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Enter to Learn. Go Forth to Serve.
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Thank you for a great Jog-A-Thon!
We are so grateful for the support of our sponsors, parents and community - we couldn't do it without you! Extra big thanks to our 2019 JAT chairs, Ashley & Nick Horner for all their time and dedication to our school and this event. We hope you will join us at 8:05am on Monday for the results assembly.
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Did you know that the postures we use during Mass have a deeper meaning? Lorelei Savaryn wrote an article on May 18, 2018 for
ChurchPOP that provides the symbolic meanings to sit, stand, and kneel at Mass.
- Sitting: Savaryn states that, "Sitting is a posture of listening...We sit, ready to hear and receive. We sit to listen."
- Standing: We stand during prayers; opening prayer, the Lord's Prayer, and Prayers of the Faithful. We stand in unison to affirm our beliefs during the Creed. Standing is also a sign of respect so we stand during the Gospel and during processions (the beginning and end of Mass).
- Kneeling: Genuflecting (bend and touch the knee to the floor) acknowledges that Jesus is in the tabernacle, in the Eucharist. Savaryn states that, "Kneeling is a posture of respect and adoration," so we kneel during the preparation and reception of the Eucharist.
The article finishes with, "As in all of the structures within Mass, and within Catholicism as a whole, there are so many tools to help move your heart, mind, and soul closer in relationship with Jesus. But you can't just go through the motion."
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JOG-A-THON PICTURES
Thanks to everyone who took pictures at our Jog-A-Thon- it's so much fun to see all the great shots of our students! If you have pictures to share, please use Vidigami to upload them to the Jog-A-Thon folder. (2019/20 --> Events & Every Day Life --> Jog-A-Thon)
All parents have access to Vidigami and can view pictures uploaded by everyone else in the system. If you need help to set up your Vidigami account, please refer to the instructions at the bottom of this email.
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FALL PARENT TEACHER CONFERENCES
O'Hara's Fall Parent/Teacher Conferences will be held October 30 - November 1. Conference sign ups will be done online; the registration link and instructions were emailed out to our families on Friday.
The deadline to schedule a conference is noon on Tuesday, October 29. Parents wishing to schedule conferences must use the online scheduler to reserve times. Drop-in conferences cannot be accommodated.
Please CLICK HERE for the sign up link and to review instructions
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ALL SAINTS DAY INVITATION FOR FAMILIES
This year for the feast of All Saints (Fri., Nov. 1), St. Mary Catholic Church is inviting families to come with their children to the 5:30pm (English) Mass or the 7pm (Spanish) Mass. Children can come dressed up as a Saint, and walk in the procession at the beginning of Mass in celebration of all the Saints. Please contact St. Mary with any questions: (541) 342-1139.
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EXCHANGE STUDENT HOST FAMILIES NEEDED
Again, this year, O'Hara Catholic School proudly welcomes Francis Bacon School to be a part of our Catholic and educational community. This winter (February 17 through March 1), 8 students (5 boys and 3 girls) from Mexico will be attending O'Hara Catholic School with a desire to master English. Caring and committed host families form the backbone of our international student program. Sixth grade host families are preferred, but the opportunity is open to all Middle School families.
Would you and your family prayerfully consider opening your hearts and home to an international student this school year?
Host a
student from Francis Bacon School
and impact their world and yours!
Families who host an exchange student earn 10 FIP hours. For more information contact
Rich Hernandez.
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CHRISTMAS CARD ART PROJECT OPPORTUNITY FOR STUDENTS
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UNIFORM SHORTS REMINDER
Students in grades Preschool - 5 may wear shorts until October 30; beginning on Monday, November 4, shorts are not permitted. Students are permitted to wear shorts again when school resumes after Spring Break. Middle School students may wear shorts year round.
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PUMPKIN CARNIVAL & COSTUME STRUT
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Please join us on Friday, October 25, from 4:00-7:00pm for O'Hara's Pumpkin Carnival! It's a fun-filled night of carnival games and candy prizes for the whole family.
Dare to walk through the 8th grade Haunted Hall. Try your luck at winning live goldfish.
Spend time creating your own Halloween decorations! Walk the Cake Walk to win a yummy baked good item. VOTE! for a free dress day for your grade.
Concessions will be sold in the cafeteria: Pizza, drinks & snacks will be sold.
Each game costs one ticket to play.
Buy your game tickets in the front lobby on the night of the carnival.
10 tickets - $5
20 tickets - $10
40 tickets - $20
Each family is asked to bring a bag of treats or trinkets for the carnival. Please drop your donation off to the front office by October 24.
Each family is asked to bring a store-bought bakery item for the Cake Walk.
Please drop your item off at the front office on Thursday, October 24 or Friday, October 25.
Volunteers Needed!
Many volunteers are needed to help with this fun night for our students. If you can help, please visit the links below to sign up for specific times/duties. Please contact
Teresa Gray
with any questions.
Class Booth Signups (during the carnival):
Classroom Booth Set-Up (morning of carnival):
Pumpkin Carnival General Set Up:
Clean-Up:
THANK YOU
for making this a fun-filled night for our kids!!
Teresa Gray & Christa Kirkpatrick-Junge
Pumpkin Carnival Co-Chairs
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HALLOWEEN COSTUME GUIDELINES
-No devils, gothic characters, anything immodest, violent or unkind toward others.
-No cross-dressing.
-Sleeveless costumes require an undershirt with sleeves.
-No blood or weapons as part of any costume.
-Masks are allowed during the Costume Strut but must be taken off for the remainder of the day.
-Masks should not be scary or violent.
-No costumes of a political nature. (This means no President, previous Presidential candidates, or former President costumes)
Things to note:
-Students who are not in compliance with our guidelines will not be permitted to participate in the costume strut and will be asked to change into uniform.
-These guidelines apply at our Costume Strut as well as at the Pumpkin Carnival.
-Please note that these guidelines apply to all students, parents, and guests who attend our Pumpkin Carnival as well.
We want our Halloween festivities to be a fun celebration for all our students. Thank you for partnering with the school to ensure success.
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VETERANS DAY ASSEMBLY - MONDAY, NOV. 4
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INVITATIONS
Postcard invitations to our Veterans Day assembly were mailed out to all our families on Friday. We encourage you to extend the invitation to any grandparent, family member, special family friend or neighbor who has served, or is currently serving, our country.
Please note: the assembly is not open to the general public, so we ask that the invitation not be posted on social media feeds.
Thank you to O'Hara students & siblings Luke & Zoƫ Manning for our postcard artwork this year!
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PLEASE SEND PICTURES! 
As part of our Veterans Day Assembly again this year, we would like to collect photos of O'Hara parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc. that have served our country. We will use the photos to make a slide show. We would prefer photos of veterans pictured in uniform.
If you would like to participate, please email your photo(s) to
mmeador@oharaschool.org
and include the following information: Name, Branch of Service, Rank, Dates served and also the connection to O'Hara (for example, John Smith's grandfather). The deadline to submit pictures & info is Monday, October 28. Thank you!
*If you sent pictures over the last few years, no need to send them again, we will include all the pictures from previous years. If you'd like to send updated information or a new picture, please feel free to do so.*
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SCOREBOARD OPERATOR AND SCOREKEEPER NEEDED
We are in need of volunteers to run the scoreboard and be the scorekeeper at home middle school basketball games. Time spent volunteering counts for FIP hours, and no prior experience or ties to the team are necessary. Games begin at 4:30pm, and usually wrap up by 7:30pm. Contact our athletic director,
Mr. Milliron,
if you are interested or want to learn more.
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PUMPKIN CARNIVAL VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
Click
HERE to learn more.
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LINKS: 
Reminder for students with the Annual Plan:
Please remember, the default meal selection for your student is the hot lunch. If your student would like the Gluten-free, Dairy-free, Vegetarian option, then that option must be selected in the online ordering system at least 2 weeks prior to the meal date.
If your student would like to select the Salad Bar and/or the Hoagie Sandwich option instead of, or in addition to, the Hot Lunch, that selection must be made in the online ordering system by 9am.
Volunteers are needed to help in the kitchen, please contact
Tracy if you can help.
Hot Lunch Contact:
Tracy Whalen, Kitchen Manager (541-485-5291 x 303). Email is the best way to contact Tracy.
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STAR TESTING RESULTS
O'Hara students in grades K-8 have completed the first of four rounds of STAR testing. These test results will be handed out at fall conferences. Parents will receive another report after the final testing window is complete at the end of the school year. Teachers will be using the results from these exams to help identify areas of strength and continued areas for growth.
Please disregard the parent signature line at the bottom of the report, you do not need to sign it or return it to the school. If you have any questions about how to interpret the score reports please contact
Mr. Milliron.
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BOX TOPS FOR EDUCATION - NOW ONLINE! 
If you haven't heard already, Box Tops for Education is going digital. It is so easy to make the change. Just download the Box Tops app to your smart phone and register O'Hara as the school you want to receive the money. Then, keep your receipts after shopping and scan those receipts with your phone using the app. It will automatically count any box tops products that you purchased and give that money to the school. That's it!! As a bonus, while they are in the transition to using only the app, please continue to clip box tops when you see them and bring them in to school. We can "double dip" and get credit for the clipped tops and the tops you scan as well. That's double the money for one box top! They are a great way to earn money for O'Hara. Check out
this link for a complete list of products that carry box tops, and any other information that you may need. If you have any questions, please contact the school's Box Tops coordinator: Meredith White: 541-513-1568.
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O'HARA'S 2019-20 GOSPEL THEME SONG
This year's Gospel Theme Song is
Build My Life, by Pat Barrett. O'Hara students are learning to sing and sign the song. We will be making a video of our students singing the song in sign language and sending it to St. Rita's Catholic School in Cincinnati, Ohio. St. Rita's is a school for students who are deaf. Mrs. Jones' son is serving the Lord as a Catholic Missionary with NET Ministries and will be working with students at St. Rita's throughout the year. We thought it would be a wonderful way to reach out to another school and make a connection, serve them as our Gospel theme calls us to do.
Below is a link to the Gospel theme song, as well as a video that teaches the sign language.
Please encourage your students to practice the song!
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2019-20 VOLUNTEER REQUIREMENTS: CASE TRAINING
All volunteers have requirements to fulfill before being eligible to volunteer at school this year. Per the Archdiocese, online updates to your volunteer training are not available this year, and anyone who wishes to volunteer must attend one of the in-person training sessions. The dates and times of the upcoming sessions are listed below, and further instructions are on our website, please
click here to learn more. Please contact
Stacie Seaver with any questions.
October 22 - 1:15pm - O'Hara Library
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ST. MARY CATHOLIC CHURCH IS HIRING
St. Mary Parish has a job opening for a full-time Administrative Assistant / Communications individual to join their office staff. They are looking for an organized, energetic individual who is a self starter, with strong computer, communication (including social media) and secretarial skills. This person should be active in the Catholic faith and have a deep understanding and love of the faith. Bilingual a plus. Click
HERE to view the complete job description & duties. Contact the church office at 541-342-1139 or email
Rose Burke with any questions.
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COMMUNICATIONS INFO FOR OUR FAMILIES
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NEW CONTACT INFO?
If your family has a new address, phone number, email address, etc., please make sure to update us with your new information. O'Hara's 2019-20 School Directory will be going to print soon, and we want to make sure we have everyone's information correct! Please fill out
this form
, or email
Barb Whitford
if you have updates to share with us.
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O'HARA WEBSITE UPDATE
O'Hara uses a password protected portion on our website for important resources for our families. The password is: HOUSE
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EMAIL COMMUNICATIONS FROM O'HARA
Please make sure to add the following email addresses to your safe senders list and/or your address book to ensure you receive O'Hara's weekly email bulletins (sent each Sunday afternoon during the school year) and other important updates:
Parents wishing to add an additional email address (work, grandparent, nanny, etc.) to our weekly bulletin distribution list should email that request to:
communications@oharaschool.org.
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O'HARA'S APP FOR SMARTPHONES
O'Hara also uses our app to send push notification reminders for special dress days, early release days, Mass days and more. We request that all parents download our app.
O'Hara's app is available
HERE, or by searching the app store for: web4u ocs
The app includes quick access to the following:
School Calendar
Student Lunchtime Schedule
Dress Code
Weekly Bulletins
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SCHOOL CALENDAR
O'Hara uses a Google calendar as our school calendar. Parents can access this calendar via our app and our website. It can also be added to iPhone calendars. Please visit our
school calendar page on our website for the link to add the calendar to your phone.
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CONTACT INFO FOR O'HARA STAFF
All O'Hara staff members have a school email address. Email addresses are set as follows: John Smith = jsmith@oharaschool.org
There are a few exceptions to note:
Click
HERE for a complete staff listing.
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ONLINE PICTURE MANAGEMENT
New this year, O'Hara is using
Vidigami- an online picture management tool designed specifically for schools. W
e will be using their secure media management system as the place for our school photos. This online system allows for faster and more efficient picture uploads and organization for both parents and staff. In addition, Vidigami offers an app (available in the app store) so users can upload pictures directly from their smartphones.
The use of Vidigami replaces submitting pictures to our pictures@oharaschool.org email address.
In September, we launched the parent side of our system and all parents received an email (from Vidigami) with instructions for setting up their account. If you enrolled after September, or need your invitation email resent, please contact Amber Ferrari.
Vidigami is the only private and secure system designed exclusively for school communities to store and share photos and videos. Made available to users in the O'Hara community via invitation only, Vidigami closely follows and adjusts to changes in state, federal and international data privacy laws to ensure privacy for our families and community.
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"As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."
-
Joshua 24:15
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