Originally delivered on 9/8/2025 6:00 am

SUBJECT: OHS Weekly Flash: Picture Day TODAY | Open House Wednesday!

**Weekly Flash**

September 8, 2025

IN THIS NEWSLETTER:

  • Mark Your Calendars: September / October Important Dates
  • A Note from Principal Smyth
  • Important Reminders from Mrs. Budlowski
  • Picture Day TODAY! Place Your Orders
  • PTA Registration is OPEN
  • PTA: Meeting and Board Updates
  • Ready, Set, RUN! Run Club Starts 9/19
  • Grades K-2: Author Visit Coming Up. Order Your Books
  • SAVE-THE-DATE for our Harvest Jam! Raffle Prizes NEEDED
  • Mark Your Calendars for the 2026 Variety Show!
September

September 8 - Say Cheese! Picture Day

September 10 - Open House Grades K-5, 6:30pm-7:30pm. *Spiritwear Pop-Up during Open House*

September 11 - Variety Show/Talent Show Zoom Info Session at 8pm

September 23 - OFF, Rosh Hashanah 

September 26 - Spirit Day

September 29 - Harvest Faire Raffle tickets available for purchase online 

September 30th - Author Visit: Andrew Ginsburg Grades K-2

October

October 2 - OFF, Yom Kippur

October 9 - PTA Meeting 7:00PM in APR

October 10 - Pink Day – Donate $1 to wear Pink

October 14-16 - Book Fair 

October 15 - Early Dismissal, Conferences

October 17 - 2025 Harvest Jam and Raffle 

October 21 - Early Dismissal, Conferences

October 23 - Early Dismissal, Conferences 

October 24 - Spirit Day

October 31 - Halloween Parades

**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 the 2nd week of school went well for your children! Students are settling into classroom routines, and teachers are gradually increasing the academic expectations. Students seem very engaged and happy overall!


Thank you to all of the parents who attended Friday’s PTA meeting. We had a great turnout, which was wonderful! The more parents who are actively engaged, the better our school. Thank you to Kate Fierman, our new PTA President, and to all of the Board Members and Committee Chairs, who regularly give their time in service to OHS. If you have not yet gotten involved or volunteered, please consider it. The more the merrier, and “many hands make light work!”


We have a busy week coming up!  Please see below for important information:


  • Monday, September 8th is Picture Day at OHS.

  • The fall district-wide NWEA testing window begins Monday, September 8th and runs through Friday, September 19. These are computer-based assessments that help us to measure student growth over time in the areas of literacy and math. Grades K-5 will take the NWEA math assessments, and in addition, grades 4 and 5 will take the NWEA literacy assessments. Here are some details about the assessment: 

    • Testing Locations and Equipment

-Grades K-2: Students will take the test in our computer lab. 

-Grades 3-5: Students will take the test on their Chromebooks in class.

  • Preparation for Testing

-There is no specific preparation required for the test. However, we kindly ask that you ensure your child gets a good night's sleep and a healthy breakfast on the morning of the test.

  • Wednesday evening is our Open House. There will be classroom presentations in every classroom beginning at 6:30 PM and 7:05 PM. You can attend either session.


I look forward to seeing everyone at Open House. I hope you and your children all have a wonderful week!  Take care.


Sean F. Smyth, Principal

Lost & Found

Please remember to label all you child’s items you send to school with initials or full name (stickers). This includes lunch boxes, reusable food containers, ice packs, water bottles, hats, sweatshirts, jackets, instruments, instrument books, etc. This enables the office to return it to them. We already have a bunch of items in the lost and found bin that have no names on them. Have your child check it if they lost something.


Need labels? Buying from Name Bubbles supports the PTA

Order Name Bubbles washable labels HERE and a portion of the proceeds will go to the PTA.

SDM Updates

As a reminder, if your child will be tardy or dismissed early or out absent, please be sure to enter it into school dismissal manager so the office and the classroom teacher is notified. Thank you!

Picture Day TODAY

Smile! Picture Day is TODAY. Make sure you have ordered your school portraits:

  • Visit www.coffeepond.com and click on the big red button "Order School Portraits & shop our exclusive products".
  • From the drop-down menu, select the city and state, and school name.
  • Enter your child's info (full name should appear as in the school's registry)
  • Select your packages and add them to your cart.
  • More than one kid? Click "Order for Another Child" and repeat steps above.
  • Once you added your billing info, click "Submit Order"
PTA Registration is OPEN!

Join now before signups for activities begin!

https://www.ohspta.com/

Questions? Please contact Vicky Siewert (vbarbadoro@gmail.com)

Thank you to all who attended the first PTA meeting. We had a great turnout! If you were unable to attend the meeting, you can find the minutes on our website. Thank you Chrissy Mink for note taking. Our next meeting is October 9th at 7pm. Food Service Manager Eric Nickelson will be speaking.


Our PTA Board is looking for parent to help us manage our PTA web site. Dads, this could be one of you, too! The role is fairly flexible, and a lot of the work can be done at time that is most convenient to you. Ideal for someone who is somewhat tech savvy, however the web site is pretty straightforward, you will be trained and has a great help desk. If this sounds like you, please email Melissa Miller (melissacmiller8@gmail.com)! 


Reminder that if you would like anything put in the flash to email Melissa Mcgowan, melissmcgow@gmail.com by the Friday prior. A huge shout out to her for all the work she has been doing to keep the community up to date! The Flash is full of information, so please make sure to read it!


Kate Fierman, PTA President

Ready, Set, RUN!

Osborn Hill Run Club will kick off the fall season on Friday 9/19 at 8:00am! We'll meet each Friday (weather permitting) on the back blacktop by the gym through November 21st.

What happens at Run Club?

We do a quick warm up and then the kids will run (or walk) on the back field. We will finish with a cool down and stretch and be ready for the first bell at 8:45. No running experience necessary. Our Run Club is all about getting our kids outside, moving their bodies and having fun. Each week our runners will collect motivational tokens for their participation, and our mileage club card will track their progress throughout the season.


How do I sign up?

Toparticipate in Run Club you MUST have a current family PTA membership. You must also fill out the Run Club registration form linked here. If you would like to ensure that your child has their mileage club card by the first session, please sign up ASAP!


Important Notes

There is no access to the school during Run Club. All runners are expected to stay on the back field with the group during Run Club. If your child is comfortable and fully engaged in the program, you may drop off. If you stay during Run Club, please do not park in the back or side parking lots. Parents are encouraged to participate if they would like to join. A change of shoes and socks is recommended on Run Club days.  

Grades K-2: Author Visit is Coming Soon!

Osborn Hill School will be hosting Andrew Ginsburg, author of Critter Caravan, on September 30th. This author visit is for grades K-2. 

All students are welcome to order Andrew Ginsburg’s book using THIS LINK. Please note, the website says "pickup at store" but books will be delivered to Osborn Hill School. Orders close on Friday, 9/12 at 8pm. 


Please select "store pickup", (you will NOT need to go to the store), and include your child's first name, grade level, and classroom teacher in the "Notes" when ordering.

Save the Date for the 2025 Harvest Jam!

Get excited...the Harvest Faire is getting a rebrand! 

Join us on the back lawn of OHS on Friday, October 17 (rain date: Saturday, Oct 18) from 4:30pm - 8pm for the 2025 Harvest Jam! The event  will include inflatable games, face painting, carnival-style games, an epic dance party, the famous OHS cake walk, pizza by the pie, a taco truck, popcorn, candy and our first ever OHS movie night! Think Fairfield’s Sandjam…but at OHS! We will have a huge inflatable movie screen for viewing on the back lawn. There will also be some incredible prizes to win in the annual raffle during the event. This is our biggest fundraiser of the year, with proceeds going towards author visits, social-emotional learning initiatives, STEAM programming, field trips, essential classroom supplies and more. 


Ticket Information 

Tickets are only $12 per person and will go on sale September 15th, so keep an eye out for when the link goes live! The base ticket will get you access to a bunch of games, (including Cornhole, our brand-new Gaga Pit, plus giant versions of Connect 4, Yard Pong and Jenga), as well as a huge dance party and the movie. You will be able to purchase “JamBucks” that will get you access to inflatable sports games (like Pop-a-shot, baseball and football), face painting, the cake walk, and more! You will be able to purchase pizzas, order from a local taco truck, and also buy one of our fun “movie boxes” that will have all the snacks you need for the perfect movie night. 


Come for the dance party...stay for the movie! 

We need your help! Let us know what songs you want to rock out to and what movie you want to see. Once we narrow down the movie to three choices, the kids will get to vote for the winning selection, which will be revealed at the event! 


Thank you to our sponsors! 

A special shout out to our amazing sponsors: O’Dell Group, Children’s Art Classes CAC, Blue+Berries and Smile Ark Pediatric Dentistry, UrbanTaqo, and Shoshana Snyder. Please show some love to these amazing local businesses! 


Questions? Email the Harvest Jam committee (Carolyn Wagenseller, Kristen Dufour, Christine Rollo and Tina Cerbone) at ohsharvestjam@gmail.com

Harvest Jam Raffle Prizes!

Do you work at a local business? Own one? Have access to tickets to a sports team? Do you have a favorite restaurant, salon or boutique you shamelessly hype up on the regular?  Would you be willing to ask if they'd donate a gift card or item for the raffle? We'd especially love to have some OHS family businesses represented. It's a great opportunity for community wide marketing and exposure. We need your ideas on or before Friday, September 19th and the physical item should be ready by Friday, October 10th. 


Reach out to Ali Galperin & Eileen Ainsworth with any ideas or questions. 

2026 Variety Show

The 2026 OHS Variety Show will be on Saturday, January 24th at 2pm at the Klein Auditorium in Bridgeport.


**Stay Tuned for a Special Flash coming this week with all information you need to know about taking part in the Variety Show!**

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