OPR Summer Update

Dear OPR Families,

As the school year closes, the OPR staff and community are bidding farewell to 5th grade teacher, Mrs. Golden, as she begins her retirement. Mrs. Golden began working in the Walpole Public Schools 27 years ago and has consistently demonstrated year after year to be a highly skilled and talented professional who cares deeply about her students and her colleagues. She will be greatly missed by all of us at OPR and we wish her an enjoyable retirement doing her favorite things.

It's been an excellent year of learning at OPR and I hope all of our students and families continue to value learning over the summer along with partaking in the OPR Summer Reading and OPR Summer Math activies provided below. I wish the best to our fifth graders at the new Walpole Middle School next year. Thank you for your support.

On behalf of the teachers and staff at Old Post Road School, have a safe and enjoyable summer!

David N. Barner, Principal
dbarner@walpole.k12.ma.us

Families now have access to their child's Elementary Standard Based Report Cards and Special Education Progress Report (if applicable) in the Aspen Family Portal

The report card communicates student progress toward meeting end-of-the-year learning standards. Teachers assess student performance against these learning standards, which are specific and observable grade-level skills. Our report cards reflect the learning standards as outlined in the current Massachusetts State Frameworks. Teachers assess by measuring individual student performance against the identified concrete learning standards, rather than in relation to the performance of other students.

Please see the attachment for more information.

Summer is here! What a great time to pick a good book and enjoy some reading time at the beach, under a tree, curled up on the couch or on the airplane. Throughout the school year, your children have gained so many important skills. Reading and writing require practice, just like playing a sport or a musical instrument. Research indicates that engaging in reading and writing throughout the summer helps maintain skills.

Here is the WPS Summer Literacy Google Site where students can find new and exciting book titles and share book talks with their friends throughout the summer. There is also a link to a printable book report that they can complete and bring back to school in the Fall. The Walpole Public Library is also having a summer reading kickoff on June 18th from 6-8. We can’t wait to see what the students read this summer!

Rising 6th graders have preselected a book that they are committing to reading this summer. Ask them what title they chose! When they enter WMS in September, they will be meeting with a teacher and other students who read the same book and having a book discussion. Students will receive a grade of pass or fail for reading the book and participating in the discussion. For more information, click HERE.

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!

In order to keep those young mathematicians’ brains active, we have a whole section of our Family Math Site dedicated to activities and games your students 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.

We want our Walpole students to have a wonderful summer, but we don’t want them to lose all the hard work they put in during the school year! We hope you all find time to relax and recharge over the summer while staying active and engaged in your choice of fun learning activities.

Interested in celebrating the start of the school year by purchasing school supplies? Click here to see the OPR Supply Lists by grade level. If you need assistance, please contact the Principal, School Counselors, or School Nurse for confidential support.

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

Walpole Extended Day will be processing registrations for the 2024/25 school year through Community Pass. Families that wish to register for Extended Day programs must first make a Community Pass account using the following link: https://register.communitypass.net/WalpolePublicSchools

Please reach out to Dan Santangelo (dsantangelo@walpole.k12.ma.us) or Evan Storlazzi (estorlazzi@walpole.k12.ma.us) with any questions.

It is hard to believe we will be out of school TODAY! Let your fingers do the shopping and order your back to school supplies NOW! OPR has used 1st Day Supplies for over 4 years and now ships your supplies TO YOUR HOUSE!

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.

The collections resulted in the following:

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

August 2023 - $92.40

September 2023 - $118.80

October 2023 - $90.60

November 2023 - $113.70

December 2023 - $81.30

2023 Calendar Year Total - $1210.60

January 2024 - $85.80

February 2024 - $104.10

March 2024 - $71.70

April 2024 - $83.70

May 2024 - $114.90

June 2024 - $100.50

July 2024 - $100.20

6/8 - 10/19 Volunteers needed for Walpole Farmers Market

Summer 2024 Summer Basketball Camp

Walpole Road Race - September 2, 2024 - register by 8/15

Registration is now open for the 51st Annual Walpole Labor Day Road Race! Don’t miss this wonderful Walpole tradition. Sign-up now for the 5K, 10K, or Youth Mile. All proceeds support the 200+ athletes in the Walpole High School Cross Country / Track & Field Program. 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. See you on Race Day - Monday, September 2nd!

Please contact the Multilingual Learner Family Engagement Center at mlfec@walpole.k12.ma.us or at (508) 660-7257 ext. 5033 for further information or to request an interpreter or child care for the event.

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.

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

Email: dbarner@walpole.k12.ma.us
99 Old Post Road

East Walpole, MA 02032

508-660-7219

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 or tardy, please call the OPR office before school (508-660-7219) and press 1 for the absence line. The automated attendance verification system is in use. Those students marked absent and who have not called in will receive an automated phone call.