Montera Middle School eBulletin

Block Schedule: SS B -a- AB (SS= Special Schedule a = Minimum A Day)

Monday August 26:

• 6th Grade: Breaking Down the Walls (wear comfy clothes + sneakers- report to Advisory 1st)
• 7-8th Grade: Wellness Day (wear comfy clothes + sneakers - report to Advisory 1st)
• 3:45pm - 5:30pm: Co-Ed Cross Country Tryouts
  
• 4:00 - 5:00: Co-Ed Flag Football Tryouts
  

Wednesday, August 28, 6pm - 7pm: PTO General Meeting - All are Welcome!

Thursday, August 29th, 3:45pm - 5:30pm: Co-Ed Cross Country Tryouts

Monday September 2: Labor Day (No School)

Thursday September 5

• 3:45pm - 5:30pm: Co-Ed Cross Country Tryouts
  
• 5:30pm - 7:30pm: Back to School Night

Thursday September 19: End of Marking Period 1

Friday September 20: Professional Development Day (No School)

2024-25 BELL SCHEDULE | TORO TIPS | SUBSCRIBE TO CALENDAR

• Order PE Uniforms
  
• Order 2024-25 Montera Yearbook (with discount!)
• Complete Sports Registration Process
• Complete Sport Interest Form
• Complete Volunteer Interest Form
• Register for ELT
• Add a Second Email (to receive eBulletin)

DATE: Wednesday, August 28 TIME: 6pm - 7pm

Please join us for our first PTO Meeting of the new school year! All are welcome.

Agenda:
- Preview upcoming events at Montera
- Meet the PTO board and our newest members
- Review budget
- Updates from Dr. Williams
- Q&A

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84746425032?pwd=SrObeIYJgntfVl9qeB0pacOu3cO8gt.1

Meeting ID: 847 4642 5032
Passcode: 712715

All grade levels should wear comfortable clothes, tennis shoes, and bring a water bottle. In addition, we will have a special schedule and all students will report directly to their ADVISORY class to get their personalized schedules.

Dear 6th graders and 7th grade Montera families,

We’re going to explore Italy on an educational tour in Summer 2025, and your 6th or 7th grade Montera student is invited! We are hosting a virtual meeting on Thursday, Sept 12 from 6-7 PM for families to learn more. Please register for the meeting using the highlighted link below (for security reasons, it’s the only way to get the meeting location!).

Why this opportunity now? We have witnessed first-hand the transformative impact these travel experiences have on students, and we deeply believe in these opportunities for our students to grow in independence and confidence, develop teamwork and collaboration skills, a better understanding of the world and their place in it, and to set themselves apart in their futures, andwe are excited to see this growth in your student.

We would like to give families as much time as possible to spread out the cost and fundraise (the trip price we’ll discuss at the meeting also includes a limited-time $200 discount). Please visit this link to register for the meeting (for security reasons, you must register for the meeting in order to receive the meeting link). We’ll cover all the details, including the itinerary, activities, academic and scholarship opportunities, and the cost of our trip. The meeting will also mark the official opening of enrollment! There are limited spots on this tour, so we would love to have you attend this meeting to learn more about this exciting opportunity!

Please note that this opportunity is for this year's 6th graders and 7th graders only.

- Meeting recording link:

https://us06web.zoom.us/rec/share/kukGjsL4FBCZtFJspk3E6YwcNbkSeRd3e2rdBIxGR_X053T9k6ZyuMbIytUllrNw.Q1EkRLgPdwQRcFLL
Passcode: zQC7f#mL

- Brief follow-up survey on preferences for dates and destination (please watch the meeting recording first) - respond by Thursday Aug 29

Are you driven to help the school community learn about upcoming events? Our eBulletin editor is the parent of an 8th grader - so it's time to find someone to "shadow" or share the role so that it may be passed on by the end of the school year (or earlier). No experience necessary, just a willingness to stick to a weekly commitment of compiling and sending out the weekly eBulletin!

Please contact Christy at ebulletin@monterapto.com or Melissa at president@monterapto.com.

There are many ways to get involved at Montera! Please complete this form and let us know how you'd like to VOLUNTEER!

• Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) Board
• Social Club
• School Site Council
• Volunteer coaches & assistant coaches
• Event planning & supervision (Fall Fest, dances, field trips, cultural events)
• Fundraising- Annual Auction Party, Annual Fund,
• DonorsChoose & other fundraisers
• Campus & garden Beautification
• And more!

Email president@monterapto.com with any questions.

Communicating with teachers: If you have a question for your child's teacher, you may reach out to them via email (click here to view the staff directory) or ParentSquare (select "messages" on the bottom of the app or the left hand side of the webpage). During Back-to-School Night, teachers will let you know which method works best for them.

Students reaching out to teachers: Students may contact teachers via email or via messages on Schoology. Work with your child to teach them how to compose an email and learn to advocate for themselves and ask teachers' questions in a mature way. It will help them SO MUCH when they get to high school (and beyond)!

Check out Toro Tips for more tips, info, and answers to your questions.

Get all the details about PE uniforms and place an order here. Your child’s PE uniform will be distributed during PE class. Contact your student's PE Teacher if you need to exchange your order for a different size. If you have questions or would like to request financial assistance for a uniform, email gear@monterapto.com

Order your 2024-25 Montera yearbook before September 30 and save 10% off the regular price of $34.85 AND cross a task off your back-to-school to-do list! (Yearbooks will be delivered to the school in May.) Order from Treering HERE.

P.S. We're looking for a volunteer Yearbook Coordinator to take over for the 2025-26 school year - if you can make a Google Slides presentation, you have most of the skills you need to help guide the Yearbook Club as they produce our yearbook. Get in touch with the current coordinator now at MonteraYearbookClub@gmail.com and you can shadow her this year and learn all the tricks before you take over!

Program Hours: 3:30 PM - 6:00 PM and 1:49 PM - 6:00 PM (minimum days) / Begins FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL

Sign Ups/Status: Signing up for the afterschool program is on a first-come first-serve basis.

Currently: Space Available! Find registration info here.

Cost and Program offerings: Sliding scale monthly tuition based on your family’s gross income.

Learn More: Visit the website to learn more.

Email mabel.m@theenvisioneers.org with any questions.

REGISTER: Please visit Montera's Sports Registration and Requirements Page. Click the link and follow all steps.

QUESTIONS about registration or other: Email Martin Price, Athletic Director @ martin.price@ousd.org

Co-Ed Cross Country:

• Monday, August 26th
• Thursday, August 29th
• Thursday, September 5th (Note: No school on Monday, September 2nd)

Time: 3:45pm - 5:30pm

Location: Field behind the gym

What to Bring:

• Comfortable running shoes and clothing
• Water bottle (labeled or easily identifiable)
• Handle bathroom needs before arrival

Regular Practices:
Every Monday and Thursday after tryouts, unless notified otherwise.

Cross Country Parent Coaches: Any parents interested in helping out with coaching should reach out to Mr. Cooper. We anticipate a large team this year and help is always appreciated!

Cross Country Questions? Contact Coach Cooper @ samuel.cooper@ousd.org

Co-Ed Flag Football:

• Monday, August 26, 4:00 - 5:00pm

Location: At the field
Regular Practices: Every Tuesday and Thursday at 3:45pm - 5:30pm after tryouts, unless notified otherwise.

Football needs PARENT VOLUNTEERS! Contact Coach D @ thomas.demerath@ousd.org

Co-Ed Flag Football Questions? Contact Coach D @ thomas.demerath@ousd.org

Girls Volleyball Tryouts and Cheer Tryouts:

Tryouts are currently on hold and will be rescheduled. More information is coming soon!

Seeking Coaches and Volunteers for Fall Sports! Montera may be adding additional Fall sports teams. If you are interested to coach Boys or Girls Futsal, or Girls Flag Football this Fall please contact Montera's Athletic Director, Martin Price @ martin.price@ousd.org

Are you excited to have your student(s) join the Montera Sports Program?! Please fill out the following Sports Participation Interest and Volunteer Form. This form provides information to Montera's Athletic Director, Martin Price, and Sports PTO to gather student-athlete interest and parent/guardian volunteer interest. Please click the link above to respond.

Sports Donation: Support Montera Athletics with a suggested donation of any amount CLICK HERE TO DONATE

Check back for more Montera Fall Sports Information!

Email questions to Montera's Athletic Director, Martin Price @ martin.price@ousd.org

or reach out to sports@monterapto.com | More About Montera Sports

There are so many ways that you can support Montera throughout the year! Learn more about volunteering, Raising money while you shop, making teachers' wish lists come true, financial donations, the Toro Store, and so much more!

Montera is in need of a golf cart to transport supplies and equipment around the campus. Do you know of a used golf cart that might be donated or sold for a small price to the school? Please contact Principal Dr. Williams: latoya.williams@ousd.org

Find all open Montera requests here and help these teachers start the school year off strong:

• LAST CHANCE! This project expires THIS WEEK: Books That Celebrate Neurodiversity - Mrs. Solly: Help me give my students books and materials that celebrate neurodiversity, linguistic/dialectical differences and learning differences.

• Art Portfolio Preparation - Mr. Bell: Help me give my students the opportunity to present their art portfolios to the class, watch art documentaries that are related to art lessons, and present art lessons /instructions to the class.

Make your donation today! The Montera Parent-Teacher Organization funds school needs big and small not covered by the school budget — from essential things like books and classroom supplies to the extras that enrich students' lives, like field trips and music programs. We can't do it without you —your tax-deductible donation ensures that our kids keep on getting the things they need to thrive. Your donation helps sustain our success!

The 2024-25 PTO Budget is: $215,960. We are asking families to give what they can. Suggested donation is $450 per student. Donations range from $10-$2,000. Make a one-time or monthly donation online via PayPal.

Check out these great photos from Media Arts class! "We were analyzing all the alerts we got during a class period to figure out what actions all these alerts wanted us to take. Also, we were surprised about how many interruptions were caused by these alerts -- mostly by apps trying to steer us toward advertisements!

Parents can help reduce these interruptions by helping students limit them during class -- by following the school's phone policy (phones must stay in lockers during school hours) and by calling the front office (instead of student phones) to send messages to students during the school day. The front office number is (510) 879-3211."

-Ms. Recco

Click here to see more pics of our Toros in action!

These and many more opportunities are available to our Montera community, OUSD, and beyond. Items appear in the eBulletin for 2 weeks. Please click here for the full list of current programs.

• Montera Communication Links & Info
• ParentSquare
• Schoology
• Aeries
• Facebook
• Instagram
• eBulletin Archive
• Bell Schedule
• Toro Tips

Send them this link or forward this issue of the eBulletin to them and remind them to SUBSCRIBE HERE.

NOTE: If you are a student who would like to receive the eBulletin, you must use an email address outside of OUSD. Student OUSD email addresses are blocked from receiving email from addresses outside of OUSD.

Want to be a Montera PTO sponsor and have your business promoted weekly in the eBulletin? Please contact president@monterapto.com.

eBulletin is produced on a weekly basis by the Montera Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) except on holidays. It sometimes contains ads from our sponsors and/or services from the community. These advertisements do not imply endorsement of any product or service by OUSD or Montera Middle School.

If you have news you'd like to include, please send it to eBulletin@monterapto.com by 5pm on Friday. Submissions may be edited for spelling, grammar, brevity and clarity. In addition, while we strive for accuracy, being human sometimes gets in the way. If you spot something so off the mark we should hang our heads in embarrassment, please bring it to our attention. Thanks!

We Are Montera. We Are One.

Email: communications@monterapto.com

Website: https://www.ousd.org/montera
Location: 5555 Ascot Drive, Oakland, CA, USA
Phone: (510) 531-6070
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