Hello OCRS families,
There are two calendar milestones to be aware of coming up in the next two weeks. First, we switch to Daylight Saving Time on Sunday, March 14th. While this switch can be a little tough because of the loss of an hour of sleep, it will be great to have additional sunlight later in the day, particularly as the weather starts to warm up! Second, the 2nd trimester ends on Friday, March 19th and report cards will be sent out on March 31st. As we get closer to the start of the 3rd trimester, we are looking to finish the school year strong with the help of all OCRS families!
"Back to School" Report from Dr. Paolucci
If you have not already read the latest "Back to School" report shared by Dr. Paolucci, please take a few moments to review it at https://www.smithfield-ps.org/article/414800. As usual, there is quite a bit of important information for all Smithfield families.
Monday, 3/15 is a Flex Day; No In-Person Learning
As part of the R.I. Department of Education calendar that districts were asked to adopt for this school year, a number of "Flex Days" were included to allow teachers and staff to engage in regular planning to prepare for teaching students in-person as well as virtually. A Smithfield Flex Day is scheduled for Monday, March 15th. Here is what a Flex Day means for students:
- In-person students will not report to school on Flex Days. All students will be home on Flex Days.
- There will be no live instruction on a Flex Day for in-person learning students. Virtual learning students will still meet and work with their virtual tutor.
- All students, in-person and virtual, will have an English Language Arts and Math activity to work on during each Flex Day. In-person students will NOT be bringing home their school Chromebooks ahead of Flex Days. The activities will not require the use of a Chromebook.
You should receive information about the Flex Day ELA and Math activities from each of your children's teachers.
End of Daily Health Tickets
As we began last week, Smithfield parents no longer need to fill out health screening tickets for their child attending school in-person. Instead, by sending a child to school, parents will be implicitly implying that their child is not exhibiting COVID-related symptoms. We believe that daily health screening has become a routine habit for families and tickets are now unnecessary. Please continue to be vigilant and mindful about keeping students home if they are demonstrating any of the following symptoms that cannot be explained by a chronic condition:
- Cough
- Fever
- Chills
- Body aches
- Sore throat
- Headache
- Fatigue
- Diarrhea
- Stuffy nose
- Nausea or vomiting
- Loss of taste or smell
- Shortness of breath
Lunch program offering parfaits and smoothies
We wanted to let you know that the Smithfield Food Service program will be offering fruit parfaits and smoothies as part of the breakfast and lunch program at OCRS. Parfaits will be offered on Tuesdays and smoothies will be offered on Thursdays. In partnership with the Food Service program, we are sharing the recipes of these easy to make parfaits and smoothies with OCRS families, https://5il.co/q8pt. This will allow families to see the ingredients of all of the new items in case your child has a food allergy, as well as give families a chance to make them at home if your child tells you that they are enjoying the parfaits and smoothies at school. Our school nurse, Mrs. Forte, has also reviewed the ingredients of each of the recipes.
We hope that our students enjoy the healthy and fun new items!
Nominations for PTA Officers for 2021-22
Your help is needed for 2021-22! Please take a minute to review the duties of the PTA officers and consider nominating one candidate per office to serve in the positions listed below. If you are interested in serving in one of the positions, please submit your name and the position of interest. Each officer of the PTA shall be a member of the PTA, whose dues have been paid on or before March 7, 2021. Officers will assume their official duties after the current school year (in July) and shall serve for a term of one year.
Additional information about the PTA Officer positions and a nomination form can be found at https://5il.co/qbu4.
Reminder, LAST DAY of the Virtual Book Fair!
Today is the last day of the OCRS Scholastic Virtual Book Fair! Our customized OCRS homepage features:
- A fully online Virtual Fair so you and your kids can experience the magic of the school shopping experience. Browse over 200 titles by grade, meet popular authors, and experience the comfort and joy of our online Book Fair.
- Direct access to over 6,000 additional titles with family-friendly prices, at the Scholastic online store.
- Every dollar you spend will benefit our school directly (25% back in rewards!)
Please visit https://www.scholastic.com/bf/oldcountyroadschool to browse the Virtual Book Fair with your child!
PTA Silver Graphics Fundraiser
The OCRS PTA will be offering an unique fundraiser from SilverGraphics that will feature the artwork of our OCRS students on a variety of products that can be safely ordered online and delivered right to families! Ms. Moretti worked with students in all grades two weeks ago during art class to help them create colorful art that will be used for the fundraiser.
With the help of the PTA 5th grade committee, the student artwork has been shipped to SilverGraphics. We should receive an online code soon to share with families so that any virtual learning students can also upload their artwork to participate in the fundraiser. The online upload code and information about ordering will be sent out to all families when the OCRS specific online shop is ready to go.
Poison Prevention Training
The MA and RI Regional Center for Poison Control and Prevention and Boston Children's Hospital is hosting an online Poison Prevention training for families on Wednesday, March 10th at 6:00 p.m. The training is focused on families that have children at home who are 6 years old and younger. The meeting is being held via Zoom and families can join using the information below:
Join from your computer or mobile device: https://bostonchildrens.zoom.us/j/92921109622?pwd=SlJNYWJUR0hOeHhXK3B5RVkzODBhdz09
Password: 674580
Or dial in from your telephone:
646-558-8656 (Primary)
408-638-0968 (If you are unable to dial into the primary number)
Please Complete RIDE SurveyWorks
Just a reminder to please complete the 20201 RIDE SurveyWorks for OCRS by March 7th.
Your views on matters like the safety of your child at school, the way students are taught, the condition of the school, and how connected you feel to our school are important. By taking this short survey, you can help our school leadership and our parent-teacher organization continue to work to make Old County Road School the absolute best school that it can be! Responses are anonymous and cannot be linked to any individual; no one can tie your responses back to you.
You can take the short survey online through March 31st, but we are asking all OCRS families to complete the survey by March 7th in order to increase participation.
To take the survey, visit: http://bit.ly/ridefamily
Thank you for your support in the continual improvement of Old County Road School!
Upcoming Dates and Events
OCRS Online Book Fair, February 22nd through March 7th
Daylight Savings Begins, Sunday March 14th
Flex Day (NO IN-PERSON LEARNING), Monday March 15th
Student BinaxNOW COVID Testing at School, Tuesday March 16th
Ongoing thanks to OCRS families for your Patience, Flexibility, and Empathy. Those three words are guiding us throughout this school year and we will all need to continue to make adjustments as the year progresses . As long as we approach those adjustments with the best interests of our students as our priority, I am confident that this will continue to be a safe and successful year.
Sincerely,
Mr. Barrette
Glasses buddies
