Dear Oxbow Community Students and Parents:

Welcome back as we prepare for an exciting 2011-12 school year! I hope you had a restful summer with lots of fun with family & friends. It always amazes us when it seems like yesterday we were leaving for summer break. And here we are already, preparing to open doors to start teaching & learning again! And for those of you who have not seen the building front makeover, you are in for a treat! THANK YOU to the Oxbow Parent Council and those who helped to fund, design, plant, water, weed, and maintain the front grounds this summer. The Oxbow School Community is deserving of a beautiful school entrance and now we have one! Thank you again, Oxbow families.

As Huron Valley Schools continues to transition to the Common Core Standards (state adopted curriculum), we will be focusing more than ever this year on higher level/critical thinking skills, differentiating instruction, creating visualizations of abstract ideas (i.e., graphic organizers, hands-on manipulatives, etc.), and working to increase parent involvement opportunities. To help students stretch their thinking and understand these concepts, this year we will have a theme: "Take Your Thinking to New Heights!" More to come on that!

Below is pertinent information regarding staff and procedures for you and your child for this school year.

Staffing

We have several staff changes to Oxbow this year. We would like to welcome the new and returning staff members to Oxbow:

• Brianna (Clairmont) Hand- First Grade teacher (Welcome back!)
• Kristin Ealy- Second Grade teacher (Welcome back!)
• Jim Izzo- Fourth Grade teacher
• LesleyAnne Newsted- Music Teacher
• Danielle Evenson - 3-5 Basic Classroom Teacher
• Colleen Stuart- Special Ed. Teacher Consultant
• Kathy Hall- Speech Pathologist

Some internal changes have taken place, as well. Our numbers bumped us up, which allowed Leslie Gogowski to return to kindergarten, Kristin Ealy was called back to return to teach second grade, and Brianna (Clairmont) Hand was called back to teach first grade. Finally, Mary Plezia is excited to join the third grade staff! Everyone is looking forward to a great year!

We also wish a fond farewell to the staff who will not be returning to Oxbow this year. Philip Wahtola will be teaching at Brooks Elementary and Julie Williams is Lakewood?s new Teacher Consultant. We will also miss Kelly Lang, who will be working at Lakewood. We wish you all much success in your new positions! And finally, we can?t forget...best wishes in retirement to Lynne Dixon! All of you will be missed!

Oxbow's School Hours

As you know, being prompt and in attendance for the beginning of the day routines is a critical part of your child?s beginning to the day, as well as to the instruction of the class. Last year, we (with your help) worked to reduce late bus and drop off arrivals so that students could get to class promptly. Our efforts paid off resulting in 306 fewer tardies to school in the 2010-11 school year, down from the year before! Oxbow students may begin to arrive to school at (no earlier than) 8:55 a.m. Upon arrival, students are to wait out front of the building (weather permitting). The first bell rings at 9:02 a.m., at which time students may walk to their classroom. Classroom instruction begins at 9:12 a.m. Only if a student is purchasing breakfast, he/she may enter the building beginning at 8:55 a.m. School Age Care is available before school at 7:00 a.m. and after school until 6:00 p.m., if you are in need of early morning or after school care. Sign up forms are available in the main office. School ends at 4:04 pm and buses generally pull out of the parking lot at approximately 4:12.

First Day of School:

September 6, 2011 is the first full day for 1ST through 5th grade students. All 1st-5th graders will be greeted off the buses and/or at the drop off line and will be directed and/or assisted by staff to their classes. Parents/guardians of kindergarteners will receive a letter from their student?s teacher explaining the process that will be followed by their students for the first few days of school. If you have any questions, please call the office at 248-684-8085.

Breakfast/lunch prices:

Breakfast is served daily at a cost of $1.00 per child. Full lunch price is $2.50, which includes milk. Milk alone is 50 cents. Every Oxbow student who qualifies for free or reduced lunch benefits all of our students and the entire district. Federal and State grant funds are allocated based on these numbers. Therefore, we ask that everyone return their Free and Reduced lunch form to their classroom teacher. If you know that you do not qualify, please return the blank form to your teacher. All information is confidential and used only to secure funding for our schools. Applications will be sent home on the first day of school. Only one application needs to be filled out per family. Your support is appreciated. The reduced breakfast price is 30 cents and reduced lunch is 40 cents.

The Oxbow lunch schedule is partly determined by our building „specials schedule? (art, music, PE), which can incur changes up to the last minute and is currently being finalized. The lunch hour and recess times are between 11:45-1:20. Your child?s teacher will notify you of the lunch period time for his/her class once school begins. The grade combinations for lunch and recess this year will be K&5, 1&2, 3&4.

Attendance:

Oxbow's attendance line is: (248) 684-8074. Please call us to report your child?s attendance as early before 9a.m. as possible. For your convenience, the attendance line is on 24 hours a day and you may leave a message during non-school hours. If we do not hear from you by the time classroom attendance is taken, a phone call must be made to let you know that your child is not in attendance. Please help us by letting us know if your child will not be coming to school that day.

Emergency Green Cards:

In first week of school you will receive a printed copy of your child?s emergency green card and other important documents needing your immediate attention. Please check your child?s emergency card for corrections and to make updated with any new phone numbers or contacts and return immediately to Oxbow. Remember, it is very important that you update this emergency green card through the year should any information change, or if additions need to be added particularly the names and numbers of friends/relatives who we may release your child too.

Parking and Drop Off/Pick Up Line

If you are dropping off or picking your child up from school, please remain in your vehicle as you pull along the curb in the front of the building and follow the traffic pattern to exit at the south end. This line is designed to be a moving line, in order to efficiently drop off and pick up children from school. Cars are to pull all the way forward to the end of the driveway (as directed by staff) and children are instructed to wait in that area until their designated driver pulls forward. However, remember if your child is late, you must accompany your child into the office and sign them in, there by requiring you to park in the designated parking areas and not along the curb.

At the end of the day, a staff member will walk the children being picked up along the entire front curb pick up area once so that both parent and child can spot each other, and the staff member will release the child to enter the proper vehicle. This method results in an efficient and timely follow of traffic.

Parking is available in open spaces in at the north and front of the building. The drop off/pick up line is a no parking zone, which must be respected before and after school during drop off and pick up times. It becomes disruptive and is unsafe for children trying to get to their families if a car is parked and other cars are unable to move forward to get their children. Please be patient and courteous in the drop off/pick up line during these busy times of the day. Remember we are a Bucket Filler School- be a Bucket Filler in the parking lot!

Class placement:

As you know, many factors are considered when dividing students into homeroom classrooms. Along with matching student needs and teaching styles, we balance gender, academic ability, behavior, and other factors when placing students. Our staff has spent a great deal of time creating our class lists. We ask that you do not request a change in placement. The placement for your child is listed at the top of page 1 of this letter.

Room Locations:

Attached is a school map with the classroom locations. On the first day of school, all teachers will be at the doors and hallways to greet and direct students to their classrooms. If you are dropping your child off in the drop off line, they will be greeted by staff and directed to their classrooms.

Huron Valley Schools is going Paperless for Report Cards

Starting this year, the district has moved to a paperless report card. Report cards and student progress will continue to be available for your review on Skyward Family Access, 24 hours/7days per week. A paper copy can be available upon request. More details about this will be available as we begin school.

Important Upcoming Dates:

• Wednesday, August 31, from 3:30-5pm: Ice Cream Social on the Playground
• Tuesday, September 6: First Day of School
• Wednesday, September 14, from 6:30 - 8pm: Parent Night/Open House
• Tuesday, September 21, from 6:30-7:30pm: First OPC meeting
• Thursday, October 13, from 4:30 - 8:00 pm: Teacher/Parent Conferences
• Wednesday, October 19, from 4:30 - 8:00 pm: Teacher/Parent Conferences

On a more personal note, I would like to let you know of a decision I have made. Starting the week of Sept. 12, I will be taking two days per week off, in order to spend time with and assist my mother as she is battling a serious health issue.

Mr. Bob Orosey, retired principal from Kurtz, (yes, Mrs. Orosey?s brother-in-law!) will fill in for me during the times that I am gone. Mr. Orosey is a highly respected (retired) administrator in the district and we are confident that he will do a fantastic job filling in during this time. He is excited for the opportunity to meet all of you and learn how we do things at Oxbow. Mr. Orosey will be joining our staff at the Ice Cream Social on August 31, so come and introduce yourself and say hello!

I want you to know that I remain deeply committed to the Oxbow students, staff, and families. This decision was made in order to remain dedicated to providing strong, quality leadership to the Oxbow School community, as well as to my family commitments at this time. I have full confidence that Thank you for all do to make it a great school to lead and for your continued support. Please remember that if you need to contact me, don?t hesitate to call and I will get back with you as soon as possible.

Enjoy the remainder of the summer- see you soon!

Sincerely,

Jill McDonald, Principal