Year: 2024

♪Sleigh Bells Ring♫ Yep! December is here already. Here are some dates to add to your calendar. Orchards will have an Early Release Day on the 4th. Students will be dismissed at 1:40 while staff will gather to their department heads for training. December 9th is Orchards Annual Winter Concert. Mr. Berry has been preparing our students for this wonderful event. Parents are asked to have their students at the P1FCU Auditorium at the Lewiston High School by 6:15. Please plan to stay for the whole concert as to not disrupt the other students and their families.
Our “Fill the Bus” event starts December 1st and ends on the 20th. This is an event near and dear to our hearts. Last year our district was able to provide 10,506 pounds of non-perishable food to Community Action and another 4,439 pounds to Salvation Army for a total of 14,945 pounds! Many families in the Valley depend on these resources. Thank you for your donations. ☺
All schools will be closed December 23rd through January 3rd for Winter Break. School resumes on Monday the 6th.

STEM/LITERACY NIGHT fell on November 21st this year. What a good time to gather around fun activities and PIZZA! We enjoyed 57 families with a total of 201people; 116 were kids. The kids built bridges, made straw and circle gliders, did some crystal painting, origami and magnet mazes. There was a book fair with so much stuff. I got a Galactic Book of Fun with a LEGO Greef Kargo to build. There were many other great books to choose from and fun pencils, bookmarks, posters; the list just goes on.

Counselor’s Corner

November Bubble Gum Party

Library December News

In November we take the time to reflect on the things we are thankful for. We start with appreciating our First Nation students. November is Native American Heritage Month. We continue being thankful on November 1st where we will hold our October Celebration Assembly for our awesome students. Orchards is full of great kids! There will be no school on Friday the 8th. Progress reports are due and staff will be at an adult training opportunity event. Veteran’s Day is the 11th. Stay tuned on how we will appreciate our Veterans this year. PTA will hold their November meeting on the 12th at 6pm in room 9. We will have a Scholastic Book Fair on the 20th and 21st. On Thursday the 21st the Science/GT, Title 1 and PTA are joining forces to host a STEAM/Literacy night. There will be pizza, fun science and literacy activates and the book fair! WHEW! So much learning going on at Orchards and so much to be thankful for. Our Thanksgiving break runs from the 27th through the 29th with classes resuming Monday, December 2nd. WHAT! DECEMBER! PTA will be sending out applications for this year’s Reflections. Reflections is a National PTA sponsored opportunity for our kids to show off their amazing artistic talents. This years theme is “Accepting Imperfections”. Orchards has some truly talented artists, and the available art categories are Dance Choreography, Film Production, Literature, Music Composition, Photography and Visual Arts. Check out PTA’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/groups/434270083826859 to find out how to submit your student’s work.

Attendance has been amazing at Orchards! Almost every class has had multiple opportunities to roll the dice for a prize. Extra recess, popcorn parties, freeze pops and (my personal favorite), movie in the gym! Fourth grade got to watch Hocus Pocus, in the gym, in the dark, with their blankets and stuffies. Good job Orchards kids for showing up ready to learn!

Genre Quest Badges for November

Bring Your Parents to Lunch Day

October already? We’ve got some dates in October to add to your calendar. Parent Teacher Conferences start October 2nd. Students will be released at 1:40 that day. There will be no school for students on the 3rd or 4th. PTA will hold their monthly meeting on Tuesday, the 15th at 6 pm in room 9. All are more than welcome to stop by. Meet the incredible people who help make Orchards the amazing place it is. October 16th is Unity Day it is also an early release for staff improvement. Students will be let out at 1:40. Friday, October 18th, students will be screened for vision and hearing. The week of the 21st through the 25 is Red Ribbon Week. October is certainly a busy month!
The PTA has an exciting fundraiser this month. Trivia Night! That’s right. Orchards PTA will host an adults only trivia night at KC’s Burgers and Brews. Check out their calendar here.
The Lewiston City Library has teamed up with schools to promote a monthly Genre Quest! We all want to inspire Lewiston students to be strong readers. You can learn the details about this months quest here. Get reading Panthers!
Check out the Counselor’s Corner October newsletter here, to learn about what your student will be learning from our amazing counselor, Mrs. Haag. Orchards staff believe the “whole” student is important to nurture. Mrs. Haag is certainly an advocate for helping our students to grow empathy and emotional health.
Want to know what to do with all those cucumbers you grew? The Harvest of the Month has you covered! They share a healthy recipe and other food healthy ideas here.

PTA October/November Calendar

At the Library

Counselor’s Corner

October Harvest of the Month