Oshki Ogimaag Community School
October 11, 2024
Boozhoo Oshki Ogimaag Community School Families and Community Partners,
“The secret of change is to focus all of your energy not on fighting the old, but on building the new.”
-Socrates
"Building the new" is a theme or inspiration for our staff at Oshki Ogimaag Community School this school year. We are in many ways building something new, yet what we are building is deeply rooted in something old, which is the mission and vision that our school was built upon. It is a year of change and growth, with new staff, new curriculum, in many ways a new physical environment and a re-centering and re-focusing on the meaning of our mission and working with great intention to live this mission each day at school.
As we move through the year and the further into the future, we will undoubtedly face unexpected changes, this part of education, part of the realities of a school and part of life itself. This week when faced with unexpected change, we are proud of how our staff were able to come together and make plans that serve our students with exceptional care for their wellbeing, their education and their experiences at Oshki Ogimaag. Our 2nd grade Teacher, Mr. Tim is no longer able to commit to full-time teaching. We are thankful he was able to get the school year started with us and wish him the best. Ms. James and Ms. Tina are Team Teaching 2nd grade, with the support of the AMAZING Ms. Kat. Ms. Tina is using our new curriculum and teaching literacy (reading and writing) and math, while Ms. James is continuing to instruct the students in Ojibwe Language and Culture as well as social studies, science and environmental education. Both Ms. James and Ms. Tina are working on Social Emotional Learning (SEL) with the class and art.
In math, students continued to work on addition and subtraction and write mathematical expressions and equations.
Our Language Arts curriculum integrates state standards-based learning targets in reading, writing, social studies, science, and art. Language Arts for 2nd graders is broken into three 1-hour blocks:
- Skills Block (focuses on structured phonics, and building foundational literacy skills) - small group rotations where students read texts tailored to their specific reading level with just enough difficulty to provide some challenge to take them to the next level without being so difficult that reading is frustrating or discouraging.
- Language Arts Modules - is content-based literacy lessons, focusing in building literacy in a collaborative classroom.
- Labs - Is focused on hands-on short and long-term classroom and individual projects integrating science, social studies, mathematics, art, and literacy.
This week our integrated lessons were focused on “Schools and Community.” Students read about and discussed the importance of schools, challenges of school, what school means to them and read about what school means to students and educators, different ages, from all over the country. Our 2nd graders wrote a letter to our Kindergarteners about the meaning of school, thinking about what questions Kindergartners might have about starting school and presented it to the class and answered questions from the Kindergarteners directly.
Our Focused Read Aloud was The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds. Students listened to the book read aloud, read the book several times, acted out scenes from the book, explored themes from the book, wrote about character emotions and the central message of the book, and created artwork based upon the book. Students followed the instructions of the teacher in the text, “Just make a mark and see where it takes you.” I think of this as we prepare students to be citizens of the world, excited to see the shape of of their marks and hear of where their journeys take them.
It was amazing, as we continued to dig deeper exploring the themes of the book, hearing students articulate the meaning that the author was trying to convey with his work. Our 2nd graders are creative and intuitive thinkers, they are a group of young scholars with so many wonderful ideas to share! The theme of the story is facing challenges with perseverance, being inspired and supported by others and then inspiring and supporting others, and learning to believe in one’s self.
Ensuring that all our students academic and social emotional needs are met will always be our top priority! If you have any questions or concerns please reach out to Ms. James or Ms. Tina!
Charlene (Char) James is Oshki Ogimaag's Cultural Liaison
This week we welcomed the wonderful Ms. Charlene (Char James) to our staff as our Cultural Liaison! Char communicates that growing up with traditional Native values and a love for people, children, family and the Grand Portage Community, as well as reflecting on history, the good, the truth and everything in between, is what brought her to this role. Ms. Char speaks about how her own Mother, an educator, “kept the fires burning”, of Anishinaabe culture and traditions in her upbringing. Ms. Char has a calming, nonjudgemental presence and a dedication to the mission our school, which poise her to fulfill her role of supporting students, families and staff exceptionally well.
Ms. Char is also spending time in classrooms getting to know students and the routines of our school. She looks forward to getting to know everyone! Please extend a warm welcome to Oshki Ogimaag when you see Ms. Char!
It's been an extra sleepy week!
Whether it's the changing of the seasons, increased academic rigor, or any other myriad of causes, we've noticed students being EXTRA sleepy this week! Sometimes students were falling asleep in class.
It's still the beginning of the school year, and we know all too well how busy family life is, which can make good sleep hygiene difficult to achieve. Sleep hygiene refers to habits and environmental factors that can contribute to better sleep. Students K-5 need about 9-12 hours of sleep each night to feel properly rested.
Tips for Improved Sleep:
- Shut down electronics 1 hour before bed
- A room temperature of 60 to 67 degrees is considered optimal for children to sleep in
- Encourage your student to use their bed only for sleeping (not playing, hanging out, etc.)
- Create and stick to a sleep schedule of going to bed at the same time and waking at the same time, even on weekends (sounds super tough, but when you are able to do it, it does help!)
- Avoid caffeinated beverages after 12pm
- Get daily exercise in the morning and afternoons, try to avoid evenings (if evenings can't be avoided, try some relaxation techniques, i.e. deep breathing, meditation, or even reading!)
- Establish a consistent and calming bedtime routine
My youngest kiddo often struggles to sleep, when he was a little younger a cup of Sleepytime tea and reading before bed did the trick!
Last of the Autumn Harvest!
Students did the last harvesting of the season with Ms. Tess Bailey, Grand Portage Community Nutrition Educator and Ms. Kat. They also made apple chips and apple butter, and artisanal breads in preparation for Indigenous Peoples' Day Feast! We are so thankful for the time and hands-on experiences our students have with Ms. Tess and Ms. Kat!
We Need at Least 1 More Parent of a Currently Enrolled Student to Join Our Board!
We are looking for a minimum of one more individual who is a parent/guardian of a currently enrolled student of Oshki Ogimaag Community School to join our Board of Directors! The Parent Board Members are required per MN statute. We are looking to fill these vacancies ASAP!
The Board meets 1 time per month, the 3rd Wednesday of each month (unless otherwise noted on the calendar), at OOCS at 4:30pm.
Participating on the Board is a great way to serve Oshki Ogimaag Community School and use your voice to play an instrumental role in supporting OOCS in meeting the goals of our mission! Also, we have amazing Community Board members that you would get to spend time with!
Please reach out (email below) or reach out to a current Board member (see our website) if you are interested!
