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Odyssey Observer

Odyssey Magnet School ~ August 30, 2024

OdysseyObserver Odyssey Magnet School ~ August 30, 2024

General Updates

First Day Stuff

Grades 2/3 students enter at Door C (by the Gaga ball pit).


Grades 4/5 students enter at Door F (by Mrs. Vanevenhoven's room).


Remember to have a pick up spot ready for the end of the day.

Odyssey Ins and Outs

Here are six basics for you about how we run our program:


1) Please read and sign your child’s planner DAILY. We stamp it each class period after we work on filling in the homework assignments your child needs to work on. If your child got homework, but already completed it, we still have your child write the assignment in so you can see what he or she is getting assigned at school. They will draw a line through it or check it off if this is the case.


2) You will get a weekly emailed newsletter that looks like this, only not as long as this one due to the beginning of the year necessities and information sharing. Please email your child’s homeroom teacher for general questions or their respective subject teacher if it’s a subject specific question. Emails will always be listed at the end of each newsletter.


3) Take home folders will be provided for each student. It is red and plastic; please look for it daily. This is where homework, things for parents to sign, and things to keep at home will be located.


4) If your child has a late assignment, s/he will receive a note in his/her planner about it. Our expectation is that you will assist with reminding said child for completion of the homework with that reminder.


5) One time throughout the year we hold what is called an ‘interim’. An Interim is a time where we “drop” our core classes and study a topic in great detail. These topics will have the core subjects infused throughout. Interims have become something that students really look forward to, learn a lot from, and hold with them in their memories for a long time. The date for this is Feb. 3-14. Please avoid missing school during this time if possible.


6) We welcome parent communication! We view teachers, students, and parents as one big team. We have found that it always works out best when everyone is communicating – there are no questions then and everyone is on the same page. Please do not hesitate to email any of us with a question or comment, or make an appointment for a mini-conference. Although we may not always know the answer and most certainly don’t have a miracle cure, but we will do our absolute best to find a solution that works for your child. We are here to help! Emails for each adult that your child works with throughout the day are ALWAYS listed at the bottom of each newsletter.


10) Please call the office (920-852-5480) to report that your child will be absent when they are sick or if you are on vacation (not during the interim, please!!!). The office needs a direct contact so they can ask the necessary questions. An email to us is not enough. If you plan on being out of school for more than three days, please fill out a Request for Student Absence form located in the office. The forms are also on the Odyssey website under Families/Forms.

For Grades 4/5 Parents Only!

Odyssey 4/5 parents are invited to join us for an Odyssey Boot Camp to learn the Ins and Outs of Odyssey 4/5 and ask us all the questions! It will be held on Sept. 16th from 6:30-7:15 PM in the LMC.

Every Student Will Have STEM Class This Year!!

Student Spotlight

Coming in future updates!!!

From Mrs. McCann and Mrs. Blattner - Grades 2 and 3

Homeroom

Here are a few of the ‘nuts and bolts’ we’ll be doing as a homeroom the first week of school:

  • Finding things we have in common with classmates

  • Organizing and labeling school supplies

  • Choosing personally appropriate seating for the year

  • Setting parameters for having a therapy dog in our classroom

  • Discovering the Muppets

  • Discussing emergency drills

  • Agreeing on behavior expectations

  • Introducing our schedule and classes

Social Studies

History anyone? Yep, it used to be my LEAST favorite, believe it or not! But now…I can’t get enough and look forward to sharing my excitement with my students! These are some of the units we will be exploring this year:

  • Immigration

  • US Government

  • The History of Washington DC

  • Wisconsin

  • Being an Upstander



;

Science

It’s going to be an exciting year, scientists!!! We will be learning so much together. Here are just a few units for you to look forward to:

  • Animal Adventures

  • Work of Water

  • Stormy Skies

  • Material Magic

So get your “SCIENCE” on and get ready for some fun!

ELA 2/3

We will ‘steal’ much of our early ELA times to work on homeroom procedures the first few weeks of school. Eventually ELA will include these components:

  • SPELLING: each student will be given differentiated spelling patterns to work on each week, along with daily activities and classwork (we will use Canvas to deliver this work)

  • WRITING: students will increase their endurance to free write daily, they will be asked to do on demand writing, and they will work through large several large writing projects this year

  • TYPING: students will use Typing Club to learn touch typing

  • HANDWRITING: 2nd graders should master print, 3rd graders should master cursive this year

  • READING: students will be given daily time to read books of their choice (they need a book at school each day)

  • READ ALOUD: we will do daily read aloud that will model skills of higher level reading, including responding to reading

Math

This year I plan to lead our 2nd/3rd graders through 7 math units. For each unit I will pre-assess students and then place them appropriately at their level - anywhere from a 2nd grade level to a 5th grade level. Students will join together to open class with a math talk that engages all levels of learners, they work independently and collaboratively through material while I support their work, and then we always close class with whole group work sharing things we learned and filling in planners.


We will begin this year with a short statistics unit, culminating in the annual AMSTAT poster contest project. Other units (with personalized complexity) will be:


  • Multiplication

  • Fractions (and decimals)

  • Adding and Subtracting

  • Measurement (may include time and money work)

  • Geometry

  • Division

Therapy Dogs

We are excited to have Bo and Sasha returning with us this school year. They LOVE being part of our classroom communities and are terrific friends. If you haven’t signed the permission slip for Bo and Sasha to come to school, please do so as soon as possible. We need all forms turned in before they can join us in our classrooms!

Normally, Sasha will be here on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. Bo will be here on Fridays and sometimes Tuesdays. They are both looking forward to seeing you all!

From Mrs. Lenaburg - Social-Emotional Grade 2

As a Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) teacher, I will spend time getting to know the second graders. We will practice writing in our gratitude journals, and begin a unit on self-awareness.

From Madame Hedberg - Grades 3

From Mr. Tibbets - Grades 4 and 5

Homeroom

We will be spending the first four days establishing our routines, our classroom expectations, and learning about each other. It’s all about building our own community.

Social Studies

This week:

  • What is Social Studies?

  • Our overriding topic for the year is “Decision-Making”--how does it apply to our individual lives? Our school? Our homes? Our elected leaders? Our world?

  • Overview of the year including units on Global Commons, the Holocaust, Indigenous History, History of Politics, THE ELECTION, and the foundation of economics, in

Coming Up:

  • Setting up our social studies notebook and assessing student knowledge and approaches to all facets of social studies

Earth Science: (Tibbets homeroom)

This week:

  • Observations vs. Inferences

  • Naturalist Notebooks: We will practice making observations and inferences outside at school. Students will practice this skill at home a few times this fall!

  • Millions vs. Billions vs. Trillions: We will use this to begin to explore the immense age of the universe


Coming Up:


  • Age of the Universe modeling

  • Naturalist notebook #2

From Mrs. Vanevenhoven - Grades 4 and 5

Homeroom

.Next week will be all about getting to know each other and establishing routines and expectations! We have many engaging activities and games planned that focus on team building, as well as fostering positive relationships and building a classroom community. We will help the year start as smoothly as possible by learning and reviewing routines and expectations in the classroom. I am eager to get to know everyone and get this year started!

Math 4/5

.We won’t be jumping into the curriculum yet, but will spend the first week or two gearing up our math brains. We will work on class collaboration as well as inspiring and engaging math activities to promote math talk, deep level thinking, and number sense. We will also review and practice math facts. Look for more information about the curriculum and the first math unit next week.

Physical Science

Physical science is all about chemistry this year! We will spend next week thinking like scientists and practicing making observations and note taking.

From Mrs. Velpel - Grades 4 and 5

Homeroom

We will spend a bunch of time getting our things set up, getting to know each other, playing some games, and having a good time this first week. Eventually, our homeroom becomes like a little family.

ELA 4/5

  • Students will have spelling work each week, with varying levels of difficulties.
  • Students will read 25 minutes daily. We DO have about 15 minutes built into our day this year to year, so they won't have much to finish up at home!
  • We will learn about grammar, decoding while reading, writing and reading skills, and learning to speak in front of the class.
  • Need a good book to read? Here's a tried and true list for students to check out (or YOU!): Odyssey Recommended Books

Life Science (Velpel Homeroom)

For life science this year, we are focusing on ecosystems and all that entails (inter-dependency, food chains, disruptance and effects, decomposition, etc.).


We will read about places and things, do experiments, and handle worms! We're going to have fun!

From Madame Hedberg - Grades 4 and 5

If You're Absent, Please Check Out These Pages

Grades 2/3: We Miss You

Grades 4/5: We Missed You


These documents are also located on each student's homeroom Canvas page. They have been taught how to get to this spot in each classroom.

Highlands/Odyssey Family Mailgram

Follow this link for the Highlands Mailgram.

Teacher Wish List

McCann -🚫

Blattner - colored Sharpie markers

Tibbets- 🚫

Velpel -🚫

Witzeling - 🚫

Hooyman/DeJarlais - 🚫

Ghiglieri - 🚫

Odyssey Directory

Here is the final version of the Odyssey Student Directory.


This is last year's directory. News on this year's will be coming out soon!

Questions? Concerns?? Compliments???

Please email the appropriate person from this list of Odyssey team members; we'll get back to you!


Jean McCann - Grades 2 and 3: mccannjean@aasd.k12.wi.us

Jenni Blattner - Grades 2 and 3: blattnerjennif@aasd.k12.wi.us

Brian Tibbets - Grades 4 and 5: tibbetsbrian@aasd.k12.wi.us

Abby Vanevenhoven - Grades 4 and 5: vanevenhovenab@aasd.k12.wi.us

Courtney Velpel - Grades 4 and 5: velpelcourtney@aasd.k12.wi.us

Kirsten Hedberg - French 3/4/5: hedbergkirsten@aasd.k12.wi.us

Zay Lenaburg - SEL Grades 2: lenaburgzay@aasd.k12.wi.us

Melissa Fields - Music: fieldsmelissa@aasd.k12.wi.us

Kadie Smith - Music: smithkadie@aasd.k12.wi.us

Erin Sjostrom - Art: sjostromerin@aasd.k12.wi.us

Bryce Verheyen - Phy Ed: verheyenbryce@aasd.k12.wi.us

Melissa Gurholt - Strings: gurholtmelissa@aasd.k12.wi.us

Kelley Carpenter - Band: carpenterkelle@aasd.k12.wi.us

Torrie Kalkofen - Secretary: kalkofentorrie@aasd.k12.wi.us

Jessica Nesemann - Secretary: nesemannjessic@aasd.k12.wi.us

Kari Krueger - Principal: kruegerkari@aasd.k12.wi.us

Michael Dexheimer - Associate Principal: dexheimermicha@aasd.k12.wi.us

Going Out of Town?

If you are planning to miss school, please fill out this form and turn it into the office: Absence Form. Thanks!

Upcoming Events at Highlands/Odyssey!

September

3 - First day of school

16 - Odyssey 4/5 Parent Boot Camp - 6:30-7:15 PM in the LMC

17 - Badger Sports Park - 4:00-8:00 PM

30 - No School


October

5 - Tough Kid Challenge - 9:00 AM -1:00 PM

7 - PTO Meeting 3:45-4:45 PM - LMC

8 - Picture Day

22 - Parent/Teacher Conferences

24 - Parent/Teacher Conferences

25 - No School


November

4 - PTO Meeting - 6:00-7:00 PM - LMC

14 - Picture Retake Day

27 - No School

28 - No School

29 - No School


December

9 - Odyssey Open House - 6:30-7:15 PM

23-31 Winter Break


January

1 - Winter Break

2 - School resumes

6 - PTO Meeting - 3:45-4:45 PM - LMC

17 - No School

20 - No School

24 - Highlands/Odyssey Glow Dance - 6:00 PM - Gym


February

3 - 14 Interim - Mini-Society

3 - PTO Meeting - 6:00-7:00 PM - LMC

13 - Grades 4/5 Music Concert - 2:30 PM - Gym

17 - No School

21 - Market Day #1

25 - Parent/Teacher Conferences

27 - Parent/Teacher Conferences

28 - Market Day #2


March

4 - Grades 2/3 Music Concert - 2:30 PM - Gym

6 - Interim Mini-Society Showcase 6:30-7:15 PM

10 - PTO Meeting - 3:45-4:45 PM - LMC

21 - 30 Spring Break

31 - School resumes


April

7 - PTO Meeting - 6:00-7:00 PM - LMC

10 - Goodies with Grown Ups - 7:30-8:15 AM - Gym

18 - No School

29 - Strings/Band Concert - 1:15 PM AND 2:15 PM - Gym (choose one to go to)


May

5 - PTO Meeting - 3:45-4:45 PM - LMC

8 - Fun Run - 4:30-6:00 PM

13 - Odyssey Skate Party 5:30-7:30 PM

23 - No School

26 - No School


June

4 - Odyssey 5th Grade Farewell 5:00-6:30 PM

5 - Field Day/School Picnic

6 - Last Day of School - Dismissal at 11:27 AM

Previous Newsletters

None yet - stay tuned!

Odyssey Magnet School

Odyssey-Magellan Magnet School provides learners that are highly gifted with a challenging study of math, science, communication arts, social studies, and foreign language in a stimulating classroom environment, with experienced and dedicated teachers.


Students in grades 2 through 5 attend school on the Odyssey campus located at Highlands Elementary School. Students in grades 6 through 8 attend school on the Magellan campus located at Wilson Middle School.

Email: velpelcourtney@aasd.k12.wi.us
Website: om.aasd.k12.wi.us
Location: 2037 North Elinor Street, Appleton, WI, USA
Phone: (920) 8525480
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OMMagnetSchool

COURTNEY VELPEL
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