Oak Valley Owl Flyer

What a wonderful to start the 2024-2025 school year. Our owls are ready for a great year of learning and growing. Thank you for supporting your child to do their best each day. We know with your support and encouragement your students will be OWLS: Owls, Working, Learning, Succeeding.

We encourage you to visit our website www.ops.org/oakvalley to stay up to date on important dates, lunch menus, find school related links, and the cycle day calendar.

Thanks to the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) all OPS students can have a breakfast and lunch at no cost. A full meal must be served. If your child would like only a milk, the a la carte price is $.50.

Please welcome our new staff members to Oak Valley:

• Suzanne Hagen, Principal
• Grace Nodes, Special Instruction Teacher
• Kori Winkelbauer, Special Instruction Paraprofessional
• Zoe Hatfield-Oster, Pre-K Teacher
• Mandy Stewart, Pre-K Paraprofessional
• Kirby Kost, Pre-K Resource Teacher
• Julie Honan, Speech Teacher for Pre-K & ACP
• Caroline Agostino, Virtual Speech Teacher, K-5
• Shawn Kobes, Security Officer
• Sam Osgood, Art Teacher
• Georgia Urey, Grade 5 Teacher
• Carolina Cruz, Paraprofessional in ACP
• Allyson Deahl, Paraprofessional in ACP
• LaShanna Adams, Paraprofessional in ACP
• Meghan Malfait, Kitchen Assistant
• Heidi Bartels, School Support Liaison
• Lucy, Therapy Dog

During August and September, your students will be part of district level assessments in reading and math. K-6 students will participate in MAP Growth assessments in reading and math. Grades 3-6 will also participate in science in October. K-3 students will also participate in an Amira reading benchmark assessment.

Our Early Childhood, Kindergarten, and Grades 1-4 students will participate in health screenings in September and October. If your family wants to opt out of it of the school screener and instead have your health care provider complete this, please email our School Nurse, jillianne.seelbach@ops.org.

Be sure we have your most current contact information and all health related forms are given to the Health Office.

School attendance is very important. Students should attend school regularly, on time, and all day. Your child needs to attend school regularly to make academic growth. If your child is sick, please call the office, 531-299-1880, to report the absence.

School Hours:

8:35 am Breakfast doors open - Grab-n-Go breakfast in the classroom

8:45 am Arrival for students not eating breakfast / Pre-K Arrival

8:50 am School Instruction Begins

4:05 pm Dismissal

Please do not leave your child at the school before 8:30 am. There is not proper supervision. If you need before school care, please contact Kids Club to register:

https://opsfkidsclub.org/program-details/

Please call or email if you have any questions, 531-299-1880. Please let us know if we can connect you to resources to support your family. We are here to help.

Sincerely,

Suzanne Hagen

Principal

suzanne.prenger-hagen@ops.org

Please help us create a safe dismissal. Only park and load on the Oak Valley side of the street. Only cross the street at the crosswalks. Safety patrol will be on duty after school. Crosswalks are circled in green on the map below. Thank you for helping keep everyone at Oak Valley safe.

September

• 2 - No School - Labor Day
• 24 - Late Start, 2 hours

October

• 4 - No School - Curriculum Day
• 10 - Picture Day (Individual)
• 14- Quarter 2 Begins
• 17 - Report Cards Sent Home
• 23 or 24 - Conferences, 4:30 - 7:30
• 24 & 25 - No School
• 29 - Late Start, 2 hours
• 31 - Halloween Parade, 3:15 pm

School will begin two hours late for all students on Sept. 24 and Oct. 29, 2024, and Jan. 28 and April 1, 2025. Staff will use the time for data-driven work to improve teaching and learning across Omaha Public Schools. Because of the shortened schedule, breakfast will not be served on those days. Staff will take attendance as they do on a regularly scheduled school day. Schedule conflicts will not be considered an excused absence.

“Attendance makes a difference! The single most important factor contributing to student achievement is school attendance. Students must be in school to be successful.” (Journal of Educational Research, Vol.89 No. 3)

Did you know that students who attend school regularly:

• have higher test scores
• are more involved in school activities
• are more likely to graduate
• are less inclined to participate in at-risk behaviors

What you, the parent, can do:

• start the night before by assisting with/review homework assignments and plan for the next day
• establish an age appropriate bedtime routine
• role model a positive attitude about work, being on time, and being prepared
• should attendance problems occur, contact the school counselor to develop a plan to resolve the issue

Did you know it takes an average of three days for students to catch up for every one day they’re absent? Omaha Public Schools is committed to working with our families to support student attendance every day, because we know every minute counts.

Our district has updated our action plan to follow state guidelines on assisting students who miss a significant amount of class time. Our student attendance team will meet with families of students who have 20 total absences, whether or not those absences are excused. The team will work with the family to create a collaborative plan to improve attendance.

You can make an impact on your student’s attendance now, and we’re here to help. If anything is getting in the way of getting your student to school, please contact your school’s principal, school support liaison, school counselor or bilingual liaison for help.

Set a Bedtime Routine. According to the National Sleep Foundation, children the ages of 3-5 require 10 – 13 hours of sleep daily. Children the ages of 6-13 require 9-11 hours of sleep daily. If your children are waking up at 8:00 am then they should be falling asleep between 8 pm and 9 pm for maximum rest and between 9pm and 10pm for the minimum amount of rest. Well rested children learn better and are more successful at regulating their emotions.

Principal Email: suzanne.prenger-hagen@ops.org
Website: www.ops.org/oakvalley
Location: 3109 Pedersen Drive
Phone: 531-299-1880
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OPSOakValleyElementary

Omaha Public Schools does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex (including pregnancy), marital status, sexual orientation, disability, age, genetic information, gender identity, gender expression, citizenship status, veteran status, political affiliation or economic status in its programs, activities and employment and provides equal access to the Boy Scouts and other designated youth groups. The following individual has been designated to accept allegations regarding non-discrimination policies: Superintendent of Schools, 3215 Cuming Street, Omaha, NE 68131 (531-299-9822). The following persons have been designated to handle inquiries regarding the non-discrimination policies: Director of Equity and Diversity (equityanddiversity@ops.org), 3215 Cuming St, Omaha, NE 68131 (531-299-0307).