Montera Middle School eBulletin
August 27, 2023
Important Dates
This Week's Block Schedule: AB - B - AB
Monday, August 28, 3:45 - 5:30pm: Cross-Country Tryouts
Tuesday, August 29, 3:45 - 5:00pm: Girls Volleyball Tryouts
Wednesday August 30, 2:00 - 3:15pm: Girls Volleyball Tryout
Thursday, August 31, 3:45 - 5:30pm: Cross-Country Tryouts
Monday September 4: Labor Day - NO SCHOOL
Thursday September 7, 6:00 - 8:00pm: Back to School Night
Sunday September 10, 10am - 1:30pm: Volunteer Work Day - RSVP
Wednesday September 13, 6:30pm: Pedi-Party @ Isabella Nail Salon
Thursday September 14, 6:00 - 7:00pm: PTO Board Meeting (Board Only - Join the Board Here)
Friday September 15, Professional Development Day - NO SCHOOL.
Saturday September 16, 6:30pm: New York State of Mind Party (Adults)
Friday September 22, 4:00 - 6:00pm: PTO Community Happy Hour (all are invited!)
Action Items
- Contribute to the PG&E Matching Challenge
- Complete Afterschool Theatre Interest Form
- Sign Up for Pedi-Party @ Isabella Nail Salon
- Sign Up for New York State of Mind Party
- Sign up for 8th grade DC Trip
- Complete Volunteer Interest Form
- Volunteer to serve on the PTO Board
- Volunteer to be a Teacher Buddy
- Volunteer in the OFFICE
- Volunteer at VOLUNTEER WORK DAY
- Order Yearbook (and save!)
Important School Information
Academic Updates from Dr. Williams
Schoology: Please make sure that you are able to access your Schoology accounts. All families have received an email with the log in details. If you did not receive this email please alert Dr. Emrick at isaac.emrick@ousd.org.
iReady testing (ELA & Math): OUSD is now using iReady ELA instead of SRI for our annual reading diagnostic. We will administer the assessment in our English classes. Montera will pilot the iReady Math diagnostic in 2023-2024.
Diagnostic Window: 8/14/23 - 9/1/23
English Department Head: Ms. Jennifer Williams (jennifer.williams@ousd.org)
Math Department Head: Mrs. Villela-Smith (berenice.villelasmith@ousd.org)
Yearbook - Order Now and Save!
Order your yearbook now and save!
Purchase your Montera yearbook by September 30 to save 10% off the regular purchase price of $34.85. Buy now and your full-color, hard-cover, student-made yearbook will be delivered to your student at school in May, ready for signing before the end of the school year.
Questions? Email monterayearbookclub@gmail.com
NEEDED: Benefit Coordinator(s)
Love to plan a party? Have innovative and new FUNdraising ideas? WE NEED YOU! The PTO is seeking a Benefit Coordinator / Lead for this year's Spring Benefit. This can be an evening gala, an afternoon picnic, or whatever you and your team dream up! Contact president@monterapto.com if you are interested.
Check out more open board positions and the volunteer sign up form. For questions about volunteering at Montera, or to find out more about a position, please contact president@monterapto.com.
Will You Be A Teacher Buddy?
The following teachers are looking for a Teacher Buddy. Tasks may include photocopying, decorating classrooms, assisting a student, emails, organization, etc..
Please email volunteers@monterapto.com if you can lend a hand.
- Mx. J (Jawdat)
- Mr. Runge
- Ms. Kyser
- Ms. Shogbesan
- Ms. Ranahan
Office Volunteers Needed
Montera Office Support Can you help out in the Montera office? We currently do not have a Receptionist, so Ms. Finley is doing double duty as both the Receptionist and Administrative Assistant. Any assistance we can get for the front office would be greatly appreciated. Office hours are 8am - 4pm. Can you work a lunchtime shift so Ms. Finley and Ms. Ida can have a break? Can you spend a couple hours in the morning after drop-off or in the afternoon before pick up? Please sign up here. Type your name in whenever you can help. No need to email Ms. Finley. Just show up, and she will give you a job.
Dress Code & Phone Policy
Please review Montera's NEW Dress Code and Phone Policies here:
PE Uniforms
Still need to order a PE uniform? Click here. Students who ordered PE uniforms should have received them during their PE classes. Please contact your student's PE teacher if your student did not receive one that was ordered.
Featured Fundraiser: PG&E Matching Challenge
We're almost at the finish line! Let's do this, Toros!!! The PG&E matching challenge. Time to raise $5,000 as fast as we can and PG&E will match it! That's a quick 10K kick off towards our 2023-24 PTO Budget of $175,000. Any amount helps! Please CLICK HERE and sign in AS A GUEST to make your contribution TODAY!
A huge thanks to Montera Alum Kevin Tam for this peer to peer matching opportunity!
From Kevin: When I think back on growing up and the most formative years of my education, I always fondly remember my "junior high" days at Montera... where I excelled at math, climbed rope in PE class, learned woodworking, and even took a typing class. Please join me in supporting this vibrant public school and support today's kids who are equally delighted with their experiences in math, PE, art, building friendships, and more!
Extended Day Learning Program
Envisioneers Extended Day Learning Program (afterschool) is packed with enrichment opportunities, academic support, SEL, and lots of fun. ELT (Extended Learning Time) begins on the first day of school in the MUR. Please complete the Envisioneers Extended Day Learning Program interest form here and look for RegPack (registration / payment form) to be available to complete next week. Learn more here. Questions? Please reach out to campus director, Mabel Margate mabel.m@theenvisioneers.org.
Afterschool Clubs
Afterschool Theatre
Afterschool Theatre with teaching artists from Oakland Theatre Project is back! All Levels Welcome! Theatre games, improvisation, scene study, and more! No experience necessary, just an open mind and a willingness to have fun!
Please complete this form to express your interest in Fall 2023 Afterschool Theatre. A Max of 20 students will be accepted into the class. We will notify you via email by September 6th with your student's acceptance or if they have been placed on a waitlist. Payment is due at time of acceptance.*
DATES: Mondays from September 11 - December 11, 2023
TIME: Afterschool - 5:15pm
COST: $265 (for the semester)
Montera Sports
Montera's fall sports will have tryouts in August 2023. If a student has interest in coed flag football, cheer, cross country, please make sure registration is completed by the end of August. Please check the eBulletin, school website, and ParentSquare for tryout updates.
*PLEASE REGISTER YOUR STUDENT BEFORE PRACTICE BEGINS. CLICK HERE FOR FORMS AND INSTRUCTIONS.
COED FLAG FOOTBALL
- Practices will be held on Tuesdays and Thursdays 3:45-5:30
CROSS COUNTRY
- Tryouts Continue Mon 8/28 and Thurs 8/31. Meet at the track and baseball field.
- Practices will be Mondays and Thursdays 3:45PM to 5:30PM.
GIRLS VOLLEYBALL
Tryouts Tuesday, August 29, 3:45 - 5:00pm in the gym
Tryouts Wednesday August 30, 2:00 - 3:15pm in the gym
*PLEASE REGISTER YOUR STUDENT BEFORE PRACTICE BEGINS. CLICK HERE FOR FORMS AND INSTRUCTIONS.
Email all questions to sports@monterapto.com
OUSD MIDDLE SCHOOL GAME SCHEDULE
DONATIONS FOR MONTERA SPORTS
Step up to the plate and help make Montera Sports a whopping success! DONATE NOW!
8th Grade Activities
2024 D.C. and Williamsburg Trip - Spots Available
Thank you to everyone who attended our meeting on 8/24 and who has already enrolled their student on the 2024 D.C. and Williamsburg trip!
As we have now officially opened up the second bus, parents are invited to join us on our tour to help fill this bus up! We currently have 20 spots available on this bus, and they will continue to fill on a first-come, first-served basis.
To enroll now, please visit: www.efexploreamerica.com/2669142uw
If you have any questions about payment plans, insurance, or just want to talk to our Traveler Support Team, you can call them at 1-888-333-9756.
Lastly, attached is a copy of the trip presentation. All it takes to reserve a spot is a $95 deposit and you can then schedule out the remaining balance online.
Please let Ms. Hudson (lorynw@yahoo.com) know if you have any questions!
All the best,
Jessika Hernandez
EF Tours
Upcoming Events
Fall Fest - Save the Date and Volunteer!
Mark your calendars! Fall Fest is on October 28 from 2-5 pm. Planning and preparation for this year's community-building and celebration event is underway. Sign up as a volunteer now to help ensure another successful Montera event. There are many ways to lend a hand. For example:
- before the event:
- create the promotional flyer
- plan entertainment/ music
- secure the dunk tank
- plan the photo booth
- shop for food, snacks and drinks
- help set up the Haunted Classroom
- day of the event:
- help with set up
- supervise an activity like the bouncy house
- work the grill (hot dogs, veggie burgers, and sausage links) and snack stand
- help at the end with break down.
Jump in early to get your pick of roles. Questions or suggestions can be sent to fallfest@monterapto.com.
Parties Coming Up SOON - Don't Miss Out!
Sign Up for a Montera parent hosted party and meet some new friends while raising money for our school!
The Hike and Yoga in the Redwoods was POSTPONED due to illness. Please check back for the new date!
- Pedi-Party @ Isabella Nail Salon, Wednesday September 13, 6:30pm (adults)
- New York State of Mind Party, Saturday September 16, 6:30pm (adults)
Pedi-Party @ Isabella Nail Salon - MONTERA FUNDRAISER
Don't Miss Out! Save your spot HERE!
DATE: Wednesday September 13, 6:30pm (adults)
LOCATION: Isabella Nail Bar, 1962 Mountain Blvd., Oakland
$60 per person (proceeds go to Montera!)
Join us at Isabella Nail Bar in Montclair for a pedi-party fundraising event. Isabella will reserve the salon for our private event. Enjoy snacks and wine while you get your pedicure and connect with other parents from our Montera community. Buy two tickets and bring a friend, Grandma or a neighbor! Isabella Nail Bar offers a toxic-free environment.
Price includes pedicure, tip, food and drinks. Manicures are also available for a separate fee, paid directly to the nail salon.
Donated by: Rori Robison, Jen Wilkins, and Roxy Newman
New York State of Mind Party - FUNDRAISER FOR MONTERA
DATE: Saturday September 16, 6:30pm (adults)
LOCATION: Home of Kali & Paul Williams
$60 per person (proceeds got to Montera!)
Starting spreading the news! We want you to be a part it of it! New York, New York! Pizza! Manhattans! Cosmos! Everything NYC! Come meet some Montera families and enjoy some New York vibes!
Donated by: Kali and Paul Williams
Meet Montera
Ms. Anisa Rasheed (she/her)
Position: Assistant Principal
What do you like best about the Montera Community?
I like the diversity of our community, I really do. Montera is a kind of unique middle school in Oakland in as much as we have students from probably EVERY elementary school between all the grades. A large geographical array of elementary schools, and they choose to come to Montera! It creates a huge diversity of families and students.
What is one memory you have from when YOU were in middle school?
I went to an intermediate school, 7th and 8th grades.
One of my really present memories was having to wear this PE uniform-- it wasn’t a t-shirt and shorts, it was this little jumpsuit. And we all had to take a shower after being in PE (except in winter time, they eased up on us). I remember learning how to go into the group shower and stick my leg in the water. You could pretend- get your leg wet so that was your shower. My elementary school had 300 kids, and the intermediate school had about 1,000, so it was really a huge adjustment. I made some really, really, really good friends at my intermediate school who have lasted a lifetime. Not people I grew up with, but people I met as a 7th and 8th grade student, and I was very close to them for many years. Middle school is a whole other world and definitely an opportunity for students to broaden their lens.
What is something you do for fun outside of school?
Before the pandemic I was a LOYAL yoga practitioner. I mean I was down there every weekend for my yoga classes. I’m trying to discipline myself to get back. And I also really enjoy doing salsa dancing. I’m pretty good at it! But the pandemic really put a crook in a lot of things we all loved to do. We are all trying to return to some semblance of what life was like and must be kind to ourselves. I’m also an avid football fan. I love the 49ers!
What are you looking forward to this school year?
I’m really looking forward to the work that we want to do as a school community around what we call “unfinished learning” and “unfinished instruction” as a result of the pandemic. I don’t like the thinking that there’s a “gap in recovery,” that deficit vision. I think that as survivors of a global pandemic, we learned something about ourselves and our world that you can’t learn in a classroom. I KNOW that these students, years from now, will have a core strength from having experienced a global pandemic and lived through it. I don’t see that as a gap of any sort. We don’t talk about that enough. I think the unfinished instruction around reading, math, science- I’m excited about where we are as a faculty and staff being in a good place to address that. We will rectify that. But we don’t really think enough about the long haul and life experiences that make us who we are as we move along this journey.
Anything else you’d like to share?
I am very invested in the Montera Middle School community. My grandson attends Montera (now a 7th grader). As a teacher I was taught the idea that I always want to create the kind of classroom that I would want my own children to be in. If what I’m doing with other people’s children is good enough for my own kids, that’s a pretty high standard. It’s really a fabulous community, a wonderful school. We’re located in an idyllic part of the city. And I think we might have the highest percentage of staff and teachers who work at the OUSD school they themselves attended. I think that people whose families and kids come to Montera, deep down they realize they’re in a special place with a special group of teachers and families.
Interview conducted by parent volunteer, Grace Telcs. Learn more about our Administrators, Teachers, and Staff HERE.
Toro Pics
Our Toros enjoying some outdoor time during PE! Click here to see more photos of our Toros in action.
These and many more opportunities are available to our Montera community, OUSD, and beyond. Items appear in the eBulletin for 2 weeks. Please click here for the full list of current programs.
Youth Disc Fest 2023
Sunday, August 27, 2023
The Youth Disc Fest is a FREE community event for middle schoolers, rising high school Freshmen, and youth players new to the sport looking for information about teams in their area they can potentially join to continue playing Ultimate.
BLOOM (Boldly Living Outdoors for Mental Health)
Check out a study by a great researcher at UCSF regarding the positive impact of families in nature. It gets students and their families in nature and families will get a small stipend for participating!
Kits Cubed STEM Fair 2023
A fun Saturday STEM Fair, featuring booths from California Life Sciences, Chabot Space & Science Center, Lawrence Hall of Science and more!
The Wright Institute Family Clinic
The Wright Institute Clinical Services in Berkeley has opened a new family clinic for families, children and adolescents. The fee is sliding scale $25-$75. Services are provided by doctoral trainees. Click here for more info.
Charity Golf Tournament to benefit OUSD High School Seniors
Come join us on Monday, October 23, 2023, for an exciting day of golf, lunch, exclusive tournament apparel, raffle prizes, and much more. Your generous support will aid our high school seniors in the Oakland Athletic League, who aspire to pursue a career in sports, by providing them with scholarships. Additionally, it will assist in the growth of school-sponsored athletic programs in middle and high schools. We look forward to your participation in this remarkable event.
Help is Available for OUSD Community: Care Solace
OUSD has partnered with Care Solace to support our community’s mental health. If you or a family member are looking for help with your mental health or substance use, you can use Care Solace to anonymously find community therapists or treatment programs matched to your needs regardless of circumstances. Care Solace is a complimentary and confidential service provided to OUSD students, staff, and their families.
If you would like to use Care Solace to help you find a provider:
Call 888-515-0595 available 24/7/365 in any language.
Visit www.caresolace.com/oakland and either search on your own , OR click “Book Appointment” for assistance by video chat, email, or phone.
Free Adobe Express Accounts for OUSD Students and Staff
Adobe Express is an online and mobile design app both OUSD students and staff can use to easily create stunning presentations, short videos, worksheets, flyers, journals and more. This app is available to all students and staff, so share the news with your colleagues and students. And, the best part, it works on Chromebooks and mobile devices.
Login to Adobe Express using your district email address and password at https://express.adobe.com/
Outlandish - Outdoor Trips for Queer Youth
A new program for LGBTQIA+ Youth Encouraging Stewardship of the Great Outdoors. Ages 13-15, 16-18. FREE to Sliding Scale.
Exciting news, we have A LOT of great Outlandish! adventures planned for this fall! I wanted to reach out and invite you to check out what's coming down the pipeline.
- Saturday, September 16th: Samuel P Taylor State Park. We're partnering up with the Save the Redwoods League folks to hike and explore this beautiful park up in Marin. Ages 13-15
- Saturday, September 23rd: South Bay Hike (location TBD). This is a special trip. We're partnering with South Bay's LGBTQ Youth Space organization to hike in one of the recreational areas south of SF. The age bracket is more expanded for this one, 13-25. Parents are welcome.
- Saturday, October 21st: Candlestick Point State Park. This one is very unique! We'll be attending the park's Kite Day. We'll get to make and fly kites AND the rangers are going to teach us fishing! Kites and fishing! What a day! Ages 16-18
- Saturday, October 28th: Muir Woods. We'll be returning to the site of our very first Outlandish! trip. Our ranger friends there will take us on a behind the scenes park tour where we'll learn about flora and fauna. Ages 13-15
- Saturday, November 18th: Butano State Park. We'll spend the day exploring this beautiful park in the Santa Cruz mountains. Ages 16-18
- And I'm currently working on details for trips in the winter and beyond so stay tuned!
You can find more information on our trips page here. Remember, all of our trips are FREE. We want anyone and everyone to go on adventures with us.
Sign ups for the September 16th and 23rd trips are available now.
How to Stay Informed
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Thanks to Our Sponsors
Want to be a Montera PTO sponsor and have your business promoted weekly in the eBulletin? Please contact president@monterapto.com.
Montera Middle School
eBulletin is produced on a weekly basis by the Montera Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) except on holidays. It sometimes contains ads from our sponsors and/or services from the community. These advertisements do not imply endorsement of any product or service by OUSD or Montera Middle School.
If you have news you'd like to include, please send it to communications@monterapto.com by 5pm on Friday. Submissions may be edited for spelling, grammar, brevity and clarity. In addition, while we strive for accuracy, being human sometimes gets in the way. If you spot something so off the mark we should hang our heads in embarrassment, please bring it to our attention. Thanks!
We Are Montera. We Are One.
Email: communications@monterapto.com
Website: https://www.ousd.org/montera
Location: 5555 Ascot Drive, Oakland, CA, USA
Phone: (510) 531-6070
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/monterapto
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/monteratoros/