Orchard Primary

Thank you to everyone who came for parent/teacher conferences! We had an excellent turn-out and I know our teachers enjoyed seeing all of their students' families, including discussing and sharing your child's strengths with you and discussing goals together.

Please continue reading for more updates from Orchard Primary as well as Almont Community student and family opportunities.

Kindly, Mrs. Tanya Phillips, OP Principal

tphillips@almontschools.org

Nov. 25-27: Thanksgiving Break

Dec. 21-Jan. 3: Christmas Break

Your input matters to us! We want to know how we can best serve our students and their families. We appreciate you taking a moment to complete this OP Parent Survey above. Thank you!

🐶The Watch D.O.G.S. (Dads of Great Students) program is a wonderful volunteer program that brings dads, grandpas, and male family figures into the schools! Students see male role models who value school and volunteers get to spend time in our schools working with kids, helping with arrival and dismissal, playing on the playground, helping out at lunch, and just serving as a positive presence in our schools - it's a win-win-win program!

👓You can find more information about the Watch D.O.G.S. program by reading this document or visiting the Watch D.O.G.S. website.

Exciting News: The Positivity Project Continues!

We are thrilled to continue The Positivity Project (P2) across our school this week! P2 is dedicated to helping our students build strong relationships and recognize the good in themselves and others by exploring 24 character strengths.

• This Week's Focus: Open-Mindedness Students will explore what it means to try new things, see things in a new way and learn so many interesting things.

• Next Week's Focus: Other People Mindset – Being present and giving others my attention We will be working on our communication skills. When students are with other people, they look at them and listen to their words.

Resources for Families:

• General P2 Overview: To learn more about the program and find conversation starters to use at home, check out P2 for Families.

• This Week's Family Letter (Open-Mindedness): Read our Weekly Family Letter - Open Mindedness to learn more about how we are practicing curiosity and how you can support it at home.

• Next Week's Family Letter (Other People Mindset): Read our Weekly Family Letter - Other People Mindset to preview how we will practice teamwork and working together as a group.

You can support your child at home by asking them what they're learning about being open-minded and other people mindset! Thank you for partnering with us to build a supportive, positive school community.

Some of our OP recess equipment and resources have been well loved and played with, and could use some TLC and upgrades. If you would like to help provide some new fun recess resources for our students, please click the link above and to consider donating from our OP Recess Amazon Wish List. If you donate using this link, it will be delivered right to our school. If you choose to order and donate, when checking out, please click the "gift" check-box and type in the box who it is from, so we will know who to properly thank! Thank you for your consideration and support!

The PTA has a lot of fun things happening and more coming soon!

Spooky Grams were a HUGE success again this year!! We were able to raise over $1,000 to put towards teacher appreciation gifts, staff meals, and more!!
Thank you to all the families who participated!!

Our fundraiser blanket sale runs through Monday November 9th! If your student did not bring home an order form, you can order online here: https://op-almont-pta.givebacks.com/shop/items/59f9f321ca10

Please let us know if your blanket order is meant to be a Christmas present so we can plan accordingly for delivery.

**SANTA SHOP**

Santa Shop is just around the corner!!! More details and information will be sent out as we get closer and closer but as a reminder, each item is $2 and Young 5's through 3rd grade students will get to shop for 10 people while preschool will shop for up to 5 people. Forms and envelopes will go home after Thanksgiving break.

If you would like to volunteer to help with Santa Shop, please see the sign up link below:

https://signup.com/go/wYScNOx

ALL VOLUNTEERS MUST HAVE A BACKGROUND CHECK ON FILE BY WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 2ND. Please leave younger children at home. ONLY the adult should attend.

We will not have a meeting for the month of December due to all of the holiday craziness!
Our next meeting is tentatively slated for Monday January 4th at 4p. **Date may change**

Don't forget to sign up for your PTA membership and Kroger Rewards: Kroger Community Rewards

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please email us at almontop.pta@gmail.com and we post all updates on Class Dojo and our Facebook page!

Director: Ms. Kristi Ladzinski

kladzinski@almontschools.org

Phone: 810-278-2275

(810) 798-7019

Office Secretaries:

Mrs. Jacklyn Niedermaier, jniedermaier@almontschools.org

Mrs. Christina Couture, ccouture@almontschools.org

READY TO LEARN
ALWAYS BE SAFE
DO THE RIGHT THING

For the safety of our students, staff, and entire school community—especially during our busy arrival and dismissal times—we kindly ask all families to follow these important safety reminders:

🏫 Entering the Building

• All adults entering the building must use the front entrance and sign in at the office.
• This helps us maintain a safe and secure environment and allows us to know who is in our building at all times.

🚌 Bus Loop

• Please do not park or drive in the bus loop during arrival or dismissal. This area needs to remain clear for our buses and students.

🚗 Drop-Off/Kiss & Go Lane

• Please do not park along the sidewalk or in the designated drop-off lanes.
• These areas are intended for a quick “kiss and go” drop-off. Please wish them a great day and say your good-byes, assist your child out of the vehicle if needed, and then continue moving forward so we can keep traffic flowing safely and efficiently.
• If your child needs additional time or assistance getting ready to enter the building, please park in a designated parking space.

🅿️ Parking

• When possible, please avoid parking on the grass. We are working on some parking adjustments in an effort to provide additional parking space and improve traffic flow.

🐾 Pets

• For the safety and comfort of all students and families, pets are not permitted on school property during arrival or dismissal, unless specifically approved by the principal for a school activity or special circumstance.

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Student Supervision
During these busy, high-traffic times, we ask that parents/guardians provide close and active supervision of their children and keep children close by at all times.

For everyone's safety, please help us ensure that children:

• Do not climb the trees.
• Do not play football, soccer, or other games near traffic and high-traffic pedestrian areas.
• Stay out of the peastone along the perimeter of the building.
• Do not throw, kick, or move pea stone onto the grass, sidewalks, or other areas where it could create a safety concern.

We appreciate everyone's help in keeping arrival and dismissal safe, calm, and efficient for our students, families, and staff. Thank you for your patience, cooperation, and partnership as we work together to make Orchard Primary a safe and welcoming place for everyone! ❤️