The Olive Branch 10.30.20

Dear OMS families,

We said it before but we will say it again, thank you to our PTA room reps and all of our families that contributed to making goodie bags, crafts, games, etc. for our students to celebrate Halloween this week. It was wonderful to see the smiles on our student's faces as they painted pumpkins, made popsicle stick spider webs, and much more. Even with all of our current restrictions, we wanted to create a sense of normalcy and with your help, we did just that!

Next week, there is NO SCHOOL for students on Monday, Nov. 2nd, and Tuesday, Nov. 3rd. We look forward to seeing our owls again on Wednesday, Nov. 4th.

In continued collaboration,

Erin, Julia, and the OMS Staff

Dear Olive Families,

I have had an opportunity to meet most of your children in classroom visits this week. You should know that they are doing a fantastic job of hand washing, mask wearing, and social distancing. In addition, they have been wonderful about welcoming me to the Olive Family. I wanted to send a quick reminder about some health related items to keep in mind as we continue with Hybrid Learning.

If your Olive student or another family member is ill, please contact me. I will go through the Illinois Department of Public Health Covid-19 guidelines with you to determine whether or not your student needs to stay home from school. The IDPH also has specific documentation required for returning to school after an illness. Should your student or your family have a situation that requires quarantine, isolation, or covid testing I will be in contact with you. The sooner you notify me of the situation, the better I can monitor and advise you on the next steps.

When reporting an absence, please include any symptoms your child (or a family member in the household) may be experiencing. If your student should be in person but is having a “Remote” day instead, please indicate as to why (illness, sports, family obligation, etc.). This will really help me to track illness in our school and keep everyone safe.

Please do not hesitate to reach out to me with any questions or concerns. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

Rhiannon Rose

School Nurse

rrose@sd25.org

Please use ALL crosswalks - Many families have been cutting across Olive Street and/or cutting across our loading zone area. PLEASE allow Ms. Vicki to cross you and your children appropriately using the crosswalks on Olive Street and Belmont Street. PLEASE use the crosswalk painted in the curve of our loading zone. As cars move forward and pull out to pass they may not be paying attention to parents and students that are cutting through traffic. Our goal is to keep everyone safe!

REMINDER - Students SHOULD NOT be dropped off or picked up by vehicle along N. Belmont Ave or N. Pine Ave behind the OMS school building.

PLEASE DO NOT arrive prior to 8:50. In a typical year, we open our doors at 8:55 to allow students to enter the building after lining up outside. We adjusted our opening to 8:50 so that as students arrive they could enter the building and maintain social distancing. We have noticed that families are now arriving by 8:45 and lining up outside. This is what we are trying to avoid. Our tardy bell does not ring until 9:05 am. Please arrive on our school grounds between 8:50 and 9:00 am, not before.

In order to continue to send students outside as much as possible during lunch recess, we are asking families to begin sending students with boots on days when the grass or fields may be wet. We have limited blacktop zones with the majority of our students playing in the fields during lunch recess. Rain boots or winter boots will help to keep shoes dry!

This year, in collaboration with the Arlington Heights Police and Fire Departments, we will be administering a lockdown drill, evacuation drills, and a shelter-in-place drill. In addition to these practice drills, we practice routine emergency procedures school-wide throughout the year, for instance, what we do if there is an emergency during lunch, outside at recess, in the hallway, or if students are in the washroom. Students and staff are not always aware of when the drills will occur; however, an intercom announcement is made just prior to the drill indicating it is a practice drill.

We understand practicing these types of routines may cause stress and anxiety in some of our students. Our staff is mindful to make sure students understand these are practice drills and that they are safe.

If you have questions regarding these safety procedures, please do not hesitate to contact us at any time. As always, our goal is to prepare and care for your child in every situation while at school.

OMS REMOTE PARENT-TEACHER CONFERENCES FALL 2020

Thursday, November 19 & Friday, November 20, 2020

At Olive-Mary Stitt Elementary School, we value a strong partnership between home and school. Parent-teacher conferences are an opportunity to share information and discuss the progress of our students. Twice a year, time is provided for conferences. Parents will be able to register for conferences online using http://www.signupgenius.com.

Parents will be provided with directions and links to register for conferences on Tuesday, 11/10/20. The registration window for fall conferences will be Tuesday, 11/10/20 at 10 am through Tuesday, 11/17/20 at 10 am.

The conferences are scheduled in 20-minute increments for 1st -5th grade and 15-minute increments for kindergarten. In order to be fair and equitable to all our OMS families, parents may sign up for only one evening conference each year. Parents may choose to either sign up for an evening conference in the fall or in the spring, not both.

A couple of reminders:

• 4th/5th Grade Parents - The conference times are for meeting with your child’s homeroom teacher. If your child has a different teacher for math and you have specific math questions, please email him or her.

• Please remember that these two days are set aside for the purpose of conferences, not as vacation days. If you will be out of town during the conference days, please consider contacting your child’s teacher to arrange a phone, Google Hangout, FaceTime, or Skype meeting during a regular conference time slot.

We look forward to seeing you on November 19th and 20th for your child's conference!

Don't forget - there is still time to submit your family member's photo for our Veteran's Day Slide Show. Information to include in your email: Veteran's Name, Branch of Service, and relation to OMS student.

Please e-mail your photos to mseisser@sd25.org with the subject line: "Veterans Day". All pictures must be submitted by Wednesday, November 4th. Pictures submitted after this date will not be included in the video.

The JUST JUMP fundraiser continues to be a huge success each year. The OMS PTA is excited to announce that this fundraiser will be ‘jumping’ off starting the week of November 9th!

The fundraiser engages all OMS students in an active and fun way to help support the PTA and the programs it offers the students and community each year.

In partnership with the Physical Education teachers, Mrs. Pusateri and Mrs. LaRoe, we welcome your children to participate in JUST JUMP!

PROGRAM DETAILS:

● During the week of November 9-13th, all Olive-Mary Stitt students from K – 5 th grade will participate in JUST JUMP activities during their physical education class, virtual or in person.

● Details will be shared with the students the week before so they can anticipate which day they get to do some fun jumping activities! There will be a SeeSaw jumping activity for any virtual participants as well, details will be provided in SeeSaw on their gym day.

SPONSORSHIP DETAILS:

● To support the meaningful activities the PTA sponsors each year, we are asking family members to sponsor their children with a monetary donation. Donations will only be available to submit online.

● No donation is too small! Please no door to door requests, just ask family and friends if you prefer.

SPONSOR ONLINE 11/2-11/16 at https://oms-just-jump-2020.cheddarup.com

Individuals with disabilities should notify the building principal if they have a disability that will

require special assistance or services. Alternative/modified activities will be coordinated by certified staff for children who are unable to jump.

All OMS students will have the opportunity to participate in JUST JUMP and sponsorship is optional. We greatly appreciate your support and are excited for the OMS students to participate in this program again this year.

Click HERE for official PTA Just Jump Letter

We know that times are tough for many families and we are here to help and support you and your children. If your family is in need of support for your children (backpacks, school supplies, lunch boxes, etc.) please reach out to our school social worker Mr. Gasca mgasca@sd25.org , Ms. Davis edavis@sd25.org, or Mrs. Pemberton jpemberton@sd25.org.

Food distribution will continue for all Arlington Heights residents with children 18 and under! Details are below (*notes a change has been made):

• Day: Every Wednesday
• Times: *9:30 am – 10:30 am* & 4:30 pm - 6:30 pm
• Where: Thomas Middle School ONLY
• Who: All Arlington Heights families with students age 18 and under
• Important Notes: *Neighbors or friends are allowed to come pick up meal bags for you from Thomas Middle School.*

Click Here for additional information.

We continue to update our FAQ document. All updated questions are dated and noted in blue. We also did our best to add in questions and answers from our OMS Town Hall. Keep your questions coming!

Questions? Please reach out to your OMS teacher or your administrative team.

OMS Staff Directory

Ms. Erin Davis, Principal edavis@sd25.org

Mrs. Julia Pemberton, Assistant Principal jpemberton@sd25.org

Website: https://www.sd25.org/Olive
Location: 303 East Olive Street, Arlington Heights, IL, USA
Phone: 847.398.4282
Twitter: @ahsd25Olive