Old County Road Elementary School

Thank you again to Mr. Caine and the staff of the Smithfield Recreation Department for spreading the new wood chips under our playground equipment. As you can see, the students are enjoying it!

After dismissal yesterday afternoon, OCRS received a delivery of new wood chips for our playground! The kids in the YMCA after school program were very excited to watch the wood chips be delivered. https://youtu.be/1e2IK0MABI0

Roy the Raccoon was at OCRS during tonight's Open House to welcome families and students. He even helped some 5th graders spell out "OCRS"

Hello OCRS families, Just a quick reminder that the OCRS Open House is scheduled for tomorrow (9/19) from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Come and meet your child's teachers, visit our classrooms, and see the great things happening at OCRS! Students are welcome to come with their family to the Open House, but all students must stay with and be supervised by their family at all times. Also, please be aware that, while the Open House is a terrific opportunity for families to meet their child's teachers, it is not intended to be an in-depth parent/teacher conference or a discussion about specific issues and concerns. Parent/teacher conferences are scheduled to take place on December 5th and are a more appropriate time for comprehensive discussions about individual students. Parents and families should also feel free to reach to individual teachers at any time regarding their child. We are looking forward to seeing you tomorrow evening!

Thank you very much to Mr. Caine and the staff of the Smithfield Recreation Department for their hard work on our school grounds. The front landscaping around the Old County Road School sign looks great and makes it much more visible for families.

Just a quick reminder that there will be a PTA meeting tomorrow night, 9/12, at 7:00 p.m. in the OCRS Library. It's a terrific opportunity to get involved in what's going on at school. Also, Smithfield's superintendent of schools, Dr. Judy Paolucci, is scheduled to speak as part of the agenda. Also, Mr. Barrette will be offering Volunteer Training prior to the PTA Meeting at 6:30 p.m. for any parents or adult family members that are interested in serving as a volunteer at OCRS. All volunteers are required to attend the training once in the time that their child is a student at OCRS and the training itself takes about 15 minutes to complete. You will also receive a hard copy of the 2019-2020 Volunteer Handbook which can also be found on the school website under "Parent Info".

The telephone provider for several RI schools is experiencing technical issues & our phones at the schools have been periodically affected. Please email your school if you have to contact them about an issue today & we will update you when Cox Communications resolves the issue.

Smithfield's September District Newsletter now available at http://bit.ly/30MLzn0 and on the district website at https://www.smithfield-ps.org

Mr. Barrette wants to let families know that there is a recall on Contigo Kids Water Bottles, just in case you may have purchased one of these bottles for your child. The recall information can be found at https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2019/contigo-recalls-57-million-kids-water-bottles-due-to-choking-hazard

Please find linked below the Lunch Menu for August/September 2019. The prices for this year are remaining the same as last year, so ignore any mistakes that may be displayed on this first menu. The vendor will correct the pricing next month, https://5il.co/9qio

A few families have asked where they can find the OCRS School Supplies lists, so I wanted to make sure that all OCRS families are aware where to find the School Supplies lists. All of the school supplies lists are available on the OCRS website at https://oldcounty.smithfield-ps.org/. Once on the site, click "Explore > Parent Info" and you will see a link for "School Supplies". I will also re-post this information on the school Facebook page and other social media.

The district's bus routes have been published. You can find them online on the district website at https://www.smithfield-ps.org/o/smithfield-public-schools/page/transportation--244. If you have any questions about your child's bus route, please contact Christine Mitchell at Durham School Services, cmitchell@durhamschoolservices.com or ​401-349-2770.

Just a reminder that our "Back to School Night" is scheduled for tonight from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. There is the possibility of thunderstorms tonight, especially towards the end of our event. Obviously, if at any time we feel that the weather is unsafe, we will end the event early. Thank you and we're looking forward to seeing families tonight!

The 5th Grade Committee is hosting it's first fundraiser of the year, a Car Wash this Sunday, 8/11 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Fast Freddie's (at the intersection of Putnam Pike and Cedar Swamp Road). Come on out and support the 5th Grade Committee!

It's hard to believe, but the first day of school for students in Grade 1 through 5 is just over one month away on August 27th! Please check out the "School Supplies" list posted on the Old County Road School website under Explore > Parent Info, https://5il.co/8y2z

In order to fix some busing schedule issues at the later elementary schools, the district is making some changes to the school hours of three of the schools for next year. At OCRS, the new school hours for students will be pushed up 5 minutes, 8:15 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. Students may be dropped off as early as 7:55 a.m. Supervision is not available prior to 7:55 a.m., so students may not be dropped off any earlier. After 8:15 a.m., students are considered tardy and MUST be signed in at the office. This procedure is in place for the safety of all of our students. When weather permits, students gather in the schoolyard prior to entering the school building. During inclement weather, students enter the school immediately and meet in the gym. Students who need to order lunch and/or eat breakfast at school shall proceed directly to the cafeteria upon arrival, then report to the schoolyard or gym (during inclement weather).

There will be land surveyors at OCRS this Tuesday, 6/4 as part of the elementary renovation project. They will be surveying the property of the school. I wanted to let parents and families know in advance so as not to be concerned if you notice surveyors on school property on Tuesday.

Just a reminder that the OCRS Field Day is being held tomorrow, May 29th during the school day. Mr. Gruczka has been working hard with our 5th grade students to design a wide number of activities and challenges that all OCRS students will have an opportunity to participate in throughout the day. Also, The PTA wants to say "Thank You" with an end of year celebration after Field Day for 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. The celebration will include Kona Ice, free hot dogs and hamburgers, a DJ, a cool mist tent, and tons of fun for OCRS families. All OCRS families are welcome to attend!

PBS Kids has a great video to help explain to kids the history and meaning of Memorial Day https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWn2RPr-GhE

5th grade went on a field trip to Camp Champlin on Thursday to participate in Project C.O.P.E. Students engaged in a number of physical challenges where they needed to use teamwork to be successful. It was a great experience, ESPECIALLY conquering the wall at the end!