Parents make a note that students will have an early release tomorrow. Dismissal time for Primary will be 11:00 and dismissal time for Intermediate will be 11:30. Please make arrangements for your students as all teacher will leave at 12:00.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Today was AMAZING! The community of White Oak showed up in great numbers to show their support for our teachers at White Oak School who are battling breast cancer. From students, to parents, to teachers, to businesses, everyone made a difference. A huge thanks to Rhonda Bybel and Mary Underwood for making their vision a reality.

We have a student at White Oak who has a rare neuromuscular disorder (called SMARD–Spinal Muscular Atrophy with Respiratory Distress) that has left him in a wheelchair and ventilator dependent. SMARD is a genetic disease that robs children of a normal life. This Saturday there will be a a yearly fundraising event at the White Oak Roughneck Stadium called Strolling for SMARD: Heroes and Villains 5K and 1-Mile FunRun/Walk. This event raises SMARD research money. In addition to the 5K and Fun Run/Walk, there will also be games and trick or treating for the kids, as well as a silent auction. Kids 10 and under are free. This annual event helps to raise money for the Jackson Laboratory (the ONLY research facility for SMARD in the US).

Registration for the 5K will be at 7:30 a.m. The race will begin at 8:00 a.m., and the walk will begin at 9:30 a.m. Thank you to Energy Weldfab for being the Presenting Sponsor. All proceeds go to SMARD research.

Please make plans to attend with your family to help raise money for this worthy cause.

The early registration deadline for the “Roughnecks for the Cure” walk/fun run is this Thursday, Oct. 26th. Entry is $20 adults and $15 for students. All proceeds will go to teachers recently diagnosed with breast cancer. Late registration will continue through the day of the walk at a cost of $20 for students and $25 for adults. Flyers are available in all campus offices or CLICK HERE TO PRINT OUT YOUR OWN.

Next Wednesday, October 17th, Primary and Intermediate students will have an early release date. This will be a training day for teachers. Five professional development classes will begin shortly after your children are dismissed. Because of the scheduled events, we are asking that parents NOT eat lunch with their child on the 17th. Please make note of the times below:

• Afternoon PreK will meet from 8-11 with the morning class
• Primary Early Release – 12:00
• Intermediate Early Release – 12:30

Reminder that all White Oak Education Foundation grant applications are due tomorrow. Teachers may find the application posted online HERE Apply for a Grant.

‘You miss 100 percent of the shots you never take.’ – Wayne Gretzky

Report cards will be sent home on Thursday, October 11th. Please sign and return on Friday. Remember, parents, that you can go into Skyward through Family Access at any time. If you do not know your username and password for Family Access, just email Cheryl Hawthorne at [email protected]

Congratulations to White Oak Primary and Intermediate for receiving first round grants from Sonic and Donor’s Choose totaling over $5,000. Three primary grants and five intermediate grants were chosen through voting and donations in conjunction with the Donor’s Choose program and Sonic’s Limeades for Learning. Our White Oak Sonic has played a pivotal role in supporting our teachers and students, and we want to extend our sincere gratitude to Brandon Sheffield and the staff there.

We still have several projects listed, and it is our goal that every teacher be funded by the end of October. You can help fund these projects by visiting the Limeades for Learning website and searching White Oak, Texas. Choose a project and vote. Vote EVERY DAY! Also, any donation that you could make – no matter how small – will help to promote your favorite project and put resources into your child’s classroom.

Some of you may not have heard, but our district has received news that we have been selected as one of the 23 districts in the state to be part of the Texas High Performance School Consortium. The consortium schools will make recommendations to the state in
the four areas listed below:

1. Digital learning–Engagement of students in digital learning, including the use of electronic textbooks
and instructional materials and courses offered through the Texas Virtual School Network;

2. Learning standards–Standards that a student must master to be successful in a competitive

3. Multiple assessments–Various methods of measuring student progress to keep students, parents and
schools informed, and the actions consortium participants are taking to improve learning; and

4. Local control–Ways in which reliance on local input and decision-making enable communities and
parents to be involved in the important decisions regarding the education of their children.

We are all very excited and honored to be one of the 23 districts selected. We will work with the other
22 districts in creating a proposal for alternate assessments that will go before the 83rd legislature in
January 2013.

After receiving this news, spending time in classrooms and collaborating with teachers we have decided
to move students from being in self-contained classrooms to a team teaching model. Why will this be
beneficial for your child? How will this impact your child? Teachers are currently planning, researching,
and creating lessons for all subject areas. With a team approach teachers will be able to focus on a
targeted core curriculum. Teachers will have more time to truly dive into Project Based Learning
activities, research and implement new and innovative ideas, and focus their own professional
development into a specific core subject area. In third and fourth grade there will be one team of two
teachers and then a team ofthree teachers. Click HERE a copy of who your child will have and
for what subject.