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Oak Middle School
Sunday, May 19, 2024
Dear Oak Middle School Families,
The Harlem Wizards are coming to Oak this Wednesday! Be sure to secure your TICKETS today.
When we got to school on Tuesday, we were pleasantly surprised to find a Mallard mother duck with her brand-new baby ducklings in our courtyard! We believe the same mother duck had babies in our courtyard last year as well. We immediately contacted Jess Zorge and Sera Perrotta for help. They guided the mother duck and her 10 ducklings out of the courtyard, through the building, across the track in the back of the school, and to the gated pond located behind the building. The mom was amazing, and the Oak hallways have never seen such a perfect line! Check out the most adorable videos and photos below.
Please reach out with any questions or concerns as our goal is to work together to make sure each and every child has a wonderful year at OMS.
In partnership,
Hallie Burak
Principal
508-841-1210
Scott Yonker
Assistant Principal Grade 7
508-841-1213
Michelle Dillon
Assistant Principal Grade 8
508-841-1205
Congrats to Mr. Shoro and the Cast and Crew of The Little Mermaid! Bravo!
Welcome to all of the SPS Kindergartners!
Massachusetts State Science and Engineering Fair Winners
Congratulations to the following students who placed at the Massachusetts State Science and Engineering Fair last Saturday at Worcester Technical High School!
Anoushka Nikumbh - Cabot Spotlight Award
Miftah Sifat - 2nd Place
Kaushik Satheesh Kumar - 2nd Place
Anish Gupta - 2nd Place
Rajat Krishnan - 3rd Place
Pratham Pai - 3rd Place
Divija Bontala - 3rd Place
Shoubhit Murali - 3rd Place
Make Way For Ducklings
The Route
Save the Dates!
May
May 22: Harlem Wizards 7 PM @ Oak - PTO Fundraiser
May 23: Day of Awesomeness (Rain Date TBD)
May 27: No School - Memorial Day
May 28: No Homework Due
May 29: Oak Talent Show
May 30: Advisory Day
June
June 4: 8th Grade Team Celebration @ 12:30 PM- Teal
June 5: 8th Grade Team Celebration @ 12:30 PM- Blue
June 6: 8th Grade Team Celebration @ 12:30 PM- Gold
June 6: 7th Grade Field Day
June 7: 8th Grade Team Celebration @ 12:30 PM - Red
June 10: 8th Grade Team Celebration @ 12:30 PM - Green
June 10: 7th Grade Field Day (Rain Date)
June 11: 8th Grade Field Day
June 11: 8th Grade Carnival
June 12: 8th Grade Field Day (Rain Date)
June 13: Last Day of School
Clubs and Activities
Just a reminder that there are new clubs and activities starting often, and many of the clubs operate on a drop in basis. Check the clubs and activities page here for more information.
The Sherwood & Oak PTO
🏀📢 SAVE THE DATE! 📢🏀
Mark your calendars: The Harlem Wizards are coming to town! Tickets are on sale now for this electrifying event on May 22nd. Don't miss out – secure your spot today!
Plus, our Amazon registry is open for donations, as well as our Sign-Up Genius for game-day volunteers. Every contribution helps our schools thrive. Let's raise as much as we can for our schools!
Get your tickets, donate, and let's make this event unforgettable!
Photos of the Week
Students working with Drones in Design Lab
Making Games!
Bus Registration
Reminders
Attendance: It is important to remind families of the Massachusetts laws around student attendance and absenteeism. The Massachusetts’ compulsory school attendance law (G.L. c. 76, § 1) outlines attendance requirements for students between the ages of 6-16. Section 1B of this law outlines the requirements of the school principal to notify and meet with the families of any student who has 5 or more unexcused absences. You may receive a notification from the school regarding your child’s attendance thus far this school year. Massachusetts defines chronic absenteeism as a student who misses 10% or more of days they are enrolled- regardless of whether or not these days are excused or unexcused. Consistent school attendance is critical for many reasons. We will be reviewing student attendance and identifying steps to support our students who are trending toward chronic absenteeism.
Child Safe Procedures: If your child is going to be absent or late to school, we require that you telephone us either the night before or first thing in the morning on the day of the absence. Parents/guardians should call 508-841-1200 and select 1 at the prompt for the Oak Attendance Line. We ask that you spell your child(ren)'s first and last name slowly and clearly. If we have not received a call to report an absence, the school will be in contact with the parent or emergency contact to confirm the child’s safety. Please help our busy office staff by always calling us when your child will be absent or tardy.
Just a reminder that if a child is absent from school, they cannot participate in any afterschool activities that day.
Early Dismissal: Should be the exception; a pattern of early dismissal interferes with student learning, teacher instruction, and important end of day routines for students. If you plan to dismiss your child, a parent/guardian must notify the office and your child's team teachers with either a note or email. Students are not allowed to call home to arrange for a dismissal.
iPad Use: Student iPads are a school owned device and should be used for learning purposes, not for personal use or gaming.
Cell Phone/Smart Watches: Student cell phones or other personal electronic devices (smart watches) are not allowed to be used during the school day. These are to be placed in a student locker or backpack when entering the building.
Late Bus Available: Mon/Weds/Thurs
We are now offering a FREE late bus services for students on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. The buses will depart from SHS at 3:50pm and from the middle schools at 4:20pm. While there is no charge for this service, families will need to sign up for the late bus via the middle schools Google form. We ask that you sign up by noon on the day your child will take the bus. You will need to complete the Google form for each child in your family who will take the late bus. Go to the SPS website for more information.
The Oak Food Pantry
The Food For Families Food Pantry at OMS is open! This year we are offering 2 different options for families as we recognize that every situation is different. Any family, no matter how big or small the need, can access the pantry. It does not matter if your need is short term or long term, the pantry is here for you. We understand that food insecurity is on the rise and we want to help our OMS families.
Option 1 is our Weekender Program: Each Friday, students can pick up a bag from the health office that will include individual portion size foods for 2 breakfasts and 2 lunches, along with a sleeve of crackers and 2 snacks. (Breakfast may be small cereal boxes, breakfast bars, instant oatmeal, small shelf stable milk, instant breakfast packet, small pancake mix. Lunch will be small mac and cheese or other pasta cups, tuna fish, canned chicken, soups). This is meant to help families who need support when school is not in session on the weekends.
Option 2 is our Biweekly Program: Every other Friday, families will receive 2 bags of groceries, one with a minimum of 12 lbs of food (including food items for breakfast, lunch and dinner and rotating staple items like peanut butter, jelly, cooking oil, condiments) and the other with household items (paper towels, napkins, toothpaste, dish soap, laundry soap, trash bags, deodorant, bar soap, etc.) This program requires that an adult family member come to school and pick up the bags during school hours. The bags will be ready by 9:00 A.M. Friday morning of the pick up week, located in the health office.
For both programs, pickup is in the Health Office. This program is confidential and no documentation of need is required.
If you are in need please contact the OMS nurses by calling 508-841-1204 or emailing them at oaknurse@shrewbury.k12.ma.us. Referrals can be made by anyone. Please reach out if you are in need.
The Locker
The Locker is a donation based program housed at Oak that helps families in the district that could use support with clothing and personal care items. We are happy to help you in the most discreet way possible, information will be kept confidential. It would be helpful to have as much information you can provide in what you are looking for and what will be most useful to your family.
We recognize that each student has their own preferences in what they would like to wear as far as styles and colors. If your child would be interested in helping us select items, we can arrange for them to come to the neatly organized closet and choose their own items.
Items can be sent home with your student if they are comfortable or pick up can be arranged through the health office.
Please complete this form if you would like help: