The Otter Outlook
Osage Creek's Monthly Newsletter for October 2020
Note from the office
This year at Osage Creek Elementary our spirit days are centered around ways to show kindness and encouraging others. Our next spirit day is October 5th. This is National Do Something Nice Day. Here is a little excerpt from their website -
"Make your friends and family smile this October 5 on National Do Something Nice Day. This holiday encourages us to perform acts of kindness for strangers or loved ones — or both! It’s easy to become so caught up in our own stresses and struggles that we forget to show kindness to others. This holiday is a great reminder that doing good deeds makes the world better — and might even help you better manage your own troubles in the process. So celebrate with us!"
We hope this is a day that you celebrate with the whole family.
Two other exciting events to watch for are Halloween parties and Virtual Parent/Teacher conferences. More information for both of these events will come from your classroom teacher. Keep your eye on those inboxes.
Thank you to our PTO! The cookies were Otterly-Awesome!
Tales from the Library
I am so impressed with our students. They have adjusted so well to all the new library routines and procedures. We are working very hard to make sure students have book access safely! Just a reminder of our library schedule: Kindergarten- Monday, 4th grade- Tuesday, 2nd grade- Wednesday, 3rd grade- Thursday and 1st grade- Friday. Students are encouraged to bring their books back on these days but are welcome to return books at any time. In October, 2nd-4th grades will be learning how to access the Bentonville Public Library databases and our Ebooks using their school Clever accounts. Kindergarten will be learning about how to take care of their library books and 1st grade will start learning about making connections to books.
In preparation for Election Day, we will be reading books about voting and will have our very own school-wide Book Character Election on November 3rd! We can't wait to see who wins! Have a great October and keep reading!
The Mouse Pad
October is Internet Safety month in Computer Science Class. All grade levels will be learning how to stay safe online and what it means to be a “digital citizen” in the virtual world today. We will also be identifying and discussing positive/negative behaviors when using computing devices. Special thanks to the Arkansas Attorney General’s office for providing the Internet Safety Activity booklets that you may see coming home this month.
PE Huddle
Art Update
Hey everyone! It's been a great four weeks of school and I have had so much fun with the students in art! 4th grade is about to start on their Dali Elephants, 3rd grade will be doing Air Jordan 1 Andy Warhol art, 2nd grade will be doing a falling from the sky artwork, 1st grade will be doing a Piet Mondrain inspired animal drawing, and Kindergarten will be learning how to draw my favorite animal... The Lion!
I can't wait to see the student's smiling faces again and hope you have a great day!
Music Notes
Osage Creek musicians have all begun a journey into the world of bucket drumming. What is bucket drumming? Bucket drumming is the application of rudimentary mallet/drum-stick skills on any available surface. For safety and ease of cleaning, we are using 5 gallon plastic buckets. Students will continue to learn basic cadences and ostinatos through practice and performance. I have been SO proud of your percussionists and have enjoyed sharing weekly grade-level performances with you. The month of October brings us some very fun Autumn and Halloween music. We will be adding our own special touches to this seasonal music and will continue sharing our creations with you!
You can help inspire our children by listening to a variety of music. Help them notice the beat of the music and even try counting out measures (hint: most popular music is in 4/4 time. Just count to 4 - over and over and over and over and over).
Enjoy your musical adventures!
Global Connections
Classroom Counseling
The Counselors will be focusing on the Core Value of Integrity as well as the essential guidance lesson of antibullying/cyberbullying.
Upcoming Events
- 20-21 PTO Membership drive is happening now! Sign up before September 21st.
- The FIRST PTO meeting will be Tuesday, September 8, at 8 am via ZOOM call. The link will be posted on the OCE PTO Facebook page or email us at osagecreekelementarypto@gmail.com for the link.
- Please follow us on Facebook (Osage Creek Elementary PTO) to see what we are up to!
PTO Membership
Thanks for your interest in joining the Osage Creek Elementary PTO. In this unprecedented 2020-21 school year, we are hoping to build a strong community of parents and teachers. The PTO is here to support our students, parents, teachers, and staff. Some of the typical ways we do this are by funding academic enrichments, showing appreciation to our teachers through donating meals and other ways, and creating a sense of community through fun school-wide events. We may be limited this year in ways we can help but that doesn't mean we won't need your support.
Ways you can help:
- Join the PTO and choose a booster level by filling out the attached form. This will be the only "fundraiser" we will have for the year.
- Come to our virtual PTO meetings and share your ideas or give your opinion on some ideas we may have. The meetings will be on the 2nd Wednesday of every month @ 8:00 am.
- Join our Facebook group Osage Creek Elementary PTO and Instagram group OsageCreekElementaryPTO to become part of our online community.
LINK TO JOIN- https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1oOzgo3kQjYwQSHhXqvZoH9lbDX2CaJnWRUw-c7RktHw/edit We hope to "see" you soon! Thank you, Osage Creek PTO