Feb. 8

• Upcoming Events & Dates
• School Learning Environment Survey
• Author Visit Details
• Sweetheart Dance
• Competitive Opportunities in Art and Writing!
• Lunch Menu & Choice Menu
• Snow Day Reminders & iPads
• Photo Storage

• February 11th Valentine's Dance 5:30-7:00 & Essays are due to front office!
• February 13th Valentine's Parties
• February 25th 2 hour delay for students
• March 2-6 Read Across America Week
• March 3 Author Visit Event 5:00-6:00

To ensure we continue providing positive learning environments and limitless opportunities for our students, we are participating in the West Virginia School Learning Environment Survey for parents/caregivers of Opequon students and staff! Your insight is incredibly valuable to us!

These surveys are conducted online and provide critical information about the learning/teaching environment, the health and well-being of students and staff, and support for parents. We'd like to request that surveys are completed by February 27th. Please contact us with any questions.

Parent/Caregiver Survey Link:

https://forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=S7AZ4AwzekaLrgn7FzdNahDMFVugY09Cg9o1_jyYt_1UM0lPQksyQUFRVlMwRjVDVTZPRDJES1ozRCQlQCN0PWcu&route=shorturl

*Students in grades 3-5 will complete this in school. Students in grades PreK-2 do not complete the survey in school, rather we ask that parents/caregivers complete it. Thank you!

We look forward to seeing those of you who have RSVP'd to our Sweetheart Dance in honor of Valentine's Day on Wednesday, February 11th from 5:30 to 7:00 Bracelets were passed out last week & will be needed in order to enter the dance. Upon leaving, families will receive a small treat to take with them! Parents are required to stay with their child for the duration of the dance. Come, have fun, and dance your heart out with us! At this time, we are not accepting any late registrations. Wooden Roses will be available for a $1 purchase AT the dance (until we run out). CASH ONLY.

We are excited to announce that on Tuesday, March 3rd, children’s author, Shawn Thomas will be presenting to Opequon students during the day about how she wrote her very first children’s book “Monday Moves In.” She will also be bringing the inspiration to her book: her chickens!

That evening, you and your child are invited to attend a free event from 5-6 pm. During the event, you and your child will get to meet the author and learn how to create digital illustrations for your own book using Canva- the same software Shawn Thomas used to create her illustrations! Opequon will provide the technology to do so!

This is a free event, however pre-registration is requested. More information will come home in your child's folder/binder this week!

Students are invited to participate in the 2025-2026 Federal Junior Duck Stamp Program and Art Contest! The program is a dynamic art- and science-based curriculum that teaches wetland and waterfowl conservation to students in kindergarten through high school.

Each year, an art contest is conducted as an opportunity for students to share what they have learned about waterfowl and habitat conservation through the curriculum or through their own study and observation. Students from across the United States submit their artwork and conservation messages to their state, territory, or district competition.

Any K-12 student attending public, private, or homeschool may participate! Prizes and ribbons are awarded to winners of each age group, and all students receive a certificate of participation. Best-of-Show winners from each state advance to the national contest. The winning artwork from the national art contest serves as the design for the Junior Duck Stamp, which the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service produces annually. One hundred percent of the revenue from the sale of Junior Duck Stamps goes to support recognition and environmental education activities for students who participate in the program.

All entries must be received by COB ET March 15, 2026, to the West Virginia State Coordinator.

The Eastern Panhandle Empowerment Center (EPEC) has asked us to participate in an art contest, "Empowered Hearts," with our K-5 students. During the month of February, students may draw a picture that shows safe love—love that is kind, respectful, and caring, and that makes people feel happy and secure. Examples include how to show kindness, healthy friendships, respect, or ways people help and care for one another.

If your child would like to participate, please let their homeroom teacher know and they will send home the coloring sheet (below). Please return all completed entries to Mrs. Eyler or Mrs. Comer by Wednesday, February 26th to be sent to central office by Friday, February 28th. EPEC will award a prize to the winner in each grade at each school, as well as post the winning designs on their website! Let's get some Opequon artwork on display in the community!n

Since 1984, the West Virginia Young Writers Contest has celebrated student writing in the state. The contest grows out of a deep commitment to writing in all subjects, and to the publishing, displaying, and celebrating student writing.

Contest Guidelines:

Submissions may be on any topic and in any prose genre: fiction, nonfiction, narrative, memoir, or essay. Poetry is not eligible for submission and submissions must be free of graphics. Entries should be the sole creation of the student and composed during the current school year. The entry should be drafted in a manner which best supports the use of process writing and the concept of the writer’s workshop.

Leaders from the Central West Virginia Writing Project (CWVWP) at Marshall University will judge entries on the following criteria: Ideas, Organization, Voice, Word Choice, Sentence Fluency, and Conventions. Entries submitted for our county and state competition at categories below require a cover sheet and must not exceed word length limits:

Grade 1-2
300 words

Students need to submit their written (typed) entries to Mrs. Eyler or Mrs. Comer by Wednesday, February 11th in order for them to be read, judged, and then sent to central office by Friday, February 13th.

Three essays from each grade level will be selected for submission to the county competition!

No entries will be accepted outside of those submitted by the school designee. State winners will be notified in March but not announced to the public until Young Writers Day on May 8, 2026, which will be held at the University of Charleston. First-place county winners will receive commemorative certificates and participate in workshops with published authors/presenters on WV Young Writers Day. State winners in each of the six contest categories will receive monetary prizes for first, second place, and third place.

Contest forms and submission directions can be found under the CWVWP/YWC website page

and at the West Virginia Department of Education website.

Hurray! We got enough snow to play in, sled in, ice skate on, build igloos and make lasting memories! We trust that you had a great time with family over the last week. We have now exhausted all traditional snow days. Our next day off due to weather will require live/virtual learning via iPads/Teams. Students will have ELA & Math instruction live as well as their Unified Arts/Specials time. Additionally, interventions and Special Education services will continue throughout the day. We receive directives from the central office on when to send iPads home in the event of weather.

iPads will remain at the school until we are directed to send them home.

Parents! Students have had a great opportunity to try new foods over the past few weeks. As a reminder, the choice offered M-F remains the same from week to week:

Monday's Choice is Soft Pretzel with Cheddar Dip

Tuesday's Choice is Chef Salad with Breadstick

Wednesday's Choice is Cheesy Pull Apart Bread with Marinara

Thursday's Choice is Cheeseburger with Toppings

Friday's Choice is Whole Grain Chicken Nuggets with Dipping Sauce

These remain an option for students throughout the week on each day. We continue to see lots of salad eaters!

Trunk or Treat, please visit: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjCyB2v

Costume Parade, please visit: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjCziWk

Veterans Day, please visit: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjCzVeA

Haircuts for the Holidays, please visit: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjCB1zi

Turkey Trot, please visit: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjCCjcY

2nd 9 Weeks Awards Assemblies, please visit: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjCGTWH

New Year, New You Event, please visit: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjCH2a8

395 East Road

Martinsburg, WV 25404

304-267-3550

Rebekah Eyler, Principal

Kelly Comer, Assistant Principal