Kindergarten Disorientation at OTES- please give me hope

[Anonymous]

I have now attended two consecutive Kindergarten "Orientation" sessions for Oakland Terrace Elementary School. Last year, I went to check put the Sligo "satellite campus" and also to let them assess my daughter for early admission, her b-day being Sep 23rd. (They said yes, but I decided against it).

I attended again this year, and in both cases I encountered this:

No actual information packet, nor information about where I could get one or when I would get one
No teachers introduced themselves as such.
No info on the school day.
Not much of what the county website said would happen at orientation happened. I filled out forms and gave medical verification of shots, etc.

In fact, the principal, two years ago, looked at me funny when I asked if there was "any information available for me to take home, like a packet..?" She literally frowned, and said "Packet?" Then said OHHHHHH we MAAAYbe have some left over from the Open House.

The open house I didnt even know about, as there was no info on the county website OR the school website about it when I checked.

At the second "Dis"-orientation, I looked around at other parents who were similarly disoriented by nothing appearing to actually be taking place. One couple and I talked about it, expressing our surprise and disappointment that we were not getting any of the info we thought we were going to.
The only real professional acting people, sad to say, were the After Hours people, with their fresh faced, t-shirt wearing young people with bright faces making eye contact ready to help and give info.

Someone please give me some hope here that this is not an indicator of....something.

While I am at it, I would like to know if anyone has current feedback on OTES for Kindergarten specifically. I did a brief search and found only info from 2010.

Thanks in advance.

[Anonymous]

K registration at my son's school was just giving in forms I had filled out and having admins check to make sure they had proper documentation of our residence, health forms, etc. We got a letter in mid August giving us more info about K gradual entry, my son's teacher's name, etc. Back to School Night in early Sept was when we got info about the school day/schedule, a bit about the curriculum, etc.

[Anonymous]

No, it's not an indicator of anything. Oakland Terrace is a terrific school with a lot of great teachers, involved parents, and a well regarded principal. My son just finished kindergarten there and thrived. The Open Houses in early spring were advertised on listservs and on the OTES website (which has now been redesigned for the fall so you will not find old announcements there), and I think they do their best trying to get the word out to parents of potential new kindergarteners.

The "orientation" for all elementary schools is really just a way to get you in the door and turn in your forms and for them to get a very quick look at the kids who will be coming. It is always very brief. The Open House in the spring is where the teachers and principal sit down with parents in small groups and talk through curriculum, school procedures, etc. You just got the wrong meeting, that's all.

After being a great but very crowded school for a long time, OTES is going to be great and only half the size this fall, since Flora Singer is opening. Please give it a chance.

[Anonymous]

During our orientation - back in May - we turned in forms but also spent time with all three kindergarten teachers. The kids and parents went into each kindergarten classroom and did an activity. We were in small groups (about 3 kids). The teachers asked the kids a couple questions (their name, favorite color, whether they had any pets, whether they knew any songs they could sing, whether they knew the alphabet - easy stuff). They got to meet the classroom pet (tadpoles). The parents got to ask questions. The last station had the ESL teacher, the aftercare program, the PE teacher available if you had questions. We also were all greeted by the principal.

We had made a big deal about it with our DS. I would have been disappointed if it was just a way to collect health forms.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No, it's not an indicator of anything. Oakland Terrace is a terrific school with a lot of great teachers, involved parents, and a well regarded principal. My son just finished kindergarten there and thrived. The Open Houses in early spring were advertised on listservs and on the OTES website (which has now been redesigned for the fall so you will not find old announcements there), and I think they do their best trying to get the word out to parents of potential new kindergarteners.

The "orientation" for all elementary schools is really just a way to get you in the door and turn in your forms and for them to get a very quick look at the kids who will be coming. It is always very brief. The Open House in the spring is where the teachers and principal sit down with parents in small groups and talk through curriculum, school procedures, etc. You just got the wrong meeting, that's all.

After being a great but very crowded school for a long time, OTES is going to be great and only half the size this fall, since Flora Singer is opening. Please give it a chance.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:During our orientation - back in May - we turned in forms but also spent time with all three kindergarten teachers. The kids and parents went into each kindergarten classroom and did an activity. We were in small groups (about 3 kids). The teachers asked the kids a couple questions (their name, favorite color, whether they had any pets, whether they knew any songs they could sing, whether they knew the alphabet - easy stuff). They got to meet the classroom pet (tadpoles). The parents got to ask questions. The last station had the ESL teacher, the aftercare program, the PE teacher available if you had questions. We also were all greeted by the principal.

We had made a big deal about it with our DS. I would have been disappointed if it was just a way to collect health forms.

I don't know why you would make a big deal about it with your DS, unless you knew that it would be a big deal and not just a place for them to collect health forms.

[Anonymous]

>>The only real professional acting people, sad to say, were the After Hours people, with their fresh faced, t-shirt wearing young people with bright faces making eye contact ready to help and give info. >>

Sorry for your experience. Don't have any information for you. Just wanted to note that my daughter is working at the Kids After Hours daycamp at Oakland Terrace this summer and it's good to hear of your positive experience with them!

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thanks, I do feel better now. I will give OTES a full and decent try since it is my only available option.

To follow up on the poster who stated she made it a big deal, that is in fact what the posting on the county website made it sound like, stating there would be activities for the kids, a chance to meet teachers, and fellow students and such. I imagine what happens is each school does this their way, and so they vary from school to school. I heard Garrett Parks orientation day has true fun activities, not just a few minutes of reading a story to them, without parents present, as was the case at OTES- just as a point of reference. My daughter was also disappointed because I told her there would be activities and a chance to meet other kids. Because appointments are scheduled, she met only a few kids, and on that day they were all hot, tired, and grumpy! Just worked out that way...

As a funny follow-up: Just today I get a notice form the school indicating the arrival of the much anticipated packet is in fact imminent! Yay!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:>>The only real professional acting people, sad to say, were the After Hours people, with their fresh faced, t-shirt wearing young people with bright faces making eye contact ready to help and give info. >>

Sorry for your experience. Don't have any information for you. Just wanted to note that my daughter is working at the Kids After Hours daycamp at Oakland Terrace this summer and it's good to hear of your positive experience with them!

I should aff too that I heard VERY positive review from a parent of the AH daycamp at Oakland Terrace. I will definitely check it out for next summer.

[Anonymous]

Sorry for the typo- Meant I should ADD. Cant see without the glasses....

[Anonymous]

I'm a K teacher and this doesn't sound like the orientation we conduct at our school, but OTES is very highly regarded on DCUM and elsewhere. Maybe you should share your concerns via email with the principal (and encourage other parents to do so too) so that they can make next year's orientation better. I know at my school, we always ask for parent feedback but everyone always circles "satisfied" or whatever, so we have to assume we're meeting everyone's needs. I'd love for a parent to tell me what, if anything, they thought could be improved.

[Anonymous]

The orientation is not an accurate reflection of the school. I went to the kindergarten orientation with my son last year at Sligo. We had the same feeling - we went in excited to meet people, talk to teachers, etc. but it was really just a forum for them to collect forms. Me and my husband were worried and disappointed.

Fast forward a few weeks to Kindergarten. My son had Ms. Thompson. She was tough but awesome. She taught personal responsibility but also kept a cool demeanor no matter what curveball the kids threw her way. She broke the students up by levels and spent focused time with each group so they would get personal attention. This was important because the lowest group was learning letter sounds while the highest group was reading and writing. She sent the right amount of homework so we would read together and answer some questions for "homework" but it was mainly to get the students used to doing a bit of work after class. She would let parents sit in and volunteer and created projects for us to do with them. I heard similar experiences from other parents about the other teachers so I don't think you can go wrong.

My husband and I also took turns each month and would volunteer during recess/lunch so we got a good look at Ms. Higgins (the Vice Principal) and paraeducators. Given the overcrowding (not an issue anymore with the new school), it was amazing how they kept the kids safe and orderly.

I think the orientation takes place before the school meetings and perhaps even before they finish assigning classrooms (we get our 1st grade assignment on August 23rd) so it is more for the school and less for the parents. Still disappointing, yes, but no need to worry about the school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:>>The only real professional acting people, sad to say, were the After Hours people, with their fresh faced, t-shirt wearing young people with bright faces making eye contact ready to help and give info. >>

Sorry for your experience. Don't have any information for you. Just wanted to note that my daughter is working at the Kids After Hours daycamp at Oakland Terrace this summer and it's good to hear of your positive experience with them!

My kids are at the OTES daycamp and love it!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The orientation is not an accurate reflection of the school. I went to the kindergarten orientation with my son last year at Sligo. We had the same feeling - we went in excited to meet people, talk to teachers, etc. but it was really just a forum for them to collect forms. Me and my husband were worried and disappointed.

Fast forward a few weeks to Kindergarten. My son had Ms. Thompson. She was tough but awesome. She taught personal responsibility but also kept a cool demeanor no matter what curveball the kids threw her way. She broke the students up by levels and spent focused time with each group so they would get personal attention. This was important because the lowest group was learning letter sounds while the highest group was reading and writing. She sent the right amount of homework so we would read together and answer some questions for "homework" but it was mainly to get the students used to doing a bit of work after class. She would let parents sit in and volunteer and created projects for us to do with them. I heard similar experiences from other parents about the other teachers so I don't think you can go wrong.

My husband and I also took turns each month and would volunteer during recess/lunch so we got a good look at Ms. Higgins (the Vice Principal) and paraeducators. Given the overcrowding (not an issue anymore with the new school), it was amazing how they kept the kids safe and orderly.

I think the orientation takes place before the school meetings and perhaps even before they finish assigning classrooms (we get our 1st grade assignment on August 23rd) so it is more for the school and less for the parents. Still disappointing, yes, but no need to worry about the school.

Sligo?

Do you mean Sligo Creek ES?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The orientation is not an accurate reflection of the school. I went to the kindergarten orientation with my son last year at Sligo. We had the same feeling - we went in excited to meet people, talk to teachers, etc. but it was really just a forum for them to collect forms. Me and my husband were worried and disappointed.

Fast forward a few weeks to Kindergarten. My son had Ms. Thompson. She was tough but awesome. She taught personal responsibility but also kept a cool demeanor no matter what curveball the kids threw her way. She broke the students up by levels and spent focused time with each group so they would get personal attention. This was important because the lowest group was learning letter sounds while the highest group was reading and writing. She sent the right amount of homework so we would read together and answer some questions for "homework" but it was mainly to get the students used to doing a bit of work after class. She would let parents sit in and volunteer and created projects for us to do with them. I heard similar experiences from other parents about the other teachers so I don't think you can go wrong.

My husband and I also took turns each month and would volunteer during recess/lunch so we got a good look at Ms. Higgins (the Vice Principal) and paraeducators. Given the overcrowding (not an issue anymore with the new school), it was amazing how they kept the kids safe and orderly.

I think the orientation takes place before the school meetings and perhaps even before they finish assigning classrooms (we get our 1st grade assignment on August 23rd) so it is more for the school and less for the parents. Still disappointing, yes, but no need to worry about the school.

Sligo?

Do you mean Sligo Creek ES?

Know..sligo middle school...the OTES kindergarten was housed there for 2 years.
Our daughter went to kindergarten their and 1st grade at OTES.
wE LOVE THAT SCHOOL, TEACHERS AND COMMUNITY.
wHAT YOU WANT HAPPENDS ON bACK TO SCHOOL NIGHT.
OTES has a very active and involved paretn community and a very responsive teachers and staff.
You have nothing to worry about.