Week Ahead

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Dear Oak Ridge Families,

Welcome to the 2024-2025 School Year! If you are new to the Oak Ridge School, Welcome! If you are returning, Welcome Back! The summer is such a quiet time at the school. Don’t get me wrong, quiet can be nice…for a little while. However, for me, the hustle and bustle of students and teachers is what makes the school alive and fills it with energy. I love seeing families back each fall excited about the opportunities and filled with optimism for their child.

As I begin my 11th year as the Principal of the Oak Ridge School, I want to tell you how committed my team is to supporting your child on their educational journey. We have a fantastic team of dedicated teachers, ESPs, and service providers who will foster their academic, social, and emotional growth and development. We provide a wide variety of activities from academics and specials during school to an array of after school activities, all focused on helping them develop confidence and competence.

My team and I are here to support you as well. We will be reaching out to you throughout the year, but never hesitate to call or email with any questions or concerns you may have. This year Assistant Principal Dr. Mary Kate Stevens will be the lead for grades 3 and 4 and Dr. Anna Dunphy will be the lead for grades 5 and 6.

Each week I will send out an email called the Week Ahead. As a mom, I know that Sunday night is that night where I preview what’s going on that week so I can be prepared. I hope you will find these emails helpful and supportive of you as you look forward to your week ahead.

I am so excited to start the new school year with all of you.

Our newest addition to the Oak Ridge School is our Comfort Dog, Sandy. Sandy will be in our school to provide emotional comfort for students throughout the week. She comes from a local breeder who specializes in the breeding and training of comfort dog. Sandy will be "working" during the day and will spend most of her day in the Social Work suite. We look forward to having her meet our students over the next few weeks.

We are excited for students to enjoy our new outdoor basketball court. Thank you for the support of students and families for their fundraising efforts through the Boosterthon. Thanks to Dr. Marusczcyk, Kevin Sareault, and Chris George for their support. A special thank you to Mike Harrington of Harrington Excavating and Asphalt for helping us see this project to completion.

Know your bus route

During the 1st week of school please be patient with the timing of the routes on both ends of the school day. Here are the expected timing of the routes. Please make sure your child knows their bus number and their stop. Check out the Oak Ridge Bus Routes on line.

Student Drop Off

If you drive your child off, please enter the small bus loop to the left of the building. Student drop off begins at 7:45am. Students are to be dropped of curbside for their safety. If you need to bring them in, please park in a visitor spot.

Student Pick Up

Car pick up does not begin until the buses are dismissed from the property at 2:50. Cars that arrive before this time will be staged in the small bus loop to reduce the back up on Quaker Meetinghouse Road. Once the buses leave, cars will move into the large bus loop where an attendant will call the numbers on parent car tags. Students who will be waiting in the MPR will be dismissed as their number is called. If you do not have a car tag, please email orattendance @sandwich.k12.ma.us to request one.

Changing your pick up routine

Please make sure you inform your child's teacher of your child's typical end of day routine via email or a note. Any change to your child's pick up routine need to be sent to the main office at orattendance@sandwich.k12.ma.us and cc'd to your child's teachers.

9/3/24: First Day of School

9/4/24: Wednesday 1 hour dismissal begins at 1:45pm

9/10/24: PTA Meeting at Forestdale Library at 6pm

9/26/24: Open House