Boulder Oaks Elementary School

Dear Parents/Guardians, Several days ago, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) released updated guidelines for K-12 schools around the opening of the 2021-22 school year. There appears to be conflicting guidance causing confusion around masking requirements. The latest guidance, released on July 12, stated that masks are optional outdoors for all in K-12 school settings. However, students in grades K-12 would be required to mask indoors, with exemptions per CDPH face mask guidance. However, on July 13, it was reported in the news that CDPH has changed its guidance and will allow school districts discretion on how to enforce mask rules. As you can imagine, it is difficult to plan with ever-changing guidelines, recommendations, and requirements. Given the ever-changing nature of this pandemic, we once again expect the roller coaster of changing health protocols, requirements, and recommendations. Based on current conditions, if districts are allowed discretion over mask-wearing during the 2021-22 school year, AUSD will make masks optional for students. We, of course, will continually analyze conditions and respond accordingly and make changes to ensure that our students and staff are safe. Last year, our mitigation strategy, which did include mask-wearing, was very effective. We will continue virtually all of our safety protocols. This will include a requirement for temperature checks upon entering campus. Students will also continue to be assigned restrooms and hand-washing stations across campuses. Frequent hand hygiene practices will be encouraged. Continued sanitizing and electrostatic spraying will also remain in place. We will also continue to offer COVID testing options for students, staff, and parents. Last, with the ongoing and important conversation happening in our country—and in our own community—around opening schools safely, I want to remind us all that we take the safety of our staff, students and families, seriously. We also take the input of the community we serve seriously. Last year, early on in the pandemic we made a decision to open our schools because we believed it was our moral responsibility to provide in-person learning for our students when safe and possible. We took this responsibility seriously and were one of the first Districts to receive a waiver from the state and county to reopen, and were one of the first school districts in the county to actually reopen schools for in-person learning. We were also one of the first districts in the state to upgrade our ventilation systems, and we were also the first District in the state to fully vaccinate our staff, provide District-led learning Pods, and begin COVID testing for staff, students, and our community. We continue to believe that our students need to return to school and resume life in as regular a fashion as possible. We remain committed to opening our schools as safely as is possible given the ever-changing nature of this virus. While we are keenly aware that things will continue to evolve and change, we wanted to make sure our community knew where the Board and I stood in terms of mask requirements for students. We will continue to provide updates as necessary. Sincerely, Dr. Rich Newman Proudest Superintendent on Earth

Happy 4th of July!

Congratulations JMMS Engineering: Team Ghost Rail! 2021 National Jr. Solar Sprint Champions

Hello Boulder Oaks Families, I hope that your summer has gotten off a great start! I have amazing news! We finally have enough nominations to put forth a ballot for our 2021-2022 PTA Board. I am so thankful to be able to send this out at the beginning of the summer so that the new board can start planning for the upcoming school year. Please take the time to fill out the form and vote for the new board along with the proposed PTA budget for the 2021-2022 school year by clicking on the 2021-2022 PTA Ballot. A huge thank you to all of our nominees for their commitment and dedication to the students at BOES! Take care! Jenna Weinert

Hello Boulder Oaks Families, Well, we did it! We have ALMOST officially survived the 2020-21 school year! While it is easy to look back on all of the challenging moments of the school year such as mandated masks, social distancing, and way too many Zooms, I hope that you are able to reflect on some of the good moments as well. Compared to a year ago, we have come so far. I hope that you feel as fortunate as I do to be part of a district that worked tirelessly to get our students back to face-to-face instruction as soon as they possibly could while still maintaining a safe and healthy learning environment. While it was still the craziest school year ever, I am so proud of what we have accomplished and how we preserved and made the best out of a challenging and unforgettable time in our history. I will never be able to thank you enough for your support over the past year. Through it all, you were incredibly understanding of our situation and accepted every challenge that we threw your way. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. We are looking forward with great anticipation to the next school year which will hopefully be a return to our “normal.” We are anticipating a full school day from approximately 8:55-3:00, visitors allowed on campus, and the return of our programs such as the P.E. Lab and Art Docent program. I cannot tell you how exciting it is to be planning a regular school year with all of our traditional events!! Other News: The last day of school is this Thursday. It is an early release day and staggered dismissal is from 12:27-12:57. The students will still eat lunch on campus. 5th grade graduation takes place this Wednesday with the first ceremony starting at 8:00. Please plan ahead for drop off as it could take longer than usual. Yearbooks are anticipated to be shipped very soon but they might arrive at your homes after the school year is over. Thank you to Jen Maurer, our PTA president, for taking on creating the yearbook all by herself to ensure that our students had one this year. Our School Site Council will meet this Tuesday at 7:45AM for the last meeting of the year. This meeting is open to the public and anyone is welcome to attend. The Zoom link is: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/9386495394 The first day of school for the 2021-22 school year is Wednesday, August 18th. Class lists will be posted at 4:00PM the evening before. We are still looking for a PTA president for next year. Please help us spread the word and, if you hear of anyone who might be interested, please send them my way. Over the summer, please take the time to rest and recover with your children. We all need it! Enjoy every moment!! Love, Your very proud and appreciative principal - Jenna Weinert

Hello Boulder Oaks Parents, I hope that everyone had a nice Memorial Day Weekend. We are grateful to all of those that have sacrificed their lives for our freedom. It is hard to believe that there are only eight more days left of this unforgettable school year. This week our teachers will be finishing up any last minute testing and preparing their report cards. You will receive the report card along with your child's MAP testing scores on the last day of school. For our 3rd - 5th grade students, the MAP testing this spring is in lieu of annual state testing as the State of California has given special permission for districts to choose their own testing. PTA News: As some of you may have noticed, we did not send home the PTA ballot last week as we had planned to do due to not having any nominations for president or treasurer. While our plea for board members did generate some interest and we had a few parents commit to helping, we did not have anyone volunteer to take on either of these positions. So, for now, we are going to put the ballot on hold until the fall in hopes that we can fill these two imperative positions early in the school year. Our PTA is meeting this Thursday at 5:30 via Zoom. Anyone who is interested in finding out more about our PTA is more than welcome to join us. Zoom link: https://us04web.zoom.us/j/3511880904?pwd=ZDVoYjN0MXp0NEFIRy9TKzhQY09MQT09 As we wrap up this year, we are also busy planning for the next school year. One of the areas that we are most excited about is our focus on the social emotional health of our students. I know that we can all agree that they have been through a tremendous amount during the pandemic and it is crucial that we address these needs so that the best learning can occur. As I shared with you a month or so ago, our school site council voted to use part of our Title 1 funding to hire a counselor that would be dedicated solely to our site. I am thrilled to announce that Jane Smith, the current counselor at JMMS, has decided to join our BOES family as our counselor. Mrs. Smith will have her own classroom which will be called our “Wellness Center.” It is located beside our garden area so that she can incorporate gardening into her curriculum. She will be meeting with groups of students, individual students, and will be available to support our parents. Additionally, Mrs. Smith will be visiting classrooms and providing social emotional lessons to all classes. We are so thankful for the opportunity to provide this amazing resource for our students and families! Other news: 5th Grade Promotion takes place on Wednesday, June 9th. Each class will have their own ceremony with the first one starting at 8:00. Please plan ahead for drop-off to take a bit longer than usual. The last day of school is THURSDAY, June 10th and it is a minimum day. Staggered dismissal will go from 12:27-12:57. If your student is not attending an AUSD (including JMMS and MVLA) school next year, please turn your child’s Chromebook into the office by Tuesday, June 8th. Have a great night! Jenna Weinert

We honor those who have made the ultimate sacrifice, those who continue to serve, and those who return to civilian life! Thank you! #MemorialDay

NO WAIT FOR VACCINATIONS: Sharp Health COVID Vaccination clinic is being held today, Thursday, May 27 at Joan MacQueen Middle School from 10:00 - 3:00. Parents must accompany any student who is 12-17 years old.

The Federal Communications Commission has launched a temporary program to help families and households struggling to afford Internet service during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Emergency Broadband Benefit provides a discount of up to $50 per month toward broadband service for eligible households and up to $75 per month for households on qualifying Tribal lands. Eligible households can also receive a one-time discount of up to $100 to purchase a laptop, desktop computer, or tablet from participating providers. Eligible households can enroll through a participating broadband provider or directly with the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) using an online or mail in application. You can learn more about the benefit, including eligibility and enrollment information, by visiting www.fcc.gov/broadbandbenefit, or by calling 833-511-0311

REMINDER: Sharp Health will be holding a COVID Vaccination clinic Thursday, May 27 at Joan MacQueen Middle School from 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM. Parents must accompany any student who is 12-17 years old. The Pfizer vaccine will be administered. No appointment is necessary.

Sharp Health COVID Vaccination clinic will be held Thursday, May 27 at Joan MacQueen Middle School from 10:00 - 3:00. Parents must accompany any student who is 12-17 years old. Appts can be made @ https://myturn.ca.gov - access code is BNN3GOODO6. Walk-ins of all ages welcome!

Sharp Health will be holding a COVID Vaccination clinic this Thursday, May 27 at Joan MacQueen Middle School from 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM. Vaccinations are available for anyone 12 years and older. The Pfizer vaccine will be administered. No appointment is necessary.

CAL Fire will be administering drive through COVID testing today from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm at the JMMS parking lot. No appointment necessary.

CAL Fire will be in the JMMS parking lot tomorrow, May 19th for COVID vaccines from 9:00 am to 1:30 pm and COVID testing 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm. Go to myturn.ca.gov. to schedule an appointment.

Hello Boulder Oaks Families, Happy Monday! It is hard to believe that May 17th is finally here and that our students will be attending all five days this week and for the remainder of the school year. We are REALLY looking forward to next year where we are planning for an almost completely “normal” school year. As always, thank you so much for your support this entire year as we adapted to change after change. Thank you to everyone that has already registered their child through Parent Vue. As we do each year, we are inviting our parents to give input regarding their child’s class placement next year. Please understand that this is not a teacher request form as we do not take requests for specific teachers. However, we welcome you to give input on what you feel is the best learning environment for your student and/or how your child learns best. If you are interested in giving us this feedback. please click on this PARENT INPUT FORM. The form is due by 3:00pm on Friday, May 21st. 5th Grade Parents: Each 5th grade family needs to fill out a guest form for promotion by May 28th. Here is the Guest Form again. Thank you! Last week, Dr. Newman sent a letter home to all of our families about our Summer Learning Opportunities during the weeks of July 19th-30th. We have had a wonderful response and many AUSD students are already registered. While a lot of the enrichment classes are full, there is still space available in the Math Camp and the Young Writers Camp. I HIGHLY encourage you to take advantage of one of these camps. Both camps are academic but they are designed to make learning engaging and very fun. They will be hands on and they are taught by AUSD teachers or other credentialed teachers. The instruction will also be differentiated to address the needs of those students that need more support but also challenge those that need accelerated learning. This is an excellent opportunity to make up for some of the learning loss that may have occurred during the pandemic. To register please using this link: https://bit.ly/2Q9ugwB Here is a short description of both camps: Math Camp (Grades K-8) provided by AUSD teachers and Math Transformations staff. Summer Math Camp is a week of math fun for all students entering 1st - 8th grades! Grouped by grade level, students will engage with mathematics through games, outdoor experiences, math investigations, and small group instruction. Young Writers’ Camp (Grades 2-8) provided by the San Marcos Writing Project. Grouped by grade level, students will participate in an awe-inspiring writers camp where they will discover their own style, voice, and potential and experiment in a variety of genres while developing creativity and confidence. There is no school on Monday, May 31st due to the Memorial Day Holiday. The last day of school is THURSDAY, June 10th and it is a minimum day. Staggered dismissal will go from 12:27-12:57. Lastly, as a friendly reminder please make sure that you are turning right out of our parking lot both during drop-off and pick-up. This allows our line to move along much faster and all cars to exit the parking lot faster. Thank you!! Have a great week! Jenna Weinert

Hello Boulder Oaks Families, I hope all of our moms had a wonderful Mother’s Day Weekend and enjoyed our beautiful weather. Thank you to all of you for showering our teachers and staff with appreciation last week. A huge shout out to our PTA for fun surprises all week long including lunch on Friday and to Claudia Sanchez, from Alpine Taco Shop, for providing lunch for the entire staff on Tuesday. Thank you to everyone that has already registered their child through Parent Vue. As we do each year, we are inviting our parents to give input regarding their child’s class placement next year. Please understand that this is not a teacher request form as we do not take requests for specific teachers. However, we welcome you to give input on what you feel is the best learning environment for your student and/or how your child learns best. If you are interested in giving us this feedback. please click on this PARENT INPUT FORM. The form is due by 3:00pm on Friday, May 21st. There is one week left to purchase a yearbook. Please use this link: Yearbook Link The cost is $30 and the deadline to purchase a school yearbook is May 17th. Please note that yearbooks will NOT be available after this date and we will not have extras for sale as we usually do. 5TH GRADE PARENTS: Each 5th grade family needs to fill out a guest form for promotion by May 28th. Here is the Guest Form again. Thank you! 5th grade parents also need to submit baby photos for the yearbook by May 14th. Please use this 5th Grade Photo Link for detailed directions to upload your student’s baby photo. The state of California has given special permission this year for school districts to administer their own summative assessment rather than the state mandated test. AUSD has chosen to give the MAP test to our 3rd - 5th graders. Our students are already familiar with this assessment and it gives us the opportunity to evaluate their growth as we have baseline data. The students will be testing at various times during the next four weeks. There is one more week until our students return to a five day a week schedule. Thank you for your continued patience and support as we navigated this challenging school year. Have a great night and a wonderful week ahead! Jenna Weinert

The AUSD staff were very fortunate to celebrate Staff Appreciation Week with a delicious lunch compliments of Claudia Sanchez and the Alpine Taco Shop staff. Thank you Claudia, your generosity optimizes community support and it is greatly appreciated.

There are only 11 days left to purchase your yearbook. The cost is $30 and please note that yearbooks will NOT be available after this date and we will not have extras for sale as we usually do. https://shop.yearbookmarket.com/boulderoakselementary

Today we celebrate Star Wars Day across our District and enjoy a little bit of nostalgic fun. May the 4th be with you!

HUGE KUDOS to our staff for stepping up when it wasn't easy and showing up to put our students first! We appreciate ALL of our staff! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZBfkgBhA0Q