Blue Oak Elementary

Blue Oak Charter Montessori

October 2016

Principal’s Corner Hello Bulldogs and Happy October! First, I want to thank our amazing PTA and all of you who donated, supported and attended our 1st Annual Dinner and Auction for our Blue Oak’s Technology, Science and Garden of Learning Programs. We raised $18,500 that night! October is always a fun month at Blue Oak with a lot of learning happening. Here are a few highlights to take note of:  10/5 is our Walk to School Day. We have worked hard with CHP, the El Dorado County Transportation Commission, and the DOT to have safe routes to our school. Please meet me at the County Library at 7:30 to walk to school together! Each Bulldog walker will receive a water bottle. 

10/20 is Blue Oak’s Annual Safety Day. We partner with our Fire Department and The El Dorado County Sheriff’s Department to gain knowledge and will receive feedback on our three drills we will be practicing that day. Those three drills are: Fire Drill, Earthquake Drill, and Lockdown Drill.

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10/17 is our 2nd PTA Meeting of the year at 6:30pm in our library. This is a great way to get informed about all the amazing things happening around Blue Oak.

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10/21 is our Fall Festival! We are looking forward to this fun event hosted by the PTA.

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10/24-10/28 is Red Ribbon Week at Blue Oak. Each day we will have a different spirit day to emphasize making good choices. More information to come.

It is so important that our Bulldogs see us as a community and come together to Fill Buckets. With the bridge between community and school, students will also value the roles of different parts of our community. As always, please see/call/email me if you have any questions or ideas. Have a great month and Goooooooooo Bulldogs!

Mr. Stewart [email protected] Blue Oak is a school where all children and adults are engaged in learning all the time

Important Dates October 2016 10/3-10/7 Conference week - Minimum day schedule – Pick up at 12:02 for 1st-5th grade. Normal schedule for K/TK, Wednesday NO early release 10/5 Walk to School Day – 7:30 meet at Cameron Park Library 10/5-10/6 PTA Dine Out at Back Forty 11am-8pm 10/7 Movie Night 6pm-8pm - Minions 10/8-11/11 Kids Can Food Drive 10/17 GATE Testing – 8:00 in the BO Library 10/17 PTA meeting 6:30 in the library – 2nd Grade presenting! 10/20 Safety Day 10/21 Fall Festival 10/24-28 Red Ribbon Week 10/31 Halloween

November 2016 11/2 Math Night – 6:00pm 11/2 PTA Dine Out at Papa Gianni’s 11/4 Movie Night 6pm-8pm (movie TBD) 11/11 Veteran’s Day – NO SCHOOL 11/14 PTA meeting 6:30 in the Library 11/18 Spirit Day – Sports Theme 11/21-11/25 Thanksgiving Break – NO SCHOOL

Save the Date 5/25/17 Open House 5:00-6:30  Garden of Learning Farmer's Market 4:30-7:00

Student Hours Grades 1st-5th 7:55am-2:07pm 7:55am-1:10pm (Wednesdays) 7:55-12:02 (Minimum Days) AM Kindergarten 7:40-11:10am 7:40-10:25am (Wednesdays) *NO schedule change on Minimum days

PM Kindergarten & PM Transitional K 11:11am–2:41pm 10:25am-1:10pm (Wednesdays) *NO schedule change on Minimum days Note: ALL Wednesdays are Early Release Days

Library Hours Monday: Tuesday: Wednesday: Thursday: Friday:

8:15 am — 2:45 pm 7:45 am — 4:00 pm 7:45 am — 1:30 pm 7:45 am — 4:00 pm 7:45 am — 4:00 pm

All students MUST be accompanied by an adult during after school hours, there is NO adult supervision after school hours.

Contact Info Respect Citizenship Responsibility Trust Appreciation Kindness & Caring

2391 Merrychase Drive Cameron Park, CA 95682 ph(530) 676-0164 fax(530)676-0758 Office Hours: 7:00am-3:30pm Visit our Website!

SCHOOL NUTRITION SERVICES Click here for: Lunch Menu’s and Nutritional Information

HAVE YOU HEARD ABOUT CALIFORNIA THURSDAYS, our new program for serving products that are California sourced? Click on the menu link above and then click on the “California Thursdays” logo from the BUSD website to learn more!

Free and Reduced Meals It’s Easy and Quick! Renew your child’s reduced price lunch application at http://buckeyecafe.org/?page=main. Click on the “Apply Online” Link.

Meal Account Balances If your student will be attending any of Buckeye Union School District Schools, transferring from elementary to middle school his/her positive/negative balance will travel with them. If your child will be leaving our district or moving on to high school, your can ask to have student's money transferred to a sibling or get a refund. Send an email with student information to: [email protected] we will take care of making transfers or refunds.

Make school payments online anytime, anywhere, from any device.

You can set up recurring payments, track and review meal history, create low balance alerts, pay for field trips, donate to the school, and more! You just need the student ID! Sign up at MySchoolBucks.com Parent Support Number (855) 832-5226

Click here for the BUSD Website Click here to get details on past and future meetings Click here for the most current BUSD newsletter Additional enrollment information can be found here

GATE INFORMATION The Buckeye Union School District will be conducting assessments of students, in October, to determine GATE (Gifted and Talented Education) eligibility. Although the program opportunities for GATE students are limited as the State provides little funding for GATE, the Buckeye Union School District is continuing its process of identification and, for those that qualify, some opportunities for enrichment/support in and out of the classroom continue to be provided. In order for a student to qualify for GATE they must take the OLSAT (Otis Lennon School Ability Test) which measures the cognitive skills that relate to a student’s ability to learn and succeed in school and examines both verbal and nonverbal abilities. A student needs to score in the 95th percentile on the OLSAT in order to qualify for GATE. This means that only approximately 5 of every 100 students taking the OLSAT will be GATE identified. The OLSAT exam will be offered at Blue Oak Elementary during the school day, October 17, 2016, and will take approximately 1 hour. In the past, students have been qualified to take the OLSAT exam by either a high score in the advanced range of a state standardized test or through a teacher recommendation process. Currently, the OLSAT assessment is open for students to take based on parent recommendation and student interest. When determining whether or not your child should take this rigorous test please consider the following guidelines: Does your child appear to have exceptionally strong intellectual skills for a student their age? Have teachers previously reported to you that your child demonstrates exceptionally well developed intellectual skills? If the answer to one or both of these questions is yes, then they may be a good candidate for participating. If your student participates and performs in the top 5%ile, on the OLSAT, they will be identified as GATE eligible and will receive further communication from your school site regard enrichments and supports that are offered. If you would like to have your child take the OLSAT test please complete the attached permission form and return it to your school by October 5, 2016. If there are any questions about whether to permit your child to participate in the OLSAT exam please contact your student’s teacher or site principal.

Blue Oak Garden of Learning School gardens make a difference! Every seed planted sprouts a new opportunity for kids to learn about healthy choices and develop healthier eating habits. With the help of the Cameron Park Rotary, several Eagle Scout projects, business and parent donations, and countless parent and local volunteer hours, Blue Oak successfully launched the Garden of Learning program in 2015. Students and parent volunteers visit the garden weekly to participate in hands-on activities which integrate math, science, environmental studies, art, technology, and health. Thank you everyone for your continued support making the Blue Oak Garden of Learning a success for our Bulldogs! Click here if you would like to learn more about our history and accomplishments.

Ask your teacher about how you can help!

OCTOBER LESSONS Lettuce Begin A Scarecrow in the Classroom I Never Metamorphosis I Didn’t Like (Part 1) Like, Totally Tuberous, Dude! (Part 1) Check in Time *lessons are subject to change

Blue Oak Garden Vision The Blue Oak Garden is a special hands-on educational place where children will learn about the importance of growing food for healthy living, the role of nature and our environment, and gain a better understanding of the natural world and our place within it.

Can you donate to the health office? -Clorox Wipes -Ziplock baggies (all sizes) -Pants and shorts with stretchy waistband *used is fine

Nurses Notes

Click here for: Guidelines on when children are too ill for school You can obtain a medication form for the 2016-2017 school year online: http://boes-buckeye-ca.schoolloop.com/file/1283091922266/1283092147282/1252474121107093012.pdf

News from the Blue Oak PTA Want to subscribe to the PTA Newsletter?

News from the Blue Oak PE Department

The 2016-2017 school year is the last year to collect and submit labels. The labels are found on popular food, drinks and products you buy such as V8 juices, BIC pens, and Campbell Soup. All you have to do is cut off the barcode with the Labels For Education logo and bring them to school!

Every Friday is School Spirit day! Wear your Bulldog gear or school colors… Sometimes, it’s a different theme (see schedule above) and check the Blue Oak Facebook page!

News from the Buckeye Education Foundation The foundation is expanding its Committees and Board of Directors. If you are interested in using your skills to make a difference in our district, we urge you to get involved with the Foundation. If you are interested, you are encouraged to inquire ASAP! Please email Superintendent David Roth [email protected] and he will get you in touch with the Foundation.

To find our more information about the foundation or to donate, visit their website!

Helpful Information

Click here for Classroom Supply Lists (OTHER IDEAS: Tissue, Clorox/Lysol Wipes, Hand Sanitizer, Bandaids)

Lost and Found is located in a shed on the first grade playground. Please make sure loose items (lunchboxes, backpacks, clothing, etc) sent to school have your students name AND classroom number on them. Anything that has a legible name will be returned to students. Putting the classroom number on all items, makes finding the correct student much easier. The Lost & Found Shed is open during school hours 7:30-2:30. If you need to access the shed, please sign in at the front office first. Click here for: EDCOE Resources for Parents

Click here BUSD Common Core Parent Support Click here for additional State Standard information on our website

IMPORTANT REMINDERS! SAFETY FIRST We wanted to remind you of a few safety precautions you can take to keep students safe. Please remember: 

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If alarms are going off at the school, whether it's a drill or a real emergency, please do not drop your child off. Please leave the school property and you may return when the alarm has been silenced. We appreciate your dedication to the safety of your child and all students of Blue Oak. Students should arrive no earlier than 7:40 a.m. If a student needs to arrive early, please make arrangements with the Extended Day Program as there is no supervision on campus before 7:40 a.m. Students should be picked up from school no later than 2:20 p.m. Ask your students to cross the streets in the crosswalks available around the Blue Oak campus. Do not drop off students to walk through the bus yard/transportation area. No parking: o in the back transportation parking lot area when dropping children off for Extended Day. Parking is available at Blue Oak, Camerado, and on Merrychase Drive. o in the school parking lot unless it is a designated parking spot. o in the parking lot pull-through area during school hours.

Also, here are a few other procedure reminders: Forgotten Lunch Procedure: Please try to remember lunches in the morning. If a student has forgotten his/her lunch at home, parents may drop the lunch off in the office. Students need to check the office before going to lunch and may pick up his/her lunch then. Please be sure your child’s name is on the lunch. Telephone Usage: The telephone in the office is a business phone. Students may use it only for an emergency call. We do not interrupt instructional teaching time for calls to the classrooms. The office will take messages as needed or transfer calls to teacher’s voice mail. All teachers have voice mail and check messages daily. {References: Board Policy and Administrative Regulations 5144.1, 5144.2} After School Restroom Use: We ask that all children use the multipurpose room restrooms after school. The health clerk's office hours are from 8:45 to 1:45. Due to her not being on campus, and confidential material in the office, the bathrooms are unavailable to students. *Please remember to use our front doors to access the office, Thank You.