Otter Family News! 2024

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We have many exciting things coming up this month at Ohlone! We have Family Science Night this Thursday 10/3, Crazy Hair Day Monday 10/7, two parent meetings Wednesday 10/9, Picture Day 10/22, AR Day 10/24, Carnival 10/31, and finally a day off Friday 11/1. Whew! Read on for details.....

Beginning October 7, students must have a bus pas that they scan when they get on the bus and when they got off. The system is designed to help us locate students in case of an emergency. Elementary students without passes after October 7 will be issued bus citations.

If your child still needs a bus pass, you may fill out an application online HERE or pick one up in the Ohlone office.

Don't miss out on Family Science Night! If you haven't already, please use the bottom of the yellow letter that was sent home to let us know how many from your family will be attending (so we know how much food to order). If you don't have the letter, you can call 728-6977 and let us know. We will be placing the food order Wednesday, so please call by Wednesday at 12:00.

Dinner will be served beginning at 5:30. The Physics Bus and science activities will be available from 5:30-7:00.

PVUSD has a bond measure on the November ballot. Measure M would raise money for critical improvements to schools, classrooms, and facilities across the district. We will have a special guest at our School Site Council meeting on October 9th at 2:40 in room 1 to share more information.

You can also visit the PVUSD Measure M website to learn more.

We will be having our first Crazy Hair Day Monday October 7! We always have some wild and wonderful hair styles that day.

Please join us for our English Learner Advisory Council at 8:00 or School Site Council at 2:40 on Wednesday October 9. At the 2:40 meeting, we will have a special guest to tell us about Measure M, the PVUSD bond measure for schools and facilities.

We have new Ohlone t-shirts available for $10. We will be selling them at Family Science Night October 3, and any day in the office during school hours. Right now we have t-shirts in children's sizes, but adult sizes and sweatshirts are coming soon! The shirts were designed by our own Gerardo Herrera!

October 22 is fall picture day at Ohlone

October 31st will be a big day at Ohlone. Students may wear their costumes to school and we will have our big Fall Carnival! We will be asking for donations of food and prizes, and volunteers to help us set up, clean up, and help during the carnival.

Friday 11/1 is a day off for students and teachers (I think we will all need the rest!)

Students can't learn if they aren't in school. PVUSD has a new attendance goal of 98% of students being in school each day.

So far this year, Ohlone's attendance rate is 94.7%, which places us #6 of all elementary schools.

We have had three classes that made a weekly attendance rate of 98% or better. They are Mrs. Hadley's class, Ms. Vega's class, and Mrs. Dennis' class. They each earned an otter pop party!

If you child has a fever or is vomiting, please keep them home. If you need to schedule an appointment, it is better to schedule them in the afternoon and bring them in the morning. That way they still get instruction in the morning, plus we still get credit for attendance if your child is here in the morning.

October 9- English Learner Advisory Council at 8:00

October 9- School Site Council at 2:40

October 22- Picture Day

October 31- Carnival!

November 1- No School

November 18-22 Parent Conference Week, school dismissed at 12:30 every day

November 20- Picture Retake Day

November 25-29 Thanksgiving Break, no school all week

December 23-January 10- Winter Break

Students may be dropped off no earlier than 7:30. Drop-off is at the cafeteria door in the parking lot off Bay Farms Road. School is out at 2:30 and if you are picking your child up, please use the parking lot on Bay Farms Road near the playground. Children should not be picked up at the back gate after school. There are buses coming and going and can be dangerous.

There is a parking lot in the back of the school off Hillcrest Road. If you drop your child off there, please be very careful of the many parents and children that walk in from the neighborhood. Use the last row of the parking lot to drive around, not the bus lane near the sidewalk. The back and side gates are locked between 8:00 and 2:30. Anyone arriving between 8:00 and 2:30 must enter though the main gate off Bay Farms Road and check in at the office.

Thank you for helping us keep all of our Ohlone Otters safe!

PVUSD is changing our communication platform from Remind to Parent Square. It will send messages to your phone like Remind does. You can also add an app for more features.

Click to watch a video for parents about how Parent Square works.

PVUSD has a new attendance campaign.... You can't achieve your dreams if you don't show up to chase them! All PVUSD schools have a goal of 98% attendance. Ohlone's attendance this week was 96%, so we have some room to grow!

Pick up a yard sign at Back to School Night for your house to show your commitment to your child's education!

New year, fresh start! Attendance is important, for students, the class and the school. Please send your child to school every day unless they are truly sick. If your child has a respiratory condition that means they need to stay inside if it is wet or cold, please let us know and we can make arrangements for them to stay inside during recess or PE instead of keeping them them home.

Students with good attendance typically miss only 5-6 days of school per year. Students that miss 10% of the school year (18 days or more) often have their learning seriously impacted. The graph below shows the impact on reading in second grade of the students that missed an excessive number of days of school in their early years. One of the ways we measure reading success is the number of words a students can read correctly in one minute. Students that have been absent excessively read 27 fewer words in second grade than their peers that have come to school regularly. Every day matters!

Mrs. Jacobson is working at a different school this year. We want to thank he for her hard work, amazing connections with students, and her silly jokes and songs. We will miss her.

Our new Academic Coordinator will be Esmerelda Flores. She has a message to share with the Ohlone community:

Hello Ohlone Otters. My name is Esmeralda Flores. I was born and raised in Watsonville. I was a 3rd & 4th grade teacher at Radcliff for 8 years and also the Academic Coordinator for 2 years. I earned my Master’s Degree and Administrative Credential from California State University of Monterey Bay. My goal is to provide students with a high-quality education and to ensure that they have an opportunity to learn, grow, thrive, and to remove barriers that create unequal challenges for them. I am excited to help build collaborative relationships with the community and to lead Ohlone Elementary towards success.

Hola Ohlone Otters. Mi nombre es Esmeralda Flores. Nací y crecí en Watsonville. Fui profesor de 3er y 4to grado en Radcliff durante 8 años y también Coordinador Académico durante 2 años. Obtuve mi Maestría y mi Credencial Administrativa de la Universidad Estatal de California de Monterey Bay. Mi objetivo es proporcionar a los estudiantes una educación de alta calidad y asegurarme de que tengan la oportunidad de aprender, crecer, prosperar y eliminar las barreras que crean desafíos desiguales para ellos. Estoy emocionada de ayudar a construir relaciones de colaboración con la comunidad y de llevar a la escuela Ohlone hacia el éxito.

Welcome Ms. Flores!

Students should come to school in clothes appropriate and safe for learning & playing. Shoes should be closed-toed and appropriate for physical education. Students may wear a variety of colors.

Students may not wear any clothing that depicts alcohol, tobacco, violence or other inappropriate images. Students may not wear clothing, jewelry, etc. that are evidence of affiliation with a gang (District Policy 4508.3.1)

Ohlone has FREE breakfast, lunch, and midmorning snack (Monday-Thursday) for all students (snacks start 9/3). Students are also welcome to bring their own lunch and snacks if they prefer to. We have filtered water bottle-filling stations available for students. We are NOT currently a nut-free school.

Breakfast is served from 7:30-7:55. Lunch time varies by grade, but all students have 40 minutes- 20 minutes to eat and 20 minutes to play.

Please contact your child's teacher if you would like to bring treats for your child's birthday or other celebration. Please note, the PVUSD Board of Trustees has a policy banning balloons on all school campuses.

Students personal toys should be left at home. On some occasions (show and tell, special class occasions, etc), teachers may invite students to bring special belongings to school. In that case, they should remain on the classroom.

Students have no need for a cell phone at school. Teachers and staff all have cell phones and all classrooms have outside phone lines. We understand some parents would like their children to carry communication devices in case of emergency, or for after school communication. If that is the case, we have a permission slip that must be signed and turned in to the office, and all communication devices must be turned off and kept in the student's backpack while at school.

A new permission slip must be signed each school year.

If a student uses a cell phone or device during school hours without permission, the phone will be taken to the office and parents will be called to come pick it up.

As otters, we gracefully glide through the waters of two languages, charting a course towards a brighter, bilingual future.

Como nutrias, navegamos con gracia por las aguas de dos idiomas, trazando un rumbo hacia un futuro bilingüe más brillante.

We are a vibrant bilingual community dedicated to empowering students to achieve their utmost potential. Embracing and celebrating the linguistic and cultural diversity of our students, we work hand in hand with families to nurture their children's education. Our students are equipped to pursue their aspirations, making meaningful contributions to both our community and the global society.

Somos una comunidad bilingüe vibrante dedicada a capacitar a los estudiantes para que alcancen su máximo potencial. Abrazando y celebrando la diversidad lingüística y cultural de nuestros estudiantes, trabajamos de la mano con las familias para fomentar la educación de sus hijos. Nuestros estudiantes están equipados para perseguir sus aspiraciones y hacer contribuciones significativas tanto a nuestra comunidad como a la sociedad global.

The after school program office is located in room 27, near the Hillcrest parking lot.

For information about our after school program, call 728-6977 extension 5727

Website: https://www.ohlone.pvusd.net/
Location: 21 Bay Farms Road, Royal Oaks, CA, USA
Phone: 831-728-6977
Twitter: @OhloneOtters831