News From OMS Administration - September 3, 2021

News from Oakland Middle School

Good Afternoon! Welcome to September. We have had a successful start to the 2021-2022 school year and are excited to have all scholars here in person!

Back to School Night - Our Back to School has been rescheduled for September 21^st from 5-7pm.

Picture Day - Picture Day is Tuesday, September 14^th. Picture packets will be handed out to students in their 8^th period class tomorrow. If you don’t pre-order, you will still have an opportunity to order photos from your student’s photo proof, which should be available about two weeks after photos are taken. Here is the link to order pictures through the Inter-state Studios website: inter-state.com/FlyerEntry/59660HF. The order code is 59660HF.

Parent/Guardian Contact Information - Please make sure your student’s contact information is up to date, including your email address. It is critical that we are able to reach you if there is an emergency. We rely heavily on emails and texts to communicate with you, so please make sure we have the right information.

Cell phone policy - Students are not allowed to have cell phones out in class. Cell phones are very distracting and a disruption to instructional time. If students choose to bring cell phones to school, they need to be silenced and must be left in their backpacks. Cell phones are allowed before and after school, during passing time and at lunch. If the cell phone continues to be a problem an administrator will call and ask you to come and pick the phone up or give us permission to lock it in the vault until the end of the day. If you need to get ahold of your student, please call the amin office and we will get a message to them.

OFA Needs You - We have lots of opportunities for parents to serve our Oaktown community. If you are interested in joining OFA, or would like for information about ways you can help our school, please email Maxina Rosas at MRosas@cpsk12.org.

• School Building Access - All entrances to the school will be locked. Entry into the school will be restricted to staff and students. Other visitors (including parents) must receive pre-approval from the Secondary Assistant Superintendent and will only be allowed to enter by appointment.
• If your student is arriving to school late, you will need to call the school to excuse them, or accompany them into the vestibule at the circle drive and let the office know your student is excused.
• If you’re picking up your student early, we ask that you call us at least 10 minutes before you plan to pick up your students. We will not be delivering paper passes to students this year and it will take a few minutes to generate and deliver an electronic pass. When you arrive to pick up your student, ring the doorbell at the circle drive and we will identify you before sending your student out to you.
• If you bring a forgotten item for your student, we will buzz you into the vestibule where you can label your student’s items and put them on the shelf. We will send an electronic pass to your student’s iPad to come and pick up those items. The staff will not be handling these items, so they will stay on the shelf in the vestibule until your student retrieves them. It is best if your students remember to bring what they need for the school day, especially their iPad since they will not be able to be fully engaged in instruction without it.

Bringing Lunch and/or Having Lunch with your student

• This year, students WILL be allowed to have restaurant food in the lunch room under the following conditions:
• Food must be dropped off by a parent or guardian. We will NOT accept food deliveries for students from restaurants, 3rd party delivery services, or anyone who is not listed as student’s parents or guardian.
• You may bring food for your student only, not friends of your student’s.
• Food must be here in time for student’s scheduled lunch shift. Students will not be allowed to miss instructional time unless you sign them out and we will not be able to refrigerate foods and beverages for students.
• Due to lack of space and contact tracing, parents will not be allowed to have lunch with their student in the building. Parents will be allowed to sign their student out for lunch and eat with them outside, or take them off campus. They will need to sign them back in when they have finished.

COVID-19 and calling your student in sick – We have been mandated to ask what your student’s symptoms are when you call them out sick. This information will only be shared with the health room staff.

Symptoms associated with COVID-19:

• Fever or chills
• Cough
• Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
• Fatigue
• Muscle or body aches
• Headache
• New loss of taste or smell
• Sore throat
• Congestion or runny nose
• Nausea or vomiting
• Diarrhea

Note: This list is subject to change as new information is obtained.

*If your student tests positive for Covid 19, we will need a confirmation from the doctor’s office/testing site. Please have them fax the positive test results to 573-214-3221. All communication to and from the nurse’s office is confidential and will only be viewed by the health room staff.

Important Dates to Remember…

September 13 6:30pm School Board Meeting

September 14 Picture Day (PARENT VOLUNTEERS NEEDED)

September 21 Back to School Night 5-7pm

September 22 No School—Teacher Collaboration Day

October 4 No School—Teacher Collaboration Day

October 11 6:30pm School Board Meeting

October 28 NO School—Teacher Collaboration Day

October 29 NO School—Teacher Collaboration Day

*Fall sporting events have been scheduled and are posted to the calendar on the OMS website.