Activities

The SALT Shakers are a group of students from each grade level that support school initiatives as part of the Student Action Leadership Team.  Each team holds their positions for one calendar year, meeting monthly, organizing school events and building leadership within our school.  

The PEPPER Shakers are a peer to peer group.  Students are selected by classroom teachers based on their friendship skills.  These students help to build positive relationships with all students and model kindness to others.

Students meet monthly in small multi-grade "Orchards."  The students will stay with their Orchard Teacher and this group of students throughout their time at Orchard Hills.  

Following Orchards all students gather in the gymnasium for Harvest time to celebrate what was learned at Orchards, birthdays, other events and to promote school unity with the school song:

Orchard Hills is growing leaders...
In our work and in our play...
Making choices we will do what's right - 
I am a leader today!!!

I'm planting seeds to lead at ORCHARD HILLS!
Making a choice to really shine - 
I'm a leader in my school -
I try to make good choices - Growing my body and my mind!

Orchard Hills students can practice money management and enhance their leadership skills by participating as members and/or volunteers at the Student-Run Credit Union.  The Student-Run Credit Union is a program operated by Community Financial where students, age kindergarten through fourth grade, can save their money monthly at Orchard Hills.  Student credit union members with accounts can practice good banking skills and develop a sense of ownership with their finances at an early age.  

Fourth grade students at Orchard Hills, under the supervision of Community Financial Staff, operate the Student-Run Credit Union.  Each fourth grade student volunteer is assigned a job and assists young members of all grades to save their money. 

Students may open an account any time during the year. Visit Community Financial Credit Union to open an account online. These are dividend bearing, fee-free savings accounts with Community Financial Credit Union.   

The Orchard Hills Elementary Garden Club is for students in grades K through 4 and will meet twice a month to explore all things plants and the outdoors! We’ll learn how things grow, enjoy food tastings, hear from guest speakers in our community, and spend time outside together for fall and spring garden cleanups. Join us for some hands-on fun and learning in the garden! 

For more information, contact Ms. Benjamin or Ms. Steinhebel.

This is an after-school club for students teaching them drama, improv, scene writing and production.  Participating students put together a final performance for school and family. 

Choir Club, new for the 2023-2024 school year. There will be auditions for third and fourth grade students looking to push themselves to be stronger choral singers and explore what that looks like at a higher complexity than we can achieve with limited time in class.

There will be auditions because the club’s purpose will be to help members prepare to audition and participate in a state competition known as the Michigan Elementary Honors Choir!

Students must have good work ethic, a musical ear, and accurate rhythms and pitches in a group, and individually, to be accepted in this group for a chance to participate in this competition.

Along with the above musical goals, group members are expected to represent our school and district by being dependable, reliable, trustworthy, dedicated, positive, goal-oriented, motivated, and committed. 

Once the OH Choir Club is established, we will work together to prepare for auditions for the Michigan Elementary Honors Choir. Dates for those auditions, and if there will be an audition fee, will be communicated to the group later this year. 

If accepted into the competition, students will be expected to attend weekly rehearsals at OH and to travel somewhere in mid-Michigan for a rehearsal and performance on a Saturday in either March or April. 

There is a chance we will have more performance opportunities beyond the Honors Choir Competition. Those will be explored as we begin our work together! 

Fill out the google form if you are an interested third or fourth grade student at OH. 
 

The Orchard Hills Elementary Book Club is for 2nd to 4th graders and will meet twice a month to spark young readers’ excitement for awesome books! We’ll explore fun and important topics, share new stories and ideas, and chat about all things literary with friends. We’ll cover key reading skills like word recognition, comprehension, building vocabulary, and understanding figurative language. Plus, we’ll help students find great new books in the community. Our main goal is to ignite a love for reading that lasts a lifetime!  

For more information, contact Ms. Benjamin

In this club, students will participate in a variety of running activities and workouts. Beyond athletic skills, students will practice social emotional skills such as teamwork, leadership, following directions, self-confidence, perseverance and self-awareness. We hope to inspire a passion for healthy habits within our Novi Orchard Hills’ community.

For more information, contact Ms. Hadzialijagic.