We found out that Montera scheduled Back-to-School Night on the same night as us. So, to accommodate families with children at both schools we decided to have ours on Wednesday, September 22 from 6:00 to 7:30. More information on this important event is on the Back-to-School Night page. See you there!
Archive for the ‘info’ Category
Save the Date: Back-to-School Night (date change)
Monday, September 6th, 2010A reminder: the first week of school is Minimum Days
Monday, August 16th, 2010What the heck are minimum days, you may ask if you’re new to the school. Each Wednesday is a shorter school day for Teacher Professional Development. Occasionally additional minimum days are added to accommodate Parent/Teacher conferences or other special circumstances.
This year the first five days of school will be minimum days. Joaquin Miller’s annual minutes of instruction far exceed the district and state minimums, and we’ll thus spend the first week getting back into the daily swing of things at a pace everyone will appreciate, while providing teachers time to collaborate and plan.
Adventure Time is aware of this change, and they are prepared to provide additional child care to families every day that week.
For the full Bell Schedule with a list of this year’s planned minimum days, click here.
This Saturday: Incoming Kindergartener play date
Monday, August 2nd, 2010Join other new kindergarten families at Roberts Park this Saturday, August 7th from 10am to 1pm for a chance to meet and get to know your classmates. One of the new moms is organizing this event; sign up for the JM Community email list to ask questions and find out more.
PTA Summer Update
Thursday, July 29th, 2010Hello fellow JM parents!
At our July JMPTA Board meeting, we transitioned our amazing outgoing members and welcomed our 2010-11 team. We are all excited and eager to make this year great for all of our families and students at JM. We wanted to be sure to communicate a few key messages to you. Please read through the messages below. The JM website is a great place to get updates on upcoming events. We look forward to seeing you soon!
Best,
The PTA Board
Principal Smith
DON’T MISS TLC DAY!
JM TLC Day, when we spend time preparing the school and building community, is coming up! Please join us AUGUST 21, 11 A.M. TO 3 P.M., ready to work. We’ll provide lunch and drinks; all you need to bring is yourselves and your kids, ready to make the school look (even) better! We’ll send out a list of projects and needed tools in advance of the day; for now, please just save the date!
REGISTRATION DAY
This year our big push to register all our students will happen on SATURDAY, AUGUST 28. Here’s how this will work:
-School registration packets and PTA Membership Forms will be available for pickup in the main office starting Monday, August 16, 2010.
-On Saturday the 28th, staff and parent volunteers will be at school to collect your forms and answer your questions. At the end of the registration process you will receive your child’s class (teacher) placement.
-New kindergarten families may register during the week of August 23 or on Saturday the 28th, 9:00 and 10:30 a.m. Your child’s class placement has been sent to you in the mail.
-Parents with 1st-5th graders should come to school Saturday the 28th between 10:30 and 2:30 pm.
-If you are not able to drop your packet off that day, we ask that you send it with a friend; if that doesn’t work; you can always bring it to the office the first week of school.
NEW THIS YEAR: MINIMUM DAYS THE FIRST WEEK OF SCHOOL
The first five days of school will be minimum (short) days, ending at 12:55 for kindergartners and 1:25 for everyone else. Joaquin Miller’s annual minutes of instruction far exceed the district and state minimums, and we’ll thus spend the first week getting back into the daily swing of things at a pace everyone will appreciate, while providing teachers time to collaborate and plan. Adventure Time is aware of this change, and they are prepared to provide additional child care to families every day that week.
School’s out for summer!
Thursday, June 17th, 2010See you on Registration Day, August 28th. The first day of the 2010-2011 school year is August 30th. For those of you in the Summer Learning Program, class begins on June 29th.
Check back here and the School Calendar for reminders of upcoming events, such as the Kindergarten Tea on August 24th.
Congratulations to our Fifth Graders, and to everyone for a great year! Have a terrific summer.
JM Safety Patrol Earns Rookie of the Year Award
Wednesday, June 16th, 2010Congratulations to the members of JM’s new safety patrol! On May 26th, members of our safety patrol joined hundreds of kids from safety patrols all across Oakland for the 82nd Annual Oakland Police Department Safety Patrol Ceremony. Each squad was recognized by officers from the Oakland Police Department for their commitment to safety on their school campus. Joaquin Miller was also recognized for being the best new / rookie squad in Oakland. It was a great ceremony and a privilege for our kids to participate. Ms. Smith and several families were in attendance. Our school’s safety patrol trophies are now proudly on display in the office. Thank you to Ms. Smith, John Campbell and the parent volunteers who have helped to establish our safety patrol program, and a special shout out to the kids on the safety patrol who showed up each week to ensure that our new drop off program was safe and efficient.
Library News
Wednesday, June 16th, 2010YEAH FOR VOLUNTEERS: The library could not function without the commitment made by our volunteers to staff each class, each week. Come volunteer in the fall; no experience necessary! I am very grateful to the following volunteers: Colleen Sanford, Stephanie Eckhaus, Karen McClinchey, Kristin Nicholas, Joann Fazio, Allison Justice, Tracy Hughes, Lisa Brown, Laura Hubbard, Erik Hubbard, Mika Max, Liz Wardman, Debbie Fong, Joan Korin, Karen Bloom, Glenda Cheng, Cindi Goodsell, Lynn Mladjov, Gail Louis, Tina Lo, Aly Weir, Tammy Kutlik, Milena Geary, Hope Salzer, Nora Schweizer, David Schweizer, Jessica Lee, Josie Jesser, Charisse Hampton, Maya Ewing, Monique Smith, Antonio Gamez, Jennifer Kaufman, Chris Sommers, Maria Orfanos, Janet Parrish, Susan Dovi, Meri Soll, Dolly Bahrami, Lauren Penney, Carolyn Anteneh, and Luci McNulty.
CYRM: We enjoyed another year of participating in the California Young Reader Medal program in all grades. After hearing a series of books read aloud in the library, students voted for their favorite. Our lunch-time book groups (grades 3-5) also read the Intermediate and Middle School novels. The following students completed all three novels in the Intermediate category: Katherine Purev, Jordan Reilly, Grant Griffin, Keegan Pfeiffer, Hannie Ross, Margarita Ku, Katie Nicholas, Mikayla Nicholas, Carly Mandel, Leah Treidler, and Skylar Scott. The following 5th graders read all three middle school novels: Keegan Pfeiffer, Hannie Ross, Avery Huetter, Leah Treidler, Margarita Ku, and Linnea Gullikson. Great job JM Readers! You voted along with half a million students to select the state winners:
Picture Book: Millie Waits for the Mail by Alexander Steffensmeier
Intermediate: No Talking by Andrew Clements
Middle School: Alabama Moon by Watt Key
Picture book for Older Readers: Owney: the Mail Pouch Pooch, by Mona Kerby
SUMMER READING: It’s important for our kids to keep up all the vocabulary, reading speed, and comprehension gains they’ve made this school year by reading over the summer. So head on down to the Oakland Public Library, sign up for their summer reading program called Make a Splash, and encourage your children to choose some books they will enjoy. Sign-ups have already begun. The program continues until August 14. New prizes this year include Fentons ice cream and Pasta Pomodoro. I told each student to hang on to their reading log and bring it back this fall for an additional little prize from the JM Library (any kind of log works for me).
MORE OPL: Visit the main branch downtown this summer. They have a huge manga/comics section in the children’s room on the ground floor and upstairs in the Teen Zone.
The Montclair Branch has a new children’s librarian, Miriam Medow. This is great news for a position that has been vacant for a while. Miriam visited most of our classrooms last week to kick off summer reading. Oakland Public Library can be found online at oaklandlibrary.org. You can reserve titles online to be held at a branch convenient to you.
JM LIBRARY WEB PAGE: I have added links to several good reading lists for kids. The Multnomah County (Oregon) library system offers lists by grade, genre, and Quick Picks for new books. Start at joaquinmiller.org, select JM Library on the right side, and bookmark this page for the future. You’ll also find up-to-date lists by grade from Santa Monica/Malibu school district.
A NEW MOVIE based on Beverly Cleary’s Ramona series opens on July 23rd . Ramona and Beezus is based on Cleary’s classic book Beezus and Ramona with big sister Beezus played by Selena Gomez. What a great opportunity to rediscover all the Ramona classics like Ramona Quimby, Age 8, Ramona and Her Mother, and other favorites like The Mouse and the Motorcycle. I am also looking forward to reading The Red Pyramid (Kane Chronicles) a new series from Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief author Rick Riordan about Egyptian mythology.
Masae Ahn and I wish you all Happy Summer Reading,
Cindy Gullikson, JM Librarian
cindy.gullikson@consultant.ousd.k12.ca.us
Minimum Days Reminder
Thursday, June 10th, 2010Next week (the last week of school), Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday will be minimum days – all kinders will be released at 12:55 P.M. and the rest of the students at 1:25 P.M.
Montera Garden Project
Sunday, June 6th, 2010Dear JM Parents,
The Montera Garden Project is moving forward. The path on the island was completed last weekend. We need additional funds for irrigation, boulders and plants. A donation of any amount would be greatly appreciated. Any donations $250 and over will be listed on a plaque at the front of the school.
The check should be made out to Montera PTO and placed in the envelope in the JM office or mailed to:
Montera Middle School
5555 Ascot Dr.
Oakland, CA 94611
Attn: PTO/Garden Project
Thanks for helping to support Montera.
Sincerely,
Katie Schlageter
Parent
Montera Site Committee
katieschlagetr@yahoo.com
The Montera PTO is a non-profit organization and donations are tax-deductible.
Joaquin Miller Yearbook
Sunday, June 6th, 2010Last chance to order a copy of the yearbook. We have a few extra copies, but they’ll go fast! Reserve one on a first come, first serve basis. Leave a check for $25 in the yearbook mail box in the school office. Write your child’s name and room number in the memo section of your check.
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