Dear OA Families,

Welcome to the beginning of the new school year!

Every year we have the opportunity to welcome new families to Oyster-Adams, including over 100 new, eager tigritos in Pre-K and Kinder. It's a privilege to open those doors to welcome them for the first time, and watch them grow for the next 10 years. This year we broke our historical enrollment record and are now the home of 850+ students (and counting)! Throughout the summer, teachers, staff, and community members have dedicated countless hours preparing classrooms, refining systems, and creating warm, welcoming spaces so that every child feels a sense of belonging from day one.

This year also brings exciting innovation to Adams Campus, including longer instructional blocks for deeper learning, a new Theater Teacher, and a new Student Life Coordinator who will be supporting increased Club offerings, Athletics Coordination, and Heritage Celebrations. In Middle School, we're piloting a new Pathways structure that will allow for students to choose more of their Specials experiences, and we removed the grade criteria barrier for access to Chinese. We are collectively committed to continuous improvement and to preparing our students to thrive in high school and beyond.

For many of our newest students, this will be their first experience living and learning in a new language. For other tigritos it will feel like coming home at long last to a school that celebrates our idioma del corazon. What an honor it is to witness both, and what a remarkable journey awaits all of us.

¡Bienvenidos and here's to an incredible year ahead! Go Tigers! 🐯💙💛

Here are some highlights this week in the newsletter:

• All quick notifications and class comms will happen through ParentSquare this year. Please sign up in the link!
• Don't forget to put Back to School Nights in September in your calendar!
• For Middle School families, please read the letter on our new schedule and invite for Q+A on September 1st @ 8:30am.
• For all interested families, DCPS has developed new guidance on Tech Usage in classrooms for all DCPS schools. Please see the info session link in Daily Operations.

Con amor,

Carolina Brito, Directora