Weekly Flash

May 5, 2025

IN THIS NEWSLETTER:

Updates from Principal Smyth
Art Show on May 13 for all grades! Volunteer next week to help prepare the exhibit
Create signs and donate for Teacher Appreciation Week May 5-9
Join the Bike Bus and to pedal to school May 9
Get in your steps and fundraise ahead of the WALK-A-THON May 16
Field Day is May 22 - sign up to staff a station
Happy Principals Day
Summer birthday celebrations start this week

Coming Soon

May 5-9 - Teacher Appreciation Week
May 7 - Kindergarten Orientation (A-L)
May 8 - Kindergarten Orientation (M-Z)
May 9 - Bike Bus
May 13 - OHS Art Show, 5:30-7pm
May 15 - Orchestra, Band and Chorus Spring Concert 7pm @FWMS
May 16 - WALK-A-THON, 10am

Looking Ahead

May 19 - STEAM Night @Discovery Museum for Gr. 3-5, 6-7:30pm
May 22 - Field Day
May 26 - NO SCHOOL, Memorial Day
May 30 - Family Fun Night
June 6 - PTA Meeting, 9:15am
June 10 - Early Dismissal @1:40pm
June 11 - LAST DAY!! Early Dismissal @1:40pm

**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!

We had a great Spring Book Fair at OHS this past week! Everyone loves a BOGO sale! Thank you again to all of our parent volunteers who helped run the fair, especially our committee chairs, Ashley Maguire, Christine Rollo, and Rhiannon Kelty.

We also had a couple of fun field trips this past week. Grade 2 enjoyed their Mill River trips and Grade 5 had a terrific day at the Fairfield Museum.

We continued to progress through the spring testing calendar: Our grade 3-5 Smarter Balanced Assessments (SBA) ran smoothly, thanks to Mrs. Day, Mrs. Morello, Mrs. Greer, and all of our wonderful teachers. The kids have been working hard, and we are half-way through the SBA portion of our spring testing calendar!

Lots of activity this week at OHS!

Spring Assessments: Grade 3-5 SBA will primarily be math, with a handful of ELA make-up tests. Please continue to make sure students get a good night’s sleep and eat a healthy breakfast each day so they are set up for success. In addition to the grade 3-5 state testing this week, we also start our end-of-year assessments in grades K-2 to gauge our students' progress.
It is Teacher Appreciation Week! The PTA has a terrific week planned to celebrate and appreciate the wonderful, hard-working staff at OHS.
Field Trips: Kindergarten is heading to the SHU Theatre on Tuesday and grade 4 is going to the Discovery Museum on Thursday.
We welcome our newest Otters on Wednesday and Thursday this week at Kindergarten Orientation!
On the other end, don’t forget there is a 5th grade Parent Orientation at Fairfield Woods Middle School on Wednesday night at 7:00 PM to inform you about our oldest students’ transition to the next level.
Thursday will be the Family Life Talks for our grade 5 students.
Finally, on Friday is the Bike Bus to school…I hope we get great weather!

Have a terrific week ahead! Take care.

Sean F. Smyth, Principal

Fast Pass to Volunteer and Donation Sign Ups

We are in the homestretch! We've have lots of fun activities planned to close out the school year - but we can't do it without your help! Please consider signing up for one or more of the upcoming volunteer or donation opportunities below to ensure our events run successfully. We really appreciate your support! You can find more information on these events throughout the Flash.

Teacher Appreciation Week - May 5-9 - Accepting Venmo donations
Bike Bus - May 9, before school - Sign up
Art Show - May 13 - Volunteer during school May 5-13 *HELP NEEDED THIS WEEK!*
WALK-A-THON - May 16, 10am - Volunteer, donate*VOLUNTEER SLOTS NOW OPEN!*
Field Day - May 22, during school - Volunteer
Family Fun Night - May 30, evening - Volunteer opportunities coming soon

PTA News - Gaga Pit, new Board, and survey results

We have lots of news to share from last week's PTA meeting:

New Gaga Pit: We are excited to share that our PTA Board and Membership voted to use our surplus funds this year to purchase a Gaga Pit. Principal Smyth has also received Central Office approval as well. So keep those WALK-A-THON donations coming in!!!

Book Fair sales: Thanks to all who shopped our Spring Book Fair. Sales were up over $1500 from the fall. Book Fair sales earn us Scholastic points that we use to purchase Scholastic Newsletters for classrooms and birthday books. Thank you to all who volunteered to staff the registers and to Rhiannon Kelty, Ashley Maguire and Christine Rollo for organizing the fair!
Survey Results: Overall, we received a lot of positive feedback on how we did this year. We got shout outs for our "transparency," and "communication." Some key highlights include:
- Majority of participants thought the price & frequency of our events was "Just Right"
- Majority of participants also thought the amount of our communications was "Just Right"
- Top 3 additions selected for next year and beyond: (1) School play; (2) More volunteer/service opportunities; (3) Bingo/Family Game Night
- We're still looking over the results, but thank you for sharing your feedback. We will look to incorporate some of the helpful suggestions for the remainder of this school year and next year.
Next year's PTA Board: We announced the following slate of returning members and nominees for the 2025-2026 OHS PTA Board. We will vote on and swear-in these members at the June 6 meeting.

Our final PTA meeting is June 6 at 9:15am. We will be voting on next year's budget and board members. We'll also be treated to breakfast provided by the OHS staff as a thank you for our collaboration throughout the year. We hope you'll join us!

Questions? Contact Melissa Miller

Volunteers needed to help prep for the Art Show

Next week's Art Show on May 13 will feature art from every student! We need volunteers during school hours this week to help prepare all of the designs for display, and next week to help put together the exhibit. Can you help? Click here to sign up!

Any questions? Contact Cammie Liberty or Whitney Gagliardi

Roll with the Bike Bus Friday!

Get ready to cycle into a day of fun and fitness! Our 2nd Annual Bike Bus is rolling again THIS FRIDAY May 9th, and we’re gearing up for a fantastic ride. It's the perfect way to combine school spirit with a healthy dose of outdoor adventure. Don’t let this chain reaction of fun pass you by! Sign up now to join the Bike Bus and remember that each child must be accompanied by a responsible adult rider. View the course map and times here.

Questions? Contact Rob Marshall

The OHS WALK-A-THON steps up on May 16

Are you ready for the WALK-A-THON? Here’s a quick checklist to keep you up to speed:

Set up your fundraising page (or complete the paper form) and start fundraising!
Use our new WALK-A-THON Training Program as a way to get active before the big day. Complete the WALK-A-THON Training Plan for a chance to win an ice cream gift card!
Have your assigned class color shirt ready for WALK-A-THON day!

NEW: Hype Squad and volunteers needed!

Support the students during the walk at a hype squad location, water station, or by chalking the walk or providing water. Click here to sign up!

Fundraise to support our PTA activities and a Gaga Pit!

The WALK-A-THON is one of our biggest PTA fundraising efforts at Osborn Hill. It funds programs like author visits, field trips, STEM & SEL presentations, field day, and this year, a Gaga Pit! Our fundraising goal is $22 per student. Thanks to your contributions we have reached 32% of our fundraising goal!

To help make this achievable we have created a webpage for every student to send out to friends and family if they wish. Donations can be made via check or online. Check out your child's fundraising page by following these directions:

Go to OHSPTA.com and log in
Click on 'My Account' on the top right corner
Select 'My Forms/Paperwork'
Find the fundraising campaign for your student to edit your page and start promoting!
Share your student’s link via Facebook, Twitter or Email

Find more info on fundraising here.

WALK-A-THON Training Program

We are entering the second week of the WALK-A-THON Training Program! The program is completely optional, but it is designed to be a fun activity to do with your children to get outside and get moving. It also encourages students to build endurance and celebrate the generous support of their family and friends.

Reminder, students who complete the program can enter into a raffle to receive an ice cream gift card! Fill our your progress chart for a chance at a prize!

Questions? Reach out to Lindsay Gaines or Francesca Meyer.

Spots still available for STEAM Night May 19

Calling all 3rd, 4th and 5th graders - OHS STEAM Night is coming to the Discovery Museum on May 19th from 6-7:30pm. The OHS PTA is subsidizing most of the cost for this event using the funds we normally allocate for STEAM night, and asking $5 per OHS attendee to make up for the difference. Registration closes on Friday - we have 6 spots remaining for Basically Bots and 4 spots in Engineered Egg Drop.

Click Here to Register

Volunteer for Field Day May 22

Kids will be jumping out of their beds to get to school on Field Day with all the fun stuff we've planned for them - from inflatables, a sponge relay, sack race... and did we mention inflatables already??

Volunteer to be part of the fun!

You guessed it...we need volunteers to help out at the stations and make sure the kids have the best time! If you can’t commit to the entire timeslot, consider signing up and splitting the shift with a friend!

Cick here to sign up

Any questions? Contact Michelle Cavanaugh or Morgan Marcinek

Order next year's school supplies now and save!

Want to get a head start on the next school year? 1st Day School Supplies has kits ready to purchase from each grade's supply list and will deliver directly to you. Easy! Click here to purchase.

Questions? Contact Rhiannon Kelty

Celebrating our Principal and Assistant Principal

We had two reasons to support our Principal and Assistant Principal this week! We celebrated Principal Appreciation Day Thursday by gifting Mr. Smyth and Ms. Day coffee from their favorite spots. We are grateful for their leadership!

We were thrilled to hear our own Mrs. Day was chosen as the CT PTA's Outstanding Elementary School Assistant Principal this year. She received her award this weekend. Join us in congratulating Mrs. Day on this well-deserved achievement!

Read the Flash contest! What did the PTA vote to use our surplus funds for? Email us today, May 5 by 5pm to be entered into a raffle for a free pass for Family Fun Night!

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

SUBJECT: OHS Weekly Flash | It's Teacher Appreciation Week! Ride with the Bike Bus Friday