We want to take this opportunity to reaffirm our strong commitment to making Orrington Elementary a safe, joyful, and inclusive environment for all. Our students and staff come from diverse backgrounds, representing a rich variety of cultures, ethnicities, and religions. This diversity is at the heart of what makes our school community so special. However, we recognize that these differences are sometimes used to create division and perpetuate harm, especially toward our most marginalized communities. At Orrington, we are dedicated to fostering an environment where every student and staff member feels valued and respected.

Our most important work at Orrington is ensuring that every child feels safe at school and accepted for who they are. Until this is true for every member of our community, our work will never be done. We will continue to cultivate community in a variety of ways, including:

• Social emotional learning for all PreK-8th grade students. These are taught by our classroom educators and also include time for community building. See what our social emotional learning looks like with this short video!

• Behavior support designed to teach, nurture, and encourage positive social behaviors, including skills to better manage tension and conflict when they arise.

• Community Days once a month for students to come together as a grade level and participate in a variety of activities including community service.

• Cross-grade level buddies where intermediate students mentor and build relationships with primary students.

• Continued professional learning for staff, including equity and inclusion work that focuses on conscious and unconscious bias and changing policies and procedures that have historically marginalized students.

We always welcome our community's partnership with helping create and maintain an inclusive and welcoming environment. Please be on the lookout for our first Community Connections. More details to come soon!

In District 65 we are committed to helping all students reach their full potential and to provide opportunities that accelerate learning. Accelerated learning is available to all students; educators accelerate learning through grade-level differentiation, enrichment, and small group instruction. D65 also offers the possibility of alternate placement - which may grade skipping, single subject skipping or early entrance into grades K or 1st. You can find more information about acceleration HERE.

Acceleration Night is coming! All District 65 families with students in kindergarten through 7th grade are invited to join us to learn more about opportunities for acceleration, and about the process for consideration of grade-skipping. Meeting dates are; 10/23 @ 6:00 pm on Zoom

Dear Orrington Families,

We thank you and your family for being our valued partners as we work together to educate the children in our district. As you may already be aware, we are striving to make our schools more equitable and inclusive spaces for all of our students. Over the next two weeks, students in 3rd through 5th will participate in several exercises to better understand these concepts and to reflect on how they perceive these skills in themselves.

We will be asking for your child to reflect on their own mindsets and approaches to learning via an online survey they will be completing school. The survey shouldn’t take more than 15-20 minutes to complete.

The survey content will ask students to self-reflect on Teacher-Student Relationships, Sense of Belonging, Engagement, Diversity and Inclusion, and Wellness and SEL.

We are asking that all of our students participate in the surveys, as their responses will provide invaluable insights into their experiences and how we can improve and adapt our district to their needs. If a student doesn’t feel like they have enough information to answer a question, they will be able to skip the item altogether. The responses to these surveys will be completely confidential. We are partnering with a third-party vendor to support us in administering these surveys.

Please notify us if you would like your child to opt out of taking the surveys by emailing your child's teacher and the administration team by 10/18. We thank you in advance for your thoughtful responses. If you have any questions about the survey administration, please don’t hesitate to contact us at schoeffmanna@district65.net or yoos@district65.net.

Sincerely,

Dr. Schoeffmann & Ms. Yoo

Check out more information about our Winter Gear Drive in partnership with the Gary Comer Youth Center HERE.

Volunteering in school and chaperoning field trips are rewarding ways to contribute to a child’s educational experience. By offering time and support, volunteers can assist teachers with classroom activities, mentor students, or help with special events, fostering a positive learning environment. Chaperoning field trips, in particular, allows adults to engage with students outside the classroom, ensuring their safety and helping them explore new experiences in museums, parks, or historical sites. These activities not only strengthen the school community but also give volunteers a deeper connection to the students and their academic journey.

In order to volunteer or chaperone, parents and guardians need to fill out the following form HERE. Limited volunteering allows parents and guardians to support in the school, while comprehensive volunteering allows parents and guardians to chaperone on field trips.

See the graphic below on the details of both types of volunteers.

Sign-up for the Orrington Directory!

Once you have signed up for the directory, you will be able to edit your information and indicate your information-sharing preferences. We also use this system to distribute our Orrington PTA E-Newsletter that contains information and updates you will not want to miss!

Follow this link to access the Orrington Elementary School Directory site: https://orringtonpta.membershiptoolkit.com/

Questions? Contact us at orringtonelementarydirectory@gmail.com

1) Click "Register/Login" and "Create Account"

Create your family's account and click "verify my email". Non-work emails are preferred as work based emails frequently are bounced because of employer firewalls

2) You've got mail!

Check your email for a link to complete the process. The link expires in 2 hours.

3) Finish your registration

Parent/Family and Student Info

Directory/Publish Preferences

Volunteer during Lunch!

Want to make your kid's or kids' day? Volunteer to serve lunch with your fellow friendly Orrington parents!

What: Parent volunteers help students properly compost and recycle their lunch waste. One volunteer are scheduled per day. Bring your ID for check-in in the school front office.

When: Volunteers are needed from 11:15 AM to 1:15 PM.

IMPORTANT: Please sign up only for yourself! Sign up HERE.

Questions: Contact Orrington PTA (info@orringtonpta.org)

Want to know what's going on around the community? District 65 uses a "Digital Backpack" to share community information. Please click the button below to view upcoming community events and activities.