Once again that special time of year has arrived. The streets begin to empty a little, the parks seem to quiet down and the children GO BACK TO SCHOOL!
Yes, a new school year is dawning for Oxford Area Community Schools – and with the start of every school year comes lots of changes and plenty of new information. Here are some of the important facts to help Oxford School parents get their youngsters off to a great start this school year:
n The first day of school is August 25! Elementary and middle school students will be attending for a half day, while high school students will have a full instructional day. All students will get a four-day weekend, with both Friday and Monday off, for the Labor Day holiday, and school will resume on September 2 for a full day.
n All of the school buildings will open and close at the same time this year: Clear Lake, Leonard and Oxford Elementary are from 8:51 a.m. to 3:45 p.m.; Lakeville and Daniel Axford are from 9:00 a.m. to 3:54 p.m.; the middle school is from 7:45 a.m. to 2:40 p.m.; and the high school is from 7:30 a.m to 2:25 p.m.
n Oxford Schools have sent out two different mailings addressing the new walk areas and bus routes. Parents should review those materials before the first day of school to make sure that their students are at school on time or at the appropriate bus stop on time.
n The elementary schools (K-5) will be using a brand new language arts curriculum for this year. Parents will be seeing new materials and new ideas.
“It will be a much more comprehensive curriculum,” said Curriculum Director Karen Eckert. “This is probably the biggest change we’ve ever had in our curriculum.”
A group of teachers and administrators have been working on the new curriculum for the past two years. All of the material aligns with the state benchmarks and the topics will fit across the board with other subjects. For example, vocabulary being taught in a language arts class will also be making its way into the science room and history room; or all of the classrooms may use a similar example, such as lighthouses, to facilitate the learning process.
“Parents are going to see their kids coming home with skills and ideas that I think will surprise most of them,” added Eckert.
n Oxford Middle School is still one very large construction zone. Crews have worked hard over the past couple of weeks to make the area as safe as possible for students, parents and staff.
One of the biggest changes will be the traffic flow. Parents are being asked to please drop their children off in the north parking lot this year. Traffic will enter the lot from Ray Rd., drop the children off at a designated entrance door, and then exit onto Oxford Rd. Buses will be dropping off and picking up this year in the south lot. Oxford Schools board of education member Doug Myer and P.K. Contracting donated the paint to create parking spaces and directional lining.
“We are also sending out special fliers on this change,” said Superintendent Virginia Brennan-Kyro. “The traffic flow should be much smoother this year.”
Workers have prepared several entrances and exits all around the current middle school. Portable hallways have been installed and approved, including lighting, so that the public will have safe access to the building. Also, all debris and work areas that are near these entrances have been cleared away.
“They’ve done an excellent job of clearing out the area and making sure the exits are clearly marked,” said Brennan-Kyro.
n A new “Permission to publish release form” has been instituted district-wide. This form replaces a previous document where parents simply expressed their wishes not to have their child’s picture taken and used for different purposes.
The new form must be filled out by every parent giving permission for the school to take and use a child’s picture in different instances. Different situations are segmented, so a parent can voice preferences instead of a blanket permission.
The Leader contacted Communications Director Edie Paradowski, but further information was unavailable at the time of publication.
Every new school year brings exciting and unique things to learn and do. Enjoy the start of another great one and good luck to all the teachers and staff across the district!