August 2, 2021

Greetings Sequoia Squirrels!

It is my pleasure to introduce myself to the Sequoia community as your new Principal. I'm so excited to serve in the community of Oakland, California where I was born and raised and I look forward to meeting each and everyone of you.

The Sequoia Instructional Leadership Team and I, along with other community members, have been working diligently to prepare for students to join in person school on August 9, 2021. We have been making decisions that impact the entire Sequoia School community for the 2021-22 school year. This year, Safety is our #1 Priority!! As your Principal, it is my promise to work hard to keep students safe, happy at school and receiving high quality instruction while experiencing  a culture of excellence and keeping to the mission of Sequoia Elementary School to provide a powerful education to all students, enabling them to become effective, contributing citizens in our democratic society. Our vision is to ensure that all students have access to our core program within the context of a heterogeneous classroom.

We use PBIS to teach and help students and the community to always be Responsible, Respectful, Honest and Compassionate. Bullying and harassment will not be tolerated or accepted by anyone. 

Classes at Sequoia are balanced in terms of gender, ethnicity, and academic achievement. We present EL Education, a new English curriculum that addresses different levels of linguistic and cultural orientations, complexity, pace and material to all students while being aligned to the Common core State Standards. We also include a variety of enrichment programs. We are committed to fostering a positive school-wide climate, which supports this vision.

The theme for the OUSD school year is Restorative Restart. You may have already heard about the Restorative Restart and how we will be focusing a lot this year on 5 priorities. At Sequoia we will be focusing on centering relationships, addressing needs of the whole child, strengthening campus and community partnerships, making teaching and learning fun, relevant and rigorous and empowering school teams to rethink and rebuild systems to ensure a healthy school culture and climate. 

The first day of school is Monday, August 9, 2021.  Caregivers are only permitted on campus if they are there for a scheduled meeting. We are asking for your full cooperation, support and understanding during the first few weeks of school to drop off and pick up your students while remaining in your car. We will provide drop off and pick up details in later correspondence.  Make sure you sign the Sequoia Registration form before the first day of school.

Please note a few reminders for the 2021-22 school year:  

Caregivers are only permitted on campus if they are there for a scheduled meeting.

Wearing a mask is required for everyone daily.

For the first day of school your child should bring a water bottle, lunch and a smile. Teachers will provide all additional information.

Please model and demonstrate kindness, compassion and patience to everyone especially as we are all returning to school from a very difficult last two school years. 

Remember that our children are watching us.  It is always a good time to be Responsible, Respectful, Honest and Compassionate.

Daily school attendance is important starting on the first day.  

School hours for TK and K are from 8:45am – 3:00pm on M,T,TH,F  

1-5 grade attends school from 8:30- 3:00 pm

Minimum days are held every Wednesday. Dismissal is at 1:25 pm for all students

• The first week of school August 9-13 we have minimum days for all students. 
• TK and Kindergarten have minimum days during the week of August 16-20 as well.

Grab and Go Breakfast at Sequoia Elementary will be available to ALL students starting the first day of school. 

Make sure you sign the Sequoia Registration form before The first day of school

The Healthy Start After school program starts August 11 for grades 105 and August 16 for Kindergarten.

Zoom Principal meeting will be held Wednesday Aug 4, 2021 at 5pm Please join in. 

Tk/K virtual tour will be held Friday Aug 6, 2021at 4:30. 

Please make sure you're signed up for Parent Square.

Class lists will be posted Friday August 6, 2021 on campus at 5pm and they will also be available via the Aeries Parent Portal. 

In partnership, 

Zetha Nobles, Principal

“I have never encountered any children in any group who are not geniuses. There is no mystery on how to teach them. The first thing you do is treat them like human beings and the second thing you do is love them.” Dr. Asa Hilliard