Oakwood Elementary News

If you've been a part of the OES community for very long you are very familiar with the 3Rs of behavior that we expect from our staff and students; Respectful, Responsible and Reflective. Each day we start during announcements learning about how the 3Rs look in various situations at school. In addition to the announcements, our behavior interventionist visits classrooms to teach specific lessons about the 3Rs. We do this because we know there are two things that children need to know so that they can be a part of monitoring their own behavior.

1. They need to clearly understand and have explicit instruction of the expectations.

2. They need to know that their positive behavior efforts are noticed.

The power of noticing the positive is so important when it comes to behavior management. That is why at OES we use the Positive Behavior Intervention and Support (PBIS) model as described above. In the past, we have recognized children for demonstrating 3R behaviors as a Student of the Week. This year, we are expanding that to recognize students daily and will begin the Principal's Positive 200 initiative. If you visit the school you'll notice the Principal's Positive 200 bulletin board in the center atrium. It's about to launch, so be sure to ask your child(ren) about this program!

You can help by using the 3Rs to structure your conversations about behavior at home as well. When our children know that home and school are on the same page, great things happen. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions about this new program!

DISMISSAL

I have attached the parking lot procedures at the bottom of this newsletter as a reminder of our protocols during drop off and pick up times. I especially would like to highlight some issues we are having during pick up in the afternoon. There are two ways to pick your child up after school.

1. Single-file ONLY line up in the parent loop - This is a continuous motion loop with curbside only pick up and the left lane for exiting cars. There cannot be a double line and parents are asked to stay in their cars. If you do not care to wait in the pick up line, you are welcome to instruct your child's teacher to send your child to the ofifce, you can park in the parking lot and meet your child in the front foyer.

2. Pick up is ONLY in the front foyer - If you aren't using the pick up loop, children can only be picked up at the front doors. The north end lot of the building is for our special education bus and there is not supervision for our other students. Please instruct children and their classroom teachers to have your child meet you in the front foyer if you are going to park and pick your child up.

MEDICATION

Please be sure that if your child needs any medication at school, this includes cough drops and throat lozenges, that you deliver the medication to the office and complete our medication dispensed at school form. Children are not allowed to bring their medications to school.

Thank you for your copperation on both of these issues. Our priority is to keep your children safe. In order to do that we have to have procedures and protocols. It helps us do our jobs so much more effectively and efficiently when our families adhere to the rules we have set up. Please call the office at any time if you have questions, concerns or suggestions.

• Mrs. Morales' second grade won the Bueche's and Box Tops competition and will celebrate with a cider and doughnut party. We will have another competition in April, so start saving again!
• Big Apple Bagel Day was a HUGE hit! Our next bagel day is Thursday, November 2nd. Bagels are $1.00 and the money collected will go toward providing a scholarship to a former Oakwood student.
  
• Halloween is a half-day with dismissal at noon. The parade of costumes will begin at 10:30 a.m. Your child's classroom teacher and room parent will send information specific to their classroom celebration. Please see the Halloween Costume Guideline sheet attached at the end of this newsletter.
• Our underwear and clothing supply is seriously low in the OES office. We could really use some help restocking. If you can donate girls and boys underwear (new please) in sizes 4-12, that would be great. In addition to underwear, we can always use elastic-waisted pants in sizes 4-12. Socks are another item that we go through quite quickly. Thank you in advance for your donations!

Welcome to the Music Room With Ms. Vergith

Melodies, harmonies and rhythms continue to fill the air as the students sing, read, count and play instruments.

Jr. Kindergarten and Kindergarten students are developing their listening skills as they respond to vocal and instrumental passages in their songs. They are learning to identify speaking from singing voices and solo voices from group voices. They are learning to read and perform the steady beat in 3s as they view and count patterns of red and green apples containing quarter notes and rests while playing classroom rhythm instruments.

First-grade students learned to look for patterns in the rhythms of their music, counting and playing them, then following them with their eyes while singing. They did so at various tempi (speeds) to develop their music-reading skills. They are learning about the structure of music as we add symbols, such as barlines, time signatures, double barlines and repeat signs. They are, also, learning to use their voices in four, different ways (speaking, singing, whispering and shouting) in Halloween songs and rhymes.

Second graders recently played rhythm ostinati (repeated rhythm patterns) to accompany seasonal and multicultural songs. Their challenge was to perform the steady beat with one hand while playing a rhythm pattern with the other. Currently they are learning to use their head and chest voices to make their singing more expressive.

Students in third grade studied songs and pieces in A B A (ternary) form, listening for and describing differences between Parts A & B. Through such songs they discovered the meaning of the Italian terms, Fine and D.C. al Fine. Currently the students are creating mood and adding expression to their singing through the interpretation of phrasing and use of head voice in the traditional song, The Ghost of John.

Fourth-grade students are continuing to learn songs for their concert to be held Thursday evening, December 7th at Brandon High School's PAC. Within the next few weeks they will be given a packet of the songs’ lyrics to bring home to study. Your assistance in helping them memorize these would be most appreciated!

And last, but not least, fifth-graders are refining their vocal tone and pitch-matching skills as they sing rounds in unison and in two-parts. You should hear the harmony they are able to create!

We would like to wish 5th grader, Mikayla Hardoin the best of luck as she competes in the World Kickboxing Championship in Orlando, Florida. Mikayla will leave November 2nd to head south for this event. We are all cheering you on!

• Volunteers are needed when the Wojo's greenery orders are delivered later in November! If you can help unload wreaths, poinsettias and grave blankets and help disburse the orders, we will need you!

I have had the honor of serving as principal here at Oakwood for the past 3 years. I am excited to begin my fourth year here with the amazing students, parents and staff!

Email: cstewart@brandon.k12.mi.us
Website: http://www.brandonschooldistrict.org/index.php/schools/oakwood-elementary
Location: 2839 Oakwood Road, Ortonville, MI, United States
Phone: 248-627-1880