Principal Newsletter

Our students are doing fantastic as we continue settling into the school year! Across classrooms, hallways, recess, and other settings, students are demonstrating our schoolwide agreements and showing that they are ready to learn. As academics begin to pick up, we are especially proud to see students persevering through challenges, engaging in their learning, and supporting one another.

Learning Is Underway!

Now that routines are becoming familiar, students are diving more deeply into their academic learning. We are seeing students ask questions, tackle challenging tasks, collaborate with peers, and build the habits that will support their growth throughout the year.

This week during FLEX Time, students worked in mixed groups with a variety of staff. This gave students opportunities to connect with classmates they may not normally work with while also helping our adults get to know every student. It was wonderful to watch students step up to new challenges, collaborate, and encourage one another. A huge thank-you to our teachers and staff for creating such positive learning experiences for our students!

It has been such a joy to watch our school come alive these past two weeks. Thank you for trusting us with your children—we are off to a wonderful start!

Having trouble signing into PowerSchool? Please reach out to Wendy for help. We also need all First Day Forms completed in PowerSchool.

Our first field trip is next Wednesday to Hosmer Point! Permission slips are included in the First Day Packet in PowerSchool, so please make sure they are completed before the trip.

Thank you for helping us start the year so strongly!

We are excited to welcome Amber, who will be supporting our students through our Student Assistance Program (SAP) this year through Umbrella. Amber provides a confidential, supportive space for students who may be navigating challenges related to school, friendships, family, emotions, substance use, or other things that can make it harder to be successful at school. Students can connect with Amber on their own, or they may be referred by a parent, teacher, administrator, or other school staff member. Her role is to listen, build relationships, help students develop strategies and skills, and connect students and families with additional resources when needed. We are grateful to have Amber as another caring adult in our school community!

One of our current schoolwide goals is helping students keep their hands and bodies safe and respect one another’s personal space. For the second and third week of school, students will be practicing what appropriate physical interactions look like at school, connecting these expectations to our PACK agreements, and learning strategies to use when they are bored, frustrated, or need a break. We’re also making it fun with a two-week challenge! Classes can earn first in line at lunch and a special treat, and students who demonstrate safe choices will earn some extra fun during advisory.

Families, we’d love your partnership! Middle schoolers are at a developmental stage where friendships, humor, physical play, and peer attention are especially important, while impulse control and recognizing when someone else has had enough are still developing. That means behaviors like grabbing a friend’s hat, playful pushing, or getting into someone’s personal space can happen—even when there is no intent to hurt someone. Our job is to help students learn the difference between playful interaction and behavior that becomes unwanted, unsafe, or disruptive.

Please reinforce with your child the importance of respecting personal space and belongings, noticing others’ signals, and stopping when asked. We aren’t trying to eliminate the fun and playfulness that come with being a middle schooler; we’re helping students build the self-control, awareness, and respect for boundaries that they will need as they grow.

Our salad bar is another great part of lunchtime at ACS! Students have access to a variety of fresh fruits, vegetables, and other options so they can build a meal that works for them. We love seeing students try new foods, make healthy choices, and take ownership of what they put on their plates. A big thank-you to our food service team Robin and Mark, for providing such wonderful options for our students!

Middle schoolers can experience emotions very intensely. A small disappointment can feel enormous in the moment, and when emotions run high, logic and problem-solving may temporarily take a back seat. One of the most helpful things adults can do is stay calm without joining the storm. We can acknowledge the feeling—“I can see that you’re really frustrated”—while still holding the boundary: “We can talk about what happened when you’re ready to do that calmly.”

Our students don’t need us to match their intensity; they need us to lend them our calm. Connection first, problem-solving second.

PE classes are held on Mondays and Wednesdays. Please help students remember to bring or wear securely fastened sneakers, as required by the OCSU Middle School Handbook.

Crocs, sandals, boots, heels, and other footwear not appropriate for physical activity cannot be worn for PE. If a student forgets sneakers, we will do our best to provide a pair to borrow.

Need sneakers? Please reach out! We will do our best to help as we want to make sure footwear is never a barrier to participating in PE.

We have a bottle drive to benefit our 8th grade class trip and our student activities fund. Please drop off donations in a bag and place it in the big red bin towards the far side of the parking lot, by the building. Thank you!

Previously from the Pack...

Week 1 News

Jessica Thomas, Principal
Albany Community School
802-755-6168 | jthomas@ocsu.org