Tiger Tracks

Come out tonight to support our young Oakdale talent as they perform this evening at Westside Middle School. The curtain opens at 7:00 pm! We hope to see you all there to cheer on our Tigers.

Martin Photography will be at Oakdale March 22 for Spring photos from approximately 8:30 a.m. - 9:30 a.m. Bring your smile and your pre-paid picture order form! (Order forms will be sent home closer to March 22.) The photographer will only take pictures of students who have an order form in hand or completed an online order. These pictures are optional but a fun picture to have to see growth and changes throughout the year!

You now have the convenience to place an online order for School Pictures. The order must be placed by midnight the night before your picture date on March 22 (or bring an order form to school on 3/22) since not every child will have an individual picture taken.

Westside Middle School has several important dates we hope you mark on your calendar. Your first event is 6th Grade Information Night, an event organized to help introduce you and your student to their future school. Both students and parents are invited to 6th Grade Information Night; you may pick the night that works best for you. When you arrive, you will report to the Performing Arts Center (PAC).

Tuesday, March 26th at 6:00 - 7:30pm

Wednesday, March 27th at 6:00 - 7:30pm

Families will be attending three break out sessions in order to gain more information about WMS.

• Middle School 101: Find out about dress code, expectations, bus, after-school study hall, iPads, etc.

• Grading: Learn about grading at Westside Middle School

• Athletics/Clubs/Activities/Involvement: Learn about the different opportunities for students to be involved with at WMS.

• Counselors will be available to ask questions about schedules, but they do not have a specific rotation.

The second event is Warrior Walkabout. This event, involving students only, allows current 6th graders to meet each other and explore Westside Middle School through fun activities. It will take place in the afternoon of Friday, May 10th during the normal school day. Students will eat at their elementary school and then travel by bus to Westside Middle School. This has been a very positive event in helping our students feel better about heading to middle school.

We can’t wait to welcome you to Westside Middle School! Please contact your child’s teacher or principal if you have additional questions. We will see you in March!

Kim Eymann

Principal, Westside Middle School

Show off your artistic skills by drawing what Oakdale Elementary will look like in the future. Submissions are due by March 11th. Please have your student return their pieces of art to the Oakdale Elementary School administrative office. All submissions will be displayed in the library as you enjoy the Art and Book Fairs from March 12-14th. Three winners will receive a prize! Winning art will also be featured in the yearbook. A paper copy of the submission form was sent home in Friday folders or you can download it below.

The Excellence In Youth Team is excited to showcase Emma D. as the most recent recipient of the Digital Dozen award for the 23-24 school year! The Digital Dozen award is presented to WCS students who earn 12 of the digital badges from the EY Website (ey.westside66.org), which is available to students district-wide. It takes self-motivation, grit, and determination to earn these badges, and this star student should be proud of this accomplishment!

We had a Quiz Bowl question this week that asked, "March weather is best described this way: March _______ Weathers" and the choices were:

a. Many

b. Mild

The answer was: a. Many.

If the month of March is anything like this past week, that answer is very appropriate!

Please check out the EY highlights from February

It is that time of year when parents begin thinking about making formal classroom requests for the next school year. During April and May, the teachers at each grade level, specialist teachers, and Mr. Jagels will begin building class lists for the next year using the following criteria:

• Male/female ratio

• Different academic levels of students including those in special education

• ELL, Academic Interventions, and the EY program

• Matching individual learning styles with teaching styles as best we can

• Keeping classroom dynamics in balance (behavior, social, emotional, and personality considerations among students)

As you can see, a great deal of thought and effort goes into making these class lists. Granting every request would undo the long process that has been carefully put together and jeopardize the integrity of that work. In addition, children need to work in and with a variety of circumstances now and in the future, both in terms of personnel and environment.

If you have some unusual circumstances that you feel you must address, please do the following:

• Make a formal request in writing to Mr. Jagels addressing your child’s learning style and the type, not the name, of the teacher that would benefit your child (email will suffice).

• If there has been a request made in a previous year that still applies, please make sure we are aware of the necessary details for placement in the 2024-2025 school year.

• Turn in the request by Friday, April 12, 2024.

• Turning in a request does not guarantee that it will be granted.

All teachers work as a professional learning community at Oakdale. In other words, all teachers come together to collaborate about all students in their grade level to discuss the best approaches to meet the needs of all students academically, behaviorally, socially, and emotionally. Each grade level at Oakdale also incorporates flexible grouping strategies that allow students to work with other teachers in that grade level. We appreciate your understanding of the process, and we look forward to a strong finish to this year and another terrific school year for 2024-2025.

Congratulations to Marlon S. in Mrs. Bintz's 1st grade class and Rosie B. in Mrs. Di Lorenzo's 4th grade class for randomly being selected as the winners of the February High 5 Drawing! They were able to invite a friend and participate in a Dr. Seuss craft while eating "green eggs and ham" this afternoon. Be on the lookout for the next High 5 Drawing in March!

Please click the buttons below to see what's happening at Oakdale in Art, Music, PE, and Library. Feel free to reach out to any of our specials teachers if you have any questions.

Kindergarten enrollment for District residents for the 2024-25 school year is underway. Please check our website at westside66.org to start your enrollment online.

Children entering kindergarten must be 5 years old on or before July 31, 2024. Parents may wait to enroll their child(ren) in kindergarten for an additional year. However, Nebraska law requires that child(ren) who reach the age of six prior to Jan. 1st of the then current school year must be enrolled in school.

For questions about enrollment, please contact the Westside Welcome Center at 402-390-2100 or enrollment@westside66.net.

KINDERGARTEN OPTION ENROLLMENT

If you live outside of the Westside district and have a child eligible for kindergarten in 2024-25 who has a sibling attending our schools through the Option Enrollment program, you must submit an option application for your kindergartener. The deadline to apply for Option Enrollment is 4:00 pm on March 15th. In addition to kindergarten, you can apply for any other grade level by the same deadline, 4:00 pm on March 15th.

Option Enrollment forms can be completed here.

Questions about Option Enrollment, please contact Student Services at 402-390-2107.

IN-DISTRICT TRANSFERS FOR 2024-2025

Are you a District resident and would like your K-6 grade child(ren) to attend an elementary school in Westside other than the area where you live? The deadline to submit an In-District Transfer request for the upcoming school year is 4:00 pm on March 15th.

An In-District Transfer request form must also be completed for any child starting kindergarten next year who has a sibling attending an elementary school outside of their home attendance area. The deadline to submit this request is also 4:00 pm on March 15th.

In district transfer forms can be completed using this link.

Questions about In-District Transfers, please contact Student Services at 402-390-2107.

EARLY ADMISSION FOR KINDERGARTEN

Children of District residents who wish to be tested for early entrance to kindergarten must turn 5 years old between August 1 and October 15, 2024.

For further information regarding early entrance testing, please contact Early Admissions at 402-390-2142.

Linked you will find our year long Oakdale Calendar. This is not an all-inclusive calendar and is subject to change throughout the year. However, it will provide a general outline of events to pencil in on your calendar.

In addition, we encourage you to access our Oakdale Calendar through our Website, the Westside Community Schools App, or to subscribe so that this information shows right up on your own calendar for iPhone, iPad, Mac, or any other Google Calendar subscribable platform.

March

1 Talent Show Performance, 7:00 WMS

5 Community Club Meeting, 6:30

12-14 Book Fair / Art Fair

13 Parent Teacher Communication 3:20-8:00

14 NO SCHOOL for students / Parent Teacher Communication, 8:00-4:00

15 NO SCHOOL

21 Vocal Music Festival, 7:00 WHS

22 Spring Photos, 8:30 am

25 Band-O-Rama, 7:00 WHS

26 West Fest Strings Festival, 7:00 WHS

26 Sixth Grade Info Night, 6:00 WMS

27 Sixth Grade Info Night, 6:00 WMS

27 Smart Gen Society Presentation, 6:30 WHS

28 Unified Talent Show, 6:00 WHS
29 Early Dismissal, 1:00

April

1-5 NO SCHOOL, Spring Break

8 School Resumes, 8:30 a.m.

9 Smart Gen Society Presentation, 6:30 WHS

11 Don & Millie's Night

11 Science Fair, 6:00

16 Community Club Meeting, 6:30

23 New Kindergarten Open House, 6:00

25 Kindergarten - 2nd Grade Music Program, 7:00 WMS

29 NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS, Teacher Professional Learning Day

30 District Band & Strings Solo Ensemble, 6:00 WMS

We know it is important to consider both the physical and social-emotional wellbeing of our students, families, and staff. We continue to be committed to providing regular instruction and support for studying in managing thoughts and feelings.

If your child is experiencing particular difficulties and you would like to explore options for additional support we encourage you to contact our School Counselor, Mrs. Mary McPadden (mcpadden.mary@westside66.net) or our School Psychologist, Mrs. Brittany Lichtenberg (lichtenberg.brittany@westside66.net), who can help in coordinating additional support and resources.

Dine at Don & Millie's on Thursday March 14th! Take a night off from cooking to raise money for Community Club. Be sure to let them know you are with Oakdale. A certain percentage of proceeds go to the Community Club to help with Oakdale programming.

RAISE FUNDS + GET REWARDS IN A SNAP!

How It Works

1. Make a purchase at any TAGG business
2. Visit TAGG.today to upload your receipt and choose to support Oakdale (Have receipts you forgot to TAGG? Don't worry, you have 30 days to upload them.)
3. The business will donate, at no extra cost to you!

Join us at our next Community Club meeting on Tuesday, March 5th, 6:30 pm, at Tanner's near 120th and Pacific Streets. Come learn about what we have planned for the next couple of months and maybe make some new connections. If you can’t make it, no worries, we distribute the minutes following the event.

The Oakdale School Community Club offers a FREE online family directory for families to use. Only families who submit information to the Community Club or give permission through the Returning Student Registration Process will be included in the directory. If you have not already logged in to the website, please log in and update your information OR new parents can create a new login.

Westside Community Schools does not discriminate on the basis of sex, sexual orientation, gender, race, color, national origin, religion, disability, age, marital/parental status, military/veteran status or any other category protected by law in its programs and activities or in admission or access to, or treatment in, hiring and employment, and provides equal access to the Boy Scouts and other designated youth groups.

The following District personnel have been designated to coordinate compliance and can address inquiries about the District’s nondiscrimination policies and procedures:

For questions or concerns by students, parents or others:

• Coordinator of Student Services/Title IX Coordinator – ABC Bldg. 909 So. 76th St. Omaha (402) 390-2100 E-mail: titleixcoordinator@westside66.net
• Director of Special Services/ADA & 504 Coordinator (disability/accommodation) ABC Bldg. 909 So. 76th St. E-mail: ADAcoordinator@westside66.net

For questions by District employees or applicants:

• Ass’t Supt. for Human Resources/Lead Title IX Coordinator - 909 So. 76th St. Omaha, NE (402) 390-2100 E-mail: titleixcoordinatorHR@westside66.net

For further information about anti-discrimination laws or to file a complaint of discrimination you may also contact the Office for Civil Rights (OCR), U.S. Dept. of Education, One Petticoat Lane, 1010 Walnut Street, 3rd Floor, Suite 320, Kansas City, MO 64106,
Tele. (816) 268-0550, Fax (816) 268-0599, (TDD) (800) 877-8339, or ocr.kansascity@ed.gov.

Oakdale Elementary's mission is to ensure academic excellence and to serve the unique needs of all learners.

Oakdale's Expectations:

• Be Safe
• Be Respectful
• Be Responsible
• (Be Kind)

Email: jagels.glen@westside66.net
Website: westside66.org/domain/13
Location: 9801 W Center Rd, Omaha, Nebraska, USA
Phone: 402-390-6460
Facebook: facebook.com/OakdaleTigers66
Twitter: @oakdaletigers66