• Administrative Assistant; Terese Kristoffersson: kristoft@loswego.k12.or.us
• Administrative Assistant; Tanya Goodwin: goodwint@loswego.k12.or.us

Address: 55 Kingsgate Rd., Lake Oswego, OR 97035

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OakCreekPTA/

Interested in OCE Spirit Wear? Check out this website sponsored by our PTO! OCE Spirit Wear