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Attention Parents of
Middle School students:
The
O'Rourke Building Council is seeking your input
regarding the Personal Development Standard that
appears on your child's report card.
Please help
us by answering the brief four-question
survey you will find by clicking here. |
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Sixth
graders: It's time to register for Summer
Forum classes!
Students
looking for some fun learning experiences this July
should check out the Summer Forum classes that are
open to BH-BL resident children currently attending
kindergarten through 6th grade. Sixth graders can
sign up for Musical Theater, Future Chefs, and/or
Youth Challenge classes from July 1 to 26.
Read all
the details in
the Summer Forum 2013 flyer. NOTE:
Registration forms are due by May 22. |
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Upcoming Dates & Events
May 14
6th Grade Field Trip to Howe Caverns
May 17
Half
Day of School
WL
Field Trip to Montreal
May 21
District School Budget Vote in the high school gym,
7:00 AM - 9:00 PM
May 22 - 23
Grade 8 NYS Science Performance Test
May 27
Memorial Day - School Closed
May 30
Charlton Heights 5th Grade Class Visit
9:30 AM
6th Grade Concert at High School
7:30 PM
May 31
8th Grade Spartan Games
Stevens 5th Grade Class Visit 9:30
AM |
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The following 7th grade
students recently received recognition for their
entries in the General Federation of Women's
Clubs' (Adirondack District)
Youth Writing Contest
for Grades 6 to 8.
William Halm
1st Place Poetry*
"Stars"
Katya Zablocki
1st Place Short Story*
"The Hollering Hawk"
Maddy Hicks
2nd Place Poetry
"Music in the Night"
Katya Zablocki
3rd Place Poetry
"The Dancer"
Emily Lewis
Hon. Mention Poetry
"To Fly”
Samantha Whitman Hon. Mention
Poetry
"Music"
Maeve Hatfield
Hon. Mention Poetry
"That Thing About Spring"
*1st Place winners will
move on to the statewide competition
Katya Zablocki was also
awarded third place in the NYS Women's Club writing
competition for grades 6 - 8 for her short story
"The Hollering Hawk".
Congratulations to all
entrants! |
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2013 Spring Edition of the O'Rourke Observer
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O'Rourke
Middle School Odyssey of the Mind team
is going to
the World Finals at
Michigan State
University
May 22 - 25,
2013
Congratulations to team
members Therese Erickson, Matthew Foster, Rachel
Johnson, Aidan McKenna, Michael Messere, Jack Royer
and Julia Salvatore!
With the incredible support of the
school, PTAs, the BH-BL community and our families,
we were able to raise the funds we need to get our
team of 7 Middle School students, along with 7
parents, to the Odyssey of the Mind World Finals
competition coming up next week, May 22-25 at
Michigan State University. Please keep our team in
mind as they compete on Thursday and Friday. |
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Inspire CREATIVITY and
INVENTIVE thinking during a weeklong summer adventure of
FUN and EXCITING real world challenges led by qualified
educators! One of the real world challenges in the
GEO-QUEST™ program is Cache Dash™ . Join us on an
international expedition, navigating your way to
treasure-filled caches containing global challenges from
youth around the world!
Geo-Quest is coming to:
O’Rourke Middle School
July 22 - 26, 2013 from
9:00AM to 3:30PM
For children entering grades
One through Six.
Click for more
information and
registration form. |
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8th Grade Class Night Dance -
Friday, June 14th
“Bright Lights,
Big City” is the theme for this year’s 8th
Grade Class Night Dance.
The dance takes place
immediately following the conclusion of the 8th
Grade Ceremony.
Here's a list of the
many ways parents can help make this a memorable
event for students:
•
Attend 16 Handles
Fundraiser on April 23rd, from 4-8
•
Send in Digital Photos
by May 10th
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Send in a Dedication for
the Ceremony Program by May 29th
•
Help Decorate on June
13th and 14th
Visit the PTA website
for more information and forms. |
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Parents
are kindly reminded
to follow the
MORNING DROP-OFF PROCEDURES
These procedures have been established to ensure the
safety of all our students and staff. As
always, your patience and courtesy are appreciated.
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All student drop-offs must occur at the music door
entrance ONLY (the second entrance toward the
back of the building) no earlier than 7:15 AM and up
until 7:45 AM.*
Students should not be dropped
off at the main entrance (the first entrance toward
the front of the building) between 7:15 and
7:45 AM.
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Student
drop-off must be from the right lane only and in
front of the music door entrance. Please do
not drop students off in any other place in the
parking lot and not from the left lane or at the
main entrance.
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The
left lane is for through traffic and parking access
only. No drop-offs should occur from the left lane.
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* After 7:45 AM students are considered tardy
and need to enter through the main entrance and
report to the attendance office to sign in.
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YEARBOOK On-Line
SALES ARE OVER 
But don't despair.
While the on-line sale of yearbooks is over, there
will be a limited supply available in June for $30.
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Middle School
Interim Reports go paperless!
Parents: Interim reports
will be available online March 13 through our Parent Portal.
To view your child's interim report, use the button
on the right to sign into the Parent Portal. Once
in, use the buttons on the left to see either
“Grades or Attendance” or “Teacher Comments.” These
two reports will provide you with the same
information we previously mailed you in printed
form. (Be sure the Reporting Term selected in
Teacher Comments is "P3")
If you need assistance signing onto
the parent portal, please email
powerschool@bhbl.org If you require a printed
copy of the Interim Report, please contact the
guidance office. |
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Envisioning an energy-efficient
Future City
A team of eight students from the
O'Rourke Middle School participated in their first
ever Future Cities Regional competition at Hudson
Valley Community College on Jan. 26 with advisor
Katie Zyskowski. The team was named the "Rookie Team
of the Year" and also won the Excellence in
Efficient Energy Applications Award.
Congratulations, students!
You can read more about
this nation-wide annual competition here. |
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Students' coin drive raises $2,933 for Toys for Tots
December 2012: In only one week's time,
students at the O'Rourke Middle School managed to raise
$2,933.07 to purchase new toys for needy families.
The coin drive is an annual event to benefit Toys for
Tots and is sponsored by the middle school's chapter of
the National Junior Honor Society. The amount collected
this year is nearly three times last year's total, and
6th grade classes alone raised an amazing $1,649.74.
 Honor
Society members counted all the money and rolled the
coins. With their advisor, teacher Monica Hills, they also had the fun of visiting the local
Target store to purchase the new toys, before these were
delivered to Toys for Tots.
A great job, kids! |
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Homework Request Policy
A reminder to parents of the
policy for requesting homework that is found on page
7 of the O'Rourke Middle School Student Agenda and
Handbook:
Homework can be requested when a
student is absent 3 consecutive days by calling the
main office where work will be collected and can be
picked up. If you need texts or supplies from
your child's locker, please come to the school at
the end of the day since student lockers are inside classrooms.
(And please be sure to have your child's locker number
and combination with you.)
In the meantime... please
check teacher websites, or call a study buddy to
find out what assignments have been given. |
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Safety
Reminder:
Middle School pupils need to attend
sports events with an adult or a high school-age sibling
Burnt
Hills-Ballston Lake parents and students are reminded
that 8th grade and younger pupils may NOT attend evening
varsity interscholastic sports contests without an
adult. This policy means that parents may not simply
drop off middle school students at evening sports
events. The policy has been in
effect since 2006 due
to the number of youngsters previously being left
unsupervised at games and incidents of fighting,
belligerence and other inappropriate behavior.
READ MORE |
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Playing a Sport??
A Health Clearance
(Yellow Sheet )is required.
A
Health Clearance Form
(yellow sheet)
is required for students to tryout for any
sport. The Health Clearance form needs
to be obtained from the school nurse
within 30 days prior to the start of the
sports season once all needed paperwork is
on file in the nurse's office.
Complete information can be found on the
Middle School
Nurse's page.
Physical
Form
Health
Recertification Form |
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AFTERNOON HOMEROOM
AND BUS DISMISSAL
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All students should be in homeroom by 2:20 p.m.
where they will sit at their desks until
dismissal. Students must put chairs on desks as
they leave, and see that their desk area is
clean.
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Students that take their instrument home, should
get their instrument after 9th
period and before reporting to homeroom.
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Students must have a pass to be in the hall
between 2:20 p.m. and 2:35 p.m.
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At the beginning of the school year, teachers
form a list of students who take the first or
second bus dismissal and those who walk to /
from school. At 2:20 p.m., only first dismissal
pupils should leave homeroom.
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The main office will announce 2nd
and 3rd
dismissals.
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At third dismissal, walkers, bicycle riders,
students being picked up by automobile, and
those staying for activities, sports, library,
and detention may leave. Students should wait
until all second dismissal buses have left
before crossing Lakehill Road. Students need to
have written permission from a parent/guardian
on file in the Main Office if they are not
riding the bus.
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Leaving on a different dismissal than the
assigned one for any reason requires a parent
note and/or a bus pass from the Main Office.
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 Supply lists for the 2012-13 school
year
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6th Grade Supply List
and letter from the 6th grade teachers |
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7th Grade Supply List
Please note: The correct
amount for the Tech/Art/FACS supply fee is
$9.00. |
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8th Grade Supply List
Please note: The correct
amount for the Tech/Art/FACS supply fee is
$9.00. |
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O'Rourke Middle School mourns the
loss of teacher Richard Barton
After a several year
battle with cancer, technology teacher
Richard Barton died peacefully at home on July 16. He
had gone on Hospice the previous week, and his positive
spirit continued to inspire all those around him.
A letter from principal Colleen Kane
is being sent in the US mail to the parents of all
students entering grades 7 - 9 in the fall. It
includes some suggestions for talking to students about
death and can also
be viewed by clicking here.
 "Richard
cherished the giant card that was made by Tammy Flint's
art classes and signed by every student in the school
this spring," says Ms. Kane. "He adored the students.
That every student in the school wanted to sign the card
speaks volumes to the impact that Richard had. Even the
kids who didn't have him in class knew him as the cheery
man who sang and whistled in the hallway. Richard was truly an inspiring individual.
All of his CaringBridge journal entries ended the same
way, even his final one on July 7. So we believe that is
the message he would want us all to focus on now:
'Remember, LIFE IS GOOD!' "
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2012 Winter Edition of the O'Rourke Observer |
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Absentee
Call-in procedure
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Parents:
Please remember to call the school
Attendance Office at 399-9141, ext. 84002
to let us know whenever your child will be
absent from school due to illness or another
reason.
When you call to
say your child will be absent, please give
the child's name, grade and reason for
absence.
When your child returns to school, please
send in an excuse note to be handed in to
the Attendance Office.
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PowerSchool
Parent Portal Pilot
The Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake School District has
adopted new computer software called PowerSchool for
managing, reporting, and storing student data. PowerSchool
will allow
enhanced communication between the school and home via a
“Parent
Portal,” where parents/guardians can log on to
the system and check their students’ progress at any
time. This fall we are
conducting a pilot program with teachers who have
volunteered to participated in using the portal in order to ensure a
smooth transition for school-wide use of the
Parent Portal at the start of second semester in January
2012.
Parents who have received a letter with their log-in
information can click
the
Parent
Portal to set up
their account. Please
note that only those students who have teachers
participating in the pilot have received letters with
log-in information.
For more information, download the
Parent Portal
User Guide
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Link to the 8th Grade English
Vocabulary List. |
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Procedures for getting out of
school early
If it becomes necessary
for a student to leave school early, the student
should:
Bring a signed note from your
parent/guardian to the attendance office before
morning homeroom period. If you are walking to
a local doctor's office, the note must state that
you are walking.
Leave class at the excused
time and wait in the Main Office. A
parent/guardian must come into the Main Office to
meet and sign out the student. If the student
is not being picked up by a parent/guardian, the
signed note from the parent/guardian must state who
is picking up the student or the person must be
designated as an emergency contact on the emergency
information sheet handed in at the beginning of the
school year. |
