Marshall E-News

What an exciting week at Marshall! Today, we celebrated SPARK Day! SPARK Day is all about discovering what brings you JOY! Students had the opportunity to think about the things that make them happy, whether it is a hobby, a sport, a special talent, a future career, or something else they are passionate about. The goal is to encourage students to discover what makes them excited to get up each day and find ways to pursue those interests. We want every student to find their SPARK! A HUGE thank-you to Ms. Peter for organizing such a meaningful and fun day for our students and to the volunteers that came and shared their SPARK!

Class on the Court – Wednesday!

We are excited for our ALL-SCHOOL field trip to Miami on Wednesday for Class on the Court! We want everyone to show their school spirit, so students are encouraged to wear black, red, white, or Miami gear!

A few important reminders for the day:

• Building Closure: The building will be closed from 9:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

• Arrival Time: Any student who is not at school by 9:30 a.m. will not be able to attend Class on the Court and will not be permitted to enter the building during the closure.

• Lunch: Students may pack a lunch from home or purchase a sack lunch from school to enjoy when we return from Miami.

We are looking forward to a fun day cheering on the RedHawks and making memories together! As the temperatures begin to drop and cooler weather settles in, please make sure your child is dressed appropriately for the weather and brings a jacket to school each day! As always, thank you for being such an important part of our Marshall family. We appreciate your continued support and partnership. Have a wonderful weekend!

Stephanie Jones

Principal

The Oxford Lions Club Sight Saving Committee is collecting used eyeglasses (including sunglasses), as well as glasses cases! These glasses and cases are donated all over the world to children who are in need. The lenses and frames from the donated glasses are modified to meet individual children's eye needs. Every year, Oxford Lions Club collects and sends 900-plus pairs of glasses to children in need!

Please send any glasses donations to Betsy Beaton (Marshall Elementary School) or Shaunna Tafelski (Board Office) by mid-December.We are happy to swing by and pick up glasses donations or they can be dropped off at Marshall or the Board Office. Thank you for supporting the Oxford Lions Club! :)

Greater Oxford Educational Collaborative

Miami University Athletics & Talawanda Elementary Schools

On Wednesday, November 11, 2026 our students once again have the fantastic opportunity to attend the Miami University Women’s basketball game “Class at the Court” at Millett Hall during the school day. Thanks to the generous support of Miami University and our educational partnership our students will attend the game free of charge.

We will leave school shortly after we take attendance, heading to Millett Hall at 9:30AM, and will return to school after the game. Any student that has NOT arrived at school on 11/11/26 before 9:30AM, will not be able to participate in this activity. Please make note of this.

We will contact the parent of any student that experiences illness or behavior issues and the parent will need to pick their student up at Millett Hall.

Permission slips will be shared with our families the last week in October.

Literacy Focus: Phonological Awareness, Phonemic Awareness and Phonics

Building Strong Foundations for Reading

Phonological and phonemic awareness are important early literacy skills that help children develop the foundation they need to become successful readers and writers.

What is phonological awareness?

Phonological awareness is the ability to hear and work with the sounds in spoken language. Children develop this skill by recognizing rhyming words, clapping out syllables, identifying words that begin or end with the same sound, and playing with sounds in words.

What is phonemic awareness?

Phonemic awareness is a specific part of phonological awareness. It focuses on identifying, hearing, and manipulating individual sounds, called phonemes, in spoken words. For example, children may identify the first sound in the word sun, blend the sounds /c/ /a/ /t/ to say cat, or change a sound to make a new word. These skills help children connect spoken sounds to letters and build the skills needed for reading and spelling.

What is Phonics?

Phonics is the relationship between letters and the sounds they represent. Children learn to connect written letters and letter combinations with sounds to help them read and spell words.

For example, children learn that the letter B represents the /b/ sound, as in ball, and that the letters sh represent the /sh/ sound, as in ship.

Fun Activities Phonemic Awareness Activities to Try at Home

• Rhyming Time: Say a word, such as cat, and ask your child to think of words that rhyme with it, such as hat, bat, or mat.

• Clap the Syllables: Clap the parts of family members’ names or everyday words. For example, ap-ple has two syllables, while ba-na-na has three.

• Sound Detectives: Choose a letter sound and ask your child to find objects around the house that begin with that sound.

• Beginning Sound Game: Ask your child what sound they hear at the beginning of words such as moon, dog, or fish.

• Blend the Sounds: Say individual sounds slowly, such as /m/ /a/ /p/, and encourage your child to put them together to say map.

• Change a Sound: Ask your child to change the first sound in cat from /c/ to /b/. What new word did they make? (Bat!)

Fun Phonics Activities

• Letter of the Day: Choose a letter and practice its sound. Find objects around the house that begin with that sound.

• Sound It Out: Help your child say each sound in a simple word, such as /c/ /a/ /t/, and blend the sounds together to read cat.

• Letter Match: Match uppercase and lowercase letters and practice saying their sounds.

• Build a Word: Use magnetic letters or letter cards to build simple words like sun, dog, and map.

• Read Together: While reading a book, point out familiar letters and words. Encourage your child to identify letters and connect them to their sounds.

Note: Phonological awareness focuses on hearing and playing with sounds in spoken language, while phonics connects those sounds to written letters. Both skills help children develop strong reading and spelling foundations!

Remember: Learning about sounds should be fun! Just a few minutes of playful sound activities each day can help children strengthen their early literacy skills and build confidence as they begin their reading journey.

We are making math fact fluency a building-wide focus at Marshall! We challenge all Marshall families to spend 5–10 minutes each day practicing math facts together.

Student Fees:

Fees have been loaded to PaySchools if you wish to pay online. You can also pay in the office with cash or check.

Lunch Accounts:

As a reminder, you are able to add funds to your student's lunch account through the PaySchools system. If your student's account reaches -$50 it will be rolled into your school fees. Please be mindful and keep your student's account current. You can use PaySchools, send a check or cash to the school office to take care of your student's balance. The link for PaySchools is attached here; PaySchools Central.

Free and Reduced:

If you would like to apply for free or reduced lunches, please reach out to the Marshall office or the Marshall social worker Chrissy Rolfes at rolfesc@talawanda.org. We can help walk you through the online application or help you fill out a paper form in the office. If you qualify for FREE lunch, your fees will also be waived. (EXCEPT for 5th grade Chromebook fee) If you qualify for REDUCED, fees will be reduced by 85% (EXCEPT for 5th grade Chromebook fee) and meals will be FREE.

Dismissal:

Thank you for your help in keeping dismissal safe and smooth for everyone. We ask that when your child is called to your car, you please help them climb in and then pull forward to the upper lot to buckle them into their car seat. Remaining stopped in the dismissal lane to buckle your child slows down the process for all families and, more importantly, it creates an unsafe situation when other cars attempt to go around. Your cooperation makes dismissal safer and quicker for all of our students.

Final Forms:

Remember, if you have any changes to your information (phone number, address, who can pick up your student, etc) throughout the school year, change it in Final Forms! The office is notified of these changes and will update our information. IF you have an address change, you must submit new proof of residency to the office before we will update your address.

Come meet with the Superintendent at the Administrative Offices at 131 W. Chestnut Street Oxford, OH 45056:

November 13, 2026 at 7:30 or 8 AM to share information regarding property taxes, school funding, and Talawanda financials

Bring your coffee and we can share information.

Grades 3-5 - Moving to a Traditional Letter Grading System (A-F)

We are excited to shift our grades 3–5 to a traditional letter grade system (A-F) to provide a more detailed look at your child's overall performance and academic habits. This change aligns our 3rd-5th graders with the expectations they will meet in middle and high school, fostering greater accountability and preparing them for future success.

For families, this transition offers a familiar and intuitive way to track progress. While the numerical scale focused on specific milestones, letter grades allow for a wider range of feedback to distinguish between meeting basic requirements and consistently exceeding them. This system ensures a clearer dialogue between teachers and parents, highlighting exactly where a student excels or may need extra support.

Here is the breakdown of the traditional letter grading system:

A - 90-100%

B - 80-89%

C - 70-79%

D - 60-69%

F - 0-59%

Grades K-2 - Remaining with the Numerical Grading System (1-4)

Grades K–2 will continue using the numerical (1–4) grading system to best support our youngest learners. At this foundational level, education is focused on the progressive development of core skills and meeting specific developmental milestones rather than a cumulative letter grade. The 1–4 scale provides a precise way for teachers to communicate exactly where a student is in their learning journey—from beginning to explore a concept to achieving mastery—ensuring that families have a clear understanding of their child's growth in these critical early years.

As a reminder, here is a breakdown of the numerical scores:

4 - Consistently/Independently Meeting the Standard

3 - Meeting the Standard

2 - Approaching the Standard

1- Not Yet Meeting the Standard

As we continue with our volunteer policy this year, please remember that any adult volunteer who wishes to enter the school building must have a volunteer application on file with the office every school year. After a parent’s second visit to the building, they are required to complete fingerprinting and a background check through the Central Registration Office. Please plan to complete this process at least 3 weeks prior to the event. This allows adequate time for the background check to be completed and for the appropriate information to be provided to the school administrator for planning purposes. Once completed, your background check is valid for 5 years.

Central Registration Office:

Ruth Michael

📞 513-273-3101

We appreciate your understanding and cooperation as we work to keep our students, staff, and school community safe. Public schools have implemented these regulations to comply with state and federal safety requirements regarding volunteers and visitors in schools.

Talawanda School District is pleased to use Peachjar, a digital flyer delivery service, to provide families with information about educational, athletic, cultural, and community opportunities available to students and families.

Using Peachjar helps reduce paper waste, ensures flyers are delivered directly to families electronically, and provides a convenient way to access current community information at any time. Families will receive an email each week.

November

9th: PTG Meeting 6:00 pm

11th: 3rd Grade Veterans Day Concert

13th: Bookmobile

23rd - 27th: NO SCHOOL - THANKSGIVING BREAK

December

10th: 2nd Grade Winter Concert

11th: Bookmobile

21st - 31st: NO SCHOOL - WINTER BREAK

January

1st: NO SCHOOL - WINTER BREAK

4th: NO SCHOOL - TEACHER WORK DAY

5th: NO SCHOOL - DATA DAY

8th: Bookmobile

18th: NO SCHOOL - M.L.K. DAY

February

8th: PTG Meeting 6:00 pm

12th: Bookmobile

15th: NO SCHOOL - PRESIDENT'S DAY

March

8th: PTG Meeting 6:00 pm

9th: Spring Picture Day

12th: Bookmobile

16th: 1st Grade Concert

22nd - 26th: NO SCHOOL - SPRING BREAK

29th: NO SCHOOL - CONFERENCE EXCHANGE DAY

April

21st: 4th Grade Concert

9th: Bookmobile

12th: PTG Meeting 6:00 pm

29th: 5th Grade Concert

May

3rd: NO SCHOOL - DATA DAY

4th: NO SCHOOL - PD DAY

10th: PTG Meeting 6:00 pm

27th: Last Day of School

Community Events & Flyers Page- Click HERE