Otter Outlook
February 8, 2018
In this issue...
A Message from the Principal
Ocee Elementary Strategic Plan Update
Need to Know!
Family Science Night Returns March 1
Six Flags Read to Succeed - Don't forget to turn in your logs before Feb. 24
Fitnessgram Fitness Assessment
The Coaches’ Corner, from Ann Scott Hanks, Problem-Based Learning Coach and STEAM Lab Instructor
Ryan's Resource
From Our PTA
ScienceX Events
Community News
Jr. Cougar Cheer
Sports, Arena & Entertainment Community Hack-a-thon
Reminders
Bringing Ocee to the World: How You Can Help
Student Hardship Transfers - Deadline February 28
Snow Day Make-Up Differs From Fulton County
Dates to Remember
Feb. 9 - Student Council Meeting 7:10 a.m.
Feb. 9 - Kindergarten ScienceX In-house field trip
Feb. 9 - 1st Grade Snowman Pancakes 8:00 a.m.
Feb. 9 - SERT Meeting 2:30 - 3:00
Feb. 11 - PTA Spirit Day at Atlanta Hawks
Feb. 14 - Last Day for AR Kindle Contest
Feb. 14 - Valentine Exchanges in Classroom
Feb. 15 - STUDENTS HAVE CLASS
Feb. 16 - STUDENTS DO NOT HAVE CLASS
Feb. 19 - STUDENTS DO NOT HAVE CLASS - President's Day
Feb. 20 - 5th AR Period Begins
Feb. 20 - 2nd Grade Book Club - 6 p.m.
Feb. 21 - Deadline to Register for Family Science Night
Feb. 22 - Progress Skills Checklists go home
Feb. 23 - 1st Grade PTA sponsored ScienceX all day in-house field trip
Feb. 23 - 4th Grade Science Fair - parents welcome 10:30 - 11 a.m.
Feb. 23 - PTA Exec Mtg. 8 a.m.
A Message from the Principal
Good Afternoon Ocee Families!
This has been one of the most memorable weeks for me as principal of Ocee ES! On Tuesday, we announced and celebrated our 2018 Teacher and Professional of the Year for Ocee Elementary School! I want to congratulate our 2018 winners Jennifer Winklmann (Teacher of the Year) and Megan Donnelly (Professional of the Year)! We had a wonderful start to our celebration as the Chattahoochee HS Drumline performed as our students and teachers made their way down the hall, had a delicious breakfast from our local Waffle House, celebrated our past winners, and rejoiced with family members and students as a way to honor our winners. Even more impressive was the turnout of parent volunteers who covered our classes and duty stations (see the Minions below) for an hour so we could honor our staff the right way! Thank you to everyone for willingness to make this such a special occasion!
We also welcomed our new 2nd grade teacher, Jessica Frazier, and our new curriculum support teacher, Jennifer Sweigart, to the Ocee family! These two educators have already been hard at work planning and getting to know staff and students! We are lucky to have them both and look forward to their contributions to Ocee Elementary School!
Best Regards,
Ryan Moore
Principal & Ocee Parent
Ocee Elementary Strategic Plan - SGC Elections Coming Soon!
We still want your feedback and encourage you to reach out to us at oceestrategicplan@fultonschools.org. Our school governance council will monitor this account, so if you would like more information or want to get involved, let us know!!!
We appreciate your support and input on this important process that will provide a clear focus on instruction and supporting all of our stakeholders.
We are reviewing the SGC elections toolkit provided by the district and will have additional information for our community about SGC elections early next week! We are looking for people who want to help us move the work of our strategic plan forward, so be on the lookout next week for how you can support Ocee ES and the SGC!
NEED TO KNOW
Family Science Night Returns March 1
We hope you join us for one of our favorite nights of the year! A registration form went home last week in Thursday papers, and is also attached here for your convenience. Family Science Night is free, but we ask families to register by February 21 so that we can plan appropriately. One form per family. Come enjoy some science and engineering fun!
SIX FLAGS READ TO SUCCEED – DON’T FORGET TO TURN IN YOUR READING LOG BEFORE FEBRUARY 24
Every student (K through 5th grade) who completed six hours of recreational reading by February 24th is eligible for a free admission ticket at participating Six Flag theme parks. Tickets will be distributed to students in May for admission on select dates during the 2018 summer break. Additional reading logs may be picked up from the front office.
FITNESSGRAM Fitness Assessment
During Physical Education class during the month of March, students will be participating in the FITNESSGRAM fitness assessment which measures health-related fitness for youth.
The FITNESSGRAM physical fitness assessment measures aerobic capacity, muscular strength and endurance, flexibility, and body composition. The students at Ocee and in Fulton County have been participating in the FITNESSGRAM for years.
The students will participate in the following tests:
- PACER – aerobic capacity
- Curl –Ups –abdominal strength and endurance
- Push-Ups – upper body strength and endurance
- Body Composition – height and weight for body mass index
- Back-Saver Sit and Reach-flexibility
Each student will be tested by the Physical Education teachers who have been trained by the county to administer the FITNESSGRAM fitness assessment. The state requires that 1st, 2nd and 3rd graders participate in the assessment to familiarize them with the tests. We are required to test 4th and 5th grades and enter their scores in the FITNESSGRAM database. Each student in 4th and 5th grade will get an individualized printout including assessment scores and tips for improving health. These reports will be sent home in a sealed envelope to be opened at home with the student’s parents/guardians. The scores of each student will be kept confidential.
We are required to take each student’s body composition in 1st through 5th grade. In order to keep students’ weight and height confidential, we will call students over individually. There will be a private area where we will weigh and measure the students. Students will step on to the scale backwards, and the results of their weight or height will not be shared with them. Students’ height and weight will be entered into the FITNESSGRAM database. This process of taking each child’s height and weight will take place next week.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Ms. Moreno at morenoal@fultonschools.org or visit the following websites.
The Coaches’ Corner, from Ann Scott Hanks, Problem-Based Learning Coach and STEAM Lab Instructor
“My child loves to learn and play, but he/she has a hard time sticking with a problem til it’s solved.” “My child just seems distracted; it takes forever to do homework!” “My child is really bright, but can’t seem to follow my directions.”
Do any of those parent statements sound familiar? Executive function and self-regulation skills are the mental processes that enable us to plan, focus attention, remember instructions, and juggle multiple tasks successfully. Just as an air traffic control system at a busy airport safely manages the arrivals and departures of many aircraft on multiple runways, the brain needs this skill to filter distractions, prioritize tasks, set and achieve goals, and control impulses. When children have opportunities to develop executive function and self-regulation skills, it will enable them to learn more effectively and work in groups more successfully. (source: https://developingchild.harvard.edu/science/key-concepts/executive-function/)
Check out these links for some fun easy activities you can build into your daily life that will build your child’s executive function and self-regulation skills.
Ryan's Resource
This week's article was shared by area superintendent, Cliff Jones, this week during our principal meeting. For those of you who don't know, Johns Creek is an area struggling with a growing epidemic of Opioid drug use. This is a difficult subject, but it is one that we all need to recognize because the children affected could one day be our own. Mr. Jones challenged all of us to have the conversations that may stem the tide of this growing problem in OUR community. I encourage you to read the article and think about how we can all make a difference, raise awareness, and potentially save the lives of those we love.
Please let me know if you have questions or if you would like to help us in this effort.
http://my.aasa.org/AASA/Resources/SAMag/2017/Aug17/Conley.aspx
Sincerely,
Ryan Moore
From Our PTA
SCIENCE-X EVENTS
If you would like to volunteer, please follow the links below. The day is full of fun science experiments and demonstrations tailored for each grade-level.
Hope to see you there and thank you in advance for your volunteering! Questions? Contact Jorie Clements at ScienceX.Ocee@gmail.com
Kindergarten-Friday, February 9th ((All slots to volunteer are filled at this time, however, please contact Jorie if you would like to be involved)
1st Grade-Friday, February 23rd (A few slots left)
2nd Grade-Thursday, March 1st (Rescheduled due to the snow day, please sign up again using this fresh link even if you signed up previously!)
Community News
Sports, Arena & Entertainment Community Hackathon
Join The Farm and the BridgeCommunity commercialization program to dream up the next big breakthrough in sports and entertainment on Feb. 17th at SunTrust Stadium! Build something new with your family, hack on cutting-edge technology and win cool prizes. Atlanta high school and university students and their families are invited to attend this day-long, idea challenge. We are also encouraging students of all ages to participate. If the students are younger than High School age, an adult is required to stay at the event with them. Expect plenty of hardware to test with, coding kits for younger participants, delicious food, interesting judges and more! REGISTER: http://bit.ly/2CUj9Ql
Reminders
Bringing Ocee to the World: How You Can Help!
Teaching Museum Field Trips
Ocee Elementary and the Ocee PTA are working together to bring Ocee students to see the world, or at least some of the exciting offerings that greater Atlanta holds! As you know, each grade level is able to experience one program each year at the Teaching Museum North. These programs range in topics from history to science, and provide wonderful learning experiences for students. For those field trips we ask for a donation of $5 per student, because Fulton County already subsidizes those field trips a great deal. Here at Ocee, we would like the visit to the Teaching Museum to be just the beginning of your child’s opportunities outside of school.
Expanded Grade-Level Experiential Opportunities!!!
For that reason, the PTA is partnering with the school to make one additional field trip to a greater Atlanta destination possible for each grade level. We need your help to make this happen! The school is currently in communication with various local destinations to firm up plans for grade level field trips. From each child we are requesting a flat donation of $20 to go toward the cost of each field trip. The costs of buses and entrance fees can add up fast! This donation from each child will make an annual field trip possible, as does the generous support from the PTA.
Because many destinations require deposits to hold the space, we are asking for the donations to be sent in at this time. A month before the field trip occurs, permission slips will go home. No additional funds will be requested at that time for these “greater Atlanta” field trips.
Thank you in advance for your support of experiential education for your child! To make the donation, simply go online at www.oceeotters.com to Online School Payments to pay the requested donation. (Click on Ocee and Off-site Field trip for your grade on the left. Then click on the payment for your child's teacher). If you prefer to donate by cash or check, see your child’s Thursday papers for a form to complete and return to school.
Student Hardship Transfers - Deadline February 28
Beginning January 1, 2018, parents of Fulton County students can apply for a 2018-2019 hardship transfer to another Fulton County school or request renewal of an existing hardship transfer. Allowable reasons are FCBOE employee, medical, curriculum difference and child care (elementary and middle school only). for more information, contact: FCS Student Assignment Office at 470254-5550 or go to the FC website. Information regarding Open Enrollment transfers will be released on May 1.
SNOW DAY MAKE-UP DIFFERS FROM FULTON COUNTY
Because Ocee had an Ocee-only release day during the time period that FC has announced as a weather make-up day, Ocee's make-up days differ from what FC has announced.
FEB. 15 - YES CLASS (this was an Ocee Release Day and has been changed to make-up for weather).
FEB. 16 - NO CLASS (even though FC says this is a make-up day, it is an Ocee-only release day).
MAR. 9 - NO CLASS (this will be a Digital Learning Day from home - details to come).
MAR. 12 - YES CLASS (was a work day, now is a FC-wide make up day).
Outstanding Character Educational Excellence
Ryan Moore, Principal @oceeprincipal
Shannan LaPorte, AP @laporte_shannan
Jennifer Sweigart, CST
Anna Aronowitz, Counselor
Kaitlin Thompson, RTI/SST Coach
Tracey Murray, IST
Email: fowlerjj@fultonschools.org
Website: www.oceeotters.com
Location: 4375 Kimball Bridge Road, Alpharetta, GA, United States
Phone: 470-254-2960
Facebook: www.facebook.com/OceeElementary
Twitter: @oceeotters