Vol: 17 No: 4 September 16, 2018
Join us for OSA’S 8th Annual State of the School!
The PSAT is Coming Soon for All 10th & 11th Graders
Save the Date!
Upcoming Events for High School Seniors
Important Dates
Weekly Announcements
Parent Tour Guides Needed
Free After School Traditional Chinese Music Lessons
Girls Rock After School Program
The Parent Trap
Did You Know…?
Useful Links
Join us for OSA’S 8th Annual State of the School!
Please join us for this adults-only kick-off of OSA’s Annual Fund Drive. Attend the night that works best for your family: Tuesday, September 18, or Thursday, September 20.
Click image for full-size flyer
PSAT is Coming Soon for All 10th & 11th Graders
On October 10th, all 10th and 11th grade students will take the PSAT/NMSQT on campus starting at 8:15 am. For sophomores, it is a low-stakes opportunity to see the format of the test and get feedback from the College Board. For juniors, it is an opportunity to enter the National Merit Scholarship Corporation competitions as well as potentially qualify for other scholarship programs.
Last year, two OSA students scored in the top 2.5% of Hispanic/Latino PSAT test takers in our region and qualified for the National Hispanic Recognition Program, which allows them to include this prestigious designation on their college applications.
Soon, each sophomore and junior will receive a copy of ‘The Official Student Guide to the PSAT/NMSQT’ published by the College Board, which contains more details about the exam. Please encourage your student to take the free practice exams available on the College Board website.
We believe strongly in preparing our students for college, and believe this test to be an important part of our college prep experience. This test does carry a fee of $20, which may be submitted any time between now and the day of the test, October 10th. Please, if you are able, consider sponsoring another student who may find this fee a financial hardship. Any funds collected above and beyond the testing fee will be donated to the Student Activity Fund. Juniors who are on the Free/Reduced Lunch program have their fee waived automatically.
Please make checks payable to OSA for $20 and write PSAT/your student’s name in the memo line.
How To Prepare
Visit https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/psat-nmsqt-psat-10/practice/full-length-practice-tests for free practice exams. Come to school on October 10th well-rested, with #2 pencils, and having eaten breakfast. Testing will take place on campus in designated testing rooms, and will replace our usual morning schedule.
How To Pay
Send your student with $20 via check or money order anytime between now and testing day. We prefer students do not pay in cash, but it will be accepted if that is the most convenient option for your family. Students who pay before the day of the test will receive a receipt strictly for your records – it will not be required for entry on testing day. Please consider sponsoring additional students if you are able. Students should bring their payment to Ms. Romy in room 232.
Please contact Romy Douglass with any questions:
Romy Douglass
Director of Data & Special Projects
510-873-8815
rdouglass@oakarts.org
Save the Date!
APT General Meeting – Parent Education
When: Tuesday, October 9, 6:00 – 7:00 pm
APT Emphasis Meetings
When: Tuesday, October 9, 7:00 pm (right after the APT General Meeting)
Upcoming Events for High School Seniors
Senior Portraits – TOMORROW (9/17)
If student has not yet signed up online, the window to sign up is closed. OWEVER,ou can email Shooting Stars directly at help@shootingstarsphoto.com to book.
Date: Monday, September 17
College Application Workshops for Seniors
Support with college list, Naviance, personal statements
and the application process
Dates: Mondays ongoing (from August 27)
Time: 1:30 to 3:30 pm
Location: Room 338
Financial Aid for College
Learn about the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, loans,
scholarships, grants, etc.
Date: Wednesday, September 26
Time: 6:00 to 8:00 pm
Location: Student Center
Important Dates
Monday, September 17
Event: Senior Portraits
Location: OSA
Tuesday, September 18
Event: State of the School
Time: 6:00 – 7:30 pm
Location: Sweet’s Ballroom, 1933 Broadway, Oakland
Thursday, September 20
Event: State of the School
Time: 6:00 – 7:30 pm
Location: Sweet’s Ballroom, 1933 Broadway, Oakland
Tuesday, September 25
Event: APT – POC Meeting
Time: 6:30 – 8:30 pm
Location: OSA Room 302
Wednesday, September 26
Event: Financial Aid Workshop
Time: 6:00 – 8:00 pm
Location: OSA Student Center
Tuesday, October 2
Event: APT Board Meeting
Time: 7:00 – 8:00 pm
Location: OSA Student Center
Friday, October 5
Event: Theater – “I’m Coming Out” Cabaret
Time: 7:00 – 10:00 pm
Location: Sweet’s Ballroom, 1933 Broadway, Oakland
Saturday, October 6
Event: Theater – “I’m Coming Out” Cabaret
Time: 7:00 – 10:00 pm
Location: Sweet’s Ballroom, 1933 Broadway, Oakland
Tuesday, October 9
Event: APT General Meeting – Parent Education
Time: 6:00 – 7:00 pm
Location: OSA Student Center
Friday, October 12
Event: Visual Art – Drawing Exhibit
Time: 4:30 – 8:00 pm
Location: White Box
Saturday, October 13
Event: Board of Directors Meeting
Time: 9:00 am – 3:00 pm
Location: TBD
Saturday, October 13
Event: Visual Arts – Drawing Exhibit
Time: 1:00 – 4:00 pm
Location: White Box
Weekly Announcements
Congratulations to Taijee Shavers and Oliver Tuttle!: Last week we neglected to mention that Taijee Shavers (baritone sax) and Oliver Tuttle (trombone) from OSA’s Instrumental department also made SFJazz Big Band, Oliver for his second year. SFJAZZ is considered an All-Star band of the Bay Area’s top high school jazz musicians and all students must audition to get in. Congrats to them!
College Visits begin this week! Juniors and seniors are invited to attend sessions held starting next week, as long as they are in good standing in their classes. Colleges visiting this week include Reed College, Southern Oregon University, Manhattan School of Music, UK Arts, Columbia College of Chicago, Columbia University, Hampshire and Pomona College. Talk to Ms. Snyder if you are interested in looking at the schedule.
Robotics Club: The Robotics Club meets Tuesdays at lunch in Room 338.
Gardening Club: The Gardening Club meets Fridays at lunch in Room 338.
Savage Jazz Dance Company’s Fall Intensive 2018: Begins September 25 in OSA’s 3rd-floor dance studios. The intensive runs from September 25 through January 13 and offers two Dance Training tracks:
- Beginner/Intermediate Foundation Training: 4:45 – 6:15 pm on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays</ li>
- Intermediate/Advanced Training: 4:45 – 6:15 pm on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and 11:00 am – 1:15 pm on Saturdays and Sundays
Register in advance to take advantage of steeply discounted class rates!
For more info or to pick up registration materials, come see Mr. Savage or Ms. Hurley at OSA’s 3rd-floor dance studios or email sjdcfb@yahoo.com.
Parent Tour Guides Needed
The Admissions Department is looking for parent volunteers to help guide tours for open houses. Tours will begin on October 11th, take place twice a month, and last approximately 2 hours. Reservations are required. Tours are only for students and their parents/guardians who are entering grades 5 – 11.
If you can help or have more questions, please contact Ms. Peters at 510-873-8805. You can also email Ms. Peters at mpeters@oakarts.org and Ms. Douglass at rdouglass@oakarts.org.
Free After School Traditional Chinese Music Lessons
Available to ALL OSA STUDENTS (ANY EMPHASIS FREE TO JOIN!)
Oakland School for the Arts is excited to announce their second year collaborating with the Purple Silk Foundation and the Great Wall Chinese Orchestra. The collaboration includes free afterschool traditional Chinese instrument lessons starting Monday, October 30th. These lessons include instruction on an instrument of your choice (some options below) and inclusion in the Great Wall Chinese Orchestra concert at the end of the year. Lessons are open to ALL OSA students (regardless of emphasis) 6th- 12th grade of any emphasis. As an additional bonus, this opportunity will grant a college elective credit to any UC school! Please don’t miss out on this opportunity to further develop the cultural richness of this area.
Start Date: Monday, September 17, 2018
Time: Lessons run from 1:30 pm – 3:30 pm every Monday except on school holidays
Location: Meet at Newberry RM 402
Instruments: [Plucking instruments] Xiao Ruan, Zhong Ruan, Moon guitar (Yue Quin), pipa, Liu Quin
[Bowing Instruments] Erhu, Zhong Hu, Cello
[Wind] – Di Zi (transverse flute)
[Percussion] Yang Quin, Hammered Dulcimer, Drums, Gongs, Cymbals
[Vocals] Singing in Mandarin.
See http://purplesilk.org/anatomy-orchestra.php for a list and demo of the instruments.
IF INTERESTED: Email nkanozik@oakarts.org and meet us at 1:30 pm on Monday, September 17, at Newberry. Sign up now to guarantee a spot!!
Girls Rock After School Program
Bay Area Girls Rock Camp is now accepting applications for the Girls Rock After School Program! The Girls Rock After School Program (GRASP) is a 10-week program (January 8, 2019 – March 16, 2019) for girls and gender expansive youth ages eight through eighteen.
Click image for full-size flyer
All instruments are provided, financial aid is readily available, and no one is ever turned away for lack of funds. Carpool opportunities are also provided along with transportation stipends to eligible families.
Over the course of ten weeks, students attend instrument lessons, form a band, collaboratively write an original song, participate in workshops, and, at the end of it all, perform with their band at a live showcase. The program exists to provide a space for young people facing marginalization through gender to feel empowered, learn more about themselves, learn how to communicate across differences, and learn how to use music for self-expression and community building.
GRASP is cultivating a new generation of skilled and confident young artists and encouraging them to express themselves, challenge gender stereotypes, and follow their dreams.
Apply online:
2019 GRASP Application
2019 GRASP Financial Aid Application
The Parent Trap!
Events, activities, and classes shared by parents for parents.
Calling all Middle Schoolers! Want to join the new Ultimate Frisbee team at OSA?
The sport of Ultimate, as it’s commonly referred to, combines some of the most exciting elements of basketball, soccer, and non-contact football. Practice begins Monday, October 1, 4:00 – 5:30 pm at Bushrod Park in Oakland. Players from other middle schools are also welcome to join, and this team will have players from Claremont Middle School in Oakland. No tryouts, no experience necessary, all are welcome. Ultimate frisbee is a fast-paced, low-cost sport. The team will participate in tournaments hosted by the Bay Area Disc Association, and financial aid is available. For more info, contact coach Patsy Smith (mom to 6th grade Monique Wethy – vocal music) at carmengetit@gmail.com, and join the google group at https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/ultimate-ms-claremont-osa/join. There is also a Konstella social group called “ultimate frisbee team middle school.”
How to Talk to Kids About Healthy Relationships and Intimacy
You are invited to a talk next week led by sexual literacy educator, Natasha Singh on How to Talk to Kids About Healthy Relationships and Intimacy:
Event: Opening the Lines of Communication: Talking to PreTeens / Teens about Healthy Relationships, Intimacy, and Exposure to Porn
Date/Time: Thursday, September 20 at 7:30 pm
Location: Piedmont Community Hall (711 Highland Avenue)
Contrary to popular belief, talking to kids about sex and sexuality does not pierce their innocence or encourage them to have sex. If anything, studies show that parents engaging their kids in age-appropriate conversations about sex results in later sexual debuts and less indulgence in risky behavior. In this talk for parents, we address the barriers that prevent parents from engaging in conversations with their kids about issues including sex, consent, and exposure to porn and how to move past those barriers. Parents leave this talk with strategies, language, and tools they can use to open the lines of communication and keep them open.
https://www.sexlited.com/
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2018/08/talking-to-kids-about-porn/568744/
Natasha will also address the upcoming Healthy Relationships / Healthy Friendships workshops for students.
Parenting U – Coming Saturday, October 13!
If you had the opportunity to find out from experts, in one short day, how to be a more knowledgeable, empathic, and effective parent, wouldn’t you take it?
Click image for full-size flyer
SOS4Students and The Julia Morgan School for Girls are excited to bring back, by popular demand, Parenting U, a conference for parents of students in grades 4 – 9. You won’t want to miss this event!
Event: Parenting U
Date: Saturday, October 13
Time: 9:00 am – 1:00 pm (Doors at 8:30 am)
Location: The Julia Morgan School for Girls (5000 MacArthur Boulevard)
Come away with key skills to make it easier to parent your tweens and teens, this year and onward. Learn from leading clinicians and educators! An unparalleled parent enrichment opportunity.
For more information and to register:
http://www.parenting-u.com/
See you there!
Did You Know…?
Middle School Science Club meets every Wednesday in room 222 from 3:15 – 4:00! Sign-ups are not required. Just come and have fun with different teachers and fun projects each week!
You can prepay online for student lunch! Set up an account at MySchoolBucks.com. Options include receiving notifications when your account balance is low and turning on automatic account funding.
OSA Commuters is an online resource for families looking to connect with other families for carpooling, commuting together on BART or bus, etc. Students can also find out where to buy discounted Clipper cards for use on BART. OSA Commuters is password-protected for your privacy. Request a password at https://aptosa.org/on-the-go/!
Shopping at konstella.com/amazon is better than shopping at smile.amazon.com! When you shop on Amazon via konstella.com/amazon or the Amazon links on Konstella, OSA receives 2% of the purchase amount. Compared to 0.5% for going directly to smile.amazon.com purchases, that’s a clear win. Bookmark konstella.com/amazon now so you’ll have it next time you shop!
Useful Links
- OSA Spotlight – June 2018 edition
- Hot Lunch Menu
- My School Bucks – Add money to School Lunch Account
- OSA Commuters – Connect with other commuters and find discounted student Clipper cards.
- KOSA Radio – student radio
- konstella.com/amazon – Use this link when shopping on Amazon. It brings more money into the school than going directly to smile.amazon.com.
News item submissions (deadline-end of school-day Wednesday) osanews@aptosa.org
Submission Guidelines