Welcome Back

Wow!  Its hard to believe that I've been back at school for a week.  At this point last year, Mrs. Weis and I still didn't know when we were going to be allowed back into the building.  All our belongings sat in semi trailers in the parking lot.  Starting school on time looked like a dream at a few points.  

The staff and students of OES accomplished many great things last year, not the least of which was unpacking those semi trucks and welcoming students on time.  If you remember, many teachers moved a second time during the school year when the new wing opened.  In addition to unpacking, I am proud of many other accomplishments. :)  

We officially became an IB World School in May!  Here is a link to the 18 IB World School elementary schools in Michigan.  The IB evaluation team spent three days observing in classrooms and meeting with staff, students and parents.  One of the visiting team members plans to bring teachers from her school to visit our school this year.  I can't imagine a bigger compliment than that!

While the IB programme is part of everything we do, there were many other exciting things that happened at OES.  Our teachers learned about a new method of teaching reading called Readers Workshop.   Our Response to Intervention Team worked hard to provide additional support for students needing help in math and reading.  We added Read Naturally Live to our list of interventions, a program monitored by teachers, but staffed by an army of parent volunteers.  We also added a math intervention program for the first time, called Number Worlds.  These programs don't get the coverage or glamour of IB, but they are extremely important to the success of our students.

The 2012-2013 school year promises to be equally rewarding.  Our 5th grade students will take part in the IB Exhibition for the first time.  You will be amazed!  Our teachers will continue to integrate technology into their classrooms including the white boards, clickers and our new content management system, http://www.haikulearning.com/.  Our student leadership teams will continue to grow.  Our students will continue to take meaningful action that will change the community, state, country and world!  

Welcome back.