Orchard Drive Family Newsletter

• December 23rd - January 3rd: No School; Winter Break
• January 6th: School Resumes
• January 10th: Orchard Mart at 7:45 am
• January 15th: Wings Etc. Fundraiser Giveback Day
• January 20th: No School, MLK Jr. Day
• January 24th: Orchard Mart at 7:45 am

As you know, we had a school closure on Friday, September 13th. According to our district calendar, our first make-up day is March 17, 2025. School will be in session on Monday, March 17th. Thank you!

Orchard Families,

We have a lot to celebrate as a building in 2024!

We were recently notified that Orchard received an 83.1% as our Annual Performance Report (APR) score from the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. This is a 12% increase from the 22-23 school year. Each public school in Missouri receives an APR score each year. The APR score for elementary buildings is based on 3rd-4th grade ELA and math MAP performance scores and student growth on the MAP assessment from 3rd grade to 4th grade. Additionally, the APR score looks at growth of student groups like students who receive ELL and special education services. Further, the APR score takes into account student attendance and kindergarten readiness assessments. If you would like to see more information on APR scores, please follow this link: Missouri APR Scores. We are proud of our continued academic growth at Orchard.

In addition, we are currently finishing up our iReady benchmark assessments. We have increased our middle of the year proficiency score in ELA by 8% from the middle of the year scores in December 2023. We have increased our middle of the year math proficiency scores by 7% from December 2023.

All students were also individually assessed by our reading teachers and our literacy aides on their phonics, phonemic awareness, reading fluency and reading accuracy through Acadience screening. We have 10% more students reading on grade level during our middle of the year screening this year compared to the middle of the year screening in 2023.

You will start to see iReady reports come home between now and mid-January. You will also receive a letter from the reading teachers and myself if your child was below benchmark in iReady and Acadience which would lead to more diagnostic assessments. These assessments will give us a better idea of the additional supports your child will need in school to increase their academic proficiency.

Not only have we excelled academically this school year, we have also seen a 24% decline in office discipline referrals. We have also recognized students with over 375 positive office referrals, and we have recognized staff with over 130 O-Spear Awards.

I hope you can tell that we are committed to high levels of learning for our students as well as celebrating student and teacher successes! Our faculty and staff work tirelessly to ensure a safe learning environment which produces high-levels of learning at Orchard Drive.

We look forward to another successful year in 2025!

Sincerely,

Christine Zirges, Principal

Allison Miller, Asst. Principal

Staying Healthy

Staying Healthy Reminders:

• It is very important to remind your child/children to wash their hands frequently and cough into their elbows.

• Make sure your child/children are getting plenty of sleep and staying hydrated with water (don’t forget to wash your child’s water bottle daily with hot water and soap).

• MOST IMPORTANTLY: Since we have been on break and are returning to school, please remember to keep your child home until they are a full 24 hours free of vomiting, diarrhea, and/or fever. For fever, they need to be 24 hours free of fever without the use of medication like tylenol/motrin.

Thank you for your attention to this matter! We want everyone to stay healthy, and we don't want to spread ANY sickness!

Thanks Everyone!

Nurse Emily Glueck BSN, RN

Happy winter break everyone!

When we come back to school in January, counseling lessons will resume right away. Kindergarten will continue having lessons weekly. First grade through fourth grade will continue having lessons every other week. I will include topics down below.

For two weeks in January, our school will be participating in a NED show fundraiser! The NED show is here at Orchard December 20th. This assembly is all about growth mindset and not giving up! To help fund this free program, our school will sell yo-yos that are featured during the show. These yo-yos will be available for purchase before school in the same location as Orchard Mart. You will also see a letter coming home about the show and fundraiser. Let me know if you have any questions!

Topics for counseling lessons:

Kindergarten: Showing you care; Little Spot curriculum: sad spot, anxiety spot, confidence spot

First Grade: self-talk/ perseverance; acceptance (this was scheduled for December but postponed due to extended problem solving unit)

Second Grade: self-talk/ perseverance; being a good friend

Third Grade:goal setting; self esteem: finding your strengths

Fourth Grade: executive functioning: goal setting; self-talk

Have a good month!

Rachel Lasher, NCC

For two weeks in January, our school will be participating in a NED show fundraiser! The NED show is here at Orchard on December 20th. This assembly is all about growth mindset and not giving up! To help fund this free program, our school will sell yo-yos that are featured during the show. These yo-yos will be available for purchase before school in the same location as Orchard Mart. You will also see a letter coming home about the show and fundraiser. Let Mrs. Lasher know if you have any questions!

We are excited to partner with Wings Etc. for a fundraiser on Wednesday, January 15th! 10% of sales at the Jackson Wings Etc. location will be donated back to Orchard if you present the ticket/flyer below.

Magin Champan: President

Sarah Busch: Vice President

Megan Speith: Treasurer

Morgan Copeland: Secretary

Contact the PTO at OrchardElemPTO@gmail.com

All PTO Meetings are held in the Orchard Library at 6:30 PM. Free childcare will be provided!

September 17th - Meeting Minutes

November 19th - Meeting Minutes

February 4th

April 22nd

We would love for you to be involved! The PTO organizes and puts on several big events for us: Book Fairs during conference weeks, Orchard Family BINGO Night and Auction, and our end of the year Play Day.

Our BINGO and Auction Night is our biggest fundraiser. This fundraiser helps us put on our Play Day at the end of the year. During our PTO Meetings, we break into sub committee meetings where we plan for these events. We would love to have you join us at these meetings!

Orchard Mart is a school store sponsored by the PTO. They sell fun items like smencils, stickers, erasers, etc. All proceeds will go towards the PTO. Orchard Mart will be open for students to purchase items from 7:45-8:15 on the second and fourth Fridays of each month. If you would like to volunteer to help run Orchard Mart, please contact orchardelempto@gmail.com. Thank you!

• Order at: www.jostens.com/ybk
• Select "Order your yearbook"
• Select "Missouri".
• Type in "Orchard Drive Elementary"
• Please submit your orders by February 1, 2025

Email Kori Demyan at kdemyan@jr2mail.org if you have any questions about the yearbook orders.

We encourage all Jackson R2 Families to complete the online School Cafe Enrollment. Click here to complete the application online. This is the application for "Free or Reduced Lunch". This will take less than 5 minutes. If you do not have an account, you can click on "need to create an account". Select the state, "MO" then type in "Jackson" and our school district will populate. You can create an account from there.

The enrollment takes less than 5 minutes. If your child qualified for Free or Reduced Lunches during the 2023-2024 school year, you will need to reapply for the 2024-2025 school year for students to continue to receive free or reduced lunches.

We will head outside to recess as much as possible during the winter months. Children tend to warm up fast on the playground and then shed all of their gear. Please label your child's clothing items, like hats, gloves, coats, etc. If you would like to stop by and check out our lost and found, please call to schedule an appointment (573) 243-9555.

Please see the link below for more information on enrolling in After School Kids Club, Full Day Kids Club opportunities, and more!

https://www.ezchildtrack.com/JR2kidsclub/parent

Email: czirges@jr2mail.org
Website: https://odes.jacksonr2schools.com/
Location: 1402 Orchard Dr, Jackson, MO 63755, USA
Phone: (573) 243-9555
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/orcharddriveelementary