Dear OHE Families,
Welcome to the 2025-2026 school year! We are excited to welcome you to another school year at Oak Harbor Elementary, filled with new possibilities.
This year, Oak Harbor Public Schools continues to work on our Strategic Plan that focuses on empowering students and growing together as #OneOakHarbor. Based on community feedback and research, we developed a five-year strategic plan that outlines our vision of the student experience, who we are as a school community, and our goal areas for student success in our school system.
As outlined in the Strategic Plan, OHE will be focused on two main goal areas: Community of Inclusion & Belonging for All, and Ready, Set, Grow! To learn more about our plan for student success, please visit our website at www.ohsd.net/strategicplan. There, you can explore our full Strategic Plan and follow our progress.
As we work toward our goals, your engagement and participation in your student’s academics will be crucial for their success. We have outlined some important dates and information in this message to prepare you and your student for a successful start of the school year. All of this information can be found on the Oak Harbor Public Schools Back to School guide on the OHPS website.
Thank you for your continued partnership, and we feel honored to be a part of your students’ educational journey!
Important Dates:
August 28: School Open Houses | 3:30-5:30 p.m.
September 3: First Day of School (Grades 1-12)
September 3-5: WaKIDS Kinder Family Connection Days
September 8: First Day of Kindergarten & Transition to Kindergarten (TTK)
October 23-24: Parent-Teacher Conferences-No School for Students
Annual Student Information Update
All returning students should complete the annual student information update process to update your contact information, emergency contacts, and electronically sign yearly consent forms. You can complete the process by logging into your Skyward Family Access accounts. Make sure a cell phone number is listed in the second phone number line in order to receive emergency messaging to your cell phone.
School Schedules
Schedules are implemented with consideration of ongoing feedback from transportation services, staff, and families. Our district observes early-release Mondays. At OHE:
8:15 am - Campus opens to students for arrival
8:45 am - Tardy Bell: Students should be seated in classrooms.
2:05 pm - Dismissal on Mondays
3:05 pm - Dismissal on Tuesdays through Fridays
Classroom teacher assignments will be available at 3:00 pm on Tuesday, August 26, 2025. At that time, you can log into your Skyward Family Access to see your student’s classroom assignment. Feel free to contact the school if you need help logging into your Skyward account.
School Meals
For the 2025-2026 school year, our school, along with the other Oak Harbor elementary schools, is eligible for free school meals for all students.
Be sure to set up an e-Funds account to make payments on any old debts and monitor account balances.
To maintain free meals for everyone, applications for free and reduced lunch must be submitted by all families every year. If you haven’t done so for this school year, please follow the link to get that completed.
Monthly school menus are available through the “Menus” button on our school’s website.
Bus Transportation
Regular bus transportation is provided for students residing outside the one-mile walking area of their home school attendance area. Please fill out the Transportation Request Form to request student transportation or to request a change to your current arrangement throughout the year. Students requesting transportation need to re-register every year.
The transportation team will contact you in late August. It is usual to have delays during the first few days as students find their buses and drivers time their new routes. Our drivers’ number one goal is to ensure your student is safe to and from school. Please be mindful of students in and around school loading zones.
Parent/Guardian Transportation
Parent/Guardian Drop-off (8:15-8:40 am) and Pick-up (2:05-2:15 pm Mondays and 3:05-3:15 pm Tu-Fr.) is located off Jerome Street.
School staff will direct traffic. Our middle lane is for driving into and out of our loop, and cars should not stop in this lane. Cars in the left lane should have all students exit from the driver’s side. Cars in the right lane should have all students exit from the passenger’s side. Do not open doors next to the middle lane.
Families will be given a card to place in their window, so that staff can use radios to call students from their classroom lines to the car loop at pick-up.
Drivers should remain in their cars at all times while in the loop. If you wish to walk your student to the fence or touch base with their teacher, please park outside of our loop and use the sidewalk and designated crosswalks to do so.
Please keep the sidewalk between the student lines and the loop clear so staff can see students walking to their cars. (This area is marked with white stripes.)
For any questions, please contact our transportation team at 360.279.5570.
School Supplies List
We are committed to providing the necessary school supplies and programs to make sure students receive a quality education in Oak Harbor Public Schools. We are able to provide school supplies to all classes and academic and extracurricular programs free of charge to our students through the incredible generosity of our community, through the support of our local levy. Our schools will purchase the basic supplies students need for learning, as we do with books and other materials. You are welcome to provide your student with their own personal supplies.
We ask that you send your student to school with a set of wired headphones, a backpack, and a water bottle. For more information, check out our Back to School Guide page at www.ohsd.net/backtoschool
Health Services
All health plans and healthcare provider orders are good for one school year only. If your child needs a health plan or needs to take medication during the school day (this includes any prescription, over-the-counter medications, or inhalers used at school, or after-school activities), please download the Parent Information and School Medication Form from the district website. The district's Health & Wellness Resources pages also have additional information about individualized plans. Forms may also be picked up at your school’s front office.
Stay Connected & Informed
Oak Harbor Public Schools uses ParentSquare for communication between home and school. With ParentSquare, you can:
Receive all school and classroom communication via email, text, or app
Communicate in your preferred home language with automatic translation
Direct message teachers and staff
Have access to your school's documents and pictures/videos that come in your ParentSquare messages
Easily sign up to volunteer and/or bring items
We use a variety of methods when issuing communication related to school closures and delays.
Share Your Back-to-School Photos!
Print a Back to School Sign, take a photo, and post it on social media with the hashtag #OneOakHarbor. Even if you don’t print a sign, we’d love to see your back-to-school photos! Make sure to tag @OakHarborPS and www.facebook.com/oakharborelementary on Facebook!
Sincerely,
Christina Merritt, Principal
Oak Harbor Elementary School
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