Hello OCRS families,
There are quite a few fun events planned for the next week to celebrate Halloween and the "Spooky Season" at the end of October. Some of these events are being hosted by the OCRS PTA and others by other town organizations. Also, some of the events are Halloween specific and some are not, so all families have opportunities to participate. Details are listed below.
Black and Orange Spirit Day on Monday, October 31st
Monday October 31st will be "Black & Orange" Spirit Day at OCRS. We encourage and welcome all students and staff to wear something black and orange to school to celebrate the end of October. We know that not all families celebrate Halloween, so Black and Orange Spirit Day allows all members of the OCRS community to participate together and show their school spirit! Please leave costumes at home and wear something that is black and orange to school next Monday to show your spirit!
Parents Who Are Veterans
Friday, 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 Thursday 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 Thursday 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 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 would be interested in joining us, please let me know by sending me a quick email at pbarrette@smithfield-ps.org.
Local Flu Clinics
The RI Department of Health Office of Immunization in partnership with The Wellness Company has scheduled school-located flu clinics for children ages 3 years and older. Many clinics are also open to community members. Families can register for any clinic state-wide. Registration is strongly recommended rather than just arriving at a clinic.
The list of clinics can be located at: https://health.ri.gov/flu/.
One of these flu clinics will be held at Old County Road School on Wednesday, 11/2 from 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM.
SHS Fall Concert, "This is Halloween!"
Smithfield High School would like to invite all families to the SHS Music Department's Fall Concert: "This is Halloween!" Tuesday, October 25th at 7:00 PM in the SHS auditorium. Admission is free! This will be a fun concert of mostly familiar tunes featuring the SHS Chorus, Band, Sentinel Singers and soloists. The SHS sound and lights students have been hard at work developing exciting lighting changes for each number. At about an hour run time, the concert is planned to be family friendly. Please see the linked flyer for more information and reach out to the SHS music teacher, Mrs. Katherine Young, at kayoung@smithfield-ps.org if you have any questions.
SHS Spooky Stroll
The Smithfield High School Rotary Club is hosting a "Spooky Stroll" on Sunday, October 30th from 5:00PM to 8:00 PM on the path behind the Smithfield Senior Center. Dress up in your best costume and there will be snacks, trick-o-treating, and contests! Admission is $5. See the linked flyer for details.
PTA Information
Halloween Hayride
Due to the weather forecast, the PTA is moving this afternoon's Halloween Hayride is being moved to Thursday, 10/27 from 5:30 PM to 6:30 PM. The event is still being held at Seven Cedars Farm at 20 John Mowry Road and tickets are $10.
Thank you to the OCRS PTA for their flexibility and efforts to make sure that this fun family event still happens!
Trunk or Treat
The PTA is excited to celebrate the spooky October season with our OCRS PTA Trunk or Treat! This year's event will be held on Friday, October 28th within the baseball field parking lot at Deerfield Park (not at the school itself). The Trunk or Treat will be held from 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM.
IMPORTANT, we are still looking for additional families to host a "trunk" at Friday night's event! If you are interested in hosting a trunk and you haven't already signed up, please email Mr. Barrette ASAP!
This is a peanut free event, so any candy distributed must be peanut free! Also, please keep in mind that this event is for children from grades Kindergarten through 5th grade, so decorations should be appropriate for our youngest students. Think family friendly!
General Membership Meeting
The next PTA general membership meeting has been scheduled for Thursday, November 3rd at 6:00 PM in the OCRS Media Center. All parents/guardians of OCRS students are welcome to attend and bring your great ideas for PTA events!
We encourage parents/guardians to attend PTA meetings in-person. However, we also understand that family schedules can be very busy and challenging to manage, so here is a link to join the meeting remotely via Google Meet:
Thursday, November 3 · 6:00 – 7:00pm
Google Meet joining info
Video call link: https://meet.google.com/pcd-agcx-ekw
Or dial: (US) +1 662-762-0429 PIN: 217 141 672#
We're looking forward to seeing parents/guardians next Thursday night!
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. Clicking on the "Add to Google Calendar" to subscribe to the calendar on your own calendar app.
RAIN DATE, Halloween Hayride, Thursday October 27th, 5:30 PM at Seven Cedars Farm
PTA Trunk or Treat, Friday October 28th, 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM at Deerfield Park
SPIRIT DAY, Orange & BLack Day, Monday October 31st
Flu Clinic, Wednesday November 2nd, 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM
PTA General Meeting, Thursday November 3rd, 6:00 PM
NO SCHOOL, Election Day, Tuesday November 8th
NO SCHOOL, Veterans Day, Friday November 11th
Thank you,
Mr. Barrette
A "sticky" friend found outside
Making number sentences
5th grade Bike Safety
