Old Mill Elementary School

We had an amazing kickoff for our very first All Pro Dad Chapter at Old Mill! 💙 With over 25 dads in attendance representing more than 30 students, it was incredible to see such strong support, connection, and commitment to our kids. This is just the beginning, and we’re so excited for what’s ahead! Stay tuned to our social media pages for more information on how you can get involved—we’d love to have you join us!

Shoutout to Mrs. Troutman for always meeting kids where they are, helping them build confidence, and moving them forward every day. Her kindness, patience, and dedication make such a difference—we are so lucky to have her at Old Mill!

Tonight is the night of our All Pro Dad Launch Party! We hope to see you there from 5-6!

🌟 Community Spotlight: Bullitt East Health Science Pathway Students 🌟

We are incredibly grateful to the amazing students from the Bullitt East Health Science Pathway who volunteered their time to support our 4th graders during their Brain Exhibit!

Their presence helped bring learning to life in the most meaningful way. By engaging with our students, asking thoughtful questions, and sharing their own knowledge and experiences, they helped make real-world connections that deepened understanding and inspired curiosity.

Thank you for investing your time, energy, and passion into our students. You are helping shape the next generation of thinkers, learners, and leaders—and we are so thankful for your support! 💙🧠

This weekend, a team from Old Mill Elementary had the incredible opportunity to travel to Virginia through a reading grant to learn from some of the very best in the field of literacy instruction. 📚 Our team spent time diving into high-impact instructional reading strategies, collaborating with experts, and gaining new tools to bring back to our classrooms. At Old Mill, we are committed to continuous learning, because when we grow as educators, our students grow even more!

🎉 Welcome to Old Mill Elementary, Mrs. Walkovic! 🎉

We are excited to welcome Mrs. Walkovic to the Old Mill Elementary family next school year! She is new to our school, and we are so glad she is joining our team.

Mrs. Walkovic is passionate about creating meaningful, engaging learning experiences for students and bringing innovative ideas into the classroom. We know she is going to make a positive impact on our students and help them grow as learners each day.

If you see her around, be sure to give her a warm Old Mill welcome! 💙💛

Next week is FULL of exciting events at Old Mill, and you do not want to miss a thing! This week’s video is a little longer, but it’s packed with important information to keep your family in the loop.

✨ All Pro Dad
📚 Book Fair
🔬 STEAM Night
🌾 AG Day
🎉 5th Grade Dance

Make sure to take a few minutes to watch so you’re ready for an amazing week ahead. We can’t wait to see our students and families engaged in all the fun and learning! 💙💛

https://youtu.be/3e3ggzYkYBo

🧠✨ Welcome to the OMES 4th Grade Brain Exhibit! ✨🧠 Our 4th graders brought their learning to life as true Mastery Learners during yesterday’s Brain Showcase! Guided by their driving question—“How does our brain help us understand, remember, and react to the world around us?”—students explored the brain in powerful, hands-on ways. They identified, labeled, and explained the different parts of the brain, along with how inputs and outputs impact how we think and respond. To take their learning even further, we partnered with medical professionals from Bullitt East and Pediatrics of Bullitt County. Students were given real-world scenarios where they had to: 🔹 Identify which part of the brain was impacted 🔹 Explain their thinking using evidence 🔹 Determine how different inputs would affect outputs The level of critical thinking, application, and confidence was incredible! This is what authentic learning looks like—students not just learning content, but using it in meaningful, real-world ways.

For March the Kindness Club extended compassion to Seniors!  Students designed and created puzzles for residents in an Assisted Living Center and Memory Care unit.     The club first discussed the book Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge by Mem Fox and the importance of helping Seniors by sharing memories.   Students enjoyed creating useful tools to help residents.   Way to go Kind Koalas!

💥 Old Mill Elementary is launching All Pro Dad! 💥 We are excited to kick off our All Pro Dad program with a Launch Party on Tuesday, March 24 from 6:00–7:00 PM in the Old Mill Elementary cafeteria. 🍕 Pizza will be provided! What is All Pro Dad? All Pro Dad is a nationwide program designed to help strengthen the relationship between kids and the positive role models in their lives. Through fun conversations and meaningful topics, families grow stronger together while building leadership, confidence, and character in our students. At our launch party, we will: ✔ Share what the All Pro Dad program is all about ✔ Preview the topics we will explore throughout the year ✔ Decide on monthly meeting times that work best for families ✔ Enjoy time together as a school community 👨‍👧 Who can attend? This event is open to any positive role model in a child’s life, including: • Dads • Uncles • Grandfathers • Mentors • Men or women who support and encourage our students Our goal is to build a strong community of adults who want to show up, encourage kids, and make a difference. Sign up for this interest meeting using the QR code attached or the flyer that came home yesterday! We would love to see you there! ❤️ 📍 Old Mill Elementary – Cafeteria 📅 Tuesday, March 24 ⏰ 6:00–7:00 PM

Kindergarten and 5th-grade families, save the date!

A big shout-out to Ms. Andrea Miller for thinking outside the box and adding an exciting new layer to her students’ Jamestown exploration by incorporating VR experiences. This innovative approach is going to give our students an incredible opportunity to step into history in a way that makes learning come alive.

This is just one of the many ways Ms. Miller has elevated student engagement in her classroom this year. She is always willing to try new things, take risks in her instruction, and do what it takes to make learning meaningful for kids.

Ms. Miller truly embodies the BCPS core value of “Students Matter Most,” constantly looking for new and creative ways to make learning unforgettable for our students.

Thank you for always putting kids first and bringing fresh ideas to our building! 👏

-Mrs. Joiner

Today in Ms. Bader’s class, students jumped into a new math unit on comparing numbers! Students built numbers using manipulatives, compared their thinking with partners, and learned how to use two different tools to solve problems and check their work. Lots of self-directed navigators were hard at work as they explored, collaborated, and strengthened their number sense! 📊➕

A little St. Patrick’s Day fun around Old Mill today! ☘️ Staff members secretly spread kindness as Secret Leprechauns, leaving surprises and sweet notes for one another throughout the day. To top it off, admin rolled through the halls with the Shamrock Sled delivering rainbow sherbet floats! 🌈 We love finding little ways to celebrate together, because the kids can’t be the only ones having all the fun! 💚

Want to be part of the book fair magic? Volunteer at our upcoming BOGO event and get a sneak peek at all the amazing books! Your time will directly help students access more books and foster a love of reading. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C084FA4AF29A2FEC07-62810971-spring

A huge community shout-out to our amazing PTO members for helping make Donuts with Grownups such a wonderful success! 🍩💙

Events like this don’t just happen on their own. Our PTO works tirelessly behind the scenes—planning, organizing, setting up, and making sure every detail is just right. Because of their dedication, our families were able to spend meaningful time together, our staff felt supported, and our students started their day feeling extra special.

We are so grateful for the countless hours they pour into our school community. Their heart for serving others truly helps make Old Mill such a special place for our students, families, and staff. Thank you for all that you do!

We hope everyone had a wonderful weekend! It was so good seeing everyone in the building this past week for Donuts with Grownups! We are looking forward to a full week ahead! https://youtube.com/shorts/uoQIxPlMU0I?si=3gVkHXEpv09lCMMA

Our 5th graders put their fraction skills to the test last week during a visit to the Bullitt East Culinary Department! 👩‍🍳📏 Students applied what they’ve been learning in their fractions unit by following real recipes alongside the culinary team. From adjusting measurements to troubleshooting a few “kitchen math” mix-ups, our students showed true innovative problem-solving as they worked through challenges and made decisions on the fly. Learning becomes even more meaningful when students can see how their classroom skills come to life in the real world. Thank you to the Bullitt East Culinary Department for giving our students such a memorable and delicious learning experience!

What an incredible day for our Old Mill archery team! They placed 33rd out of 105 teams, and Brynlee H. placed 5th for elementary girls out of nearly 4,000 archers! We are beyond proud to share that our team is headed to Nationals! 🏹💙💛

We are so proud of Emmary, our Old Mill Elementary Spelling Bee winner, who represented OMES at the Regional Spelling Bee last weekend! 🐨📚 Way to go, Emmary! Your hard work and courage made our Old Mill community proud. 👏✨