Oak Ridge Connection

The Oak Ridge community commits to every student's academic achievement, personal development, and social responsibility.

Monday, April 14th: PTA Meeting @ 7:00pm

Wednesday, April 16th: Family Circles (no late start)

Thursday, April 17th: Fire Drill

Friday, April 18th: No School

Monday, April 21st: Report Cards Go Live @ 2:00pm

Wednesdays, April 23rd & 30th: Late Start for Students

Thursday, April 24th: 4th Grade Music Program @ 7:00pm

Friday, April 25th: Lower El (DK-2nd) Beach Party

Tuesday, April 29: ROMS Open House for incoming 6th graders @ 5:00 p.m.

Dear Families,

I hope everyone enjoyed a peaceful and safe Spring Break with friends and family! It was wonderful to see everyone back in the building. This week, students did a great job of remembering their high five behaviors and routines of their school day. I am looking forward to a great fourth quarter!

Sincerely,

Dr. Jason Parrott

Each week we are going to focus on a High Five Behavior of the Week.

This week's behavior is: Be Cooperative on the Playground: Take turns, share equipment, and follow the rules of games. If you would like to view our High Five PBIS Matrix please look below.

Thank you to the Oak Ridge volunteers! We appreciate all that you do for our school. We would like to have a little THANK YOU celebration for you on Friday, April 25th at 8:00am in the front hallway. If you plan to attend, please email alison.bodle@royaloakschools.org by April 18th. Thank you so much! We hope to see you there!

During M-STEP Testing, we ask that your child arrives to school on-time and gets a good night of sleep, so they are well rested and ready to try their best.

Electronic devices (smartphones, smart watches, etc.) are not allowed to be with students during testing sessions. All devices must be turned off and put away while students are testing.

M-STEP Testing Schedule:

5th Grade:

Thursday, April 10th: Science

Monday, April 14th: English Language Arts #1

Tuesday, April 15th: English Language Arts #2

Thursday, April 24th: Math

Monday, April 28th: Social Studies

4th Grade:

Tuesday, April 22nd: English Language Arts #1

Wednesday, April 23rd: English Language Arts #2

Tuesday, April 29th: Math

3rd Grade:

Thursday, May 1st: Math

Tuesday, May 6th: English Language Arts #1

Thursday, May 8th: English Language Arts #2

Additional Testing Guidelines:

Electronic Assessment Administrative Guidelines for Royal Oak Schools

Testing is designed to be manageable for students by breaking it up into small sessions over several days. The testing schedule is designed to be safe, fulfill state testing requirements, and provide meaningful data while being minimally disruptive to learning as possible.

Fifth Grade Families,

We are thrilled to welcome our new Bulldogs to Royal Oak Middle School! It was wonderful meeting many of your students during our tours last month, and we look forward to an exciting journey ahead.

Here are three important steps to prepare for this transition:

1. 6th Grade Open House – Join us on April 29th, 6:30-8:00 PM to explore the school and learn about middle school expectations.
   
   

2. Elective Selection – Complete the attached Class of 2032: ROMS 6th Grade Registration form to choose your student’s arts elective and answer a math placement question. Please submit by April 11th.
   
   

3. Student Information Update – Please ensure your student’s records are accurate by updating their information in MiStar.

Please remember to join the PTA - we are working hard to keep our community strong! The PTA welcomes every student & their family from Oak Ridge. We want to make sure we are inclusive of all families and everyone has the opportunity to be a member. If there are financial limitations preventing you from joining the PTA please contact us so we can remove that barrier. It takes all of us working together to make our children reach their true potential.

Join online at: https://oakridge.memberhub.store/

Individual memberships are $10/year.

National PTA Advocacy

National PTA is the oldest and largest child advocacy association in America. For 125 years, PTA has worked with school communities and decision makers to solve the toughest problems in our nation’s history. PTA is a nonprofit association that prides itself on being a powerful voice for all children, a relevant resource for families and communities, and a strong advocate for public education.

National PTA Position Statements outline the opinion, will or intent of National PTA to address national problems, situations or concerns that affect children and youth. National PTA Resolutions serve to formalize and focus the positions of the organization and are an important part of the association's advocacy work.

National PTA Advocacy

National PTA Positions and Resolutions

Oak Ridge has adopted a whole school behavior management system. We are still using our High Five Rules, but we will be using Class Dojo to to keep track of High Five Behaviors instead of High Five tickets. All teachers will have access to Class Dojo and you will be able to keep track of Dojo points from home. Students will be able to trade in their points for different rewards.

Please follow up with your child should you notice any "needs work" marks as well as praise them for any positive behavior choices!

We are committed to fostering a positive and respectful learning environment for all students. I am writing to address a serious matter: the use of threatening language. Over the course of this school year, I have noticed students making threatening statements towards other students. This tends to happen when students get angry about a situation that has occurred. I want you to know that when a threatening statement is made, we complete a thorough investigation in order to make sure all of our students are safe.

I am asking for your support with this matter:

• Please have conversations with your children about the importance of using respectful communication and the consequences of using threatening language.

• Please reinforce the message that using threatening language is unacceptable and can have serious consequences.

• If you have any concerns about your child's behavior or the behavior of other students, please do not hesitate to contact the school administration.

Working together, we can create a safe and supportive learning environment for all students.

We know that electronic devices are a growing part of all of our lives. We ask your assistance in reminding students the expectations around bringing them to school. We ask that any device that is brought to school remain in students lockers during school hours. This includes smartwatches and smartphones. Our goal is to maintain a safe and engaging environment for all students. Please reach out if you have any questions or concerns.

Stay in touch with Royal Oak Schools by downloading our new mobile app! Download on your mobile device today and select 'yes' to receive push notifications with the latest news and updates from the District. Use this link for more download information:

https://www.royaloakschools.org/quick_links/royal_oak_schools_app

As the school year winds down, Royal Oak Schools is excited to offer Summer Learning Sessions to keep students engaged and growing throughout the summer months! This is for elementary students exiting DK-4 in June 2025 and middle school students exiting grades 5-8 in June 2025. High School classes will be announced later.

Program Details:

All classes will be held from 8:30 am - 11:30 am, Monday - Thursday, for both sessions.

📍 Location: Addams Elementary School
📆 Session I: June 23 – July 10 (No classes July 3-4)
📆 Session II: July 14 – July 31
🕣 Time: Monday – Thursday, 8:30 AM – 11:30 AM

Designed for students in DK-8, these sessions provide an opportunity to reinforce learning in a supportive and engaging environment. Students will engage in math and ELA enrichment. An email confirmation will be sent once registration closes on April 30, 2025. Classes are subject to cancellation or consolidation due to low enrollment. You can sign up for one or both sessions.

Please fill out a separate form for each of your children.

Cost: $160 per student/session

Registration:

• Elementary: https://bit.ly/4iN9P0c
• Middle School: https://bit.ly/425BjY3

The Green School Committee at Oak Ridge is in need of some help!

At lunch, the volunteers and lunch monitors have been overwhelmed with the amount of recycling that is being thrown away each day. They need some assistance helping students find the correct receptacles and cleaning/organizing recyclable items. If you are interested in volunteering, please reach out to Mrs. Mangum (molly.mangum@royaloakschools.org). Please don't feel obligated to help everyday...any time is extremely helpful! Volunteers are needed from approximately 11:30 am-12:30 pm each day. Thank You!

Please read In the Art Studio with Mrs. Maria by clicking here.

Please check out the English Language Development (ELD) newsletter by clicking here.

The ELD department serves the multilingual student population in Royal Oak. Inside you will find updates from ELD staff, information about upcoming events, and a recap of ELD students' accomplishments and activities.

Please take time to view the PE Newsletter by clicking here.

Please click here for Royal Oak Schools Performing Arts newsletter.

Please view the Spanish newsletter by clicking here.

Good Morning Oak Ridge is an award winning news broadcast presented by our fifth grade students. Each week they bring us news and events from Oak Ridge and the surrounding community. I am pleased to announce we are continuing our broadcast. A special thank you to our Mr. L and Mr. Todd and our student broadcasters for the professionalism and effort they have put into continuing this broadcast. I could not be more proud of them. I hope you enjoy this week's edition of Oak Ridge Live:

Good Morning Oak Ridge 4/11/25

Good Morning Oak Ridge 3/14/25

Good Morning Oak Ridge 3/7/25

Good Morning Oak Ridge 1/31/25

Good Morning Oak Ridge 1/17/25

Good Morning Oak Ridge 1/10/25

Good Morning Oak Ridge 12/6/24

Good Morning Oak Ridge 11/22/24

Good Morning Oak Ridge 11/8/24

Archived Oak Ridge Live Episodes

Please make sure to view or Student/Parent Handbook by clicking here.

We are limiting visitors to the building especially before and after school. Please drop your students at their designated exterior door. We want to limit traffic and provide the safest environment possible. Thank you for cooperating with us in this matter!

Please make sure you turn in all of your information for background checks two weeks prior to your event. This will allow us plenty of time to process your request. We often use parent drivers for many of our fieldtrips. Unfortunately we can not allow parents/guardians to drive their own child and drop them off. Volunteers and drivers are not permitted to bring a younger sibling along with them on the event. We want to make sure all students are accounted for and safety is a priority. If you are interested in volunteering please fill out our volunteer background form.

If your child needs to take medication throughout the school day, please fill out the following form and return it to the main office. Thank you!

Please be aware that Board Policy 5330 requires a doctor's prescription as well as parental authorization before we can dispense non prescribed (over the counter) medicine as well as prescribed medications.

Although it may seem logical that parental authorization to administer an over the counter medicine would be enough, we are required to also have authorization from a physician. For any instances where non-prescribed medicine is being administered without a physician's prescription, the parents must have their pediatrician sign and return the parental consent form.

Request for Dispensing Medication

We have taken positive steps toward improving the traffic flow at Oak Ridge Elementary. Please help support us by following these guidelines:

● Front Circle Drive is for drivers of students in Room 103, 105, 107, 109, and 111 only.

● Drivers of students in rooms 104, 106, and 108 drop off in front of classrooms in the back parking lot.

● Drivers of third graders are to drop off in the back lot at the pick-up/drop-off zone (blue line in front of east doors).

● Drivers of fourth-graders are to drop off on Bloomfield (street just south of parking lot) and students enter the building at the east doors (outside of Media Center)

● Drivers of fifth-graders drop off on Alexander (street east of upper-grade playground)

● In our back lot, follow in single file to the pick-up/drop-off zone. As you pull up to the BLUE LINE, stop and drop off/pick up your child. Do NOT create a second line. All students should exit/enter the car door on the curbside ONLY.

● STAY IN SINGLE FILE IN THE BACK LOT.

● Do NOT park along the curb next to the building.

● Give yourself extra time and adhere to traffic safety.

Suggested Options

● Consider coming a few minutes early for drop off/pick up.

● Consider walking to school with your students and neighbors.

● Consider riding your bikes as a family to school.

● Carpooling reduces congestion and helps the environment.

If everyone helps support our efforts, it will be a safe place for students and families! Thank you in advance for your help!

Thanks to the Michigan School Meals Program, a state-funded program that allows all students to receive meals at no cost for the 2024-2025 school year, breakfast and lunch will be free to all students. Second meals are not free and will be considered ala carte. Elementary school second lunches will be charged $2.60.

Although all students can receive meals at no cost, it is still vital that eligible families fill out a free/reduced meal application: A school’s eligibility for federal Child Nutrition Programs such as Summer Food Service Program and others is based on free and reduced-price eligibility. Students and families may qualify for other program fee reductions based on their eligibility for free or reduced-price meals. Federal and state education finding uses free and reduced-price eligibility.

Please complete the 2024-2025 online application on our website under Free and Reduced Meals Information. Paper applications will be sent out this month and available at the district office and in all schools in August.

Summer EBT is Back!

About 30 million children participate in USDA’s school breakfast and lunch programs on an average school day. When school is out for the summer, kids lose access to these healthy meals, but they still need nutritious food to grow healthy and strong.

Michigan offers SUN Bucks, a summer grocery benefit that provides eligible school-aged children $120, so you can stretch your grocery budget and buy more of the foods your children love! SUN Bucks is designed to work together with other benefits your family may already receive, like SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) and WIC (Women, Infants, and Children).

Find out about all the summer nutrition options available to your kids.
Explore Summer EBT

Eligibility

Families will be automatically enrolled in SUN Bucks if they are already enrolled in SNAP, TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families), or FDPIR (Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations) benefits or meet the requirements for free or reduced-price school meals. In other words, keep an eye out for $120, per child, at the beginning of summer!

Families that are not automatically enrolled should apply for SUN Bucks directly.
Apply Now

“Blessings in a Backpack” is a program designed to provide students on the free and reduced lunch program with enough food for three meals a day during the weekends. This program, administered by the Community Foundation of Greater Rochester, is active in Royal Oak Schools. If you agree to take part in this program during the school year, your child will receive a bag filled with food for the weekend. A bag of food will be put in your child's locker for take home on Fridays. The simple meals may include food like macaroni and cheese, beef ravioli, canned fruit, granola bars, soups, juice and other items. Students will receive a bag every week.

If you would like to have your child participate in this program, fill out the form below.. Please be sure to indicate on the form if you child has any food allergies. If your child has a food allergy, you as the parent are responsible for checking all food labels when the food arrives home. Royal Oak Schools, as well as Blessings in a Backpack, will not be held responsible for any accidental food allergen exposure.

Blessings in a Backpack Form

If you have students currently enrolled in the program you will be contacted directly by the Young Oaks Coordinator. Any families interested in the program can use the link below for information about the program.

Young Oaks Latchkey

Are your children safe while online? Michigan families, especially minors, are becoming inundated with advertisements from alcohol, tobacco, pornography,illegal drugs and gambling marketers through different internet and cell phone inboxes. Thankfully, the State of Michigan offers a free program to stop adult advertisements from reaching e-mails, text messages, Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube, Discord, TikTok, Twitch and Twitter. The Michigan Child Protection Registry, is a free do-not-contact service for Michigan’s families and can be located at www.ProtectMIChild.com.

Protecting your children online is extremely important. You can sign your entire family up for the Registry and inform your friends and colleagues about how they can protect children and families from unwanted adult advertising. To sign up, it only takes a few seconds. Just go to www.ProtectMIChild.com and keep your family safe.

According to BeSMARTforKids.org:

• Firearms are the leading cause of death for American children and teens.

• Every year, nearly 360 children in the US under the age of 18 gain access to a firearm and unintentionally shoot themselves or someone else.

• More than 700 children living in America die by gun suicide every year, and secure storage can play a crucial role in preventing those deaths.

• 3/4 of school shooters acquired their firearm from the home of a parent or close relative.

Michigan State Police has provided Royal Oak Schools free gun locks to distribute to families or staff members. If you have unsecured weapons in your home, please help to keep our children safe by stopping by the main office at your child's school or the District Administrative Offices at 800 DeVillen, Royal Oak, to pick up a free gun lock.

Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!

For updates on events or a better insight on you child's school day. Please follow us on Facebook and Twitter: Facebook @ParrottJason

SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS

At Oak Ridge we take pride in making sure we have a kind, caring, environment. Our parents play a large role in helping us to achieve this goal. Before posting to social media or any other venue, please consider the feelings of all our community members . Before you post, remember to T.H.I.N.K...

MIssion: We commit to every students academic achievement, personal development and social responsibility.

Email: parrottj@royaloakschools.org
Website: http://www.royaloakschools.org/elementary/oakridge/
Location: 506 E 13 Mile Rd, Royal Oak, MI, United States
Phone: (248) 588-8353
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OakRidgeElementarySchool
Twitter: @ParrottJason