APRIL
2009
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April 3rd
HALF-DAY OF SCHOOL
(school dismissed at
12:15 pm)
April 3
Principal's Coffee--Parent Workshop Series
April 4th
**Oyster-Adams Annual AUCTION**
Katzen Arts Center,
American University
April 6
Parent Involvement Workshop
April 10th
SCHOOL HOLIDAY
April 13th
SCHOOL HOLIDAY
April 15th
LSRT Meeting
April 16th
DC Emancipation Day; SCHOOL HOLIDAY
April 20th-May 1
DC-CAS for grades 3-8
April 21st
OCC Board Meeting
April 22nd
Earth Day
April 22nd
The Big Read
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MAY
2009 |
May is Pan-Asian Heritage Month!
May 2nd Oyster-Adams Fiesta/Raffle May 4th-8th
Elementary Science Fair (PreK - 5th Grades); Oyster Campus
May 5th
Cinco de Mayo
May 4th-8th
Teacher Appreciation Week
May 10th
Mother's Day May 13th-14thOCC Elections May 15th
No SchoolParent-Teacher Conferences; Teacher Appreciation Pot Luck Lunch
May 15th
SCHOOL HOLIDAY May 19th
OCC Board Meeting
May 20th
LSRT Meeting
May 25th
Memorial Day; SCHOOL HOLIDAY
May 27th
OCC Community Meeting
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JUNE
2009 |
June 10th
LSRT Meeting
June 15th
Last Day of School!
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MESSAGE FROM PRINCIPAL LIANG AGUIRRE
April 9, 2009
Dear Parents:
I'd like to share with you some of the important insights I gained this week during an unusually busy day of welcoming approximately 75 guests at Oyster-Adams.
Yesterday, we hosted Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, Steve Barnett, Director of the National Institute of Early Education Research (NIEER), over 15 media outlets and numerous advocates of pre-school and pre-kindergarten programs. After a brief press conference revealing the findings of NIEER's "2008 State Pre-School Yearbook", Secretary Duncan and Steve Barnett read The Very Hungry Caterpillar to an attentive group of students from our Pre-Kindergarten class and Early Childhood Center.
Later in the afternoon, 20 students from Gallaudet University visited our classrooms as part of their class on bilingual education. The Gallaudet students were intrigued at how our students learn a second language and about the strategies that our teachers employ. Oyster-Adams students were equally intrigued as they watched the sign interpreter communicate their classmates' words to the visitors.
So what do I take away from today?
- We are lucky to have two such outstanding pre-school programs for both typical children and children with special needs.
- DCPS, as a whole, offers high quality pre-school programs but we need greater access (as is evident by our waitlist of 273 for pre-K).
- As I visit classrooms-both today and on more "normal" days- I see excellent instruction taking place, with purposeful planning, commitment to language acquisition and high expectations. Our teachers are truly committed professionals and I have seen remarkable growth in all of them as they continue to learn more skills, apply new strategies and push themselves to always seek a better way to serve our students.
- Our students are truly lucky to have the opportunity to become bilingual and bi-literate and they will enjoy great cognitive advantages over their monolingual peers. We must continue to seek ways to capitalize on this advantage and provide ongoing global experiences that will extend their linguistic competence. (For example, Gallaudet University students will be returning next month to share their culture and teach some American Sign Language)
So while a day like yesterday prevents me from getting my regular work done, I've gained some valuable perspective and clarity on the great strides we've made as a school community in certain areas, while underlining the urgency with which we need to proceed in the next few months.
Enjoy the long weekend and try to remember that we do have a few days of school sprinkled in next week!
-Monica Liang-Aguirre
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Fiesta!! Mark your calendars, its Fiesta time! The annual Oyster-Adams Annual Fiesta will be held on Saturday, May 2nd from noon to 4 pm at the Oyster campus. This great family activity will include food (grill, pupusas and international cafe), games, annual raffle, entertainment and more! Please check next week's Bulletin for volunteer opportunities.. We will need everyone's help to make this another fabulous Fiesta. Science News: Our science specialist Simone Welchwas featured in a Washington Post KidsPost article Wednesday, April 8, 2009. Read all about it here.
Science Fair News: PLEASE NOTE NEW DATES FOR SCIENCE FAIR: Principal Liang-Aguirre and the administration have rescheduled the Elementary Science Fair to the first week in May. . Enjoy your extra week of planning! The fair will be held at the Oyster campus due to the playground construction at the Adams campus. All completed science fair projects need to be brought to school on Monday, May 4th. Judging will take place on Tuesday, May 5th and Wednesday, May 6th. Projects will need to be brought home at the end of the day on Friday, May 8th VOLUNTEERS NEEDED: In order for the science fair to run smoothly, we'll need additional parent volunteers. We need:
Judges: Any parent who works in the sciences or has a degree in the sciences can volunteer as a judge. Parent judges will only judge projects outside of their children's grades. If you can judge for a three-hour period of time either on Tues, May 5th or Wed, May 6th, please contact: Jorge Blanco: jblanco@virionsystems.com
Volunteers for any of the following: to set up tables at Oyster, Sunday May 3; to help register student projects the morning of Mon, May 4th; and/or to assist with logistics (leading judges to projects, bringing kids down from classes, etc) on Tues, May 5th or Wed, May 6th. If you can volunteer for a few hours on any of these days, please contact: Trish Mitchell, trish123m@gmail.com or Deborah Durham-Vichr, ddvichr@yahoo.com
Volunteers to register eligible projects for the City-Wide Science Fair once our prizes are awarded. We cannot run the Science Fair without your help, so please volunteer now! SCIENCE FAIR PROJECT INFORMATION: In February, a detailed package was sent home with every student which included information on: how to conduct a science fair project; a science fair timeline; a checklist listing everything that needs to be included in your presentation; a sample layout for your tri-fold board; additional resources; and an example of the judging criteria for each grade. If you would like any additional information or have questions, please contact Science Specialist, Ms. Welch at: sciencesimone@gmail.com Support Oyster-Adams by eating pizza! Remember that Tuesday, April 14th is the day to eat Armand's pizza! On that day, Armand's Chicago Pizzeria on Wisconsin Ave. will donate to Oyster-Adams 20% of purchases made between 11:30am and 10:00pm with our Oyster-Adams coupon ( click here for the coupon). The money we make will be used for scholarships to send some of our middle school students to Spain with our new exchange program. If we can get this program up and running, eventually every Oyster-Adams student will have an opportunity to take part when he/she gets to middle school! So, on Tuesday, please make plans for your family to eat at Armand's. Make a party of it by eating with a group of families at the restaurant or order for take out (the offer does not apply to deliveries). If it's problematic for you to get to the restaurant at dinner time, pick up a half-baked pizza earlier in the day and finish baking it in the oven at home. You can even freeze a couple of half-baked pizzas for later in the week! Just remember to bring the coupon. "Handy" volunteers needed! to In order to improve the literacy program at Oyster-Adams, a Literacy Resource Room, located just off of the library at the primary campus, is being established. This room will provide leveled books and other literacy support materials for the entire primary campus. A similar resource room is being established at the intermediate campus. We need your help. In order to organize these materials we need to have proper storage and shelving. We have a large collection of broken, but sturdy, bookshelves that need some handy people to put them back together and extend their lives. If you are someone who's good with tools (and puzzles), please contact parent volunteer Mary Farmer at 202-669-5868 or maryfarmer@verizon.net. Save the Date. OYSTER-ADAMS PARENTS' NIGHT OUT TO BENEFIT OYSTER CREATIVE ACTIVITIES (OCA) SCHOLARSHIP FUND - SPRING COCKTAIL PARTY FUNDRAISER - Friday, May 8, 6:00-8:30pm at the Embassy of Switzerland (2900 Cathedral Avenue, NW). Light food provided courtesy of Open City, wine donated by the Swiss Embassy and Stanford in Washington, and soft drinks and juice offered by Sherry Wine and Spirits. Childcare for Oyster-Adams students, including a pizza dinner, provided for a nominal fee at the Oyster building. Any questions, please contact Jacqueline Bouchard at (202) 360-6136.
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Update
from Assistant Principal Ibis Villegas
April 9, 2009
The Arts and Test
Scores
We often think about subjects such as Language Arts and Math
when we think about what students will need to do well on the upcoming DC CAS.
Some might even think that subjects such as art and PE are only for fun and
games. Nothing could be further from the truth! More than 70 years ago, John
Dewey (1934) wrote that "the thinking in which we engage while producing art
precedes improved thinking across the curriculum". Later on in 1983 Harvard
professor Howard Gardner enlightened us with what he called the seven
intelligences. He later on included an
eighth intelligence. These intelligences are:
- Linguistic intelligence ("word smart"):
- Logical-mathematical
intelligence ("number/reasoning
smart")
- Spatial intelligence ("picture smart")
- Bodily-Kinesthetic
intelligence ("body smart")
- Musical intelligence ("music smart")
- Interpersonal intelligence ("people smart")
- Intrapersonal intelligence ("self smart")
- Naturalist intelligence ("nature smart")
More recently, educators have come to know that, "expressing
oneself artistically has extreme value for total cognitive and personal
development" (Hannaford, 1995).
Let's remember to recognize, celebrate and nourish the
myriad talents and skills of our children even as we focus on those areas
selected for standardized testing. True understanding and committing-to-memory
begins when learners make cross-curricular connections. You can hold
conversations with your child where you help him/her remember how something
learned in Music, Art, P.E. or Library is connected with what is learned with
the classroom teachers.
The following activity created by Ms. Whelan serves as a
perfect example of how specialists and classroom teachers can also support each
other via cross-curricular connections:
QUESTION
What was our
objective in art class?
________________________________________________
SUPPORTING
DETAILS
What
did we see and hear at the beginning of this lesson?
______________________________________________
What
examples of artwork did we see?
______________________________________________
What
important words (vocabulary) did we
use?
______________________________________________
Does
this project remind you of something you heard in class or at home?
______________________________________________
What
story did we hear?
______________________________________________
What
tools did we use? (Brushes? Brayers? Pastels?)
______________________________________________
What
media did we use? (Paint? Pastels? Pencils? Paper?)
______________________________________________
-
REVIEW THIS WITH A PARTNER - are you correct?
- TAKE NOTES - should you write more? You should have 3-5
sentences.
- NOW WRITE A PARAGRAPH.
Use the bottom part of this paper or your sketchbook.
-
EXPLAIN. Now use 3 or 4
details to support or reinforce your answers.
Volunteers Needed
during DC CAS!
Please volunteer to help
us out during lunch time on DC CAS days! Call the Oyster Office (671-3111) and/or contact Sandi Baer at the intermediate campus (673-7311).
We will need help Monday April 20th through Thursday April 23rd from 11:30 AM to 1:00 PM (help is needed with lunch and to supervise children during recess).
Even a half hour of help means a lot!
Healthy Snacks During
DC CAS
Parents with children in grades 3-8 please speak with
your child's teacher to plan a healthy snack during DC CAS. There will be
scheduled breaks throughout the testing period. One way to ensure that
students' minds are in top notch shape during testing is to provide "brain
food" in other words, food that has nutrients that help sustain mental energy
and focus. The following list has been put together by Nurse Hoffman at the
Primary Campus:
·
Apple pieces
·
Grapes'
·
Dried Fruit (including bite-size raisins, figs, dates)
·
Low-fat cheese sticks
·
Go-Gurt
·
Danimals Drinkable Yogurt
·
Cheerios
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Minibagels with Lowfat Cream Cheese
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Milk Boxes
·
100% Juice Boxes
·
Water
Don't trash it...DONATE IT!
A WIDER CIRCLE's
mission is to help families start anew with dignity and hope. They collect and redistribute gently used
household goods:
- Beds, mattresses, box springs, and bed frames
-
Cribs, changing tables, strollers, high
chairs, baby and toddler clothing, and other children's items
-
Dressers
-
Sofas (in very good condition - no
rips/stains)
-
End and coffee tables, lamps with shades
-
Kitchen items
- Kitchen tables and chairs
- Sheets, towels, blankets
-
TVs, radios, clocks, fans, microwaves,
toasters
-
Non-perishable food
- New personal care and cleaning supplies
Before you move, or as you clean your home, think of A WIDER CIRCLE
and bring your smaller items to the concierge at Cleveland House (2727 29 St. NW, next to the Primary Campus) or contact
A WIDER CIRCLE for pick-up of larger items.
Our first drive will be from April 1st
to April 30th.
For more information, call 301.608.3504, or visit
http://www.awidercircle.org
Information is also available from the Cleveland House (2727 29 St. NW next to the Primary Campus) front
desk.
MIDDLE SCHOOL/INTERMEDIATE CAMPUS UPDATE
April 9, 2009
Help us during the DC-CAS! The
Intermediate Campus needs parent volunteers for lunch and recess during
DC-CAS. Contact Sandi Baer if you would be available between 11:30 a.m. and 1
p.m. during testing.
Extra recess during testing for middle schoolers. Middle
school students will bring home a permission slip on Tuesday, April 14, to
allow them to go to Kalorama Park each day after testing Monday, April 20 -
Thursday, April 23) for an extended recess and picnic lunch. (The school lunch
catering company will supply brown-bag lunch for students who want school lunch
on those days.)
This week in Shine:
Students
will seperate by gender to finish their discussions of female and male body
parts.
OCC UPDATEReminder: Get your funding proposal in to the
OCC Board by May 18 to be considered for the 2009-2010 budget! For
proposal guidelines and more information about the budget and the budgeting
process, consult the website under "OCC." Please note that At-Large board
member Denise Senecal will be receiving electronic submissions at
denisehsenecal@gmail.com, not OCC Secretary Phoebe Schlanger, as was
erroneously stated in last week's bulletin. Phoebe still will receive funding
proposals submitted on paper, in her mailbox at Oyster and via the OCC mailboxes
at Adams. OCC (Oyster-Adams Community Council) board
elections take place May 13-14.
We will be electing a new OCC board May
13-14, and we want to urge all of you parents with energy, ideas and a desire to
serve your school community to think about running for one of the seats on the
board. The Executive Committee is comprised of: 2 co-chairs (this position
requires a two-year commitment; all the rest are a one-year commitment, only); 2
vice co-chairs; 2 co-secretaries; and 2 co-treasurers. As a result of a
community vote last year, the OCC adopted a policy that for each seat on the
Executive Committee, one of the co-positions is designated to be filled by a
Spanish-speaker, the other by an English-speaker. According to our bylaws, we
also can run six Member-At-Large seats. In addition to the Executive Committee
and the six Members-At-Large, the board includes the principal, the
vice-principal, and at least two teacher representatives. We would like to make
a special appeal to parents of children in the middle grades (6th-8th) and in
general to parents of children in grades 4-8 who are based at the Adams campus
to consider serving on the OCC board. We need both fresh energy (parents of
children at the Oyster campus, that's you!) and wisdom and experiece in the mix
for this board in the coming year, so Adams campus/middle school parents, step
up! We need your perspective on the 2009-2010 OCC board.
We will be
posting the election materials -- descriptions of the various positions and what
they entail -- on the website and on the bulletin boards at both campuses, so
check there in the coming weeks for more information. But the election
materials cannot tell the whole story. Feel free to email or call any board
member who now is serving the position for which you might be interested in
running. The 2008-2009 board roster is:
Maribel Jimeno, Co-Chair
(Spanish-Speaking)
Claire Taylor, Co-Chair (English-Speaking)
Susana
Castiglione, Vice Co-Chair (S.S.)
Anna Rubio, Vice Co-Chair (E.S.)
Phoebe
Schlanger, Co-Secretary (E.S.)
Deon Woods Bell, Co-Treasurer (S.S.)
Emily
Powers, Co-Treasurer (E.S.)
Members At
Large:
Chris Carlson
Noemi Eversley
Robert Osley
Lisa
Pansegrouw
Denise Senecal
Kathryn Vincent
Everyone would welcome
the chance to share their experiences and answer questions from parents who were
interested in serving on the board next year. If you have already made up your
mind to run, contact Co-Chair Claire Taylor in her capacity as the chair of the
Nominations Committee at claire_elin_taylor@yahoo.com or submit a notice on
paper to her mailbox at Oyster, to put your name on the ballot. Thanks for your
consideration
Maribel Jimeno, Co-Chair
Claire Taylor, Co-Chair
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Book Sale at the Mount Pleasant Library
1600 Lamont Street, NW (at
16th Street)
Saturday, April 11, 2009
10:00 am - 4:00 pm
This Bulletin
Board provides a space for members of the Oyster-Adams community to post items
of general interest related to the education of our students.
Please send your notice IN ENGLISH AND IN SPANISH to ana.rodriguez@dc.gov
by 4:00 p.m. on Wednesdays.
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Week of April 13, 2009
DC CAS Countdown: 3 School Days To Go!Monday
NO SCHOOL
Tuesday AM
8:40 AM -
Got-A-Book Campaign, primary campus
Tuesday PM
3:30 -
Cross-Campus Ultimate Frisbee for 3rd & 4th graders (Mr.
Golland)
-
4th
Grade Spanish Tutoring (Sra. Reyes & Sr. Alfonso)
-
5th
Grade Reading Tutorial (Ms. Roling/Lemus)
-
5th
Grade Math Tutoring (Ms. Hainer)
-
6th
Grade Math Tutoring (Ms. Redd)
-
Middle
School CityDance (Room 309)
Wednesday
AM
8:10 AM -
4th
Grade Reading Tutorial (Ms. Fuller)
8:45 AM -
Student Council announcements, primary campus
Wednesday PM
3:30 PM -
HoopEd, primary campus gym
-
4th
Grade Math Tutoring (Sr. Bustios)
-
5th
Grade Math Tutoring (Ms. Hainer)
-
Middle
School Digital Yearbook (Computer Lab)
-
4th
& 5th grade Girls on the Run (Adams
cafeteria)
6:00
PM -
Orientation
at Wilson Senior High School for Oyster-Adams 8th
graders who plan to go there for 9th grade
Thursday
NO SCHOOL (DC EMANCIPATION DAY)
Friday AM
8:40 AM - Got-A-Book Campaign, primary campus
Friday PM
3:30 PM -
Cross-Campus Ultimate Frisbee for 3rd & 4th graders (Mr.
Golland)
-
4th
& 5th grade CityDance (Room 309)
-
MathCounts
for Middle School (Mr. Hunter)
6:15 PM -
Family Zumba with Ms. Villegas (at the primary campus for
K-8 students and their parents)
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AFTER-SCHOOL
PROGRAM NEWS
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OCA
April 9, 2009
Tuition is due
on or by Friday ,April 10; $280 first child, $270 second child, $260 third
child. Make checks or money orders
payable to oca.
Did you return
your enrichment registration form? It
was due March 13th. The third and last session of enrichment
begins April 6 to June 5th.
Payment for these classes is due on or by May 1, 2009.
Creative kids
will have a later start, than originally expected. The first day of Creative
kids will be Monday, April 20 through June 8 and Wednesday, April 22 through
June 10. Sewing class will start Monday, April 20. You can still enroll in
Creative kids and sewing class.
OCA will be
closed on April 10, 13 and 16.
Maternity leave- I'm due April
15th, just around the corner. Silvia Segovia will be the acting
director and Sandy Batres will be the acting assistant director. Silvia will have the oca phone which is
(202)329-6693 and will continue to use connieoca2003@yahoo.com
for oca related business. If you have
questions relating to payments please contact Silvia. Sandy will be
your contact person at the Oyster campus from 3:00-6:00 and Silvia at the Adams campus from 3-:00-6:15. Leave your messages like you do know at the
same oca number and they will be relayed to the right person. Don't worry your
children are in good hands.
Connie
(202)329-6693
connieoca2003@yahoo.com
SAVE THE DATE. OYSTER-ADAMS PARENTS'
NIGHT OUT TO BENEFIT OYSTER CREATIVE ACTIVITIES (OCA) SCHOLARSHIP FUND - SPRING
COCKTAIL PARTY FUNDRAISER - Friday, May 8, 6:00-8:30pm at the Embassy of
Switzerland (2900 Cathedral Avenue, NW). Light food
provided courtesy of Open City, wine donated by the Swiss Embassy and Stanford
in Washington, and soft drinks and juice offered by Sherry Wine and Spirits.
Childcare for Oyster-Adams students, including a pizza dinner, provided for a
nominal fee at the Oyster building. Any questions, please contact Jacqueline
Bouchard at (202) 360-6136.
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OYSTER-ADAMS BILINGUAL SCHOOL
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Monica Liang Aguirre, Principal
Ibis Villegas, Assistant Principal
Sandi Baer, Intermediate Campus Coordinator
Oyster Campus (PreK - 3rd Grade)
2801 Calvert Street, NW
Washington, DC 20008
Tel: 202/671-3111
Fax: 202/671-3087
Adams Campus (4th - 8th Grades)
2020 19th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20009
Tel. 202/673-7311
Fax. 202/673-6500
__________________________
Email: contactus@oysterbilingualschool.org
Website:
http://oysterbilingual.devis.com/AboutUs/
__________________________
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