Oregon Trail Elementary School

Tomorrow is the LAST day of school before Christmas Break! 🎉
Celebrate by wearing your pajamas or comfiest clothes.
⏰ Don’t forget: Early release at 12:45 PM!

Christmas Sweater or Shirt Day was a lot of fun! Thank you to everyone who participated. Don't forget to wear your Christmas colors tomorrow!

"Shout out for the class with the second correct answer for our What's This Song?!? Wednesday Award! Today was Ms. Blair's class for the piece "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" performed by LeAnn Rimes."

✨ EARLY DISMISSAL – DECEMBER 19

For Early release times, check here: https://www.tfsd.org/page/early-release-times

#TFSD #EarlyDismissal #QuarterEnd #SchoolUpdate #ParentReminder

Today’s dress-up day was Cozy Holiday Socks 🧦❄️
We loved seeing all the festive footwear!

Don’t forget—tomorrow’s dress-up day is Favorite Holiday Shirt or Sweater 🎄🎁
We can’t wait to see your holiday spirit!

Each year, Bernie Jansen donates handcrafted wooden toy cars to Oregon Trail. Mrs. Kjar’s students oil them during the holidays and take them home to enjoy—a simple tradition that means so much.

Students were invited to wear a festive holiday headband or hat to school today and help spread some seasonal cheer! 🎄🎅 It’s a fun and simple way to celebrate the holidays together. Tomorrow's dress up is holiday socks!

Mrs. Ferrera’s class visited Mrs. Christensen’s class for buddy time, where students enjoyed working together to make their gift wish lists for Santa. It was a nice opportunity for the classes to spend time together and share some holiday fun.

Week 16 at Oregon Trail was a merry mix of Christmas cheer—12 Days activities, decked-out halls, small-group testing, carpet-time learning, obstacle-course zooming, and wooden cars vrooming!

Student photographer Barsa observed intervention groups led by Mrs. Jones, Mrs. Swindler, and Mrs. Fowers. The teachers guided students through leveled literacy activities such as word games, sounding out and building words, and progress checks. Every group stayed focused and worked hard throughout the session. Thank you to our amazing Title teachers for providing a safe, supportive space for our students to learn and grow.

Next week is our final week of school before Christmas Break, and we’ll be celebrating with themed dress-up days.

What's this song Wednesday for last week and this week...

"Woo hoo! Way to go Mrs. Seamon's class for being the tenth correct answer on our What's This Song?!? Wednesday. Today's song was "Jingle Bells" performed by Scotty McCreery."

"Way to go Ms Shabi's class! They were the twelfth correct answer for our What's This Song?!? Wednesday Award for the song "Last Christmas" performed by Meghan Trainor!"

Mrs. Doerr is the first friendly face greeting everyone at Oregon Trail Elementary. During a morning visit, Barsa observed how busy she is—working on computers, organizing photos for ornaments, managing visitors, answering phone calls, handling paperwork, and even helping a student hang an ornament—all "while working so peacefully". Oregon Trail is truly lucky to have Mrs. Doerr!!

These students came back after Thanksgiving Break with outstanding attitudes. These students may have demonstrated kindness, focus, and enthusiasm for learning right from the start. Their positive energy set the tone for the whole class, and we wanted to celebrate their effort and leadership with a special shout-out at our assembly today!

Week 15 at Oregon Trail Elementary was full of energy and excitement! One of the most memorable moments was celebrating the 67th day of school, with festive teachers and students filling the building with fun and school spirit. Music played through the hallways, creating a cheerful atmosphere as students returned from a much-needed Thanksgiving Break. Learners were engaged, focused, and ready to jump back into their routines. We also took time to revisit our school expectations to make sure everyone started the three week stretch strong. Overall, it was a great week at OT!

Barsa was able to observe her own class yesterday and shared, "This morning in Mrs. Boyle’s class, we sat in a circle for Morning Meeting. We said the Pledge of Allegiance together. Then we practiced how to respond the right way when someone tells us “no,” like staying calm and not arguing. After that, we talked with our shoulder partners about it. Everyone looked happy and was working hard during the meeting."

Hi everyone! I’m the school’s social media specialist, and I truly enjoy sharing all the wonderful things happening in our building. I couldn’t do it without my incredible student photographer, Barsa. She has visited every classroom from Kindergarten through 5th grade, capturing the amazing learning and activities taking place across our school. I’m so proud of her dedication and the amazing work she’s done!

Mrs. Ferrara's class finished their CKLA poetry unit with a recital! During the unit, students wrote 8 poems, using different poetic tools and figurative language. This was their opportunity to showcase their favorite poem for their class.

🦷✨ Wednesday’s Healthy Teeth presentation was a success! Students learned how to care for their smiles with proper brushing, flossing, healthy food choices, and regular dental checkups. Big thanks to everyone who took part—strong habits today mean brighter smiles tomorrow! 😁💙

May this holiday season bring rest, laughter, and special moments for your family. Merry Christmas from all of us at Oregon Trail Elementary.

While our 5th graders were learning about the American revolution, we engaged in a simulation to truly understand what 'no taxation without representation' meant. Each student was given 10 coins (Skittles). The King read aloud an infraction, one at a time, and the tax collectors collected the payment. One infraction read: "If you have a pet, you owe three coins." By the end of the simulation, most students had nothing left and were sent to jail. The tax collectors were each given 10% of the revenue, while the king got all of the rest. The students were incensed that the king was eating his profits right in front of them, which led to the question, "Do you see why the colonists were so angry with the king?"