Oakdale Posts Top Unified API Score

Details on Academic Performance Index (API) scores for the Oakdale Joint Unified School District are available and show that Oakdale schools made the district the highest scoring unified school district in the county with a score of 798. However, there's an irregularity as there's no posted API score for Oakdale High School.

Local Alum Featured In College Magazine

Majoring in Business and minoring in Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), 2010 Oakdale High School graduate Todd Medema was recently featured in a small write-up on page 7 of the July 2011 issue of Carnegie Mellon Today magazine.

Good Compliance For Tdap Vaccinations

The Oakdale Joint Unified School District reported that the district has had excellent compliance for required Pertussis, also known as "whooping cough," vaccinations to start the school year.

Voting Voice - Student Takes Seat On School Board

Oakdale High School senior Paul Perrone recently took his seat on the Board of Trustees for the Oakdale Joint Unified School District when he was sworn in at a meeting earlier this month.

Deadline Looms For Tdap Vaccinations

With the Sept. 8 deadline looming, some school districts in the area are still battling low student compliance rates for Tdap vaccinations for pertussis, also known as whooping cough, required by the State of California. Before school started, the state's deadline was extended 30 days because extra time was needed for students to get the vaccination, but many are still out of compliance.

Valley Home School Board Appoints Rich Interim Superintendent

Recently retired Oakdale Joint Unified School District Superintendent Fred Rich was named the superintendent/principal for the approximately 170-student Valley Home School District for the "foreseeable future" at the Valley Home Joint School District Board of Trustees regular meeting on Aug. 16.

Schools Focus On Improving Test Scores

Taken in April, just prior to the end of the school year, Standardized Testing And Reporting (STAR) measures students' progress toward achieving California's state academic content standards. The scores attained on these tests are tied to Academic Performance Index (API) scores, which are the standard by which schools are measured.

Valley Home School Board Appoints Rich

The Valley Home Joint School District Board of Trustees met last night, Tuesday, Aug. 16, for their regular meeting where it was reported that they unanimously decided in closed session to put Superintendent/Principal Thomas Kevin Hart on compulsory leave, effective today, Wednesday, Aug. 17 pursuant to California education code 44010, which has to do with a sex offense, and code 44940, which is being charged with a mandatory leave of absence offense. <p ...

Bells Ring In New Year

School started in the Oakdale Joint Unified School District Aug. 10 and "Back to School Nights" are already under way this week.

Back To School Buzzes

Students in the Oakdale Joint Unified School District have been in school for nearly a week, as it started Aug. 10, and the school sites have been abuzz with activity and in making the necessary adjustments. Oakdale Junior High School Principal John Simons said they were off to a "fantastic" start to the school year. "Our students came to the first day of school excited and happy and have continued into ...

Music Fest Funds Local Scholarships

Each year since 2009, The Heidi Brunk Foundation has been able to offer the chance of a scholarship to more and more students from area high schools so they can pursue their education in music and the arts.

Dawn's Column - Having History

You could say I have a little history in this neck of the woods.

OID Support - Life Jacket Program Buoyed

Oakdale fire and rural fire departments have been given $3,000 from Oakdale Irrigation District to use toward the purchase of 140 life jackets for a loaner program being implemented for use on Oakdale's waterways and the Stanislaus River. The OID Board of Directors voted 4-0 to support Oakdale's life jacket program in an action at the Aug. 2 regular meeting. Director Herman Doornenbal was absent.

OID To Fund Life Jacket Loaners

The Oakdale Irrigation District Board of Directors approved a donation of $3,000 to Oakdale fire and rural fire departments in an action at the Aug. 2 regular meeting to use toward the purchase of 140 life jackets for a loaner program being implemented for Oakdale's waterways.

Time Nearing To ‘Round Up’ Students

School starts in Oakdale on Wednesday, Aug. 10. To get the students processed with their books, ID cards, school pictures, and oriented to campus, Oakdale High School and Oakdale Junior High School are each hosting "Round Ups" over the course of two days on Aug. 3 and 4.

DAWN’S COLUMN – I Could Not Ask For More

My husband and I recently celebrated our anniversary.

Schools Spending Plan In Place

The 2013-14 proposed budget for the Oakdale Joint Unified School District was approved at the recent Board of Trustees regular meeting. However, the budget will likely require updates and modifications in the future as it does not reflect the final state budget.

Super Summer Camp Offers Fun, Learning

Now in its third year, an eight-week summer program known as Super Summer Camp, kicked off on June 3 with 74 children present &ndash; the highest number so far during the first week of camp, said camp co-supervisor Carla Moore. Super Summer Camp is operated by the Oakdale Joint Unified School District at the Magnolia Elementary School campus and ends July 26.

Oakdale Celebrates Graduates

Excited graduates filed into the stadium to the traditional Pomp and Circumstance while friends and families cheered them on in one the most important events of their young lives at Oakdale High School's 119th Annual Commencement on Friday, May 24.

Awards, Honors For OHS Seniors

With graduation only days away, Oakdale High School's Class of 2013 is about to embark on a new part of life &ndash; one that officially launches them out of childhood and toward adulthood.

New Games Lined Up For Challenge

The rivers of chocolate will flow at the annual Chocolate Challenge, where fun and games with chocolate will reign on the stage, Saturday, May 18 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday, May 19 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. At the 21st Annual Oakdale Chocolate Festival, there will be a few changes to the Chocolate Challenge games this year, with some new, timed events where contestants will ...

Native American Life Studied

A "field trip" came to school for Fair Oaks Elementary third graders on May 8 to study the Yokuts people. The Yokuts populated this area at one time and consisted of a number of different tribes.

OID Vote - Westlands Water Sale Cleared

A one-year water transfer contract with the Westlands Water District (WWD) was unanimously approved at the May 7 regular meeting of the Oakdale Irrigation District Board of Directors. There are some conditions on the contract that first protect OID water users before any transfer.

Deadline Looms For Irrigated Lands Coalition

It's the "last call" to join the East San Joaquin Water Quality Coalition, also known as the Irrigated Lands Coalition, said Tom Orvis, Governmental Affairs Directors for the Stanislaus County Farm Bureau, at the recent Oakdale Irrigation District Board of Directors meeting. He said the deadline is Monday, May 13.

2013 Volz Recipient Announced

Fifth Graders ‘Complete’ Space Mission

A trip to Sacramento turned out to be a simulated trip to outer space recently for fifth graders at Fair Oaks Elementary School.

Campus Concern - Board Addresses Discipline Complaint

Complaints about the handling of discipline of a student at Sierra View Elementary School was addressed by the Oakdale Joint Unified School District Board of Trustees at the regular meeting on April 22.

River Flows On The Rise

The Bureau of Reclamation, which operates New Melones Reservoir, and the Oakdale Irrigation District recently released information about flow increases in the Stanislaus River.

Realistic DUI Tragedy Played Out

A drunk driver, a bloody crash scene, dead and dying vehicle occupants.

Rodeo Parade Entertains Masses

It's time to people-watch in Oakdale, and what better place than to watch them march down the middle of F Street to the beat of their own drums &ndash; or to the clip clop of horses' hooves &ndash; than at the 62nd Annual Oakdale Rodeo Parade? The parade starts at 9 a.m. on Saturday, April 13 and features some of the best dressed cowboys and cowgirls of different ages, ...