OPMS

I hope you are ready for another great week at OPMS. Please take a moment to review the information below.

The Orchard Park Middle School PTO is looking for dedicated parents to join the board for the 2025-2026 school year! This is a great opportunity to get involved, support our school, and help shape the PTO’s initiatives.

We are currently seeking candidates for the following positions:
✅ President
✅ Vice President
✅ Treasurer
✅ Webmaster/Communications

If you’re interested in serving on the board, please email Presidentopmspto@gmail.com. Your involvement makes a difference—thank you for supporting OPMS!

We’re excited to share that our 7th Grade Field Day is just around the corner! This is a memorable and fun-filled day for our students, sponsored by the OPMS PTO and organized by our amazing 7th grade teachers. It’s a great opportunity for students to enjoy friendly competition, team-building, and outdoor activities as we celebrate the end of the year.

More details about the event will be shared soon with 7th grade families. In the meantime, the OPMS PTO is seeking donations to help support Field Day games and activities. Your support helps us continue to provide engaging and exciting experiences for all of our students.

If you’re able to contribute, please consider checking out our Amazon Wishlist linked below. Thank you for your continued generosity and support!

This is to let you know that the week of May 19, Orchard Park Middle School will be conducting a lockdown drill. The purpose of these drills is to ensure the safety and preparedness of our students and staff in case of an emergency. We conduct these drills regularly as part of our commitment to maintaining a safe learning environment. Please rest assured that this is only a drill and not an actual emergency. For any questions or concerns, feel free to contact the main office.

We want to make families aware of a concerning trend circulating on social media, particularly TikTok. The "#ChromebookChallenge" encourages students to intentionally damage their school-issued Chromebooks by inserting metal objects into the charging port or tampering with the battery. This behavior is not only extremely dangerous, it can cause devices to short circuit or even catch fire, but it also results in serious consequences.

Please take a moment to talk with your child about the importance of responsible technology use and the dangers of participating in such online challenges. Any student found intentionally damaging school property may face disciplinary action, including suspension and/or being held financially responsible for the cost of repairs or replacement. Thank you for your continued partnership in helping us keep our school community safe.

Attendance is required for all final exams and instructional activities. Please pay particular attention to the exam dates and times. Morning exams begin at 8:00 am. Afternoon exams begin at 11:45 am.

We are thrilled to share some awesome news - our Battle of the Books team, The Rapid Readers*, absolutely rocked it at today's competition and brought home 3rd place!

What is even more impressive is they achieved 3rd place by only getting 2 questions wrong! That's how fierce the competition was today. Our OP readers tied for 3rd along with Casey Middle, 2nd was awarded to Iroquois Middle, and the championship was granted to Akron Middle.

We are already looking forward to next year’s rematch... and maybe even climbing a step or two higher on that podium. Go Quakers!

The Boys Varsity Golf Team won the Section VI Boys Golf Team Championship this week at Diamond Hawk Golf Course. This is their 4th Sectional Championship in the past 8 years. Enzo Clerici, and Michael Jordan (OPMS 8th Grade Student) will advance to States in June. Congrats to the team, and good luck, Enzo and Michael next month.

Please do not hesitate to reach out if you have any questions or need assistance. Our school office will be open, Monday through Friday from 7:30 AM to 3:30 PM to address any concerns you may have. Here's to another great week at Orchard Park Middle School. Go Quakers!

Thanks,

Mary Kate Graham

OPMS Principal

The OPMS Observer is my weekly newsletter to families. I will send The OPMS Observer out weekly, typically on Mondays. You will receive a text link and an email each week to the newsletter. This is the best source of receiving updated information weekly from the school. I do provide quite an abundance of information in these newsletters and I will remove information in which the deadline has passed.

The OPMS PTO monthly meeting dates have been changed from Wednesdays to Mondays. The meetings will take place in the OPMS Library from 9 - 10 AM on the following dates:

• October 7, 2024
• November 4, 2024
• January 13, 2025
• February 10, 2025
• March 10, 2025
• April 7, 2025
• May 12, 2025

Tuesday, May 13, 2025

• Spring Band Concert

Thursday, May 15, 2025

• 6th and 7th Grade Spring Chorus Concert

Tuesday, May 20, 2025

• OPCSD Annual Budget Vote @ OPHS

Wednesday, May 21, 2025

• 8th Grade Spring Chorus Concert

Thursday, May 22, 2025

• 7th Grade Civil War Encampment

Friday, May 23, 2025

• 8th Grade Holocaust Survivor Assembly
• Half Day - OPMS Dismissal @ 10:30 AM

Monday, May 26, 2025

• Memorial Day - No School