Dear OMS Community,

We are excited to welcome students back to OMS on Wednesday, September 6th. As you prepare for the start of the school year, please read this Back to School Edition of the OMS Community Newsletter for important information.

Best,

Mrs. Crowley

As summer winds down, help your student prepare for the start of the school year by slowly adjusting their sleep routine. During the summer vacation, sleep schedules shift and to best prepare for the year it helps to slowly adjust students' sleep routines to wake up earlier and go to sleep sooner so they are prepared for a 7:35am to 2:12pm school day.

Parents/guardians can help students start off the year strong by encouraging them to come to school everyday and helping get them to OMS on time. Our school day officially starts at 7:35am, but our building opens as early as 7:00am. If you get to the OMS parking lot at 7:30am, you may run into traffic and your student could be late. We are serving breakfast for free in our Cafe from 7:00-7:30am so drop off your student early so they can get to their first class on time. We will be sharing a September incentive with students during their beginning of the year team meetings to help encourage attendance in school everyday to start the year off strong!

Some students might feel anxious about starting the school year or starting middle school. This U.S. News article, "Supporting Your Child's Transition to Middle School" provides information regarding how children developmentally change during their middle school years and shares some strategies for how to support them during this time.

Reminder: There will be an orientation for incoming 6th grade students on Tuesday, August 29, 2023 from 9-10:30am at the O'Donnell Middle School (211 Cushing St.). Students entering 6th grade will participate in a scavenger hunt to become familiar with the building, receive their team, schedules, and locker assignments, get to meet members of the OMS staff, and ask questions. Parents/guardians should drop off their Grade 6 student starting at 8:45am so the orientation can start right at 9am.

(If your student would like to come into the building before school starts and cannot make the Orientation on the 29th, please contact the OMS office to schedule a time for your student to come into the building to find their classrooms and locate their locker.)

We are excited to be offering athletics at the middle school level this school year, starting this upcoming fall season! Students entering 7th and 8th grade will be eligible to participate. Please join us for an information night on Wednesday, August 30, 2023 at 6pm at the OMS Learning Commons (211 Cushing St.) to find out more about the middle school athletics program, including how to register, what to expect, and eligibility requirements.

This fall we will be offering cross country, boys soccer, and girls soccer at the middle school level. There is no cost to participate. We are planning on offering basketball in the winter and track and field in the spring, and are looking into offering additional sports as well. While incoming 6th graders aren’t eligible for this program, they will be able to participate in after-school intramural sports.

The registration portal will open on August 28, 2023 for the upcoming fall season. The deadline to register for the fall season will be September 11, 2023. Use this link to register: https://www.familyid.com/organizations/stoughton-high-school

The student drop-off/pick-up area is in the lot in front of the building, along the curb with the yellow stripes.

For morning drop-off, we ask that you pull your car all the way to the second crosswalk (towards the parking lot exit). The morning entrance for students is at the second crosswalk (see above picture for student entrance). As you enter this area, please drive carefully and be patient. There will be signs and OMS staff members in the parking lot to help direct the traffic in the morning.

Remember that students are able to be dropped off and enter the building as early as 7am. From 7 to 7:15am there is very little drop-off traffic, and we strongly encourage families to drop off at this time if possible.

The traffic is very heavy for afternoon pick-up, especially in the first few weeks of school before after school activities start. The dismissal bell rings at 2:12pm, but most students do not get outside until closer to 2:20pm. Most of the buses exit the front parking lot at around 2:22pm. Please keep this in mind as you plan for pick-up.

THERE IS NO PARENT DROP-OFF OR PICK-UP IN THE UPPER PARKING LOT BETWEEN OMS AND SHS. This lot is for SHS student and OMS staff parking only.

Here is a visual of drop-off traffic patterns at OMS:

Please make sure the nurse has a copy of your child's annual physical exam from their doctors office. It is MA state law and required in grades K, 4, 7 and 11 but best practice is to send it in yearly because it is needed for sports and field trips.

All medications needed at school must be given in the nurse's office including over the counter medicines like cough drops. All prescription medications (like Epipens and Inhalers) need a doctor's order and parent permission form filled out. We are attaching the 2 forms here. Please call the school nurse with questions or about which over the counter medicines can be given at school.

We appreciate your help in keeping kids safe and healthy at school.

Grade 6

Grade 6 Students will receive new chromebooks for middle school! On the first day of school, Grade 6 students will receive their chromebook contract. On September 12th, we will distribute new chromebooks to Grade 6 students. In order to receive their new chromebook, students need to bring in their signed contract along with their old chromebook. Students will not be receiving new chromebook chargers. The old chargers will work on the new chromebooks. If your student has lost their charger, you can reach out to the Technology Department at helpdesk@stoughtonschools.org to order a replacement charger for $25.

Grades 7 & 8

Grades 7 & 8 students will continue to use their chromebooks while they are at OMS. If there are any issues with their chromebook, please reach out to the Technology Department at helpdesk@stoughtonschools.org. If your student has lost their charger, you can reach out to the Technology Department at helpdesk@stoughtonschools.org to order a replacement charger for $25.

Student schedules will be available to view on the Parent Portal on Monday, August 28th. Parents/guardians will receive notification when they are available to view. Students will receive a printed schedule in their Period 1 class on the first day of school. If students would like a printed schedule before school begins, they can stop by the OMS office and we can print out their schedule. Summer hours are from 8:00am - 3:00pm.

Schedule Information:

We have 7 class periods in a school day. Our school schedule follows a six-day cycle: Day A through Day F. A student's schedule changes from day to day depending on the letter day of the cycle. While some classes run daily, other classes only meet a few times per cycle, and some classes meet for a trimester.

• Core Content Classes are on Team: English Language Arts, Math, Science, Social Studies. These classes meet daily for the entire school year. All students are enrolled in content classes.
• World Languages (Grades 7 and 8): These classes meet daily for the entire school year. Classes include: Spanish 1A, Spanish 1B, French 1A, French 1B, Portuguese. Students who have availability in their schedules are enrolled in a world language.
• Exploratory Classes (Grades 6, 7, 8): Art, Physical Education/Health, STEM. These classes meet daily for the trimester (60 days) and are on a rotation. When the next trimester begins, students move on to the next exploratory class. All students are enrolled in exploratory classes.
• Exploring Classes and Labs (Grade 6): Exploring Music as a Language, Math Lab, Exploring World Languages, Grade 6 Reading Lab. These classes meet daily for the trimester (60 days) and are on a rotation. Identified students who can use reading support will be scheduled into a Grade 6 Reading Lab. Students who have availability in their schedules are enrolled in these classes.
• Reading Lab (Grades 6, 7, 8): Identified students who can use reading support and who have room in their schedule are enrolled in a Reading Lab.
• Enrichment Classes and Support Classes (Grades 6, 7, 8): Each grade has an enrichment block. These enrichment classes meet a certain amount of days per cycle and run the entire school year. Enrichment class offerings vary by grade. Students are enrolled in enrichment and support classes based on availability in their schedules.
• Grade 6: Academic Lab, Art Enrichment, Band, Chorus, Drama Enrichment, Lab Support, Physical Education Enrichment, Reading DEAR, STEM Enrichment
• Grade 7: Academic Lab, Art Enrichment, Band, Chorus, Drama, Lab Support, Physical Education Enrichment, Reading DEAR, STEM Enrichment
• Grade 8: Academic Lab, Art Enrichment, Band, Chorus, Drama, MyCAP Enrichment, Lab Support, Physical Education Enrichment, Reading DEAR, STEM Enrichment
• Knight Time Advisory: All students are enrolled in an advisory class called Knight Time. Students meet with their advisory class once per month on Early Thursdays.

Class Information:

We have two new enrichment classes this school year.

• Reading DEAR (all grades, new this year): DEAR stands for "Drop Everything and Read." In this unplugged enrichment class, students will take a break from the busy school day and technology by reading. Students can discover their love for reading by going on an adventure in their books. Students who have DEAR on their schedule can bring in a book to read from home or the Stoughton Public Library. DEAR classes will also have the chance to visit and check out books from our OMS Learning Commons.
• MyCAP Enrichment (Grade 8, new this year): MyCAP stands for My Career and Academic Planning. Students taking MyCAP will have the opportunity to explore and learn more about their own personal social development, academic planning, and career exploration. (Knight Time Advisory lessons for all grades have a MyCAP focus this school year)

We will continue to use Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports this school year. During the first couple weeks of school, we will have team meetings where administrators and school counselors will review school-wide expectations. (Teachers will review their own classroom expectations for students during class.) Attached you can find a copy of our OMS Behavior Matrix which we will review with students during our team meetings.

As part of PBIS, we will be recognizing students who continue to follow school expectations in order to highlight positive behavior in our school. Students can earn positive recognition cards throughout the school year for demonstrating traits of respect, responsibility, and readiness. They can trade these cards in for various prizes. Students who consistently follow expectations can be selected as Students of the Month. Each month, five students will be selected as Students of the Month and can earn a certificate and Daddy's Dairy gift card. We will also be sharing opportunities throughout the year for students to earn grade-wide, team, and school-wide incentives.

Email: k_crowley@stoughtonschools.org
Website: oms.stoughtonschools.org
Location: 211 Cushing Street, Stoughton, MA, USA
Phone: 781-344-7002
Facebook: facebook.com/stoughtonpublicschools
Twitter: @katrinapcrowley