Oak Creek Elementary

Oak Creek Families,

There are so many fun things happening here at Oak Creek! One of them has been the Art Lit lessons our PTO brings to our students. Our halls are filling up with beautiful artwork like the landscape paintings in the photo above. It is amazing what our students can do! A huge thank you to all the volunteers that make this happen!

Remember that report cards are accessed through ParentVUE, and should be available now. Please contact Tanya if you are unable to login (goodwint@loswego.k12.or.us). For more information, including how to interpret the grading scale, please see the Standards-Based District Report Card section under District Information below.

Also remember that the PTO Friendship Party is tomorrow, Saturday, 2/11!

Please make sure to read below for important information, including details about the PTO sponsored Friendship Party, OBOB, 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:

• Arrival/Dismissal Reminders
• Spelling Bee
• SMSP Family Code Night
• Updated OBOB Information
• Updated Nurses' Newsletter

Repeated Information:

• Read-a-Thon Winners
• Standards-Based Report Card Info
• Foundation Gala Details
• Recognitions and Observations in February
• Tualatin Food Pantry
• Purposeful People: Perseverance

LOSD District News:

• "I Love Lake Oswego" Clothing Closet
• SafeOregon
• Subscribe to Lake Oswego Schools App

February 11: PTO Friendship Party

February 20: Presidents' Day - No School

February 28: SMSP Family Code Night
March 11: The Lake Oswego Schools Foundation Gala

March 24: Teacher Work Day - No School

March 27-31: Spring Break!

April 13-14: Conferences - No School

May 26: Grade Prep Day - No School

May 29: Memorial Day - No School

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

In order to support our efforts to keep our students safe and healthy, and to get them to and from school quickly, please review these reminders:

• Please avoid idling at arrival and dismissal to help keep the air where children are standing and walking as clean as possible.
• Students who are walking should go home after school. Parents can allow them to come back later, but staying on the playground/field is not an option.
• We have a lot of families who walk to and from school. Practicing safe driving is essential. Please slow down, and stop at stop signs and crosswalks.
• Arriving before 2:30 only causes extra congestion. Please wait until then to to arrive for dismissal.

Thank you in advance for your help with keeping our students and families safe!

Congratulations to 5th grader Ella Reigle, our two-time Oak Creek Spelling Bee Champion! After 13 rounds of spelling and vocabulary, Ella's winning word was pomade- a fragrant usually medicated ointment for your hair or scalp. And congrats to 4th grader, Jack Coyle, our runner up! Ella will move on to represent Oak Creek at the Regional Spelling Bee Qualifier.

Great job to everyone who participated in the Oak Creek Spelling Bee!

Angus Choi

Henry Dybdahl

Amelia Dela Cruz

Mai Kauffman

Ellie Laue

Avielle Larlee

Stella Friedman

Jack Coyle

Ella Reigle

Oak Creek Elementary invites you to participate in SMSP Family Code Night on Tuesday, February 28 from 6:00-7:30 in the gym. This is a fun learning experience in which children do hour of code with a parent or other family member. No experience needed! The event has been held in thousands of schools nationwide, and is provided to our school via live stream.
Bring your school issued device- chromebook or iPad, and student participants will be entered into a drawing for an OZOBOT ROBOT and more!

So, save the date and get signed up here https://forms.gle/PgQKk9dWA7vPRMfG6 by Tuesday, February 21.

Hope to see you there!

Ainsley Fisher read 44 books! She earned 4th Place in Donations Raised and 3rd Place in the 3rd Grade Division.

Henry Tenzeldam read 66 books! He earned 3rd Place in the Kindergarten Division.

The Lake Oswego School District uses a standards-based report card for students in elementary schools. This report card measures a child’s progress toward proficiency or mastery of the priority standards in Reading, Writing, Language, Speaking, and Math. This approach provides the means for communicating a child’s learning in more specific terms. Standards-based reporting articulates clear end-of-year grade-level standards for each subject.

For more information, click here.

Congratulations to the O’BOBcats for advancing to Regionals and representing Oak Creek Elementary School! A big cheer for 5th graders Leela Nagaraj-Datta, Angus Choi, Eric Ryu, Natalia Kern! Good luck at the next level on Saturday, March 18th at Gardiner Middle School in Oregon City. Also Congratulations to the Flying Coyote Readers Keenan McGhee, Jack Brody, Pearl Sun, and Jai Lim who are our runners up! They are a well prepared and classy team.

Thank you to all of the 21 teams who have participated in OBOB this year! We have enjoyed being together, reading together, making friends, strategizing together, battling, and talking about books! We estimate that just at Oak Creek, our OBOBers read around 175,000 pages and tens of millions of words! What a privilege and what a success!

If you are ready to pick up some new books…here is the Partial OBOB list for 2023-2024!

A heartfelt thank you from Ms. Lovelace -

OBOB could not have happened without the hard work of our students, parents, parent volunteers, and school staff! Some special shout outs to…

Oak Creek Librarian Darcy Benson

PTO President Kirstin Martin

OBOB organizer Natasha Richardson

Educational Assistants Stefanie Takamoto & Rhoda Wolff

OBOB moderators/time keepers/score keepers,

5th grader Bennett Schultz for setting up the tournament in the library each morning.

It has been a joy bringing OBOB to life again and working together since September to make this tournament happen.

Volunteers

If you are interested in helping us next year, let us know!

Please email: Kirstin Martin at oakcreekelementarypto@gmail.com

For all other questions please contact

The OCE School Librarian & OBOB Book Club Coordinator email: Darcy Benson at bensond@loswego.k12.or.us

The OCE OBOB teacher coordinator email: Megan Lovelace at lovelacm@loswego.k12.or.us

Warmly,

The OCE OBOB TEAM

Hello Oak Creek!

The PTO Event VPs are hosting a Friendship Party TOMORROW! Join the celebration, 4:00-7:30p (3:30-4:00p reserved for Pathways, Kindergarten, and 1st grade only)!

Buy your bracelets today!

● Online pre-order is $7 per child for children 3 years and up and $1 per adult (adults must accompany children)

● Online pre-order friendship roses, $3 per stem, will be handed out at the end of each time slot

● Two party time slots: 4:00-5:30p and 6:00-7:30p, capped at 250 people per time slot

Each bracelet includes treat bags and access to all the games / activities:

● Carnival games

● Dance party

● Friendship forest hula hoop

● Photo booth

● Arts and crafts

● Friendship B-I-N-G-O

● Complimentary kids’ snack and beverage table

● Festive decorations and lights

Both candy and prizes will be handed out throughout the night for participating in games and activities

We still need volunteers! Please sign up here: Friendship Party Volunteer

● Each volunteer receives free adult admission and one free child bracelet

Food for purchase at the party:

● food and dessert options

We are so excited to celebrate love, kindness, and friendship with your families!

SAVE THE DATE! Coyote Spirit Week, the school wide Move-A-Thon, and the adult only action are back! We cannot wait to bring the community together! Specific times and details TBA. Stay tuned!

Coyote Spirit Week: April 17-21, 2023

School Wide Move-A-Thon: April 21, 20223

Adult Only Auction: April 22, 2023

Volunteer Opportunities!

Do you wanna get involved in revamping the butterfly / pollinator garden in front of the school on Kingsgate? The green team is putting together a planning meeting on February 18th at 1 pm in the garden. This meeting is for assessing and planning what needs to be done to revamp the garden in the spring. We will schedule actual work days later in the season. If you are interested in helping plan the garden, please sign up or show up. Butterfly Garden Planning Committee

Other opportunities to get involved include:

February Art Literacy

March Art Literacy

Green Team

Dine out and raise money for the OCE PTO! A night without cooking, yes please!

On February 15th, visit Panda Express LO and 20% of your purchase will be donated to the OCE PTO. Be prepared to show the attached flyer or enter 349989 for your online order.

On February 27th, visit Laughing Planet LO and 10% of your purchase will be donated to the OCE PTO. No flyer / code necessary.

Shop and earn money! Get your spring flowers / plants!

On March 4th, shop at Dennis’ 7 Dees with special code: Fundraise-OCE! Seven percent of your purchase will be donated to the OCE PTO.

Order your yearbook! Pre-order for $25. If you make a “Direct Ask” donation, or a donation over $175, a yearbook is included.

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

Tickets are on sale now!

We look forward to celebrating with you!

Purchase tickets here

Dear OCE Families:

This month’s focus is Honesty. One way to think about honesty is “being truthful in what we say and do.” Practicing Honesty helps strengthen our relationships and reduce stress.

Honesty is 1 of 3 traits we will focus on throughout the year that helps students Be Well. As a school community, we will be examining how HONESTY looks, sounds, and feels.

It’s not always easy to be Honest in our words, actions or thoughts with others or with ourselves. Practicing Honesty with ourselves allows for us to identify emotions, be aware of our emotions, regulate emotions, and advocate for our emotions.

As always, we appreciate you partnering with us,

Roxanne Davidson

Ms. D 💙 Oak Creek Elementary School Counselor 💙 davidsor@loswego.k12.or.us

Heart Health Month

February is National Heart Health Month. Click this link to see 10 ways you can help keep your students heart healthy.

Sleep Matters!

Studies suggest most students do not get enough sleep. This puts them at a higher risk of health problems and injuries. Click this link to learn more about sleep and your student including how many hours are recommended.

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

Contact your District Nurse

Please click here to: Learn when to keep your children home from school.

We have a lot to celebrate and acknowledge this month. All teachers and staff are encouraged to find ways to recognize these and other awareness opportunities to help create a culture of belonging in our schools.

February

Black History Month, is an annual observance originating in the United States, where it is also known as African-American History Month. It has received official recognition from governments in the United States and Canada, and more recently has been observed in Ireland, and the United Kingdom.

American Heart Month is a time when all people can focus on their cardiovascular health.

National Freedom Day, February 1, celebrates freedom from slavery. It also recognizes that America is a symbol of liberty. The day honors the signing by Abraham Lincoln of a joint House and Senate resolution that later became the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

National School Counseling Week, February 6-10, focuses public attention on the unique contribution of school counselors within U.S. school systems.

National School Resource Officer Appreciation Day, February 15, recognizes the partnership with our SROs and the relationships they build with the students and staff in helping keep schools and communities safe.

Presidents' Day National Holiday, February 10, is a federal holiday to remember the achievements of two of the nation's greatest presidents, George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, whose birthdays both were in February.

Black Lives Matter at School Week, January 30 - February 3, is intended to spark an ongoing movement of critical reflection and honest conversation and impactful actions in school communities for people of all ages to engage with issues of racial justice.

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 to 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.

https://www.safeoregon.com/

(Students should also be aware that intentionally providing a false report is a serious offense.)

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