Patriotic Celebrations

Memorial Day is celebrated Monday. We do not have school so please talk to your children about the importance of remembering those who have served our country in the military. You can attend a parade or a gravesite wreath laying. The ceremony at Arlington Cemetary at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is a special one to honor all those who have served our country but their remains may not have been found or identified.
June 14 is the celebration of Flag Day. Please encourage your kids to wear our USA colors of red, white and blue or a flag t-shirt. We will celebrate at OCS during Field Day and Ocean Night. Hope to see you there!

Time for the Kindness Tea Party

On May 14, after school, the winners of the Kindness Poetry/Poster contest will celebrate and receive their awards at Carol's Coffee Cup on Wall Street. Their teachers will attend the celebration as well. We will enjoy tea and special cookies and cakes. Poetry will be shared. I can assure you everyone will have a great time. Thank you to the PTA for funding this celebration of kindness. We appreciate your annual support of this important program.
Enjoy the beauty of the Spring!

April1...And the Winners Are.......

The winners of our Fifteenth Annual Random Acts of Kindness Poetry/Poster Contest have been announced! Please see the March 19 OCS Newsletter on the website for the names. Congratulations to everyone who participated in our contest. Thank you to the K-4 teachers who inspired our students to show their best efforts in the works that were submitted.

Please view the winners entries displayed on the front hallway bulletin board. First place winners will be invited to a Tea Party hosted by the PTO in May. They also will be awarded a gift certificate to be used at Barnes and Noble Books. Thank you PTO for continuing this wonderful tradition at OCS.

Kinndness...Pass it On! It's a Good Thing!
Mrs. Hahn

The Key to Kindness is You

These are words of wisdom from the poet Kahlil Gibran; "Tenderness and kindness are not signs of weakness, but signs of strength." When we have a strong sense of self-esteem and a strong character, it's easy to be kind to others because we've learned to be kind to ourselves. Do you remember the following words from Aesop's Fables?
"No act of kindness is ever wasted."
Encourage your children to show some real strength. Encourage them to be kind to others, and allow others to be kind to them. They might be surprised at how good it feels, an inner satisfaction. Praise your children for being kind, for showing this kind of strength.
I hope you all have seen Mrs.Paola's "Cool Kids Are Kind" on the front bulletin board. They demonstrate many examples of how kindness is alive and well in Oxford! Coming soon...the results of the OCS kindness poetry and poster contest.
Stay tuned!
Mrs. Hahn

Random Acts of Kindness

This is the 15th year we have celebrated Random Acts of Kindnesss at OCS. The month of February is "The Time to Be Kind."
In grades K-4 students can get "Caught Being Kind" . They are given a pink award to be displayed in the classroom near the Kindness poster. Our "Keeping Kids Kind" contest will give students an opportunity to advertise Kindness by designing a Kindness poster or writing a Kindness poem. The winners from each class will receive a Borders book certificate and an invitation to a Teaparty to celebrate Kindness with their teachers and other winners. Thank you to the PTA for funding our Kindness celebration.
Encourage your children to be kind all the time! A smile is appreciated and doesn't cost anything! No act of kindness is ever wasted!...Aesop

Mrs. Hahn

Happy New Year

Happy New Year to all! At the beginning of the new year we all think about resolutions. Remember to keep your resolutions simple. How can you help others? How can you make a difference in someone's day? How can you make a difference in the morning to your child or your student if you are a teacher? Teach your children to smile and say "Good Morning". Teachers try to start everyone's day off right. We love it when we get a smile in return. It's a simple act of kindness that doesn't cost anything and it's a fact that it takes fewer muscles to smile than frown!
Happy New Year

It is December!

It is that time of year again! December...we are always reminded about how many days are left until Christmas. Will we ever accomplish our "To Do" list? At school, we operate daily with our list of things needed to be done. In Ms. Mazzeo's fourth grade class we have written letters to my friend, Major Grovsnor, serving our country in Afghanistan. Several years ago our students wrote to her when she was serving in Iraq. Upon her return, she visited our third and fourth grade classes. It was truly a wonderful experience for students and teachers. She told us first hand about daily life as a soldier. She has made the Army her career. I admire her greatly for her bravery, courage and committment to the USA.
I shared Major Grosvenor's pictures from Iraq with our current fourth grade students. I still get goosebumps seeing our soldiers standing with the American flag atop the enemy palace in Baghdad. They asked me many questions about her, and then someone said "Can we write to her?" It is very difficult for students to understand life as a soldier, but they are interested. Their letters will be sent at the end of this week, with bags of Christmas candy and cookies donated by students and teachers. We hope to hear back from her in the near future.
The most important lesson students learned from this opportunity was to think of others this holiday season, especially those serving in the US military who will not be "home for the holidays". I hope you all have an opportunity to share your blessings with others during December. I love sharing the classroom every day with our Oxford students.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays