OMS Pirate Press Newsletter

Parent Square: Oxford Public Schools will be moving toward the free online app called Parent Square for all Communication. Please sign up now so that you don't miss out on any important communications from the schools or district, including weekly newsletters and weather related school cancellations. Go to the following link to get started: https://www.oxps.org/apps/news/article/1961166

Parents who drop off in the morning: Please PULL ALL THE WAY FORWARD in the drop off lane to accommodate the line of cars and other students waiting to be dropped. Pulling forward helps us to get all of our students in on time.

Parents who pick up in the afternoon: Please PULL ALL THE WAY FORWARD, FILLING ALL 3 LANES. When those lanes are full, Stay to the left side of the main drive along the grass. Please DO NOT BLOCK BUS LANES. REMAIN IN LANES UNTIL CROSSING GUARD RELEASES, AND WE RELEASE 1 LANE AT A TIME. This is necessary for the safety of the students on our campus.

Water Bottles: Please remember to have your children bring refillable water bottles to school, clear ones preferred.

School Forms:

• Students received a new internet/chromebook user form, which is a district form. Unfortunately, that form had not been updated to reflect the current school year and updates. Please review and sign the new form for your child to return.
• Students also received an additional copy of the insurance form. If you've already completed and paid for this, no need to duplicate. If you've not yet completed and or would like to enroll and pay, please submit as directed on the form.
• Please submit any remaining forms to the school.

Band and Chorus:

• Band and Chorus will begin on Monday, September 9th. 6th grade students will be assigned to band and choral periods during period 6 Monday-Thursday and and grade 7 and 8 band and choral students will be assigned to band and choral periods during period 7 Monday-Thursday.
• After school Band will begin on Wednesday, September 11th.

This is a jam packed issue as we prepare for school opening!

• Schedule for the Week of September 9-13, 2024
• Transportation/Morning Drop Off and Afternoon Pick Up/After School
  
• Breakfast and Lunch Info
• From the Health Office
  
• Clubs and Activity Info
• FOMS events and fundraisers
• They are in search of volunteers for the OMS School Store. Please see section below for info.
• Fundraisers--Papa Gino's night and Spirit Wear
• Community events
• Save the Date info for upcoming events
• Helpful district and school resources

• Monday, September 9th: Regularly scheduled day

• Tuesday, September 10th: Regularly scheduled day
• Wednesday, September 11th: Regularly scheduled day
• Therapy Dog Visit
• After School Band begins with Mr. Kim. Students must have submitted a signed permission slip in order to attend. Info about after school band is below in Clubs and Activities section. See or email Mr. Kim with any questions mailto:mkim@oxps.org
• Thursday, September 12th: Regularly scheduled day
• Book Club with Ms. Kennen in the library after school. Info about book club is below in the Clubs and Activities section. Students must have submitted a signed permission slip in order to attend. Info about book club is below. See or email Ms. Kennen with any questions mailto:akennen@oxps.org
• OMS Fall Musical Informational Meeting after school 2:00-3:00 in the cafeteria. Anyone interested in auditioning, working on sets, stage crew should attend. The musical will be announced at this meeting! What will it be?
• FOMS Papa Gino's Fundraising night at Webster location See info below in FOMS section.
• Friday, September 13th: Regularly scheduled day

• Bus Transportation
• Bus routes and transportation are linked here: https://www.oxps.org/apps/pages/transportation
• Morning Drop Off: Please pull into the lot, using the cut off between front drive and open field to travel and park facing Main Street in the 3 parent drop off lanes parallel to Carbuncle Drive to drop students. PLEASE BE COURTEOUS OF ALL STUDENTS AND FAMILIES AND PULL ALL THE WAY UP TO DROP OFF. This is very important for us to get all students into our building on time. Do not park head into curb. Do not pull out mid-lane, but wait for line to move forward. Do not pull forward to front doors as that is reserved for buses and specialized transportation. Please do not park in parking spaces next to building as that is reserved for staff. Doors will open at 7:05 a.m. daily. Classes begin at 7:20 daily. Buses have the right of way.
  
• Afternoon Pick Up: Students riding bus will be dismissed first at 1:50. Student walkers and private transport riders will be dismissed at approximately 1:55. This is to be sure that buses can get to their elementary runs without issue in response to the busing changes in Oxford. Just like morning pick up, please pull into the lot, using the cut off between front drive and open field to travel and park facing Main Street in the 3 parent drop off lanes parallel to Carbuncle Drive to drop students. Do not park head into curb. Do not pull out mid-lane, but wait for line to move forward. Do not pull forward to front doors as that is reserved for buses. Do Not park in parking spaces next to building as that is reserved for staff. Please do not block Main Street. Buses have the right of way. Please also do not drop along Main Street, Carbuncle, or Rear lot by Project Coffee for traffic safety reasons.
  
• After School: Students must be in a scheduled, supervised activity after school. Students are only permitted to stay after school if they are on a OXPS sport or have been invited by staff to stay for help session, detention, or a club or activity AND have a signed permission slip to do so.
• Late Buses: We will have late buses for the school year, which will run at approximately 3:15-3:30.

Student meals are free this year and available daily to students.

Our breakfast for the first day of school will be grab and go.

Students arriving late to school will be able to obtain a grab and go breakfast daily upon arrival.

The lunch menu is linked here: https://www.oxps.org/apps/pages/food_menus

After school band will run on Wednesdays after school from 2:00-3:15 with Mr. Kim in the band room 122. Students staying for band will need a signed permission slip to stay for this club. Students will be able to take late buses home. Late buses begin September 8th and run between 3:15-3:30. Students interested should see Mr. Kim or reach out by email with any questions mailto:mkim@oxps.org

Homework Club will begin on Tuesday, September 10th!

Need help, time, and resources with homework, research, projects, and studying? The Homework Center will run on Mondays-Tuesdays-Wednesdays-Thursdays after school 2:00-3:00, with the exception of the once a month faculty days held mostly on Mondays. Students wishing to stay will need a blue Homework Center form signed by a teacher with a specific assignment/project to work on and the parent/guardian signature. See or email Ms. Kennen for permission slips and with questions. mailto:akennen@oxps.org .

National Junior Honor Society will have its first meeting after school on September 17th in Ms. Wagner's classroom. Students on NJHS should see Ms. Wagner for a permission slip, get that permission slip signed, and return to Ms. Wagner. If students are unable to attend, they must see Ms. Wagner as attendance at this meetings is needed as part of membership.

The National Junior Honor Society (NJHS) is an organization that recognizes middle school students for their academic excellence, character, citizenship, leadership, and service. Students with qualifying grades and conduct/citizenship are invited to apply annually.

Are you interested in reading some great books? How about discussing and sharing your favorite books with other students? If so the Book Club may be for you.

The book club will run after school on the dates below from 2:00-3:00 in the OMS Library with Ms. Kennen.

Book Club Dates for the fall:

September 12 and 26; October 17 and 31, November 7 and 21; December 5 and 19

See or email Ms. Kennen for more information about the club's next book and next meeting. akennen@oxps.org . Students wanting to stay will need to submit permission slips.

Do you like to sing? Do you like to act? Or maybe you love creating scenery or helping behind the scenes. Don't miss out on being a part of this year's OMS Musical Production! The informational meeting will take place on Thursday, September 12th after school in the cafeteria. Students need a signed stay after slip to participate. Please see Ms. Nasis in room 285 or the main office for a slip. This year's musical will be announced at the meeting. What will it be?

Are you interested in having a voice to help plan events and activities for OMS? Student Council may be for you. Any grade 6,7,8 student interested in participating in student council should plan to attend the first student council meeting on Monday, September 16th. Permission slips are outside the student council room 258 and in the main office. Please see or reach out to student council adviser, Ms. Granger with any questions mailto:cgranger@oxps.org .

Are you interested in art, exploring new art mediums, improving your artistic skills? Join Art Club! Art Club has limited space for 20 students per session. Art club will have 2 sessions as outlined below:

• Session 1 will run on Wednesdays September 18th through November 6th; Permission slip linked below. "Art Session 1 2024"
• Session 2 will run on Thursdays November 7th through January 8th

Students need signed permission slips to participate. Permission slips will be available with Ms. Krutcher and in the main office.

I am excited to introduce myself, Amanda Cronauer, as the new OMS school nurse for the 2024-2025 school year!

Please if you have not done so already, please return the health forms to the school nurse and send in a current physical with update immunization records It is important we have update information in our system.

Those wanting to drop off medication for your child to take during the school year please contact me. You will need a doctor's order and a signed parent/guardian consent form when dropping off the medication. We cannot accept medication from a student. This includes students requiring inhalers and epipens.

Feel free to reach out anytime with questions or concerns: acronauer@oxps.org.

Please support OMS and FOMS (Friends of Oxford Middle School) by attending Feast for FOMS at Papa Gino's in Webster on Thursday, September 12th 11 a.m. -8:00 p.m. 20% of all qualifying sales during this time will be donated to FOMS, who supports OMS! The flyer is below.

FOMS runs a number of fundraisers throughout the year to help support Oxford Middle School events and programs.

One of their regular fundraisers is the school store, Pirates Cove, which is open 2 times per month on Fridays throughout the year during school lunch periods (approx 10:45-12:15). Dates of the school store openings are attached below.

If you are interested in being a Pirates Cove School Store volunteer, please go to the sign up sheet linked here: Pirate's Cove Volunteer Sign Up or by URL: https://m.signupgenius.com/#!/showSignUp/10C0D4EAFAB2BA3F5C61-51161740-pirates/103340181

Please note that all school volunteers will need to complete a CORI with the school annually. Any questions, reach out to FOMS at mailto:oxfordfoms@gmail.com

Want to be ready for the new school year with the latest Oxford and OMS gear? FOMS sponsors a year long OMS Spirit Wear Shop. You can order the latest in gear--t-shirts, sweatshirts, sweatpants, shorts, outerwear, hats, and more! . All proceeds benefit FOMS, which in turn benefit our OMS students and programs. Please see the link below to order and the flyer below for more info. https://www.kerringraphics.com/customer_portal/login.html?ut=b174a64a-ac5d-43a5-bfa2-424393e5bc8d

FOMS Spirit Wear Shop has started to add club and team clothing as well, should your child have special interests. There are several options--short sleeve tshirts, long sleeve tshirts, tank tops, shorts, sweatpants, a variety of sweatshirts, bags and much more! Stay tuned for more clubs and sports to come, as they are being added every week!

OHS Nothing Bundt Cakes Fundraiser runs through September 6th. Cakes are $7 each and come in a number of different flavors. See the attached pictured.

Auburn High School Boys' Varsity Soccer is hosting a Leukemia Awareness Night on Wednesday, September 25th at Auburn High School Stadium Field at 6 p.m. behalf of 2 Central Mass students currently battling Leukemia. One of those students is for an Oxford resident. Please join them to help bring awareness, show support for #Matteostrong and #TeamAva, as well as donate to a good cause, Boston Children's Hospital Leukemia Program. The flyer with info is below.

Oxford/Webster Youth Travel Basketball will be holding our tryouts at OHS on 9/26 and 9/27. Please see the attached flyer for information regarding tryouts. For more information, please go to https://www.oxfordwebsterbasketball.com. or email mailto:oxfordwebsterbasketball@gmail.com

• OXPS School Year 2024-2025 Calendar: https://4.files.edl.io/4acb/01/24/24/145713-e7ec4bb5-ee84-4575-880d-b5dc3f62160b.pdf
  
• Upcoming Calendar Notes for school closures/early releases:
• October 14: no school-holiday.
• November 5th No School Students for Election Day and Staff Professional Development day.
• November 11th: Holiday
• November 25 and 26 half day early release students for conference days (see below)
• November 27-December 1: School closed for Thanksgiving Break
• Parent/Guardian-Teacher Conference Dates:
• Monday, November 25th afternoon and evening times available
• Tuesday, November 26th: afternoon times available
• Thursday, March 6th: evening times available
• OMS School Picture Day: Tuesday, October 8th
• OMS Chorus sings National Anthem at Worcester Railers: October 19th. Ticket Info will be released on September 11th by Worcester Railers.
• Halloween Dance: Friday, October 25, 2024 6:30-8:30

• Are you getting text messages of our automated calls/texts/emails? If you are not currently receiving text prompts about school and district news, please send a message to the number 22300 and type ALERT in the message in order to receive texts in the future.
• Our District Calendar can be found via the following links:
• District School Day Calendar: https://4.files.edl.io/4acb/01/24/24/145713-e7ec4bb5-ee84-4575-880d-b5dc3f62160b.pdf
• District Events: https://www.oxps.org/apps/pages/district_calendars
• School Hours The link to the school hours is here: https://www.oxps.org/apps/pages/school_times
• • At OMS, doors will open to students (buses and drop-off) at 7:10--this is a change of 5 minutes from 23-24 school year. All OMS classes will begin at 7:20 a.m.
    
  • At OMS afternoon dismissal will run as follows: bus riders' dismissal 1:50; walkers, bike riders, and private transport dismissal 1:55
• Electronic Backpack: Please be sure to remember to check the electronic backpack for forms, letters, community announcements as well. The link to the electronic backpack for OMS is as follows: https://oms.oxps.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=2070226&type=d&pREC_ID=2128528
• School Transportation Information: https://www.oxps.org/apps/pages/transportation
• School Breakfast and Lunch Menu: https://www.oxps.org/apps/pages/food_menus