October 2021 Newsletter

A Message from Principal Thompson

Hello, Oak Creek East Middle School Families,

The beginning of the school year at EMS was full of positive energy, relearning routines, building a strong sense of community and of course learning! We kicked off the school year with a focus on reinforcing what it means to be an EMS Cougar: Responsible, Safe, Respectful, and Engaged. We all worked together to create posters of common expectations for everyone in all environments at East: Hallways, LMC, Restrooms, Cafeteria, and Recess. We also all worked on developing our house mission statements to create shared ownership of our learning at East.

In addition to building a sense of community and practicing positive social skills, our students completed their initial STAR Literacy and Math testing to guide teachers to meet the individual needs of our students within the classroom environment. Students are also setting learning goals based on their individual test scores. As always, we will use student STAR data to inform our FAAST groups and provide appropriate support and enrichment opportunities for students. You will receive your student’s STAR information in the near future.

During the month of September, our 8th and 7th grade students learned how to keep themselves safe at school and the consequences of unsafe behavior at school. This information was presented by principals Ms. Newell, Ms. Milroy, Ms. Thompson and our School Resource Officer, Ashley Chapman. Click here to view the slideshow. Our 6th grade students will receive this information during the first week in October.

As we all get back into the routine of school, it is important to remember to pay close attention to your student’s academic growth and achievement by monitoring their Infinite Campus account and our weekly House Update that is emailed every Friday. Both of these tools are essential in us working together to support your student’s academic and social/emotional needs.

If you do not have your parent account set up in Infinite Campus or forgot your login, please contact Sue Wanninger at Helpdesk@ocfsd.org or visit the OCFSD parent information page at http://www.ocfsd.org/parents/infinite-campus-login

As we enter the second month of this school year, we are extremely proud to say that all our efforts are aligned to our staff and learners growing, learning and working towards getting better at getting better each and every day.

Thank you for your continued support and partnership.

Sincerely,

Sue Thompson, Principal

Jodi Newell Associate Principal (A-L)

Casey Milroy, Associate Principal (M-Z)

Upcoming Events

Click HERE to see a full list of upcoming events!

October

Oct 01, (Friday) - No School

Oct 14, (Thursday) - Parent Conferences 4:30-8:00 p.m. (In Person)

Oct 21, (Thursday) - Parent Conferences 4:30-8:00 p.m. (Virtual)

Oct 22, (Friday) - No School

Oct 28, (Thursday) - Make Up Photos

Parent/Teacher Conference Information

Parent/Teacher Conferences provide an excellent opportunity for parents/guardians to gain insight into your student’s recent academic performance and study skills/habits. Parents/guardians, you are a crucial component in your student’s academic achievement and social/emotional well-being at school. We encourage you to bring your student along with you so that all parties are on the same page, preparing for a successful academic first semester of the 2021-2022school year.

Oak Creek East Middle School fall Parent/Teacher Conferences will be on Thursday, October 14th and will be IN-PERSON and on Thursday, October 21st and will be VIRTUAL.

You will receive communication from your student’s House/Advisory Teacher with a link to sign up for an in-person or virtual meeting. You can also schedule a brief meeting with your student's Encore teachers and/or Special Education and EL teacher on both days as needed.

We look forward to meeting with you during our fall Parent/Teacher Conferences.

PM Parent Pick Up Information

Beginning October 4, school busses will begin picking up students at Door #2 and Door #12.

To ensure everyone's safety, all parents must park in the green parent pick up zone for PM student pick-up. Thank you for taking the appropriate steps to ensure everyone is safe as we release students at the end of the school day.

Make up photos have been scheduled for Thursday, October 28th.

Stay tuned for ordering information!

Onsite Counseling Clinic for Students

This is a friendly reminder that we continue to have a strong partnership with Clinical Psychology Associates (CPA) and continue to have therapists located in both of our middle schools and high school (specifically at the NGC). As the number of students requesting this service has expanded, Clinical Psychology Associates has hired an additional therapist who is ready and able to provide mental health services to Oak Creek students/families.

All students within our district will have access to these clinics. Our district recognizes that unless emotional well-being is present, a student’s educational experience can be compromised, and we want to bring that resource directly into the school.

If you feel your student is struggling with managing his/her emotions, anxiety, stress, or is often in a depressed mood, consider taking advantage of this professional counseling opportunity.

Therapy can provide tools to help your student better deal with the complications and challenges that can occur during adolescence.

Clinical Psychology Associates’ therapists will be on-site and available to schedule appointments with your student during his/her school day. Appointments will be scheduled at times that will provide the least amount of interference to his/her school day. Payment for services will be via your family’s health insurance or an out of pocket rate.

To ask any questions or begin the process of starting therapy, contact

Clinical Psychology Associates by calling or texting (262) 975-0012

For additional information, click HERE.

Here Comes the Bus Mobile App

The Oak Creek-Franklin Joint School District and GO Riteway are excited to announce a new mobile app for transportation called Here Comes the Bus®.

Here Comes the Bus allows you to view the real-time location of your child’s school bus on your smartphone, tablet or computer. With it, you will have the information you need to send your children to the bus stop at just the right time, helping to protect them from inclement weather and other roadside dangers. What’s more, you’ll have peace of mind knowing your children haven’t missed the bus.

Follow the steps below to download the app today!

Should you have any questions, please contact GO Riteway via email at oakcreekbus@goriteway.com or by phone at (414) 571-9001.

Students with Disabilities & Food Allergies

Parents/guardians of any students with a food allergy or need for a special diet, which requires dietary modification, should complete the Special Dietary Requests/Restrictions form with a medical practitioner's signature. Completed forms should be returned to the school office.

Click HERE to access the form.

Second Step: Social-Emotional Program

Dear Families,

We want your child to be successful in school, and that means supporting and encouraging their whole development. While excelling in academic classes is important, students also need skills for learning challenges, making good decisions, handling strong emotions, and getting along with others.

This past month we began Second Step for Middle School, a research based social-emotional program designed to improve students’ social-emotional skills, such as emotion management, impulse control, problem solving, and empathy. Second Step skills and concepts are designed to help students both in and out of school. These include:

Mindsets and Goals: Students learn how to develop a growth mindset and apply research-based goal setting strategies to their social and academic lives.

Recognizing Bullying and Harassment: Students learn how to recognize bullying and harassment, stand up safely to bullying, and respond appropriately to harassment.

Thoughts, Emotions and Decisions: Students learn how to recognize strong emotions and unhelpful thoughts, and apply strategies to manage their emotions and reduce stress.

Managing Relationships and Social Conflict: Students learn strategies for developing and maintaining healthy relationships, perspective-taking and dealing with conflict.

If you have questions about Second Step Middle School, please don’t hesitate to contact us for more information. Thank you for your support as we work to build a safe and supportive school community.

October Is School Safety Month

The Oak Creek-Franklin Joint School District takes the safety of all students and staff very seriously. Given that we want to take the time needed to present safety information carefully, we have decided to conduct safety month instead of safety week for the 21/22 school year. This will allow teachers and students to spread safety lessons throughout the month. See the safety letter from Dan Unertl, Superintendent, and Steven Anderson, Oak Creek Chief of Police.

2021-2022 Safety Month Letter to Families from District & Police Department

During Safety Month, all students will participate in age-appropriate safety lessons on remaining safe in our schools by locking down in classrooms, doing quick peeks and metering when we need to evacuate, and the See or Hear Something, Say Something campaign. Students in 4th -12th grade will again view the video “Be Prepared, Not Scared” featuring Captain Bolender and members of the Oak Creek Police Department. Please plan to talk to your child throughout the month of October about what they are learning about safety.

Artist: Maryam Abdul-Wahid

Grade: 8

8th Grade Art Expressions student, Maryam, created this beautiful surrealism piece using acrylic paint. Students in the class have spent time this quarter exploring various materials and art mediums. Based on their preferences, students identified a theme or big idea to base their work of art off of. Maryam's theme has to do with dreams. She started by drawing out images of objects that wouldn't necessarily be seen together in normal life. After she was done sketching, she mixed her paint colors and got to work! I absolutely love Maryam's attention to detail, use of texture, and her obvious effort. Maryam worked very hard on this and it was awesome to see her vision come to life! Great job, Maryam!

Cell Phone Free School

Click HERE to view our cell phone and headphones procedure

If you allow your student to bring a phone to school, it will need to be locked in the locker from 8:30 am until 3:45 pm.

As in the “olden days,” you can contact the office if you need to speak to or get a message to your child.

Absence Reporting

Please call the attendance line at (414) 768-6260 option “1” to report student absences and tardies. When leaving a message, please include the date, first and last name of your student, the spelling and grade.

Additionally you may email attendance information to our general office email address at office.eastmiddle@ocfsd.org.

Virtual Backpack

Don’t forget to check your student’s Virtual Backpack! The Virtual Backpack is our "eco-friendly" approach to distributing information supporting our district's educational goals and mission.

Virtual Backpack Link: ocfsd.org/parents/virtual-backpack

Background Checks

The District Volunteer Background Check Application is now online! We will no longer be accepting paper applications. Every volunteer must complete an online volunteer application form even if you were previously approved and are on the Volunteer Database. You will still need to submit an online volunteer application every five years after the initial online application. This new process will have results within 1-2 days!

The link can be found under the Parents tab on the district website.