OYSTER-ADAMS BILINGUAL SCHOOL
WEEKLY BULLETIN

April 17, 2009

New playground under construction at our Adams campus!

Oyster-Adams Bilingual School is an inclusive community of learners dedicated to academic excellence and creativity that develops globally responsible leaders who are bilingual and bi-literate in
Spanish and English.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS - HYPERLINKS

APRIL

MAY

JUNE

NEWS!

UPDATES

COMMUNITY BULLETIN BOARD

NEXT WEEK'S ACTVITIES

AFTER-SCHOOL PROGRAM NEWS

OYSTER-ADAMS CONTACT INFORMATION

APRIL
2009

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

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-14th
OCC Elections

May 15th
No School
Parent-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

JUNE 2009
June 10th LSRT Meeting June 15th Last Day of School!

MESSAGE FROM PRINCIPAL LIANG AGUIRRE

April 17, 2009

Dear Parents:

As you are well aware, next week we will be administering the DC-CAS for 3rd-8th graders. Your child and your child's teachers have been working hard all year to best prepare your child for these important exams that will give us one perspective on your child's progress towards the DC Learning Standards.

Daily and timely attendance is important every day but especially important in the next two weeks. Please make an extra effort to ensure your child's timely arrival each day.

As an incentive, we will be giving all 3rd-8th graders who join their class by 8:45AM a daily raffle ticket for a drawing to be held on Friday, April 24th for a gift certificate to Politics and Prose Bookstore. There will be separate drawing for 3rd-5th graders and for 6th-8th graders.

Finally, a recent study from the University of Illinois indicates that a single acute bout of moderate exercise can be beneficial for cognitive function in a period of time afterward. (See article: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090331183800.htm).

In order to give our students an added boost, 3rd graders will be working with PE teacher Ms. Barnes for "Brain Games" first thing in the morning upon arrival to school in the gym next week rather than engaging in the usual reading time. The Intermediate Campus students will be doing yoga exercises in the mornings with staff from Infinity Wellness.

We know that the next week can be exhausting and frustrating for students and teachers alike. Please encourage your child (and his or her teachers!) everyday.

All the best,

-Monica Liang-Aguirre

NEWS!

April 17, 2009

Pre-Test Relaxation, Focus & Fun! On DC-CAS testing days, we will be providing some fun, early morning activities for students. 3rd graders can play "brain games" with Mrs. Barnes in the Oyster Gym from 8:15 to 8:40. Intermediate Campus students can participate in Yoga led by Infinity Wellness in the Adams gym (one session from 8:15-8:30, and a second from 8:30-8:45). Plan to come to school early so your child can take advantage of this opportunity to relax and focus before taking the DC-CAS!

Fiesta News! The Oyster-Adams Annual Fiesta will take place on May 2, 2009 from noon-4 pm at the Oyster campus. We need your help! We request that each family do three things to help make this year's Fiesta great.

1. Please sign up to work a shift at your child's class activity through your room parents.

2. Please bring a dish for 10-12 people to sell at the International Cafe during the Fiesta.

ECC through 2nd Grade - Main Dishes
3rd Grade through 5th Grade - Salads, Side Dishes, Finger Foods
6th Grade through 8th Grade - Desserts and Baked Goods

3. Please sign up to help with set up on Friday May 1 (anytime from 5-7 pm), set up on Saturday May 2 (anytime from 9 am to noon), or clean up on Saturday May 2 (from 4 to 6 pm). Sign up for set up or clean up by contacting Claudia Martin at cmartin@wcl.american.edu (202-309-3944) or Mary Jo Kelly at maryjokelly2007@yahoo.com (202-342-8118) and telling us what time period you can work.

Please help make the Fiesta another successful event for Oyster-Adams!

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/juices offered by Sherry Wine and Spirits. Childcare for Oyster-Adams students, including a pizza dinner, provided for a nominal fee at the Oyster building. Tickets go on sale on April 27 in the mornings at both campuses.

UPDATES

Update from Assistant Principal Ibis Villegas

April 17, 2009

Happy Endings and the DC CAS

" Y color�n, colorado, este cuento se ha acabado" is the classic ending to story time in Spanish. Although there is no direct translation, the idea is one of happy endings. To that end (pun intended) let's talk about happy endings to the DC CAS:

A positive attitude goes a long way...Pepper your conversations about testing with positive words.
Adequate sleep promotes sharper thinking, improved focus and an increase in energy levels. According to Wong's Essentials of Pediatric Nursing by Marilyn Hockenberry (2005), "Children ages 3-10 need about 9-12 hours of sleep in 24 hours".
A balanced diet and physical exercise will optimize every child's potential to do his or her best during testing. Websites such as the one by the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, www.mypyramid.gov provide a wealth of information and advice in this regard.
Please make sure your child brings his or her glasses if your child needs them!
Talk to the resident experts in our school - your child's teachers! This applies to all teachers including Spanish. Why? Because as our own second grade teacher Rick Quinones once stated in an article published in the summer 2008 edition of American Educator: "...my partner (Spanish teacher) and I start off by looking at the standards; we make sure we both have the same understanding of what the child needs to know and be able to do. Then we identify key words from the vocabulary and plan how we are going to include them in the lessons and homework". The success of our dual-language approach is premised on extensive collaboration among all teachers. They are therefore the ones best suited to helping you prepare your child(ren) for success during testing and beyond.

Y color�n, colorado, este cuento se ha acabado!

MIDDLE SCHOOL/INTERMEDIATE CAMPUS UPDATE

April 17, 2009

Middle Schoolers To Enjoy Kalorama Park. When middle school students finish their DC-CAS testing (Monday, April 20, through Thursday, April 23) they will have an opportunity to enjoy recreation time at Kalorama Park (19th and Columbia Road) until1 p.m. Students must have a signed permission slip to join their classmates.

Lunch will be eaten at the park. Students can get a bag lunch at school from the cafeteria, just as they would get a school lunch, or they can bring one from home. Students may bring typical outdoor sports equipment (soccer balls and basketballs, for example) as well as blankets to sit on but bicycles and skateboards are not allowed.

Come Early for Pre-Test Yoga. Infinity Wellness will provide two sessions of yoga each testing morning (Mon, April 20 - Thurs., April 23) for all Intermediate Campus students. The first session will be from 8:15 - 8:30 a.m. The second will be from 8:30 - 8:45, in the gym (students should come to the cafeteria first to check in, as usual). Plan to come to school early to take advantage of this opportunity to relax and focus before taking the DC-CAS!

Congratulations to...6th grader Max Cooper who is being sponsored by the Walter Reed Institute of Research to participate in the International Sustainable World (Energy, Engineering, & Environment) Project Olympiad (I-SWEEEP). His invitation is based on his winning Oyster-Adams science fair project presented at the D.C. Mathematics, Science and Technology Fair in March. The I-SWEEEP will be held from April 15 to 20, in Houston, Texas. If you are interested in more information on the competition, you can check out their website at http://isweep.org <http://isweep.org/> .
6th grader Garrett Saltzman...

Oyster-Adams Dress Code. As the weather begins to change, students will want to dress comfortably to beat the heat. The following is the Oyster-Adams dress code:

Tank tops must have thick straps. No spaghetti straps or strapless shirts.
No obscene or otherwise inappropriate writing on t-shirts.
Shorts and skirts must reach the student's middle finger when their arms are hanging down their side.
No flip flops. Students should wear footwear that allows them to run and play without falling.
No hats of any kind for boys or girls may be worn inside.

Students who fail to comply with the dress code could be required to:

1)      Change into a school-issued shirt if theirs is inappropriate.
2)      Have their parents/guardians bring them a change of clothes.
3)      Give their hat to a teacher or administrator.

This Week in Shine: Students will identify, role-play and discuss three styles of behavior (passive, aggressive, and assertive) commonly used in response to inappropriate offers from peers. The students will practice being assertive in peer pressure situations. They will also learn that avoiding peer pressure by making good choices about friendships is an effective strategy.

OCC UPDATE

[NO UPDATE THIS WEEK]

LSRT UPDATE

[NO UPDATE THIS WEEK]

COMMUNITY BULLETIN BOARD

Target is offering free children's eyeglasses. The nearest store with an optical center that can provide this service is in Greenbelt, MD at 16100 Greenbelt Rd. (301) 837-0054 (Posted by Alex Alleyne)

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.

NEXT WEEK'S ACTIVITIES

Week of April 20, 2009

DC CAS IS HERE!

Monday AM

8:15 - 8:40 AM