Oakleigh Owl News
February 2021
Message from Administration
Happy February! I hope this newsletter finds all you well. Time seems to be flying by and we are now starting 3rd quarter. I would like to thank all of you for your patience as we have navigated recovering from the cyber-attack. Most of the BCPS tools and programs are functional and accessible. BCPS continues work on improving all areas.
I would like to thank all the families who came out to materials distribution on Tuesday, January 26th. It was a pleasure to see you and provide additional supplies to your students.
As you know, BCPS has announced a reopening plan for hybrid learning. We will be communicating information as we receive it. Students will be assigned to cohorts based on their geographic locations and the survey completed by families. If you did not complete the survey, your child will automatically be assigned to distance learning. If you did not complete there will be a form to complete and a process to follow to change from distance learning to face to face.
During the month of February, our staff will be engaging in many activities to honor Black History Month. These activities will include opportunities for rich discussions about history and current events.
As always, thank you for your continued support and patience. We could not get through this difficult time without it.
-Mrs. Metheny
National School Counseling Week
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Technology Support
What is going on in Library?
Hello to Oakleigh families! I hope you all are safe and healthy.
In Library, students in all grade levels in Quarter 1 learned about the various options for reading books online as well as through the public library. Also, in all grades, Quarter 2's focus was Digital Citizenship. Learning how to be safe, respectful, and responsible online is always important, especially when we're currently in a mostly virtual world. For Quarter 3 and 4, the following units will be covered:
Kindergarten - Exploring fiction books, various authors, non-fiction texts, and introduction to research with a pets theme!
1st Grade - Text connections, visualization reading strategy, families and different traditions, and a slam dunk research unit on zoo animals!
2nd Grade - Reading comprehension strategies such as using illustrations, sequencing, and citing evidence; a design challenge with bridges, and cultural traditions all around the world!
3rd Grade - Exploring the concept of "identity", poetry, practice with money (counting, saving, spending), healthy habits, and tall tales!
4th Grade - Closely analyzing elements of great books to create a book promotion, reading strategies for informational texts such as analyzing and synthesizing information, and planning a community service project!
5th Grade - Read and analyze Newbery Medal, Coretta Scott King Award, and Schneider Award winning books; reading historical graphic novels to create their own graphic novel, researching careers in science, and exploring books with themes of facing and overcoming adversity!
If you ever have any questions or wish to reach out to me, please feel free to email me or send me a message on Schoology.
Stay well!
Dorienne Varounis (Mrs. V)
Spotlight on Kindergarten!
Kindergarten has been hard at work the past few months! The kindergarten team is so impressed with how well our students are adjusting to online learning. We are meeting daily and using technology successfully. In kindergarten, we have been working hard at counting, making sets to 10, and writing numbers 0-20. We have been learning how to add and subtract within 5! It is impressive! In reading, we are learning all about the parts of a story and using our awesome listening skills to answer comprehension questions. In phonics, we are learning all of our letters and working hard to heard letter sounds. We are still working on how to sound out words in order to read them. We are writing letters and words in order to complete a sentence. It’s been a busy couple of months! Way to go Kindergarten!