Hello OCRS Families,
I hope that you were able to take some time to enjoy this long weekend together. If your family celebrates Easter, I hope that you are having a safe and happy Easter! Here is some important information for the two weeks before April Break.
"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/431911. As usual, there is quite a bit of important information for all Smithfield families.
Construction Activity
Over the past two weeks, construction and renovation activity has increased in more areas of the school, specifically around the exterior of the gym. We have made adjustments to our daily school routines to accommodate the construction, including the shift of morning drop-off and afternoon pick up to Door 8, and those adjustments have helped. We are going to continue using Door 8 for drop-off and pick up for the foreseeable future as work continues on the gym exterior and work begins on the gym roof. We will make additional adjustments as needed.
We appreciate your patience and understanding as we continue to make adjustments for the remainder of this school year. We are all looking forward to seeing the changes and taking advantage of the building improvements next school year!
Please Remain Vigilant and Keep Students Home if Sick
Dr. Alexander-Scott reported that 24 out of Rhode Island 29 communities have seen an uptick in COVID cases this past week. Unfortunately, Smithfield is one of the Rhode Island communities that has been experiencing more significant increases in cases. Please remain vigilant to stop the spread of the virus. If your child is experiencing ANY of the symptoms listed below, please do not send them to school.
- Cough
- Fever
- Chills
- Body aches
- Sore throat
- Headache
- Fatigue
- Diarrhea
- Stuffy nose
- Nausea or vomiting
- Loss of taste or smell
- Shortness of breath
Students coming to school with symptoms can unintentionally put other students and staff at risk. It also can cause students and staff to be needlessly identified as close contacts and require them to quarantine which has a wide ranging impact on many people and families. Testing appointments can be made by either calling the K-12 COVID-19 test scheduling service at 844-857-1814 Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. and on the weekend from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., or creating an account on portal.ri.gov.
Thank you for your continued cooperation!
Free Meals Available for Students During April Break
On Friday, April 16th, the Smithfield School Lunch Program will provide meals for the April Break. These meals are free and available to all children under the age of 18.
Please fill out the Linked form at https://5il.co/r7f7 and return to OCRS if you would like to participate. Meal pick up will be at Smithfield High, Door #2 on Friday, April 16th from 11 a.m. to 12:00 noon. 10 Breakfasts per child and 10 Lunches per child will be provided.
Suicide Prevention Workshop: Question, Persuade, Refer
Smithfield will be hosting a virtual workshop for families and staff on April 7th at 6:30 PM focused on QPR (Question, Persuade, and Refer), the 3 simple steps anyone can learn to help save a life from suicide. Just as people trained in CPR and the Heimlich Maneuver help save thousands of lives each year, people trained in QPR learn how to recognize the warning signs of a suicide crisis and how to question, persuade, and refer someone to help. Each year thousands of Americans, like you, are saying "Yes" to saving the life of a child, student, friend, colleague, sibling, or neighbor. REGISTER AT THIS LINK and the link for the workshop will be emailed to you.
SilverGraphics Fundraiser Online Shop Continues to be Open!
Old County Road School's Online Art Shop continues to be open for ordering! Families can use the link below and unique access code to find their student's artwork AND upload additional artwork if you so choose. All proceeds will benefit the 5th grade committee to make our 5th grade students' final year at OCRS memorable.
Go to www.silvergraphics.com/shop and enter ACCESS CODE: OCRSart21
You can order from art your child has created at school or upload art from home. SilverGraphics will print it on face masks, mugs, canvas bags, tiles, and other beautiful mementos. Find the perfect gift for any special occasion, preserve a memory of your child’s creativity, and proudly display your child’s art on treasured keepsakes. You can also show school pride and order products imprinted with the OCRS logo!
You will be able to upload multiple pieces of art, something your child created in the past, a new drawing, or both. Sibling art, family projects, and photographs are also accepted! To prepare your art for uploading, follow the instructions in this video.
For questions, contact our School SilverGraphics Coordinator: Stefanie Howell at stefaniedhowell@yahoo.com
PTA Information
SilverGraphics Fundraiser
The OCRS online SilverGraphics shop remains open! Please see the information earlier in this email to browse the online shop, upload additional artwork, and place your order. Thank you to Stefanie Howell and the members of the 5th grade committee for organizing this terrific fundraiser!
PTA General Membership Meeting
The next PTA General Membership meeting is scheduled for this Wednesday, April 7th 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/ycn-uwzu-pij or by phone at 1-641-812-2276.
Upcoming Dates and Events
PTA General Membership Meeting, Wednesday April 7th at 7:00 p.m.
Student BinaxNOW COVID Testing at School, Monday April 12th
RICAS testing for 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students begins Tuesday April 13th
Spring Recess/April Break, April 19th through April 23rd
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
Studying how to calculate area using manipulatives
