Homecoming Excitement
September 2017
School Spirit in Full Affect at OMS
Homecoming week at OMS is always a fun way for students to show off their school spirit and creativity. Each morning, I look forward to the students arriving to school dressed in the theme for the day. Included in this post are pictures of students that participated in crazy hair/mismatch and twin/squad day. Way to show off your school spirit OMS!
Children’s Author at OES
Children’s author, Dean Robbins, will be visiting OES students on the afternoon of Friday, October 13th. (You can learn more about Dean Robbins at http://deanrobbins.net/.) Below is an order form if you would like to purchase some of his books. You can even have him autograph your books! All orders are due by Friday, October 6th by 8:30 a.m. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Mrs. Heinen.
OHS Alumni Hoops Game
Join us for the brand new OHS Alumni Hoops Game! Anyone who graduated from Oostburg High School and played basketball during their high school year(s) is eligible to play in this game on Saturday, December 30. A $25 donation gets you a spot on a team. We will have multiple events and contests, raffles, etc. throughout the day! Both Lady Dutch and Dutchmen will have two age divisions. See attached registration form for more details. Fans and alumni are invited to gather and watch this exciting inaugural event!
Alumni Basketball Game RegistrationOCEF Homecoming Raffle
Good Morning OES Families!
As we begin Homecoming week, I wanted to pass along an opportunity for you to get involved in supporting our school district. The Oostburg Community Education Foundation (OCEF) has been a generous supporter of our school district and school mission for years. They are currently running their largest annual fundraiser, the Homecoming Raffle. I would encourage you to consider taking part and buying some raffle tickets. Not only are the raffle prizes really nice, but the funds do directly back into our schools. There are images of some of the available prizes, with the entire array of prizes on display in the high school. More
Parent’s Music Club Concessions
Greetings!
Are you aware that last year alone our Parents Music Club donated $9,719 from running our concessions stands? That money goes directly to our music program allowing things that a regular budget may not provide.
Finding an adequate number of volunteers to help with concessions is a challenge, and that is the purpose of this post. Please check out the following Sign Up Genius links and consider helping out. We have a top notch music program and PMC is a large part of our success. You may also check them out on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Parents-Music-Club-Oostburg-228450417202494/
JV Football – http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0e4ba4a622a7fb6-monday
Varsity Football – http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0e4ba4a622a7fb6-varsity1
Volleyball – http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0e4ba4a622a7fb6-volleyball1
Enjoy this day!
Kevin Bruggink
Quality Schools Make Oostburg Attractive
With state population growth slowing and unemployment at record low levels many communities are considering the challenges of finding enough people to fill available jobs. The recent Foxconn approval means workforce development demands in Wisconsin will continue to be a priority. Oostburg’s strong business presence, along with the addition of the new Master’s Gallery plant, means we will feel this reality locally as well.
As superintendent I am involed in both the Oostburg and Sheboygan Chamber of Commerce and discussions around workforce development and housing have been central in both organizations. Oostburg School District is playing an active role in this conversation as we seek to fulfill our mission of ensuring all students learn at high levels so they can be productive members of society and the world. I encourage families to check out bit.ly/2xeVsw8 to view our district’s work in Academic and Career Planning (ACP). Our plan has been a model for other districts and is building a strong foundation between a student’s academic preparation at OSD and their transition into the workforce, technical school, college or the military.
A recent survey asked municipal officials to share their perspective on the most important factors in attracting and retaining employees. Available housing in areas with high quality local schools came up as priority #1, ahead of business opportunities, parks, taxes, housing prices, and utility costs. We believe OSD provides an excellent education and is an asset in attracting families and businesses to our community. That helps in making Oostburg a great place to raise a family.
Enjoy this day,
Kevin Bruggink
Do our children, and students, feel significant and secure?
Good morning, Parents and Teachers.
I heard a message this weekend that was part of a “Parental Guidance Required” series, that really connects directly with some plans we have at the high school related to mentoring students to support our belief that all students can learn at high levels. As a parent, I felt the message was powerful and important. And as an educator, I felt the message also provided some really important ingredients that give us a chance to have success with all students.
The central point of the message was that all children have a fundamental need to know they are significant. In our families, our children need to know they are loved, valued and profoundly important to us. Furthermore, we have to be very careful as parents to love them unconditionally. We have to love them when they are successful, and we also need to love and value them when they struggle and make mistakes. They have to know that our love for them, and their value as people, is not conditional and only present when they meet our expectations. When they make mistakes, we must separate the choice from the person, and continue to let them know we love them even as we hold them accountable for their poor decisions. It is critically important that our children feel loved, even when they struggle or make mistakes. Our children simply cannot thrive and succeed if they question their significance, or how much we care about them, in our families or our school.
The second thing our children desperately need is to feel secure. When we have boundaries in place in their lives to make them safe, our children need to know that they can trust us to enforce those rules consistently, and that our desire in having those boundaries is to make them as safe and secure as possible. The boundaries actually communicate our love for them, and just how important they are to us. If we don’t enforce our boundaries consistently, we risk undermining their feelings of security, and maybe even how important they feel they are to us.
These were very important reminders for me as a parent because, like all of you, I desperately want my children to know they are loved unconditionally. I want that critical source of stability in their lives. I want them to know, that regardless of the nature or degree of their mistakes, there is nothing they can do that would make me not love them. However, I also found this message important as an educator. If we want our students to grow and succeed and thrive, then they must also know they are significant in our classrooms. They cannot feel invisible, or disconnected, if we want all of them to show the motivation necessary to succeed. Just like in our families, the students in our classrooms need to know that we care about them and their learning, even if they struggle or disappoint us at times. They need to see that our caring about their learning is unconditional. And we also have to establish and enforce classroom boundaries that make them feel secure, so that they can take the risks that are necessary to learn and grow.
Our mission as a school is for all of our students to become college and/or career ready. This message was a reminder to me that we will only be successful in that mission if all of our students feel significant and secure in our classrooms. And I also believe that when parents make their children feel significant, loved, and secure, it is much easier for us to build on that foundation at school as well.
My apologies for the lengthy message this week, but I hope you find these ideas as meaningful as I do.
Scott
Homecoming T-Shirts on sale now!
Click the image for order form. Youth sizes $8, Adult sizes $12 – Orders due by Friday, Sept. 15!