OPR Weekly Update
April 5, 2024
Dear OPR Families,
It's been a great start to the month as we have finished up the ELA MCAS testing for grades 3, 4, and 5. We are looking forward to all of the excitement that comes with the spring season.
In response to the April 8th solar eclipse, which will occur during and after school dismissal, we have purchased eclipse sunglasses for all students and staff. The glasses are AAS approved and ISO Certified for viewing. To view the eclipse, you must look through safe eclipse glasses or a safe handheld solar viewer at all times.
We have addressed safety concerns for watching the eclipse with students. This safety information regarding the eclipse can be found on the DESE website. For additional information on the solar eclipse, visit the NASA webpage at: https://science.nasa.gov/eclipses/. We appreciate your partnership in reminding your child(ren) to not look directly at the sun without proper eye protection. Please feel free to contact me with any questions or of you do not want your child to be given a pair of eclipse glasses.
Thank you for your cooperation and support in making sure our students have a safe and enjoyable learning experience during the upcoming solar eclipse.
Please watch this week's OPR Video News. Check out the traveling segment on Colombia: Click here to watch last week's OPR Video News.
Have a great weekend!
David N. Barner, Principal
dbarner@walpole.k12.ma.us
MARCH
29 No School - Day of Low Attendance
APRIL
5 PAC sponsored OPR Spring Dance! See below for more information.
8 OPR Spring After School Enrichment Programs begin this week.
10 PAC Meeting, STEM Lab and Virtual at 7:00 PM
11 PAC sponsored visit from Discovery Museum to Grade 1: Dinosaurs
12 OPR Student Council Spirit Day: Favorite Sports Team Colors Day
15-19 April Vacation - No School
26 Kindergarten Field Trip to Franklin Park Zoo
MAY
2 Grade 1 Field Trip to Stony Brook Wildlife Sanctuary
4 PAC sponsored Furn Run and Spring Fair!
8 PAC Meeting, STEM Lab and Virtual at 7:00 PM
11 Wapole Day
15 PAC sponsored school assembly: Mark Rothstein's World of Jump Rope
15 Incoming Kindergarten Orientation at 6:30 PM
16 PAC sponsored High Touch High Tech Grade 3 Presentation: Friction Gives Me Traction
16 PAC sponsored Grade 4 Presentation: Southwick's Traveling Zoo Program
17 Early Release; Dismissal is at 11:55 AM (beginning at 11:49)
17 Student Council Spirit Day: Students Dress Like Teachers and Teacher Dress Like Students
Arrival: 8:15-8:25 AM
Tardy Bell is at 8:25 AM. (Students must be signed in at the office by an adult if tardy.)
Early Release Dismissal: 11:55 (Dismissal begins at 11:49)
Dismissal: 2:55 PM (Dismissal begins at 2:49)
If your child is going to be absent or tardy, please call the OPR office before school (508-660-7219) and press 1 for the absence line. The automated attendance verification system is in use. Those students marked absent and who have not called in will receive an automated phone call.
STEM with Mrs. Morris
This month in STEM we spent a lot of time doing different activities to celebrate March Madness Basketball. This past week we also focused our time on Monday’s upcoming solar eclipse.
Kindergarten and 1st Grade: Kindergartners began learning about block coding through ScratchJr. They have made a few projects now, including a basketball program and their own version of “Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus”. First graders have continued using Scratch Jr. as well, creating a program that included a character dribbling a ball down the court. First graders also used Plus Plus blocks to build a basketball court. For the solar eclipse project, both grades used chalk to recreate the Sun’s corona and learned about the importance of solar eclipse glasses.
Second Grade: Second graders used ScratchJr. to create a basketball program that would not only have their character dribble a ball down the court, but also shoot a basket. They also used the website Hour of Code to create a playable basketball game. This helps get them ready for third grade when we will begin using Scratch. For their solar eclipse project, they used the Ozobot robot to represent the moon and they coded the robot to follow the Path of Totality the April 8th eclipse will travel.
Third Grade: Third grade students began March Madness by choosing a STEM Engineering tool and building a basketball hoop. These basketball hoops were saved for the older students to use for their March Madness project. The following week, third graders built basketball hoops again, but this time they had to build a human basketball hoop out of consumable materials and that would fit on a team member's head. At the end of the class, they used pom pom balls to see how many baskets they could make in the hoop in 30 seconds. These students also began a solar eclipse project using Google Slides to create a stop motion video of what happens during an eclipse.
Fourth and Fifth Grade: Students in fourth and fifth grade used Scratch to create a basketball project. They learned how to make the characters in their program glide to different x and y coordinates on the workspace. The following week, these students used the Dash robots with a launcher attachment to shoot ping pong balls at the hoops the third grade students had built the week prior. Students had to code the robot correctly to accurately make their baskets. Like third graders, students in these grades are creating a stop motion video in Google Slides to demonstrate what happens in a solar eclipse.
Digital Learning with Mrs. Milnamow
Can you believe it is April already? You certainly cannot tell by looking out the window. But, inside OPR, students are buzzing about learning, creating, and growing.
Students at all grade levels continue to work on programs such as Canva, Book Creator and Google Docs/Slides among others, and to develop independence with using technology responsibly, troubleshooting issues and problem solving.
First graders are working on an animal research project and are using different types of media to show their understanding, including a program called Stop Motion Studio. The result will be similar to claymation-style videos. We will record many slight movements to create an animated video. We look forward to experimenting with this new platform and sharing the results.
Kindergarten, second, and third grade classrooms are having fun trying out a program new to OPR called Adobe Express. There are so many pieces to this program, but we are starting with the “Animate My Voice” skill. Students are able to select a character and a background, and to then record their own voice. The character will then animate and speak in the child’s voice! Students are engaging and are having fun showing their learning in new ways.
Grade four has a podcast in the work. We are also blending multiple digital tools to create a project called “Interview with an Invertebrate” and to nominate women to be featured on U.S. Currency.
Fifth grade is working hard researching the Industrial Revolution, and will be creating Google SlideShows with images and videos. They will work with the video editing tool and also learn to add transitions and effects to fancy up their presentations.
I am so incredibly proud of our students’ growth and motivation to learn the skills necessary to be successful in our ever-changing world of technology. Please continue to encourage our children to be responsible members of the digital community at school, at home, and beyond!
News from the Nurse
Thank you to Mrs. Laracy who has been our school nurse for the past few months. We will be welcoming Mrs. Kowalsky back on Monday!
Here is a link to the WPS Health Services website. On this site you can find links to forms (i.e. medication administration, over the counter medication consent forms), medication policies, and information regarding illnesses, concussions and injuries.
Our substitute nurse is Mrs. Karen Laracy.
Mrs. Laracy's email is: klaracy@walpole.k12.ma.us
99 Old Post Road
East Walpole, MA 02032
phone: 508-660-7219 ext 5804
fax: 866.809.6567
PAC NEWS
Please join us for the OPR PAC Meeting on Wednesday, April 10th at 7:00 PM in the OPR STEM LAB or virtually via ZOOM: https://zoom.us/j/93582365822
Who loves OPR? We do! Sign up here to volunteer to coordinate one of our great events or fundraisers this year. PAC Coordinator Sign up:
https://m.signupgenius.com/#!/showSignUp/9040e49a4aa2ba2fb6-oprpac1
mabel's labels
https://mabelslabels.com/en_US/fundraising/support/
Starting to lose those water bottles? Put a label on it! Please navigate to Support a Fundraiser and select Old Post Road Parent Advisory Committee.
Box Tops
Download the App for BoxTops for Education and scan receipt within 14 days of purchase. Assign Credit by selecting the Star and entering the Teacher’s Last name before you hit submit.
PAC Socal Media / Contact Info.
Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OPR.PAC
please add: Follow us on Instagram: https://instagram.com/oprpacwalpole
Email with questions: oprpacwalpole@gmail.com
OPR Textile Bin Donations
Massachusetts no longer allows clothing to be disposed of in the trash. Clothing must be donated or recycled. RECYCLE your clothing and textiles in the OPR Collection Bin and OPR receives money.
The collections resulted in the following:
2022 Calendar Year Total - $907.50
January 2023 - $102.00
February 2023 - $83.25
March 2023 - $95.50
April 2023 - $93.00
May 2023 - $88.20
June 2023 - $126.90
July 2023 - $100.20
August 2023 - $92.40
September 2023 - $118.80
October 2023 - $90.60
November 2023 - $113.70
December 2023 - $81.30
2023 Calendar Year Total - $1210.60
January 2024 - $85.80
February 2024 - $104.10
March 2024 - $71.70
Walpole Extended Day April Vacation Camp
April Vacation camp with families. Hours of camp are 9-4. Drop off is 8-9am. Pick up from 3-4pm. Camp will take place at Boyden April 16-18.
Here's the link: https://forms.gle/ythtVbAZseMrGP548
Multilingual Learner PAC (MLPAC) Meeting
Please contact the Multilingual Learner Family Engagement Center at mlfec@walpole.k12.ma.us or at (508) 660-7257 ext. 5033 for further information or to request an interpreter or child care for the event.
WPS Special Education Parent Advisory Council (SEPAC) MEETING
Please note the following contact information for Walpole’s Special Education Parent Advisory Council (SEPAC). Co-Chairs are Sue Pace and Deborah Mulroy. The SEPAC can be reached by email at walpolesepac@gmail.com. Follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/walpolespedpac. Notices of future events can be found in this Weekly Update as they are scheduled.
About Us
OPR Mission Statement
The Old Post Road School community educates all students to excel and become productive citizens.
OPR Vision
OPR students will be motivated to learn in a supportive and safe environment. The faculty will foster self-confidence in the students and encourage them to make positive choices. Students will learn to accept responsibility for their behavior and will mature into responsible citizens and lifelong learners. All students will appreciate that they are part of a diverse, global society.
Instagram: OLDPOSTROADSCHOOL_WALPOLE
Twitter: @oprschool
Email: dbarner@walpole.k12.ma.us
99 Old Post Road
East Walpole, MA 02032
508-660-7219
