Montera Middle School eBulletin

Block Schedule: AB - Wellness Day - Ab

Monday March 10: Track and Field Tryouts

Tuesday March 11:

• 3:30 - 4:40pm: 1st Wrestling Practice
• 5:30pm: 8th Grade DC Trip Meeting - In Person MUR
• 7:00 - 8:00pm: Benefit Planning Meeting Zoom

Wednesday March 12: Wellness Day (see volunteer info below)

Thursday March 13

• 2:30 - 3:30pm: Inclusion Matters - Disability Awareness Event
• 3:30pm: Track and Field Tryouts

Friday March 14,

• 2:15 - 3:30: Montera Fashion Show Presented by Montera's AAMA
• SF Jazz/Asian Art Museum - Field Trip (Ms. Shogbesan)

Tuesday March 18,

• 9:15 - 10:00am: Coffee Chat with Dr. Williams
• Cypress Mandela Training Center - Field Trip (Mr. Runge)

Thursday March 20:

• 5pm: Ethnic Studies in OUSD - Student, Family, Community Info Session
• 6:30 - 7:30: PTO Meeting - All Are Welcome

Friday March 21:

• 9:30 - 10:15am: 8th Grade Panoramic Picture
• 7:00pm: Montera Pub Crawl

Thursday March 27:

• End of 5th Marking Period
• 8th Grade Trip to DC Begins

Friday March 28: Cesar Chavez Day - No School

Monday March 31 - Friday April 4: Spring Break - No School

Monday March 31: 8th Grade DC Trip Returns

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

OUSD ACADEMIC CALENDARS (2025-2028)

California Healthy Kids Survey

Greetings 7th and 8th Grade Students and Families,

It is that time of the year again when students, staff and families take the California Healthy Kids Survey (CHKS). The CHKS is California’s largest statewide survey of resiliency, protective factors, and risk behaviors and lead to a better understanding of the relationship between students’ health, behaviors and academic performance.

Our goal is to get 100% Montera student and parent participation. As a reminder, the CHKS is anonymous and the data is used by the school to identify areas of continuous improvement of school safety, culture, health, etc. CHKS survey results are also used to raise and maintain state grant funding for student services and programs.

Families, please use this link to fill out the Parent survey. Your students will be taking their survey next week during Advisory.

I appreciate your cooperation with this.

Stacy Brix

7th Grade Assistant Principal

Friendly reminder that our 3rd Annual Spring Wellness Day is Wednesday, March 12th. Students will receive a schedule of their activities on Wednesday morning during Advisory. If your learner is able to bring their own lunch, that is highly encouraged to reduce the wait time for the lunch line since we will have ONE lunch. All students will report to their Advisory class at the beginning of the school day. Please see schedule below:

9:15-9:35 - Students report to Advisory for their schedules and to go over expectations for the day. (20 minutes)
9:35-9:45 - Grab n Go (10 minutes)
9:49-10:35 - Activity 1 (46 minutes)
10:39-11:25 - Activity 2 (46 minutes)
11:29-12:09 - ONE LUNCH (40 minutes) - If you are able to bring your own lunch, that is highly encouraged to reduce the wait time for lunch.
12:13-12:59 - Activity 3 (46 minutes)
1:03-1:49 - Activity 4 (46 minutes)

We have a lot of different activities for students. Students were emailed a Google form to rank their choices several weeks ago. Those who didn't complete the form will be assigned activities. We will try our best to place students in activities they ranked; however, all will depend on space, availability, and if it fits with their schedule. We are looking forward to a wonderful Wellness Day!

If you are available to help out during lunch (11:25 - 12:10), please email Ms. Saephan (erica.saephan@ousd.org). We have different activities that you can help lead including: blender bike, gratitude cards, wellness wheel, lawn games, coloring, etc.

WHEN: Saturday, May 3 2025, 4pm - 8pm
WHERE: Zanzi Nightclub, 19 Grand Ave, Oakland

Adults Only

Dinner - Drinks - Auction - Dancing

TICKET NOW ON SALE

Don't miss out on the fun - get your tickets today!

https://paybee.io/@montera@30

Please join us next week for our first planning meeting! Anyone is invited who wants to help!

Details:

Tuesday March 11, 7pm - 8pm

Zoom Link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82050759464?pwd=79LnEdlkt9z7cAzDaHx14Ek0YEC6Ch.1
Agenda: Please join us to plan our biggest Montera fundraiser of the year! All are welcome.

Donate here

Do you know a business that might donate an item or service to Montera? Please help get the word out! We are seeking donations big and small including gift cards in any amount, discount codes/coupons to businesses, donated items, services or experiences.

Businesses benefit by getting visibility and promotion in our online auction and/or live auction event on May 3. Donations are tax deductible. Funds go to programs that help Montera students and teachers.

Businesses can donate by contacting auction@monterapto.com or filling out this donation form.

We Also Need Volunteers!

In addition to attending, we need volunteers to plan and put on the event. If you’re interested in helping, please reach out—we’d love your support! Contact auction@monterapto.com.

DONATE | VOLUNTEER | LEARN MORE | BUY TICKETS

DATE: Thursday March 13th, 2:30 - 3:30pm, Montera MUR

We're looking for chaperones and parents to bring drinks

Please contact Mx. J (tate.jawdat@ousd.org) if you can help out!

March 14, 2:15 - 3:30

Food, Bay Area Designer, Student Led

Students Needed as Models! Sign Up February 24-28 @ P13 (Portable 13)

The Montera Pub Crawl has been rescheduled for Friday March 21st @7pm. Please come out and enjoy a fun evening with other Toro families and help raise some money for Wooodshop, Art & Musci!

Woodshop, Art, and Music are an important part of the Montera experience and this annual event is an important fundraiser for the continued success of these essential programs! Come connect with other parents while raising funds for some of Montera's signature programs!

Starting at Ben & Nick’s on College Ave at 7pm and then heading to a few more spots until we’ve had all the fun we can handle. Come for all or any part! Proceeds support the Woodshop, Art & Music Programs at Montera. Have fun, connect with other Montera parents, support the school = WIN / WIN / WIN! The Montera Social Club is a longstanding group of parents who believe in building community as a sustainable support structure for Montera. All are welcome!

RSVP Here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F054FA9A82BA0FA7-55382581-pubcrawl

Oakland Roots are giving every student a free ticket to their March 22nd Home Opener at the Oakland Coliseum! We believe every kid deserves the chance to experience the magic of professional soccer in their hometown.

Use code MONTERA (all caps) at https://oaklandroots.group/students to claim your free ticket and purchase additional tickets at a discounted rate.

***The school with the highest attendance percentage at the Home Opener wins $500 toward an end-of-year celebration!***

Your 2024-2025 Yearbook staff is looking for more photos to use in the book, especially photos of music events (choir and orchestra, where are you?), clubs, and candids of Toros hanging out at school and working in class. Please send/share your photos to monterayearbookclub@gmail.com by March 15 (the sooner the better).Photos MUST be in JPG format and minimum 500kb to be considered for inclusion. Thank you!

Ride for a Reason, a fundraising bike ride benefiting public schools in Oakland and Alameda, is one of Montera's favorite events! We earn around 10K from this annual event, but we must show up and participate to qualify! Montera is hosting a rest stop in Fairfield again this year in partnership with Brewer. Register to RIDE or VOLUNTEER today!

The Montera Annual Fund pays for supplies, events and facilities improvements not covered by the OUSD budget. It's the most flexible, general way to support our school. https://montera.ousd.org/get-involved/fundraising (See the sidebar on this page for more ways to donate, too.)

Our Giving Tuesday page has links if you want to donate directly to Sports, Music or 8th Grade Activities:
https://montera.ousd.org/get-involved/fundraising/givingtuesday

SEE FULL EVENT DETAILS HERE

Six Flags Trip: Friday, April 18th, $35 per student requested

8th Grade Dinner Dance: Saturday, May 17 5:30 - 9:00pm
Picnic in the Park: Friday, May 23 9:15 - 3pm

8th Grade Promotion: Tuesday May 27, 3:30 arrival 4:00pm Ceremony

PARENT/GUARDIAN MEETING RECORDING & SLIDES:

• Meeting Passcode: a1b#&YpF
• Slides

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR ALL ACTIVITIES: SIGN UP

Questions: 8thgradeactivities@monterapto.com | MORE INFO

Pre-Trip Meeting THIS TUESDAY March 11 @ 5:30 in the MUR

Our pre-trip meeting will be in person on Tuesday the 11th at 5:30pm in the MUR where we will review important information about our flight and travel expectations/procedures etc. This will be for students and caregivers and the plan is to provide food. Mr. Cooper will share the slides out on the band app for those who aren't able to attend, but please plan on being there in person if at all humanly possible to avoid potentially missing important info!

1st MEETING SLIDES | TILL DEBIT CARD | BAND APP

________________________________________________________________________

Trip Dates: March 27 - April 1, 2025

Links: Itinerary | Donate | Scholarship Application

Questions?: Contact Mr. Cooper, Trip Leader: samuel.cooper@ousd.org

REGISTER | INTEREST FORM | DONATE | LEARN MORE

QUESTIONS: martin.price@ousd.org or sports@monterapto.com

SPRING SPORTS TRYOUTS

• TRACK & FIELD Tryouts: Monday 3/10 and Thursday 3/13.

• WRESTLING: Sign Up Online: https://www.wrestlingiq.com/beatthestreetsbayarea/register/montera-middle-school-2025 See attached flyer for more info. First practice is this coming Tuesday (3/11) at 3:30pm. Practices will be held on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3:30 - 4:30

SEEKING COACHES!

• JV SOFTBALL COACH We had 23 students come out and we're anticipating more next Monday! Ideally someone stepsup so that all students have an opportunity to play!
• FUTSAL COACH - Boys & Girls Teams
• BOYS JV BASEBALL COACH

Parents and Guardians:

The Montera blacktop is used for sports team practices only. Please park in the lower parking lot near the blue tables (smaller blacktop) and do not drive past the gate onto the blacktop where the basketball courts and grass field are. This is for safety purposes. Coaches may be parked on the side of the blacktop where the basketball courts and grass field are due to transportation of sports gear during practice sessions. No other cars are permitted on the blacktop for drop off or pick up.

Thank you for your support and cooperation.

Admin team

Toro Musicians at the OUSD Orchestra Festival

Click here to see Toro Pride Pics

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.

Bishop O'Dowd is pleased to invite 7th-grade students to participate in a Practice HSPT Exam on Saturday, May 3, 2025, at Bishop O'Dowd High School. This initiative provides students with a valuable opportunity to experience the format and types of questions found on the 8th-grade HSPT.

Event Details:

• Date: Saturday, May 3, 2025

• Location: Bishop O’Dowd High School

• Arrival Time: 8:30 AM (Please follow parking directions from security personnel)

• Testing Begins: 9:00 AM

• Duration: Approximately 3 hours

• Pick-Up Time: 12:00 PM

Practice Test Information:

• This is a practice test designed to familiarize students with the HSPT format.

• Scores will not be reviewed by O’Dowd Admissions and are for personal use only.

• LD accommodations are not available for this practice exam.

• Student scores will be sent directly to families by Scholastic Testing Service after the exam.

Registration:

To participate, students must complete both:

• O’Dowd Registration
• STS Registration: A STS (Scholastic Testing Service) link will be available after the O’Dowd registration has been completed. Please follow instructions.

Optional Parent Information Session: Enjoy breakfast while learning about the O’Dowd admissions process and what to expect when applying.

• Time: 9:00–10:30 AM

• Location: Theater at Bishop O’Dowd High School

If you have any questions, please reach out to the Bishop O'Dowd Admissions Office at admissions@bishopodowd.org.

We hope this opportunity will be beneficial in preparing your child for future academic success!

Best regards,
Kerryn Pincus Gallagher
Director of Enrollment and Admissions
admissions@bishopodowd.org

From March to April this year, STEMpathize is launching our virtual STEM workshops, in which elementary school students explore Sustainability and Climate Change, and middle school students venture into Artificial Intelligence.

Learn more and sign up here: https://tinyurl.com/stempathizespring2025 or visit stempathize.org

UC Berkeley's Academic Talent Development Program (ATDP) offers challenging and intellectually stimulating summer courses to high achieving students who are currently completing 7th through 11th grade. SD courses are offered online or in-person on the UC Berkeley campus and are fast-paced yet rich in content, typically spanning 4-6 weeks.

ATDP’s Pathway Scholarship is a competitive scholarship program reserved for exceptionally brilliant and hardworking middle and high schoolers. The Pathway Scholars Program provides a full tuition and fees scholarship for one on-site course. Below are the requirements for application.

1. Must currently be in 7th through 11th grade

2. Must be applying for an SD On-Site course with ATDP this summer

3. Must be hardworking, academically motivated, and have demonstrated resilience and perseverance in the face of significant hardships

4. Must have demonstrated a need for financial assistance (e.g. FRLP eligibility)

The deadline for students to complete all components of the application, as well as for school’s to submit student nominations, is Monday, March 18, 2024, find more information here!!

If you have any further questions, feel free to email Jackie Lopez Santiago, ATDP Academic Counselor: jaquelinelopez@berkeley.edu.

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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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