Courage is...

Courage, the first of our character education themes, is a concept that is certainly understood by the students in Mrs. DiRenzo's and Mrs. Esposito's first grade classes! The students have been learning this component of our character education program and I was lucky enough to get to read them all! They have a good grasp of what courage is! Here are a few of the statements I read: "Courage is being on stage." "Courage is when you are in the Army." "Courage is sleeping outside in my tent." "Courage is riding on a roller coaster." Courage is taking medicine, even when you don't want to." "Courage is going through a spooky tunnel." "Courage is pulling out your own tooth." "Courage is diving off the diving board."

All good thoughts that represent the idea of Courage. Well done to both first grade classes!

Till next time...

School Board policies

In case you were sitting at home today thinking, "I wonder where I could find all of the school board policies that are used to run the school district?"

Wonder no more... they are now found on the Oxford Central website, in alphabetical order by subject! If you go to www.oxfordcentral.org and then scroll down to Policies and Information, you can click that link and find the entire board policy manual. The list is arranged alphabetically and if you click on the policy you wish to view, a PDF file will open.

Each policy contains the legal references that are based on state laws and court cases in NJ and, in some cases, the U.S. At the end of each policy there is are cross-references that will give you ideas about other polices that may apply to the policy you are searching.

Till next time...

Cookies anyone?

A few teachers have mentioned that there might be some parents who have experienced difficulties getting emails through to teachers or are having trouble getting some pages from our website. This may be due to the cookies that are set by your home computer. You might need to readjust the cookie setting on your computer. Also check to make sure that the address you use for emailing a teacher or other staff member is -----@oxfordcentral.org or if that does not work, try -----@mail.oxfordcentral.org.

That should help. If you still experience problems, give me a call. Remember that if you believe you are sending a teacher an email, they will respond within 24 hours. If you don't hear from them, it may be an email delivery problem.

Till next time...

Busy the next six days...

We are pretty busy this week. Tuesday night will be our 5-8 grade Back-To-School Night and Thursday Night will be our regular school board meeting. Prior to the board meeting on Thursday, I will be available to lead a building tour to update anyone who might wish to stop by! The building tours will be between 5:00 pm and 6:00 pm.

We will be conducting the first of our twice annual bus evacuation drills this Wednesday. This is a practice drill for all of our students so they learn how to exit the bus in the case of an emergency. This drill does not apply to only to our school bus riders, but to every student! We will be holding a Character Education assembly this Friday to illustrate this month's theme--Got Courage?

Finally, There will be two big events this coming Monday, September 28th! We will be holding a blood drive for the community on Monday from 3:00pm - 8:00 pm in the gym and we will also hold a presentation on AD/HD, presented by our behavioral specialist, Mrs. Danielle Tarantino. Mrs. Tarantino's presentation will begin at 7:00 pm and will be held in the school library.

Till next time...

Constitution Day, 2009

Yesterday, September 17th, was Constitution Day in New Jersey. In order to commemorate and highlight this cornerstone of our nation, all grade levels participated in at least one activity built around the importance of the Constitution. Some of our middle school students created graphs based on the ages of those who signed the document--Jonathan Dayton (of NJ) was the youngest. Do you know the oldest? In science, students employed the scientific method to analyze the key elements of this "American Experiment." Third grade students reviewed the Preamble and then created lists of how they could be responsible students. Our Pre-Schoolers created a Pre-School Constitution. I have attached the picture.

Till next time...

September 11th

I don't think any of us could ever forget where we were or what we were doing at 8:46 am on September 11, 2001. It is certainly a moment in time that I will forever remember, being in front of a group of high school students who needed me to help walk them through those events as they unfolded. The most powerful memory of my 18 years in the classroom. Today I spoke briefly about this event, here are my thoughts...

Good morning. This is Mr. Magnuson and I want to take a few moments to speak to everyone about the importance of this date, September 11th, in United States history. On this day 8 years ago nearly 3,000 Americans were the victims of a series of terrorist attacks in New York City, Washington, DC and western Pennsylvania. It is fitting that we remember this event as a test for America and for ourselves. As a nation we were tested that day, however the test continues. I think the best way we can honor the memories of those Americans who lost their lives is to make them proud. Make them proud of our hard work, our strong resolve to help keep the world safe and our efforts to work hard in school which can only lead to a stronger community and a stronger America. So today, as you go through the day take the opportunity to think about the 3,000 Americans and the events of that fateful day. Do your best, do the right thing everyday and you will serve their memory proudly, everyday.

Thank you.

Big things happening...

This week and for the next few weeks! Tomorrow night, Wednesday September 9th at 7:00 pm we will host a H1N1-Swine Flu question and answer period here int eh OCS Library. Mrs. Nyman will join me to discuss the flu and how we are preparing for the upcoming flu season.

September 15th will be our first Back to School Night from 6:00-8:00 for grades Pre-K through 4. Come on out and meet the teachers.

September 22nd will be our second BTS Night for grades 5-8. Same time, same place!

See you at BTS Night!!

Till next time...

Now that school is open...

I have received a few requests from the community about coming in to see what the inside looks like! I would like to invite community members who might not have children in the school to come over to the school on the following dates:

September 9th between 6:00 pm and 7:00 pm. This will allow me to show people around prior to our H1N1 program which will begin at 7:00 pm and be held in our Library.

September 10th, prior to the start of our school board meeting I will be available to show off the interior renovations. The board meeting starts at 6:00 pm.

September 24th, prior to our board meeting. This meeting will also start at 6:00 pm.

Till next time...