Olympia South Spartan of the Month for January 2025.
Well-crafted headlines benefit everyone. They help readers digest information and publishers sell news stories. But what if the headline is misleading? What if it's crafted just to get clicks and not to inform? "Clickbait" headlines may benefit advertisers and publishers (think $$$), but they don't benefit readers. And when they go viral, they can badly misinform the public. This week, look for clickbait headlines in the media that you consume and discuss them with your family. How many can you find before Sunday rolls around!?
If approved, by law the One-Cent Tax revenue can be used for:
🔒 School Safety and Security: Fire prevention, life safety, School Resource Officers, and Mental Health Providers.
🏫 Facility Improvements: Roof repairs, replacing doors, and completing the Ag/STEM classroom spaces, and adding a multipurpose space to the OHMS campus.
🪙 Property Tax Stability: Offset eligible expenses, and as a result, reduce the reliance on property taxes to cover these costs.
If approved, each school district decides how to allocate these funds to address the unique needs of their school community.
Learn more about how this request could benefit students, staff and our school community by attending our community information meeting on March 10th at 5:00 p.m. in the Olympia High School Media Center, visiting our webpage (www.april1cent.info), or contacting us directly!
#april1cent
bit.ly/OlyNMV2
All media comes with an author and an agenda. Help kids think critically about any media they view with critical questions that dig below the surface. And to really empower kids, have them create their own media with these same questions in mind.
On April 1, 2025, voters in McLean County will vote on a 1% County Schools Facility Tax, also known as a one-cent tax. All school districts across McLean County have united to bring forward this request.
If approved, the one-cent tax will provide Olympia CUSD 16 with:
- Safety, security, and support, providing revenue for things like school resource officers and mental health providers
- Facility upgrades such as roof repairs, replacing doors, and completing the Ag/STEM classroom spaces, and adding a multipurpose space to the OHMS campus
- Property tax stability for homeowners- Districts can use the one-cent tax revenue to offset eligible expenses, and as a result, reduce the reliance on property taxes to cover these costs.
Learn more about how this referendum can make a difference by visiting our webpage at www.april1cent.info or contact us!
#april1cent
Help your children analyze the info around them, from toy packaging to Instagram posts to news headlines, and question the purpose of the words and images they see. Teach kids how to use fact-checking tools like Snopes and FactCheck.org.
Mark your calendars for Tuesday, Feb 25th to see if your famiily can escape the school
With so much media and information coming at us through the television, phones, social media, and more, it's more important than ever for kids to understand the basics of media literacy. When kids can identify different types of news and media and the methods and meanings behind them, they're on their way to being critical thinkers and smart consumers.
Throughout the month, we will be sharing a set of five tips to help your children become critical thinkers of news and media. Here is a short video to get those conversations started!
bit.ly/OlyNMV5
After learning about the Lunar New Year third graders were given the challenge of creating a dragon, which is a symbol of good fortune and strength.
If you want to know if someone is trying to trick you with a headline, think through a few of these five questions each time you read a shocking story. Don't let them pull the wool over your eyes Spartans!
Video: bit.ly/OlyNMV1
Family Activity: Decoding Images. bit.ly/OlyNMFR1
Kids find and read news in lots of different ways. But studies show they're not very good at interpreting what they see. How can we help them get better? Teaching your children about the structure of online news articles is an important place to start.
The NHS sponsored Princess Tea Party will take place on Sunday, February 2 from 1-3 pm at the Olympia High School cafeteria. The event features games, crafts, bouncy house, face painting and a ROYAL RUNWAY! Come dressed in your finest royal outfits and meet the princesses! Cost is $5 at the door. Reservations recommended. Email amanda.hapgood@olympia.org
Third grade eased themselves back into school mode today with a math "Countdown Challenge." 🎉
Video Link: bit.ly/olyRCv2
"It's complicated" can describe many of our relationships with others, both romantic and otherwise. Add digital devices and social media to the mix, and things get complicated even further.
The staff at Olympia South have been spreading Christmas cheer all week. All staff filled out kindness ornaments for other staff members and placed them on their trees. We also had a surprise White Elephant gift exchange today after school and have been having Masked Singers and competing in Christmas trivia.
Olympia South Staff having some Christmas fun. Watch the attached video to see how well Mrs. Rogers and Mrs. Steve know the staff's voices.
bit.ly/4foMmjC
:: Develop their instincts ::
Help kids trust their guts so they can exit iffy or inappropriate online conversations. Discuss different scenarios and ask how they would feel and what they would do.
:: Help kids navigate online friendships ::
In the beginning, you might limit all communication with strangers online. As kids get older, you can monitor any online chatting. Once they're more independent, you can discuss which methods of communication are appropriate.
Video Link: bit.ly/olyRCv6
For most kids, being on social media can mean connecting with friends, sharing pictures, and keeping up-to-date. But it can also mean big-time distractions, social pressures, and more. Help your kids navigate the different feelings they may already be experiencing on social media.
In this video, kids hear what other teens have to say about using social media to connect with friends, consider the complications and distractions that can happen, and think critically about how social media affects their own relationships.
Olympia South's Girls Who Code Club met on Wednesday for our last meeting of the year. We played a few team building games and worked on spreading kindness with each other, then ended the day with some Christmas coding.
