By: Lisa Kujawa, Assistant Superintendent of Student Learning
Counting is taking place right now in primary grades throughout the country to commemorate an event that happens every year: the one hundredth day of school. The count begins on the first day of school, when number lines and tallies begin, and counting sticks are placed in the “ones” container. Culminating celebration activities abound as cereal, leaves, buttons, beads, and other everyday items are counted, sorted and placed in groups of 10, displayed, or mounted.
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| Carollton students dress up like they are 100 years old. |
The 100th day of school will be celebrated in our schools during the third week of February. Students will be challenged and invited to demonstrate their knowledge of 100 in a variety of ways which develops their number sense for mathematical concepts introduced throughout their educational career.
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| Mrs. Di Vilio's 4K class celebrate with a 100th day cake and ten candles! |
Not all school districts offer educational programming for four-year olds. The Oak Creek-Franklin Joint School District determined a community need for 4K and applied for a grant to open a 4K charter school called The Early Learning Academy in September 2006. In 2009, the district dissolved the charter school status and incorporated 4K programming in leased spaces in area child care centers, parochial schools, and one of our elementary schools. To serve families better, opportunities for transportation were added in 2010 for the morning session only, however beginning in 2017, transportation is now available to both morning and afternoon sessions at all sites.
Children are taught several readiness skills during their 4K experience. Phonemic awareness, concepts of print, number sense, and self help skills are incorporated in daily lessons taught during center time and large group activities. The goal is to prepare our learners for Kindergarten and support their individual learning and social emotional needs.
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| Mrs. Sorrell's 4K students share their 100 posters with their class. |
The 4K program is for students that turn four on or before September 1. Children attend school daily for approximately 2.5 hours. For the 2017-2018 school year, the 4K program will be offered at Deerfield Elementary School, Forest Ridge Elementary School and The Salvation Army. Assignments will be made based on the child’s attendance area school.
Registration for the 2017-2018 4K and 5K for new students to the district, will occur during the week of March 13-17 at Oak Creek-Franklin Joint District Office. For more information about registration, please visit the 4K & 5K registration page of the district website.
