when it rains--or snows-- it pours

into the Oxford Central School! The past few days have certainly been eventful days at school. I have been away at a conference but fortunately we have wonderful staff who were able to interact with me via the phone and take care of the problem--for the time being. However, the problem is not going away. We still have a roof that needs to be replaced and is quite obviously getting worse. I invite everyone to to come out to the school next Wednesday, November 5th at 6:00 pm to see what the plans are to provide the students of Oxford with a safe, and dry building.

Tomorrow is Halloween, come on out to see the parade and volunteer to assist in the classroom.

Enjoy the weekend!

Sometimes the real world...

comes creeping on in. There is a letter being sent home today with our students that discusses two unfortunate instances where someone has been posing as a law enforcement official and has, on two occasions, pulled over students from our area. Fortunately, I am getting information that no one was harmed in these cases, but it certainly reminds us that there are some people out there who just can't seem to play nice! Please sit the kids down and remind them about how to respond when they meet a stranger.

till next time.

No Tip of the Hat to the Mama and the Papas...

especially if you are old enough... as I AM.. to remember the song playing on your AM radio from WABC and Cousin Brucie! Monday WAS a day we could trust! The County-Wide Red Ribbon Week Kick-off was a great success. There were more than 25 agencies and organizations here, along with more than 600 people, all focused on the positives of life. I can honestly say I was very glad to be in the middle of the line of teachers when the BMX rider jumped over us! Thanks to our students and staff: K-Kids; REBEL II; OYA members, the OCS Red Ribbon Committee; the Board of Education and all the volunteers who made the day a great day. Thanks also to Mr. Leonard Becker and the Oxford Township Municipal Alliance for their generous support of our year-long efforts!

The problem with thanking people is that you inevitably forget to mention everyone! We will have a list of thank-yous on our website real soon!

The rest of the week looks like this:
Wednesday is hat day
Thursday is pajamas day
Friday is Jeans and flip-flops day.

Red Ribbon/ School Violence Awareness Week

Boy I hate to start with a heading that says School Violence Awareness Week. It makes it sound as though we have a problem... well at least not here, in many other school yes, but fortunately not here! That does not mean we are out of touch. We know that we have students who occasionally say mean things to other's, or who might even show a lack of respect for the adults in the building. Those things do happen, and they do get said. Our mission is always to try to provide students with outlets and understanding--before mean things happen.

We have worked hard as a staff to keep reminding students about the effects of saying things to other students that are hurtful or downright mean! We encourage students everyday to be mindful that the words they use may have a negative effect on other students. We have implemented a wonderful character education program, held assemblies that stress positive messages and have infused in to the curriculum (across the board) the ideas of positive choices and treating each other with respect.

Does it always work--no. However, when a student does go off the path, we have the tools, the staff and the knowledge of how to handle the situation, We also know that we have provided the students with the tools necessary so that the incidents we might have had a few years ago, are not happening today.

Have a great week!

The leaves are turning and...

starting to cover my lawn! But every chore does seem to have a silver lining. This is the time of year to rake up a huge pile of leaves, assemble the kids and jump on in! Another childhood rite of passage passed along to the next generation. Looks like the weather man is saying the temperatures are going to drop back into the average range over the next few days, so get out and enjoy the colors of our area. We tend to take the richness of the area for granted, constantly being surrounded by the trees as they turn colors; but go for a hike this weekend. There are many great places to hike around the area. Go out to Apple Mountain and play 18--walk the course, the view from the top is excellent! Now is the time to gather the kids and to show them the glory of nature and their natural surroundings. Spend some time outdoors this weekend. But remember as you are raking leaves and bagging them up... snow angel time is right around the corner!

I wanted to thank the Rotary Club for stopping by today to deliver dictionaries to our third grade students. This is a long-standing community service project that Rotarians conduct around the country and it is great for our school to have such dedicated community members bring a dictionary to every third grade student!

Today was Mr. Kenney's Birthday! I trust he had a great day.

There will be a note coming home about Halloween and what will be going on here at the school on the 31st. The 31st is also the end of the first marking period. We have been working on a list of students who might benefit from some additional after school tutoring... if your son or daughter was felt to be a good candidate, information will be along shortly.

Have a great weekend. See you Monday at the Red Ribbon celebration.

Keep movin' on!

Thanks to everyone who expressed their thoughts concerning the recent medical scare we were going through at the Magnuson Ranch. Everything has turned out well!

The big event is less than a week away! The entire county has been invited to Oxford to help celebrate Red Ribbon Week! The big day is Monday, October 20th. Come out and help us celebrate students making positive choices.

If you have questions about your son or daughter's progress in school, please remember to give your child's teacher a call or drop them an email. The email address is pretty standard: the teacher's first initial, then their full last name @ warrennet.org.

See you on the 20th!

busy days and distractions

We are all busy and we are all prone to the distractions of life. I wanted to take a second to thank everyone who has been thinking of me and my family as we move through a rather difficult set of circumstances affecting my older daughter. Thanks to modern medicine, and I am sure everyone's positive thoughts, things look like they are going to end on a positive note. One more doctor, THE specialist in the nation in Philly on Monday, and the ordeal should be over. Thank you to everyone who allowed me some leeway over the past four roller coaster days. It was a big distraction and now that it is coming to a close, I would like to thank everyone for being patient with me! The real world has a way of creeping into our lives every once and a while! Enjoy Columbus Day, the weather is going to be great.

Don't forget the PTO Silver Bells fund-raiser is due on Wednesday, October 15th!

Till next time

friday stuff

I came across some cool things that are going on around the area in the Friday morning Star Ledger.
The Turtle Back Zoo--yes it is still in operation, is offering a night time tour next Friday October 17th. The program costs $3 per child.

There are many farms in our area that are great places to take the kids for pumpkin picking. At my house we take pictures that the kids have downloaded to create some really cool jack-o-lanterns!

The Newark Museum is sponsoring an exhibit called "Once Upon a Dime: The World of Money" Check the museum hours, but they are always open every weekend.

Of course, be sure to channel all your positive energies to the Giants as they travel to the banks of beautiful Lake Erie to take on the Cleveland Browns!

Get out there and enjoy the weekend.

Thursday is only one day from Friday!

The Friday Bulletin will be up on the website tomorrow and we are highlighting some of the activities that we have lined up for the month of October: dances, PTO craft days, Mystery and Mayhem( a special field trip for our 4th grade G/T students), a day off on Monday October 13th, OYA Movie Night, just to name a few!

If you haven't seen Iron Man, this weeks OYA feature, holy smokes! get over to the school Friday night by 7pm to see it!! It is awesome!

Enjoy the three day weekend! Thank you Christopher Columbus!

till next time

Shelter in Place

We had a Shelter in Place drill today here at the school. Shelter in Place is the term we give to what is commonly referred to as a lock down. The teachers had prepared with our youngest students over the past few days so that they would understand the process and then understand how to react to the situation. Everything went very well.

Tomorrow, Tuesday, October 7, 2008 is Picture Day!

Today is Mrs. Mound's Birthday! Happy Birthday to You!!

This week we are promoting Fire Prevention and Fire Safety! members of the Oxford Fire Department will be here in the school on Friday, October 10, to discuss with our pre-school through 4th grade students the importance of safety.

Thursday, October 9, is the work session for the Board of Education. All regularly scheduled BOE meetings are public, and you are certainly invited to some to the meetings!

Finally, don't forget that market day pickup is this Thursday night at 6pm.

Enjoy the week!
Mr. Magnuson