News Blog

New Kid on the Block – Suzanne Ingley

Posted on August 31, 2022 Updated on September 4, 2022

We welcome our new science teacher Suzanne Ingley. Here is a little note from her to all of you.

Hello Oxford Families, my name is Suzanne Ingley and I am the Science Teacher this year for 1st-5th grade. I just finished my first week at Oxford and am so excited—the kids are great. I taught science at Rosa Parks for the last 17 years so I’m well seasoned, and tired! So I switched to part time here at Oxford. I am passionate about teaching science. My approach is primarily inquiry based; meaning during experiments the kids make observations, ask questions, and then come up with their own ideas of why things behave in certain ways. What a joy to hear their thinking. I could get into NGSS, Science Practices, Foss, Stem etc…all of which I do, however this is how I feel successful as a teacher: Do the students love science? Have they developed critical thinking? Do they observe and ask questions about the world around them? Do they ask Why and know that their ideas matter? What more could I ask for?

Cheers,

Suzanne Ingley

1-5 grade Oxford Elementary Science Teacher

Community Welcome Picnic!

Posted on August 21, 2022 Updated on August 21, 2022

What a terrific turn out to kick off the school year. It felt surreal to be ON CAMPUS with so many wonderful Oxford families sharing a POTLUCK!!!! Thank you to everyone who came out on this beautiful albeit slightly windy day. Go OTTERS!

Oxford Elementary Newsletter August 16, 2022

Posted on August 18, 2022 Updated on August 18, 2022

August 16, 2022

Oxford Elementary School

Go Otters!

First Week Back

We are back at school! I find the first day the toughest because we are all trying to get back into the groove of school, the routines and all that happens here. But Day 2 already went smoother. Phew! I hope everyone had a nice relaxing summer and had some fun, too.

One big change this year is that lunch is now served on a tray, not a bag lunch. The bag lunches made the process so easy, but with the state requirements, we are back to a salad bar, a hot meal, and then Ms. Mary has to record who takes lunch, even though it’s free for everyone. It goes smoothly for the 4th and 5th graders, not too bad for the 2nd and 3rd graders – it’s a little dicey with the k/1 students. They are still learning their last names, and aren’t always sure if they have home or school lunch. But we will get there. I had some wonderful volunteers today who helped a lot. If you’re interested in volunteering, here is a link to sign up.

We are currently eating lunch outside – I think that is safer, regarding Covid and being around others with the masks off. Now, if the air quality continues to decline, that is something we will have to reconsider. Fortunately, our cafeteria is quite large and airy. (In fact, there is a hole in the wall – I’ll explain in a minute.) If the air quality does decline, we will consider inside recess, inside PE, and eating inside. Let’s hope things improve though and that we don’t have to make those changes.

Speaking of the hole in the cafeteria wall, it is covered up, don’t worry. There was a fair amount of construction planned for the school this summer, including a new elevator. As often happens in construction, things were delayed and the work was not finished. They are hoping it will be done over Thanksgiving Break – I’ll let you know if that’s on track. They did work on the gate area outside Ms. Uk’s and Ms. Andrea’s classrooms, but that wasn’t finished. Again, hopefully it will happen over the break in November. Come to the picnic on 8/21 (details below) and you can see the hole in the wall and the hole in the playground for yourself!

Did you see the ” Berkeley Ready!” video? It’s very sweet and Oxford is well represented. I guess that’s what happens when your school is next to the district office.

There is always a lot of information to start off the year. Eventually, we hope to move the newsletter to every other week so your mailbox won’t be as full. But thank you for your support and getting the school year off to a great start. I hope to see you all at the picnic on Sunday! (see next section for details)

Beth Rhine, Principal

Community Welcome Picnic: Sunday 21 Aug from noon to 2, at Oxford!

Oxford’s PTA is pleased to invite our entire community to another amazing on-campus party! This Sunday, 21 August, from 12 noon to 2 PM, join us at the school for some food and social time.

PTA is providing pizza and drinks for all, and we want you to bring a potluck item! Please include a card or Post-It with your family’s name and any ingredients that may trigger an allergy. PTA will also provide plates, napkins, and utensils. We are hoping this will be a chance for you to share some of your family’s culture and traditions with the school, or a plate of brownies or chocolate chip cookies is OK too!

For questions about the picnic, please email Communications Maven . Let’s have a rumpus on the campus!

Back to School Night

-is on Thursday, August 25. It is also in-person. Details regarding time and how we are going to hold it will be sent out next week. It’s an evening event and adult-only. We will encourage mask wearing and likely not have a whole school gathering with me. I’m still trying to figure out the best way to do this safely.

Attendance & Absences

With Covid, many attendance protocols were not enforced quite as firmly as they had been in the past. That will no longer be the case. School starts at 8:00am. If your child is tardy or late, they must go to the office to get a late slip. Once there are three unexcused absences or lates, they are considered truant. That will trigger an attendance letter from me. If that pattern continues, you will get another letter and will be required to meet with me and district attendance staff.

Anything before 8:30, is considered tardy.

Anything after 8:30 is considered late.

Unless your child is ill, absences are considered unexcused. If your child is out sick, or is absent for some reason, please email .

Visiting the School

If you need to visit the school, or have set up a time to help in a classroom, all visitors must stop by the office to sign in and to get a visitor sticker. Please do not go directly to the classroom. If you need to drop something off for your child, the easiest way to do that is to stop by 1222 University Ave and we can buzz you in. We keep the gates locked during the day and we want to try to keep the school secure.

Hot Weather

With these hot days, you might want to consider sending a water bottle to school with your child. Please make sure to label it!

We Need Oxford Representation

It’s very important to have someone from Oxford representing our school on the following district committees. No expertise is required – just an interest in supporting the development of our BUSD schools. (These jobs can also be shared.)

We need a parent/guardian to be our PAC (Parent Advisory Committee) representative.

This District-wide group provides parent input on the school district’s Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP) for special “supplemental” State funding that supports low income students, English Learners, and foster children. Step up to represent your school and the families of students who are supported by LCAP supplemental funds. Contact me, , or email .

We also need a P & O Representative (Planning and Oversight) Committee. This District-wide committee, with representatives from every BUSD school, reviews and weighs in on the annual expenditures of two local taxes supporting education (BSEP &

BERRA). BSEP and BERRA provide about 25% of the BUSD budget. BSEP funds smaller class size, school libraries, music, site program funds, technology, and much

more. BERRA supports teacher recruitment and retention. Contact me, , or email .

Be a Good Neighbor

Please help us to be good neighbors around school.

Don’t block driveways.
Drive slowly around the school. A clockwise direction is best.
Please don’t park in the bus zone – ever. It makes it unsafe for our kids getting on and off the buses.
Don’t honk at other cars.
Walk bikes on the sidewalk so pedestrians don’t get hit.
Line up for pick up at Curtis and Addison. It makes things much easier and safer for the staff facilitating the process.
Don’t have kids run across the street at drop-off or pick-up.
Please no u-turns in the drop-off and pick-up zones.

Thank you for helping to keep the neighborhood safe and peaceful.

Toys

Please keep those at home. They can be a distraction and if they are lost or disappear, it can ruin someone’s day and it’s hard to learn when you are worrying about your lost toy.

Label, Label, Label

Please label your child’s clothing, water bottle and anything else. The Lost & Found has already begun and if there’s a name on the item, it might be returned to your child! Love those sharpies!

Health and Safety Meeting for Oxford 9/1/2021 at 6pm

Posted on September 1, 2021 Updated on September 1, 2021

Dear Oxford Families,

On Wednesday evening, September 1, 6pm, I will be holding a Zoom Meeting with Parents & Caregivers to share information regarding health and safety at Oxford. This includes neighborhood safety, smoke alerts, and of course, Covid information.

Join Zoom Meeting

https://berkeley-net.zoom.us/j/88601243771?pwd=WFViU3VJZnVCbmJXaFpFbDFYcHFiUT09

Meeting ID: 886 0124 3771

Passcode: 721781

I encourage all families to register their child for Covid testing at school. Having gone through three classes being exposed, it makes the process easier for students if they are registered for testing.

If your child is exposed to a Covid case, in order to avoid quarantine at home, your child will need to be tested twice weekly during the quarantine period. (This is part of the modified quarantine plan.) This testing must take place at school, and BUSD will not be able to accept outside test results because of the complexity of tracking testing information.

We have weekly testing on Thursdays, 8:30am – 12pm. If there is a Covid case, the mobile testing team comes to the school site to test students. This is surveillance testing.

Please complete this Primary Health registration form so your student can be tested during surveillance testing or tested for a modified quarantine.

Once you submit your child’s registration, please confirm the registration via an email and text message you will receive. If you need assistance with registration, you can contact a call center representative Monday – Friday, 8am – 5pm PST at 650-275-5419.

Thank you,

Beth Rhine

Welcome to the 2021-2022 School Year!

Posted on July 27, 2021 Updated on July 27, 2021

Hello, Oxford Community!
I hope you are all doing well and had a wonderful summer. BUSD is in the midst of changing their attendance and communication systems, so I am currently unable to email families. I am so sorry! I will post information on the school website and on the facebook page until I am able to send email and/or text messages. For now, enjoy your last weeks of summer. School begins on Monday, August 16th. We look forward to seeing you all then. More details regarding schedules, COVID protocols, and much more will be forthcoming.

I’ve had some requests regarding grade level playdates. If you are interested in organizing those, please contact me and we will figure out how to proceed.

I look forward to seeing you all soon!

Beth Rhine