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The high school library is doing subscription book boxes for our high school students. Librarians Beth DiLucente and Jessica Godios hand select books for each student who has signed up to receive a book box. Each box also includes some bonuses and swag. This month is a Valentine's theme with scented putty erasers, scented stickers, and valentines candy along with a button craft. January's theme was self-care. The library team included a stress ball, a KIND bar, sudoku, crosswords and word search games as well as coloring sheets and links to the librarians favorite yoga videos. Library aides, Marcy Arthur and Eileen Clinton pull the books, assemble the boxes and deliver them to classrooms. Participants choose to receive 2-5 books per month with a 4 week loan period. Currently there are approximately 70 subscriptions including some completely remote students. The library team has checked out over 1,800 books this year through this program. The librarians are thrilled to be getting books into the hands of the students during this unusual year.
Please click here to learn more about registering your student for kindergarten for the 21-22 school year.
Applications for Universal Pre-Kindergarten will begin being accepted for the 2021-2022 school year on December 1. In order to participate in the UPK program children must reside in the Orchard Park Central School District attendance area, and be four years old by December 1st of the year they start the program. To qualify for UPK during the 2021-2022 school year the child's birthday must fall between 12-2-16 and 12-1-17. The Orchard Park Central School District is able to offer the Universal Pre-Kindergarten program through a grant provided by the New York State Education Department. This grant covers the cost of the program, but does not cover transportation. It is the responsibility of each family to transport their child to the Universal Pre-Kindergarten site. Click for additional information.
Eggert and Ellicott Elementary fifth grade students recently graduated from the 15 week D.A.R.E. program. The students spent the 15 weeks of the program meeting with Orchard Park Police Officer Kristen Mazur, learning and discussing ways to appropriately make decisions that could affect their lives. Students at South Davis and Windom Elementary will graduate from the D.A.R.E. program in the spring. Please click here to learn more.
First Grade students in Mrs. Biondo and Mrs. Miller's classes at Windom Elementary have been working hard to learn all about the world around them during Reader's Workshop. To celebrate their hard work and new knowledge, each student chose their favorite animal to study. The students then researched facts about their animal and used the facts to write an animal chapter book during Writer's Workshop. Once the writing process was complete, the classes collaborated with Instructional Technology Coach, Nicole Holler, to photograph, record and publish their nonfiction writing digitally. The first graders hope to share their knowledge about the animals they studied! To check out the animal chapter books click here: https://flipgrid.com/+windomgrade1
February 3rd was World Read Aloud Day. Special Area teachers at Ellicott Elementary and District Administrators recorded themselves reading stories aloud for the students at Ellicott. All of the classes at Ellicott Elementary were able to listen to the recorded stories throughout the day on February 3rd.
Students in Mrs. Staebell's eighth grade science class participated in a pre-Super Bowl science lab. The students created paper footballs (a piece of paper folded into a triangle). Then they attempted to flick their football with their fingers in hopes of getting it through the goal post. The students were able to make multiple attempts, record and evaluate their results. The students were learning Sir Isaac Newton's three laws of motion. They saw the laws of motion in action and were able to explain how each of the three laws of motion explained how, why, and where their footballs traveled during the competition. It was an impressive way for the students to see the science in action.
Mrs. Kolodziejczak’s first grade class at Windom Elementary was able to virtually read to animals at the SPCA Serving Erie County for the months of December and January through the Paws for Love program. Mrs. Kolodziejczak was able to partner with Katherine Gillette-Cockerill the Humane Educator at the SPCA Serving Erie County to offer this opportunity to her first grade students. The class used Zoom breakout rooms so each pair of students was able to read to an animal while Mrs. Kolodziejczak could monitor all of the students from her screen. The reading partners got to practice their reading skills while reading to dogs, cats, a bearded dragon, and a guinea pig. Mrs. Kolodziejczak along with the animal handlers onsite at the SPCA kept reading engagement high by encouraging the reading partners to read with expression while helping each other.
As we move further into the winter season the District is preparing for the possibility of a school closure due to inclement weather just like any other year. During the 2020-2021 school year, we will physically close our buildings for inclement weather, but learning will continue in the remote setting as an asynchronous day for students. Work will be provided for students in grades K-12 on any inclement weather days. This will ensure our ability to keep our students safe during inclement weather while allowing our students to continue learning. This also allows the District to meet the NYSED requirement for student attendance without needing to add additional calendar days to the end of the school year. Students and families will receive additional information from their building principal and/or teachers for asynchronous learning on inclement weather days.
If you need technology assistance please email technology@opschools.org and include your child’s name and a description of the issue you are experiencing. You should immediately receive an automated response. If you don’t receive the automated response within 5 minutes of sending your email, please call 209-6330. Click here for additional information.
To learn more about the Orchard Park Central School District's Superintendent Search please click here.
Please click to read the 3-2 COVID-19 Update from Superintendent McGarrity.
Please click to read the 3-1 COVID-19 Update from Superintendent McGarrity
Please click to view the 2-26 COVID-19 Update from Superintendent McGarrity.
Please click here to view the 2-25 COVID-19 Update from the Superintendent.
Please click to view the 2-24 COVID-19 Update from Superintendent McGarrity
Please click to view the 2-23 COVID-19 Update from Superintendent McGarrity
Please click the title "OPCSD COVID-19 and School Reopening Information" to find information about COVID-19 and the reopening plans for the 2020-2021 school year.
Please click the headline to read instructions on how to subscribe to the Orchard Park Central School District iCal calendar.
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