I am incredibly honored to continue being the leader of Oakland Park Elementary. 

As your Principal, I want to welcome you back to another amazing school year! I want to thank each and every one of you for your continued dedication and hard work. Without YOU, we would not be on our way to Destination Success!  We knew that we could do it and proved that the mission was possible by accomplishing our B. Now is our time to continue to grow.  This year we are proud to introduce our new Magnet program here at Oakland Park Elementary. This program is designed to ignite curiosity and passion through cybersecurity, art, design and aviation.  This program offers students a specialized curriculum that challenges and inspires.

Parents, I want to encourage you to spend time with your child, build his/her reading skills, and help him/her learn to love books.  You can do all three when you read aloud to him/her.  Here are some suggestions:

1. Read regularly!  Try to read to your child every day.  You might aim for 10-15 minutes of reading at bedtime for a peaceful time of the day.  Tuck a read-aloud into the time when dinner is in the oven.  Or curl up together with a book when you get home from work.

2. Take turns choosing books.  Your child may want to hear old favorites again and again.  Use your turn for new titles and variety (nonfiction or poetry). 

3. Let your child participate.  Ask her/him to turn the pages while you read.  Also, they can finish sentences that rhyme or fill in words that they know.  Go slowly so they have time to understand the story and look at the illustrations.  Your child will enjoy the read-aloud time more if he/she has an active role.

4. Be playful.  You can use different voices for different characters (a high, squeaky voice for a chicken or a deep booming voice for a horse).  Substitute your child’s name for the main character’s name and use family members’ names for the other characters.  Note:  you don’t have to be an expert reader! Your child will love it when you read aloud because it’s you!

I also feel communication is the key to success.  Teamwork between students, teachers, parents, and staff members will make this a magnificent educational experience.  I look forward to bringing all of our children to the next level, for them to be the best they can be! Together our Eagles will SOAR!

Ms. Michelle Garcia,

Principal