OMS Family Newsletter

Engaging in ongoing, two-way dialogue is critical to providing our students with the best possible education. We want to hear your thoughts on school issues, including academic support, student support, school leadership, parent engagement, safety, and more. We are asking that you complete the survey taking into account your experience during the 2025-26 school year.

This survey can be taken for each child you have attending a school within the district. To take the survey for another child attending a different school, please access the link in the Thank You message.

This survey will take approximately 10 minutes in total to complete, and at any point, you may save and continue later. Your answers will be anonymous, so please answer honestly. Since we’ll only share the overall results, reports will not identify individuals. No one in the district will know if you participated unless you identify yourself in open-ended comments.

After the survey closes, we will share the findings and specific steps we’re taking as a result of your feedback.

Parents & Guardians: Click here to take the survey!

Students: Your survey link is available in your Advisory agenda or through Classlink!

❄️ Middle School Winter Olympics: Let the Games Begin! ❄️🏔️ Our gym classes turned into their very own Winter Olympics this week, and WOW—what an incredible sight! Students rotated through creative, team-based events inspired by the Winter Games, showing off teamwork, sportsmanship, and a whole lot of school spirit. From “skid shoe cover speed skating” to “torch relay” and “lightning fast luge” (no snow required 😉), every station brought out laughter, friendly competition, and perseverance. The gym was buzzing with encouragement as classmates cheered each other on and celebrated small wins together. This was more than just fun—it was about staying active, trying new challenges, and learning what it means to compete with respect and positivity. A huge shoutout to our PE teachers who each played their own part of the games, Jessica Rowe for designing such an engaging experience, Tim Collins for gathering the national anthems of several countries and MCing the event, and Shawn Regan for keeping the students engaged and safe. And finally to our students for bringing the Olympic energy! Who knew you could host the Winter Olympics without ice and snow? 🥇 So proud of these athletes-in-training

We want to share a big congratulations to Mrs. Rowe, who was inducted into the Oakland University Athletics Hall of Fame for her incredible softball career! Mrs. Rowe was an All-American player at Oakland and graduated as the all-time career leader in wins and strikeouts. Way to be an inspiration to our students!

She led our staff to a victory at our Staff vs. Students wiffleball game!

Through an engaging unit on Guatemalan culture, Mrs. Cabaniss provided meaningful practice opportunities that allowed students to develop both technical skills and creative processes. Students learned about various aspects of Guatemalan cultural traditions, with particular focus on a celebrated cultural ceremony where streets are transformed with elaborately decorated carpets featuring symbols of peace, love, and passion.

***The message below was sent via email on 2/18***

On March 9th, 2026, all Oxford Middle School students will be completing a Bullying Questionnaire in their advisory class. This effort supports our goal of gathering student input and perspective on the various aspects of a positive school culture and climate. Gaining insight directly from our students will help us improve the future experiences they have at OMS. The questionnaire focuses on one of the areas of our learning environment that we wish to gain specific insight into. This survey is an anonymous, short multiple-choice questionnaire designed to measure various aspects of bullying that may be taking place in schools. Students will be taking this anonymous survey individually from their device, and their classroom teacher will be facilitating this activity. We intend to review the data results later this semester in order to make informed school-wide decisions on programs, supports, and areas of improvement.

We want to share with families how bullying is defined in our lessons and what will be read aloud to students prior to them taking the survey:

It is important that we all have a good understanding of the definition of bullying, which builds on three criteria.

Bullying:

• is an intentional negative act

• occurs repeatedly

• is characterized by an imbalance of power or strength (the person who is bullied has a hard time defending themselves)

AND

• results in a student feeling scared to come to school, have difficulty focusing at school, or causes the student to hurt inside or out.

As we think about bullying, remember that there is a difference between hurtful teasing/bullying and teasing that is relatively friendly.

Please use the link below if you choose to opt your student out from taking the survey. You can also preview the questions below. Please submit your opt-out request in the link no later than Wednesday, March 4th.

Linked Google Form (Opt-Out)

Secondary Preview Questions

We would like to also invite you to a Parent University Workshop: Our Kids, Our Community: Tackling Bullying Together- A Parent Workshop

LINK TO WORKSHOP FLYER

LINK TO REGISTER FOR THE WORKSHOP

Our student leaders are ready for their next project and are creating excitement for springbreak with a raffle for OMS students. The goal is to create fun combinations of goodie for Student Council to raffle off the week of March 23-26th. If you are able to make a donation of any kind (members are excited about jellycats, Awala products, gift cards, snacks, baskets, etc.), we can create the groupings. All donations can be dropped off in the office ASAP so members can get to work on the raffle.

We greatly appreciate your support in making OMS a great place to learn.

Click here for Sign-Up Genius

Go Wildcats,

OMS Student Council 2025-26

Thank you to everyone who joined us for our first Washington, D.C. parent meeting for current 7th graders! We’re thrilled about this unforgettable 8th-grade experience, which will be packed with history, discovery, and memories your student will talk about for years.

If you couldn’t attend, you can catch up in minutes. Please review the presentation from Stacy Blaskowski. It includes all the details you need: trip highlights, dates, pricing, what’s included, and step‑by‑step instructions to get your child registered.

Links below:

• 1/13/26 Parent Meeting

• Registration Link

If you’re planning to participate in the annual Oh, the Places You’ll Go book signing, please consider sending in your book early to allow our staff ample time to sign.

To help streamline the process, please place your book in a manila envelope and include a list of all the staff members you’d like to sign it.

Wakeup Wednesday Details:

When: Delayed start Wednesdays, from 8:45 to 9:45 AM

March 4, 11, 18

April 8, 15, 22

May 6, 13, 27

Where: Oxford Middle School commons, students enter through the main office doors

This is a great chance for your student to stay on track academically while fostering positive relationships in a supportive environment. If you’d like your child to participate, please complete the attached form.

Link to registration: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfOTMBubQIU_oWEuB81iIaVSzLBeSn2K-UQf5ly391Lv_o_mQ/viewform?usp=sharing

Thank you for your support- we look forward to seeing your student at Wakeup Wednesday!

You may begin dropping off your children at 6:55 am and they can wait inside by the Commons until entering the hallways at 7:10 am.

In order to have an efficient flow, we are counting on you to follow all parking lot procedures! We also encourage you to utilize our amazing school bus service which will reduce the congestion & wait time in the parking lot.

Parking Lot Procedures:

• The arrows indicate the directional flow of traffic during student drop-off.

• Blue arrows indicate the drop-off zone for students.

• When you pull into the blue arrow drop-off zone, please pull as far ahead as possible before having your student exit the vehicle.

• *Do not pull up to the main building walkway and stop if there is space ahead*

• If you elect to walk your student(s) to the building entrance, please park in an empty space and walk your student to the sidewalk. You will need to re-enter the traffic flow in the yellow arrow section.

• Only buses are permitted to drop off by the front office area.

Please find the OMS schedules listed below. They are also accessible on our website.

https://www.oxfordschools.org/documents/calendars-(printable)/oxford-middle-school-calendars-(printable)/774306

If cell phones remain powered on, they must be on silent and out of sight

As a public body under the Freedom of Information Act, the District has developed procedures and guidelines to implement and assure compliance with FOIA. The District has also created the following written public summary of the specific procedures and guidelines explaining how to submit written requests to the District and how to understand the District’s written responses, deposit requirements, fee calculations, and avenues for challenge and appeal.

More information about submitting FOIA requests can be found here:
https://www.oxfordschools.org/o/ocs/page/foia-procedures

FOIA requests may be submitted online at:
https://oxfordschoolsmi.nextrequest.com/

The District does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, ethnicity, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, age, height, weight, familial status, marital status, military service, veteran status, genetic information, disability, or any other legally protected basis, and prohibits unlawful discrimination, including harassment and retaliation, in any education program or activity that it operates, including in admission and employment.

Inquiries about unlawful discrimination, including unlawful harassment and retaliation, may be referred to the District’s applicable Coordinator and/or an agency with jurisdiction, such as the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, the Michigan Department of Civil Rights, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, or the Department of Justice. To report information about conduct that may constitute unlawful discrimination, including unlawful harassment and retaliation, or make a complaint of such conduct, please contact Mrs. Ryan Reid, Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources, 775 W. Drahner Rd, Oxford, MI 48371 - (248) 969-5004 - Ryan.Reid@oxfordschools.org.