Notes from Oak - Oct 23, 2026

Mrs. Webster's 1st Grade Class earned a "Stuffie Day" for receiving 10 Compliments last week!

With a potentially wet winter ahead, we're getting ready to make sure our Cougars have plenty of opportunities to stay active, engaged, and connected with friends—even when the weather keeps us indoors!

When the rain is too heavy for outdoor play, students will enjoy lunch in their classrooms before heading to designated indoor spaces. Depending on availability, students will have opportunities to watch a movie in the Multi, read in the library, play board games, or enjoy activities in classrooms and the STEM Lab.

Of course, a little drizzle won't keep our Cougars indoors! Whenever conditions are safe, we will continue to have outdoor recess. Fresh air, movement, and opportunities to play are important parts of our students' day.

Please make sure your child comes to school ready for changing weather conditions:

We're also looking to expand our collection of indoor activities! If your family has gently used board games, card games, playing cards, or jigsaw puzzles that are in good condition and have all their pieces, we'd love to give them a new home at Oak. These donations will help us create fun, screen-free opportunities for students to connect and play together during indoor recess.

Thank you for helping us keep our Cougars comfortable, active, and happy, rain or shine!

How can technology support meaningful learning, and where do we need to be thoughtful about its use? Join us to learn about LASD’s approach to technology and artificial intelligence in our schools. 

We’ll share how we’re thinking about the opportunities and challenges these tools present, with students’ learning, well-being, and ability to think for themselves at the center. Join me as Grace Choi, Coordinator of Curriculum and Instruction at the next Principal's coffee to learn more!

We are grateful for the many parents and community members who give their time to support our students and schools!

As we continue implementing our updated volunteer requirements, we have noticed that many volunteers have completed fingerprinting but have not yet submitted the required online Volunteer Form. Fingerprinting is just one step in the process, and volunteers are not fully cleared until all required steps are completed.

Fingerprinting comes at a significant cost to the District. When volunteers complete fingerprinting but do not finish the process, valuable resources are spent without resulting in an approved volunteer who can support our schools.

Please help us make the most of these resources by completing all volunteer requirements as soon as possible. If you have already completed everything, thank you!

We deeply appreciate your partnership and your commitment to keeping our schools safe, welcoming, and supported.

Tues, Oct 27 - October Surprise! - Blacktop; 8:15-8:45am

Tues, Oct 27 - Wildlife Assembly  - Multi; 1pm and 2pm

Fri, Oct 30 - Spooktacular! - Multi; 2:30-4:30pm

Sun, Nov 1 - Daylight Saving Time Ends - Set clocks back one hour

Wed, Nov 4 - Picture Retake Day!

Wed, Nov 4 - PTA Association Mtng - 7pm; Via Zoom

Wed, Nov 4 - 4th Grade Walk Through CA - Multi

Fri, Nov 6 - Principal's Coffee AI & Technology - Library 8:45am

Mon, Nov 16 - NED Mindset Mission Assembly - Multi; 9:15-10:10am

Tues, Nov 17-Fri, Nov 20 -6th Grade at Walden West Outdoor School

Wed, Nov 18 - LASD Student Art Showcase - Covington multi 5-7pm

Sun, Nov 29 - Festival of Lights Parade - Downtown Los Altos

Only individuals who plan to volunteer on campus, chaperone field trips, assist with classroom parties, or participate in other school activities as volunteers are required to complete the volunteer clearance and fingerprinting process.

If you do not plan to volunteer, please do not get fingerprinted. 

Following completion of the Volunteer Authorization Form, Volunteers will need to complete Live Scan fingerprinting and the Keenan Mandated Reporter online training. You must access those directions here.

A heart-felt thank you to everyone who chipped in this week! Thanks to your generosity, we’ve raised another $2,500 over the past few days, bringing our total to $29,016 – nearly 73% of our $40,000 goal.

As our primary student-led fundraiser of the year, the Walkathon directly funds the programs that enrich every student’s experience at Oak—from classroom mini-grants and teacher stipends to field trip transportation and many school events.

Because we transitioned to a flat-donation model this year, every family's direct contribution is critical. If we fall short of our $40k target, the PTA will face a budget deficit and will have to make difficult choices to scale back planned activities and resources for the rest of the school year.

If you haven't had the chance to donate yet—or if you're able to add to your initial pledge—our suggested donation is $200 per child, though contributions of any size make a real difference.

👉 Click Here to Donate on DoJiggy

💡 Double Your Impact with Corporate Matching & Download Tax Receipts

Did you know many local employers (like Apple, Google, Meta, and Microsoft) match charitable contributions dollar-for-dollar? Matching is a quick, easy way to help us reach our goal!

Spooktacular 

🎃 Join the Fun at Oak's Spooktacular! 👻

Friday, October 30th, 2:30-5:00 PM

Get ready for an afternoon of games, treats, and prizes! Oak's 6th graders have worked hard to bring you a Spooktacular full of fun, and they can't wait to share it with you and your family.

Haunted House: Six spooky scenes await in the Multi! Lights-on tours for younger kids run before 3:15, and lights-off tours for thrill seekers follow after. 

Carnival Games: Try all eight games and win prizes!

Bake Sale and Pizza: Sweet halloween treats - topped off with a slice of pizza!

Raffle: Peek at the amazing prizes starting Monday, 10/26. Tickets are on sale before and after school.

All proceeds help fund the 6th grade end-of-year party and a class gift back to Oak Elementary.

As parents, our top priority is keeping our children and community safe. The Oak Avenue PTA has partnered with the Santa Clara County Fire Department to bring an exclusive, hands-on safety training right to our campus.

 Where: Oak Avenue Multipurpose Room

 When: November 5 (3:30-5:00 PM)

 Who: Oak families and staff are invited (minimum participant age: 13)

Sign up here- https://forms.gle/LU94YRJFY1qWciXf6

Participants will learn these 3 essential skills:

Registration is first come, first served. We will open it to other families in the district if we don't meet the 20-person minimum by October 23.

To celebrate young artists in LASD and bring art lovers together from across the district. Families will register their students to submit a piece of art they are proud of. Student art from all LASD schools will be displayed at our LASD Student Art Showcase, to be held at Covington Elementary on November 18th from 5:00-7:00 PM.

Registrations opened on October 8th. Interested participants can sign up here →Google Form 

The event needs volunteers for tagging art, set up and clean up→Sign up Sheet

As we continue to prioritize the safety and well-being of our students, we want to remind you of an essential step:

It's crucial that we have accurate names and phone numbers for individuals authorized to pick up your child in case of an emergency. This includes family members, close friends, or designated caregivers.

Remember: Even if you've developed strong friendships within the Oak community (and we know about it!), we cannot release your child to anyone who is not listed on your emergency contact sheet. This is a strict policy to safeguard the safety of all our students.

If you don't have family nearby, we encourage you to get involved in our PTA and family events. Building connections with other Oak families can provide invaluable support and peace of mind!

Financial Reviewer: The PTA Financial Reviewer audits the financial books and records of the PTA on a semiannual basis. The review can be performed by an appointed Oak parent who is a licensed CPA. Our books are well-organized and up to date and we expect 5-10 hours of time commitment per 6 months audit with full support and documentation provided by the PTA executive board.  Please reach out to Roger Xu (wuyun1018@gmail.com) if you are interested. For additional information, please see the California PTA website: https://toolkit.capta.org/finance/pta-financial-review/

As you may have seen Los Altos School District’s ParentSquare newsletter, they are bringing all volunteer screening into one consistent, districtwide process to stay compliant with new state laws while preserving the welcoming and volunteer culture that makes our schools so special. 

We highly encourage all of our volunteers to follow the LASD approved volunteer process. For those interested in beginning the process to becoming a volunteer, please visit the link https://www.lasdschools.org/volunteer.

A massive thank you to all the parents who volunteered, cheered, and supported the event, as well as our 9 local event sponsors (including many Oak parent-owned businesses!) who covered event overheads so family donations go directly to our school! 👏

A special shout-out to Jocelyn Jackson who took the lead for this year’s walkathon! From exploring options and thoughtfully incorporating new ideas to coordinating event leads and securing volunteers, Jocelyn put so much time and energy into bringing it all together. A familiar face and valued member of our Oak community, we’re incredibly grateful for her leadership, dedication, and all she continues to do for our school.  🩵 💛 

Contributions to LAEF and the PTA directly support Oak's instructional programs (LAEF) and vital school community initiatives (PTA). Thank you for investing in our children and supporting our school!

Donate to LAEF & PTA through links below. As a reminder, the ask is $1,800 for LAEF, $80 per child to the Oak PTA and $20 PTA dues when you become a member. 

Your donation to LAEF helps fund these specialized teachers, instructional programs, and materials for Oak students this school year.

Physical Education: Matt Ramil

Music 4th-6th: Joe Chan, Joanna Marcal, Cruz Gonzalez, Alicia Fuller, Monica Rodriguez

Library Specialist: Celia Forrest

Art Docents:* Kimberly Dickerson, Sarah Levy

Living Classroom:* Caroline Chan, Sandi Elefant

Computer Science Support:* Grace Choi, Sheena Vaidyanathan. Note: Prop 28 funds the Computer Science teachers. 

*Oversees district-wide program and curriculum

If you haven't had a chance to give this school year, donate to LAEF today. Donations of any amount are welcome and appreciated! And be sure to apply for a corporate match if available to you.

Go to this link: https://www.destinydiscover.com/aasp/ui/pick/picked

Choose California, type in Los Altos School District, and Oak Avenue Elementary School in Los Altos. There are multiple Oak Avenue Schools, so make sure you pick the one in Los Altos. This puts you directly into the Oak Library Catalog, which shows all the books the Oak Library owns. Click Go! You can browse the collection by topic, genre, grade level, etc. You can search for a specific book title or author. You don’t need to log in to do any of these searches. However if you do want to put a book on hold or read one of our ebooks, you will need to log in.

To log in, click on the login button at the top right. Enter this year’s google username and password that you use to log in to your school google account and submit. Search for the book you are looking for and put it on hold. Mrs. Forrest will pull the book for you and have it waiting for you in the library during the school year. No summer holds available.

All LASD students (unless parents opted out), have a student account through the Santa Clara County Library District, aka, the Los Altos Public Library. This student account offers access to eBooks, research resources, homework help, and much more.

You will be asked to provide an Account Number and PIN. The Account Number is S + Student ID + LASD (no spaces in between). The student ID is a unique 5 digit number provided by LASD. It is the same number as your student’s Powerschool number and is embedded in their school email address. The number is provided when you receive district communications specific to your student. The PIN is the student’s birth month and day (again no spaces). If the birth month or day is only one number, add a zero in front of it.

Account Number: S12345LASD

PIN: 0114 (for January 14th)

There are also resource links on the Oak School website under Programs/Library.

Please contact Mrs. Forrest at cforrest@lasdschools.org if you have specific requests, have any questions, or have difficulty accessing your account.​