Hello Oyster-Adams!

As the winter breaks nears, I would like to take this time to thank all of the community for the hard work and dedication that so many of you put forth to help Oyster-Adams.

The OCC board has been working very hard all year to move in a positive direction and get many things on track to not only improve the organization but most importantly, to improve education for all of our children. We have hired an accountant, implemented a new accounting system, involved a volunteer parent bookkeeper in our work, posted guidance and financial documents on our website, started work on our by-laws and will continue this effort into the New Year.

Thank you to all who have not only contributed money but also to those who have donated so much of their time and effort to make all our events so far such a success.

Our Hispanic Heritage Celebration was a fun and exciting evening that brought out so many families for some good food, music and fun. Claudia Cauterucci and her team did a wonderful job in putting together such a fun party. Through the different dances, mariachi band and Mr. Ramirez's trivia, we were able to learn many facts about the many cultures that make up Hispanic Heritage.

We really got moving with Vamos! Maria Elena Nawar and her team did a tremendous job putting together a great run and tough course! We really thought that it would be easy breezy when we started running downhill but soon realized that we would have to run UP!! The weather didn't hamper any of the O-A spirit that day and all who came out cheered everyone on. I hope to see even more families take on the challenge next year.

The Book Fair was a wonderful event to share, not only with our school families but also with the surrounding community. I ran into a colleague from The Washington Post at the book fair. I thought she had a child at Oyster-Adams but she doesn't. Her child's school has a book fair but she said she happily waits for ours because of all the wonderful books that we have to choose from. Laura Kleinmann, Leslie Smith and Serena Wiltshire did an outstanding job loading up the fair with books the kids crave to read! I hope you took time to visit the book fair or attend any of the wonderful events that were part of the fair.

The Christmas tree sale was a big success this year! They were able to sell all the trees and wreaths that were ordered this year. Karen Smith and her group of dedicated volunteer outdoorspeople did a great job in helping families pick out trees for their homes. They weathered the cold, rain and freezing temperatures to make the sale a great success.

Our Parent Campaign is under way. We will have one lucky winner of a wii or an iPhone. Anne-Marie Bairstow and her volunteers are working night and day to raise money to help support our school. So far we have raised approximately $40,000! We hope to raise almost half of the OCC's annual budget of $207,168, which funds tutoring, music, field trips, after school programs and classroom activities. If you have already made your contribution, a big THANKS. If you have not, please do so. The amount that you donate is not important. What is most important is that we get as many families as possible to participate. It is not too late to give so please consider giving if you have not already done so. Times are hard for all us these days but if you can't give now, please do so after the holidays. We have not yet achieved our goal.

As we look forward to the second part of the school year in 2010, I hope that you will continue to volunteer your time, effort and money to the OCC and community at large. We have fun activities coming up in 2010 like the Pan-African Celebration, Auction (April 17th), Fiesta, the Raffle, OCA cocktail party and many others!

The OCC board wishes everyone a very happy holiday season and a most fabulous NEW YEAR!!!!

Sincerely,
Jackie Alvarado, Vivian Portis-Escoto, Noemi Eversley, Deon Woods Bell, Robert Osley, Phoebe Schlanger, Cristina Faz, Carole Whalen, Carolina Clarens, Missy Alden, Bill Bass, Frank Johnston, Denise Senecal, David Snead and Kathryn Vincent, Monica Liang-Aguirre, Ibis Villegas, Pablo Giron