JUNE
Tuesday, June 15th
  • 5th Grade Graduation at Highland Farms

Wednesday, June 16th
  • Last Day of School (Early Dismissal)
FROM THE PRINCIPAL'S DESK
Hi All,

Many thanks to Mr. Bartol and all of our amazing teachers for an awesome field day experience! In spite of the heat and reduction in field space, our kids had a wonderful time playing with one another and practicing being good sports in winning and losing throughout the day!
 
Thank you also to our PTO, particularly our 5th grade event coordinators Jennifer Sherman and Kadi Lublin and our yearbook committee chair Erin Noonan, for their efforts to give our 5th grade class a special end of year picnic and field day experience!
 
I’m also thrilled to officially welcome Mrs. Lindsay Sulzycki (her maiden name is Aronheim - she was just married a few weeks back!) to Ox Ridge as our second assistant principal! Lindsay will join Christina and me in the fall and I’ll be certain to set up some meet and greet opportunities for faculty and families once she officially begins. Please see her press release to learn more about the newest member to our school leadership team.

Thanks,
Luke
FROM THE PTO
Dear Ox Ridge Parents,

Congratulations to our 5th Graders! We are very excited to celebrate your accomplishments this week and wish you the very best next year at MMS! And a huge THANK YOU to our 5th Grade Coordinators, Jenn Sherman and Kadi Lublin, for all of the effort you have put in to make sure our 5th graders feel the love. 

A special thank you to Adrienne Kelly and the fourth grade families for beginning a new tradition at Ox Ridge and helping our fifth graders feel special by placing lawn signs in each student's yard and making posters to hang on the construction fencing to decorate the school grounds during graduation week. Be sure to check out the PTO instagram feed for photos from this coming week's celebrations!

If you haven’t already heard it’s with mixed emotions that we wish Mike Lamphier, Judy Lasko, Mary Lay and Cathy McGettigan all the best in their retirement. We’re very excited for them all but they will be sorely missed. The PTO gave them each a farewell gift as a token of our esteem.

We also owe a huge shout out to all of our room parents! Thank you for all you have done this year. If you’re interested in volunteering for this important role for next year please see the details below.

What a year! We made it. Together as a team. Thank you to all the students, parents, wonderful teachers & staff and our rock star administration. 

Wishing everyone a wonderful and well-deserved summer break.

That's a wrap!

xo ox

Ashley & Beth
PTO Co-Chairs
Ashley Hinchman
(804) 405-4750
Beth Morgan
(917) 679-9018
OX RIDGE STAFF BIRTHDAYS

Happy Birthday to the following Ox Ridge Staff who have Summer Birthdays!

June

Barbara Plank (Instructional Aide) - June 18
Calla Tabaka (Library Media Specialist) - June 23
Jennifer Ki (Psychologist - ELP) - June 27

July

Lauren Battersby (2nd Grade Teacher) - July 5
Kristen Anderson (Instructional Aide) - July 8
Emery Tedesco (Building Sub) - July 14
Lauren Butler (Campus Monitor) - July 17
Ruth Lettera (Music Teacher ELP) - July 17
Stefanie Collins (3rd Grade Teacher) - July 20
Colin Walters (Music Teacher - Band) - July 20
Christine Pochetti (Student Support Facilitator) - July 21
Cathy McGettigan (1st Grade Teacher) - July 30

August

James Allen (Music Teacher) - August 6
Greer Kauffman (Speech Therapist (LTS)) - August 10
Christina Ulreich (Assistant Principal) - August 12
Ryan Foreman (Para-educator) - August 16
Joey McIntosh (Cafeteria Monitor) - August 16
Katie Ricard (Music Teacher) - August 17
Heather Neff (OT/ELP) - August 19
Caitlin Hoffer (4th Grade Teacher) - August 23
Alyssa Valente (World Language) - August 29
OX RIDGE NEWS
SEEKING ROOM PARENTS FOR 2021-2022: VOLUNTEER HERE!
We’ve reached the final week of school and summer is just around the corner, but it’s not too early to start thinking about involvement at Ox Ridge during the upcoming school year. Room parents are the conduit between class parents and teachers. It’s a fun and rewarding way to contribute to the school community. Responsibilities include managing volunteer sign-up sheets for various activities, collecting and managing class funds and communicating with class parents with reminders and notifications. Please note that room parent assignments will be made once class lists are finalized (late August). You will receive further information at the time. If you're interested in being a room parent for the 2021-2022 school year, please click HERE and complete the form.
ORDER YOUR SCHOOL SUPPLIES FOR NEXT YEAR
Avoid the back-to-school rush! The Ox Ridge 1st-5th grade teachers have compiled their list of necessary supplies for the next school year. Order now and school supply kits will be delivered directly to your child's classroom and will be available on the first day of school. Click here to view the flyer. To order, log onto www.SuppliesToPlease.com and click on the blue "Log In" button in the top right corner. 
Username: OxRidge 
Password: ox2021 (case sensitive) 

We are encouraging families to place their orders by the end of the school year, June 23. You will receive a confirmation email once your order is placed. If you do not receive an email, please contact Supplies to Please that day. Please contact Dr. Forshaw for information about school supply scholarships. When purchasing your kit(s), please consider making a donation to the Darien Human Services' Back-to-School program to help provide much-needed school supplies and other services to local families in need. This is a high need year!  Please contact Baye Larsen with any questions.
THRIVING YOUTH TIP
How can parents ensure summer is fun for kids and includes some learning? Think about educational outings to destinations like history, science or art museums. Ask your child if they have a topic of interest they’d like to explore this summer – their answer might surprise you! Even vacations and trips can cultivate learning; engage your child by asking him or her to research the area you will be visiting and its local history. Consider joining Darien Library’s Summer Reading Challenge as a family. Learn more and register here: https://www.darienlibrary.org/sr-kids

Talk early, talk often. Thriving Youth/The Community Fund of Darien
COMMUNITY NEWS
FAMILY CONCERT AT WEED BEACH!
The Youth Commission is excited to be bringing back a Family Concert at Weed Beach! Taking place on Thursday, June 17 @ 6:00, the featured entertainer is long-time favorite Annie (of Annie & the Natural Wonder Band) & Safari Bob. In celebration of the tenacity everyone exhibited during this incredibly unusual school year, THIS CONCERT IS FREE! (SPONSORED BY THE DYC)  *Feel free to bring a picnic or buy dinner at “The Beach Grill!” * Beach permits not required to attend this event * Life guards will NOT be on duty…swimming will be at your own risk * No glass containers are allowed on the beach *

EDITORS NOTE:
 Tory Bolton - Sept, Dec, Mar, June
 Sara Osberg - Oct, Jan, Apr
 Marisa Chadda - Nov, Feb, May

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.

See what's happening on our social media sites:
@oxridgepto