2019 December 21st Newsletter

Valley Oaks School

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Congratulations!... Bright News Student ~ Shelby Curr

Senior Shelby Curr was unanimously chosen by all staff members to be our November Bright News! student. Shelby was given a candy lei and her photo is now hanging on our Bright News! wall in building #1. All staff created a Bright News! letter that was mailed to her family. We are proud of you, Shelby! All students who have demonstrated academic excellence in the past month are discussed at staff meetings and one is chosen to be honored. Our Bright News! form letter is posted on our school website.

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Community Service ~ Senior Teja Burgess

This past semester, Teja Burgess worked with the nonprofit Sonoma Action for Equine Rescue (SAFER). Teja loves horses, takes riding lessons, and recently completed 10 credits of Equine Science. She lives on 5 acres and so she and her mom decided to foster a rescued horse that needs a home. Teja's riding instructor told her about SAFER. Teja and her mom are foster Tilly, a 12 year old Standardbred. Tilly was injured but is being seen by a vet paid for by SAFER and SAFER is also paying for all of Tilly's food and upkeep expenses. Teja had to build a proper horse enclosure, feed and socialize Tilly, and get Tilly to do her prescribed rehabilitation routine. Hopefully Tilly will find a permanent home and it will be thanks to Teja's work with SAFER.

Please let us know if you have a good community service idea to share with VOS students and we will post it in our next newsletter.

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Congratulations!... Bright News Student ~ Flynn Loveless

Senior Flynn Loveless was unanimously chosen by all staff members to be our December Bright News! student. Flynn was given a candy lei and his photo is now hanging on our Bright News! wall in building #1. All staff created a Bright News! letter that was mailed to his family. We are proud of you, Flynn! All students who have demonstrated academic excellence in the past month are discussed at staff meetings and one is chosen to be honored. Our Bright News! form letter is posted on our school website.

the Sheldon's and Susan Cook at a table in building #1

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Intake with Susan Cook for New Student Callan Sheldon

Pictured on the left is Callan's mother, next to her is Susan Cook, and sophomore Callan Sheldon is on the right. Valley Oaks School Secretary, Susan Cook, facilitates the big move students and parents make from other schools to ours. She is both our pivot point and the friendly "glue" that holds the school together!

Ms. Garcia and 2 of her students holding art work

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Art with Ms. Garcia

Pictured left is junior Audrey Hendrix and pictured right is sophomore Henry Wilson. Both are currently taking art with Ms. Garcia, our extraordinary VOS art teacher! Ms. Garcia is pictured in the center. Please check out the recently hung art assignments completed by Ms. Garcia's students that are in Building #1.

Mr. Smith conducting the meeting and the backs of attendees

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Informational Meeting with Mr. Smith

Our Assistant Principal Eric Smith hosted our December Informational Meeting. We are looking forward to hopefully enrolling these five families soon! The steps for transferring to VOS are: 1) Read our website, 2) Talk to your current school's counselor, 3) Attend an Informational Meeting with Mr. Smith, 3) Meet with our VOS principal, Ms. Lofton, and 4) Wait to hear if the district Transition Team has approved your transfer request to VOS.

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Petaluma Animal Shelter~North Bay Animal Services

They are located at 840 Hopper Street which is just a couple of blocks from Valley Oaks, across from Lucky's. Hopper Street parallels Lakeville Highway. Caulfield Lane dead ends at Hopper. They are next door to The Mary Isaac Center~COTS (Committee On The Shelterless). The Petaluma Animal Shelter~North Bay Animal Services is open Tuesday through Friday 1pm - 6pm and open on Saturday Noon - 6pm. Closed Sundays and Mondays. Their phone number is (707) 762-6227. Their website: northbayanimalservices.org

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Community Service Opportunity ~ Petalulma Animal Shelter!

Please consider dropping by the Petaluma Animal Shelter (aka North Bay Animal Services). You do not have to be 18 to go there and socialize the sweet dogs and cats, puppies and kittens to help them be more adoptable. Just walk in the door!!! Either Addie or Misty will greet you. They even have snacks for you! Addie's brother went to VOS. Tell them that you would "like to hang out with the animals". They will put you in one of their pet socialization rooms with pet toys. Do not say that you are there to be "a volunteer" because you have to pre-register and be 18 years old for that. Registered adult volunteers with them do outdoor dog walks, do feeding, and do cleaning.

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Please Note:

Lily's Legacy, a senior dog rescue center in Petaluma, does not allow volunteers under 18 without a parent with them - even though their website says they have a teen program. They are going to fix their website soon. The Rohnert Park Animal Shelter does have an under-18-years-old volunteer program. It requires an orientation meeting and a couple of hours a month for six months. Sophomore Becca Koh will be doing this teen program with them.

Although you used to turn in your VOS community service Verification Form for your 5 hours each semester to a teacher, now the procedure is to give it to our principal, Ms. Lofton. And Susan Cook will also accept your Verification Form and give it to Ms. Lofton. Ms. Lofton will be monitoring and keeping track of who has completed their community service instead of teachers.

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Sophomore Olivia Roberts, Volleyball Player

Sophomore Olivia Roberts has been playing on volleyball teams for the past 4 years - since 6th grade. From December to May she plays with the Empire Volleyball Team and from summer to November she plays with the Casa Grande volleyball team. Olivia says that the hardest thing about her sport is the conditioning drills, and the most fun? That would be the connection she has with her teammates. She says she and her teammates are like a family and many of them have been together for these past four years.

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Olivia About to Strike the Volleyball

For the last 2 years, Olivia's position has been Setter and she also did the position of Libero for a little while. According to theartofcoachingvolleyball.com, the setter is similar to the football quarterback's position and the libero is similar to the soccer goal keeper's position.

Michael's face in his uniform after a race

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Michael Kofoid

~ one of our more unusual students!

Michael standing in front of the VOS sign

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Sprint Car Driver, Senior Michael Kofoid

Although senior Michael Kofoid does many of his races here in West, he has also been back and forth lately to Ohio for racing. Some of his recent races have been in Placerville and Arizona and he is also driving and competing in what are called "Midgets". When asked which he likes better, Sprint Cars or Midgets, Michael says he "likes them both the same." In January he was in Australia racing for the second time. He is considering moving to the Midwest now that he has experienced the racing community in Ohio. With certainty, Michael says that he plans to make a career out of race car driving after he graduates in June.

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Michael, aka Buddy

Pictured here is Michael in a Sprint Car which has a V8 motor with 900 horsepower (a typical car has 150 horsepower). Midget Sprint Cars on the other hand have no wings, a smaller motor, and are raced on dirt, says Michael.

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Did You Know...

Were you aware that there are two types of hours that we talk about here at VOS? There are 1) Attendance Hours and 2) Credit Hours.

Attendance Hours go on the Attendance Cards (see one pictured above). The Attendance Cards are shared with students and also with parents if they give us a gmail account. VOS receives funding for these hours - VOS "gets paid" for these hours. Credit Hours are the hours that get converted into credits. Credit Hours do not always match attendance hours. You will see this with the five VOS online courses.

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Thanks for Properly Signing In and Out

Senior Althea Patchett shows us how ~ please be sure to always be signed-in when you are on campus and be signed-out when you are not on campus.

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We Have Changed the Time for VOS Staff Meetings

Beginning January 7th, we have changed our staff meeting time so that our school counselor, Ms. Leigh can join us. It is very important that Ms. Leigh be with us at staff meetings. Our old staff meeting time was from 10 to 12 on Tuesdays. Our new staff meeting times are Mondays from 11 to 12, and Tuesdays from 11 to 12. Valley Oaks is essentially closed during staff meeting times - staff members are unavailable and the buildings are closed and locked up. Thank you for being aware of this change and we apologize for any inconveniences.

two different peoples' hands touching a laptop

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Required Student Assembly on Tuesday February 4th from 11-noon

All students are required to attend. We will enjoy congratulating the fall Honor Roll students and listening to students talk about their 5 hours of fall Community Service. We will also require all students to discuss and/or show their progress on their Digital Portfolios. Teachers will be happy to help students with questions or special considerations about their Digital Portfolios.

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Group Work Out for PE

It was a unanimous vote to do our cardio outside even though heavy rain was on its way. In attendance were Becca Koh, Nozomi Hallberg, Brenda Amador, Sofia Doolittle, Nicholas Barajas, Harland McCready, Lucas Penales, and Flynn Loveless. PE students not present completed the alternate Group Work Out assignment.

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Group Work Out for PE

Warm-ups included 10 minutes of jumping rope either in the gym or in the quad. We use the SAHS campus when all the students have gone home on Friday afternoons. Pictured from left to right is Sofia Doolittle, Flynn Loveless, Katie Caffi, Lucas Penales, Beau Miller, and Becca Koh.

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Group Work Out for PE

Harland McCready, Gabe Adelman, Nozomi Hallberg, and Becca Koh. ~ a smaller group this time, and nice weather.

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School Counselor, Ms. Leigh - for an appointment email her at sleigh@petk12.org or email Susan Cook, scook@petk12.org

How Your ILP Number is Calculated

Your ILP number is the total hours (of assignments) per week that you need to do.

7th and 8th grade students: Your ILP number is 30.

High School Students: if you are wondering what your ILP number is, simply divide the number of hours of work you have to do to graduate by the number of weeks you have until you graduate. There are 36 weeks in a year - 18 in a semester. To get the number of hours of work you have to do to graduate simply multiply your credits needed by 15 if you are general ed, by 17.5 if you are combo track, or by 20 if you are college prep.

Here's an example: A college prep freshman in August has 220 credits to do. (All high school students have to complete 220 credits to graduate.) 220 x 20 = 4,400 hours to do.

Four years of high school would be 144 weeks. (36 weeks x 4 years = 144 weeks).

This student's ILP is 30.5. (4,400 divided by 144 = 30.5555).

Notes:

1) For every co-enroll course you are in and/or for every online course you are in with Mrs. Parker, we subtract 5 hours from your ILP. This applies to 7th through 12th graders.

2) You cannot have an ILP number lower than 20.

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Group Work Out for PE

Beau Miller, Nozomi Hallberg, Sofia Doolittle, Nicholas Barajas, Gabe Adelman, Lucas Penales, Harland McCready, & Flynn Loveless. ~ briefly stretching before doing cardio.

students in the science lab doing the activities

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Science Lab ~ Human Physiology

Nicholas Barajas and Aubriana Bossaller

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Science Lab ~ Photosynthesis

Olivia Roberts and Sofia Doolittle

Thank you to all students (and staff) who have allowed their pictures and stories to be posted in this and prior newsletters!

If you have a photo and/or story we could share in a future newsletter, please send it to us! If you have an idea for a community service opportunity please also share it with us. People say that newsletters build community. Students who are posted and written about in our newsletter are acting as ambassadors of Valley Oaks ~ thank you for helping us build relationships in our unique school where students do not get many opportunities to talk with each other and learn about each other. Building a sense of community also helps everyone feel safer and be in a better frame of mind for learning. Thank you!

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Science Lab ~ Cellular Respiration

Aubriana Bossaller and Nicholas Barajas

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Science Lab ~ Tissue/Organ Slides

Aubriana Bossaller, Becca Koh, and Nicholas Barajas

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Science Lab ~ Meiosis

Olivia Roberts and Sofia Doolittle

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Science Lab ~ Genetics of Corn

Nicholas Barajas and Aubriana Bossaller

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Science Lab ~ Macromolecules

Sofia Doolittle and Olivia Roberts

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Past Newsletters

Find and read past newsletters posted on our school website under Our School.

Newsletter Dates: September 1st, October 1st, November 1st, December 21st, February 1st, March 1st, April 1st, May 21st

Important Upcoming Dates Through the First Week in February

January 6, Monday: This is a teacher work day and there are no student appointments. Students with Monday appointments were given a reschedule appointment or they were given special instructions from their teacher/s.

January 7, 8, 9 & 10, Tuesday through Friday: First week back from Winter Break - students will be turning in two weeks worth of work.

January 10, Friday: Group #2 PE Group Work Out from 2:30 to 4pm (We meet even in excessive heat or rain because we have the gym.)

January 20, Monday: Holiday - The school will be closed. Students will have been given 2 week assignments or have been rescheduled.

January 24, Friday: Group #1 PE Group Work Out from 2:30 to 4pm (We meet even in excessive heat or rain because we have the gym.) All regular PE students are required to attend or do the alternate assignment.

January 31st, Friday: Last day for graduates to order cap and gowns without paying a large additional fee.

February 4, Tuesday from 11am - 12pm: A required school assembly. All students are required to attend. We will enjoy congratulating the fall Honor Roll students and listening to students talk about their 5 hours of fall Community Service. We will also require all students to discuss and/or show their progress on their Digital Portfolios. Teachers will be happy to help students with questions or special considerations about their Digital Portfolios.

February 6th, Thursday: All teachers will be at the annual California Consortium for Independent Study convention that luckily is right up the road in Rohnert Park this year. There will be no appointments this day and teachers will be rescheduling students or giving 2 week assignments.

February 7th, Friday: Group #2 PE Group Work Out from 2:30 to 4pm (We meet even in excessive heat or rain because we have the gym.)

Our Valley Oaks School website has the important dates for the entire school year.

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Connect...

Staff Email Addresses

Email: nparker@petk12.org
Website: https://www.petalumacityschools.org/valleyoaks
Location: 540 Vallejo Street, Petaluma, CA, USA
Phone: (707) 778 - 4794