Orchard Drive Family Newsletter

• February 1: Last Day to Order Yearbook! jostens.com/ybk
• February 3-7: School Counselor Appreciation Week
• February 4th: PTO Meeting at 6:30 pm in Orchard Library
• February 7th: 100th Day of School!
• February 10th-14th: Valentine Spirit Week - see details below
• February 11th: TJ's Fundraiser
• February 14th: SRO Appreciation Day
• February 14th: Orchard Mart 7:45 am
• February 14th: 4th Grade Wax Museum 2:25-3:25
• February 14th: Class Valentine Parties 2:40-3:25
• February 17th: No School, President's Day
• February 18th: No School, Professional Development Day
• February 19th-March 7th: Candy Bar Fundraiser
• February 21st: Orchard Family Game Night 5:30-7:00 pm
• February 28th: Orchard Mart 7:45 am

As you know, we had a school closure on Friday, September 13th. According to our district calendar, our first make-up day is March 17, 2025. School will be in session on Monday, March 17th. Thank you!

February is here and it is time to spread LOVE not GERMS!! Parents thank you for keeping your children home when they are sick or not feeling well. Please continue to do so. If your child complains of a sore throat, cough, headache, stomach ache(nausea), etc. please keep them home and monitor them for further symptoms. This can really help catch illness early and protect others from getting sick. We have seen an increase in illness and the number one way to keep everyone healthy at school is to keep sick kids at home. If they have a fever of 100.1 or higher, vomiting, or diarrhea they must stay home. Your child must be fever free, no vomiting, no diarrhea for at least 24 hours without medication to return. Let’s get through the next few weeks and hopefully we will be seeing spring flowers and healthy faces! Thanks for helping keep our school the healthiest it can be!!

It is COLD outside and students do go outside for recess! Please send a coat with your child. I have a limited supply of coats and am not always able to loan them one. The students love outside recess even if it is cold outside. Coats, hats, and gloves help make it even more enjoyable.

Happy February!

Counseling is back in full swing with lessons and small groups. A lot of small group counseling interventions wrapped up right after winter break and some new groups are starting. I also had two interns start working with me while they are completing their school counseling masters programs, Ms. Leslie and Ms. Ellie. They are awesome!

I'll include the class lesson topics your students will be getting in February below. If you need anything or want extra resources on these topics, please reach out!

• Kindergarten: finishing up the Little Spots of Emotions curriculum with a little spot of confidence, a little spot of love, and feelings reviews.
• First Grade: self-love and starting the making good choices unit
• Second Grade: teamwork and empathy
• Third Grade: self-esteem and responsibility
• Fourth Grade: cyberbullying and self-talk *

*Fourth grade families, the middle school counselors are visiting this month to present about the middle school and begin creating schedules. Be on the lookout for a flyer about the transition night and the course selection form.

Respectfully,

Rachel Lasher, NCC

February 3-7 is National School Counseling Appreciation Week! We are so thankful for Mrs. Lasher and all that she does to support our students, families, and staff! She is caring, helpful, proactive, and always willing to help out. Please help us show some extra love and appreciation to Mrs. Lasher this week!

As part of our Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) program, one way that we recognize students who are following our behavior expectations is with pride tickets, which can be saved up and "cashed" in for prizes. On Tuesdays in February, students can earn a SPECIAL pride ticket that can be immediately turned in to redeem a candy treat in the office! There are a limited amount of these special tickets passed out on Tuesdays, so this is an exciting incentive for students. Please encourage your students to be respectful, responsible, safe, and have character everyday!

All students are welcome to participate in some Valentine's Spirit Week fun, organized by our 4th Grade Student Leadership Team! See the dress up schedule below.

The Valentine's Party for all Orchard Drive Elementary students will be on Friday, February 14th from 2:40-3:25 pm. The party will be held in each classroom. Families are welcome to attend the event! Contact your child's teacher for more information if you are interested in helping provide materials or plan activities for the party.

If your child will be signed out of school at the culmination of the party, please have your ID with you. Additionally, please ensure that the person signing your child out of school is on the approved pick-up list for your student. You can call the office at 573-243-9555 to double check this information.

Mark your calendars for a family game night at Orchard on Friday, February 21st from 5:30-7:00 pm! Bring some board games, enjoy fellowship with other families, and grab dinner from local food trucks! This event is sponsored by our 4th Grade Student Leadership Team.

We are excited to partner with TJ's for a fundraiser on Tuesday, February 11th! 10% of sales will be donated back to Orchard for all orders on this date. Thank you for your support!

It's time to sell those delicious chocolate bars again! The candy bar fundraiser will run from February 19 - March 7. This year, we will be selling slightly larger candy bars for $2 each, in order to gain a higher profit of sales for our school. Students will earn prizes for turning in their permission slip and for each box of chocolate that they sell. The proceeds from this fundraiser will be used for student materials and incentives. You can preview the candy bar flier below.

Magin Champan: President

Sarah Busch: Vice President

Megan Speith: Treasurer

Morgan Copeland: Secretary

Contact the PTO at OrchardElemPTO@gmail.com

All PTO Meetings are held in the Orchard Library at 6:30 PM. Free childcare will be provided!

September 17th - Meeting Minutes

November 19th - Meeting Minutes

February 4th - Meeting Minutes

April 22nd

We would love for you to be involved! The PTO organizes and puts on several big events for us: Book Fairs during conference weeks, Orchard Family BINGO Night and Auction, and our end of the year Play Day.

Our BINGO and Auction Night is our biggest fundraiser. This fundraiser helps us put on our Play Day at the end of the year. During our PTO Meetings, we break into sub committee meetings where we plan for these events. We would love to have you join us at these meetings!

Orchard Mart is a school store sponsored by the PTO. They sell fun items like smencils, stickers, erasers, etc. All proceeds will go towards the PTO. Orchard Mart will be open for students to purchase items from 7:45-8:15 on the second and fourth Fridays of each month. If you would like to volunteer to help run Orchard Mart, please contact orchardelempto@gmail.com. Thank you!

The PTO is planning a Bingo/Auction fundraiser! The event will be on Friday, March 28th from 5:30-8:00 pm. We will have Bingo, silent auction, and an online auction portion as well!

If you would like to help plan and prepare for this event, please email orchardelempto@gmail.com. The committee is in the planning stages and would appreciate your help!

We are excited for this fun family event that will help raise money for Playday, student incentives, and more!

• Order at: www.jostens.com/ybk
• Select "Order your yearbook"
• Select "Missouri".
• Type in "Orchard Drive Elementary"
• Please submit your orders by February 1, 2025

Email Kori Demyan at kdemyan@jr2mail.org if you have any questions about the yearbook orders.

We encourage all Jackson R2 Families to complete the online School Cafe Enrollment. Click here to complete the application online. This is the application for "Free or Reduced Lunch". This will take less than 5 minutes. If you do not have an account, you can click on "need to create an account". Select the state, "MO" then type in "Jackson" and our school district will populate. You can create an account from there.

The enrollment takes less than 5 minutes. If your child qualified for Free or Reduced Lunches during the 2023-2024 school year, you will need to reapply for the 2024-2025 school year for students to continue to receive free or reduced lunches.

We will head outside to recess as much as possible during the winter months. Children tend to warm up fast on the playground and then shed all of their gear. Please label your child's clothing items, like hats, gloves, coats, etc. If you would like to stop by and check out our lost and found, please call to schedule an appointment (573) 243-9555.

Please see the link below for more information on enrolling in After School Kids Club, Full Day Kids Club opportunities, and more!

https://www.ezchildtrack.com/JR2kidsclub/parent

Jackson R-2 is proud to offer a FREE summer school program for students entering kindergarten through fourth grades in the fall of 2025. The program is designed to provide educational enrichment activities that expand upon what was taught during the school year. Our summer school dates will be May 27-June 17, a total of 16 days, for incoming kindergarten through fourth-grade students. We will host summer school at East, North, Orchard, South, and West Lane Elementary buildings.

Please see the list below for summer school attendance areas:

• East Elementary: Any students that attend East Elementary will attend East Elementary Summer School.

• Orchard Elementary: Any students that attend Orchard Elementary will attend Orchard Summer School.

• North Elementary: Any students that attend North Elementary will attend North Elementary Summer School.

• South Elementary: Any students that attend South Elementary will attend South Elementary Summer School.

• West Lane Elementary: Any students that attend West Lane Elementary will attend West Lane Summer School.

We encourage all students to attend for a rewarding experience. Each grade level will have its own special activities!

Our incoming kindergarten through fourth-grade students will be served breakfast and lunch. Breakfast is $1.85 and lunch is $3.00. Parents may drop students off no earlier than 7:30 in the mornings. Incoming kindergarten through fourth-grade classes attend 8:00 a.m. - 3:10 p.m. the full 16 days for Summer School.

Programs are also available for incoming fifth and sixth-grade students. You may call Jackson Middle School 243-9543 for information.

Summer School Kids' Club program will be available for those families that need additional childcare following the summer school day (May 27-June 17, 3:10 pm-5:45 pm). The fee for SSKC program is $110 and covers the full 16 days of Summer School. Your child's summer school teacher will walk your child down to the cafeteria every day after summer school. SSKC is available for all Jackson R-2 Summer School Elementary Buildings as well as Jackson Middle School.

If you are interested in additional child care that follows the summer school program, we will be hosting July Camp Kids' Club at Orchard Elementary, June 23-August 1, 2025 (closed July 4). We will be updating our website https://www.jacksonr2schools.com/parents/kids_club with additional information in the following weeks. July Camp Kids' Club enrollment will be open April 1, 2025.

Dates for Jackson R-2 Summer Program Opportunities:

• School Year Ends: May 16

• Full Day Kids' Club Program: May 19, 20, 21, 22, 23 for a fee of $30 per day at Orchard Elementary. See Kids' Club website for more information.

• FREE Summer School: May 27-June 17

• July Camp Kids' Club: June 23-August 1 (closed July 4)

• 25-26 School Year Starts: August 18, 2025

Student enrollment for our summer school programs will be available sometime during the month of March. If you have any questions, please reach out to your child's building principal.

We look forward to seeing your child at summer school!

Dr. Jessica Maxwell, Associate Superintendent

Our Kindergarten Enrollment Night allows parents the time to complete the paperwork necessary to enroll their child in kindergarten for the upcoming school year! If your child is already enrolled in the Jackson Early Childhood Program, you will not need to attend the Kindergarten Enrollment night as already have the necessary information for your child to enroll.

Students are welcome to come to the building during Enrollment Night; however, there is not a special program for the children at this event. In August, we put on the Kamp Kindergarten event. During this event, parents and incoming kindergarten students spend the evening working through different stations to familiarize themselves with our building and staff members. Kamp Kindergarten will be held on August 4th from 6-7:30.

Attention all families of students heading to JMS for the 25-26 school year-- this event is for you! Students are welcome to attend the event, but not required. The event will provide families with information on JMS.

Email: czirges@jr2mail.org
Website: https://odes.jacksonr2schools.com/
Location: 1402 Orchard Dr, Jackson, MO 63755, USA
Phone: (573) 243-9555
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/orcharddriveelementary