September / October Dates To Remember
September 19 - Picture Day (4K, 5K, Grades 1-2)
September 20 - Picture Day (Grade 3-5)
September 25-29 - Homecoming Week
September 28 - Fall Fundraiser Begins (through October 13)
October 3 - Partner In Education Meeting at 6: 00 PM (Library)
October 9 - Professional Development Day (No School)
October 10-13 - Scholastic Book Fair
October 11 - Flu Shot Vaccination Clinic
October 13 - Fall Fundraiser Ends
October 19 - 4K - No morning or afternoon classes (4K Parent Teacher Conferences from 8:00 AM - 7:00 PM)
October 19 - 4K thru Grade 5 Parent Teacher Conferences (3:30 PM - 7:00 PM)
October 24 - 4K thru Grade 5 Parent Teacher Conferences (3:30 PM - 7:00 PM)
October 27 - No School Vacation Day
PAWS Program
Our Panther PAWS program at Oconto Falls Elementary establishes positive and consistent expectations for all students, staff, families and the community. Common expectations are taught to students for a variety of locations that include the bathroom, bus, cafeteria, classroom, hallway, and playground. By teaching students how to meet these expectations we provide them with the necessary tools and resources to demonstrate growth in their character and become valued and contributing members of the school community. This creates a healthy and positive school culture where all students feel a sense of belonging to foster social and academic growth. School expectations for students that are reinforced daily include:
P - Practice responsibility
A - Act respectful
W - Willing to learn
S - Stay safe
Monthly Positive Focused Behaviors
Each month at Oconto Falls Elementary School there will be a focused behavior. When a student demonstrates the behavior they will be nominated by their teachers/staff members with a positive office referral and they will receive a student certificate and incentive at the end of the month (they are listed below). They will also have have their picture taken with PAWS, our school mascot. Listed below is the focus behavior for each month:
September - Responsibility
October - Kindness
November - Citizenship
December - Self Control
January - Teamwork
February - Honesty
March - Manners
April - Acceptance
May - All the focus traits
Recess Dress Guidelines
Students should wear comfortable clothing that is appropriate for our Wisconsin weather. Students are required to go outside for recess unless the temperature or wind chill is below zero or it is raining. Therefore, it is important that students are dressed appropriately, especially when the weather is cold or damp. The following temperature guidelines have been developed to help with the selection of clothes. Parents are encouraged to direct their children to dress warmer than the temperature ranges indicated if they feel it is necessary. However, given the length of our recesses (15 or 20 minutes) and the active nature of play by most children, these guidelines should be appropriate for most.
Over 60 degrees - Short sleeved shirts and shorts are fine.
50 – 59 degrees - Long sleeved shirt.
40 – 49 degrees - Lighter jacket. If in the upper range, then a heavy hooded sweatshirt is fine.
Under 40 degrees - Winter jacket, hat or headband, mittens or gloves. 5K – Grade 3 students are expected to wear snow pants outside if parents sent them to school with the child and the temperatures warrant their wear. Students in Grades 4-5 may choose to wear/not wear snow pants on the blacktop area.
Snow conditions - When snow is present, snow pants and boots must be worn to play off the blacktop area. When the ground is sufficiently dry such that if students step off the blacktop area they will not track mud into the school and classrooms, then boots will not be required.
Grade 4 and Grade 5 students often prefer not to wear boots at recess. When the asphalt is dry, this is not a problem. However, occasionally the asphalt area on the playground is snow covered or covered with slush (sometimes this happens during the school day). For that reason, we recommend that all students have a pair of boots available at school to wear during recess as needed.
Please note that these are approximate guidelines, not absolutes. If the temperatures are close to the next range, supervisors will use their discretion if they feel some modification is OK. If other conditions are present, such as heavy wind or a very light mist (one not hard enough to call for inside recess), then warmer dress will be called for.
It is highly recommended that each student have a heavy sweatshirt, sweater, or light jacket at school each day to allow for variations in temperature throughout the day.
Student Safety / Drop off and Pick-up Procedures
ID checks: between 7:45 a.m. and 3:20 p.m., all adults who are visiting or volunteering at school or who are picking up a student will be asked to show a photo ID.
Rationale:
We want to make sure that children are released only to adults who are authorized to pick them up.
We are a relatively large school, and there are several different staff members who could potentially be monitoring student sign outs.
Asking all adults for an ID, regardless of their familiarity with staff, takes the awkwardness out of asking others who may be less familiar to staff. We simply ask everyone.
Most adults carry an ID with them anyway, and pulling it out of one’s purse or wallet requires very little effort.
This is a common practice in many other schools, and we feel that it is a simple and reasonable expectation.
If you happen to forget your ID, we will work to verify your identity through different means. This may be very quick (ex. a staff member recognizes you) or it may take more time (ex. a new visitor that is unfamiliar to staff). If we are unable to verify an identity, we will not provide access to the school or students.
Beginning of the day arrival: from 7:50-8:05 a.m., 4K - Grade 2 student drop off will take place at the rear of school and Grades 3-5 student drop off will be outside the Grade 4 and Grade 5 door entrances. Procedure – student drop offs:
Incoming vehicles must enter the school grounds from the north (on hill) and exit to the south (Maria Volk Drive). This traffic pattern applies at all times of the day when entering and leaving the school.
4K through Grade 2 Students
Enter through the cafeteria doors in the rear of the school. Follow the arrows on the playground to avoid the steeper slope in the middle.
A staff member will be stationed outside the cafeteria entrance. Do not drop off students in the rear of school before 7:50 a.m. or after 8:05 a.m. when there is not a supervisor present.
Wait until you approach the cafeteria doors before dropping off children. Be aware of other vehicles/children.
If you would like to sign into the building, park in the visitor parking in the front of the school and enter through the main entrance (no signs-ins through the cafeteria).
Grade 3 through Grade 5 Students
The drop off zone is between the Grade 4 and Grade 5 entrances. This is a quick drop off area – 30 seconds or less (use visitor parking if you need to sign in).
Always pull alongside the curb to the left when dropping off students (never drop off from the right lane).
Pull up as far as possible in the zone when dropping off so that traffic does not back up.
4th and 5th grade students enter through their respective entrance doors (3rd grade may enter through either of these entrances).
Parking/signing in: please make sure to only use designated areas for parking (visitor spaces or staff lot). Thank you for helping us keep the traffic flow organized and safe.
End of the day dismissal: after 3:05 p.m., all student pick-ups will take place in the cafeteria. Students with permission to walk or bike home will report to the gym until after the buses have left.
Rationale:
Given that most students are exiting the school through the front between 3:10-3:20 p.m., we need to have a good system of monitoring and accountability for students who do not take the bus (walkers, bikers, and students being picked up). The easiest way to accomplish this is to have each group report to a different area at the end of the day.
Procedure – student pick-ups:
If you will be picking up your child from school, it is important that you provide timely notice. If we have not heard from you, we will send the student on the bus. No exceptions.
If at all possible, please send a written note with your child in the morning – that is the best way to ensure that the message will be received.
If the request for pick up is on a permanent basis, we will make a “pick up tag”, similar to a bus tag, that the child will affix to his/her backpack.
If you do need to make a phone call with the pickup request, please do so no later than 2:00 p.m.
Email is usually not the best way to communicate these pickup requests – if the teacher is absent, the message will not be received.
Obviously emergencies may occasionally come up that will require a call past 2:00 p.m. – we understand that. However, please keep in mind that non-essential, last minute requests for transportation changes at the end of the day, made for reasons of convenience rather than necessity, have the effect of taxing the school’s limited resources and ultimately undermining safety. Please help us out and plan ahead.
If picking up a student before 3:05 p.m., simply report to the office and sign your child out.
If picking up your child after 3:05 p.m., drive around back and join the car rider line that forms in the back. A staff member will be coming up to your vehicle to radio in your car rider number. Your child will then be walked out to your car.
Please be careful when pulling away from the car rider line.
Procedure – student walkers and bikers:
Parents wishing their children to walk or bike to/from school should send a note giving permission. The office will then create a backpack tag indicating this for the student.
Walkers and bikers will report to the gym at dismissal and will wait to exit until the buses have left at 3:20 p.m.
In both the morning and afternoon, walkers and bikers should always enter and exit the property from the south – along Maria Volk Drive – where there is a sidewalk. They should never walk up or down the hill (the vehicle entrance), where there is no sidewalk.
