April 2025
IN THIS ISSUE
Message from Principal Schendel
Teacher Appreciation Week
Social and Emotional Tidbits
Recap of OEL Family Night
Extending Math at Home
3 Ways to Report an Absence
IMPORTANT DATESApril 1st - End of Third Quarter
April 8th - Library Event!
April 11 - No School for Students - Professional Dev.
April 18th - No School - Mid-Spring Break
May 9th - No School for Students - Professional Dev.
May 26th - No School - Memorial Day
June 5th - Last Day of School
Message from Principal Schendel
It’s a Fun Time to Be an OEL Owl!
Future Readers!
Reading Readiness Screener
In compliance with Wisconsin Act 20, OEL 4K teachers completed the Aimsweb+ screener with your 4K students following Spring Break. Students were screened for readiness on two tasks:
- Initial Sounds
- Letter Word Sounds Fluency
These tasks are leading indicators of future reading readiness. We are already working hard to teach and support your students' skills in these areas. This is one screening score, and your child’s skills may be demonstrated in many ways throughout their preschool classroom experience. If you have questions or concerns about your child’s screener scores, please reach out to your child’s 4K teacher directly. Linked below, you will find an explanation to assist you in understanding your child’s screening score.
Learning Letter Sounds
One of our school goals is to have children identify or produce 4-9 letter sounds by the end of the 4K school year. They should also be able to recognize and name at least 11 letters. Here are some fun ways to support learning letters and sounds daily!
Alphabet hunt--Look for letters everywhere!
- around the house (you can hide letters and have your child find them)
- on signs while driving in the car
- at the store
- in the restaurant
I Spy something that starts with the letter sound /P?/!
Have your child name all the things they see that start with that sound…
(pizza, people, purse, pencil)
Read ABC books and make a personalized ABC book
Get creative and make your own alphabet books!
- You can use photo sites to create an alphabet photo book
- Have your child cut out pictures from a magazine and glue them onto pages, or draw pictures for each letter
- Use objects to form the letter
Teacher Appreciation Week
May 5th - 9th
Let's make Teacher Appreciation Week sparkle! Our dedicated teachers deserve a week of celebration, and we need your help to shine a light on all they do to support our district’s youngest learners each day and how much we appreciate their hard work and dedication! To help us make this week truly shine, we're asking for small donations. Your generosity will help us provide special treats and activities to honor our wonderful educators. See below for the donation sign-up!
Social and Emotional Tidbits
Exploring Shubert’s Home: A Resource for Families
Our classrooms are utilizing Conscious Discipline to foster social and emotional skills in your 4K children. Each classroom works to build a strong school family that makes school a safe, connected environment for learning to take place. Recently, a digital resource for families was released, Shubert’s Home. The webpage features strategies and ideas for building social and emotional skills at home based on different locations in the house. Real photos, videos, and examples make this a great resource if you are a “see it so you can try it” kind of person.
Link to Webpage: Shubert’s Home
Ask your child if they know who Shubert is! :)
Big Fun with Little Pigs!
OEL Family Night at the Oshkosh Public Library
Our recent Family Night at the Oshkosh Public Library was a fun adventure for our little learners! It was so great to see so many of your smiling faces there – we had a really big group!
The star of the show was The Three Little Pigs, and our preschoolers had a blast making the story come alive! They pretended to be the pigs (and maybe even the wolf!), acting out the tale with lots of giggles.
One of the coolest things was watching them build houses for the little pigs. We had straws, popsicle sticks, and blocks, and the kids got to be real engineers! They even tried to see which house was strongest when the "big bad wolf" (aka, just some air!) tried to huff and puff. It was amazing to see them think and guess which materials would work best!
There was also a special building area with big cardboard blocks, perfect for making giant pig houses for lots of pretend pig friends. During story time, the kids snuggled in to hear different ways the story of the Three Little Pigs could be told. And for our super creative kiddos, there was a chance to draw and tell their own Three Little Pigs stories!
This special night was all about making stories fun and hands-on for your little ones. By building, pretending, and listening, they got to really jump into the fairytale! It's wonderful to see their imaginations grow and learn through play.
Thank you so much for bringing your preschoolers to the Oshkosh Public Library – their excitement made the night extra special! We can't wait for our next fun family event!
FAMILY NIGHT AT THE OSHKOSH PUBLIC LIBRARY
Extending Math at Home
Laundry Time Learning!
Did you know that even a simple chore like doing laundry can be a fantastic opportunity to explore the wonderful world of mathematics with your child? Young children build their understanding of numbers and patterns through hands-on experiences, and what's more hands-on than a pile of clothes!
Let's Get Sorting! Turn laundry sorting into a fun categorizing game. Ask your child to help you create groups: lights, darks, and whites. This introduces the basic concept of classification. You can even ask, "Which pile has more clothes?" to start comparing quantities.
Sock Detective! When it's time to fold, become sock detectives! Have your child match pairs. Talk about how two socks that are the same make a pair, and in math, we say they are equal. Discuss sizes – "This is a big sock for Mommy, and this is a small sock for you!" This introduces the idea of comparison.
Color Census in the Closet! Take a quick trip to each family member's closet and do a color count! Tally how many blue shirts, red sweaters, etc., you find. Then, ask insightful questions like:
- "What colors do we see the most of?"
- "What does this tell us about our favorite colors to wear?"
- "Are there any colors that no one has?"
This simple activity introduces data collection and analysis in a fun, visual way.
By weaving math into everyday moments like laundry, you're showing your child that numbers and patterns are all around us, making learning both practical and engaging!
Teresa.Doemel@oshkosh.k12.wi.us Amanda.Brayton@oshkosh.k12.wi.us