Updates from Mrs. Froning
January 27, 2019
Mark your calendars! Join us for a fun-filled night!
Oakley Park 5th Grade Spelling Bee News!
Important Social Media Information: MoMo Challenge
Social Media is such a hard topic to navigate these days as it is changing so rapidly. Last school year I shared with you the application (app) Musical.ly and the dangers of allowing our kids unmonitored use. The latest social media concern is around something titled the MoMo Challenge being shared through WhatsApp Messenger and possibly Facebook. The basics of the challenge include MoMo telling the child to do a challenge and then requiring photo evidence. If a person refuses or fails to complete the challenge, they are threatened with harm and/or death. This challenge is dangerous and has been associated with the death of at least 1 child internationally.
Although we are not aware of any students accessing this content at this time, please be sure to keep me informed if you hear about this challenge occurring and take a moment to check your child’s device and social media access. Our school district firewalls through our safety, security, and technology bond should be blocking this type of “game” from students, but mostly it is accessed using different apps on cell phones, which we cannot monitor if they are not on our network (i.e., using their cellular service).
With all social media apps, open an account for yourself and use the app for a period of time before allowing your child to have an account. Look at what the app suggests as the right age for a child to access the app and then determine if you think your child is old enough to handle the content that you experienced. As a good rule of thumb, be sure to look at the age restrictions for the app/program and stick to them. If it says 13 and over, it is best to not let your child have an account until they are at least 13. Our kids are very tech savvy these days, as are online predators, and when we give our children a device to use, we essentially hand them access to the world with limited filters. Please know that we appreciate your partnership in carefully monitoring your children’s use of social media.
Global Day of Play: February 6th
February 4, 2015, was the first annual Global School Play Day for students in schools around the world. In year one, over 65,000 students participated! Over 177,000 students took part in 2016. In 2017, over 283,000 kids celebrated Global School Play Day. In 2018, over 385,000 students from 58 nations participated. Can we reach 500,000 students in 2019?
In his TEDx lecture, Peter Gray clearly argues the case that today's kids do not grow up playing and this has negatively impacted them in many ways. It's time we return the gift of play to this generation.
Oakley Park participated in GSPD last year and we are excited to do so again this year. Teachers will plan specific time periods of time during the school day on February 6th. Look for more information from your classroom teacher regarding GSPD!
Congratulation to our PTA Reflections Contest Winners!
We will celebrate the following artist at the Walled Lake District Reflections Celebration, Monday, March 25th at Walnut Creek Middle School.
Visual Arts
Lili Abraham
Erena Sharm
Literature
Libby Freeman
Estella Hudnut* (selected submission to the State level)
Music Composition
Eve Ashoo* (Selected submission to the State level)
Photography
Blake Farida
Jordyn Farida
Valentine Exchange
Thank you for your support as you help to ensure Oakley Park is safe place for all our students!
Student Leadership at Oakley Park
1. Kindness Council (community service within our OPE community)
2. Outreach Owls (bringing outside community service to OPE community)
3. Owl Organizers (assist NESTS to build community among all OPE teachers and staff)
The Outreach Owls are launching a food drive for the Lighthouse of Oakland County. Here is a special message from the Outreach Owls:
We are having a food drive for the Lighthouse of Oakland County. The Lighthouse of Oakland County helps people who lost their home to a fire, a natural disaster, or people that are struggling financially. So we need your help to get food for the Lighthouse of Oakland County. We are collecting non-perishable food items. All the food that won't go bad. The food bank mostly needs, granola bars, jelly, cereal, macaroni and cheese, pasta sauce, peanut butter and canned fruit. The food drive starts on Wednesday, January 23rd and run through Tuesday, February 5th. We thank you for your time and support! Item will be collected in each classroom.
Schools of Choice Information Schools of Choice Information
Walled Lake Consolidated Schools is a participant in Schools of Choice 105 on a ‘limited’ basis, limited meaning not all buildings and grade levels will have openings. Typically we accept applications for grades K-10.
Under Schools of Choice we may enroll 105 students who are not residents of our district but still reside in one of the other 27 Oakland County school districts who meet the application guidelines.
The application period for the 2019-2020 school is Jan. 14 - Feb. 1, 2019.
By law, applications cannot be accepted after February 1, 2019.
iReady Information
The diagnostic also provides students with personalized online instruction and gives teachers guidance on how they can best support the needs of each and every student. iReady encourages students to take ownership of their learning. Students get real-time feedback, see motivating messages, and earn credits after completing lessons that they can use to get rewards, such as games. i-Ready’s engaging environment draws students in right away and gets students of all ages excited about learning.
iReady Online Instruction is available to all students at both school and home.
How can you help your child get the most out of i-Ready?
• Speak with your child about how using i-Ready will help him or her prepare for class work. Also explain that i-Ready will show teachers where your child is doing well and which topics need some more review.
• Encourage your child to take each lesson and quiz question seriously. Emphasize “thinking before clicking,” because just clicking through will not give teachers an accurate report of what your child knows and is able to do.
• Help your child identify and become familiar with the different parts of the student dashboard.
• Encourage your child to use the tools that will appear at the bottom of the screen in some lessons.
• Discuss your child’s results by looking at “My Progress” together to see the number of lessons your child has completed in i-Ready and the percentage of questions your child answered correctly in the quiz at the end of each lesson.
Important points for at home use:
1. iReady lessons at home are NOT mandatory
2. Student should be working independently on lesson.
3. We recommend student in Kindergarten spend no more than 30 minutes per week at home and students in grade 1st - 5th, no more than 45 minutest per week.
4. Teacher will provide login information.
Mrs. Froning will be providing an overview of iReading including information about Online Lessons at the next PTA meeting, Wednesday, Feb 6th at 7:00 pm.
2019-2020 WLCSD Calendar is now available!
Please note:
· We will start the school year prior to Labor Day again.
· Late starts (middle school) and early release (high schools) have been eliminated.
· There are several half-days throughout the school year.
As we have in the past, we will offer a reduced rate Prime Time Care service on each of these half days.
You might be wondering...Why are there so many half days?
Throughout the school year, there are eight half days that will be used for staff professional development. We recognize that half days can be inconvenient for families. That said, research has shown that when teachers receive ongoing, job-embedded professional development, they can increase student achievement by as much as 21 percentile points (Source). As a school and district, we are committed to continuous improvement and these eight half days are an essential part of that commitment. Although they may seem inconvenient, staff development opportunities are crucial to ensure we provide an exemplary education for our children.
Breakfast & Lunch Information
Breakfast $1.25
Lunch $2.75
*Student purchasing breakfast may enter the building at 8:00.
Upcoming Dates
Wednesday, February 6th
- PTA General Membership Meeting 7:00 pm
Thursday, February 7th
- 1/2 day for student': Professional Learning for staff in the pm (dismissal time: 11:18 am)
Friday, February 8th
- Future Hawk event (for current 5th graders) at Walnut Creek (4:45 - 6:00 pm)
- PTA Family Bingo Night: more information coming soon!
Mid-Winter Break
- Monday, February 18th - Friday February 22nd
Oakley Park School Bell Times
Drop off: 8:00 AM
First Bell: 8:02 (buses release students)
Late Bell: 8:05 AM
Dismissal: 3:08 PM
1/2 Day Dismissal: 11:18 AM
Contact Information
Debra Bradshaw, Principals Secretary
Karen Clark, Building Secretary
Email: kristinfroning@wlcsd.org
Website: http://wlcsd.org/schools/elementary/oakley-park/
Location: 2015 Oakley Park Road, Commerce Charter Township, MI, United States
Phone: 248-956-4100
Twitter: @OakleyPark1