| Dear Dr. Oakley Families, We will be providing a weekly update which provides another way to communicate upcoming events. We hope it will be helpful in building connection and awareness of happenings at Dr. Oakley School. Dr. Oakley continues to foster a welcoming, caring, respectful and safe learning environment. As students join us from many different communities, we focus very intentionally to foster a strong sense of belonging. As we approach Orange Shirt Day all classroom teams are engaged in deepening their understanding of Indigenous Ways of Knowing and create empathy for those impacted by residential schools. The Indigenous Education Holistic Lifelong Learning Framework guides our practice. The components are Mind (To Know), Spirit (To Be), Heart (To Belong) and Body (To Do). We are diving more deeply into the heart component and the importance of connecting and belonging. On Thursday, Sept. 28th at 1:30, the Red Team is hosting our Orange Shirt Assembly, and we welcome families if they would like to join us. Thank you for your support in creating a school environment that promotes belonging and inclusion.
Denise Nimmo
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| Teachers have been working hard with students and are excited to share with you student progress at Parent Teacher Conferences. I.P.P.s are being developed for your child and this will provide an opportunity to have a conversation regarding students' initial targets.
We have scheduled our first parent teacher conferences on the evening of September 21 and the morning of September 22 . These can be booked as an in person conference starting Tuesday September 5 at 10 am. Please access the booking schedule through your parent MyCBE account, MyConference tab. If you have questions, please feel free to contact us.
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| Dr. Oakley Literacy Information Night for Parents | Dear Parents and Guardians: Students have settled in very well over these first two weeks! Teachers have been working hard on developing positive learning communities and fostering a sense of belonging. Both myself and Stephanie Bender, our assistant principal have enjoyed spending time with classroom communities and getting to know new students and reconnect with our second-year students. It is always so lovely to observe the confidence in the students who are joining us in their second year. They demonstrate such leadership and mentorship to our new students who soon feel right at home. We will be hosting a session on September 6th for parents (students don't attend) regarding how to support your child in literacy learning. Parents of second year students are also welcome. Also, it will be wonderful to see you in the school! Our literacy team will provide important details on how to support your child to review and build on the skills that they have been learning at school. We see a marked difference in students' progress when they engage at home in literacy. The literacy leader will also share tips on motivating students as we know reading is challenging and not always an activity our students want to participate in. The evening will start at 6:30 pm and finish at approximately 8:00 pm depending on the question period. We will meet in person in the gymnasium. Please RSVP by sending an email to jeklippenste@cbe.ab.ca . We are so looking forward to meeting you and hosting our first in person parent forum in over two years! With Gratitude,
Denise Nimmo
Principal
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| Welcome to the new school year and those families that are new to our school, we welcome you to Dr. Oakley! Every school year is new and exciting and as we establish new teams, we work very thoughtfully to create warm, welcoming, inspiring learning communities with the new configuration of students. Many of the activities and tasks are directed towards this goal to support all student levels of positive well-being and to inspire them to be greater risk takers in their learning. Stephanie Bender our assistant principal will greet students each morning as they arrive off buses. They then connect with teachers as a soft start either inside their classrooms or outside. As students begin their day of learning, teachers will engage with them in intentional connection time before starting their day of academic learning. Socio-emotional and wellbeing are extremely important to support students with their academic learning.
As you are aware, we provide very rich, intensive, literacy programming for our students. Literacy instruction is immersed across all curricular areas. Mathematics instruction is also intentional and explicit to support the unique learning needs of our students. Our students are grouped according to grades in either a straight grade or a multi-aged configuration. Each grouping has approximately 23-24 students and two teachers. For an hour a day, three teachers support the grouping of students. Each of these learning teams is identified by a color (teal, yellow, orange, red, purple, blue and green). To further support students we also have a mathematics/technology learning leader, a literacy learning leader, three literacy support teachers and a physical education teacher. Within each learning community, students will be grouped in a flexible manner depending upon the learning activities and the needs of the students. Thank you and Welcome!
Denise Nimmo
Principal
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| I want to begin with a heartfelt thank you to all our families, students, teachers and staff. Our literacy team has been reviewing all of the data regarding student growth. Students continued to show exemplary growth this year! Teachers were heavily involved in professional learning aligned with the science of reading. This evidence-based instruction supported students making amazing progress. We also worked hard to maintain a strong sense of community, belonging, and well-being for all members in Dr. Oakley.
We often refer to Dr. Oakley as a magical place and we watch students become not only readers and writers, but sometimes even more importantly is the transformation of children who are confident in who they are as learners, human beings and as self-advocates for what they need to be successful. We are excited about welcoming the 2023-24 school year! A few days before school begins please look on your “Mypowerschool" account for your child's bus route information. On the first day of school, all staff will greet the buses and welcome students. We know this can be a time of both excitement and trepidation and are committed to creating a safe, welcoming, connected community for all! As we look forward to summer and hopefully some sense of normalcy, we wish you health, safe travels and time to rest and heal from the challenges of this year. In the spirit of generosity and belonging, Denise Nimmo
Proud Principal of Dr. Oakley School
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| Dear Dr. Oakley Families, We want to wish you a wonderful spring break! it is so hard to believe we are at this time of the school year. Enjoy time with your families and as always, we encourage you to support your child to read over the break. The "Catch Your Child Reading" challenge message was sent out a couple of days ago - it's always so fun to see the photos of students and where they have read over the break!! School starts again on Tuesday April 11, 2023. See you then!
Also, the CBE is hosting an online session regarding supporting anxiety in children. Please see below for the details. Understanding Anxiety for Families and Caregivers, Well-Being Series (4/5) Anxiety is one of the most common mental health concerns affecting children and families across the lifespan. Parents and schools play an essential role in helping children manage their anxiety. This session will explore what anxiety and stress are, how to recognize it, and how to support resilience. The Well-Being for Families and Caregivers Series focuses on learning that is important to families and caregivers related to child and youth well-being. Focusing on reducing risk factors and increasing protective factors, these sessions offer an opportunity to learn from, and ask questions to, experts who specialize in a variety of health related topics. Interested staff may sign-up to access this learning opportunity. Date: Tuesday, April 4, 2023
Time: 6:30 - 8 p.m. Register in EAMS to receive a MS Teams link embedded in registration. Link: EAMS Link Denise Nimmo
Principal, Dr. Oakley
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| Dear Dr. Oakley Families,
Please see the link below for a brief survey ( takes approximately 5 -10 min. ) which supports our planning at Dr. Oakley. We appreciate your feedback! Thank you in advance for taking the time to complete.
The purpose of this survey is to gather feedback from families on school planning, which includes the school development plan, school budget, and school fees. When students, staff and families work closely together, students experience greater success. https://droakley.cbedialogue.com/en/projects/2022-2023-school-year/engagements/dr-oakley-school-planning-survey-2023-middle-junior
Thank you,
Denise Nimmo
Principal Dr. Oakley
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| Dear Dr. Oakley Families, It's hard to believe we are full swing into December! It is a busy month, so we wanted to share a few dates for you to mark in your calendars. Wednesday December 21 - 1:30 pm - Winter Celebration Assembly (in the gym)
Monday December 12 - Last Day to send in Food Bank Items (Thank you for your amazing support!) Festive Pet Photos:
Students can bring in photos of their festive pets starting December 1.
o Photos will be posted outside the gym. Spirit Week:
December 19: Christmas Crazy
o i.e. hats, socks, lights, anything goes!
December 20: Santa's Helpers
o i.e. elves, reindeer
December 21: Christmas Movie Characters
o i.e. Santa, Mrs. Claus, Cindy Lou-Who, Grinch, etc.
December 22: Christmas Cozy
o i.e. comfy clothes – sweats, PJs, onesies Thank you! Keep warm! In the Spirit of Belonging and Generosity Denise Nimmo
Principal, Dr. Oakley
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| As we move into Thanksgiving weekend and our fall break, I am reflecting on how thankful I am to be the principal at Dr. Oakley. We‘ve had a wonderful first few months as a school community. Work has been very intentional to develop a safe, respectful, welcoming school community. This is so important as we welcome new students who contribute to one half of our school population each year. Our students, who are in their second school year, have supported our new students and are demonstrating wonderful leadership skills. We are so proud of all the students! I am also so thankful we have been able to return to many of our regular practices which we missed over the past two and a half years. It is lovely to see our students ‘faces and their wonderful smiles! Students again have an opportunity to connect with their peers from different teams. We welcomed many of you in person to Dr. Oakley for the first-time during parent-teacher conferences. We also welcomed many parents and guardians to our home reading evening. Students have enjoyed the experience of attending off-site trips! I am thankful for the return of some of the energy and a new level of joy. I am so very thankful for all these pieces and more. I am thankful for the incredible fall weather we have enjoyed. Classes have been able to take part in many outdoor activities. Dr. Oakley’s commitment to Truth and Reconciliation this year is, “Develop and use International spaces on our land to facilitate connection and gathering using Indigenous Ways of Knowing.” Teachers have planned many opportunities for their learning communities to achieve our commitment and participate in land-based learning and connection time. Students begin their day with a soft entry and an intentional planned connection time to support well-being and readiness for learning. I am thankful to work alongside such a dedicated team of teachers and staff. As I read I.P.P.s it was evident how well teachers know their students and how carefully they assess and plan for all of them. I am thankful when I visit classrooms and see the energy and passion of teachers as they explore and facilitate learning. I am thankful for our wonderful parent community and our Parent Pinnacle Association who support our work and provide so many wonderful opportunities and additional enhancements to our learning community. Thank you!! I wish all your families a wonderful Thanksgiving and fall break and look forward to our next months of learning and growing together! With deepest thank you and gratitude! Denise Nimmo
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| Welcome to the new school year and those families that are new to our school, we welcome you to Dr. Oakley! We will continue to follow the same health protocols that we left off with in June. All CBE schools will be continuing to have students and staff wear masks, physically distance, follow respiratory etiquette and hand washing/sanitizing routines. We will also maintain cohorting. Please continue to use the daily checklist (a copy is included in this package) to determine if your child is ill and should stay home. At this time volunteers, parents and outside resource personnel are not permitted in schools. One change is our students will have the opportunity to use lockers. Our students did an amazing job with all of these pieces during the last school year while maintaining sound growth in their learning. Every school year is new and exciting and as we establish new teams we work very thoughtfully to create warm, welcoming, inspiring learning communities with the new configuration of students. Many of the activities and tasks are directed towards this goal to support students' level of positive well-being and to inspire them to be greater risk takers in their learning. This year it is even more paramount that we establish a safe learning community given the challenges of the last school year and the continuation of these issues. As students arrive tomorrow all staff we be outside in front of the school to greet them. All classes are identified by color and we have 7 color teams. Teachers will hold a piece of colored paper which identifies the color team and staff who are not attached to classrooms will greet students and support them to find their teachers. If you are driving, please park on 38th Ave. Please see other information in terms of Attendance and Bussing Protocols. Denise Nimmo |
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