Orchard Drive Family Newsletter
March 2023
Important Dates
- February 27 - March 3 = Read Across America Week
- March 2: Spring Picture Day
- March 8: JMS Transition Night for 4th Grade Families; 6:00-7:30 at JMS
- March 9: Parent-Teacher Conferences 4-7 pm
- March 10: End of 3rd Quarter; Candy Bar Fundraiser Ends; 4th Grade Wax Museum 2:50 pm
- March 13: Orchard Mart 8:15-8:45 am
- March 14: Parent-Teacher Conferences 4-7 pm
- March 15: Report cards emailed; Last day to purchase school yearbook (see details below)
- March 17: No School (due to parent-teacher conferences)
- March 22-29: PTO Cheesecake Fundraiser - more details coming soon
- March 24: PTO Bingo/Auction Fundraiser at Orchard; 5:30-8:00 pm
- March 27: Orchard Mart 8:15-8:45 am
- March 28: Kindergarten Concert 6:00 pm; 3rd Grade Concert 7:00 pm
- March 30: 1st Grade Concert 7:00 pm
- March 31: Princess Dance 6:00-8:00 at JMS
- April 5: Cheesecake Fundraiser Pickup 4-6 pm
- April 7-16: No School; Spring Break
- April 17: School Resumes
A Message from the Principals
Hello families!
Spring is upon us and 3rd Quarter is coming to an end -- can you believe it?! Time flies when you are having fun!
Parent-teacher conferences will be on March 9 and 14 from 4-7 pm. Please contact your child's teacher to schedule a conference date/time if you haven't already. We appreciate your partnership as we work to help our students achieve high levels of learning!
The PTO Bingo/Auction fundraiser is coming up on Friday, March 24th from 5:30-8:00 pm. We hope to see you there as we enjoy a night of fun and fellowship while we raise money for Playday and other student incentives. Pre-order packs for Bingo and Pizza are due on Friday, March 3rd. Bingo packs can also be purchased on the night of the event -- see more information in the flyer.
We have many more fun events going on this month -- please see the details in the newsletter below for the many upcoming events and activities that we have going on this month.
As always, please reach out if we can be helpful to you in any way! Thank you for all that you do!
A Message from Nurse Emily
This weather makes me feel like Spring is already here!! I am ready for the flowers and green trees! With spring flowers comes pollen and allergy season. If your child has allergies and takes medication please make sure they are getting it. If they have a fever, vomiting, or diarrhea they must stay home. Your child must be fever free, no vomiting, no diarrhea for at least 24 hours without medication to return.
Although warmer temps are on the way it is still cold in the mornings. Your child needs a coat for recess time. Recess is outside if the temperature is 32 degrees or higher.
I am still in need of gently used pants for boys. Please no jeans. Thank you to those that have already sent in donations. Our students appreciate it.
Thanks for helping keep our school the healthiest it can be!!
Counselor Corner
Hello Orchard Families!
JR2 school counselors are conducting needs assessments throughout the district, and we would love to hear from you! Below you will find a link entitled, "parent survey." This survey is to help us determine if the school counseling program at Orchard Drive Elementary is meeting the needs of our students and to identify areas for improvement.
I appreciate your time in answering these questions and providing this important feedback to help guide our school counseling program here at Orchard Drive.
Parent Survey
Car Rider Dismissal Reminder
Just a friendly reminder that car rider dismissal ends at 4:25 pm. If your child is not picked up by 4:30 pm, they will be sent to our After School Kids Club (ASKC) program for a fee of $10. This will begin on Monday, October 3rd. This will allow your child to participate in engaging activities while they wait for you to arrive and for our staff to be able to leave school on time to see their families. We appreciate your understanding with this matter.
School Cafe Enrollment
We encourage all Jackson R2 Families to complete the online
School Cafe Enrollment. The enrollment takes less than 5 minutes and it is a tremendous help to our district.
THANK YOU to families who have already filled this out! Our students earned an ice cream reward in September due to a high amount of participation with this.
Alternative Meals
Jackson R-2 will begin implementing alternative meals on January 4, 2023 for any child that has a negative balance of -$50.00 or more. Once a child reaches this negative balance they will be served a peanut butter sandwich and a bottle of water. Students will not be singled out however the regular tray will not be an option until the balance is paid. Also, no a la carte items will be available for purchase if a child has a negative balance.
The District will continue to communicate with families regarding their child’s meal balance. Families will receive an automated phone call weekly if your child has a negative balance. Families will also receive a weekly text message with the negative balance and a link to Parent Portal where families can pay their child’s meal balance.
Snacks
Students are allowed to eat snacks during recesses or other designated snack times as outlined by their teacher. Please feel free to send snacks to school with your child if you would like. Thank you!
"Give a Little Love" Coin Drive
Thank you to our students and families for partnering with McDonald’s to raise money for the Ronald McDonald House Charities through a coin drive. Orchard raised $392.49! This money will go back into the community to help with grants for non profit organizations and to the Ronald McDonald House to help families with a child in the hospital. We appreciate your support and generosity! Mrs. Weisbrod’s class earned a McFlurry party from McDonald’s for raising the most money.
Candy Bar Fundraiser
Candy Bar Fundraiser: Sales will run from February 21 - March 10. Students will earn prizes for turning in their permission slip and for the amount of chocolate boxes that they sell. Prizes will be distributed at the culmination of the fundraiser (except the keychains for turning in permission slip). The proceeds from this fundraiser will be used for student materials and incentives.
Payment Details
*Each box of chocolate has 60 candy bars that are sold for $1.00 each. Money for the box of chocolate is due on or before March 10th.
*If your child sells all of their candy bars, additional boxes of chocolate may be checked out. Please see the "additional candy bar request form" that is attached to the first box of chocolate your child receives.
*All chocolate must be paid for before additional chocolate may be checked out.
*Payment for subsequent boxes of chocolate will be due at time of checkout.
Students need to turn in the parent permission slip in order to receive the first box of chocolate to sell. Permission slips can still be turned in if your child would like to participate in the fundraiser! Please see the attached flyer for more information regarding the fundraiser. Please contact Allison Miller (
ammiller@jr2mail.org) if you have any questions. We appreciate your support with this fundraiser!
Read Across America Spirit Week
Read Across America week is February 27 - March 3. We will celebrate with some dress-up spirit days! See the details in the graphic below.
Spring Pictures
Thursday, March 2nd is Spring Picture Day. There is no order form or payment that is due on picture day. There are no re-takes for spring pictures. Please see the attachment for more information about Spring Pictures.
Bingo/Auction Fundraiser
The PTO Bingo/Auction fundraiser will be on Friday, March 24th from 5:30-8:00 pm at Orchard Drive Elementary School. We are so excited for this fun event as we seek to raise money for Playday, student/teacher incentives, and more! Please see the attached flyer for more information, as well as a sign-up sheet to pre-order your Bingo packs and pizza combos! Pre-order forms are due by Friday, March 3rd (the flyer says 3/4, but that is a typo). A hard copy of this flyer has also been sent home with students. For more information about how to get involved or if you have questions about this event, please contact the PTO at
orchardelempto@gmail.com. Thank you!
Spring Concerts
Kindergarten-March 28th @ 6:00
3rd Grade-March 28th @ 7:00
1st Grade-March 30th @ 7:00
Our students are preparing for their Spring Concerts! Please mark your calendars!! More information will be coming home soon!
Princess Dance
The Jackson R-2 Princess Dance will be on March 31st at Jackson Middle School this year!
All Princesses PreK-4th grade and their Prince (Dad, Grandfather, Uncle, Brother, Friend, other) are invited to attend. Tickets are $10/each. All proceeds raise money for the JR2 Power Pack program.
School yearbooks for the 2022-2023 school year can be purchased online
here. The cost is $20 per yearbook. If you are interested in purchasing a yearbook, please place your pre-order by March 15th. The deadline to purchase yearbooks is March 15th. Thank you!
Message from the District
Parent-Teacher Organization
4th Quarter Meeting
The next PTO meeting will occur on Tuesday, April 25th at 6:30 pm in the Orchard Library. We will discuss upcoming events, fundraisers, and committee updates!
For more information about the PTO, please email
orchardelempto@gmail.com. Thank you for your support!
After School Kids Club: Full Day Care
The district offers a Full Day Kids’ Club program that will run at South Elementary from 7:30 am-5:45 pm and is open to currently enrolled preschool through 6th-grade students. This program is designed to provide a day full of fun activities for children whenever school is not in session.
UPCOMING FULL DAY: Friday, March 17, 7:30 am-5:45 pm
* There is a $1 late fee per child, per minute after 5:45 p.m.
DEADLINE TO ENROLL AND PAY for March 17 FDKC is Friday, March 10!
All students must bring a sack lunch and a water bottle. We provide a morning and an afternoon snack. No walk-ins allowed.
You must enroll and pay for your child to attend Full Day Kids’ Club by the deadlines set for each date. The cost is $27 per day, (any additional children are $22 each). ALL enrollment and payments are due before 4:30 p.m. on the designated due date.
To enroll, please click on the link below to the Full Day Kids’ Club tab (if link does not work, please type the link in your browser): https://www.jacksonr2schools.com/parents/kids_club
For any questions, please email Kids’ Club Assistant Cassie Wright, cwright@jr2mail.org or call our office 243-9576. Thank you for trusting us with our children!
Summer School Information
Jackson R-2 is proud to offer a FREE summer school program for students entering kindergarten through fourth grades in the fall of 2023. The program is designed to provide educational enrichment activities that expand upon what was taught during the school year. Our summer school dates will be, May 31-June 22 (No School on June 19), a total of 16 days, for incoming kindergarten through fourth-grade students. Our goal will be to open up summer school at East, South, North, Orchard and West Lane Elementary buildings. Any students that attend Orchard Elementary will attend Orchard Summer School.
We encourage all students to attend for a rewarding experience. Each grade level will have its own special activities! This year our theme is “Wizard Oz”.
Our incoming kindergarten through fourth-grade students will be served breakfast and lunch. Breakfast is $1.75 and lunch is $2.80. Parents may drop students off no earlier than 7:30 in the mornings. Incoming kindergarten through fourth-grade classes attend 8:00 a.m. - 3:10 p.m. the full 16 days for Summer School.
Programs are also available for incoming fifth and sixth-grade students. You may call Jackson Middle School 243-9543 for information.
Summer School Kids’ Club program (Kindergarten-6th grade) will be available for those families that need additional childcare following the summer school day. The fee for SSKC program is $110 and covers the full 16 days of Summer School. Your child’s summer school teacher will walk your child down to the cafeteria every day after summer school. The program ends promptly at 5:45 p.m.
We will have our enrollment forms available sometime during the month of March.
Summer Camp Kids Club Information
If you are interested in additional child care that follows Jackson R-2’s summer school program (May 31-June22), we have a safe, fun-filled summer camp program for your child! Camp Kids’ Club will be hosted at East Elementary, 7:30 a.m.-5:45 p.m. June 26-August 11, 2023. We will be closed July 3-4th. Enrollment forms will be available sometime in March. We will be sending out more information including tuition costs, field trip opportunities and activity calendars through email in the following weeks! We look forward to seeing your child this summer in Camp Kids’ Club!
