OHES Paw Prints
Principal's Winter Wrap Up
Welcome to March, OHES families! I’m not sure if you’ve felt it like I have, but I am happy to report that spring is most definitely in the air and it is breathing fresh life into the OHES school community! After a choppy winter due to some inclement weather, we here at Orchard Hill are looking forward to a momentum-building March to help push us into (our now shorter) Spring Break and the final stretch of the school year.
Our Cubs have just wrapped up learning about important Black historical figures making an impact today as part of our Black History Month instruction this February. Students focused on the amazing efforts of young Black trailblazers such as Marley Dias and Amanda Gorman and focused on how they are making a positive change to our world despite their young age! Click here for our Cubs Culture Corner announcement tied to BHM and our upcoming Women’s History Month work.
Looking ahead, please make sure you take the opportunity to sign up for spring parent-teacher conferences, if you have not done so already. Conferences will take place Friday, March 15th through Wednesday, March 20th, with evening conferences being offered on Monday and Tuesday. Please mark your calendars as these 4 school days will all be early dismissal days.
Additionally, please make sure you review the “Important Dates” section below, as our district calendar has had to change due to the school closures earlier this winter. As always, please make sure the school is aware of any impending student absences connected to our Spring Break, so that teachers can properly plan for instruction.
Lastly, continue reading for more important information tied to curriculum, our health office, and other school events.
Thank you!
Mr. Van Hise
CUBS HELPING CUBS INITIATIVE
Our Cubs Helping Cubs initiative is up and running! We are currently supporting 12 families! Through this mission we have been able to provide assistance for holidays, bills, meals, gas, emergent needs, and so much more. Our initiative helps families all year round! We are so grateful for our community's continued support.
Please click here for more information about being a donor or needing assistance.
REMINDERS FROM THE HEALTH OFFICE
I hope everyone is enjoying what we hope are the last days of winter!
A couple of quick reminders:
We have recently seen an uptick in gastrointestinal illness. Please make sure and keep your child home for 24 hours after vomiting or diarrhea.
The biggest thing we can do to help prevent the spread of illness in addition to staying home when sick is to practice good hand hygiene. Please remind your child to wash their hands with soap and water frequently, especially before and after eating, after using the bathroom, and after contact with high touch surfaces like doorknobs or phones.
Please keep in mind that if your child must stay home for any illness, they may not attend special events like class parties or read-alouds and then leave. Students who come to school are expected to be able to participate in all school activities including recess and physical education unless a special doctor’s note is provided.
Finally, with the approach of spring also means the approach of allergy season for many. If you know your child has seasonal allergies, please consult with your child’s healthcare provider regarding if and when to start to start seasonal allergy medication. Please keep in mind that all students are expected to participate in outdoor recess whenever the weather permits. If your child must stay inside due to allergies, you must provide a note from your child’s doctor that contains the specific dates your child must remain inside (“during allergy season” will not be accepted). That note must be received prior to your child staying inside for recess. If your child may need any medicine like eye drops or other allergy medication during the school day, including over the counter medication, your doctor must complete THIS FORM and you must provide the medication to the nurse’s office directly.
Another great way to stay healthy is to stay active! Weekends are great to bundle up together as a family and walk and explore the parks around Montgomery. Make it a fun event together and take pictures the kids can show their friends of them running around and enjoying the outdoors. It’s a great way to get outside and be active and at the same time, decrease the time spent in front of screens!
Please feel free to contact me at 609-466-7605 ext 1600 or via email at rhanna@mtsd.us if you have any questions or concerns. I look forward to hearing from you!
Enjoy good health,
Rachelle Hanna, BSN, RN, CSN
CURRICULUM CORNER
Language Arts Updates
Our Kindergarten students have learned many foundational skills so far this year, including all letters and sounds, listening for the sounds in words and reading CVC words, like bat, cup and sit! Kindergarten teachers are now helping students to put all of their knowledge together to read simple books, using all they know about letters and sounds! Please look for books to come home for additional practice. If these books seem “too easy,” it is because they have been practiced during the school day. Students should practice rereading smoothly and fluently!
First and second grade writers have been using what they know to write All-About books (information books) on self-selected topics, including soccer, Orchard Hill and dogs! They have been learning about nonfiction text features to include in their writing, such as a Table of Contents, diagram, headings and glossaries! We will continue to build on these writing skills in third and fourth grade, when students begin to transition to incorporating research into their writing.
Winter is the perfect time to snuggle up with a good book! No matter how fluent your child is becoming as a reader, it is always beneficial to read with your child and share stories together. Bedtime is a great opportunity to explore picture books and chapter books, and the Montgomery Branch of the Somerset County Library System is a great place to spend a cold winter day!
Math Updates
Kindergarten and 1st grade students are shaping the world around them to learn about geometry. In Kindergarten, we identify features that make each shape unique through categorizing and classifying attributes of two-dimensional shapes. In 1st grade, we move into building shapes out of shapes. 1st graders will eventually learn to create and classify three-dimensional shapes out of the two-dimensional shapes they learned about in Kindergarten.
In second grade, our number sense goes through the hundreds to 1,000! We will use what we know about place value to begin adding and subtracting these extra-large numbers on a number line and by breaking our numbers into hundreds, tens, and ones. This builds the foundation for the traditional addition and subtraction strategies we’ll learn in 3rd grade. At home, take time to make your math explicit. You can do this on trips by counting exits, grocery shopping and counting supplies, or simply playing games together. Taking time to talk about the math you are using makes significant connections to developing a solid number sense. For additional resources on incorporating math at home, visit the free Math at Home site.
Pre-K Corner
Our PK Cubs had a blast with a Leap Day themed "Frog Search," where they competed by class to find the most frogs around the building! In reading, some classes participated recently in themed reading days, including Wacky Wednesday and "Read My Shirt" Day. Our Early Childhood Center is always bursting with energy and learning!
JARED CAMPBELL ASSEMBLIES
On February 1st, Orchard Hill welcomed singer/songwriter Jared Campbell to the school for assemblies across all grades. Jared’s songs help to reinforce our Cub Core Values: Safe Spaces, Kind Words, and Friendly Faces. Students in all grades sang loud and proud and even got to visit with Jared a bit in between performances.
Click here for more information about Jared and how you can find his music!
Other Important Dates to Remember
March 8th: First Grade Concert 2
March 15, 18-20: Early Dismissal for Parent/Teacher Conferences
March 22nd: Monthly Day of Play
March 29-April 3: Spring Break!
April 4th and 5th: School In Session! (Makeup days for snow days)
April 10th: No school for students (Teacher Professional Development)
April 23rd: No school in observance of Passover
April 26th: PTA's International Night Returns!! Stay tuned for details
Follow Us on Instagram!
There are many exciting things happening everyday at OHES. We will share these special events and learning that happens on Instagram. Please follow us for updates happening at OHES on Instagram at @monty_ohes