Olympia South

Family Tip #1: Define Your Terms Make sure kids understand what cyberbullying is: repeated and unwanted mean or hurtful words or behavior that occur online (through texts, social media posts, online chat, etc.).

Parent Concerns: Cyberbullying Once kids go online, their chances of finding cyberbullies, haters, and trolls is, sadly, quite high. Find age-specific guidelines, videos, and articles to help with tough conversations -- whether your kid is a bully or is being bullied. Explore answers to all your cyberbullying questions, age-appropriate advice, school resources, and more from parents and experts. https://www.commonsensemedia.org/cyberbullying

​Families, Due to the winds, the continued drifting and blowing of snow, and extreme temperatures, Olympia will not be in session tomorrow. Friday, Feb. 4th will be a snow day for Olympia. The road commissioners in the area are reporting that roads are impassable and are drifting over after being plowed. As a reminder, there will be no activities / practices tonight, Thursday, February 3. Coaches and sponsors will notify families tomorrow morning regarding plans for Friday afternoon / evening activities as well as plans for Saturday scheduled events. Thank you - stay warm! Dr. O’Donnell

Before the snow hit, we had an “Out of the Blue” PBIS celebration at Olympia South. Students enjoyed a hot chocolate party which was donated by Starbucks! The kiddos have been working hard at the start of the second semester demonstrating kind, safe and ready to learn choices.

​Most kids will encounter mean behavior at some point in their digital lives. For some kids, this experience is a blip that's easily forgotten, while for others it can have deep, long-lasting effects. For parents, the key is staying involved in kids' lives -- both online and off -- so they can step in and offer help if necessary. With guidance from parents and educators, kids can learn how to dodge the drama and stand up for others.​ Throughout February we will be sharing 6 different tips for families to encourage best behavior when approaching the topics of Cyberbullying, Digital Drama, and Hate Speech with your families. Define your terms. Check in about online life. Role-play. Encourage upstanding. Take breaks. Review worst-case steps.

Due to the forecasted storm that includes large amounts of snowfall and high winds, students WILL NOT report to school on Wednesday, Feb. 2nd or Thursday, February 3rd. Wednesday will be a remote learning day and Thursday will be a traditional snow day. Wednesday - elementary students should work on materials that have been prepared and sent home; middle and high school students should await information from teachers regarding assignments and online class meetings. Thursday is a traditional snow day, there will be no expectation of new / additional school work. This day will be added to the end of the school calendar. The last day of school will now be Tuesday May 24th, 2022 if no additional traditional snow days are utilized. There will be no extra curricular activities or practices on Wednesday or Thursday, and all Olympia buildings will be closed.

Due to the forecasted storm that includes large amounts of snowfall and high winds, students WILL NOT report to school on Wednesday, Feb. 2nd or Thursday, February 3rd. Wednesday will be a remote learning day and Thursday will be a traditional snow day. Wednesday - elementary students should work on materials that have been prepared and sent home; middle and high school students should await information from teachers regarding assignments and online class meetings. Thursday is a traditional snow day, there will be no expectation of new / additional school work. This day will be added to the end of the school calendar. The last day of school will now be Tuesday May 24th, 2022 if no additional traditional snow days are utilized. There will be no extra curricular activities or practices on Wednesday or Thursday, and all Olympia buildings will be closed.

Check out this slideshow of our students in the December Spartan Spotlight. These students demonstrate the Spartan skill of Responsibility! https://bit.ly/3AQ1a8m

Oly South Pre-K students are learning about emotions and how to express their feelings.Teaching students the vocabulary needed to describe how they’re feeling encourages them to express themselves productively. Great work, little Spartans!

Wikipedia.org is where millions of people stop first for information. Tools like it are what make the internet so valuable. But they also teach an important lesson, one you can start teaching your kids now: don’t believe everything you read. Family Tip Sheet: bit.ly/OlyNMFR2

Olympia is now officially on Instagram! If Instagram is your social media platform of choice, follow your favorite Olympia sites using these handles: bit.ly/ConnectWithOly

Mrs. Hoffmeier's Kindergarten Class Celebrates Hawaiian/Vacation Day!

Check out this list of trustworthy resources to help you learn what's true (and what is not!) on the web. You can even use one of them to look back in time and what was on a website in the past!

Tip #5: Choose a Variety of Sources. Show your children how you get news and information from different places, and explain how you make your choices. Use words like "credible," "trustworthy," "respected," and "fair." Ask them where they get their information, and if they think about those same words when choosing. As kids get older, introduce the ideas of bias, satire, and clickbait.

If a picture's worth a thousand words, do the words always tell a true story? One way to find out is through a reverse image search. Search with an image instead of a keyword and see what you discover!

Tip #4: Discuss fact vs. opinion Play around with ideas, deciding which are facts and which are opinions. Ask: How tall are you? What's the best food in the world? Do you like dogs? Point out that both facts and opinions show up in the news, but opinion is usually labeled.

Be A Deceptive Detective! If you want to know if someone is trying to trick you with a headline, think through a few of these five questions each time you read a shocking story. Don't let them pull the wool over your eyes Spartans!

South 5th graders are enjoying some sweet treats and thoughtful discussion at our Book Club Café!

Reading News Online Kids find and read news in lots of different ways. But studies show they're not very good at interpreting what they see. How can we help them get better? Teaching your students about the structure of online news articles is an important place to start. Video: bit.ly/OlyNMV1 Family Activity: Decoding Images. bit.ly/OlyNMFR1

Does daily attendance make a difference? See what this video has to say: https://vimeo.com/240840053