Oakridge Elementary School

All NEW and RETURNING students and families are invited to attend Oakridge Elementary School's 𝗕𝗔𝗖𝗞 𝘁𝗼 𝗦𝗖𝗛𝗢𝗢𝗟 𝗠𝗘𝗘𝗧 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗘𝗧 Friday, August 9th between 8:30am - 10:00am.
During meet and greet, families will:
~meet the teacher and visit the classroom.
~drop off student's school supplies.
~bring student's backpack to label for first day essentials.
~register for aftercare (Firewall for K-1 and 21st CCLC for 2-5).
~complete forms,
~register for FOCUS.

Families will receive class placement in the Cafeteria and then proceed to the classroom. Please bring the student's supplies and backpacks with you to meet and greet. We want to ensure essential information is gathered and dismissal procedures are established.

We are excited to see everyone at the BACK to SCHOOL MEET and GREET, Friday, August 9th!

We are "B"eyond proud of the students, staff, families, and community!
💚🦉💛

Thank you for the special Coffee Cafe for Teacher Appreciation! Oakridge Coffee!! ❤️🦉☕️

Good afternoon Oakridge Families,

With deep appreciation, I reflect on the incredible journey I've had as Principal within Broward County Public Schools for the past eight years. While this role has been an absolute dream fulfilled, I've reached a juncture where I must make the challenging decision to embark on a new phase in my life's journey. The radiant smiles of our students each morning, the unwavering commitment of our diligent staff, and the faith of parents and guardians entrusting their children to us for a transformative education have made this journey immensely rewarding.

As I look ahead, my retirement date is set for Saturday, September 30. In preparation for this transition, I've requested the final four days as vacation days, from Tuesday, September 26 through Friday, September 29. I wish to extend my heartfelt gratitude to you and our entire leadership team for the multitude of opportunities I've been granted throughout my career in education. My path has been enriched by the presence of dedicated colleagues and mentors who have guided me with their unwavering wisdom and
support.

I am truly thankful for the backing you've provided me. I have complete confidence that Oakridge is poised for continued success under your capable guidance and the team's steadfast dedication to nurturing students' academic, emotional, and holistic growth. As you press forward on the impactful journey of shaping young minds, I extend my best wishes for your continued success in your mission to make the world a better place. This noble endeavor has always
been and will forever remain at the heart of my own values.

Attached is the letter from our Regional Superintendent with the details of the acting school leader who will be here in the meantime, while a permanent school principal is selected, following the district's protocols. We welcome Mrs. Pinder and wish her all the best while she takes the helm of the ship that is Oakridge Elementary School.

Your Proud Principal,

Mr. Aguilar

Good afternoon Oakridge Families,

Thank you for a wonderful first week of school. Please continue to ensure that your children are at school all day, every day. This Tuesday, our 3rd grade students will be taking the first administration of the Florida Assessment of Student Thinking (FAST). Please be sure that they are in school and arrive on time.

In addition, please mark your calendars to attend open house. We have scheduled 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade for Wednesday, September 6th at 5:30pm and ASD, PK, KG, 1st, and 2nd grade have been scheduled for Wednesday, September 13th at 5:30pm.

Thank you for all that you do to support our students in their education! Have a wonderful evening!

Your Proud Principal,

Mr. Aguilar

Good morning Oakridge Families,

Happy Sunday! Tomorrow is the first day of school. Please remember that our school hours are now 8:05am to 2:05pm. There is no more extended day. Attached are the Arrival/Dismissal procedures for 2023-2024. Please note that we treat 27th, Cleveland Street, 28th and Roosevelt Street as a one way street that rotates clockwise around the school during school hours. There are no left hand turns into the drop-off parking lot. Please let your children's teachers know if they have a sibling or ride with another child in the school so that we can put them together in the youngest child's dismissal area. All students will be tagged on their backpacks with the color of the tag corresponding to their dismissal procedure.

Student Arrival and Dismissal Procedures 2023-2024

Breakfast hours are 7:30 AM to 8:00 AM. Teachers open their classroom doors at 7:55 AM. The first bell rings at 7:55 AM. Students are expected to be in their classrooms prior to 8:05 AM. School Times are 8:05 AM to 2:05 PM. The front gate closes at 8:05 AM, at which time students are considered late. If a student is late, breakast closes at 8:00 AM and students will not be allowed to receive breakfast after 8:00 AM.

Arrival
SUPERVISION IS NOT AVAILABLE BEFORE 7:30 AM. STUDENTS ARE NOT PERMITTED ON CAMPUS BEFORE 7:30 AM. If parents arrive to school before 7:30 AM, they must wait with their child until 7:30 AM. Students who arrive to school past 8:05 AM must be accompanied by an adult to the front office to be signed in. Parents who arrive late must park their vehicles in a parking space and accompany their child/children to the front office to sign them in. All visitors to the school must show a valid identification prior to entering the gate. The office staff will also request to see the valid identification upon arrival to the front
office. Use extreme caution as student safety is the number one priority.
Student drop-off is located on the west side of the school and is only accessible from 28th Avenue. Staff members will be on duty to assist students. Please move as far forward as possible when dropping off children so that staff can attend to more than one vehicle at a time. For safety reasons, parents need to stay in the one and only drop-off lane. For safety reasons, parents may not use their cell phones in the school zone while driving. Please adhere to the appropriate speed limit, use appropriate behavior, and exercise patience. Safety and role modeling behavior for the children is of the utmost importance. Students must be ready to exit the vehicle safely and quickly. Staff is not required to open vehicle doors for students, if / when a staff member opens the car door for your child, it is as a
courtesy.

Once they arrive to school and have finished breakfast, students are to wait in their designated areas (KG in the KG hallway, PreK, 1st, 2nd and ASD in the cafeteria, 3rd grade in the media center, 4th and 5th in the upstairs hallway. Students in the cafeteria (PK, 1st , 2ndand ASD) as well as in the media center will be es**rted to their classrooms by their teachers at 7:55 a.m. All teachers open their classroom doors at 7:55 a.m. Hallway and media center supervision will be provided by select third, fourth and fifth grade teachers with the assistance of fifth-grade student safety patrols. Cafeteria supervision will be provided by select PK and ASD teachers as well as staff. Encourage children to read as they wait in their arrival areas.

Please keep in mind that parking is limited, and double parking is never allowed. Parents are advised to drop their children off by following the car drop-off procedures unless they have official business in the school such as a scheduled teacher conference. Please do not park your cars and walk across traffic to drop off your children. Use the car drop off lane and let your children out at the curb. The best time to drop off children is between 7:35 –7:50 a.m.

Oakridge Elementary School
Oakridge Elementary provides a safe and compassionate learning community that challenges allstudents to be life-long learners and responsible citizens.
Walkers and bike riders are to enter at the back gate of school on N. 27th Ave. The gate will be opened from 7:35 to 8:05 AM. A staff member and/or safety patrols will es**rt students to the cafeteria for breakfast. Parents may not park in neighbors’ driveways or yards. Parents may not drop off students from their vehicles at the walker’s gate. Students may not exit vehicles and cross the street to enter at the walker’s gate. Walkers may not arrive before 7:35 AM, as there is no supervision at the walker’s gate before that time. Supervision is not available until 7:30 a.m., so for your child’s safety, entering the school building before this time is strictly prohibited. DO NOT DROP CHILDREN OFF PRIOR TO 7:30 AM.

Dismissal
VPK and PK is dismissed at 1:50 PM. All VPK and PK parents may line up on Roosevelt to pick up their children between 1:50 to 2:05 PM. All other parents picking up on Roosevelt must wait behind the cones on 28th Avenue until 2:05 PM. All other grade-level students arrive to the student pick-up areas at 2:05 PM for KG-5th grade. Please coordinate the area your child should be in advance. Older siblings should sit with the youngest sibling’s class so that all are together when parents arrive to pick them up. This will help make the process more efficient and safer. Student pick-up areas are on the south side parking lot of the school for KG, 4th, and 5th grade students as well as ASD students, and north side of the school on Roosevelt Street for PK, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd graders. Staff members will be on duty to assist the students. Please have your child’s nametag hanging on the rearview mirror so that our staff can call the child’s name and teacher’s name. This will expedite the dismissal process. Parents and all passengers are to remain in their vehicle while in the student pick-up lane. Students will enter the car on the passenger side and are not permitted to walk around the car for safety reasons. Cell phone use, honking, and speeding are not permitted. Use extreme caution as student safety is the number one priority.
All dismissal changes must be made in writing to the teacher. A letter must be written by the parent making the requested change. Emails, phone calls, text messages, will not be accepted. Last minute changes to dismissal procedures create confusion and chaos which lead to mistakes. This procedure is in place to keep children safe and maintain consistency and order. Students who are picked up late must be picked up in the front office. Parents are required to sign out students being picked up late. After picking up late three times, parents will receive a letter advising them that the appropriate authorities will be notified if a student is picked up late a 4th time.

In the afternoon, the west loop is for buses and private day-care vans ONLY.

Good evening Oakridge Families,

The Oakridge faculty and staff are excited to welcome your family to Meet & Greet at Oakridge Elementary tomorrow, Friday, August 18th. PK-2nd grade are scheduled to meet their teachers from 9:00am - 9:30am. 3rd-5th grade are scheduled to meet their teachers from 9:30am - 10:00am. Please report to the cafeteria 15 minutes before your scheduled Meet & Greet times to acquire your child's class placement from Ms. Aramboles and Mrs. Furlan in the cafeteria. Please be sure you have completed your online forms and submit your signed confirmation to Mrs. Furlan. We will have laptop and Mrs. Janovsky available to assist in the cafeteria if you have not yet completed your online forms. Following meet & greet, please come back to the cafeteria to visit the PTA table, the Active tabel, the Boy Scout table, and others who are going to be there providing information. If you have gently used uniform shirt or bottoms, please consider donating these to the PTA. If you need a backpack, Ms. Aramboles will be giving these out on a first-come basis, while supplies last.

Please fill out your online forms at https://scaweb.browardschools.com/bts/

Please fill out your free and reduced lunch application at https://www.myschoolapps.com/Home/PickDistrict

All students qualify for free breakfast and lunch because we are a Community Eligibility Provision school.

You may park anywhere in the swale area and enter through gate 1, closest to the cafeteria. You may also park in the south staff parking lot and enter through the silver gate to head towards the cafeteria. Everyone must report to the cafeteria to receive their child's class placement.

Thank you and we look forward to welcoming our students back to school!

Your Proud Principal,

Mr. Aguilar

Dear Parents and Guardians,

I trust this message finds you well. I am reaching out to inform you about a growing trend among students – the use of an application called Saturn – Time Together. While it is marketed as a student scheduling tool, it also operates significantly as a school-specific social media platform.

We understand the appeal of tools that aid in helping students stay organized, but after careful review, we have identified several concerns surrounding the use and potential misuse of the Saturn app.

Key Concerns:

Privacy and Security Risks: With minimal verification (just a phone number), users can access a broad spectrum of information, including posts from students, events, and even post messages themselves. The ease of this access poses significant privacy concerns.
Public Access to Sensitive Information: The app displays student names, grades, and linked social media accounts like Snapchat for public viewing. Such information, when accessible to a vast audience, can be exploited with possible malicious intent.
Safety Implications: The app’s design allows for detailed school schedules to be input, potentially revealing a student’s whereabouts during the school day to ill-intentioned individuals.
In light of these concerns, we strongly advise the following:

Refrain from Using Saturn: If your child has not yet used Saturn, we strongly recommend they do not start now.
Review Existing Account Settings: If your child already has an account, please ensure that their profile is private and they are not sharing their schedule or other personal details with unfamiliar individuals.
Personal Verification: Please speak to your child about the importance of not accepting friend requests or any other form of contact from unknown individuals, even if they claim to be from our school or community.
At Oakridge Elementary, the safety and well-being of our students is our highest priority. We understand the allure of modern tools and platforms, but it's essential to remain vigilant about potential risks.

We appreciate your understanding and cooperation in this matter. Please do not hesitate to reach out to us if you have questions, concerns, or need further information.

Warm regards,

Mr. Aguilar, Proud Principal