Ox Ridge Elementary School
April 24, 2022
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April 25th : Incoming Kindergarteners “Meet and Greet” @ OXR
April 25th : Mad Science coming to Kindergarten
April 27th & 29th : 1st Grade Field Trip to Darien Nature Center
April 28th : PTO Speaker Series @ OXR (7:00pm) and Parent Social @ LOUIE'S immediately following
May 3rd : Students Wear Black and Yellow to School and deliver “Fan Mail”
May 6th : Kids Care Club
May 9th and 12th : Kindergarten Field Trip to Darien Nature Center
May 11th & 13th : 2nd Grade Field Trip to Selleck Woods
May 13th : 3rd Grade Field Trip to Stamford Museum & Nature Center
Missed last week's Hoot? Click here
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FROM THE PRINCIPAL'S DESK
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Hi All,
Congratulations to our Unified Sports team for our first ever Darien Unified Day this Saturday! Unified Sports seeks to join students with and without disabilities to participate in a variety of athletic events. It was inspired by a simple principle: training together and playing together is a quick path to friendship and understanding. We are so proud of our incredible team for embodying this spirit of fun and cooperation this spring.
Thank you to coaches Hoffer and Thadal along with all of our amazing adult supports to the team for such a successful season! Thanks also to our friends at Darien High School for their help in setting up the day and providing us an opportunity to get together and compete on the “stadium field”.
Looking forward to seeing you at our next PTO Speaker series (4/28; see details below) at Ox Ridge. We’ll have the opportunity to learn about ways to wrangle technology with our kids from Dr. Joan McGettigan and to listen and learn from some gifted Ox Ridge alumni about their experience in the secondary schools!
Thanks,
Luke
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Dear Ox Ridge Parents,
We look forward to seeing you this Thursday evening at our Speaker Series to learn how to help our young children develop appropriate habits when using technology, including how to set up parental controls. We are thrilled to also have a student panel of three Ox alums, to discuss their experience in middle school with respect to smartphones. Immediately following the speaker series, we hope you will also join us for a parent social event at Louie’s in Darien.
Finally, there are many enrichment activities and field trips coming up, so please make sure to ask your children about it! The acrobat Li Liu performed at Ox Ridge this past week and it was a huge hit! Li performed incredible acts of hand balancing, plate spinning, artistic cycling, ribbon dancing and foot juggling, while teaching the students about Chinese language and culture!
XO OX,
PTO Co-Chairs
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PTO SPEAKER SERIES
Parenting Young Children in the Digital Age: Technology Usage in a Post-COVID World
How can we help our children develop appropriate habits when using technology? Can we unwind the uptick in screen time resulting from the pandemic? Can my child navigate middle school without a smartphone? Join us for our final PTO Speaker Series as we answer these questions and more.
Dr. Joan McGettigan, DPS Director of Instructional Technology, will discuss technology best practices and potential concerns, as well as parental controls on devices. In addition, OK-2-Delay's Marty Hendrickson and Jacqueline Telgheder will present the parent perspective on smartphones and social media, along with Caroline Hendrickson (8th grader), Ava Telgheder (8th grader), and Cole Kim (7th grader) who will speak about their experience in middle school with respect to smartphones.
* please note presentation will not be recorded or live streamed *
Date: Thursday, April 28th at 7:00pm in the Ox Ridge Common Room. Please RSVP HERE.
Join us afterwards for a social event at Louie's. Details below.
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PARENT SOCIAL EVENT AT LOUIE'S
Thursday, April 28th at 8:00pm
Already booked a sitter for the speaker series on Thursday evening? Take advantage and join us for cocktails at Louie's restaurant immediately following the speaker. See you at 8pm!
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STAFF APPRECIATION WEEK IS COMING SOON
The PTO Appreciation Committee has been hard at work planning lots of special things to show our teachers, staff, and administrators how BEE-loved THEY are, and how appreciative WE are for everything they do for our children. To see a sneak peek of what we have planned click HERE and read below for the two things we’re asking the kids to do to show their love!
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WEAR BLACK AND YELLOW ON MAY 3rd
As a symbol of their appreciation, we are asking students to wear black and yellow on Tuesday 5/3. Set yourself a reminder!
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DELIVER A SWEET-AS-HONEY NOTE TO EXPRESS YOUR APPRECIATION ON MAY 3rd
Write a note on the template you can find here. On Tuesday 5/3, students are invited to deliver their notes to their classroom teachers, specials teachers, staff, and administration. We would love to have 100% participation! If you do not have a printer, please email shain.meghan@gmail.com to get a paper copy. Let’s show all our teachers, staff, and administrators that we think they are the Bee’s Knees!
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THANK YOU TO THE FOLLOWING PTO VOLUNTEERS
Chelsey Pajak & Meghan Thornton (Green Team) for organizing Earth Week at OX including morning announcements read by 5th graders, BrainPOPs and read-alouds led by the teachers and a great presentation HERE to explain the theme “Invest in our Earth!”
Lia Stewart & Bethany Reade (Before & After School) for coordinating with Darien After School to bring awesome programs for the Spring!
Vanessa Donatello & Lia Stewart (School Wide Enrichment) for bringing in acrobat Li Liu who did an incredible performance for all grades and taught the students about Chinese language and culture!
Marisa Chadda & Ashley Hinchman (Ox Appreciation) for coordinating and delivering the monthly staff appreciation efforts!
4th Grade Families for sponsoring this month’s staff appreciation drop of coffee, water, and donuts from Donut Delight!
Beth Morgan (Music for Youth) for representing Ox Ridge and for helping coordinate the incredible Dallas Brass Live Concert at DHS for students of all ages!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE FOLLOWING OX RIDGE STAFF
Mrs. Jen Fischer (Teacher) on April 29
Ms. Brianne Schneider (OT) on May 1
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What does courage in everyday life look like? It may not be the large-scale, heroic acts of bravery that we think of initially. Courage can be shown on a smaller scale too. Remember, courage is being brave when faced with new or difficult circumstances. Use this link for discussion prompts to discuss times when your family has had to be brave during times of uncertainty.
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BALLET PERFORMANCE FROM EAST COAST CONTEMPORARY BALLET
Tickets are available for performances of THIS AND THAT, a brand new medley of original short ballets by East Coast Contemporary Ballet that take place on Saturday, April 30 at 7:30pm and on Sunday, May 1 at 2pm in the Darien Art Center’s Weatherstone Studio. The program of world premieres features directors Claire Mazza and Alejandro Ulloa and renowned choreographer David Fernandez. Tickets are $35 at darienarts.org. The Darien Arts Center is located at 2 Renshaw Road, behind the Darien Town Hall. For questions, call (203) 655-8683.
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FOOD SCRAP RECYCLING IN DARIEN
Residents can bring all food scraps to the drop-off site at the Darien Recycling Center, including those not appropriate for backyard composting! It's EASY and FREE for residents with a current Darien Recycling Center permit (sticker). Click HERE to learn more. Questions? Email recycle@darienct.gov.
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EARTH DAY RECYCLING EVENT
Filling in the Blanks is partnering with Lesley's Recycling for Earth Day 2022! Join this initiative by collecting recyclables (bottles & cans only) to be cashed in. Proceeds will be used to purchase foods for Filling in the Blanks' Weekend Meal Bag Program! It's as easy as 1, 2, 3! 1) Collect: Now - April 29th! Please collect, sort, and count bottles and cans with the cashback recycling symbol. 2) Recycle: Saturday, April 30th, from 10:00am - 2:00pm (rain date, Sunday, May 1st) 158 Longhill Drive, Stamford, CT 06902. 3) Feed Hungry Kids! For full event details, visit Fillingintheblanks.org/events. For any further questions please contact Caryn Kelly at carynkelly@gmail.com. Thank you so much!
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EDITORS NOTE:
OX RIDGE HOOT SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:
The Ox Ridge Hoot is emailed every Sunday during the school year. The deadline for submission is Thursday at noon. Please send your submission to oxridgehoot@gmail.com with the text of your e-mail, single spaced and left adjusted (NO FORMATTING!), with "Ox Ridge Hoot Submission" in the subject line.
"Community News" information/events will run for a maximum of two consecutive Hoot editions. Please time your submissions accordingly.
WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO EDIT OR DECLINE ALL SUBMISSIONS.
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