OMS Pirate Press Newsletter

Grade 6 High Honors

Clayton Almstrom, Saige Angell, Jack Belmore, Narta Berisha, Hazel Burlingame, Sadie Coghlan, Kaiden Corriveau, Brynn Czernicki-Nasis, Joshua George, Trevor Gould, Margaret Griffin, Ethan Gustafson, Kellen Harrison, Jackson Harvey, Jenna Shenette, Sarah Stebbins, Sadie Stewart, Raeann Teal, Marissa Worden, Makenzie Zwang

Grade 7 High Honors

Dylan Barberio, Abigail Burque, Sadie Crouch, Lily Dolbec, Jillian Gustafson, Liam Harrity, Yeidiel Hernandez-Barreto, Willow Keller, Alana LaFrance, Pedro Paniagua, Michael Peck, Mateo Quintero, Megan Riley, Hunter Rodriguez, Heather Stebbins, Rhegan Stopyra, JordynTorteson, Harrison Voas

Grade 8 High Honors

Bella Coghlan, Nikolas Coraccio, Emma Farrar, Ashlyn Halliday, Tucker Harrity, Ali Johnson, Riley Maki, Samantha Marrier, Keigan McIlvaine, Catalina Montalvo, Gunjan Niroula, Brooke O’Connor, Joseph Peters, Savannah Pratt, Destiny Purcell, Colton Toedt, Samuel Yogaratnam

Grade 6 Honors

Diego Aponte, Charles Augustynski, Kaylee Augustynski, Logan Barnes, Hayden Bates, Tyler Bouley, Bradley Bush, Lucas Bush, Kyle Case, Hadley Coraccio, Olivia Daoust, Anthony DeGaetano, Cora Descheneau, Kendall Donnelly, Isabelle Gurney, Isabella LaMountain, Mason Livingston, Brooke Mastromatteo, Joseph Menke, Caroline Montalvo, Beowulf Morin, Landon Morris, Brandon O’Connor, Stella Pantano, Tianna Parker, Matthew Peck, Tessa Peloso, Samuel Santos, Chad Sliwoski, Mia St. Peter, Briley Todd, Bradley Toedt, Liam Valipour, Aislyn White

Grade 7 Honors

Ignacio Acosta-Lopez, Cameron Aquafresca, Lilah Archambeault, Gemma Balboni, Princess Bonagwa, Olivia Boulette, Saniya Bull, Haley Capistran, Hailey Cicerchia, Karoline D’Alessandro, Noah Durand, Joseph Esposito, Welinton Estrada-Lopez, Brielle Fournier, Kohen Garney, Jeremiah Gonzalez, Hailey Johnson, Devante Lanausse, Lucas Laurie, Brookelynn Mangano, Matthew Martellotta, Alana McFarland, Sophia Meneguzzo, Ashton O’Malley, Maxwell Palaia, Ava Peters, Jenselys Ramos, Sophia Renaud, Rachel Rodriguez-Pacheco, Lilliana Tervo, Maci Turner, Parker Tyrrell, Anabelle Watters

Grade 8 Honors

Michael Annancy, Loukas Baraklilis, Zachery Barberio, Lukas Bergman, Brenna Burke, Alexander Campbell, Ethan Campbell, Mason Case, Chase Checkoway, Sophia Coghlan, Kendra Cutroni, Kellsey Dunn, Sophia Francis, Marquis Gagne, Natalie Gauthier, Emmary Gustafson, Mary-Jane Hall, Jaiden Hamden, Ethan Hamilton, Brianna Judge, Quilan Ketter Larocque, Sophia Kinhan, Peter LaMountain, Victoria LaMountain, Chloe Lavallee, Olivia Martinez, Nathan Mayo, Tyler Melton, Agnes Molloy, Gusthavo Oliveria, Kaliyana Padilla, Grady Powers, Canon Rheault, Isabelle Richmond, Jayden Rosado, Harper Shoblom, Ava St. Peter, Jameson Tyrrell, Malayna Vieira, Jude Worden

Congratulations to our November Students of the Month. These students were nominated and selected by staff for demonstrating the characteristics of Be the 3: Respect, Responsibility, and Safety and/or showing remarkable growth and improvement in areas such as academics, leadership, and/or citizenship. This month we recognize Niko Coraccio, Natalie Gauthier, Jeremiah Gonzalez (not pictured), Pedro Paniagua, and Mackenzie Zwang.

This past Tuesday, we had a guest speaker visit OMS, Mr. Ed Gerety. Mr. Gerety talked to students about kindness, empathy, gratitude, engagement, school attendance, community and civic engagement.

Student portrait retake day is Tuesday, December 10, 2024. Copies of picture forms are available in the main office for those who need retakes.

Students are eligible for retakes if:

• They were absent on the original picture day (October 8th). Please have students complete the picture form if you wish to order.
• Students who wish to return their original photo package and have their picture retaken. Students returning packages and having photos retaken do not need to complete a new order form.
• Students who had flaws in original photos-eyes closed or technical flaw in original portrait. Students who had photos taken previously but did not order photos are not eligible to have retakes taken unless their original photo showed eyes closed or a technical flaw in the original portrait.

Annual OMS NJHS Toy Drive: OMS NJHS is partnering with Oxford Police to collect toys and gifts. We are looking for gifts for local Oxford school aged children 12-14 preferred. The drive will take place November 6-December 12th with collection location of Oxford Middle School Front entrance. Any questions, reach out to NJHS advisor, Jen Wagner jwagner@oxps.org Please see the flyer attached below.

Grade 8 is holding a Flower Power fundraiser.

• This is an online store that will be open for the remainder of the school year.
• If you wish to have deliveries made by the holidays, you must order by December 1st.
• The flyer is linked below, but you may order at http://grade8team.fpfundraising.com or https://www.flowerpowerfundraising.com/index.php/marketplace/seller/profile/shop/grade8team
• All funds will benefit their class activities fund to support end of year activities and and travel with them to OHS to plan for class activities there and beyond for class reunions.

Our band and choral students will hold their winter concert on Wednesday, December 11, 2024 at 6:30 p.m. at OMS auditorium. Doors will open to families at 6:00.

Choral and Band Students: Please arrive by 6 p.m., reporting to music suite.

Concert dress for our students will be entirely black, with an option for students to wear red accents (a scarf, tie, headband, etc.) For the clothing chosen, we are asking for students to wear nice, concert appropriate attire. Things like button-down shirts, slacks, dresses, shoes, belts, etc. If you have any questions about clothing requirements please feel free to reach out to Mr. Kim mkim@oxps.org or Mr. Sampson bsampson@oxps.org

We hope you'll join us!

OMS Cheer for those students registered will begin on Monday, November 9, 2024 after school from 2:00-3:15. Coach Rivera will review the practice schedule and information at the first meeting on Monday, November 9, 2024. Those signed up for this team should dress in workout gear and sneakers as well as bring a water bottle.

NJHS TOY/GIFT DRIVE NOVEMBER 12-DECEMBER 12TH!

Monday, December 9th:

• OMS Cheer begins Monday, 12/9 2:00-3:15 in Cafeteria with Coach Rivera, practice/game schedule to be distributed by coach Rivera.

Tuesday, December 10th:

• Student Portrait Retake Day
• Gaming Club after school with Ms. Berthiaume in the cafeteria. Students must have signed permission slips to stay after.
• Video Club after school with Mr. Janerico. Students must have signed permission slips to stay after. Next week 12/17 is the last day of Video Club Session #1.
• Dungeons and Dragons Informational Meeting with Mr. Standrowicz in room 101. Students must have signed permission slips to stay after.

Wednesday, December 11th:

• Therapy Dog Visit
• After School Band--dress rehearsal for concert. (this is a change. it was previously not going to run today)
• Winter Concert 6:30 p.m. at OMS, doors open at 6:00.

Thursday, December 12th:

• History Club with Mr. Moriarty. Students must have signed permission slips submitted in in advance
• Art Club Session 2. Students must have signed permission slips submitted in in advance for Art Club Session 2. This club is limited to 20 spots and is currently full, all future sign-ups will be on wait list.
• Last week of Esports! Esports Thursday League: Chess, NBA2k25, Smash Ultimate and Rocket League 2:00-3:15- Students must have signed permission slip to attend.
• OMS Basketball grades 6-8: Practice: Boys 2:00-3:15 and girls 3:30-5:00

Friday, December 13th:

• Deck the Halls Advisory Class Competition Activity
• OMS Team Basketball grades 6-8 Boys' and Girls Open Practice 2:00-3:30

• Sandy Hook Promise Save Presentation 12/17/2024
• Stu Co Spirit Week December 16-20: See flyer below
• Monday 16th : Hawaiian Day--it may be cold outside, but let's think warm!
• Tuesday 17th: PJ Day
• Wednesday 18th: Candy Cane Day-Wear Stripes
• Thursday 19th: Wacky hat and socks day
• Friday 20th: Ugly Sweater Day sponsored by FOMS on 12/22/2024
• 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:
• December 21, 2024-January 1, 2025 School Break.

Project 351 is a state-wide community and civic service initiative that invites one grade 8 representative from each school across Massachusetts to learn about leadership, service, and foster collaboration in service learning opportunities to benefit those of our Commonwealth.

This year's grade 8 representative is Niko Coraccio. Niko will represent OMS and the Oxford community in his regional and statewide forums. He will be working collaboratively with peers across the state and at OMS on the civic project, Cradles to Crayons. In the spring, the group will be hosting a statewide clothing drive to meet the needs of clothes insecurity among school aged children. He and other grade 8 delegates will also be meeting with state representatives at the State House to discuss hot topics among school aged students.

Congratulations to Niko for being chosen for this honor. Thank you for representing OMS and Oxford!

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 Snack Program: As part of the free breakfast/lunch program, the state has approved a free after school snack program. In accordance with state guidelines, these snacks must be distributed at least 30 minutes after the close of the school day. Therefore, they will be available in the main office from 2:15-2:45 daily. Students will need to provide name to obtain snack for food services record keeping in compliance with the state regulations. A menu for the month of snacks is located in the food service section of the OXPS website: https://www.oxps.org/apps/pages/food_menus

OMS offers a wide variety of after school activities throughout the school year. We encourage your student to become involved in our community, join activities things they have an interest or passion in or to explore a new activity of interest. These activities keep kids engaged in positive activities while also helping them to develop numerous skills and build community.

Some expectations/protocols for staying after include the following:

• Free after school snack available in main office 2:15
• All students are expected to depart campus by their recorded departure means (bus or parent pick-up/walking). If a parent/guardian needs to alter the afternoon departure means, we must have a note on file.
• All students must depart at dismissal time unless we have written permission where the student will be staying for a supervised school activity.
• Students staying after school at OMS must have a signed permission slip to stay in a staff supervised club or activity.
• Students are not permitted to remain on campus to hang out before an athletic or school event that they want to attend later in the day.
• Students are not permitted to leave campus to go to store across street and then return.

The History Club is starting up! Meetings will be on Thursdays in Mr. Moriarty's room, Room 102. All students are welcome, but please remember to bring a signed permission slip to attend. In this meeting, we’ll talk about what the club does, hear from returning members, learn about National History Day, go over expectations, and more. Meetings weekly on Thursdays.

Do you want to play or learn a variety of games with your peers? Then gaming club may be for you! Students will have the opportunity to learn and play a variety of games such as chess, checkers, board games, card games, and family style games. This is a great way for students to interact, socialize, and build community. DUE TO HIGH DEMAND, GAMING CLUB WILL TAKE PLACE WEEKLY ON TUESDAYS. You can join by week, month or year. Students interested should obtain a permission slip, get it signed and return to the Main Office or adviser, Ms. Berthiaume. Questions, see Ms. Berthiaume mailto:dberthiaume@oxps.org See flyer below. Next meeting December 3rd.

Join your friends for a game of imagination and creativity as the club explores fantasy worlds, fights monsters and saves the day! Informational meeting will take place on Tuesday, December 10th after school with Mr. Standrowicz in room 101 from 2:00-3:15. No experience needed, students of all D & D levels of experience are welcome! Regular weekly meetings will begin on Tuesday, January 7th in rom 101 with Mr. Standrowicz. Students need to have signed permission slips to attend.

Are you interested in learning more about videography and video editing? Join Video club! All OMS students are welcome to join, regardless of when you have video technology in your schedule. Learn how to video, edit, and more! Video club will begin on Tuesday, October 8th and run on Tuesdays after school through December 17th with Mr. Janerico. Students will need permission slips to attend. Permission slips are in the main office or can be picked up with Mr. Janerico. Questions? Email Mr. Janerico mailto:jjanerico@oxps.org

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 . Homework center closed 12/2, 12/17.

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:

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.

Are you interested in having a voice to help plan events and activities for OMS? Student Council may be for you. Students interested in pursuing student council must complete recommendation forms and submit to Ms. Granger. 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 has ended.
• Session 2 will run on Thursdays November 7th through January 8th. Dates are as follows: Thursdays 11/7, 11/14, 11/21, 12/5, 12/12,12/19, 1/ 2, 1/9. Session 2 sign up info is below.
• Art Club Session 2 Sign-ups is now full.

• 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.
• As we enter the colder New England months, we inevitably will have periods of cold and flu symptoms that will arise. Please see the attachment to help guide you with regard to protocols and suggestions for when to attend school and/or when students may need to stay home to recover.

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

• *New* 7th grade students SBIRT screening:
  
• Again this year all Massachusetts school districts are required to include a substance use preventive screening as part of their annual mandated universal health-screening program. Our district will use the Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) protocol with students in grades 7 & 9. Screenings at OMS will begin the week of December 2, 2024. A letter with more information will be sent via Parent Square separately to grade 7 families. If you have any questions, please reach out to the school nurse, Ms. Cronauer acronauer@oxps.org

• Year round we have our apparel store open. We have all kinds of Oxford gear for families to choose from to show their Oxford Pirate Pride!
• Butter Braid orders will be in before Thanksgiving with a distribution date of November 22nd.
  
• Pirates Cove Store will be open during conferences for holiday purchases.

• January we will be hosting a Winter White Out dance (grades 6-8) on January 31, 2025.

• And in March, the delectable NOTHING BUNDT CAKES will be sold.

FOMS Spirit Wear Fundraiser

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!

Reminder about food/beverages brought to school: Please remember that we do not allow energy drinks, and we are a water only in classes and hallways. Please refrain from sending your students in with such things as Dunkin'' Donuts drinks to school as they are not permitted to go to class with them. Thank you.

Water Bottles: Please pack a refillable water bottle with your child daily and remind them to drink water throughout the day. With seasons changing and heat coming on soon, the air will be dryer and students will benefit from hydration. They are beginning to present with dry throats to the nurse yet are not consuming water. Please encourage this at home through discussions and packing a water bottle for them. Thank you!

Cell Phones/Earbuds/Personal Technology: As a reminder to families, OMS has an "Away for the day" cell phone/earbud/personal technology rule, which is outlined in our handbook and has been communicated to students as well. The expectation is that those personal technology items will remain in the student's bag or Chromebook case the entire day without coming out during the school day. Teachers have also been supplied hanging storage to store phones as well. Students are issued a Chromebook by Oxford Public Schools and do not have a need for personal technology in our building. Please know that students who are caught utilizing the technology have progressive behavioral responses from staff--store it as directed, turn over to staff and it remains in office for the day, repeated use will include only returning the device to a parent/guardian to pick up, and may include consequences if it persists. We recommend that the technology stay home or settings are set by you to disable the device during the school day hours so that it is not a temptation for students. If you have messages that need to get to students, please contact our main office at 508-987-6074 and we will get messages to students.

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, as we will be moving away from the One Call Now system this year. Go to the following link to get started: https://www.oxps.org/apps/news/article/1961166

Families who pick up in the afternoon: When arriving to pick up your child, please proceed to the student pick-up area, filling the lane that is curbside FIRST then go to the middle lane, then to the outer lane. This is important to not back up the rest of our driveway to other traffic as cars cannot see the other open lanes or get through when you park in the outer most lane first. Thank you for your continued assistance in following these guidelines to help us expedite student drop off and pick up and keep our students safe.

Visit OHS on Saturday, December 7th 10 a.m. -3 p.m. for over 80 craft vendors and breakfast with Santa 10:00-12:00. See the flyer below.

The 1st official fundraiser of the year for the Class of 2027 has started! We have partnered with Meadow Farms, an online store associated with many different well known companies. Please look at the store link and consider purchasing something to help your class. If you do not see anything you like, consider making a donation! Please let me know if you have any questions! mailto:edykstra@oxps.org

The OHS Yearbook is selling Oxford throw blankets! If you order now, they should be in before Christmas. This would make a great holiday gift for any Oxford resident. All proceeds benefit OHS Yearbook.

OHS yearbook has partnered with Savers to do a clothing and household item fundraiser. Please see the attachment below to see how you can help to do some fall cleaning, pay forward your unneeded items in good condition by donating, while also helping OHS Yearbook to fundraise to reduce cost of the OHS yearbook. Items to be donated may be dropped at Oxford High School.

• 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