The Olive Branch 12.18.20
What's Up At The Nest...
Principal's Message
Dear OMS families,
This week, we were able to spend time sharing two of our favorite stories with your children. You may have noticed they came home with two little gifts. We hope that your child was able to share the meaning behind these items, but just in case, here is a little more information for you.
Mrs. Pemberton read the story The Invisible String by Patrice Karst. The premise of the story is that there is an invisible string made of love. Even though you can't see it, you can feel it deep in your heart and know that you are always connected to the ones you love. Students were given a string bracelet symbolizing the connection of all the students and staff at OMS. It is a small symbol to remind our students that no matter our distance from one another we love and care about our Olive community. We figured this year was a perfect year to share that no matter where you are, you are loved and part of a community.
Ms. Davis read the book Winter Candle by Jeron Ashford. This story is about 5 families that live in the same apartment building. As they celebrate various winter holidays, they all end up sharing one ratty, old candle. They pass the candle from apartment to apartment and each time it grows brighter and brighter. The families celebrate Thanksgiving, Havdalah, St. Lucia Day, and Kwanzaa. We shared with our students a small battery operated tea light candle. Our hope is they will light their own candle at home to celebrate and remember that light brings us together no matter what holiday we celebrate.
We hope you will spend a few minutes talking with your child about their "invisible string bracelet" and "winter candle".
For our friends that joined us via Zoom, we have bracelets and tealights that can be picked up at school in January, or if your child returns in person we will make sure they get their little gifts then.
Also, we would like to extend our biggest thanks and appreciation to our parent community. Your support and words of encouragement mean the world to us. Whether it is in a hand-written card, an email, or submitted on our recognize a staff member button, your words warm our hearts. Our parent community also went over the top providing raffle gifts for everyone at the nest. We had fun every day this week raffling off prizes. Everyone was a winner!
Wishing you and your family a safe, healthy, happy, and relaxing break.
See you in 2021!
Erin and Julia
Food Distribution Over Break | Time Change
During the two weeks of winter break our Food Distribution Team will be distributing on Wednesdays (December 23 and December 30) from 9:00 am until 12:00 pm (noon). If you are not able to pick up meals during that time, please contact the Department of Food Services and arrangements will be made.
In order for these arrangements to be made, you must call or email the Department of Food Services and leave the following information:
Family Name | Address | Number of bags needed | Phone number
Email: chinesnewell@sd25.org
Phone: 847-758-4904Have you Joined ABC 25 yet?
If you haven't joined ABC 25, now is the time! I am thrilled to share that OMS was recently awarded two large grants from the foundation! We will receive funding to purchase 50 One's by Wacom for our staff and 15 Sphero BOLT's. These grants are not possible without our families, communities, and staff member's support of ABC25. Please click the link below to join today! I am proud to say I join every year!
Click here to join! If at least 25% of our families join, our school automatically receives a $2,500 grant to be used at the school's discretion.
"Parent Emotions: Setting the Tone in Our Families"
On behalf of the AHC PTA:
These times are tough on everyone, and parents have unique struggles and responsibilities. Please join the AHC PTA for an evening with Kristen Marzolf, LCSW, SEP, Founder of the Family Resilience Group as she discusses:
"Parent Emotions: Setting the Tone in Our Families"
Kristen will discuss how and when to share our emotions with our children, how our emotions affect our children, and how to manage big reactions as a parent.
December 29, 7-8 pm, via Zoom
RSVP and more info here: https://forms.gle/NpgEttSokXoakQZq6
How can we help - winter is coming.
Olive-Mary Stitt Elementary
Ms. Erin Davis, Principal edavis@sd25.org
Mrs. Julia Pemberton, Assistant Principal jpemberton@sd25.org
Website: https://www.sd25.org/Olive
Location: 303 East Olive Street, Arlington Heights, IL, USA
Phone: 847.398.4282
Twitter: @ahsd25Olive