OPR Weekly Update
May 10, 2024
Dear OPR Families,
It's definitely a busy and productive time of the year at OPR. Students in grades 3, 4, and 5 are finishing up MCAS while all grade levels are looking forward to special events, concerts, classroom presentations, field trips and more. Many of our upcoming events provide opportunities for families to join us. On Friday, May 17th we are looking forward to bringing back a grade 4 tradition from pre-Covid, the Grade 4 VIP Day! Students have invited grandparents or other senior friends or relatives to learn about OPR and grade 4. Friday is also the Student Council's Spirit Day: Dress Like a Teacher Day - Teachers Dress Like Students Day!
Reminder: Friday, May 17th is an early release.
Please watch this week's OPR Video News: Click here to watch the OPR Video News.
Have a great weekend and to those who celebrate, Happy Mother's Day!
David N. Barner, Principal
dbarner@walpole.k12.ma.us
MAY
11 Walpole Day
14 Grade 3 Field Trip to Lego Discovery Center
15 PAC sponsored school assembly: Mark Rothstein's World of Jump Rope
15 Incoming Kindergarten Orientation at 6:30 PM
16 PAC sponsored High Touch High Tech Grade 3 Presentation: Friction Gives Me Traction
16 PAC sponsored Grade 4 Presentation: Southwick's Traveling Zoo Program
17 Early Release; Dismissal is at 11:55 AM (beginning at 11:49)
17 Student Council Spirit Day: Students Dress Like Teachers and Teacher Dress Like Students
17 Grade 4 VIP Event - Grade 4 Students' Grandparents will be invited. More to come!
18 PAC Parents Night Out
21 Kindergarten Concert followed by Kindergarten Curriculum Walk, 9:00 - Families are invited!
21 Grade 1 Concert at 9:45 - Families are invited!
22 Senior Walk: Walpole High Seniors who were OPR Students visit OPR! 8:45
23 Grade 2 Field Trip to Southwick's Zoo
23 Incoming Kindergarten Student Screening by Appointment
23 Grade 4 Concert at 9:00 - Families are invited!
23 Grade 5 Concert at 9:45 - Families are invited!
24 Grade 2 Concert at 9:00 - Families are invited!
24 Grade 3 Concert at 9:45 - Families are invited!
27 No School - Memorial Day
29 Grade 5 Math Day in Bird Park
JUNE
1 Hot Hoppers travel to Keene, NH
3 Grade 5 Field Trip to Museum of Fine Arts
4 Grade 5 All School Field Day
6 Grade 5 Students Tour Incoming Kindergarten Families
7 PAC Meeting, STEM Lab and Virtual at 7:00 PM
7 OPR Field Day (Rain Date 6/10)
13 Grade 5 Clap Out at 8:45 - Families are invited!
13 Day 180 - Last Day of School - Early Release at 11:55 (Starting at 11:49)
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.
The WPS Summer Learning Program enrollment form is now open to families. The form in the link below is to enroll your current K-5 student(s) in the program. Please note: you will need to complete a separate form for each child you are enrolling. Be sure to pay attention when entering your student’s grade level and school. All enrollment forms must be completed by Tuesday, May 29th. Due to high demand and limited staffing, some grades and sessions may be limited on a first come first serve basis. As always, if there are any questions please do not hesitate to contact us by using the email provided below.
2024 WPS Summer Learning Program Enrollment Form
Enrollment Forms in other languages are below.
Thank you,
Jill Masterson,WPS Summer Learning Program Coordinator
summerlearning@walpole.k12.ma.us
2024 WPS Summer Learning Program Enrollment Form (Arabic)
2024 WPS Summer Learning Program Enrollment Form (Mandarin)
2024 WPS Summer Learning Program Enrollment Form (Creole-Haitian)
2024 WPS Summer Learning Program Enrollment Form (Nepali)
2024 WPS Summer Learning Program Enrollment Form (Portuguese)
2024 WPS Summer Learning Program Enrollment Form (Russian)
2024 WPS Summer Learning Program Enrollment Form (Chinese)
2024 WPS Summer Learning Program Enrollment Form (Spanish)
2024 WPS Summer Learning Program Enrollment Form (Ukrainian)
English/Language Arts Curriculum Review Input Needed
As part of our curriculum review process, Walpole Public Schools is actively evaluating our current and prospective K-5 Literacy Curriculum programs. Part of this process is gathering feedback from families about our current K-5 Literacy curriculum and instruction. Please take a few moments to complete this form to provide us with your insight as part of our curriculum review process. The form will close on May 10th.
Digital Learning with Mrs. Milnamow
With the end of the school year approaching, we are pulling out all of our digital skills and putting them to great use! Students are beginning to reflect on their year of learning, and are using various programs to demonstrate how much they have grown.
Kindergarten students have been making videos on Flip Video of themselves reading, using Adobe Express to explain how they help our Earth, and learning about inserting images in Book Creator for their informational animal writing. First grade is in full swing preparing for their musical, and they continue to engage with many digital programs to enhance their learning.Grade two has been super busy with finding creative ways to showcase their bio poems and narrative writings. Book Creator, Google Docs, and Adobe Express have all been used as valuable tools to publish their work in creative, eye-catching ways.
Third graders are always working hard on their digital programs. One class created Canva slides for their end of the year books. Grade 4 is busy working on state research projects and will be including a digital component to their presentation. Grade 5 completed their Industrial Revolution projects. One class was able to choose from a list of ways to demonstrate their learning after reading the book Holes. Some groups even decided to make newscasts using the greenscreen and a program called DoInk. They learned to import backgrounds, edit videos, and fine tune their presentations.
We are working on some lessons to help students develop excitement and responsibility when it comes to using AI in the classroom. With this new technology changing every minute, it is important that we model and teach our children to be respectful users of AI and to be clear that AI generated work cannot be considered as your own work. This is such an innovative period of change and improvement in how we work, that it will take time and effort to be sure our students are comfortable and responsible with these powerful tools.
STEM with Mrs. Morris
In STEM this past month each grade level has been focusing time on block coding through the Scratch platform. Kindergarten through second graders use Scratch Jr., while the upper grades use Scratch.
Kindergarten students learned how to program a butterfly on Scratch Jr. to fly across the page. They learned that different characters called “sprites” can have more than one code happening at a time. This is how they were able to achieve the illusion that the butterfly was fluttering.
First and second graders used ScratchJr. to choose a habitat and created a program that showed a predator and a prey that would live in that habitat.
Third graders began a Scratch project about their favorite book, TV show, movie, or video game. They are doing a great job using the skills they had learned on Scratch Jr. and applying them to Scratch.
Fourth graders are creating a Scratch project about their favorite person. Some students are choosing singers, athletes, and actors while others are choosing people closer to them such as their family or teachers.
Fifth graders have started their Scratch project on a choice of anything that is their favorite. It could be something similar to what the third and fourth graders are doing or something different like their favorite food, sport, vacation, or animal.
The third, fourth, and fifth graders also spent time this past month learning about Makey Makey and how to create a circuit and conductive keys to control their Chromebooks.
News from the Nurse
One of the most common spring health issues is SEASONAL ALLERGIES.
Children can have allergies just as severely as an adult and can develop them at ANY TIME.
Up to 40 percent of children in the United States suffer from seasonal allergies, according to Parents.com.
Look out for common symptoms which include repetitive sneezing, heavy breathing, runny nose, and itchy eyes, ears and throat.
Fever is not associated with allergies, so if your child is running a high temperature, she is likely sick versus experiencing a seasonal allergy.
Please talk with your child’s pediatrician for the best allergy treatment.
Enjoy the great outdoors, but don't forget about the threat of ticks.
While it is a good idea to take preventive measures against ticks year-round, be extra cautious in warmer months (April-September) when ticks are most active.
Ticks can carry several diseases, including Lyme disease.
Wearing tick-repellent clothing, tucking long pants into socks, having long sleeves, using insect repellent, and staying to the center of paths, is the best way for people to prevent tick bites when they venture outdoors.
An estimated three quarters of all Lyme disease cases are acquired from ticks picked up during activities around the home. Children aged 2 to 13 are particularly at risk.
For detailed information about tick prevention and control, see Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Avoiding Ticks.
The Health Office would greatly appreciate donations of gently used clothing, sizes 8-10, 11-12 both genders, as our supplies are running low. If your child may need a change of clothes during the school day, please pack some in their backpack in case of emergencies! Thank you so much!
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.
Mrs. Kowalsky
99 Old Post Road
East Walpole, MA 02032
phone: 508-660-7219 ext 5804
fax: 866.809.6567
PAC NEWS
Please join us for the OPR PAC Meeting on Wednesday, June 5th at 7:00 PM in the OPR STEM LAB or virtually via ZOOM: Link to be shared closer to the meeting date.
Who loves OPR? We do! Sign up here to volunteer to coordinate one of our great events or fundraisers this year. PAC Coordinator Sign up:
https://m.signupgenius.com/#!/showSignUp/9040e49a4aa2ba2fb6-oprpac1
mabel's labels
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.
Box Tops
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.
PAC Socal Media / Contact Info.
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
OPR Textile Bin Donations
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
Walpole Road Race
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!
Multilingual Learner PAC (MLPAC) Meeting
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.
WPS Special Education Parent Advisory Council (SEPAC) MEETING
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.
About Us
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
Email: dbarner@walpole.k12.ma.us
99 Old Post Road
East Walpole, MA 02032
508-660-7219
