Dear Oak Middle School Families,

It’s hard to believe we have only 5 days left until winter break! Please encourage your students to keep up their academic effort and stick to school routines—charging iPads, arriving to school well-rested, and coming to class prepared. We are all looking forward to the break, but let’s give it one last push before we get there.

We also have two spirit days coming up, sponsored by Student Council:

Thursday, December 19th – Ugly Sweater Day

Friday, December 20th – Festive Friday

Please note that Friday, December 20th, is a regular school day with dismissal at 3:00 PM. Winter break will be from Monday, December 23rd through Wednesday, January 1st. School will resume on Thursday, January 2nd, and it will be a Day 4 in the cycle.

I hope everyone has a restful and enjoyable break. My next newsletter will be sent on Sunday, January 5th.

Please reach out with any questions or concerns. We are committed to working together to ensure a successful year for all our students.

In partnership,

Hallie Burak
Principal
508-841-1210
hburak@shrewsbury.k12.ma.us

Michelle Dillon
Assistant Principal Grade 7
mdillon@shrewsbury.k12.ma.us
508-841-1205

Scott Yonker
Assistant Principal Grade 8
508-841-1213
syonker@shrewsbury.k12.ma.us

The American Mathematics Competition 8, also known as the AMC8, will be offered after school on Thursday, January 23. This competition consists of 25 challenging problems (multiple choice) and lasts 40 minutes. The competition is open to grade 8 students at Oak Middle School, and will be limited to 50 participants. If more than 50 grade 8 students sign-up, then there will be a lottery. If fewer than 50 grade 8 students sign-up, then grade 7 students will be offered the opportunity. Students will be able to access a link in Schoology to sign-up Monday, 12/16-Thursday, 12/19.

We are excited to share some important upcoming events and opportunities for our Grade 8 students regarding Vocational Technical Education opportunities at Leicester High School (LHS), a MA state approved Chapter 74 Career and Technical Education program. Please review the details below for upcoming opportunities to learn more in December and January, as the first informational event takes place this coming Monday, December 9th, at 6:30 p.m.

Vocational Technical Education opportunities available at LHS for the 2025-2026 school year include the following:

Building and Property Maintenance
Culinary Arts
Early Education and Care
Electrical
Health Assisting

There is no tuition for families for this program. Interested students and families will complete two very brief applications that include a student application for admission and a non-resident tuition application. More information to follow regarding these items.

Important Dates

Leicester HS Visits OMS – December 9, 2024

On December 9, Leicester High School visited Oak Middle School to present information about their vocational opportunities. You can find the link to that presentation HERE.

Zoom Meeting for Students and Parents/Caretakers with Leicester HS –December 9, 2024

Additionally, LHS hosted a Zoom presentation for students and families Monday night. The link to that presentation is available HERE.

Field Trip for Interested Students to Leicester HS – December 17, 2024

Date & Time: December 17, 2024. Bus(es) will depart at 9:00 a.m. sharp

Leicester Open House – January 7, 2025

Date & Time: January 7, 2025 from 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM
Details: Interested OMS students and their families are invited to attend Leicester High School’s Open House event to learn more about programs and opportunities available to students.

Application Deadline: January 15, 2025

Date: January 15, 2025
Details: OMS will deliver student applications to Leicester High School. We will collect all student applications here at Oak Middle School and hand deliver them to LHS.

Here are the links for the Leicester CTE information page, the application, and the Ch. 74 page.

Leicester High School CTE Website

Leicester High School Chapter 74 Application (Hardcopy) or Leicester High School Chapter 74 Application (Online)

Leicester High School Chapter 74 Non-resident Application

We are excited about these opportunities for our students to explore educational pathways at Leicester High School, and are grateful to participate in this preferred partnership with LHS. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out.

OMS Lunch and Learn guest Speaker, on December 20, 2024, is Mr Subha Shankar, a software engineer for American Express. Mr. Shankar would like to speak with students about future careers in Software Engineering, coding , data science, AI, etc. Registration is not required - all students are welcome to stop by during their lunch period!

Give the gift of Oak merch!

With the holidays approaching, it’s a great time to order an Oak sweatshirt or t-shirt for your student. Sweatshirts are $30 and t-shirts are $15. Order for your student by December 12.

Order Today

Want to get involved or just share your ideas? We’re all ears.

Fill out this quick 2024-2025 Sherwood/Oak PTO survey.

Join the PTO on Zoom the first Thursday of every month.

Whether you just want to listen in and ask questions or want to get involved, join the monthly PTO Zoom meeting to get all the info you need.

Next meeting: Thursday, January 2 at 7:00pm.

Here’s how to join: https://app.zoom.us/wc

Meeting ID: 851 4598 4921

Save the Date! Harlem Wizards Game | April 1, 2025

The Sherwood/Oak PTO will once again be hosting the Harlem Wizards right here in Shrewsbury to play a game of trick basketball against Shrewsbury teachers and administrators. Since last year's event was such a big success, this year it will be held at Shrewsbury High School so even more families can get in on the fun. Stay tuned for more details and ticket sales.

Let’s get social.

Follow the Sherwood/Oak PTO on Facebook @ShrewsburyMiddleSchoolPTO and Instagram @sherwood.oakpto for news and information.

Do you know all of the “extra”experiences that your students have experienced, thanks to the Colonial Fund? (Click on this link to see photos and descriptions). We rely on the generosity of parents and former parents to support many of our Career Exploration and Experiential Learning gevents, including the Lunch and Learn program, Career Fair, the Health Fair, etc. A small gift to can unlock so much! This December, we invite you to help sustain and expand these life-changing experiences by making one “simple gift.” You decide where your gift will have the greatest impact on our students. For more information, please click here. Questions? Contact kkeohane@shrewsbury.k12.ma.us. Thank you!

We have recently given students the chance to recognize their teachers/staff members for going above and beyond, and now we would like to extend that same opportunity to families. If you would like to acknowledge a teacher or staff member for their amazing work, please fill out the form linked HERE. We will be sharing this recognition directly with the staff member(s) so they know how much their efforts are appreciated.

December

17 - Winter Concert

17 - Grades Available in PowerSchool

19 - No BCOEI - Community Meeting: Responsibility

19- PTO Sponsored Spelling Bee - @6:00 PM Oak Auditorium

20 - No Homework Due Thursday January 2nd no quizzes, tests or other assessments on January 2nd

23-1 Winter Vacation

Congrats to all of the Oak Teams who competed last weekend and went on to compete this weekend!

6th & 7th Grade Team - Submerged circuits

Awards- Rising all star award Golden ticket to State Championship

Shaarav Muthukumar

Pranav Kumaran Babu

Kashvi Naik

Aaryav Taliyan

Shamrudh Naveen

Navyaa Gupta

7th Grade team - Poseidons Army

Awards-Judges award for project & Golden ticket to State Championship

Tyler Robitaille

Ishaan Kumble

Vaishnav Mohan

Adhvik Aravind

Hridhveer Khurana

Koshik Premkumar

7th Grade team- Circuit Surfers

Awards- Core Values 1st place & Golden ticket to State Championship

Suha Salam

Halina Shea

Grahitha Sandeep

Navya Vikram

Samanvitha Sriram

Shriya Marathe

8th Grade Team - Krakens

Awards -2nd place innovation & Golden ticket to State Championship

Rayhan Shaikh

William Zhang

Alim Nadaf

Atharv Mishra

Miftah Sifat

Pranav Unnithan

Congrats to Team CyberSquad who qualified for heading to the Worlds/Open Championships

Cullen Bautista

Cayleigh Bautista

Vaibhav Vinodhkumar

Daksh Shrivastava

Priyanshu Chakraborty

Abel Mathew

If students are interested in joining a club or activity, they should check the Oak Middle School Schoology page. This is where all up-to-date information about dates, times, and advisors is posted. They can also check the club and activity wall in the main office or the cafeteria windows. Many clubs and activities will be starting soon, and we encourage students to get involved beyond the school day!

Below is a PDF of the different offerings.

Free late bus service will be available for students at Shrewsbury High, Oak Middle, and Sherwood Middle Schools on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. Buses depart SHS at 3:50 PM and the middle schools at 4:20 PM.

This limited service has fixed routes (red, green, blue) with centralized stops, which may not cover all neighborhoods. Please review the schedule to choose the best route and stop. Families are responsible for pickup from the centralized stops.

Sign up using the school’s Google form.

More info: https://schools.shrewsburyma.gov/transportation/late-bus.

Questions? Contact April Yu at transportation@shrewsbury.k12.ma.us or 508-841-8363.

Attendance:
Massachusetts law (G.L. c. 76, § 1) requires students aged 6-16 to attend school. Principals must meet with families if a student has 5 or more unexcused absences. You may receive a notification if your child’s attendance is concerning. Chronic absenteeism is defined as missing 10% or more school days, excused or not. Consistent attendance is critical, and we will support students trending toward absenteeism.

Child Safe Procedures:
If your child will be absent or late, please call 508-841-1200 (option 1 for Oak Attendance) the night before or the morning of the absence. Clearly spell your child’s first and last name. If we don't receive a call, we will contact parents or emergency contacts to ensure the child's safety. Remember, students absent from school cannot participate in after-school activities.

Early Dismissal:
Early dismissals should be rare as they disrupt learning and end-of-day routines. Notify the office (talvarez@shrewsbury.k12.ma.us) and your child's teachers via note or email. Students cannot arrange dismissals themselves.

The Food for Families Pantry at Oak Middle School is open and available to support any family, no matter the size or duration of the need. Families can choose between the Weekender Program, which provides individual meals for students to take home on Fridays, or the Biweekly Program, offering groceries and household items every other Friday. Both options are confidential, and no documentation is required. To access the pantry, contact the OMS nurses at 508-841-1204 or oaknurse@shrewsbury.k12.ma.us.

The Locker is a donation-based program at Oak, providing clothing and personal care items for families in need within our district. We strive to offer support in a discreet and confidential manner, ensuring your comfort throughout the process. If your child would like to help select items, they are welcome to visit our neatly organized closet to choose what they prefer. Alternatively, we can send items home with your student or arrange pick-up through the health office.

Please complete this form if you would like help:

https://forms.gle/tnuzo69hdmZXvNjA6

Please enter through the water tower entrance, drive up the hill, and pull up as far as possible—ideally to the second entrance. This helps ensure an efficient drop-off process and is considerate of other parents.

Students should exit the car on the Oak building side.

Grade 7

Last Names A-L: Laura Candelaria

LCandelaria@Shrewsbury.k12.ma.us

508-841-1240

Last Names M-Z:

Jennifer Lencioni

JLencioni@Shrewsbury.k12.ma.us

508-841-1214

Grade 8

Last Names A-L:

Amy Wallace

AWallace@Shrewsbury.k12.ma.us

508-841-8761

Last Names M-Z:

Kristen Minio

KMinio@Shrewsbury.k12.ma.us

508-841-1212