Ord Terrace Families,

Back to School Connections conferences have started! Teachers are excited to meet with families to get to know them and their children! Teachers will ask questions about your child's interests, strengths, areas of need, and also see if your family may need additional supports. This is a time to build connections between families and staff! This will help us better serve students.

Back to School Night is NEXT MONDAY, August 24th 5:30-7:00 p.m! Families should meet in the cafeteria at 5:30 for a presentation, then they can visit classrooms between 6:00-7:00 p.m. All students will receive a free prize for attending!

Safety is our priority. This Wednesday, students will practice their first fire drill. Usually all students and staff are evacuated to the back playground within 7 minutes! These drills are required in California at all schools once per month.

Join our first Community Schools Advisory Council/School Site Council meeting of the year on Thursday, August 27th 5:00-7:00 p.m! This council helps make decisions that impact the whole school! The goals for this year are below. The main focus is to help families feel welcome and help students feel empowered and in charge of their learning! Dinner will be served at the meeting. Anybody is welcome to attend! You can also attend on Zoom using this link.

Have a great week!

Respectfully,

Mr. Sampson - Principal

Ms. Cecchi - Assistant Principal

Ms. Blaze - Community School Coordinator

Everything your child needs to be successful will be provided for them this year, including pencils, paper, crayons, etc.

However, we are grateful for donations! If you are willing and able to donate, it would be very helpful! The supplies that each grade level is requesting can be found at the end of this newsletter.

All elementary schools will be having Back to School Connections Conferences August 17th-21st. Dismissal will be at 12:50 p.m. on those days. Families will have opportunities to meet with teachers for 30 minute time slots. During this time, you will have the opportunity to share all about your hopes and dreams for your child, including information that will help teachers and the school staff better support you, your family, and your child. The purpose is not to share students' grades (we will discuss these at the November conferences), but to ensure staff have a good understanding of how they can best support you and your child, as well as information about your child's interests, background, and areas of strength.

Please sign up for a time slot using the link that your child's teacher sent on ParentSquare!

Due to changes in state requirements, we are not offering short term independent study until we receive further guidance from MPUSD. Therefore, as of now, we are unable to provide an option to recover absences. As a reminder, this document outlines the types of absences that are excused.

Buy your school spiritwear today!!! There are many promotions throughout the year, so keep checking the Otter Talk for updates, or subscribe to updates at www.ordterracespiritwear.com

SOME NEW DESIGNS ARE COMING SOON!

These items are OPTIONAL, but each grade level/teacher has created lists of items they would appreciate if anybody wishes to donate!