Oak Leaf Weekly News

"Come, little leaves, " said the wind one day,

"Come o'er the meadows with me and play;

Put on your dresses of red and gold,

For summer is gone and the days grow cold. "

-George Cooper

Ms. Jirout, along with her class, hosted a recycling assembly for our school. They created a quick skit where teachers improperly dispose of their food waste. Ms. Jirout showed how different items belong in separate bins: recycling bin, compost bin, and garbage bin.

She and her class sang a recycling song/rap and held up recycling signs. Ms. Jirout and her class are helping to solve our trash problems by educating their community and acquiring donations: trash pickers, recycling and compost bins and more garbage bins for classrooms. Thank you Class 4 and Ms. Jirout, we appreciate you!

This coming Thursday, September 30th Larsen's Photography is returning to River Oak to capture the smiles of students who were absent for picture day earlier this month. There are order forms in the front office and please bring cash or checks payable to Larsen's Photography.

Make Up Picture Day is reserved for students who missed picture day. Retakes are not encouraged.

The River Oak Charter School (ROCS) Firebird girls Volleyball (A) team improved their season

record to 2-0 on Monday, edging out the Eagle Peak Eagles, winning with 2 sets to 1.

The beginning of the first set was contested with neither team really pulling away.

Eventually the Eagles were able to jump out to a 14-9 lead and were gaining momentum fast. That’s when Varsity Gaches stepped up to serve for River Oak, taking the wind out of the Eagles’ feathers with a perfect ACE! Next, ROCS’s Lola Pearson was able to catch the Eagles off guard with a setter’s dump (when a setter strategically hits the ball over the net, instead of setting it). Finally, Gaches served another ace getting the Firebirds back into the game. Then something interesting happened, there was some confusion about the score at the scorer’s table. Lily Wheeler had just earned an ace for River Oak, but the score showed that Eagle Peak had earned the point. This caused a 2-point swing favoring the Eagles. (In other words, the Firebirds lost their earned point and the Eagles gained one). Due to some poor communication, the Firebirds were not able to rally and the Firebirds lost the first set, despite 3 spikes (kills?) by Varsity Gaches.

The second set began with 3 straight points by the Eagles and had the home team feeling

like they could pull this off. River Oak was able to respond, forcing 2 defensive dig errors by

Eagle Peak and 4 straight aces by Gaches. The rest of the set was all Firebirds, despite a few

mistakes, the Firebirds were feeling good with a 23-16 lead. The set ended after Eagle Peak

made a costly serve error, and River Oak was able to force a third and final set. “I think it's really

important to reflect on what happened. Notice things you should not have done in the first set

and change that and try and do better in the second set” Pearson added later. “I was just trying to get our players more in the game, to focus, it was really distracting energy and the series of events was throwing us off.”

The third set is always a nailbiter; only 15 points are needed to win. The game went back and

forth from the beginning. Close to the end with a tie score of 9-9, Gaches stepped up to serve.

Then, the red-jerseyed Firebirds scored 4 straight points. Coach Martinez made a late

substitution, putting 7th grader, Sydney Koeppel into the game and she ended up with the game winning ace. “I felt like we needed to communicate better,” Gaches stated, when asked what was important to win the next 2 sets after losing the first. Defensive specialist Adia Davis added what helps their team to succeed; “Talking, [having] energy, and our attitude, oh and also serving.”

Come support the Firebirds next week, Monday, September 27th at Pomolita Middle School!

Statistical Highlights to date:

● Varsity Gaches is averaging 17 aces per game.

● Gaches is also leading the team with 8 spikes.

● The Firebirds have an average of winning the first set by 5 points and the second set by

16 points.

● Lola Pearson is also averaging 5 digs per game.

River Oak hoped to stay undefeated as they took a long drive over to Mendocino K-8 on

Wednesday, September 22nd. Stay tuned next week to read a recap of that game.

~Kaleo Olson, 8th Grade

Thank you for bringing beautiful, educational materials into your child's classroom. Here is a list to support your teachers:

Golden Sun Kindergarten- Bring Play Silks to Students

2nd Grade- Crafting Cart and Art Supplies

2nd Grade- Spelling and Word Family books

3rd- Bring High-Quality Crayons to the Classroom

3rd- Fund Cooking Equiptment to the Classroom

4th- Bring High-Quality Art and Game Supplies to the Classroom

5th- Bring Soprano Recorders to the Classroom

Spanish- Spanish Language Text and Maps

8th- Fund a Classroom Set of Ukuleles

Acorn Hut wants to extend a personal thank you to all families who have enjoyed and supported our after school program. Please continue to make your payments by the 10th of the month by cash, Venmo, or check payable to River Oak Charter School.

You can register online now! Limited space in Kindergarten is available! https://www.riveroakcharterschool.org/parents/acorn-hut/

The Festival of Courage, October 1st, is the first festival of the new school year. This is a treasured tradition at our school and while we wish we could have celebrated in person, our staff and students are hoping to bring this fun holiday home to share with families. For those who are celebrating for the first time, the festival falls near the autumn equinox.

This year, the children will act out a scene where villagers must tame a fiery dragon with the courage in their hearts and performances from around the world.

As we move into darker days of winter, The Festival of Courage reminds us to tame the dragon within, and bring light to challenging times. During this time of year the days are noticeably shorter and colder. It's time for apple picking, warm soups, and gathering around the fireplace. People have the impulse to turn inward after long, warm days of summer, and gather the strength and courage to face the colder days and long nights ahead. Our goal is to document the festival and share it with our community. More information on this is coming soon.

Email: kmccullough@riveroakcharterschool.org
Website: www.riveroakcharterschool.org
Location: 555 Leslie Street, Ukiah, CA, USA
Phone: 7074671855
Facebook: www.facebook.com/riveroakcharter