Dear OHS Families,

I hope you are all doing well and that your children have been engaged in their learning!  I have a few items about which I want to communicate this week:

First, I have had many questions about the tree removal around the kindergarten playground, and I want to inform you why they were removed and the plan going forward.  When I saw the degree to which trees were being removed last Friday, I contacted our operations department to make sure the work order was correct, and it was.  I was informed that all of the trees had to come down because they were so close to the kindergarten playground, that they created a real safety concern.  Apparently, just pruning the trees would not have eliminated the safety risk.  There are plans to re-landscape that entire area:  We will be replacing the current fence with a new one, removing the stumps, and planting arborvitaes around the perimeter of the playground for some shade and privacy from the street, without the danger of falling limbs.  The operations department is working on getting that project started.  I am not sure if it will all be completed this fall or if some of it will have to be done in the spring.

Second, we will be introducing a new cafeteria behavior incentive program to the students this week.  We want the students to socialize and enjoy time with their friends during lunch, but we also want it to be a pleasant environment that is safe and not overwhelming to students and staff.  Striking that balance with up to 100 students in one room for 30 minutes can be a challenge.  To help accomplish this task, we are going to introduce our “Silver Spoon Awards” this week!  Each classroom will have the opportunity to earn a Silver Spoon each lunch wave, and when they get 10 Silver Spoons, they will get a special award in their classroom, such as a Silver Spoon Recess or Silver Spoon Game Time.  Classrooms will earn a Silver Spoon by following our cafeteria expectations, which are: Stay in your seat unless you are throwing out your trash, Use an inside voice, Do not play with or share food, and Raise your hand if you need help from an adult.  We hope students are motivated to earn a Silver Spoon and it helps to create a fun, pleasant, and safe environment in our cafeteria.

A few other reminders:

Run Club: Thank you again to our volunteers for leading this great club!  I ask the parents who participate and stay for the club to please refrain from parking in the upper loop, as it has been affecting our arrival plan on Fridays.  

After School Activities (ASA) are in full swing.  Please remember if your child is participating in ASA, please be sure to update your School Dismissal Manager to reflect the change in dismissal.

Remember we have no school on Thursday this week due to Rosh Hashanah.

Lastly, if you want to purchase Chromebook insurance, October 1st is the deadline.  For additional information click here.

I hope you all have a wonderful week!  Take Care.

Sean F. Smyth, Principal

^{Tickets are now available for our annual fall festival, the OHS Harvest Faire! Join us at OHS on Saturday, October 26 from 1pm-5pm. We'll have games, crafts, inflatables, food, amazing raffle prizes and more! The faire is fun for the whole family and is a great fundraiser for our PTA.}

^{Buy your wristbands and tickets now!}

^{Enjoy discount pricing when you buy ahead of time!} 

Calling all acts, narrators and stagehands! If you'd like to participate in the Variety Show, you have until October 7th to let us know! Email the Variety Show Committee at ohsvarietyshow2025@gmail.com  to register your act, or if you'd like to be a stagehand or narrator. Please list all the children in your group and include their classrooms. If you have a group name, it would be great to include that too! Thanks for helping us get the ball rolling with registration. 

Music requests open on October 14

Just a reminder - no music requests can be submitted until October 14 at 12pm. We want to give everyone a little bit of time to figure out what they’d like to do. Thanks for understanding!  

Our Fall Scholastic Book Fair is two weeks away! Shopping hours will be held before and after school: