Oakview South Newsletter

S - stay safe

O - offer help

A - act responsibly

R - respect everyone

Any time we catch students modeling these expectations, they are given a behavior buck. Behavior bucks go into a drawing at the end of each week for various prizes that students can earn (a new book, lunch with the principal in our reward room, etc.)

I'm also proud to announce that our 5th grade students last year rocked the M-STEP last spring. Oakview had the highest science scores of all the elementary schools in the county. We had the second highest literacy and social studies scores. We also had the highest scores in math that we have ever had, which put us third overall in the county. Oakview beat our rival DeWitt on every single test. In fourth grade, St. Johns as a district had the second highest math and literacy scores in the county (we beat DeWitt again). In third grade, we have some work to do to match the 4th and 5th grade, but I'm sure with some hard work we will see big improvements.

I've had a couple parents ask me about classroom evacuations at Oakview and how often they happen. For the last two years, we have had zero official classroom evacuations. As a matter of fact, I have a hard time remembering when the last time we had one. Our team does a great job stepping in and making it a safe environment for all of our students.

As always, I am excited for us to have another great year at Oakview. I've been very impressed with what I have seen so far. Thank you for all of your support at home and we will continue to strive for this to be the best year ever!

September 21-25 Homecoming Week

October 1st Picture Day

We have had a great few weeks in third grade! Students have been adjusting well to Oakview and learning how to SOAR (stay safe, offer help, act responsibly, and respect everyone). Behavior Bucks are earned when students demonstrate these school rules. The end of the behavior buck is turned into the office and every Friday a name is drawn from each class to earn a prize!

The first few weeks of school are all about building a positive class climate where students feel valued and respected. We are building trust to encourage risk taking in student learning. Students have participated in fun team building and get-to-know-you activities as a way for students to see connections with others and celebrate differences. Each class has built a social contract of words (such as respect, listen, best effort, safe, role model…) of how we are going to treat each other and how we will learn at school.

Students have started taking some assessments this week (i-Ready) and soon teachers will meet with students 1-1 for a reading assessment. We are ready to tackle our normal schedule of learning! In math, students will be learning concepts behind multiplication. Before students start to memorize facts, we want them to understand the meaning of multiplication! In reading, we have been building stamina to read independently for a longer period of time. Students are learning about the routines for reading workshop. In social studies, students had a quick introduction to Michigan geography and will be learning about Michigan history this year (up through statehood).

Fourth graders are getting into the swing of the new school year! We have been enjoying doing some fun activities to get to know each other better and create a learning environment that feels safe to learn from each other, make mistakes, and grow.

Throughout the month of September we will be jumping

into our academic work as well as tackling our beginning of the year testing, which consists of the i-Ready math and reading assessments, and the BAS reading assessment.

In Reading, we will be completing our “launching” unit where we focus on learning the routines of our reading block and building our stamina for independent reading.

In social studies we are jumping right into our civics unit, which begins with a little bit of government review (three branches) and then we learn more about the Constitution and Bill of Rights. We will go over each of the first ten amendments and discuss why they are important. We will also learn about our civic duties and responsibilities.

In Math, we are starting our first unit on arrays and how we can visualize multiplication. Practicing those multiplication facts at home is helpful for everyone as we will be talking about factors that we can multiply to get to a specific number!

In Writing, we are starting our “launch” writing piece that is a free write about the student’s interests to get to know each other more and also see where we are at as writers! These will be presented to the whole class and students receive four compliments and applause. The writing will also be displayed on lockers!

Math

Last Thursday, students officially began switching classes and had the exciting opportunity to meet the other three teachers on our grade-level team.

This week, students are completing activities centered entirely on teamwork and communication. Because students will be working collaboratively in small groups throughout the year, building strong communication skills and learning how to be great team players right now will set them up for an incredible, successful year of math learning.

ELA

We have had a fantastic start to the school year! Currently, we are in the middle of our beginning of the year reading assessments. Our school team will be meeting together soon to carefully analyze the data, evaluate where our 5th graders are starting this year, and make targeted instructional decisions to best support every student's learning and growth.

Science

We will begin looking at graphing and analyzing data for our first unit in science class. Students will learn how to read, create, and use data to drive our thinking in science class. We use the motto “Demand Evidence, Think Critically” throughout the year to help communicate with each other during the school year. We will begin our main units of study around the beginning of October. We will cover Nurse Logs, The Elwha River system, and finally Earth, Moon, and the Sun. I look forward to having a great year talking about science with your child.

Social Studies

It was a great first week of learning/reviewing school and classroom expectations and procedures, as well as getting to know the students. In Social Studies, I enjoy starting class with a “This Day in History” presentation. It shares a few noteworthy events from that day with years sometimes spanning to the first century. Students seem to enjoy the travel back in time. The first unit we are going to have in “Social Studies” is actually a writing unit. I will be teaching/reviewing what high quality, 5th grade writing includes, and then guiding students through the composition of a personal narrative.

Third graders will begin playing ukuleles this year! They will start by learning how to strum on individual strings. Fourth graders will continue working on rhythm reading and learning more about musical concepts such as syncopation and singing rounds. Fifth graders have been working to create a music playlist of their favorite songs. They will continue playing the recorder and will learn to play additional notes and songs.

Oakview artists are busy learning the new routines and processes of the art room while creating personal portfolios to safely house their two-dimensional artwork throughout the school year. As students settle into their creative routines, third and fourth grade artists will begin a project inspired by artist Jeff Koons, with a focus on the Element of Art: Color. Fifth grade artists will start the year with a three-dimensional artwork inspired by the Op Art movement. Through this project, students will explore the Principles of Design, particularly repetition and movement, as they create dynamic and engaging pieces.

School anxiety can show up in different ways—ranging from morning stomach aches to complete refusal to get out of the car. It often masks itself as irritability, acting out, or extreme withdrawal, making it tricky to pinpoint at first. Some tips to help your child overcome school anxiety are:

*Have a consistent morning and evening routine.

*Keep yourself calm and relaxed.

*Have a conversation with the teacher and/or school counselor.

*Have your child bring in one small item from home.

*Teach and role model problem solving skills.

A few calming strategies to work with your child are deep breathing exercises, countdown from 10 to 1, do something active and focus on positive thoughts.

Additional Resources include:

https://childmind.org/article/back-school-anxiety/

https://parentguidance.org

www.worrywisekids.org

• Students should not be dropped off before 7:55 am and walkers should not arrive before that time. We do not have supervision until 7:55 and it is unsafe for them to be unattended.
• Please continue to stick to the designated areas for drop off and pick up. We have noticed some families are dropping off on Clinton Ave. This is a very busy road for the buses and families, so please stick to our designated areas.
• Communicating any change of plans to the office is vital. Please make sure to do so in a timely manner so the office can coordinate with all the parties involved.
• If you decide to park to pick up/drop off your child, make sure to walk with them across the parking lot. We want everyone to remain safe during this busy and chaotic time.
• Please do not pass other cars in the pick up line and be respectful of everyone picking up. The first car may pull up to spot 1 in the pickup line.

Lunch and breakfast will be free again this year! You can find the school menu on the district website.

You may not realize this, but Oakview gets federal funds for being a Title 1 building. This allows us to have extra adults in the building to help service and support more students. For example, two years ago we created a teacher interventionist position to help give extra support to struggling students. To remain a Title 1 building, we need your help. We know that lunch is free this year, but our Title status is dependent on everyone filling out an Education Benefits Form. If you haven't already, please fill out this form. Thank you!!!

If you get a chance, check out the resources we have for families on our Title page.

If you have any feedback or suggestions for Oakview, click the box below. Thank you!

Here is a link to our monthly newsletter from Capturing Kids' Hearts.