Hello OCRS families,
Today is the end of Daylight Saving Time and we set our clocks back one hour. Changing the clocks often throws all of us off for a few days in terms of our daily routines. It's to be expected that students may have some challenges getting ready for school over the next few days until they get used to the time change. Everyone may need a little extra support these next few days.
No School, Tuesday November 7th, Election Day
There is no school this Tuesday, November 7th due to Election Day. There is no school for all of the Smithfield schools. Old County Road School is being used as a polling place on Tuesday, so you will see cars and people going in and out of the school.
Parents/Family Members Who Are Veterans
Saturday, November 11th is Veterans Day and we would like to celebrate together as a school community. We are planning to have a short ceremony on Friday morning on November 10th at 8:20 AM right after student arrival. If the weather is clear, we will gather outside the front of the school near our illuminated flag to say the pledge of allegiance together and engage in a moment of silence. If it is raining, we will gather together in the gym.
We would like to invite any OCRS parents that are veterans to join us on Friday morning on November 10th for this quick school celebration so that we can acknowledge and honor you as part of our ceremony. My own father was an Army veteran of the Vietnam War (Purple Heart and Bronze Star) and I understand how important it is for all of us to thank and honor our veterans all throughout the year, especially on Veterans Day.
If you as a parent or other family would be interested in joining us, please let Mr. Barrette know by sending me a quick email at pbarrette@smithfield-ps.org. We currently have four families who have contacted the school to join us this Friday morning and we would love to have more veterans join us!
Attendance Update
At the end of October, the attendance of OCRS students had improved by over 30% from where it had been at the same time the previous school year! While the purpose of improving student attendance is NOT for our school to look good statistically, it is helpful to know that the efforts of the entire school community are helping OCRS students be at school more consistently. Attendance Works has terrific resources for schools and families on how to work together to build habits of good attendance, https://www.attendanceworks.org/resources/handouts-for-families-2/
We have seen a slight increase in the percentage of students who are currently chronically absent (absent for greater than 10% of the scheduled school days) and we have noticed more students being absent for reasons like "birthday celebrations" and vacations. We need to continue our schoolwide focus on student attendance with the goal of each student being at school every day, on time (unless they are ill).
Congratulations to Mrs. Moretti's 1st grade and Mr. Davenport's 5th grade for perfect attendance this week! Also, congratulations to Mrs. Sisco's Kindergarten and Mr. Austin's 5th grade for excellent attendance.
Red, White, and Blue Spirit Day on Friday
We invite our students and staff to wear red, white, and blue this Friday to show our support for our veterans. We will send out a reminder later this week.
Gift of Giving Smithfield Fundraiser
Please see the linked flyer for information about the "Gift of Giving" fundraiser in partnership with the Smithfield Paper Store.
Upcoming Dates and Events
View and subscribe to the OCRS Public Events Calendar at https://oldcounty.smithfield-ps.org/o/old-county-road-elementary/page/monthly-calendar. Click on the "Add to Google Calendar" button to subscribe to the calendar using your own calendar app.
NO SCHOOL, Election Day, Tuesday November 7th
Red, White & Blue Spirit Day, Friday November 10th
NO SCHOOL, Veterans Day, Monday November 13th
PTA Meeting, Tuesday November 14th at 6:00 PM
NO SCHOOL, Professional Development, Wednesday November 15th
NO SCHOOL, Thanksgiving Break, Thursday November 23rd and Friday November 24th
PTA Snowflake Bazaar, Saturday December 2nd from 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM
Thank you,
Mr. Barrette
4th grade trying different multiplication strategies
5th Grade citing evidence from the text in their writing
Beautiful fall day
