Oak Creek Elementary

Oak Creek Families,

This week I want to send a large thank you to the many volunteers that support our school. Our PTO STEM/OMSI event yesterday was lots of fun, and is just one of the many, many ways volunteers enrich our school. Just for reference, this year at Oak Creek, we have had:

• 220 different volunteers in our school
• 7065 hours donated by volunteers
• 378 total volunteers who are registered

That is amazing, and we see the impact you make on a daily basis. Thank you! Your time and effort are appreciated deeply!

Read below for important information, including updates to the COVID-19 protocols, photos of student artwork, and more! If you have any questions, please see the FAQ section below, or feel free to reach out to myself or Tess Kristoffersson at kristoft@loswego.k12.or.us.

Thank you again for your support from home!

Barb Keeton

Updated in Every Edition:

• Principal's Message
• Dates to Remember
• PTO Corner

NEW In This Edition:

• Kid's Storytime Flyer
• Lost and Found info
  

Repeated Information:

• Changes to COVID-19 Response
• Elementary Strings Program 23-24
• Title-IA - Change in School Designation
• Save the Date: Smart Start 2023!
• 2023-2024 Verification
• Purposeful People
• Nurses' Newsletter

LOSD District News:

• Lake Oswego Youth Athletic Opportunities
• Hiring for School Bus Drivers
• LOSD Cares
• Tualatin Food Pantry
• "I Love Lake Oswego" Clothing Closet
• SafeOregon
• Subscribe to Lake Oswego Schools App

June 6: Field Day

June 7: PreK Graduation/Ice Cream Social

June 8: 5th Grade Promotion Ceremony

June 9: 5th Grade to Oaks Park

June 12: Last Day for Students! 11:00 Dismissal

June 12: PTO Beach Party; 4-6

Hi! This is a friendly reminder to come check out our Lost and Found section. It is currently overflowing and clothes will be donated next week.

The Oregon Department of Education and Oregon Health Authority has updated requirements for school districts' communicable disease management planning for the 2023-24 school year. Included are the following changes to our COVID-19 response:

Effective May 11:

• Several sources of COVID-19 data ended. We will archive our dashboard and CDC Community Level metrics shared in our newsletter, website, and school signage.

• A five-day period of isolation for those infected with COVID-19 is no longer recommended for the general population, including people in K-12 education settings. Our schools will continue to follow the recommendation for students and staff to stay home until fever free for 24 hours and symptoms improve.

Effective June 17:

• The COVID-19 vaccination requirement for public and private school teachers, staff, and school volunteers (OAR 333-019-1030) will be lifted. That means that after June 16, teachers, school staff, and school volunteers will no longer have to provide proof of vaccination or have a valid medical or religious exception on file to be in direct or indirect contact with students.

Click here for more information!

Effective with the 2023-24 school year, Oak Creek Elementary will no longer be designated as Title-1A. Several criteria impacted this decision, including the recent elementary school boundary change, Oak Creek, demographic data, and the increasing need for district funds to maintain a level of support for a two school model. Federal Title-IA pays for one licensed reading specialist and one classified reading assistant. The decision also coincided with the retirement of our Title-1A specialist (Laura Johnson).

Smart Start is an opportunity specifically for our students with 504s and IEPs, and their parents and guardians, to make introductions and connect with their teachers and to feel prepared and welcomed for the start of school. Smart Start is in person on Thursday, Aug. 31,12:30-2:30 p.m.

Teachers will be familiar with your student’s plan and accommodations. To help get to know your students, please complete the attached one-page profile or create one on your own ahead of time, and give it to the teacher at the Smart Start introduction.

Also, to assist in your family’s preparation for the new school year use the Smart Start checklist for parents and guardians of students with 504s and IEPs.

See you on August 31!

Beginning April 28, LOSD needs parents/guardians of all students enrolled for the 2023-24 school year to log into ParentVUE and review/update your students' information through the Register/Verify tab. This benefits both families and schools by:

• Ensuring that schools have accurate information to reach parents and other contacts in both emergency and non-emergency situations. Verification is important even if your address or contact information has not changed over the past year because the school may have incorrect information from a previous year.
• Confirming parent email addresses for Google Classroom and other applications to participate in your student's learning.
• Enabling distribution of key information in the district's K-12 Family Handbook. If you have forgotten your ParentVUE password, go to the login page, click "I am a Parent," then click "Forgot Password."
  
  

If you are unsure whether you have a ParentVUE account, contact your student's school. For assistance with the verification process, refer to the user guide on the LOSD website or contact your student's school.

Hey OCE!

Coming soon!

The last day of school is June 12th and we are celebrating with a community BEACH PARTY!

Where: Oak Creek Elementary field / playground / undercover blacktop

When: Monday, June 12th (last day of school!), 4-6p

Attire: beach casual

What: photo booth

arts & crafts

first come, first served goodie bags

yearbook signing

playground fun

music

Smak Dab’s + Kona Ice available for purchase

Volunteers, we will be celebrating all of you at the end of the party with cake. Thank you for all of the time you have contributed to Oak Creek! We are so excited to wrap up the school year OCE students and parents!

We will be honoring Walk, Bike, & Roll to School Day on June 5th! The PTO encourages everyone who can to walk, bike, or roll to and from school. Leaving cars at home is better for the environment and helps us be active. For more information, visit the website. Calling volunteers to sign up (scroll past Garden sign up) to support students traveling from further distances. See you on the streets!

Field Day, June 6th, during the school day. If you would like to volunteer for the event, sign up here.

Get your yearbook!

All yearbooks will be delivered to the students in class June 8th. Orders must be in by June 5th. The PTO won't be selling yearbooks in front of the school this year. Instead, they will be delivered to students in class on June 8th. Please use this link to order for your student today! Orders must be received by June 5th to ensure delivery in class.

Fundraising Opportunities!

Celebrate your family’s time at OCE with a personalized, engraved brick paver placed in the patio in the front of the school! You can customize up to 8 lines of messaging. This timeless donation will always be there, even after your family has graduated out of the school. Proceeds support the PTO. Orders are due June 5th, and the bricks will be installed over the summer. Order your brick today!

Get your OCE spirit wear! Use this link to shop for all of your coyote gear.

Follow us on social media!

Facebook @ Oak Creek Elementary

Instagram @ Oak Creek Elementary PTO

Questions? OakCreekElementaryPTO@gmail.com

Oak Creek Elementary PTO Executive Committee

Kirstin Martin / President

Amanda Schade / Treasurer VP

Samantha McCaskey / Assistant Treasurer VP

Page Donnelly/ Membership VP

Brooke Mattern / Communications VP

Holli Hansford / Co-Events and Enrichment VP

Barry Hansford / Co-Events and Enrichment VP

Steve Farnham / Co-Fundraising VP

Heather Shoyer / Co-Fundraising VP

Lauren Terpstra / Parental Involvement VP

Rachel Wilde / Secretary VP

Teressa Raine / Sustainability VP

Dear Oak Creek Families,

During the month of May, we will be investing our time and attention on the character trait of CREATIVITY in our Social Emotional Learning (SEL) lessons, classrooms, and throughout our school community. CREATIVITY is one of three traits we have focused on throughout the year that helps students Be Well.

The definition students will be learning this month is: Creativity: Using your imagination to create something new or solve a problem.

One of the best things about being a human is our ability to imagine! We have this cool part of our brain that allows us to not just think about survival, but also about sparkly space pigeons or colorful caterpillars or a cardboard box that is secretly a rocket ship. It is that same imagination that makes a sandbox into the moon that is capable of imagining the world’s problems as opportunities for new, bold, innovative solutions. The only way we change the negative normals in our world is to have the Courage and Creativity to think differently and exercise our imagination to help make the world better!

In Partnership,

Roxanne Davidson

School Counselor

Asthma/Allergy Medications at School

It is critical to the health and safety of your student to bring ALL doctor recommended medications to school. Over the summer, speak with your doctor to get the proper supplies for school and then go to the LOSD web page to find the proper forms to be completed with the medications. If your student is in Elementary or Secondary and will store their meds at school, watch for a medication drop off time for your particular school. If they are in secondary and keeping their medication in their possession, please submit the proper paperwork so we are aware of where to find their medication in case of an emergency.

Individualized Health Plan? - Watch for an Email

If your child has a LOSD Individualized Health Plan (IHP) developed in consultation with your District Nurse, please watch for an email! Your response is needed to confirm or update your student's plan. We appreciate your prompt response.

Immunizations

Please review the OHA requirements and information on required immunizations for students. Please make arrangements to complete immunizations and update Synergy over the summer to avoid exclusion in 2024.

If you would like to speak to your school’s district nurse, click the link below for contact information.

Contact your District Nurse

LO Girls Youth Basketball Camps: Girls 3rd-8th grade. Join the LO high school girls basketball coaches for a great week of basketball action! Come grow as a player through drills, contests, scrimmages, team activities, and more! Players will be grouped by similar ages and abilities. All players will receive a camp t-shirt. Three camp sessions to choose from! To learn more and register click here: Dates and Registration

Lake Oswego Youth Tackle Football fall 2023 registration is open! Register HERE

www.lakerfootball.com

I Love Lake Oswego Clothing Closet has received an overwhelming amount of support and donation during the pandemic. We want to give back to our community and encourage our community to lean on us not for just hard times, but for up cycling, sustainability, and for our environment. In the past the closet was just for students, and since the pandemic we have opened our doors to anyone within our community.

Visit https://www.ilovelakeoswego.com for more information.

Parents-guardians who have concerns about a student’s well-being are encouraged to reach out to their principal and maintain strong lines of communication and partnership between students, families, staff, and other resources. SafeOregon is also an effective way to report a tip regarding safety threats or potential acts of violence to our students or schools. Students should also be aware that intentionally providing a false report is a serious offense. https://www.safeoregon.com/

In addition, below are reporting methods for parents-guardians or students to use to report issues related to racist, bias, or harassment incidents.

· Incident Report for Elementary School

· Incident Report for Middle Schools

· Incident Report for High Schools

Stay connected to the district and your school(s) and receive urgent notifications by subscribing to the Lake Oswego Schools App.

Reach out to us if you have any questions or need anything!

• Principal; Barb Keeton: keetonb@loswego.k12.or.us
• Administrative Assistant; Terese Kristoffersson: kristoft@loswego.k12.or.us
• Administrative Assistant; Tanya Goodwin: goodwint@loswego.k12.or.us

Address: 55 Kingsgate Rd., Lake Oswego, OR 97035

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OakCreekPTA/

Interested in OCE Spirit Wear? Check out this website sponsored by our PTO! OCE Spirit Wear