Montera Middle School eBulletin
November 3, 2024
Important Dates
Block Schedule: AB - b - AB (yes, another b day Wednesday)
Monday, November 11: Veterans' Day - NO SCHOOL
Wednesday November 13, 9:30 - 11:00am: Prospective Family TourThursday November 14, 5:00 - 7:00pm: 8th Grade Family Friendsgiving Potluck
Thursday November 21, 6:30pm: PTO Meeting (via Zoom)
Monday November 25 - Friday November 29: Thanksgiving Break
Saturday December 7, 12:00-4:00pm: Montera Holiday Craft Fair
Wednesday, December 11
- 9:30 - 11:00am: Prospective Family Tour
- 6:00pm: Winter Concert (Band)
Thursday December 12, 6:00 pm: Winter Concert (Choir and Orchestra)
Action Items
School News
Halloween Candygram Fun!
Thank you to all the parents who donated candy for the candygrams! And big thanks to our SYL students and Mx. J for selling them at lunchtime. We sold over 600 candygrams, and raised over $1,000 for 8th Grade Activities. Students and staff loved receiving their grams on October 31st. Stay tuned for our next candygram fundraiser on Valentine's Day!
GET INVOLVED
Prospective Family Tours
Prospective Family Tours: Please let your friends and neighbors know tours are now available for 5th grade students and their families. Sign up for a tour on our website.
Tour Dates:
- Wed, 11/13/24 9:30 - 11 AM
- Fri, 12/6/24 9:30 - 11 AM
- Wed, 12/11/24 9:30 - 11 AM
- Fri, 1/10/25 9:30 - 11am
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED: Sign up to volunteer here
Montera Holiday Craft Fair - Planners & Volunteers Needed
We are launching (actually rebooting, after a long hiatus) a Montera Holiday Craft Fair this year! School clubs, departments, staff and students (and perhaps community vendors) will be able to sell their wares to raise money for their group or themselves.
DATE: Saturday, Dec 7
TIME: 12-4pm
LOCATION: Montera Gym
We need help -- can you join the planning committee, or can you recommend another parent who has experience with craft fairs? We'll need help with planning, flyers & PR, setup, and more. Please email PTO President, Melissa, directly: president@monterapto.com. Thank you to Teena Bowie for offering to lead the event. It will take a village!
We will have more information soon about how to sign up for a booth!
How Can You Help?
- SUPPORT FIELD TRIPS: Montera is looking to expand outdoor education for our students by going on more field trips. We need parent support before, during, and after the trip(s). Complete this form to let us know how you can help.
- VOLUNTEER: Please complete this form and let us know how you'd like to help.
Looking Ahead
HIGH SCHOOL INFO AND TOURS
8th Grade Parents and Guardians - it's time to start touring High Schools! Check out all the school tour information for OUSD High Schools here: Transition to High School
Math Acceleration Options - Family Info Night
On Tuesday, November 19, 2024 OUSD will host a virtual Family Info Night on zoom from 5:00-5:45pm to explore math acceleration options for high school students. While we hope to see many 8th grade families, this info night is open to families of students of all ages. During our info night, we will:
- explore math course options at each grade level in high school
- learn about the various math acceleration options that are offered at each high school
- learn about the options for math acceleration before 9th grade, and hear from our students and teachers their experiences with different Algebra 1 course options
- collect questions from our community
- provide feedback and input around middle school math enrichment opportunities
Please register here for the zoom webinar. To begin the conversation, please submit any questions that you have in this google form.
Thank you,
Courtney Ortega, Secondary Math Coordinator for Middle Schools
Keely Machmer-Wessels, Secondary Math Coordinator for High Schools
Support Our School
Invest in Your Children — Invest in Montera
Make your donation today! The 2024-25 PTO Budget is: $215,960. We are asking families to give what they can. Suggested donation is $450 per student. Donations range from $10-$2,000. Make a one-time or monthly donation online via PayPal.
GRADE LEVEL EVENTS
8th Grade Activities for 2024-25 - UPDATED INFO:
- 8th Grade Family Friendsgiving Potluck: Thursday, Nov 14 5-7pm Montera MUR
We invite 8th grade families to eat and spend time together before the holidays. Please RSVP and bring something to share to this multicultural potluck. The whole family is invited. Hope to see you there! RSVP HERE.
- Six Flags Trip: Wednesday, April 16th, 2025
- 8th Grade Dinner Dance: Saturday, May 17 2025
- Picnic in the Park: Friday, May 23 2025
- 8th Grade Promotion: May 28, 2025, 3pm* (subject to change)
All activities require VOLUNTEERS! How can you help with an 8th grade fundraiser or activity? Sign up here. We especially need activity leads!
Questions: 8thgradeactivities@monterapto.com
______________________________________________________________________________
8th Grade Washington DC Trip
Trip Dates: March 27 - April 1, 2025 Sign up and view itinerary here
There are only 9 spots left & the trip price increases on November 1st!
Fundraising – Help us meet our goal and provide scholarships to 8th graders to go to Washington next March. Donate here
Apply for a scholarship – If you would like your 8th grader to attend the Washington DC trip and would like to apply for a partial scholarship, please do so in the link here.
Missed the Sept 26th Meeting?
Here's the Recording Passcode: smUhb28^
Download a PDF of the Slide deck here
Questions?: Contact Mr. Cooper, Trip Leader: samuel.cooper@ousd.org
Montera 6th Graders - Trip to Japan!
We are happy to announce a new overseas learning opportunity for this year's 6th graders. We are going to Japan! We will be traveling June 2026.
- Here is the enrollment page for the Japan trip: https://www.eftours.com/tour-website/2817369UF?utm_source%3Daccount-hp
- The Japan meeting recording is here and the passcode is Bm7B%$gx.
We have plenty of room on the Japan trip and look forward to opening it up to parents/adults traveling with students on Oct 23. We want to give students first crack at spots on the trip, so any students wanting to enroll should do so now. Enrolling early means monthly payments stay low! The closer we get, the higher those payments need to be to pay off the trip before July 2026.
Please contact Dr. Emrick: isaac.emrick@ousd.org or Ms. Recco: rebecca.recco@ousd.org with questions.
Montera Sports
REGISTER | INTEREST FORM | DONATE | LEARN MORE
QUESTIONS: martin.price@ousd.org or sports@monterapto.com
Fall sports are winding down - check back next week for end of season info and more about Winter sports.
Pictured Below: Girls Futsal
Toro Pride Pics
QUICK LINKS
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.
STEM4Kids Program
Monta Vista High School’s Robotics Team, MVRT, is introducing their upcoming STEM4Kids program. This annual, five-week initiative aims to inspire interest in STEM among young students in our community by teaching foundational coding skills.
Going from November 10th to December 8th, this year’s program will cover three core computer science areas: Python, Java, and Web Development, with one dedicated session per topic each week. The schedule is as follows:
Python: 10 AM - 11 AM on Sundays
Java: 4 PM - 5 PM on Sundays
Web Dev: 6 PM - 7 PM on Sundays
The curriculum, designed for students in grades 6 through 9, is both interactive and engaging, allowing students to learn valuable STEM concepts in a fun and supportive environment. Classes are completely free and will be held online through Zoom.
View their website: mvrt.com and complete this student interest form if you are interested.
How to Stay Informed
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Thanks to Our Sponsors
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Montera Middle School
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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