Family Communication October 2nd

Weekly Pond News

Hello Otter families,

It is officially Fall, full of pumpkin spice and hopefully cooler temperatures! Thank you for your support with our Read-a-Thon fundraiser, we are grateful for your support!

This weeks parent communication is packed full of exciting happenings on campus. We hope you have a great week!

Have an OTTERific Day!

Dr. Steinacker, Ms. Leahy, and Mrs. McDowell

Oakstead Elementary Upcoming Events

Read-a-Thon Fall Fundraiser Updates

We have started our second week of our Read-a-thon. We appreciate everyone's support with this fall fundraiser. As of today, we have raised about $33,000 dollars. The funds raised will be put towards campus improvements. Two priority areas that will be given attention with funds raise will be student arrival areas outside the office and the play area behind the portables. When the PTA has a final amount earned, plans will be developed for these areas. Parents are welcome to be a part of these discussions, the next PTA meeting is Monday, October 9 at 9:00 AM in the school's media center.

The PTA also wanted families to know that they can make a donation in the form of cash or check directly to PTA, if that is preferred. A check donation would be made out to OES PTA and should include a student name, homeroom teacher, and grade level.

We welcomed our gifted and kindergarten families on campus last week for their teams Reading Day. Please reference the Spirit & Reading Days graphic for the date and time for the remaining grade levels. ALL students are encouraged to participate in theme on these days as well.

We are so thankful for our school community and all they do to support our school.

Spirit & Reading Days

Red Ribbon Week

The School Counseling Department has planned theme days for Red Ribbon Week, on October 23-27. Red Ribbon Week is a week where we celebrate healthy choices! In addition to these theme days, there will be fun activities happening during the week, such as walk to school day! Please view the attached fliers for our theme days and for our Neon Theme day on that week's Dens Day.

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Attention 5th Grade Parents!

Together, Gallup and Opportunity Education are launching a new student survey initiative in the state of Florida, which will run annually through 2026. Students in the 5th grade will complete a short response in their homeroom this week. The primary aim of the OE-Gallup Student Poll is to provide a statewide snapshot of student engagement in Florida year after year, as well as to help districts, schools and teachers better understand student engagement patterns and find actionable ways to improve engagement.

What is the survey’s primary application?

The Opportunity Education Gallup Student Poll provides measures for schools via student feedback. Items in the survey are designed to be meaningful, actionable and malleable for school and youth program leaders. Education leaders can use survey scorecards to work toward successful student outcomes at school and in the community. Please see the attached information.

Lunch Visitors

Yesterday, October 2nd, we welcomed families on campus to have lunch with their children. We just have a few reminders about visiting campus and having lunch with your child. Parents are welcome to have lunch with their child, weather permitting. Parents must sign in, with a valid ID at the office to receive a visitor badge. Due to our enrollment growth and safety commitment for all students, we limit our lunch visitors to outdoor seating only. To ensure the safety and supervision of all children, parent may only have lunch with their child(ren). We encourage families to limit visits to once a month. Lunch time one of the few times of the day were children can socialize with their classmates.

Fall Picture Day is Thursday!! We will hold a make-up session at a later date.

Bus Rider Parents

If your child rides a bus, we are asking for your continued partnership in reminding your child/children of the school bus expectations. We apricate your cooperation and positive support. Please use the image below as a reference.