News in a Nutshell #1

Welcome! Home & School Association (H&S) is the school’s parent volunteer organization which raises money and organizes most school activities. Over the years, we have purchased most of the playground equipment, bookcases, computers, iPads, gym equipment including an updated sound system, our outdoor classroom as well as a Gaga Pit for our playground which has been a BIG hit with our students! Through various fundraisers, including a big Fun Run event (scheduled for October 18th, 2024), H&S can allocate its yearly funds to maintain 15+ committees and plan exciting events for our students.

If you have never been to a Home & School Meeting before, we would love to have you join us at our first meeting on Tuesday, September 3rd in the Oak Ridge library at 7 PM! Come hear about all of the exciting things we have planned for the school year! All parents/guardians are welcome to attend.

If you want to stay up to date on all things Oak Ridge Home & School, check out our new Google site! We hope that it will be a great resource to help keep you informed about all of the activities and events happening this year!

The Home & School Board would like to invite all students and their families to attend the Back to School Bash on Friday, September 6th from 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM on the Oak Ridge playground. Bring a blanket, lawn chairs, water bottles, and reconnect with old friends or meet new ones as we jump into the new school year. Soft pretzels, pizza, snacks, and water will be provided. KONA Ice will be available for purchase and they accept cash, card, Apple Pay, and Google Pay. Want to help lend a hand with handing out pretzels, snacks, or other tasks? Sign up to volunteer here - alumni helpers are also welcome! Home & School will have a spirit wear merch table (yes, we have tons of Oakies!) and will sell tickets for a 50/50 raffle fundraiser (cash only)!

We look forward to seeing you there!

Do you want to be included in the Directory? Would you like to help with Activities? Are you eager to volunteer in the classroom or help with Homeroom events? Don't be left out of this year's Directory! Click here to complete the Directory and Volunteer DASHboard!

Homeroom Leads will be selected and communicated in September and you will hear from them by the beginning of October for the Halloween social.

This is the year for our Fun Run Fundraiser! Every 2 years, the Home & School does this fundraiser to support our budget that is used towards regular expenses as well as targeted projects. The Fun Run occurs during the school day and is planned for Friday, October 18 (with a rain date of October 25). Want to get involved? Make sure you sign up when you complete the Directory and Volunteer DASHboard by September 13th!

We are excited to host Afterschool Rec for 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade this Fall. Events will occur throughout the month of October (rain or shine), immediately after school ending at 4:30PM. Afterschool Rec is a combination of physical and other fun activities to appeal to all interests. Sign-up information will come home with your student(s) and will be posted here in the weeks ahead of each event. You must sign-up your child in order to attend. Dates are listed below. Mark your calendar!

• 2nd Grade: Thursday, October 10th
• 3rd Grade: Thursday, October 17th
• 4th Grade: Thursday, October 24th
• 5th Grade: Tuesday, October 22nd

Jump rope club is an opportunity for children to jump rope during their lunch recess on Fridays. Look for the jump rope club schedule to be posted to the Home and School Facebook page mid-September.

Did you take OAKIE with you on vacation? Send in your pictures by September 20, 2024. They will be displayed all year long. You will have a chance to win a $25 gift card. Printed photos only 5x7 with name/s on back of photo. We can't wait to see where OAKIE went this summer!

The fall Spirit Wear store is now open! Please click here to visit the store link. Orders will be accepted through September 15 and take approximately 4 weeks to arrive back at Oak Ridge and be distributed to your student. This sale is the perfect time to order ahead for holiday gifts!

Also, please be sure to stop by the spirit wear table at our Back to School Bash. We have plenty of Oakies, along with some other Oak Ridge goodies for purchase.

Our Yearbook coordinator, Ashley Bilotti, is always looking for your photos to enhance the yearbook. Please send in your photos from the first day of school and from September events like the Back to School Bash to orelemyearbook@gmail.com. A big shout-out to Ashley for an amazing yearbook last year (see the picture of the cover below)!! Your photos help make it great, so start sending them early and often!

The new Box Tops year started in July and we have already earned over $275 for Oak Ridge Elementary! Money earned will help Oak Ridge purchase trees for the playground. There are lots of bonus offers in the app. Some scanned receipts can earn up to $22!

If you haven’t already signed up for the Box Tops app, please sign up today. By using the referral code, Oak Ridge will earn an additional $5. Please follow the Oak Ridge Elementary Home and School page for Box Tops updates and information on exciting upcoming contests.

https://www.boxtops4education.com/s/get-the-app (or click the icon here!)

Referral Code: O4V40H9H

Thanks again for your support!

We are starting the year supporting our teachers, specials, and principal by gifting $6,025 in allotments that go towards extra supplies for their use in the classroom.

Budgets for 2024-2025 are being reviewed by committee chairs to ensure that we have another great year providing many activities for students. We didn’t have a big fundraiser last year so we are really depending on knocking it out of the park with our Fun Run so we can keep doing all these wonderful things for the students and the school. This year our big goal is to gift the school with a shed to store sports and outdoor equipment! Please look for opportunities to help us with Fun Run. We also ask if you have fundraising ideas to please reach out to our fundraising committee at oakRidgeFundraising465@yahoo.com. We are always interested in fun new ways to raise funds!

To stay engaged between newsletters, join our Oak Ridge Elementary Home & School Association group on Facebook! This is a great place to learn about what's coming up next and to ask questions between meetings.

Past President: Jill Hewlett

President: Laura Lawson

Vice-President: Kristina Kilty

Treasurer: Jessica Moehrle-Focht

Secretary: Rachel Holler

We are so excited to meet you at one of our events this year!

To help or if you have questions, please email: oakridgehomeandschool@gmail.com

Tuesday, September 3 - Home and School Meeting at 7 PM in the Oak Ridge library

Friday, September 6 - Back to School Bash at 5:30 PM (Rain Date: September 13)

Friday, September 13 - Deadline to complete the Directory and Volunteer DASHboard

Tuesday, October 1 - Home and School Meeting at 7 PM in the Oak Ridge library

Thursday, October 10 - 2nd Grade Afterschool Rec

Thursday, October 17 - 3rd Grade Afterschool Rec

Friday, October 18 - Fun Run!

Tuesday, October 22 - 5th Grade Afterschool Rec

Thursday, October 24 - 4th Grade Afterschool Rec