Parent Letter

"Work hard, understand your 'why,' and strive to improve the system, not just individual circumstances."

~Nani Coloretti

Happy Sunday Ochoa Families,

Last week our Community Schools Specialist hosted our Walk N' Roll to School day. Leadership hosted our Hispanic Heritage Fun Friday Event focused on the tradition and culture of Baile. Ms. Zendejas, Ms. Hiester, Ms. Garcia, Ms. Haynes and Mr. Loza, Mr. Tañada and Ms. Mejia helped support our Fun Friday Event for Hispanic Heritage Month. Students participated in International Culture Day, by dressing in their cultural attire while others decorated flags for Hispanic Heritage and Filipino American History Month and learned the art of Baile. Our counseling team has been busy with 504s and SSTs for our focal students. Last Saturday, Ms. M. Lewis along with may Ochoa families, took our African American students to the Black College Fair in Oakland.

As we approach the end of Quarter 1, October 19th, students are encouraged to check in with their teachers in the event there are any missing assignments they may need to get completed and turned in prior to the end of the quarter.

As a reminder, I'd like to address concerns about parking lot safety for our students. We are noticing there are many occasions where families are disregarding the posted traffic signage. For example: no left turn and or u-turns in the main parking lot. In the rear parking lot, we are seeing families enter at speeds that exceed the 5 mph allowed, failure to follow arrows for the flow of traffic and yield to pedestrians. These are basic rules of the road intended to keep our students safe. This presents a huge safety concern for our students and staff. We want to avoid any tragic situations at all costs. Please drive with care for the safety of our students and staff. *If you have teens doing pick up an drop off please talk with them about these important safety concerns.

Ochoa is a Community School which means ... We are looking for families who would like to be part of our team. Please take a look at the flyer HERE.

This week in Bulldog Athletics our Flag Football team play at Ochoa starting at 3:30PM (students may arrive at 3:15PM) and Volleyball plays Winton at King Middle School at 4:14PM (students may arrive at 4:00PM). Students, not in YEP, must leave campus (go home) and arrive at the site no earlier than 15 minutes ahead of game time.

*NOTE: Parents must pick students up within 15 min of game end.

Thank you all for your partnership. I know it will be a great year!

Warmly submitted,

~Ms. Rowe-Andrews, Principal

Dear Ochoa Middle School families,

At approximately 9:45 a.m. Wednesday morning, our school received a bomb threat to the office phone. We immediately activated our safety procedures. We evacuated students and staff and notified the Hayward Police Department. Both HPD and the Fire Department responded quickly. At noon, after an extensive search, police concluded that there was no threat to students or staff. School resumed activities at approximately 12:15 p.m., and we did a normal Wednesday release at 1:30 p.m.

I want to assure you that we place a top priority on the safety of our staff and students and take all threats seriously. We have a close relationship with the police department and other emergency services, and we have protocols in place to respond to safety threats such as these.

If you have any questions or concerns, can you please reach out to me.

Thank you for trusting us with your students.

Here is where we are:

Goal 98% ~ CurrentOverall= 94.31% 🔺🔺

7th grade= 94.83%

8th grade= 93.85%

*We have lots of work to do to reach our goal of 98%. Please let us know how we might help with issues around attendance. There are district resources that help, please let us know.

In Person Support:

Hayward Public Library, Downtown (C Street), location Tuesdays & Wednesdays from 3-6:00 PM.

For more information, please contact Kohella Lane at 510-881-7953

kohella.lane@hayward-ca.gov

On-line support:

Tutor.com

Tutor.com provides on-demand tutoring, homework help, test preparation and writing assistance for students in grades K-12 in over 40 subjects. Live tutors are available from 1:00 pm - 10:00 pm. You can also use their practice quizzes and SkillsCenter Resource Library to study 24/7.

Easy Access from Home or School

1. Go to the tutor.com page.
2. Enter your library card number and tutor.com password (allows you to save your study sessions, favorite tutors, and more).
3. Select your homework subject and grade level.
4. Connect to a tutor in an online classroom.

There are spaces left in our YEP program, do not miss out...Our Youth Enrichment Program also known as Y.E.P. is our after school program, run by our Site Coordinator Mr. Ryan Edmonson.

Please click the link to sign up/register (English/Español) . Click the button below to sign up.

*YEP FREE after school support for students M,T,Th,F from 3:15-6PM and Wed. from 1:30-6PM

Families, when students are attending the games as both athletes and spectators, we must make a few requests:

First and foremost, we want to remind you that the responsibility of the school athletics program in addition to exposing students to multiple sports, it is to teach students discipline, sportsmanship, responsibility, and accountability. *Families, please remember to model the pro-social behaviors that we want and expect to see from our students athletes when attending our games and other school functions. Parents you are our student's first teachers.

• Please review these expectations with your students.
• Students and families attending school events are expected to uphold the appropriate conduct of sportsmanship at all times.
• Student athletes are required to maintain a min. of 2.0 GPA; counselors review weekly
• Students not in attendance at school for the day are not authorized to attend.
• All student athletes and spectators, may arrive to the games 15 minutes prior; there is no adult supervision before that time. *unless specified by the coach in attendance. Ex: game starts at 3:30PM, arrival time is 3:15.
• All student attendees must be picked up promptly after the game ends to ensure their safety.
• Students on suspension may not attend any school events or be on any school campus during a suspension.
• Students who did not attend school may not attend or participate in any school related event activity or sporting event.
• Two-sport athletes have a responsibility to complete what they started. This is a commitment expected in high school, collegiate, and professional sports programs. If your student is enrolled in multiple sports, remind them if they are to continue, they must finish what they started with the current season.

Does your student require public transportation? If you would like to apply for a free AC transit card for your student please click the link below. This is not transportation specific to students with IEPs, but is available for ALL students.

SCHOOL SUCCESS IS DIRECTLY RELATED TO GOOD ATTENDANCE. Ochoa strives for a 98+% attendance rate for our students each year. Poor performance in the classroom is often the result of poor attendance. If students are to achieve maximum value from their middle school education, 100% attendance is the goal. Did you know that the state of California only allows students to be absent, with *valid excuse for less than 10% of the year?

*valid excuses for absences from school are:

• Illness or quarantine
• Medical, dental, or optometry appointments

• Religious Requests, upto one per quarter with prior written notice and approval
• Attendance at funeral services for a member of the immediate family

California law requires all students 6 to 18 years old are required to attend school on time and regularly. Cal. Ed. Code § 48200.

A child is habitually truant if, without valid excuse, they are:

• Absent for three days in a single school year,
• Absent or tardy more than 30 minutes three times in a year,
• Any combination of the above. Cal. Ed. Code § 48260(a).

A child is chronically truant if they have missed 10 percent of the school year. Cal. Ed. Code § 48263.6.

Parents must Report Absences-Please call us!: All absences must be cleared by a phone call or a note within 72 hours of the absence from a parent/guardian to the attendance office (510 723-3130 Ext. 43111). When absences are not cleared in this manner the family can expect to receive a call from our office or automated phone system.

Monday, October 12, 2026

• SST Mtg, 8:45AM
• SST Mtg, 10:30AM
• 504 Plan Mtg, 2PM

Tuesday, October 13, 2026

• Minimum Day Today, 1:30PM Student dismissal
• SST Mtg, 9AM
• SST Mtg, 10:30AM
• COST Mtg, 1PM
• LCC, 3:30PM

Wednesday, October 14, 2026

• SBDM Member Mandatory Training 8-12PM (The HUB)/12-3PM (On Site)
• Dept. Collaboration 1:45PM
• Board of Education Meeting, 6:30PM

• This Board of Education meeting will be held in person. Viewers may also participate via Zoom or view only on YouTube. Join by telephone: +1 408 638 0968 or +1 669 900 6833 Zoom ID: Closed Caption is available in several languages via Zoom. The agenda shall be posted on the board meeting website at least 72 hours prior to a regular meeting.

• Flag Football plays Winton @ Ochoa MS 3:30PM & Volleyball plays @ King, 4:15PM

Thursday, October 15, 2026

• The Great Shake Out Drill!, 10:15AM
• SST Mtg, 2:15PM
• Fall Music Concert, 6PM, Flyer

Friday, October 16, 2026

• The Great Shake Out Drill!, 10:16AM
• Puente 8 & AVID 8 Field trip to CSUEB- 10AM-1:30PM
• District African American Student Achievement Initiative (AASAI), 6PM The Hub

Looking Ahead

Saturday, October 17, 2026

• Oakland Ilokana - Film Screening & Cultural Preservation Workshop; 1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. @Hayward Library

• Parent Nutrition Classes begin, 9AM o register, click HERE.
• SBDM Mtg, 3PM, Library
• District Safety Meeting, 4PM
• Subject Matter Mtg, 4PM
• District Advisory Committee Mtg, 5-8PM

Wednesday October 21, 2026

• DELAC-District English Learner Advisory Committee Mtg, 5:45PM

Thursday, October 22, 2026

• YEP will proudly celebrate Lights On Afterschool, a national celebration highlighting the incredible impact of afterschool programs on students, families, and communities.

Saturday, October 24, 2026

• Ilocano Weaving: Heritage, Resilience, and Our Immigration Story; 1:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. Weekes Library
• 3rd Annual Filipino American History Month Celebration, Schafer Park Elementary, 10:30AM-3PM

Tuesday, October 27, 2026

• SSC Member Training,5:30PM (The HUB)

Wednesday, October 28, 2026

• ELAC Meeting

Friday, October 30, 2026

• Halloween Festival

Website: https://ochoa.husd.us
Location: 2121 Depot Road, Hayward, CA
Instagram: coming soon

Facebook: coming soon
Twitter: coming soon