Oak Ridge Connection

The Oak Ridge community commits to every student's academic achievement, personal development, and social responsibility.

-Oak Ridge Elementary

Dear Parents,

Thank you all for your support this school year! It was wonderful to work with you and your children to make this school year successful. I have been blessed to be part of a learning community that strives to make sure our students succeed academically and treat others with High Five behaviors. We are very fortunate to have a supportive and loving community.

Enjoy your summer! For those of you that are returning to Oak Ridge, I look forward to seeing you in the fall. For those of you that will be leaving Oak Ridge, I wish you success and happiness as you enter a new school. Best of luck to our 5th graders! You will be missed but I am sure you go on to be successful at the next level!

Sincerely,

Dr. Jason Parrott

Each week we are going to focus on a High Five Behavior of the Week. This weeks behavior is:

Be Kind in the bathroom: Keep your hands and feet to yourself.

If you would like to view our High Five PBIS Matrix please look below...

Wednesday, June 12, is our last day of school. Students will be dismissed at 12:15 p.m.

All medications must be picked up from the office by 1pm on June 12, or they will be discarded. Remember that all medication forms need to be completed each new school year.

6/12 Last day of School (Half Day)

Report Cards will be available to view through Parent Portal on Monday, June 17. If you are unsure how to view your child's report card, please contact the Main Office.

Please come to the school prior to the start of Summer Break and check our Lost and Found for your child's belongings. We have MANY items that belong to our students waiting to be claimed. All unclaimed items will be donated to charity after June 14.

Summer reading? Summer reading! Students might not be the most excited about summer reading, but teachers and parents are. Studies have shown that reading 20 minutes per day not only strengthens standardized testing scores but offers many more benefits. Students who read 20 minutes daily get exposed to over 1.8 BILLION words in a year. That helps with spelling, strengthens phonics skills, inference skills, and background knowledge for future reading/school work. Some studies show it can help the brain focus better, help calm or relieve stress, help with insomnia, and more. Here is an article about the benefits of reading daily and also some ways to help incorporate this expectation at home.

At ROMS, we want to maintain a reading culture. This includes stamina for independent reading and increasing speed and text difficulty. Just taking 20 minutes out of the day to read lessens the dreaded summer slide. Students can delve deeper into reading at school if they practice throughout the summer.

ROMS students are encouraged to read a minimum of THREE books over the summer. This includes ROMS students headed to ROHS. Incoming 6th-grade students have a tic-tac-toe sheet to fill out for different reading opportunities. Here is a slideshow with some resources and the expectations for each grade level.

Each student will be receiving a paper to keep track of summer reading (digital copies are in the slideshow). In the fall, students can turn this into their teachers. ROMS PTA is generously supporting our reading initiative with prizes for classroom drawings. Both at ROMS and ROHS, summer reading books will be used during the first few weeks of the year for writing and communication assignments.

Happy reading!

#ROMSRocks #ROMSReads

• Incoming sixth-grade students will exchange their current ROY Chromebook during the first week of school. More information will be provided close to the start of the school year.

Please add the following about the summer food program:

This summer, Royal Oak Schools is excited to announce the launch of the Summer EBT program. This new grocery benefits program provides $120 per eligible school-aged child to help purchase groceries while school is out, ensuring children have access to nutritious food year-round.

**Eligibility:**
- Participation in the Free and Reduced Lunch Program.
- Attendance at a school offering the National School Lunch or School Breakfast Program, with qualifying household income.

**Enrollment:**
Families in SNAP, FDPIR, or TANF will automatically receive Summer EBT. Others can apply through Royal Oak Schools Food Services.

**How It Works:**
Benefits are provided on a separate EBT card and can be used at authorized retailers, including grocery stores and farmers' markets. Each eligible child receives $120 for the summer to buy healthy foods such as fruits, vegetables, meats, whole grains, and dairy products.

For more information, visit the [Summer EBT] page and see our [Frequently Asked Questions].

Thank you.

We firmly believe that providing students with a smooth and informative school transition process contributes to student success at all levels. Our school transition process begins with our Developmental/Kindergarten students as we welcome them into our schools and begin to help them better understand some of the learning experiences that they will soon engage in within our schools. The elementary to ROMS school transition helps incoming 6th-grade students better understand what awaits them in middle school. Our 8th-grade to 9th-grade school transitions are one of the final transitions our students take part in as they begin their journey at Royal Oak High School. We feel strongly about our school transitions process and the opportunities it provides students and families at all levels to understand better the opportunities and experiences that await them at the next level! You can watch the video to learn more.

Studies have consistently shown that many girls and young women struggle with feelings of low self-confidence. This unfortunate trend seems to persist across various aspects of life, including academics, body image, and career aspirations.

In the realm of academics, girls often exhibit lower levels of confidence compared to their male counterparts. They may doubt their abilities and hesitate to take on challenging subjects or leadership roles. This lack of confidence can impact their performance and limit their academic achievements.

Body image is another area where girls often feel inadequate. Unrealistic media portrayals of beauty standards, combined with societal pressures, can lead to body dissatisfaction and a decrease in self-confidence. This can have long-lasting effects on mental and emotional well-being.

Furthermore, many girls struggle with confidence when it comes to career aspirations. They may underestimate their skills and downplay their ambitions, leading to a smaller presence in traditionally male-dominated fields. This self-doubt can hinder their pursuit of fulfilling careers and limit their potential for success.

It is crucial to address these issues and foster an environment that empowers girls to believe in themselves. By promoting self-acceptance, resilience, and a growth mindset, we can help girls develop the confidence they need to thrive and reach their full potential.

Click on the link below for the first-ever, large-scale national 2023 survey designed to develop a deeper understanding of the thoughts, experiences, behaviors and attitudes of teen girls throughout the U.S:

The 2023 Girls’ Index Executive Overview

The 2023 Girls’ Index™

Please take time to view the September PE Newsletter.

https://www.smore.com/yjtxs

We are limiting visitors to the building especially before and after school. Please drop your students at their designated exterior door. We want to limit traffic and provide the safest environment possible. Thank you for cooperating with us in this matter!

Please make sure to view or Student/Parent Handbook by clicking here.

Hello Families!

The Green School Committee at Oak Ridge is in need of some help!

At lunch, the volunteers and lunch monitors have been overwhelmed with the amount of recycling that is being thrown away each day. They need some assistance helping students find the correct receptacles and cleaning/organizing recyclable items.

Last year, we added food composting to Oak Ridge, and are in need of some more helpful hands as students become acclimated to this new change and are reminded of the composting process!

If you are interested in volunteering, please reach out to Mrs. Mangum (molly.mangum@royaloakschools.org) Please don't feel obligated to help everyday...any time is extremely helpful! Volunteers are needed from approximately 11:30 am-12:30 pm each day.

Thank you in advance!

If your child needs to take medication throughout the school day, please fill out the following form and return it to the main office. Thank you!

Please be aware that Board Policy 5330 (below) requires a doctor's prescription as well as parental authorization before we can dispense non prescribed (over the counter) medicine as well as prescribed medications.

For purposes of this policy, "medication" shall include all medicines including those prescribed by a physician and any nonprescribed (over-the-counter) drugs, preparations, and/or remedies. "Treatment" refers both to the manner in which a medication is administered and to health-care procedures which require special training, such as catheterization.

Before any medication or treatment may be administered to any student during school hours, the Board shall require the written prescription from the child's physician accompanied by the written authorization of the parent. This document shall be kept on file in the administrative offices. No student is allowed to provide or sell any type of over-the-counter medication to another student. Violations of this rule will be considered violations of Policy 5530 - Drug Prevention and of the Student Discipline Code/Code of Conduct.

Although it would seem logical that parental authorization to administer an over the counter medicine would be enough, we are required to also have authorization from a physician. For any instances where non-prescribed medicine is being administered without a physician's prescription, please ask those parents to have their pediatrician sign and return the parental consent form.

Request for Dispensing Medication

Please make sure you turn in all of your information for background checks two weeks prior to your event. This will allow us plenty of time to process your request. We often use parent drivers for many of our fieldtrips. Unfortunately we can not allow parents/guardians to drive their own child and drop them off. Volunteers and drivers are not permitted to bring a younger sibling along with them on the event. We want to make sure all students are accounted for and safety is a priority. If you are interested in volunteering please fill out our volunteer background form.

Please click here for Royal Oak Schools Performing Arts newsletter.

Please remember to join the PTA - we are working hard to keep our community strong! The PTA welcomes every student & their family from Oak Ridge. We want to make sure we are inclusive of all families and everyone has the opportunity to be a member. If there are financial limitations preventing you from joining the PTA please contact us so we can remove that barrier. It takes all of us working together to make our children reach their true potential.

Join online at: https://oakridge.memberhub.store/

Individual memberships are $10/year.

Thanks to the Michigan School Meals Program, a state-funded program that allows all students to receive meals at no cost for the 2023-2024 school year, breakfast and lunch will be free to all students. Second meals are not free and will be considered ala carte. Elementary school second lunches will be charged $2.60.

Although all students can receive meals at no cost, it is still vital that eligible families fill out a free/reduced meal application: A school’s eligibility for federal Child Nutrition Programs such as Summer Food Service Program and others is based on free and reduced-price eligibility. Students and families may qualify for other program fee reductions based on their eligibility for free or reduced-price meals. Federal and state education finding uses free and reduced-price eligibility.

Please complete the 2023-2024 online application on our website under Free and Reduced Meals Information. Paper applications will be sent out this month and available at the district office and in all schools in August.

“Blessings in a Backpack” is a program designed to provide students on the free and reduced lunch program with enough food for three meals a day during the weekends. This program, administered by the Community Foundation of Greater Rochester, is active in Royal Oak Schools. If you agree to take part in this program during the school year, your child will receive a bag filled with food for the weekend. A bag of food will be put in your child's locker for take home on Fridays. The simple meals may include food like macaroni and cheese, beef ravioli, canned fruit, granola bars, soups, juice and other items. Students will receive a bag every week.

If you would like to have your child participate in this program, fill out the form below.. Please be sure to indicate on the form if you child has any food allergies. If your child has a food allergy, you as the parent are responsible for checking all food labels when the food arrives home. Royal Oak Schools, as well as Blessings in a Backpack, will not be held responsible for any accidental food allergen exposure.

Blessings in a Backpack Form

If you have students currently enrolled in the program you will be contacted directly by the Young Oaks Coordinator.

Any families interested in the program can use the link below for information about the program.

Young Oaks Latchkey

Oak Ridge Live is an award winning news broadcast presented by our fifth grade students. Each week they bring us news and events from Oak Ridge and the surrounding community. I am pleased to announce we are continuing our broadcast. A special thank you to our Mr. L and Mr. Todd and our student broadcasters for the professionalism and effort they have put into continuing this broadcast. I could not be more proud of them. I hope you enjoy this week's edition of Oak Ridge Live:

Good Morning Oak Ridge 5/31/24

Good Morning Oak Ridge 5/17/24

Good Morning Oak Ridge 4/22/24

Good Morning Oak Ridge 4/5/24

Good Morning Oak Ridge 3/8/24

Good Morning Oak Ridge 3/1/24

Good Morning Oak Ridge 2/23/24

Good Morning Oak Ridge 2/9/24

Good Morning Oak Ridge 2/2/24

Good Morning Oak Ridge 1/12/24

Good Morning Oak RIdge 12/15/23

Good Morning Oak Ridge 12/8/23

Good Morning Oak Ridge 12/1/23

Good Morning Oak Ridge 11/03/23

Good Morning Oak Ridge 10/27/23

Good Morning Oak Ridge 10/13/23

Good Morning Oak Ridge 10/08/23

Archived Oak Ridge Live Episodes

Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!

For updates on events or a better insight on you child's school day. Please follow us on Facebook and Twitter: Facebook @ParrottJason

SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS

At Oak Ridge we take pride in making sure we have a kind, caring, environment. Our parents play a large role in helping us to achieve this goal. Before posting to social media or any other venue, please consider the feelings of all our community members . Before you post, remember to T.H.I.N.K...

MIssion: We commit to every students academic achievement, personal development and social responsibility.

Email: parrottj@royaloakschools.org
Website: http://www.royaloakschools.org/elementary/oakridge/
Location: 506 E 13 Mile Rd, Royal Oak, MI, United States
Phone: (248) 588-8353
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OakRidgeElementarySchool
Twitter: @ParrottJason