Boozhoo Oshki Ogimaag Community School Families and Community Partners,
In Minnesota, School Bus Driver Appreciation Day is February 19th each year. Our students spent some time writing words of appreciation and drawing pictures on cards, for our wonderful Transportation Director, Mr. Fish! Mr. Fish has been driving bus for over 43 years!!! Mr. Fish says the part of his day, whihc he looks forward to most, is picking up students, “It’s the joy of my day!” he exclaims. Mr. Fish loves spending time with his family, his wife, two daughters, grandchildren and his black cat, “Spooky.” His favorite place to go for fun and relaxation is fishing on the Pigeon River. He loves fishing so much, that’s how he got his nickname “Fish"!
Mr. Fish loves to see when everyone is working together cooperatively and always offers words of encouragement to students and staff! We are so thankful to have Mr. Fish on our team! Chi-miigwech Mr. Fish!
A Peek Into Our Week
Waagoshag - Last week, in Reading and Writing, Kindergartners continued to sound out spell, and write sight words and read poems, identifying rhyming words and sight words within the poems. In Reading, 1st grade continued to read short stories and respond to comprehension questions. In Writing, 1st grade continued to practice sentence writing, writing questions, statements and commands. In Math, Kindergartners continued to learn about addition and subtraction and 1st grade is working on adding and subtracting within 20 and solving word problems. In Science, the class continues to learn about Winter and Weather. In Social Studies, the class continues to learn about Black History Month.
Makwag - Last week in Foundational Reading Skills, students learned about words with affixes, such as the suffixes -tion and -sion. In phonemic awareness skills development, students learned to delete the final sound in three and four sound words. This week Makwag read a poem called, My Aunt’s Graduation. Students worked on decoding mutlisyllable words ending in -sion and -tion. Makwags’ decodable reader last week was Soup Station, a short story about a father and son going to get soup, the text is filled with 2nd grade sight words and practice with the suffixes -sion and -tion.
In Language Arts Module, Makwag are learning about how to answer questions and write about a paleontologist’s tools, using details from the text, Curious About Fossils by Kate Waters. Students are working on writing a paragraph about paleontologist tools. In Math, students are learning to measure in centimeters and meters and solve story problems comparing lengths.
In Physical Education, Makwag combined with Waagoshag to play color tag. Students continued to practice being respectful and supportive players while playing the game. In Art, Makwag worked on drawing when given open-ended prompts and making cards for Mr Fish, for Bus Driver Appreciation. In Science, Makwag learned about biomes, and the characteristics of a desert biome. In Social Studies, Makwag learned about cardinal directions and why we use them.
Migiziwag - 5th graders analyzed essays; they identified the introduction paragraphs, focus statements, supporting statements and conclusions. In their next assignment, they will be writing essays on the text, The Most Beautiful Roof in the World, by Kathryn Lasky. Currently, they are in the planning stage. They are planning how to introduce the topic, the title of the book, and the author. They will then write their focus statements, and describe how the author uses concrete language and sensory details, and they will use evidence from the text to support their statements.
3rd and 4th graders are reading articles about different animals, working to become animal fact experts. For each animal fact paragraph they write, the main idea derives from their research and students support each statement with evidence from the texts they are using in their research. The class has begun a project where they are writing a 5 paragraph biographical essay. Students chose individuals that they know personally, to write about, and are focusing on writing details of their subject.
In Math, 3rd grade is working on estimating and learning to round to the nearest tenth and hundredth, adding and subtracting with four digits, and working on multi-step word problems. Practicing multiplication facts at home would be beneficial! 4th grade is working on comparing fractions and decimals, and converting fractions into decimals and vice versa. In Math, 5th graders are learning how to solve partial products in diagrams. The class has written to other schools in all 50 states and is hoping for 100% responses.
Hands-On, Community-Based Projects Happening at Oshki Ogimaag
We have Intergenerational Yoga with Ms. Carly each week on Thursdays. Yoga sessions are 20 minutes long and work to support students with focus, attention, mindfulness, emotional regulation, and bodily awareness. Each session, Elders are invited to participate! See flyer below for details and reach out with any questions!
Students continue swimming lessons, lead by certified instructors from Cook County YMCA. Students have swimming on Mondays and Wednesdays through the first week of March.
Students work with Anne Brataas, from the MN Children’s Press, engaging in Writers Workshops, on Mondays and Wednesdays through the the end of February.
North House Folk School provides Woodworking classes after school on Wednesdays.
On Friday, 1854 Treaty Authority's Education and Outreach Aides visited Oshki Ogimaag Community School to present their furs program to students. After their visit, 1854 Treaty Authority posted, "The kids learned about those relatives that we share the landscape - especially those that can tough out Biboon with their thick fur. Miigwech bizindaawiieg of how wazhashk saved the world."
Mondays 3:30-4:30, through March 31st, Dr. Erik Redix is leading Ojibwe Language Table, located in the OOCS Conference Room! Join us to learn and/or increase your Ojibwemowin skills! See flyer below for details!
Each Friday afternoon, the whole school joins together for hiking in the woods along trails, creeks, adventuring to different local areas in nature, including the shores of Gichigami. Forest Fridays are lead by our Environmental Education Coordinator, Ms. Jeana Van Dyne, and Forest Friday activities target meeting our Environmental Education goals with our authorizer, Osprey Wilds.
Jenn Sorenson, RN, Health Director at Grand Portage Health Services sent out the following message about increased flu activity this week:
An increase of influenza has been seen in the community over the past few weeks. Flu viruses primarily spread through droplets when an infected person coughs, sneezes, or talks. These droplets can land on people nearby or on surfaces that others might touch. It is important to continue to practice safety precautions during this time. If you have flu-like symptoms such as cough, fever, or body aches stay home except to get medical care. Most people will recover in a few days to less than two weeks. If you are very sick or at high risk of getting very sick from flu, talk to your health care provider to see if antiviral medication is recommended.
In addition to getting the flu vaccine, simple preventative actions can help stop the spread of influenza and other respiratory viruses:
- Wash hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
- Avoid touching eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands.
- Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
- Stay home when sick.
- Cover cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash.
- Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces.
Please call the Health Services for testing, questions and recommendations for managing flu-like illnesses.
During this time of increased flu activity and other illness activity, we want to keep all of our students, staff and Community safe. We will be diligent about sending symptomatic students and staff home to prevent the spread of illness. See flu fact sheet below.
Chilly Temps Call for Cold Weather Gear
Please make sure your student comes to school in weather-appropriate clothes and outdoor gear every day. We are committed to outdoor learning and experiences throughout the entire school year, including the many months of chilly, snowy, weather we experience in Minnesota. Now is a good time to switch to long sleeves each day so your student can be comfortable. Each day your student should have the "Big 5": Boots they can hike in, a jacket warm enough for the weather, snow pants, hat, and mittens or gloves.
If your family faces barriers preventing you from providing these items for your students, please reach out, we often have donations of winter gear and/or can help you connect with Human Services to ensure all students have warm winter gear. Please include sizes and color preferences, when reaching out.
