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Our School
Our Mission
The mission of Orchard Heights is to provide a safe, respectful learning environment. We believe responsibility, integrity, and cooperation are necessary in developing productive citizens and life-long learners.
We believe that Orchard Heights is not an educational facility for just daytime use, but a facility for day and evening use by the community. We strive to accommodate community needs. Our daily activities at Orchard Heights include not only our regular educational activities, but also a broad spectrum of special education programs, parent and student school related activities, and year-round sports activities for the South Kitsap community. For more information about our building use, please call us at 360-443-3530.
Our Vision
Orchard Heights students require a basic educational foundation. As a staff, we are aware of the changes occurring in the work professions, as information and technology advance; therefore, we also emphasize in our instruction that students become actively involved and work collaboratively to develop the social and problem-solving skills necessary for the jobs of the future.
School Stats
Orchard Heights Elementary School was built in 1945. In 1976 the building was remodeled and an addition was built. Currently there are 37 classrooms in the 81,402 square foot building. The building is in good condition, but the site could use an additional covered play area and gymnasium because of the large student population it serves. Parking is also inadequate and needs to be improved.
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At Orchard Heights, we believe that homework is a useful tool that should enhance student learning.
We believe that responsibility and time management are important and essential skills for success in completion of school work and homework. Students who do do not have these skills will have access to support to learn and practice these skills.
- Homework will provide students with an opportunity to practice skills they can do with little or no assistance.
- Reading is an essential life skill. Reading for at least 20 minutes daily, in addition to homework, is expected. This could be split into smaller chunks of time, and it could include an adult or older sibling reading to a younger child.
- In consideration of family and outside commitments and developmentally appropriate expectations, the maximum amount of time students are expected to spend on homework daily is ten minutes times the grade level of the student (i.e., for a 2nd grade student, 10 minutes x 2 = 20 minutes).
- Homework will extend the learning by connecting school experiences to home and real-life experiences.
- Not all students learn at the same rate or in the same way. Homework assignments will be differentiated and individualized for students when needed (e.g., shorter, emphasizing a building-block skill or a focused intervention).