TECHNOLOGY CAMPUS CHRONICLE
VOL 6 ISSUE 17
PRINCIPAL CORNER
Dear OSES Families,
Did you know that homework and classwork account for 30% of your student’s grade? Teachers assign homework that will foster individual learning and growth, and that is appropriate for the subject area. Homework should be designed to allow a student to practice a skill.
Homework has, and always will be, a topic of discussion in education. Parents have commented we don’t assign enough, others have shared we assign too much. Students usually, comment “too much.” Some schools do not assign any. The factor often uncontrolled by schools is family life; maybe your student practices soccer after school everyday and some homework can feel like a lot. Some students may take five minutes to finish an assignment, another may take thirty for the same assignment. The list of factors is infinite.
No matter how you feel about homework, it’s a good reminder that it counts for no more then 30% of your student’s grade. In addition, it’s combined with classwork ,which accounts for most of the 30%. As always, just have your student do their best. Communicate with the teacher. Have sympathy for everyone involved.
Do your homework and know your facts, but remember it's passion that persuades.-H. Jackson Brown Jr.
Michael Singleton
Principal
SAVE THE DATE
JANUARY CALENDAR
JANUARY LUNCH MENU
Due to supply issues at the OCPS level, we do not know if hot or cold lunch will be served. Please be prepared to have either lunch until further notice.
Breakfast and Lunch will be FREE for the 2023-2024 school year
If your child has food allergies and will require a special meal from OCPS please click on the link below to fill out the special diet order form
Special Diets for Food Allergies - Orange County Public Schools (ocps.net)
Curriculum and Testing Updates
Hope you had a wonderful and relaxing Winter break!
If you have not done so already, please sign and return your student’s Progress Monitoring #2 AOR to his/her homeroom teacher. Reach out to Ms. Carter with any questions (Cayce.Carter@orlandoscience.org).
On Tuesday (1/16), fifth grade students will take the second PMA Science assessment. Please make sure your students arrive at school on time.
Guess what? Our IXL Winter Break Leader Board has spoken, and we've got some brainy names to share! Drumroll, please...
Third place goes to Advik Saranga, 1st grade, Ms. Keene with 3206 questions correct
Second Place goes to Aarini Desai, 4th grade in Ms. Baker & Ms. Polejes class with 3239 questions correct
First place goes to Ashley Antonella Gimenez Torres, Kindergarten, Ms.Lamour with 3295 questions correct
National School Choice Week
January 21-27, 2024
Activity Links below!
THIS WEEK IN GRADES K-6
KINDERGARTEN
Rodriguez
This was a fantastic first week back from Winter Break! Our students are continuing to work hard with the UFLI curriculum (Diagraphs) as they practice handwriting and reading. In Science we are learning about the different properties of matter! Our students enjoyed working together to create the different states of matter. We have also picked our Science Fair Project. Our class is super excited to see what we are going to learn in the following weeks to come!
(Photos depict us changed the state of matter of a simple piece of construction paper)
FIRST
We started back full force in 1st grade this week!
We have begun our unit on maps in Social Studies. The students loved using Google Earth to zoom in and find our school! They’ve gotten a chance to learn what a compass rose is and how to create a map key for their own maps.
In Reading, we are diving into Module 6 – Celebrating America. The students are reviewing text features for informational texts, and they have started to learn about elements of poetry and drama. They enjoyed reading and hearing the song, Grand Old Flag, and were surprised at how many poems they already know. Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and Roses Are Red being a couple of them!
Students are learning a difficult concept in Math this week, figuring out the various ways to create two-digit numbers out of tens and ones. They really loved using their base ten math manipulatives to help them!
We are starting our unit on Earth in Space and Time this week. Students are learning about stars in the sky and realizing that you are not able to easily count them! They are also investigating how magnifiers make things appear bigger.
Congratulations to Brynlei for earning Student of the Month for December!
1st Grade Field Trip- Giraffes Can't Dance
DiNuzzo
Xtra Math and December AR Winners
SECOND
Merks
We have begun working on Big Idea 6 in science for Earth's Structures. Students are taking a closer look at sand, soil and soot to explore the differences and how they are made. They are getting their hands dirty! In math, we are working on geometry. Everyone is very excited to learn about the difference between ordinary quadrilateral shapes! We have seen that it can be a challenge to put a shape into more than one category!
THIRD
Martin
In Mr. Martin’s class in 3rd grade we’ve begun an exciting new set of units. In social studies we’re working towards our region fair learning about the states of the Midwest. In Science we’re beginning to work on inquiry with the goal of jumpstarting our stemfair projects.
In Reading we’re beginning a new novel study. In Math we’re beginning to learn about fractions. In writing we wrote our new year’s resolutions this year.
FOURTH
Welcome Back, Super Fourth Graders!
We hope your winter break was filled with family time, cozy cocoa, and adventures galore! Now its time for us to begin the second semester! Get ready to dive deeper into exciting new topics, unleash your creativity, and tackle challenges head-on. We have amazing projects, thrilling experiments, and mind-blowing discoveries planned for you, from learning about how Earth moves in space to how animals survive wild conditions. The second half of fourth grade promises to be a whirlwind of learning and fun!
Important Reminder for Parents:
Please remember to return the signed acknowledgement of receipt for both your child's report card and FAST score report. These documents are essential for us to continue supporting your child's individual learning journey and ensuring their success. If you have not viewed your child’s FAST score report, you can find it on the Florida FAST website. Details on how to access them have been shared via email.
Let's make the second semester roar with excitement and learning!
Sincerely,
The Fourth Grade Team
FIFTH
It’s good to be back!
It’s so great to see all of our students again!
This week we are starting a great read aloud by the name of “Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library”!
This week we will start our project where we will write a biography about an artist and then create a work of art in their style!
The literature skills we will be working on are inference, central idea, and parts of speech!
Please remember to bring in the signed acknowledgement forms for report cards and FAST scores.
Also make sure that if your child is going on the field trip please fill out the updated waver and turn it in by Friday!
SPECIALS
Sevim- Computer Science
Welcome back after the winter break! We’ve kicked off the new semester with enthusiasm!
In our computer science class, we took time to review essential rules for the computer lab by incorporating interactive platforms such as Kahoot and Quizzes. It was a joy to see our students actively participating in these sessions, making the review not only educational but also enjoyable.
Focusing on these computer science class rules is key to creating an environment conductive to learning and collaboration. I encourage you to discuss these rules with your child at home to reinforce their understanding.
Here’s to a semester brimming with curiosity, growth, and achievements in the fascinating world of computer science. Thank you for your ongoing support.
The STEM Lab needs your help!
Donations are needed so that we may continue to create wonders of engineering in the STEM lab. We need:
paper towel rolls
cereal boxes
glue sticks
tissues
tissue boxes
McAdams
Mile Runners
SIXTH
Lawrence - world history
There hasn’t been an edition of this newsletter since last year!
We give a sincere welcome back to our students and families and hope that everyone had a safe and healthy winter break. 6th grade has some big changes occurring with the new semester:
Each student has a new elective class for their 7th period.
The STEM and PE classes have now swapped (If you had Ms. Duenas in the first semester, you now have Ms. Masuoka for that period).
The Language classes have swapped as well (If you had Spanish in the first semester, you now have Turkish).
Remember to review each teacher’s classroom procedures, especially for turning in homework and other assignments. In addition, remember to join the Google Classrooms for your new classes as well.
Finally, Mr. Lawrence emailed out the first information for the 6th Grade Valentine’s Dance for Friday, February 9th, 2024! Check your emails for all the information.
Happy 2024! I hope your break was a good one!
January’s character trait is Self- Awareness, which goes along with the ORCA Core Value Ownership for my actions.
What is self-awareness? Self- Awareness is the ability to understand one’s own emotions, thoughts, and values and how they influence us. This means learning to get to know ourselves which includes things like our identity, likes and dislikes, strengths and challenges, feelings and opinions, and how our mind influences our emotions, words and behaviors.
Goal-setting should become a habit early on in life. When elementary students learn how to set goals, they’re taking the first steps in developing a growth mindset. Learning how to set goals is can empower our children to plan for the future, encourage them to problem-solve, and increase their self-awareness, confidence, and perseverance.
Try one of these ideas at home! Have a great weekend!
CLUBS AND TUTORING
CLUBS
Hello families!
Please read carefully for all club reminders:
PICK UP: Please remember that you should not arrive on campus before clubs dismiss. Even coming 5 minutes early causes backups in our dismissal process.
- Building 1 (grades K-3) - clubs dismiss at 3:40 during the week and 2:40 on Wednesday
- Building 2 (grades 4-6)- clubs dismiss at 3:40 during the week and 2:40 on Wednesday
ABSENCES: Remember that 3 or more consecutive absences will result in a removal from the club. If you are missing club because of tutoring or sickness, email the club teacher so it can be excused.
If you want to withdraw from a club, please email Marketa.Thomas@orlandoscience.org
Weekly tennis times have been adjusted to 3:30, 4:30, and 5:30. Please sign up for the next session (1/11, 1/18, 1/25, 2/1) directly with Coach Raul.
To confirm your child’s spot please send $80 to Coach Raul via Zelle at rrodriguez@allcourttennisinc.com.
CLUB PAYMENT LINKS
Competition Math
Pick up and Drop off Carline Procedures
PikMyKid Questions? See Below!
Elementary Competition Math Calendars
TUTORING
BRAINFUSE ONLINE TUTORING
Brainfuse offers free online tutoring through the Orange County Library System to ALL students in Orange County Public Schools.
FREE live tutors are available every day from 2 p.m. to 11 p.m.
Using Brainfuse, students can connect with a qualified tutor for expert help in a variety of subjects.
Building 1: K-3 407-299-6595 option 1 Ms. Nicole
Attendance Emails and Notes K-3 - Nicole.Wallace@orlandoscience.org.
Any doctor's notes can be dropped off at the front desk, or sent via email.
Building 2: 4-6 407-299-6595 option 2 Ms. Molina
Attendance Emails and Notes 4-6 Keily.Molina@orlandoscience.org
Any doctor's notes can be dropped off at the front desk, or via email
Volunteering
If you want to volunteer in your student's classroom, eat lunch with your student, or chaperone a field trip. You must be additions approved. If you have volunteered in past, you must update your account each school year. For any questions, please reach out to Nicole.Wallace@orlandoscience.org.
How to add a student to school pay
Staff Commendations 2023-2024
PARENTS' RIGHTS INFORMATION
Your Resource for Legislative Updates
In order to help keep our families informed of the latest legislative updates regarding their student's education, a Parent Rights Resources page has been added to the school website.
Recent updates include:
- Internet Safety
- District Health Care Services
- Special Magistrate
ADDITIONAL PARENT INFORMATION
Mission Statement
The mission of Orlando Science Elementary School (OSES) is to provide a well-rounded education with special emphasis in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), while using research-based and innovative instructional methods in a stimulating learning environment. OSES is committed to the social-emotional learning and character development of all students.