Dear OSA Community,
Welcome back to OSA! To see our hallways filled with energetic students after eighteen months of remote learning is wonderful. Returning students and staff are getting reacquainted, and new students and staff are meeting one another for the first time. Many people were anxious to return to school and it is important that our students, staff and families feel supported as we step into the 2021-2022 school year. Our teachers have worked so hard to help students feel safe and welcomed, modifying instruction for current guidelines in many cases. A huge round of applause goes to Mr. Oz, our Principal, and Ms. Zaugg, our Assistant Principal, for the incredible dedication and round-the-clock work to support our students and staff.
We have had a safe and intentional start to the school year. Thanks to efforts over the summer, our students are returning to a building with over 100 wall-mounted hand sanitizer stations, enforced masking of everyone on campus, air purifiers in every room, and ongoing COVID safety updates from our weekly calls with the Alameda County Department of Health. We are aligned with the OUSD mandate requiring proof of vaccination or weekly COVID testing for all staff, effective September 7th. Weekly COVID updates are sent home to families via email and text (using Talking Points) in the language each family has self-identified.
Artwork from the student leadership class encouraging mask compliance decorates our hallways (one example appears below). Our Director of Facilities and Safety, Mr. Walter Harris, recently completed the installation of water bottle filling stations on every water fountain in our main building as well. Our housekeeping team circulates to sanitize high-touch surfaces repeatedly throughout the day. We feel confident in our strong steps to keep our students and staff as healthy as possible during this time.
If you have any concerns or questions, please don't hesitate to reach out. Additionally, I hold monthly community office hours via zoom to encourage communication. The dates for semester one are September 14, October 12, November 8, and December 13, from 12:00- 1:00. These dates are on our OSA Calendar also.