Enter to Learn. Go Forth to Serve.
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We are so grateful to our O'Hara community, once again, for the tremendous support and generosity shown to our school. This year's annual auction event,
HAVANA NIGHTS
, was a successful and fun night! Thank you to our auction chairs,
Shelley and Mark Giustina
, for their dedication and leadership in planning & executing a wonderful night of generosity and love for our school. Thank you to all the committee chairs, countless volunteers and donors!
Thank you to O'Hara parents, Dustin & Erin Whitaker, of
Down the Beanstalk Productions
, for producing our wonderful auction video! It is always a highlight of the night to watch our kids on the big screen! If you missed it last night, or want to watch again,
click here
.
We are thrilled to share with you that our appeals brought in a combined $135,900.
- Scholarships: $62,700
- Capital Campaign: $73,200
The love and support this community has for O'Hara Catholic School was shown last night through the generosity of all who attended and raised their bid cards. We are eternally grateful and so very blessed!
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This week includes Valentine’s Day, the feast day of Saint Valentine. Many associate Valentine’s Day with hearts, chocolate, and love but many don’t know much about the actual saint. Here are ten fast facts:
1. He was a priest
2. He deified the orders of Emperor Claudius II
3. He was arrested and tortured
4. He worked miracles
5. He was beheaded
6. His remains are found in several parts of the world
7. He is the patron saint of love, happy marriages, against fainting, beekeepers, plague, and epilepsy
8. His feast day is on the date of his death
9. He is represented in pictures with birds and roses
10. Brazilian scientists have created an image of his face using a model of his skull
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2020 RAISE THE PADDLE APPEALS
Missed the appeals last night? If you would like to donate to one of our 2020 Raise Your Paddle categories (Scholarships, Capital Campaign), our
donation page
is open for a few more weeks. Thank you!
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REPORT CARDS
Report cards for all students will be emailed to parents on Monday, February 10.
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WELCOME, NEW STUDENTS!
Please help us welcome Tatum & Tucker Hanscom to O'Hara - the boys will begin tomorrow morning!
Please update your directory as follows:
Tatum Hanscom (KB)
Tucker Hanscom (3B)
Scott & Angelique Hanscom
5578 Edna Way.
Eugene, OR 97402
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WIZARD OF OZ: SPONSORSHIPS NOW AVAILABLE
Our 2020 drama production, The Wizard of Oz, is gearing up! Putting on such an event takes dedication from our production staff, cast members, and parent volunteers. We are asking our community for their support in sponsoring this thriving program. Click
HERE
to view our sponsorship opportunities for the 2020 production. The funds raised through sponsorships will go directly to the production of our performances and will help cover the performance rights, production costs, props, instruction time and programs. Please contact
Michelle Meador
with any questions.
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O'HARA TRACK & FIELD - SPORTS PHYSICAL REQUIREMENT
6th, 7th, and 8th grade students can participate on the St. Paul/O'Hara Track Team in the Spring. If your child is interested in participating, we suggest that you make an appointment for a physical exam in the near future to avoid scheduling issues; students are not permitted to take part in practices or meets without a valid physical on file in the office. Physicals are considered up-to-date for 2 years. Please email
Barb Whitford
if you'd like to confirm a physical on file.
Click to download a Sports Physical Form
.
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STUDENT INFO SESSIONS
Students interested in learning more about Marist are invited to attend an informal Q-and-A with Marist students in the O'Hara library. Sessions will be held at the dates/times listed below. Snacks will be provided.
Tuesday, March 3, 3:15 - 4pm
Tuesday, April 21, 3:15 - 4pm
MARIST IS ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS
·
Each year, Marist distributes $1M in tuition assistance and scholarships, including the Vicariate Scholarship for practicing Catholic families. More information is available at
marisths.org/tuition-and-fees.html
.
The deadline to apply for tuition assistance and scholarships is February 10, 2020.
MARIST IS HIRING
Marist has an open job posting for an Advancement Director. More information is on the
Marist website.
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VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES & REQUIREMENTS
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VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
Click
HERE
to view our current volunteer opportunities.
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2019-2020 REQUIREMENTS
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.
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LINKS:
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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TIPS FROM THE MATH & READING ROOM
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Topic: The Childhood Collective
Hello parents! I'm including a note and links below for an online parenting support group that I follow. One of the child psychologists in the group is a graduate from the U of O School Psychology department and is also a former coworker of mine. I want to note that although their focus is on supporting parents of children with a learning delay, their tips are frequently helpful for all parents and I find their advice personally helpful as a parent and as a teacher. Have a great week!
- Angie Relling
The Childhood Collective
is a team of 3 moms (two child psychologists and one speech language pathologist) working to empower parents raising exceptional children. Through our work in private practice, we saw a great need for parents to more easily access research-backed parenting tips and tools, particularly those parents raising kids with ADHD, autism, learning disorders, and speech/language delays.
We offer free resources via our website, weekly blog posts, and social media (Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest). Additionally, we are in the process of developing online courses to support parents, with plans for our first course to be released mid-2020.
Totally free to parents, we have three comprehensive guides on our website:
Homework Helper - a step-by-step guide to help children create positive study habits
Relaxation for Kids - tools and tips to teach children to relax their bodies
Guide to School Testing - what testing is done in the (public) school and how to work with the school when concerns arise
Parents can sign up for our Free Resources to receive weekly updates, access to our free guides, blog posts, and first access to updates on our upcoming courses.
Instagram: @thechildhoodcollective
Facebook: /childhoodcollective
Pinterest: @thechildhoodcollective
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STAFFING UPDATES FOR 2020-21
We want to update our O'Hara community on a few staffing changes that will be happening in the 2020-21 school year.
Mrs. April Demers
is retiring at the end of this school year. She has written a letter to share with the O'Hara community,
click here to read her message
. Thank you, Mrs. Demers, for all the wonderful years, we wish you nothing but the best in retirement!
Ms. Julia Cieslak
will not be returning next year. She became engaged over Christmas break, and will be getting married and relocating in December 2020. We are grateful that she plans to be available to substitute for us in the fall. Congratulations, Ms. Cieslak, on your happy news!
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LOCAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR STUDENTS
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KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS VALENTINE DINNER DANCE
The Knights of Columbus Council 1430 are hosting their annual pro-life dinner on Friday, February 14 at St. Mary Parish Center.
Social - 5:30pm
Dinner - 6:30pm
Dancing - 7:30pm
$30 per person, dinner and refreshments provided
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O'HARA CLUBS
School clubs offer the opportunity for students to explore special interests and are run by parent volunteers after school. A club can focus on just about any topic that kids might have an interest in - Legos, math games, chess, world cultures and languages, etc... are just a few of countless possibilities. If you are interested in leading or co-leading a club at O'Hara, please contact
Mr. Milliron
. Time spent volunteering will count toward FIP hours.
A list of clubs to be offered will be announced in the Bulletin as soon as club leaders are in place, and signups will follow soon after. The first round of clubs will begin in early February and end prior to Spring Break. Additional clubs may be offered after Spring Break and will be announced later this spring.
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INCLEMENT WEATHER DECISION AND NOTIFICATION PROCESS
If it becomes necessary to cancel or delay the start of school due to inclement weather, O'Hara families will be notified in the morning via an automated phone message. The information will also be posted on our
Facebook
&
Instagram
pages.
O'Hara typically follows Eugene School District 4J's decisions regarding weather delays and closures. However, we also take into consideration the larger geographic area that our O'Hara families live in and are mindful of what those travel conditions might include. The safety of our families and staff is our primary concern. A decision regarding school delay or closure will normally be announced by 6:30am in the morning.
Please note, in the event of questionable weather, we expect and encourage each family to make their own decision for safe travel based on location and circumstances. If your students will not be to school on time, please email
attendance@oharaschool.org
, or call the office.
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COMMUNICATION 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. Please fill out
this form
, or email
Barb Whitford
if you have updates to share with us.
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O'HARA WEBSITE
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:
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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. We 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.
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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O'Hara Catholic School
715 West 18th Avenue
Eugene, Oregon 97402
541.485.5291
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