Dear Families,

I hope you enjoyed the unexpected snow day! I saw many of our families and students on the hill at Rock Creek Park, where almost 100 of us tore through piles of snow on sleds and snow tubes. It was a pleasure to be in community with you all, with my whole family in tow!

This week we're excited to highlight several important events. First, the OCC celebration of Black History Month! We will see you next Friday, Feb 21st at Oyster from 6 to 8 pm to celebrate together. We will have live music, food, and of course a tremendous party! Ask your children at home about the texts they've been reading in their classrooms to celebrate Black Joy this month!

Second, I would love to share with you the first edition of the Oyster-Adams Post. Thanks to the middle school team and Ms. Mendoza, we have a space for our young journalists to connect to their world, city, and school. Here's the full edition so that you can share the excitement. The original works (like this brief dystopian fiction and feature articles on pop cultural recommendations) were amazing.

This week we also celebrated that our 8th graders, Divya and Lucy, competed against 44 other spellers in our region to win the Spelling Bee contest. They compete in the city's spelling bee on March 15. Lea, a 6th grader, won tenth out of 44, which was an amazing accomplishment. Thanks to Mr. Burch and everyone who prepared and accompanied them on their journey!

And finally, a huge thank you to Rosa Berrocal, the countless volunteer families, and all the Oyster SGT staff who made the Somos Amigos celebration so special. I love that the community uses Valentine's Day to build community and promote inclusion!

See you next Tuesday!

Carolina Brito, Principal