Dear Parents,

Fair warning, this mail is packed with information. Please save it if you can as you might find it useful for months to come.

Time to celebrate: Firstly, many congratulations to the parent community for 10 years of Oakridge. We have just entered double digits and have already outperformed 20-30-year-old schools on Times school ranking, Education world, and Education Today just to name a few ranking systems. To celebrate this milestone year, we will be sending a small token of our gratitude, before winter break.

Let us connect: As you know, we have a formal parent body called the Oakridge parent partners who are parent volunteers representing each year group and section and in the virtual mode, we used to meet every month. However, this year we have kept 4 meetings spread over the whole academic year. If you recall, we finished our first round of meeting in September-October and it is time for our second meeting. In order to save you trips to the school, I am happy to make myself available in the conference room during the upcoming segment AEM days. No prior appointments are required, please stop by to just say hi or have a quick chat over the crunchiest cocktail samosas. Should you want to discuss anything urgent or convey any feedback, that’s welcome too.

I am available and happy to help in every way possible between 10 am and 12 pm on the below-mentioned AEM dates:

10th Dec- AEM for PYP 4 and 5 and DP 1 and 2.

19th and 20th Dec for MYP 4 and 5

12th and 13th Jan for MYP 1,2 and 3

10th and 11th March for EYP and PYP

Helpdesk: The operations and finance teams will be available at a kiosk near the reception area to answer any queries or clarify any doubts We are also happy to give away school jackets that have been lying in the lost and found section for a long time. If you have not been able to order jackets for your ward, please feel free to pick up one. Any updates in the admission file of your students-like change of address, email id, or medical condition can be updated at this desk as well.

Activity Showcase by PYP 1 and 2 on 9th Dec: Today we are hosting grades 1 and 2 parents for the activity showcase. It is titled, ‘a whimsical tale’ and it is a spectacular show where Cinderella finally declares that she prefers comfortable footwear over glass slippers.

Oaklympics and Casnival: PYP sports day was originally calendared on 12th November but sudden rainstorms compelled us to shift the date to 16th December. The details have been shared by HRTs. Please connect with them should you have any questions.

17th Dec morning is reserved for senior school. Students are also putting up game stalls and food stalls. The proceeds of the fundraising will be given to Akshyapatra towards old age homes and orphanages. Please feel free to explore the stalls before and after the opening ceremony.

In addition to the student stalls, we have also arranged food stalls by vendors. Please purchase coupon booklets in advance from the class teachers to avail of this facility.

Christmas celebration by the student council cultural committee: To enable the student agency at school, we encourage students to plan celebrations and I am happy to approve these plans. For instance, from 14th to 16th December, the students are allowed to come in colours of Christmas.

We are already playing the Secret Santa game and students don’t want to be left behind so they will be sharing the rules of the game to invite those who wish to play. This is entirely on a voluntary basis.

Movie day for grade X students: Our dear grade X students are reeling under the pressure of assessments. So based on their request, we have arranged for movie day so that they get to watch the first show of the new Avatar movie. The timings, consent forms, etc. are being shared by the respective class teachers.

Now with relaxed COVID protocols, we look forward to arranging more field trips for all our grades. We will notify you of the same.

Announcement: I am also delighted to share with you an important academic position we have added this year. Ms.Poulumi, the Individuals and Societies Head of the department, is also taking on the responsibility of the curriculum coordinator. In this new role, she will work towards enhancing the alignment between PYP, MYP, and DP at school.

Codefest on January 21st, 2023: This is an annual hackathon and as soon as we released the launch we have entries coming in from all directions. This is another student-led initiative and this time it will be a night-long hackathon at school. Details to follow.

Leadership camp in February 2023: For grades 3-8 we are getting ready to host a leadership camp at the school premises. Details will follow. Student council got an exclusive leadership camp at Tumkur in the month of October.

Trip to Chennai: DP art students are traveling to Chennai for an experiential workshop in December. We will share their experiences after the visit.

Trip to Andaman Nicobar from 30th Jan to 4th Feb: DP students have an opportunity for an educational CAS trip to these beautiful islands. Scuba diving, excursions, and volunteer work are all packed into this exciting trip.

Wall painting CAS activity by DP students: Our students are leaving their artistic interpretations on the school walls. Next time you visit the secondary, watch out for the stunning and collaborative work done by our students.

Wood carving workshops for MYP students
DP art students had done the wood carving workshop a month ago and now it is the turn of the MYP students. We can’t wait to display their work.

Initiatives by the school caterers
I am happy to announce that we are adding a separate Oak café in the Senior block to minimize queues. The inauguration is due in January.

The caterers are also adding teaching kitchens through some celebrity chefs. Watch out for more details.

Professional development: Our sports HOD visited UAE for a PE workshop and our counsellor was sent to Bangkok to learn more about emotional well-being. Two of our DP teachers were sponsored for IBDP workshops and got the opportunity to update their skills w.r.t the latest changes in their subjects.

A group of our teachers is getting ready to attend a workshop on best global teaching practices in Doha, Qatar in March. The Football world cup would be over by then!

Apart from external workshops, we have collaboration every Friday after school, and in the winter break, teachers will be in various workshops and collaborations developed by colleagues until 23rd December.

Whew! So much happening at school, in addition to teaching and learning that I am sorry in advance if I have missed anything that you wish to find out more about. The SPOC for every parent is always the HRT or Class teacher in school. Our super-talented HODs and segment coordinators are also available to clarify any doubts and I am, as always just an email away.

I am looking anxiously at the weather conditions on 12th and 13th December. If the situation is not manageable due to the rainstorm and the traffic pile-up, we will be sending out communication on Sunday.

See you during the above-listed visit opportunities.

Merry Christmas and a Happy new year!

Many thanks and kind regards,

Pallavi Mishra