Weekly Flash

February 3, 2025

IN THIS NEWSLETTER:

Updates from Principal Smyth
Otters Read Together launches today! Read "The One and Only Ivan" with OHS
Donate canned food to root for your favorite team at the Souper Bowl food drive Friday
Board of Education discussing changing bus eligibility, meeting on Tuesday
Join our PTA meeting Friday morning featuring our SRO Felicia Clark and hear the winners of the Reflections art contest
OHS Night at R1DE spin studio is February 19
Get your tickets for OHS night at the Bridgeport Islanders February 22
Sweetheart Dance tickets are on sale! Sign up to volunteer or donate desserts
Thank you 3rd grade families for the teachers' lounge refresh

This Week

February 3 - Happy 100th Day of School!
February 3 - Otters Read Together begins
February 3-24 - Sweetheart Dance tickets on sale
February 4 - Board of Education Policy Committee meeting, 5pm
February 7 - Souper Bowl canned food drive at arrival
February 7 - PTA Meeting with SRO Felicia Clark, 9:15am

Coming Soon

February 14-17 - NO SCHOOL
February 19 - OHS Parents Night at R1DE spin studio, 6:30pm
February 22 - OHS Night at the Bridgeport Islanders (tickets)
March 1 - Sweetheart Dance

Click here for a printer-friendly list of 2025's key dates!

**Follow us on OHS Families Facebook & OHS_Families Instagram to stay in the know, and check out our OHS PTA website!**

Dear OHS Families,

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

The children enjoyed a terrific assembly this past Wednesday, Magic Morgan and Liliana. Morgan and Liliana are two talented magicians, who also happen to be deaf. Not only was their magic amazing, and really astounded the students, but they also taught us all some great sign language! Thank you to the PTA and Jessica DeFeo for bringing this act to Osborn Hill.

We have another assembly today to kick off our inaugural Otters Read Together program! The Fairfield Public Library will be at OHS to get the students excited about reading The One and Only Ivan, by Katherine Applegate. Thank you to the PTA, especially Jen Ruwisch and Lauren Castaneda, for organizing this wonderful program. The PTA has given out all of their copies of the book to the families who signed up and requested a book, but we will have some additional copies at school if children want to read it. You could also go to the public library for a copy, or you could purchase the book online or at a local bookstore. Please see the Newsflash for more details.

A few important notices/reminders for this week:

The NWEA-MAP assessment results and Acadience assessment data (grades K-3) will be delivered virtually via the Infinite Campus Backpack on February 5.
Believe it or not, Monday is the 100th day of school!
Please make sure you update your SDM daily with any dismissal changes.

I hope you all have a terrific week ahead! Take care.

Sean F. Smyth, Principal

Otters Read Together begins today!

Otters Read Together begins TODAY, February 3! If you requested a book, they should have been delivered to your child's classroom last week along with a welcome letter. Just a reminder that these books are borrowed from Dwight and will get passed along to McKinley, so please be sure to return books at the end of the month! If you are still looking for a copy of the book, there are copies at both the Main Library and OHS library to borrow as well as some classroom copies.

Today, there will be an in-school program with the library staff from the Main Library as well as a video message from the author recorded just for OHS! Students will have the opportunity to hear the first few pages of the book during the program, play some games and get engaged. After today, you can follow along on the calendar to read with your child(ren) daily or as you see fit.

Click Here for the Otters Read Together Calendar

There are nightly trivia questions you can complete as well and hand in at the end of the month to receive a prize! To learn more about Otter's Read Together, read the welcome letter and see our complementary materials (trivia, vocabulary, resources), please view the padlet here.

Any questions? Contact Jen Ruwisch and Lauren Castaneda

Souper Bowl Canned Food Drive February 7

Eagles or Chiefs? Root for your favorite team while helping your community at our Souper Bowl canned food drive this Friday, February 7!

During morning arrival we'll have cars in the lower loop of the parking lot decorated with football gear. (You don't need to make a special trip to OHS - send your kids with their cans on their normal arrival routine and we'll have helpers directing them to the right place!) Place your donated items in the bin of the team you think will win the big game. We'll tally up the donations and Mr. Smyth will announce the winning team that day! Can't wait until Friday? There will be donation boxes in the main hallway all week for anyone who would like to donate early.

Donations benefit the Bridgeport Rescue Mission. They appreciate anything you can give. Some suggestions:

● Canned fruit

● Canned veggies

● Jelly in plastic containers

● Peanut butter in plastic containers

● Tuna

● Pasta

Any questions? Contact Elizabeth Johannesson and Cindy Maggart

Board of Education meeting to discuss changing bus eligibility

On Tuesday, the Board of Education's Policy Committee will discuss proposed changes to the transportation plan. The suggested changes would decrease the number of students eligible for bus transportation. Under the current guidelines, students located more than 3/4 of a mile away from their school are provided bus transportation. In the new proposal, that distance is extended to 1 mile, making elementary students who live less than 1 mile from the school walkers. The changes would allow the district to decrease the number of buses needed and decrease the transportation budget.

If the Committee adopts the changes, the policy would be sent to the full Board for review and vote.

We encourage you to stay informed and involved on these issues that affect our community. You can review the proposed changes here, on page 24. There will be public comment allowed at the Policy Committee meeting, which is Tuesday at 5pm in the Superintendent's Conference Room at 501 Kings Highway East. You can also contact the Board of Education by email at boemembers@fairfieldschools.org.

PTA meeting Friday morning

We hope you can join us for our next PTA meeting this Friday at 9:15am in the APR. We'll announce the OHS winners of the Reflections art competition! After updates from Mr. Smyth and the PTA we'll be joined by OHS School Resource Officer Felicia Clark.

Pro Tip: Bring canned food with you to the meeting for the Souper Bowl food drive!

You can see a list of all our upcoming meetings on our website, ohspta.com.

Questions? Contact Melissa Miller

OHS Parents Night at R1DE Spin Studio

Join your fellow otters for a R1DE! R1DE spin studio in the Sportsplex is offering a class for OHS parents Wednesday, February 19 at 6:30pm. With a $15 donation to the OHS PTA, you can get your ride for free - plus a special offer of 3 classes for $49. Visit our website to submit your donation and register. Thanks to our OHS alumni family at R1DE for this opportunity!

If you have already visited the R1DE QR Code link and signed the waiver, we need you to do one more step and click here to register on our PTA website.

Questions? Contact Diane Fields and Christine Rollo

Get your tickets for OHS night at the Islanders hockey game

Meeting your OHS friends at the Islanders game? Get your tickets now to make sure you'll be able to sit together! OHS Night at the Bridgeport Islanders hockey game is Saturday, February 22 at 5pm. 5th grade families - make sure you get your tickets so your children can perform with the OHS Chorus during the first intermission!

We have a section reserved for OHS. All family members are welcome, and each child must attend with a ticketed adult responsible for them. Tickets come with a free hat! A small portion of each ticket sale will go to the OHS PTA.

Questions? Contact Kate Fierman

Tickets on sale for the OHS Sweetheart Dance

Get your tickets today for the Osborn Hill Sweetheart Dance! Tickets are on sale now through February 24.

The OHS Sweetheart Dance is Saturday, March 1. Every OHS student is invited to join the dance with one special adult (parent, caregiver, etc.). There will be a photobooth, craft area and games, hot chocolate bar and desserts, and of course, a DJ! In order to accommodate all students, the dance is divided into two sessions:

4:30pm-6:15pm | Kindergarten - 2nd Grade students

7:15pm-9:00pm | 3rd - 5th Grade students

*Please note - we cannot accommodate older students in the younger session, and vice-versa.

Tickets are $35 for a couple (student and special adult) and $15 for an additional student. For more details on ticket options, please review Sunday's Special Flash here.

Buy your tickets HERE

Sweetheart Dance volunteers and dessert donations needed

Help us make the Sweetheart Dance a success!

If you're not attending as a special adult, we can use your help! We are in need of volunteers for setup, to man the dessert tables and crafts, and more. Volunteers will receive an extra photobooth voucher to 'jump to the head of the line'. Click here to volunteer!
Calling all bakers, or baked good buyers! We are looking for cupcakes, cookies and other nut-free treats to fill our dessert table. Bonus points if they are star themed! Click here to sign up.

Any questions? Reach out to the Sweetheart Dance Committee (Rebecca Hasiotis, Eva Elinskas, Livia Gillespie, and Marcia Lyman).

Thanks to our 3rd grade families for the teachers' lounge refresh

A big thank you to our 3rd grade families who contributed to our January staff lounge refresh! While we will still celebrate Teacher Appreciation Week in May, we have been spreading the cheer throughout the school year with each grade taking a month contributing to the lounge. Thank you to Kim Dragovic, Dana Zuskin, Maria McKeon, Tanya Dunne and Danielle Brower for coordinating!

Have news to share? Email Jen Braunby 10am Friday
to include in the following Monday's OHS Weekly Flash.

SUBJECT: OHS Weekly Flash | Happy 100th Day, Otters Read Together starts today, Souper Bowl food drive Friday