The OMS Community Newsletter

We have had a busy and fun first month of school! In September, students met all of their teachers and learned more about their classes and schedules. During the second week of school, students participated in opening team meetings with administration and school counselors. We learned about how to be upstanders in our community during Start with Hello Week and students participated in their first Knight Time Advisory where they identified a trusted adult in their life. OMS fall sports began in September (more activities starting in October) and we welcomed many families to our school during Back to School Night. This newsletter highlights some upcoming information as well as looks back at what happened at OMS during September.

Dear OMS Community,

It was great to see so many of you at our September Back to School Night! We have enjoyed getting to meet our Grade 6 students, meeting students new to OMS, and greeting our returning students in Grades 7 and 8. After a few weeks of school, students are settling into the schedule and daily routines here at OMS. Teachers have spent time getting to know their new students, reviewing previous academic material, and classes are in full swing with their content areas. At OMS, our school year is divided into trimesters so October 17th will be the halfway point in Trimester 1. Around this time, we will be sending out progress reports which will come just in time for Parent/Guardian-Teacher Conferences on October 25th. In the meantime, you can check your students' grades by checking the Parent Portal. If you have questions about a class or assignment, please reach out to the teacher.

OMS Fall Sports have begun and we have many after school clubs and activities starting soon (more information below). In addition, we have an upcoming Fall Ball, field trips, and other school-sponsored events. With so many upcoming opportunities and activities, I ask that you remind your student about appropriate school behavior when they attend a school event and when they are on school grounds. In middle school, students are becoming more independent. If you allow your student to attend a school event on their own, please remind them to use school appropriate language and to listen to the directions from school staff. In order to maintain a safe and respectful environment at school-sponsored events, OMS students interested in attending school events independently (without a parent/guardian) will need to turn in a signed agreement acknowledging the behavior expectations at these events in order to receive a special SPS Event Pass. More information regarding this pass and student behavior expectations will be shared out in an email next week.

We are excited for our students to become more independent and we are here to support them through their middle school years. Throughout the year, I will be reminding students to think, learn, and grow. When learning from a challenging experience, students can think about what they were feeling and thinking at the time, reflect on what they can be learned, and grow by realizing how they might react differently in the future.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Katrina Crowley

We are excited to start our after school clubs, activities, and programs. While OMS fall sports has already begun, we have even more after school opportunities and offerings that are beginning in October. Please click on the button for more information, including how to sign-up.

The late bus begins Monday, October 2nd. The late bus is available to any OMS student who participates in an after school activity or who stays to work with a teacher. The teacher or club advisor will provide students with a blue late bus pass if they need to ride the late bus. There will be 3 different late bus routes. Please take a look at the bus routes and stops. If your child will be taking the late bus, please let them know which late bus number to take and which stop to get off at.

In September, OMS administration and school counselors held team assemblies to welcome students to OMS. We discussed our theme of this year, "Think. Learn. Grow." In order to encourage continuous learning, we are encouraging students that they can learn and grow from every situation. We also shared our expectations of Readiness, Responsibility, and Respectfulness. In addition, we reviewed attendance, academic, and behavior expectations. See a brief summary of these expectations below:

Attendance

Students should come to school everyday on time. School starts at 7:35am. Students need to be in their Period 1 class in order to be considered on time for school. This helps practice good habits for high school. At SHS, attendance factors into whether students earn credits for a class.

Academics

In middle school, students are becoming more independent and they hold more responsibilities. Students are encouraged to advocate for themselves - ask questions, stay after school for help, talk to their teacher, or email their teacher. On Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, all teachers are available to provide help until 2:45pm.

If students fail any two of their four academic classes (Social Studies, ELA, Math, Science), they will have to attend summer school. If students fail three or all of their four academic classes, then there is a potential they will be retained. If students fail their World Language class (Spanish 1A, French 1A), they will have to repeat the class the following year. Any student failing two or more classes cannot participate in OMS Athletics.

Behavior

We reviewed our OMS Behavior Matrix with students to highlight areas of the building where they can demonstrate readiness, responsibility, and respectfulness. In addition, middle school students are expected to keep their hands to themselves at all times. Since students grow at such a fast pace in middle school, it is important they respect each other's personal space. Students were reminded to use school-appropriate language. We reminded students about our dress code and cell phone rules. In middle school, we support our students to be honest and to take accountability for their actions.

We spoke with students about bystander behavior and how to be an UPstander in our community. Upstanders stand up for others in situations. Upstanders can help reduce social isolation by reaching out and saying hello to others. Upstanders can also help out their peers in situations that might be unsafe by letting an adult know or helping their peers to make a responsible decision.

Students can earn positive recognition cards when they demonstrate readiness, respect, and responsibility. Students can redeem their card(s) for a prize weekly during "Ticket Tuesday." We had our first Ticket Tuesday on 9/26. See below for some of the prizes students can earn!

The Tutoring Center at the Stoughton Public Library is back! OMS students are invited to get academic support at the tutoring center on Mondays from 6:00 - 8:00pm. This will begin on Monday, October 16th and will run through May. The program will not run on October 28, November 6, and December 4.

OMS participated in "Start with Hello Week" the week of September 18th. Start with Hello Week is part of the Sandy Hook Promise and focuses on teaching students empathy and empowering them to end social isolation by making new social connections and creating a sense of belonging. Here were some of the activities and theme days:

• Meet & Greet Monday - Students started the day greeting one another and saying hello.
• Upstander Tuesday - At lunch, students filled out upstander cards. Upstanders speak up and stand up for others.
• Wear Green Wednesday - Green is the official color of Start With Hello/the Sandy Hook Promise, as well as mental health awareness.
• Trusted Adult Thursday - Students participated in an activity during Knight Time advisory to identify a trusted adult in their life.
• Moving Forward Fri-Yay - Students signed the pledge to continue to reduce isolation throughout the year.

Take a look at some pictures of students wearing green on Wednesday and signing the pledge on Friday to close out the week.

Show your OMS pride! Students are encouraged to wear black and orange on Monday, 10/2, and Wednesday, 10/4, next week to support our athletic teams. On Monday, boys and girls soccer will have their first home game. On Wednesday, cross country has their first home meet.

Action pictures from cross country's first away meet.

Interested in being a parent/guardian representative on the OMS School Council? The OMS School Council is a council of parents/guardians, community members, teachers and principal who meet one time a month. The council advises the principal on school issues, helps to develop the School Improvement Plan, and approves the Handbook, while also discussing matters and issues that impact the larger school community. The council will meet on Wednesdays at 4:00 pm; once a month (first meeting on October 4th). We are looking for parents/guardians who want to assist in creating positive school improvement and are willing to share their opinions and ideas in a positive constructive manner to move OMS forward towards greater success and achievement. If this is you, and you want to be a part of the OMS School Council, please send an email to k_crowley@stoughtonschools.org

The Stoughton School Committee is looking for parent/guardian volunteers to be part of the Wellness Committee. The Wellness Committee will consist of up to five parent/guardian volunteers. Please email k_crowley@stoughtonschools.org by Friday, October 6th. In your email please provide your reason(s) for wanting to be on this committee.