Oshki Ogimaag Community School
June 03, 2024
Niibin - It is Summer!
Boozhoo Oshki Ogimaag Community School Families and Community Partners!
It’s hard to believe that this school year has come to an end! The last quarter of the school year brought with it momentous and positive change. As we close the school year, we have much to reflect upon and look forward to. As communicated in our Community Announcement in March, OOCS is engaged in a strategic planning process, and restructuring to better support the academic and social emotional needs of students, increase communication, partnership and support to families, connect and collaborate more with the Community, and more closely align our day-to-day practices with the mission and vision of OOCS. The OOCS Board and staff will continue this work over the summer. Over these last few months, we have heard and felt the support of the Community, and we are deeply appreciative of the encouragement and level of support we have received as we embark on new beginnings.
We have a Team of individuals dedicated to honoring the mission of OOCS and bringing it to life in our school each day with more depth. We are dedicated to serving and supporting the Grand Portage Community, providing a local school where students will receive exceptional academic support tailored to meet their individual needs, where students will learn in the context of Anishinaabe language, culture and traditions, fostering a sense of pride and confidence in their identity, preparing students to be Leaders. Over the summer we will be developing an updated Literacy Plan, as well as updating our reading and math curriculum.
What can you expect from us going froward? You can expect regular communication from us, including over the summer months. You can expect we will be seeking feedback from OOCS families and Grand Portage Community members in multiple ways to help guide our path forward. You can expect us to listen and value your input, as our school is only successful and thriving when we are closely connected to and in service of the Grand Portage Community. You can expect increased academic rigor and students more frequently engaged in service-learning. You can expect greater focus and intention on social emotional learning. You can expect increased collaborations and connections with Community. You can expect cultural lessons and Ojibwe language integrated across disciplines with greater depth and frequency. Most importantly you can expect we will honor each student as a valued member of our school community, we will meet them where they are at in all areas, and dedicate ourselves to their academic and social emotional needs being met in a nurturing, supportive, inclusive environment, where we will work to instill a sense of joy in learning, while challenging students to reach their highest potential.
Ms. James and Miss Tina will be working over the summer, we are happy to connect with current and prospective families to discuss Oshki Ogimaag Community School, tour the school, and/or answer any questions you may have!
Miigwech to Everyone for Making Our Last Day of School Celebration Special!
On Friday, we began our celebration with student awards and certificates of completion of their grade-levels. Students framed their favorite piece of art completed in Ojibwe Language and Culture class, from this school year and shared with their families. We also recognized our wonderful staff at the awards ceremony! The staff at Oshki Ogimaag Community School really pulled together and worked closely with one another to complete this school year with so many positive memories!
A special recognition to Ms. Ryden. This was her first year teaching and it was a BIG year! Ms. Ryden came to school filled with excitement for teaching and took great care to provide meaningful and joyful experiences for her students. Ms. Ryden's laughter and enthusiasm is contagious, she served as a bright spot in all of our days! Ms. Ryden could often be found on Sundays in her classroom, preparing for the week. Ms. Ryden is moving back to Michigan this week and we wish her the very best on her next adventures and thank her for the wonderful year she provided to students! A special thank you, as well, to Ms. Jeana, who served as a mentor teacher to Ms. Ryden this school year. Ms. Jeana and Ms. Ryden worked collaboratively as a team, supporting each other in lesson planning, prepping, setting up classroom environments, and creating experiences for the students to learn alongside one another as well as present to each other. Their teamwork not only served our mission and our goals with Osprey Wilds, but also served to add to the joy of the school year! They were excellent role-models to our students in working collaboratively, how we support each other, and compromising.
After the awards ceremony we enjoyed lunch from the grill, sipped on delicious rosehip tea made by Miss Tess, took fun summer-themed photos and had many other treats to enjoy at lunch! We ended the day with our school tradition of fishing at the marina. It was a wonderful end to the school year! We had 100% family participation, as well as many other Community members joining us and volunteering to make the day special! A special thank you to: Ribz James and Miss Tess for grilling and to Miss Tess for bringing us some delicious drinks as well, to Mr. Fish, Miss Kat, Emily Derke, Miss Tess and other Community members who helped out during fishing, to Miss Jodi for making a yummy potato salad for our lunch, and to Miss Monica for preparing our lunch, to Miss Kat for coordinating everything we needed for fishing.
Chi-Miigwech to ALL for making our End of Year Celebration and Feast a lovely way to end the school year and welcome the summer!
Wishing everyone a beautiful summer!
Giga-waabamin minawaa! ~ I'll See you again!
Our AWESOME Step-Up Day!
On our full-day Step-Up Day, we were so happy to welcome incoming kindergarteners to Oshki Ogimaag Community School as well as welcome back some old friends who will be joining us once again!! In the morning, students spent time in their perspective classrooms getting a taste of a day in the life at Oshki Ogimaag Community School, with current Oshki Ogimaag students to serve as their friendly guides!
In the afternoon, we had a special event! Ms. Jeana planned our 1st Annual Oshki Ogimaag Community School Olympics, The OOCS Olympics were a big hit with students and such a fun way to spend our afternoon with new friends! We look forward to having everyone back in the fall and enjoyed meeting our new students! Miigwech to Ms. Jeana for planning such a wonderful event and involving everyone!!!
Students in Ms. Ryden's classroom earned a Disney World Tour at the end of the school year which included "visits" to Epcot, Hollywood Disney Studios, Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom. Ms. Ryden (with the help of Ms. Jeana) stayed at school very, very late one evening to completely transform the entire classroom and surprise the students! It was a sweet and special day, filled with fun!
Community Connections and Service Work in the Community
Our last week of school, our Community Connections Included:
Our last drumming session with Mr. Gene Boshey, Mr. Gene made drum sticks with the boys! We are so thankful for Mr. Gene's time with our students, his work with them has such a big impact and they look forward to seeing him every week! Miigwech to Mr. Gene for the wonderful work he does with our students!
On Tuesday, May 28, we met up with friends from GES to have a picnic lunch at Grand Portage State Park and hike to the High Falls! It was a lovely afternoon! Miigwech to GES teachers for reaching out and we look forward to more collaborations in the future!
