Message from Mrs. Susan Grosser
OMS Principal 2009-2010

Hello Families,

At OMS, we work to make the difference in the lives of every student we meet.  As a community, school, teacher, or parent our job is to work together to help our students become lifelong learners in the following areas:

·         Cooperation

·         Academics

·         Respect

·         Excellence             

Middle school is a time of enormous physical change. It is also the dawn of the capacity to think conceptually, and a time of great curiosity about life, the world, and peers. Most of all, it is a time of preoccupation with self, when many young adolescents are swimming in self-doubt. It is a time when young adolescents declare family to be irrelevant to what's really happening, and yet family has never been more important. In middle school, students whose bones are rapidly growing and realigning, whose proportions seem designed for anything but desks, need to be given the opportunity to move!

In the Developmental Designs approach, we draw from Rudolf Dreikurs, Abraham Maslow, William Glasser, and the recent work of psychologist Edward Deci. Here are four needs that must be fulfilled if young adolescent minds and hearts are to be engaged in any learning—social or academic:

Four developmental needs

          Relationship: I want to connect with others.
To reduce fear and aloneness, young adolescents need to build and maintain relationships that provide safe ground upon which to make mistakes on their journey. These relationships focus on peers in a way that they never have before, but they also include powerful and reliable adult support. Young adolescents can't make it alone!

          Autonomy: I want to be independent.
The adolescent drive to function separate from adults is a powerful motivator. It works for school success when it drives middle level students to show that they can be given big responsibilities and freedom, but against success when it turns into rebellion. They need maps from caring adults to help them find their own way.

          Competence: I want to experience success in what I do and feel like a worthwhile, significant person.

Young adolescence feels like a make-or-break time for young people, a time when you have to demonstrate that you've got the right stuff or be seen as a loser. Adult scaffolding can make a crucial difference.

          Fun: I want to have a good time.
The need to enjoy moments of pleasure drives much adolescent behavior. Students will find their own fun during school hours (and sometimes pay a big price for it) if adults don't channel the need constructively.

Please make it a point to come into the school and work together for the best for all of our students.  In closing, remember the following:

ü  Remember to laugh often

ü  Cry when you need to

ü  Have fun

ü  Be inspired

ü  Make a positive difference

ü  Have a great year

ü  Enjoy the ride