The Orchard 'View'

Hola Families!

Happy Friday! Lots of things are occurring within our halls at OV, including great teaching and learning. Additionally, the students are in full swing with full days of academics, social emotional interactions with friends, and learning how to be a functional and joyous part of a learning community!

At the same time, we are also spearheading our fundraising campaign, including the annual hawk walk on October 2! This year, we are raising our goal from 20,000 to 25,000. Attached is a video to truly understand where our fundraising efforts go to when addressing the needs of our school community!

As you head into the fall feels of September, please consider giving to our campaign efforts so that everything you see on this video can occur again - with the possibility of adding an all school Grand Rapids Griffin game November 11! The Griffins game will also include our Veterans, who we honor every year with an assembly. This year, we would like to include them by inviting them to the the School Game Griffins Hockey Game on November 11.

Stay tuned for additional videos , including some guests appearances from Mr. Buckets and possibly Lil' Griff - who are asking for your support to make it possible to take the entire school to the all school games in November and March.

Take care families!

Ms. Maher

Back Row: Prisha Saha, Hirae haji, Lou Picarazzi, Nick Smoger, Hudson Smith, Hendrix Voelker, Emilio Stepp, Lilah Haligowski, Joslyn Miller, Nova Reimbold, Declan McRae

Front Row: Bri'Lani Matthews, Declan White, Sage Foll, Phoebe Milleur, Harrison Grode, Rylin Smith, Nora Finn

This week, the district’s Sweep Team helped us learn more about where each Orchard View student is on their individual journey as a reader. The team worked one-on-one with every student at Orchard View, just as they are doing across all elementary schools in the district. Our Sweep team included the following dynamic humans: Shantel VanderGalien, Tara Steele, Krystal Polavin*, Leigh Ann White*, Ashley Jones, Kendra Austin*, Olivia Barbour*, Sarah Whitford, Lesley Green*, Hannah Anderson, and Kimberly VanAntwerp. *staff at Orchard View

Students completed DIBELS (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills) assessments, which help us identify important literacy skills, celebrate areas of strength, and pinpoint where students may need additional support. DIBELS pairs beautifully with our new CKLA literacy curriculum and the mCLASS platform, giving teachers timely information they can use to make instructional decisions.

For our 3rd–5th grade students, DIBELS 8th Edition helps us monitor skills such as oral reading fluency and comprehension. Upper elementary students will also complete the Maze assessment, a brief, three-minute assessment that provides additional information about silent reading comprehension and students’ ability to make meaning from text.

Why does this matter?

The goal isn't simply to collect scores—it is to use the information to strengthen instruction. Teachers will review the results to better understand each learner, identify students who may benefit from additional Tier 2 support, and create targeted instructional groups based on specific reading needs.

And this isn't a one-time snapshot! The Sweep Team will assess students three times throughout the school year, allowing us to monitor growth, adjust instruction, and celebrate progress along the way.

At Orchard View, we believe that every child can grow as a reader. These assessments give our teachers another powerful tool to make sure students receive the instruction and support they need to keep moving forward on their literacy journey.

Students in kindergarten classes are learning the foundational skills of reading and writing. In Mrs. LePard's class, students were working with Elkonin boxes to understand individual sounds and words in a sentence. Elkonin boxes, also known as sound boxes, help emerging readers build phonological awareness skills by segmenting words into individual sounds (phonemes). When working with words, the teacher can draw one box for each sound in a target word. Children push a token into one box as they say each sound in the word. Elkonin boxes can also be used in phonics instruction to support phoneme-grapheme mapping (shown in picture).

The video displays are youngest in Mrs. Fausey's classroom showing their talents as they recite the verses of Jack and Jill! Please do yourself a favor and enjoy the sweet voices narrate the story of Jack and Jill!

• Sept 11: FHE Home Football Game @ 7pm
• Sept 18: Picture Day
• Sept 24: 1st Grade Field Trip
• Oct 2: Hawk Walk - watch for more details
• Oct 6: PTO Meeting @ 7pm - OV multipurpose room
• Oct 13: Picture Retake Day
• Oct 13 & 15: Fall Student Growth Conferences

During the first weeks of school, every class at Orchard View created art to send to ArtPrize! This Orchard View student work will be incorporated into a set of giant parade puppets, along with work from young artists across Grand Rapids. The puppets will be featured in the ArtPrize Opening Weekend Parade on September 18th. These colorful, moving works of art are a community project led by the organization AllArtWorks, inspired by the playful creations of Alexander Calder. Ask your child about their ArtPrize drawing, Alexander Calder, and the creativity they have been showing in the art room!

Any families who would like to see these 14-foot tall puppets in action should head downtown for the parade. You may even spot your child’s art!

ArtPrize Opening Weekend Parade

Date: Friday, Sep. 18th

Time: 6:30pm

Location: Rosa Parks Circle in downtown Grand Rapids

I'm so excited to say that KDL's Legendary Readers Challenge starts today! This reading challenge is a 100 day challenge for kids in grades kindergarten to 5th grade. They simply read for 20 minutes or more each day and mark off a feather. Upon completion, participants will get a prize and vinyl sticker of the Griffin, this year's creature. Please use the attached reading log to track your reading. For more information, check out Legendary Readers (Grades K-5) | Kent District Library.

☀️ A Smooth Start to the School Day!

Beginning at 8:35 a.m., our doors will open and students can begin their school day!

🚗 Car Riders & Walkers
Students will enter the building and make one of two choices:

• 🍎 Head to the cafeteria for free breakfast and eat there, OR
• 🎒 Head directly to their classroom.

Students will enter through the north doors closest to the cafeteria and make the same choice:

• 🍎 Head to the cafeteria for free breakfast and eat there, OR

• 🎒 Head directly to their classroom.

A few important reminders:
Once students choose to go to their classroom, they should remain there and will not return to the cafeteria for breakfast. If your child plans to eat breakfast at school, please encourage them to head to the cafeteria as soon as they arrive.

🔔 8:35 a.m. — Entrance Bell & Doors Open
🔔 8:45 a.m. — School Begins/Tardy Bell

Our goal is to create a safe, calm, and efficient start to the day while making sure every student has the opportunity to enjoy breakfast and arrive in class ready to learn!

Hand 2 Hand is a non-profit organization who partners with area churches. Together, they provide meals during the weekend.

The organization recognizes that weekends may be some of the more difficult times for families who rely on school meals.

Scan the QR code to learn more about this organization and to sign up.

Earliest Drop-Off: 8:25am, students wait outside with Staff

(Students should not be dropped off before 8:25)

Doors Open: 8:35 am

School Begins: 8:45 am

School Dismisses: 3:45 pm

Half-Day Dismissal: 11:55 am

Join us Monday, September 14 from 6:30 - 7:30 PM in the cafeteria of Orchard View Elementary to learn more about Cub Scouts. Cub Scouts is open to Kindergarten through 5th grade. Our Join Scouting Night is an opportunity for parents and scouts to discover more about our scouting program and activities.