Dear OPR Families,

It's been another excellent year of learning that culminated with our Clap Out celebration for our fifth grade students. Please see below for some important news and information:

Student Report Cards are now viewable to families in the Aspen Family Portal.

On Friday, August 11th at 12:00 noon, all families will be able to log in to the Aspen Family Portal to see the Homeroom Teacher assignment for this school year.

Placement decisions are made after careful consideration of your child’s learning style, receiving teaching styles, instructional groups, social emotional development, parent/guardian input and many other factors. It is a thoughtful process to set the stage for a successful school year. We appreciate, in advance, your understanding of the process of these final class placements.

As always, thank you for your partnership between home and school. We truly appreciate the support.

Enjoy the summer!

David N. Barner, Principal

CONTACT US - Send email to: dbarner@walpole.k12.ma.us

Instagram: OLDPOSTROADSCHOOL_WALPOLE

Twitter: @oprschool

OPR Website: http://walpoleoprs.ss5.sharpschool.com

AUGUST

11 Teacher Assignments to be viewable by families in the Aspen Family Portal at 12:00 noon

30 First Day of School for Grades 1-5

31 Kindergarten Meet the Teacher from 9:30-10:30 AM

31 Kindergarten PAC Popsicle Social on the K Playground from 2:00-2:30

SEPTEMBER

1 No School - Labor Day Weekend

4 No School - Labor Day

5 First Day of School for Kindergarten

7 PAC Ice Cream Social on the Back Playgournd for All Families from 5-6:00 PM

8 Student Picture Day

13 PAC Meeting in the Cafeteria at 7:00 PM (Wednesday Evening)

OPR HOURS

Arrival: 8:15-8:25 AM

Tardy Bell is at 8:25 AM. (Students must be signed in at the office by an adult if tardy.)

Early Release Dismissal: 11:55 (Dismissal begins at 11:49)

Dismissal: 2:55 PM (Dismissal begins at 2:49)

If your child is going to be absent, please call the OPR office. The automated attendance verification system is in use. Those students marked absent and who have not called in will receive an automated phone call.

Fall 2023 - Students in grades 1-12 will report to school on Wednesday, August 30th, and on Tuesday, September 5th, we welcome our Kindergarten students. There will be NO SCHOOL Friday, September 1st, and Monday, September 4th.

2023-2024 school year calendar

Report Cards are now viewable through the Aspen Family Portal. Click the link below to log in.

CLICK HERE to read a document that explains the Standard Based Terminology for Report Card grading.

The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has provided overviews of the curriculum for your child's grade level next year and some ideas to keep skills sharp over the summer months. Click HERE

Reading and writing requires practice, just like playing a sport or a musical instrument. Engaging in reading and writing throughout the summer months helps students of all ages maintain their skills so they feel prepared and confident when entering the next grade in the Fall. Our primary goal is to foster a love of reading and writing in our students and to create life long learners. Encourage your child to access this site throughout the summer through the Student Portal or on our school website under "Student Resources". Here you will find a video from our ELA Curriculum Coordinator, lists and links for book recommendations, and additional suggestions for inspiring literacy this summer!

OPR Summer Reading and Writing Site

For students who are entering grade 6 at Bird Middle School, click here for your SUmmer Reading: BMS Summer Reading Site

Please visit this site to see summer math activities for elementary students.

Summer Math

All students are encouraged to complete 60 minutes of STMath every week. Breaking the 60 minutes into three 20-minute or four 15-minute blocks of time may be easier to manage.

In order to keep those young mathematicians’ brains active, we have a whole section of the above website dedicated to activities and games your child can access to keep their minds engaged and math skills sharp. While we do not require students to complete any specific task, we do encourage them to engage their mathematical brain for 60-90 minutes a week on activities of their choice. If you scroll to the bottom of the web page, there are also printable packets for each grade level if that is what your child enjoys.

Is Summer Slide Real?

Unfortunately yes; research has shown that students can lose up to 2 months of reading skills and 2 ½ months of math skills over one summer depending on their grade level. The good news is that there are easy and fun ways to prevent this loss of learning and maintain or even make gains over the summer.

The most important thing to do is keep your children active and thinking over the summer. Preventing summer slide does not equate with giving your children worksheets to do each week. Instead, encourage them to play outside, play board games, participate in imaginative play, and read for pleasure!

If you are planning on your child riding the bus next year, please click HERE for information and to download the application.

Registration for the 2021-2022 Walpole Schools Extended Day Program is now open! The Extended Day Program provides care in the hours both before and after school at each of our 4 elementary schools. Our program allows families to drop off at school as early as 7:00am and pick up as late as 6:00pm. Families are able to select a schedule to match their needs.

For more information, and to register for the Extended Day Program, please follow the links below.

• Walpole Schools Extended Day 2021-2022 Registration
• Walpole Extended Day Home Page

Please do not hesitate to reach out to Devin Clifford (dclifford@walpole.k12.ma.us or 508-660-7361) directly with any Extended Day questions.

Please visit this site to see the recommended school supply lists for grades 1 through 5.

https://sites.google.com/walpole.k12.ma.us/opr-supply-list/home

Kindergarten students do not need to bring any supplies.

For all students, K-5, if you are purchasing a backpack, please make sure it will fit your child's Chromebook in addition to a lunch/snack bag and other school supplies.

If you find any OPR library books over the summer, we'd appreciate you dropping them off at OPR. We have a blue drop-off box outside the front door.

All OPR books will have a barcode on the back and are stamped on the inside with “Old Post Road Media Center”

Spring has Sprung (as have spring allergies!)

• If your child has started with symptoms of seasonal allergies now is the time to start them on an ANTIHISTAMINE (i.e Zyrtec (or generic), Allegra (or generic)). Please check in with your pediatrician about the best antihistamine for your child to help alleviate their symptoms.

• This article from Children’s Hospital of Pennsylvania (CHOP) is a great source of information on seasonal allergies and the effects they can have on your child: Seasonal Allergies: Keeping Symptoms in Check | Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

Enjoy the great outdoors, but don't forget about the threat of ticks!

• Ticks begin to hatch as soon as the ground thaws. The early spring nymphal deer tick can be as small as a millimeter. Check your child for ticks each night before bed. Look everywhere; ticks love warm dark places like skin folds and the scalp.

• Remove a tick by grasping it firmly with tweezers as close to the skin as possible and pulling it straight out. To transmit Lyme disease, a tick must be attached for more than 36 hours.

• Please read this article regarding the most recent guidelines from Boston Children’s Hospital on protecting your child from ticks and Lyme disease:

Protecting your child from ticks and Lyme disease

Bonnie Kowalsky, M.ed. BSN RN

OPR School Nurse

99 Old Post Road

East Walpole, MA 02032

phone: 508-660-7219 ext 5804

fax: 866.809.6567

Here is a link to the WPS Health Services website. On this site you can find links to forms (i.e. medication administration, over the counter medication consent forms), medication policies, and information regarding illnesses, concussions and injuries.

OPR PAC WEBSITE

OPR PAC Website Link

Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OPR.PAC

please add: Follow us on Instagram: https://instagram.com/oprpacwalpole

Email with questions: oprpacwalpole@gmail.com

It is hard to believe we will be out of school in 2 WEEKS! Let your fingers do the shopping and order your back to school supplies NOW! OPR has used 1st Day Supplies for over 3 years and now ships your supplies TO YOUR HOUSE!

Click the picture below to learn more.

https://stopandshop.com/my-account/#/rewards-and-savings

From the link - log in or create an account. Go to your account in the upper right hand corner. Select Rewards & Savings. Make sure one of the two school spots is Old Post Road!

Download the App for BoxTops for Education and scan receipt within 14 days of purchase. Assign Credit by selecting the Star and entering the Teacher’s Last name before you hit submit.

https://mabelslabels.com/en_US/fundraising/support/

Starting to lose those water bottles? Put a label on it! Please navigate to Support a Fundraiser and select Old Post Road Parent Advisory Committee.

Massachusetts no longer allows clothing to be disposed of in the trash. Clothing must be donated or recycled. RECYCLE your clothing and textiles in the OPR Collection Bin and OPR receives money.

Thank you for donating your textiles in the Bay State Collection Bin in the OPR parking lot. The collections resulted in the following:

January 2022 - $67.00

February 2022 - $58.75

March 2022 - $43.75

April 2022 - $70.50

May 2022 - $77.25

June 2022 - $78.50

July 2022 - $69.00

August 2022 - $72.50

September 2022 - 103.25

October 2022 - $102.00

November 2022 - $84.00

December 2022 - $81.00

2022 Calendar Year Total - $907.50

January 2023 - $102.00

February 2023 - $83.25

March 2023 - $95.50

April 2023 - $93.00

May 2023 - $88.20

June 2023 - $126.90

July 2023 - $100.20

The Walpole Public Schools website has a link call the Virtual Backpack that is a great place to look for postings about community events and programs.

Please visit the link below often to see what is currently happening in our community.

https://www.walpole.k12.ma.us/for_parents/virtual_backpack

The 2023 Walpole Farmers Market opens Saturday, June 10. Market runs every Saturday thru October 21, from 9am-1pm, at Spring Brook Park on East Street/Route 27, downtown Walpole. Plenty of free parking in the public parking lot. We once again have our 3 area farmers with fresh produce and products. We are thrilled to have our Walpole Elementary School Gardens joining us again. And the Norfolk Aggie Abundance Gardens will also be coming some weeks. In addition, many of our regular vendors will be there as well as some new ones. We will have baked goods, crafters, artisans, lots of specialty items, our Wal-

pole community table with info on all things around and about town, and entertainment including music, games, and crafting.

We are family friendly, and well behaved leashed dogs are welcome. We run rain or shine, unless there is thunder and lightning. Contact us for more information at farmersmarketwalpolema@gmail.com.

Registration is now open! Don’t miss this historic event! Sign-up now for the 5K, 10K, or highly-popular Youth Mile. All proceeds support the 200+ athletes in the Walpole High School Cross Country and Track & Field programs. Each race participant will receive a finisher’s medal. If you register before August 15th, you’ll also receive a free race t-shirt! Can’t join us live? No problem. We have virtual editions for both the 5K and 10K races. For additional information and to register online, please visit www.WalpoleRoadRace.org.

Thank you for your support. See you on RACE DAY!

Please note the following contact information for Walpole’s Special Education Parent Advisory Council (SEPAC). Co-Chairs are Sue Pace and Deborah Mulroy. The SEPAC can be reached by email at walpolesepac@gmail.com. Follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/walpolespedpac. Notices of future events can be found in this Weekly Update as they are scheduled.

Are you looking to receive the OPR Weekly Update at another email address? To add another email address, please click on this link and follow the steps. Ths link will also allow you to unsubscribe an email.

https://lists.walpole.k12.ma.us/mailman/listinfo/oprnews

OPR Mission Statement

The Old Post Road School community educates all students to excel and become productive citizens.

OPR Vision

OPR students will be motivated to learn in a supportive and safe environment. The faculty will foster self-confidence in the students and encourage them to make positive choices. Students will learn to accept responsibility for their behavior and will mature into responsible citizens and lifelong learners. All students will appreciate that they are part of a diverse, global society.

Instagram: OLDPOSTROADSCHOOL_WALPOLE

Twitter: @oprschool

OPR Website: http://walpoleoprs.ss5.sharpschool.com

Email: dbarner@walpole.k12.ma.us
Website: http://walpoleoprs.ss5.sharpschool.com
Location: 99 Old Post Road, East Walpole, MA, USA
Phone: 508-660-7219