Parents,

At next Tuesday's PTO meeting, we will be sharing an update about our character education and social emotional learning. During this time, we will be asking for feedback from parents and community members so we can continue to work each day to meet the needs of our students, families, staff and community. We hope you are able to join us in the Oak Brook Library at 6:30 on Tuesday evening.

Because of the day out of school, the lunch menu for Monday has been changed. The Menu changes will be updated on our online menu as well.

Breakfast

Pancakes w/syrup

Lunch

Chicken Tenders

Steamed Broccoli

Alternate Entree - Cheeseburgers

Fresh produce selections will still be a bit limited on Monday and back to normal for Tuesday!

We are looking forward to getting back to our regular operations next week!

Just a reminder, we have a half day on Thursday, January 16; we will dismiss at 11:35. We do not have school on Friday, January 17 and Monday, January 20.

We hope you have a great weekend!

Katie & Chris

On Friday, January 31st, at 6:30pm, Oak Brook PTO will be hosting our fourth Virtual Paint Night! With the help of Dr. McNealy and a few other teachers, we will have a live-streaming event that includes story time and a winter painting demo. Painting supplies will be provided to anyone who completes the form by January 15th. For more information and to RSVP, please click below. If it doesn't open, please go to the top of this email and click "View in Browser."

We know what we eat affects our physical health. Did you know we can nourish our minds by choosing what information we consume? We will begin a short book study using The Power of Good News: Feeding Your Mind with What's Good for Your Heart by Hal Urban. Hal is an educator who is often chosen to speak at character education conferences around the world. We have heard him speak on a number of occasions, and his message of positivity shines through each time we hear him.

We will be facilitating a book study, on this book, via Zoom this winter. We will meet on the following dates: January 28, February 4, February 18 and March 4. We used this book for our first book study in the spring of 2022. The book is easy to read and helps you retrain your mind to look for the positive.

You may learn more about the book using the link below. If you would like to join us for the book study, please fill out the form located below. Please consider signing up for this study of nurturing the mind.

Granting Dreams applications are being accepted now. Both electronic and hard copy applications are available for students to use and are available on the Parkway Alumni website (link below). The deadline for submitting grant applications is Friday, February 14, 2025.

Here’s the link for easy reference:
https://www.parkwayschools.net/domain/1419

Dream Grants are awarded in amounts of up to $250 each and help students access personal learning opportunities outside of school. Some grants are non-monetary and connect students with professionals who offer amazing shadowing experiences in the workplace.

Since beginning the program, the Parkway Alumni Association has awarded over $400,000 in Dream Grants, along with many other valuable resources to Parkway K-12 students. These grants often provide students with opportunities they may not have had without the financial support and connections from the PAA.

We will focus on resilience this week. We define resilience as the ability to recover after something does not go your way. At Oak Brook, we are working to help our students learn that not everything will always go the way they want it to go. We try to help them understand that some issues are big and some are small and that some may be solved on their own while others will require help from adults. There are numerous ways you can help your child develop resilience.

Helping Children Develop Resilience

• Help them identify their emotions: Encourage them to share their feelings and ask what's bothering them. We use our zones of development (see picture below). We want them to understand that we all experience a range of emotions and help them learn how to identify and then manage their emotions as they problem solve during difficult times.
• Encourage a growth mindset: Help them believe that things can improve with work. Students should understand the power of yet. You can't do that yet but keep working at it.
• Praise their effort: Give them "process praise" that focuses on their strategies and effort.
• Help them build self-compassion: Teach them to be kind to themselves when they fail or make mistakes.
• Help them learn from their mistakes: Talk about what they learned from a difficult situation and how they can use that to improve next time.
• Help them develop a positive self-view: Help them see their strengths and how they've helped them in the past.
• Help them develop a hopeful outlook: Encourage them to focus on the present and what they can do to improve.

Monday, January 13 - Garden Club & Singing Eagles

Tuesday, January 14 - PTO Meeting @ 6:30 pm in the library

Thursday, January 16 - School Dismisses at 11:35

Friday, January 17 - No School

Monday, January 20 - No School

Thursday, January 23 - Read, Right & Run

Please feel free to contact us via email. We will get back to you as quickly as possible.

Mrs. Terbrock - kterbrock@parkwayschools.net

Dr. Shirley - cshirley@parkwayschools.net

Email: cshirley@parkwayschools.net
Website: https://www.parkwayschools.net/Domain/19
Location: 510 Big Bend Road, Ballwin, MO, USA
Phone: 314.415.6551
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OakBrookElementary/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/C-slEriJLBp/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link