This page contains answers to common questions of students and parents.

1. How can I communicate with Mrs. Rychlik or Ms. Doheny?
2. Should I sign the planner nightly?
3. How can I help my child study for a test?
4. Should I practice math facts with my child?
5. May children share a birthday treat?
6. What volunteer opportunities are available?

How can I communicate with Mrs. Rychlik or Ms. Doheny?

Both teachers can be reached by email:
lynne.rychlik@vbschools.com or renee.doheny@vbschools.com.
You may call the school (473-5043) to leave a phone message for either 
teacher. There is a form about changing dismissal plans for the day that 
should be sent in or a phone message to the office can be left.  During the 
instructional day, it is not usually possible for the teachers to contact 
you by phone. We will attempt to talk with you as soon as possible.

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Should I sign the planner nightly?

Please sign the planner nightly. You will be aware of upcoming work 
and projects as well as the nightly homework. Also, please sign the 
reading log weekly. More information about this will follow.

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How can I help my child study for a test?

First, have regular discussions with your child about what the child is
learning. Ask what they learned daily and if they have connections to the
learning from previous lessons or experiences. 
Next, regularly have your child read over materials from texts and notes with
you. Then quiz your child about the materials. More frequent amounts of short
review are better than a lengthy study session the night before the test.
Test dates will be recorded in the planner and announced in the homework
section of Teacher Web before the tests.
Thanks for supporting your child in this very important manner.

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Should I practice math facts with my child?

Individual children possess different strengths and need different support to
enhance areas where they are not as strong. The expectation of the Everyday
Math program is for the children to have "automaticity", or a quick answer to
the problem without using counters or other manipulatives to solve the
problem. If your child is not secure in basic facts, please use flash cards
and encourage practice. The Math Student Reference books has many games using
number cards and number cubes (dice) which would also be a pleasant way to
encourage study. Games like 24 are also good ways to challenge students and
improve computation skills. The portaportal site on the ODC homepage has many
sites recommended for students. The sites are divided by topics and
appropriate grade levels. Allowing your child time to explore these sites
would be beneficial

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May children share a birthday treat?

Yes. This is done during lunch time (11:01-11:31 for Ms. Doheny's class and 
11:04-11:34 for Mrs. Rychlik's class. There are some food allergies in the 
school and a concern for nut allergies is to be observed.

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What volunteer opportunities are available?

There are on-going and intermittent opportunities to volunteer at ODC. 
Room parents are critical to plan parties and in particular coordinate our 
Greco-Roman Feast. Both classes room parents work together. If you would be 
available to help with copying and preparing materials, we would greatly 
appreciate this. Field trips and science labs need assistance on an 
intermittent basis. Mrs. Hudgins hold training for the two science labs and 
you would be well prepared to run one station out of the five the students 
usually circulate through. If you would not be available at school, 
sometimes one parent volunteers to contact others about upcoming events. 
Lastly if you have a skill or experience that could help the students in 
their studies, we would love to have you come as a guest speaker. Parents 
with talents not focused in the classroom but of interest to students are 
asked to help with the Quest Enrichment sessions. We appreciate any time 
that you could generously give to the students.

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