Hello OCRS families,
Happy Mother's Day to all of the mothers (and grandmothers) of the OCRS community! I hope that you have a wonderful day surrounded and celebrated by your family and the people you love!
"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/455517. As usual, there is quite a bit of important information for all Smithfield families.
RICAS Math Assessments for 3rd, 4th, & 5th Grades this Week
RICAS Math Assessments will be held this week for 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students. In-person students will be taking the RICAS Mathematics test this Tuesday and Wednesday. Virtual learning students will be taking the RICAS Mathematics test on Thursday, May 13th at the Smithfield Schools Administration Building. Mr. Barrette will send additional information about RICAS testing to the families of all 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students.
Monday, 5/17 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, May 17th. 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.
Questions about changes to School COVID Guidelines and Protocols
Because changes are being made at the state level in terms of COVID guidelines and protocols, it is understandable for all of us to ask what those changes will mean for students and staff at school. I wanted to share the information that we currently have with all OCRS families and how we will adjust as things change. Right now, the guidelines and protocols for mask wearing and students staying with their stable classroom pod have not changed. Students and staff need to continue to wear masks while at school and students need to stay with their stable classroom pod during the day, including recess.
As a school and a district we base our protocols on the K12 school specific guidelines published by the RIDOH. School principals, school nurses, and district administrators meet with our contacts at RIDOH and RIDE every two weeks to review the latest school specific COVID guidelines.
We do expect that there will likely be some updates in the specific RIDOH guidance for K12 schools in the next few weeks. If and when those updates are finalized, we will review them as a district team and make adjustments to the district's protocols based upon the information shared. Any adjustments that are made will be promptly shared with all families. This is the process that Smithfield has used this entire school year and we will continue to follow this process for the remainder of this year.
Thank you for your continued support as we all work to keep all students and staff healthy and safe while at school.
PTA Information
OCRS PTA Meeting
An OCRS PTA General Membership meeting will be held on Wednesday, May 12th at 7:00 p.m. Like all meetings this year, this meeting will be held online. We invite and encourage OCRS families to join us at https://meet.google.com/xcz-gryd-yod or by phone at 1-225-414-2469 PIN: 821 664 321#
Upcoming Dates and Events
RICAS Math testing for 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students begins Tuesday, May 11th
OCRS PTA Meeting, Wednesday May 12th at 7:00 p.m.
Flex Day (NO IN-PERSON LEARNING), Monday May 17th
Student BinaxNOW COVID Testing at School, Tuesday May 18th
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
1st grade ELA scavenger hunt
2nd Grade measuring real world objects
