Dear OMS Community,

I hope you are all enjoying the summer break!

There are still a few weeks left of summer, but OMS staff have been hard at work preparing for the start of the new school year. Our administrative assistants have been in the office this summer updating our files, enrolling new students, and assisting with the SPS summer programs taking place at OMS. Our custodians have been hard at work all summer painting our hallways, moving furniture between classrooms, and making sure our building is ready to go for the fall. Our OMS administrative team has been reviewing student data from last school year, creating student schedules, and preparing for the new school year.

We are excited to welcome students back to school on Wednesday, September 4th. As you prepare for the start of the school year, please read Part 1 of our Back to School Edition of the OMS Community Newsletter for important information. Later in August, more back to school information will be provided in Part 2 of our Back to School Edition of the OMS Community Newsletter.

I hope you enjoy the last month of summer!

Best,

Mrs. Katrina Crowley

OMS Principal

Student schedules will be available to view on the Parent Portal on Monday, August 19th. Parents/guardians will receive an email notification when they are available to view. Students will receive a printed schedule in their Period 1 class on the first day of school. If students would like a printed schedule before school begins, they can stop by the OMS office after August 23rd and we can print out their schedule. Summer hours are from 8:00am - 3:00pm.

ALL students will need a lock for their locker.

All bags and backpacks will be required to be placed in lockers during the school day this year. There will be scheduled locker times throughout the school day when students can access their lockers. Students can also access their locker at other times during the day with a pass from their teacher.

Take a look at the pictures below for some examples of types of locks that can work for lockers. Talk to your child to see which type of lock would work best for them. Once you get your lock, your student can already start practicing how to open it so they are prepared for school! All students will be assigned a locker on their first day of school.

Check out the school supply lists by clicking the link below!

Please read the 2024-2025 OMS Student & Parent Handbook. The handbook has important information regarding school policies and procedures, grading, athletics eligibility, code of student conduct, school dress code, and more. View the handbook by clicking the button below or accessing it on the OMS website.

There will be an orientation for incoming 6th grade students on Tuesday, August 20, 2024 at the O'Donnell Middle School (211 Cushing St.). The Grade 6 Orientation will be held by team so students should arrive at OMS for their assigned team's time. Parents/guardians will receive an email with their child's assigned team on Monday, August 19th.

Team 6A 9:00 - 9:45am

Team 6B 10:00 - 10:45am

Team 6C 11:00 - 11:45am

On August 20th, parents/guardians should drop students off at the start of their team's assigned orientation time. Students entering 6th grade will participate in a scavenger hunt to become familiar with the building and receive a hard copy of their schedule (schedules are also available to view on Powerschool). Students will have the opportunity to meet other students on their team, meet members of the OMS staff, and ask questions.

The Grade 6 Orientation is optional, but recommended for students as it can help prepare them for the start of middle school. If your student is not able to come in for orientation, they can receive the hard copy of their schedule on the first day of school. If your Grade 6 student cannot make the Orientation on the 20th and would like to come into the building before the first day of school, please contact the OMS office to schedule a time for your student to come into the building, receive their schedule, and take a tour.

Attention new students in Grades 7 & 8! There will be an orientation for incoming new students in Grades 7 & 8 on Thursday, August 22, 2024 at the O'Donnell Middle School (211 Cushing St.).

Grade 7 9:00 - 9:45am

Grade 8 10:00 - 10:45am

New students will learn about the O'Donnell Middle School and our school community. Students will participate in a scavenger hunt to become familiar with the building and receive a hard copy of their schedule (schedules are also available to view on Powerschool). Students will have the opportunity to meet other new students in their grade level, members of the OMS staff, and ask questions.

We are excited to continue our middle school athletic program this school year! Please join us for an information night on Wednesday, August 28, 2024 at 6pm at the OMS Learning Commons (211 Cushing St.) to find out more about the middle school athletics program, including how to register, what to expect, and eligibility requirements.

Eligibility requirements can be found on Page 12 of the OMS Student & Parent Handbook. Students in grades 7 & 8 who meet eligibility requirements will be able to try-out for any sport. Try-outs will be opened to Grade 6 students if there are not enough students in Grades 7 & 8 to create a team. While incoming 6th graders aren’t eligible for all sports in this program, they will be able to participate in after-school intramural sports.

We will be offering the following fall sports: Cross country, Field Hockey, Boys Soccer, and Girls Soccer.

Students who meet eligibility requirements in Grades 7 & 8 can try-out for any of the sports. Grade 6 students ARE eligible to try-out for Cross Country. Eligibility requirements can be found on Page 12 of the OMS Student & Parent Handbook.

The registration portal for fall sports will open tonight, August 2nd, at 5pm. The deadline to register for the fall season will be September 1st.

Click the button below or use this link to register: https://students.arbitersports.com/stoughton-high-school

As summer winds down, parents/guardians can help prepare your child for the start of the school year by slowly adjusting their sleep routine. During the summer vacation, sleep schedules change and it helps to slowly adjust students' sleep routines to prepare for going back to school.

Parents/guardians can help students start off the year strong by encouraging them to come to school everyday and helping get them to OMS on time. Our school day officially starts at 7:35am, but our building opens as early as 7:00am. If you get to the OMS parking lot at 7:30am, you may run into traffic and your student could be late. We are serving breakfast for free in our Cafe from 7:00-7:30am so drop off your student early so they can get to their first class on time.

Some students might feel anxious about starting the school year or starting middle school. This U.S. News article, "Supporting Your Child's Transition to Middle School" provides information regarding how children developmentally change during their middle school years and shares some strategies for how to support them during this time.

We have partnered with BeInspired Counseling. Take a look at the flyer below for their August workshops for middle school students!

"Where's My Handbook?!" is a SMACast podcast to support parents of kids going through the teen and tween years, particularly with how to support kids in making healthy choices.

There's a number of episodes to check out that provides helpful information for parents/guardians! Below, are a few middle school-specific episodes. OMS Principal Crowley sits down with Stephanie Patton (OASIS) in the first two episodes listed below.

"Where's My Handbook: Middle School: Big Feelings and Big Opportunities"

Bonus Episode: "Where's My Handbook: Middle School: Translating Middle Schoolers, 'Main Characters and NPCs'."

"Where's My Handbook: 'Just Don't Make it Weird' A Conversation Between a Middle School Student and her mom"

Our 2024 Project 351 Ambassador, Tana Bernard, continued her service work this summer with Project 351. Based on Project 351's service hero model, a small group of eighth-grade ambassadors from across the state are assigned to a team named after a Project 351 Service Hero (an inspirational agent of change). Tana and her group are pictured below with Nancy Frates, mother of Pete Frates, at Fenway Park. Pete Frates was an ALS hero and founder of the ALS Ice-Bucket Challenge.

OMS students had fun participating in the various SPS summer camps! Pictured below are some of the OMS students who participated in our ESY, Video Production, and Summer Theater programs.

Here is some important information about our school. Please visit the OMS website for more information, including the most up-to-date school calendar.

Email: k_crowley@stoughtonschools.org
Website: oms.stoughtonschools.org
Location: 211 Cushing Street, Stoughton, MA, USA
Phone: 781-344-7002
Facebook: facebook.com/stoughtonpublicschools
Twitter: @katrinapcrowley