Old Mill Elementary School

Happy National STEAM Day! 🎉 Today we celebrate the power of Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math in inspiring curiosity, creativity, and problem-solving. STEAM helps us explore new ideas, innovate, and see the world in exciting ways whether through building, designing, coding, or creating. A big shout-out to Mrs. Compton, our amazing STEAM teacher, for guiding students as they explore, invent, and create every day! 🚀🖌️🔬

Thank you to all the families who came out to celebrate Literacy Night with us! Our Related Arts team loved sharing how literacy connects to every area — PE, Performing Arts, STEAM, and Global Explorations — through fun, hands-on stations. Families also enjoyed listening to stories from our Masked Reader and guessing who was behind the mask, as well as creating their own “reading puppy buddies” to take home. It was such a wonderful evening of reading, creativity, and family fun — thank you for making it a success!

✨ Perspective in Action ✨ After reading Shaped by Tradition written by Patricia Millnan and exploring both the author’s and reader’s perspectives, our third graders experienced a challenge inspired by the artist himself — sculpting blindfolded! 🎨 Students quickly realized how their perspective on the artist’s work changed once they felt what it was like to create without sight. A powerful reminder that art—and understanding—often go far beyond what we can see.

Help us celebrate our incredible Old Mill team this November! Share a note of appreciation for a staff member who has positively impacted your child or family. We’ll deliver your messages during Thanksgiving week! https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdZka3zxmXJ1v9i7VtixPZJN8epzsli1sLBib8rqm0oMaIeSA/viewform?usp=sf_link

We are ready for you!

✨ Hogwarts Meets Old Mill! ✨ Our 5th graders kicked off their Harry Potter unit last week, and the magic is in full swing! 🪄 Students are diving into the world of Hogwarts to explore how character perspectives shape actions and connecting it all back to real life. Their driving question that they are using by to drive this instruction is: 💭 How can we use what we’ve learned from Hogwarts Houses to design a way for newcomers in our school community to feel included and supported?

Student Spotlight: Charli H. 🌟

We’re so proud of Charli H. for demonstrating kindness, leadership, and collaboration in the classroom! When a classmate needed extra help with writing and solving a math problem, Charli didn’t hesitate to step in. She guided her classmate through the process, helping them think critically instead of just giving the answer.

Charli is a fantastic example of a productive collaborator, showing that helping others while encouraging learning is always the way to go. Way to go, Charli! 💛💙

🌍✨ Global Exploration in Related Arts! ✨🌍 Our K–2 students are traveling the world through the arts with Mrs. Ellis! From music and movement to creative projects, students are discovering new cultures and making real-world connections—all while having fun learning about the beauty and diversity around us! We are so thankful for Mrs. Ellis and the new experiences she is providing our students!

Skate Night was a hit! Thanks to everyone who joined the fun and made it such a great night!

Check out our monthly newsletter! Stay connected this month with school-wide activities, PTO events, and family opportunities to get involved at Old Mill!
https://bcps-newsletter.edurooms.com/engage/old-mill-elementary/newsletters/omes-november-newsletter

Staff Spotlight: Ms. Jodi & Ms. Stephanie 🌟

A huge thank you to Ms. Jodi and Ms. Stephanie for always jumping in to help no matter what the task! They truly live our Service Before Self core value, putting others first and supporting wherever needed. Your dedication, positivity, and selflessness make a big difference every single day. You are appreciated more than you know, and we’re so lucky to have you on our team! 💛💙

Community Spotlight: Kroger 🎃

We’d like to give a huge thank you to Kroger for their generous donation of pumpkins for our school-wide project!

We’re so grateful for community partners like Kroger who continue to support our school and help make special projects like this possible for our staff and students! 💛💙

Have extra costumes lying around? We’d love to take them off your hands! Donate gently used Halloween costumes to help Old Mill students in need participate in upcoming events. Drop off donations in the front office!

🌟 November is Career Development Month at Old Mill! 🌟

Throughout the month, students will explore their interests and skills and learn how these strengths can lead to exciting future careers. Each Future Friday will include a fun school spirit theme and meaningful conversations about how our Koalas are growing as future-ready learners.

📅 Check out the graphic below for important dates and school spirit dress days!

Let’s celebrate curiosity, creativity, and the bright futures ahead for our students! 💙

#OldMillElementary #CareerDevelopmentMonth #FutureFridays #BCPSGradProfile #FutureReadyKoalas #KoalasCREATE

Check out this week's updates on the link below!

https://youtube.com/shorts/IP3KLBwfKZA?feature=share

✨ Good luck to our East Elementary Competitive Dance Team today! We’ll be cheering you on from Old Mill — go shine bright!

🌟 Student Spotlight: Zane! 🌟

Zane truly shows what friendship, empathy, and collaboration look like! Every day, he goes out of his way to help and encourage his classmates, working alongside them as a productive collaborator and spreading kindness that makes our school a brighter, more welcoming place. 💙

Thank you, Zane, for leading with your heart and being such a positive example for all our Koalas! 🐨✨

Red Ribbon Week continues! Today we focused on making others brighter 🌟 and tomorrow we’re showing our KOALA PRIDE with Old Mill Spirit Day

Today our Old Mill family teamed up for safety! Students and staff showed their spirit by dressing in their favorite team gear to take a stand against drugs and make safe, healthy choices. 💛 Tomorrow we’ll be someone’s sunshine! Wear yellow to spread kindness, positivity, and joy across the halls!