Enter to Learn. Go Forth to Serve.
Saturday, May 2, 2020
Next week is Teacher Appreciation Week! We want to take this opportunity to say THANK YOU to our O'Hara teachers! You've all tackled our new reality with so much heart and dedication to our students, and we are so blessed by each of you!

NEW UPDATES & INFORMATION FOR OUR FAMILIES
MAY IS THE MONTH OF MARY

May is a special month as it is dedicated to Mary. As we also honor all mothers during this month, we honor Mary and her holiness. 

Fr. Ron created a special video for our community explaining why this month is so significant. Fr. Ron mentions in his video that there are two prayers that Pope Francis has asked us to pray during the month of May. You can find those prayers at this link . If we were together at school, we would all be saying a decade of the Rosary together every morning. Here is a link to help remind us all how to pray the Rosary. 
PICK UP ITEMS AT O'HARA: MAY 7-9

We have created a plan for our families to distribute materials that are needed to finish off this school year, as well as return items from lockers and desks, etc., to our students.

Next week, May 7-9, we will have scheduled times for each family to do a “drive by” pick up of your students' items. Please see the schedule below with windows set aside each day and staggered by first initial of your last name.

Safety measures for pick up: When arriving at school, please form a single car line and remain in your vehicle at all times. We ask that you pop your trunk or open a window to an unoccupied seat where we will be able to place the items in your car for you with no contact.

NOTE: Our Preschool and PreKindergarten teachers and instructional assistants will be delivering items to their students' homes. If you have a student in Preschool or PreK, your items will be delivered, along with their sibling’s items. These families DO NOT need to come to O’Hara. Your items will be delivered between May 7-9. 
If coming to the school on these days is a hardship for your family, or you are uncomfortable due to the current circumstances, please email Mrs. Whitford and we will arrange for delivery to your house. Please only use this option if absolutely necessary. 
PLEASE RETURN LIBRARY BOOKS

Our librarians will be emailing all students/families that still have library books checked out. If you have books to return, please plan to drop them off when you are picking up your student’s items. If you are one of the families who has a Preschool or PreK student, you can send the book back with the person who delivers to your house OR hang on to it and we will have another drop off time at a later date. 
STAFFING CHANGES for 20-21

We want to share with you staffing updates for our 2020-21 school year:

Mrs. April Demers is retiring from being a head teacher in PreKindergarten, but we are thrilled to announce that she is staying with us and will be joining Mrs. Kendall and Mrs. Sexton as a 1st grade instructional assistant. 

We have hired Miss Carrie Knebel to be our new PreKindergarten teacher. Although Carrie is from Eugene, she spent 9 years teaching Preschool, PreK and Kindergarten at a Catholic School in Hawaii, and most recently taught Kindergarten at Holt Elementary. 

We have hired a new Kindergarten teacher and are excited to announce Mrs. Elise Boyum will be joining us. She has been teaching Kindergarten for the last 9 years at Coburg Charter school. 

Mrs. Alyssa Hendrix will continue on as our head Preschool teacher. 

Mrs. Diane Church will be officially retiring at the end of this year. Formerly, Mrs. Church was one of our 3rd grade teachers and, for the last 5 years, she has been working in our Title 1 Reading and Math program. 

Mrs. Sally Eagen will not be returning as an instructional assistant, but we are thrilled that she will be subbing for us next year!

As previously announced, Miss Cieslak will not be returning next year (she's getting married!), but will be available to sub for us in the fall. We will enjoy having her with us for a short time next year, and wish her all the best in the future!

Please join us in extending gratitude to those staff who are moving on next year, and welcoming those new ones joining our family! 
CALENDAR CHANGES IN MAY

As we move through the month of May, please take note of some changes to our calendar:
 
  • May 8 - Light day, similar to conferences. (Teachers will post light work, students will have a chance to focus on specialist projects.)
  • May 11 - NO SCHOOL- Enjoy a day off! 
  • May 25 - NO SCHOOL- Memorial Day
  • May 26 - NO SCHOOL for students. Planning day for staff. 
THANKFUL THURSDAY: TEACHER APPRECIATION WEEK

This Thursday, let's flood our teachers with our thankfulness! Use one of our templates , or make your own. Tag us in your social media post or send it to us at pictures@oharaschool.org .
TITLE 1 READING TESTS THIS WEEK

Hello from the reading and math room! Mrs. Relling will be sending out another test to be completed by all Title I reading students in Kindergarten - 3rd grade. Mr. Ambroson will be in touch with all 4th & 5th grade Title I students who need to complete a reading comprehension test this time around. These tests are typically completed at school every two weeks. We've adjusted this schedule to test students every 3 weeks. Please check your email on Monday and complete the test as soon as possible. We love to see all of those smiling faces via video! Parents, thank you so much for your help, you're doing a great job!
#INTHISTOGETHER

Thanks to everyone who has sent us pictures of your students standing with their O'Hara yard signs - we love seeing their smiles! Click here to see a gallery of photos .

We’d love to see more pics - please email them to pictures@oharaschool.org or tag us in your social media.
MARCH CHARACTER AWARDS

Congratulations to all of our Humbleness award winners! Click here to view the photo album of students who sent in a photo with their award . (If your student won a Humbleness Award, but you forgot to send in a photo, please send it to pictures@oharaschool.org and we will add it to the album!)
OPTIONAL ACTIVITIES FOR STUDENTS
MAY WEATHER CHALLENGE

As a fun and optional challenge for the month of May, we invite students to participate in our May Weather Challenge! Fill out this form by Monday, May 4 at noon with your predictions for what our May weather in Eugene will bring . Winners will be announced in June (one in each category, as well as an overall winner) and will receive a Barnes & Noble gift card.

Categories are below and we will use the official data as recorded at the airport:
  • Highest recorded temp
  • Lowest recorded temp
  • Total rainfall for the month of May
  • Largest amount of rainfall recorded in 1 day
  • Tiebreaker: What day in May will have the highest recorded temperature?

Click here for some fun weather instruments you can make at home:
MAGNIFICENT MAY MATH CHALLENGE from MRS. CHURCH

We use math every day in every way! Now is the time for you to be creative--how do you, your family, and God in nature use math?

Here are some ideas to get you thinking, but use your imagination and show us your mathematical style! 

  • Count trees in your yard or light switches in your house. How many are there?
  • What patterns can you find in your home or in nature?
  • Bake cookies! What whole numbers and fractions did you use?
  • Show your multiplication and division skills by making arrays with Matchbox cars or sharing grapes equally with your brothers.
  • Measure the length of your sister’s shadow with a yardstick or the circumference of your dog’s tummy with a sewing tape measure!
  • What is the perimeter of your room?
  • How much do you weigh on the scale?
  • Look at the clock: how many hours and minutes until you go to bed?
  • How much money is in your piggy bank? 

Send us a picture ( pictures@oharaschool.org ) or tag us in your post and use #magnificentmaymathchallenge to show us your every day math! Happy mathematizing!
ART CLASS PROJECTS COMING UP

Mrs. Fulton and Mrs. Scott are planning some fun, optional art activities that will require supplies that you may not have on hand. They’ve put together some information and supply lists for parents who would like to start planning/gathering/ordering supplies if their student(s) would like to participate.

May 4-8: We will be creating a special watercolor surprise
-Watercolor paint
-White construction paper or watercolor paper
-Oil pastels or crayons (either will work)

May 11-15: Paper Mache
-1 newspaper per child
-2 or 3 cups of flour per child
-Masking tape
-Acrylic or tempera paint
-A place to get messy...outside near a hose perhaps? 

June 1-5: Painting Rocks
-Small smooth river rocks
-Acrylic paints in a few fun colors

May 25-29: Self Portraits for Preschool - 5th grade*
Each year, students draw a self portrait in art and we save them throughout their years at O’Hara. All that is needed is a pencil and paper (white copy paper). Mrs. Fulton and Mrs. Scott would really love to have EVERYONE participate in Self Portrait Week. Please save your child’s finished self portrait to give back to the art teachers when school starts again! We will be sending out more reminders as this special week gets closer.

*6th - 8th graders have already completed this project this year.

Amazon Links are below for some of the less common supplies if you would like to order. (purchase is optional - all projects can be done with things you have at home as well)

Contact Mrs. Fulton or Mrs. Scott with any questions.
JORDAN KENT SUMMER CAMPS

Registration is now open for Jordan Kent's Just Kids Skill Camps! Click the image for more info or to register.
REMINDERS FROM LAST WEEK
MARK YOUR CALENDAR & SAVE THE DATE!
ENROLLMENT OPENINGS NEXT YEAR

O’Hara currently has a handful of spots available in the following grades for next year: Preschool, PreK, 1st grade & 3rd grade. If you have a friend or neighbor that is interested in O’Hara for next year, please have them email us at admissions@oharaschool.org .
BY O'HARA, FOR O'HARA: READ ALOUD LIBRARY

Thank you to all the O'Hara students who have recorded themselves reading a story out loud! We now have a library of stories to share with our younger students! Please click here to access .

We'd love to keep adding to this library. If you’d like to participate, please send a video of yourself reading a short story to Mrs. Ferrari (or upload it to google docs and share the link).
AMAZON SMILE

Are you doing lots of Amazon shopping these days? Next time, go to smile.amazon.com and choose O'Hara Catholic School Development Foundation as your beneficiary before you shop. O'Hara receives 0.5% of your purchase price as a donation. What an easy way to support our school!
CHINESE CLUB

Chinese is the most widely-spoken language in the world. Join Chinese Club and learn Chinese! Students can learn basic Chinese characters, pronunciation (Ping Ying), and some useful daily dialogues.  
 
O’Hara parents Jun and Xiaodi Li will be hosting Chinese Club via Zoom meetings. Spots are limited to 10 students. There is no fee for this club. Students who were already signed up prior to digital learning days will be included in the club and will have any fees paid reimbursed.
  
Dates: May 15, May 22, May 29, June 5, June 12
When: Fridays at 2pm
Where: Zoom meetings (link will be sent to participants)
Grades: 1-8
To sign up, use this link .
 
Please contact Mr. Milliron for more information.
PLEDGE & PRAYER VIDEOS WANTED

Each school-day morning, Mrs. Conway’s parent email includes a link to the Pledge of Allegiance by O’Hara students. And each evening, we are posting a bedtime prayer by O’Hara students on our social media.

We would love to feature your student; please submit videos as follows:
PLEASE KEEP SENDING IN YOUR PICTURES!

We are still collecting pictures for our 19-20 yearbook. Please continue to send us pics of your students ( pictures@oharaschool.org ) or upload them to Vidigami . If you need help accessing your Vidigami account, please email Mrs. Ferrari .
COMMUNITY & RESOURCES

Let's stay connected while we're #alonetogether!

Follow us on Social Media!
Please follow our Instagram and Facebook page for prayers, live feeds, and activities your students can participate in!

Send us pictures or tag us on social media!
We want our students to remember they are an important part of our O’Hara community and we want to see their pictures! We encourage you to tag us in your posts, or send us pictures to share via email: pictures@oharaschool.org . 

Resources
Check out our Resource page at the top of the Digital Learning Directory that includes links for families. We recognize that the sheer number of emails sent and links being posted can be overwhelming, so this document is just meant to capture and catalog these as we share them out on social media or via email. This document is just for reference and no action is required on your part.

"As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."

- Joshua 24:15
O'Hara Catholic School
715 West 18th Avenue
Eugene, Oregon 97402
541.485.5291