OPC Winter 2015 Newsletter

“Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much.”

-Helen Keller

This quote captures the spirit of the Oakridge Parents’ Club. It explains how this committed group of parents

was able to pull off so many events, fundraisers and activities to date such as the Magazine Sales fundraiser,

Upper School Healthy Eating Snack Days, Owlfest, Faculty & Staff Appreciation luncheons, Uniform Resales,

MS and US Dessert Parties, Owlfest, Holiday Treasures Gift Shop and Winter Parties. Thank you to all the parent

volunteers that gave so freely of their time. Our kids have benefitted so greatly from your investment of time.

A special thanks to Middle and Upper School parents. This year we have seen a big increase in MS and US

parent volunteerism. I really appreciate your willingness to continue to be involved and give of your time

year after year.

If you haven’t already, I would encourage you to register to volunteer or help with ECC or LS classroom

parties and/or MS and US student socials. You can register online at www.theoakridgeschool.org/

parentsclub under Volunteer Opportunities. Registering does not commit you to do anything other than to be

available to help if you can when there is a class party or an event.

If you missed registering in the fall, it is not too late. In fact, we could use more ECC and Lower School Parents

to sign up to help at Classroom Parties. Signing up to help at the classroom parties does not mean you have

to be present the day of the parties, but rather you may be asked to sign up to bring a sweet treat (bought or

made), paper goods or drinks that can just be dropped off in the morning with your child. ECC and Lower

School both have Valentines Parties and End of Year parties coming up, and additionally ECC has an Egg

Hunt all of which need parents to help bring party items. Also, we are still in need for volunteers for the Book

Fair in January and the last two Faculty and Staff Appreciation lunches – February 5th and April 16th,

especially from ECC and Lower School parents. If you have not registered to volunteer, please consider it.

The Faculty and Staff look forward to the delicious, quarterly Appreciation lunches and are so grateful for the

bountiful showing of parent-donated food items. If you are interested in helping, please know that you do not

need to be present the day of the luncheons to volunteer. Simply sign up and you will be asked to bring a

side or dessert item, bought or made, that can be dropped off at morning carpool.

Lastly, you should have received a letter last week from the Parents’ Club containing an OPC Self Interest

Form. For all parents that would like to become more involved with OPC, or continue to be involved for the

2015-2016 school year, completing this form is the first step. Please let us know which events or activities you

are interested in getting more involved with. For more detailed information, the OPC job descriptions can be

found on the OPC webpage of the school website under the Parents tab. We want and need your help.

Please consider becoming more involved with OPC because it is only together that we can do so much.

With heartfelt gratitude,

Lara Haddock

OPC President, 2014-2015

[email protected]

817-800-4854

OPC Newsletter Winter Edition

mailto:[email protected]

SHOUT-OUTS TO THE FOLLOWING OWLS!

Thanks to Lyn Snyder, VP of Recognition and Appreciation and her team of

volunteers Lindsey Hey, Marissa Farhat, Leslie LeMond, Melissa Blum, Kara

Hembree, Melissa Jiles, Audrey Stehr, Chris Di Filippo, and Kristy Kundysek for

hosting a wonderful appreciation luncheon with the entrée catered by

Babes Fried Chicken for the Faculty and Staff on November 13th.

Thanks to Angela Redding, Haley Shimek, Jill Houseworth, Mitzi Willis, Alex

Warsop and Monique Bird for an amazing Owlfest. The kids had such a great

time! Thanks for all the parents volunteers that brought cakes for the cake

walk and especially those that decorated, transformed a locker room into a

haunted house and worked during Owlfest to make it such a success.

Thanks to Magazine Sales Chairs Alison Fawthrop, Melissa Blum, Lori Jones

and Liz St John for all the hard work and long hours. You all did a great job.

The school will benefit tremendously from the over $50,000 raised.

Thanks to Cindy Pettigrew, Lindsey Hey and Niti Ross for all the work hosting

Connecting Owls on September 12th. You all did a great job and the event

was first class!

Thanks to Victoria Walker, Angela Cary, Niti Ross and Denise Barley for

running two successful Uniform Resales in September and October.

Thanks to Shawna Wright for clipping, counting and checking expiration

dates all those hundreds of tiny Box Tops that continue to bring in easy

money for the Parents’ Club.

Thank you to Carol Fong Kutchins, Melissa Frank and all the Upper School

parent volunteers for all the desserts for the Fall Dessert Party and for all the

healthy snacks for the new quarterly US Healthy Snack Eating days. Both

were successful and appreciated by the students.

Thanks to Michelle Emmert, Gail Bedford, Amy Key, Chasidy Pettigrew, Pam

Pierson and all the Middle School parent volunteers for a fun ice cream

social complete with every topping imaginable as well as a creative and

delicious MS Winter Dessert party. You guys outdid yourself.

Thanks to Kristy Kundysek for her work on such a successful and

well attended Grandparents’ Day.

Thanks to Carey Ogle, Alison Fawthrop and Jill Houseworth for all

the hard work and long hours to make a special holiday shopping

experience for our children with the Holiday Treasures Gift Shop.

Thanks to all of the countless parent volunteers that it takes to

make this shopping experience happen so seamlessly. It ran so

smoothly and the kids had a wonderful time.

Thanks to Holly Fagan and Mellie Joiner for all the work in this first

year of promoting OakridgePages.com. It is coming together and

will benefit all of us parents, as well as the businesses it promotes.

Thanks to Diana York and Pam Pierson for their work in providing

test snacks for our Middle and Upper School children during

exams. They did a great job especially being flexible with the new

exam schedule.

Thanks to Cindy Pettigrew, Michal Tincup, Jennifer O’Connor and

Barbara Arnondin for their work in securing Party Coordinators and

managing through the new online list of volunteers and using Sign

Up Genius with the Winter Parties. The children all had fun and

creative Winter Parties. Thanks to all the parent volunteers who

provided party food, games and activities to make these Winter

Parties so wonderful.

Thanks to Larraine LaRovere for publishing our Fall OPC Newsletter.

You’ve taken the Newsletter to a whole new level.

Thanks to a dedicated OPC Executive Board who always go

beyond the call of duty, put in the extra time effort and provide so

much support to so many.

Thanks as well to Michele Cole, Alisa Hunter, Teri Foster and Kelli

Lambert for the continued support and work to help make Parents’

Club so successful.

January 9, 2015

Dear Fellow Oakridge Parent, Happy New Year from the Oakridge Parents’ Club. It is an exciting time of year as we look forward to the fun upcoming Parents’ Club activities such as our annual Book Fair and Valentines Day parties. It is also the time of year that we begin to make plans for the coming 2015-2016 school year. Each January, the Parents’ Club begins the process of looking for parents that are interested in becoming more involved in our parent organization. The purpose of the Oakridge Parents’ Club is to assist the administration, faculty, staff and Board of Regents in providing for the educational enrichment of the students; to promote the fellowship of the families and staff of The Oakridge School; and to raise funds to accomplish those objectives. This purpose can only be achieved with dedicated, fun-loving and energetic parents as yourself. If you have ever been interested in getting more involved with the Oakridge Parents’ Club (OPC), this letter is for you. In fact, we are encouraging all current and previous OPC General Board members to complete the OPC Self Interest Form for the Nominating Committee to better understand your areas of interest as well. Please complete the enclosed OPC Self Interest Form and indicate which board positions you are interested in and mail it back by January 30, 2015 to: OPC Nominating Chair The Oakridge School 5900 W. Pioneer Parkway Arlington, TX 76013 Completed forms may also be returned via backpack to your Divisional Secretary attn: OPC Nominating Chair. We hope you will consider getting involved in the Parents’ Club today! Your time and talent make a great investment not only in the school, but your child’s experience at school. If you have additional questions, please feel free to contact one of us. Sincerely, Lara Haddock OPC President, 2014-2015 [email protected] 817-800-4854

Linda Wright OPC President Elect, 2014-2015 [email protected] (817) 584-0431

2015-2016 Oakridge Parents’ Club (OPC) Self Interest Form

If you are interested in serving as an Chair or Chair-Elect on the OPC General Board or would like to be on

the OPC Executive Board, please complete the following form and return it to The Oakridge School or

your Divisional Office: Attn: OPC Nominating Chair. Please note that Executive Board positions are held

for two years except President and Parliamentarian and that some positions are in the middle of their

terms at this time. On the General Board, the Chair Elect will serve for one year under the Chair and then

move up to the Chair position the following year. For a list of OPC job descriptions, please see the OPC

webpage at www.theoakridgeschool.org/parentsclub. Forms are due by January 30, 2015.

Your Name: _______________________________ Phone Number: _____________________

Email Address:______________________________________________________________

Please number the positions that you are interested in by order of preference with #1 being your first

choice.

OPC Executive Officer Positions

____President – Elect ____ Secretary ____Vice-President Membership ____ Treasurer ____Vice-President Fundraising Parliamentarian- filled by previous year’s President ____Vice-President Divisional Activities ____Vice-President Recognition and Appreciation ____Vice-President PR and Publicity

OPC General Board Positions

Chair and Chair-Elect

___Meet & Greet ____ECC Activities ___Back to School Fair ____LS Activities ___Parent Ambassador ____LHMS Activities ___Membership Support ____UHMS Activities ___Magazine Sales ____US Activities ___Holiday Treasures ____ECC Faculty and Staff Appreciation ___School Supplies ____LS Faculty and Staff Appreciation ___Book Fair ____MS Faculty and Staff Appreciation ___Uniform Resale ____US Faculty and Staff Appreciation ___Oakridge Pages.com ____ Test Snacks ___Owlfest ____ Box Tops

Thank you for your interest. You will receive confirmation when your form is received. The Nominating Committee will meet in February. The Board will be slated and voted on at the April 14, 2015 OPC General Board Meeting.

Connecting Owls

The Pastries for Parents event was

held on the morning of September 12

in the Quinn Kindergarten Multi-

Purpose room. It was a great oppor-

tunity for ECC parents, as well as all

new Oakridge parents, to meet each

other and learn about how to get

involved in OPC and why it is so vital

for our children. The Upper School

choir performed, several upper

school Alpha & Omega students

spoke about their Oakridge experi-

ence thus far, and several OPC chairs

informed parents of the easy ways of

how to get involved. All enjoyed the

light breakfast fare, while mingling

with other parents. Thank you to all

who participated in this special par-

ent event!

Magazine Sales

Upper School 2014 Winners

Baylee Frank—US coveted parking spot & $100 consolation car

prize

Amy Zhang and Madison McCarty - $50.00 Food For Life Gift

Certificates

Gretchen Leffler - two Prom tickets

Olivia Duke - two After Prom tickets

Lauren Marr - $100 Gilligan's gift certificate

Thank you for supporting our Magazine Sales Drive which

helped OPC raise over $50,000 for the 2014-15 school year.

OPC uses these funds to operate and put on many of the

events you see in these newsletters. In addition, OPC makes

allocations back to the school in May each year for class,

technology and other campus improvements that have a

direct impact on your child’s experience at Oakridge. It is

OPC’s biggest fundraiser so your participation and encour-

agement is greatly appreciated!

Congratulations to the following 2014 Winners!

Lower School - Jai Bhakta won LS Head for the Day

Middle School - Lauren Campbell won MS Head for the Day

Upper School Socials

OPC sponsored 2 Fall Socials for our Upper School Owls! On Wednesday, September 17th, volunteers decorated

tables beautifully, and served and brought an abundance of sweet treats during lunchtime for the US Dessert Party.

One Upper Schooler said it gets better and better every year! We received so many generous donations, many stu-

dents could not decide which goodie to take, so they helped themselves to 6 or 8 and we still had plenty of lefto-

vers to offer to our faculty and staff. We balanced out our sweet program and decided to begin offering Healthy

Snack Days. Our first one was held on Wednesday, October 15th and the peaches, plums, apples, pear, bananas,

cheese & crackers, pretzels and fiber bars were a hit and were offered throughout the entire day as a grab and go

option in the US Commons.

Owlfest

On October 28, at Owlfest, hundreds of children had a frightfully good time

while dressed as Elsa from Frozen, super heros, monsters, athletes and

princesses. Preschool through 4th grade students showed up in their

Halloween costumes to win a cake in the famous cake walk, try their hand

at fun carnival games, ride a pony or creep through the not-so-scary

haunted house.

The photo booth, new this year, was a big hit as children donned fun props

and received a cute photo strip keepsake. There was face painting and

pumpkin decorating as well as hot dogs, nachos, and popcorn. Raffle

prizes rounded out the event with fun and exciting prizes such as American

Girl dolls, Razor Scooter, Beanie Boos, Lego sets and an iPad mini.

A special thanks to all the Parents’ Club volunteers who transformed the

Student Activity Center into a fun fall carnival and worked so hard to make

this event special for the children. Thanks to the National Junior Honor

Society students for manning the carnival games this year.

ECC & Lower School Winter Parties

These photos captured the spirit of the moment!

ECC & LS students had a blast celebrating before the

upcoming Winter Break! Parents provided fun games,

activities, decorations and treats for all! Thank you

parent volunteers for your creativity and generosity!

Middle School Socials

The Middle School has had

one Frozen First Semester! We

all screamed for ice cream

with our Ice Cream Social

kick off event. All Middle

School treated themselves

and greeted friends with a

Back to School Ice Cream

and Toppings Bar made to

order and done up Owl style.

Tons of creative and yummy

desserts blew in like a

Blizzard later in the semester

as Middle School geared up

for exams and got ready to

enjoy winter break. They did-

n't build Snowmen they ATE

them. We look forward to a

very Happy New Year and

l o t s m o r e f u n a n d

festivities next semester in

MS!

Teacher Appreciation Luncheon

Babe’s fried and baked chicken were enjoyed by our faculty and staff on Thursday, November

13th. Rounding out the luncheon were tasty sides, salads and desserts provided by our wonderful

parents and volunteers. Thank you to Recognition and Appreciation Chairs, Chris Di Filippo, Kristy

Kundysek, Melissa Jiles, Audrey Stehr, Melissa Blum, Kara Hembree, Melissa Farhat, Lindsey Hey,

and Lesie LeMond for organizing donations, set-up, serving and cleanup. We have 2 more

luncheons this year: February 5th and April 16th. We always need volunteers to bring food items,

set up, serve and clean up. It takes a lot of help to feed 155 hungry faculty and staff! The lunches

are a great way to spend time with other Oakridge parents, and to visit with your children during a

busy day! Please come out and enjoy a part of your day with us!

Grandparents’ and Grandfriends’ Day

Over 500 grandparents and grandfriends attended our Grandparents’ Day on Tuesday, November

25th. They enjoyed a wonderful breakfast in the SAC while our Strings students performed classical

pieces. Our Booster Club was on hand to sell spirit items and our guests greatly appreciated this

addition! After breakfast, the Choir performed some holiday pieces in the Flavin Fine Arts Hall. As

our guests descended from the performance, they toured the classrooms and campus, and made

keepsake photo buttons with their grandchildren. Each guest departed our campus with an OPC

donated logo umbrella! A BIG thank you to the Development Office, Lisa Sauls, Larraine LaRovere,

Jennifer Miller, Michelle Krabill, Jennifer Jones, Amy Bell, Rochelle Greene-Boyles, Andrea Meller,

Jamie Wayland, Kate Benedict and Diane Deng, for making this a memorable event.

Book Fair

Hours:

Weds., Jan. 21 - Weds., Jan.28, 2015

7:45 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Special Time: Weds. Jan. 28 closes at noon

ECC Donuts for Dads — Friday, Jan. 23 starting at 7:00 a.m.

LS Donuts for Dad — Tuesday, Jan. 27 starting at 7:00 a.m.

Questions contact:

Denise White

817-233-8649

[email protected]

Andrea Meller

817-675-6839

[email protected]

Come support the Oakridge

Library and help your child

develop a love for reading!

Visit our Book Fair!

Volunteer!

Share some of your time with

us and enjoy this magical

event!



Holiday Treasures

The OPC building was transformed into a Holiday Shopping

Boutique from Dec 8– Dec 12! Our students enjoyed their

secret shopping adventures and our parents enjoyed Holiday

Treasures as much as our students did! Volunteers all took

note that our Oakridge Owls have amazing manners! Many

thanks to our dedicated parent volunteers who make this

event fun and running smoothly for the entire week! It takes a

lot of elves to pull this one off!

Boxtops for Education

Uniform Resale

Uniform Resale is a great way to stock up,

shop and save on some gently used uniforms.

Your donations and purchases raised close to

$3,000 for OPC last year! And that enables us

to give back to the school in many ways!

Our next Uniform Resale dates are:

January 22 7:30-9:30am & 2-4pm

February 19 7:30-9:30am & 2-4pm

at the OPC Building (the small brick building

located to the left of the Early Childhood

Center).

If you are cleaning out closets and have collected a stash of outgrown uniforms, you may bring them to the ECC,

Middle School and Upper School Administration Offices. Please remember to donate items that are clean, gently

used and free from stains, broken or missing buttons/zippers/other parts.

We have low inventory in the following categories:

Fleece, skorts and larger sized shorts.

Thank you for your support and Happy Shopping!

The second collection of Box Tops was another success! Thank you to all of the

families for making that possible. We turned in over 1800!

Our 1st place winners were rewarded with a $25 Target gift card. They were

Keith and Lynn Bohn, parents of 4th grader, Haley, and turned in 364 Box Tops.

2nd place winners, Kevin and Melissa Koon, parents of Cayden and Chloe in

pre-K, were rewarded with a $10 Target gift card and turned in 126 Box Tops.

Our last collection date is February 1st. Box Tops must be trimmed, not expired

and submitted in a baggy labeled with the parent’s name and cell phone

number to be considered for prizes. Winners will continue to be published in

the OPC Newsletter following each collection date.

Thank you so much in advance for your continued support! We would love to

reach our goal of $1000 for the 2014-2015 school year!

Start the year off right… Make a resolution to support Oakridge Friend or Family owned businesses.

Visit OakridgePages.com and support our businesses! Find an Insurance agent, AC Specialist, Vacation planner, Realtor, Doctor, Attorney and many others.

Contact: Holly Fagan 214-926-8106 or [email protected]

UPCOMING EVENTS

January

OPC Executive Board Meeting

Tuesday, January 13

8:15am

Development Office

Book Fair

January 21-28

See hours on p.15

Library

US Healthy Eating Day

Wednesday, January 21

All Day

US Commons

Uniform Resale

Thursday, January 22

7:30-9:30am & 2-4pm

OPC Building

ECC Donuts for Dad

Friday, January 23

7am

Library

LS Donuts for Dad

Tuesday, January 27

Library

7am

OPC New Parent Breakfast

w/Parent Ambassadors

January 27

8:15-9:30am

Bridge

February

BoxTop Turn-In Date

Monday, February 2

All Day

General Board Meeting

Tuesday, February 3

8:15am

OPC Building


Thursday, February 5

11am-1pm

SAC

US Fall Dessert Party

Wednesday, February 11

12:30pm

SAC

ECC Valentine’s Day Parties

Wednesday, February 11

Preschool 10:30-11:30am

PreK and K 1:30-2:30pm

ECC classrooms

LS Valentine’s Day Parties


1st/2nd grades 1-2pm

3rd/4th grades 1:45-2:55pm

LS classrooms

MS Valentine’s Day Lunch

Friday, February 13

11:45am-12:30pm

SAC

Uniform Resale


7:30-9:30am & 2-4pm

OPC Building

US Free Dress Day Fundraiser

February 23-27

April

ECC Egg Hunt

Wednesday, April 1

PreSchool 10:30-11:30am

PreK & K 1:30-2:30pm

ECC

School Supplies Mailing

OPC Newsletter submission

Deadline date

Thursday, April 9

OPC General Board Meeting

Tuesday, April 14

8:15am

OPC Building


Thursday, April 16

11am-1pm

SAC

March

US Dodgeball Pizza Party

Date TBD

OPC Executive Board Meeting

Tuesday, March 3

8:15am

Development Office

US Healthy Eating Day

Wednesday, March 4

All Day

US Commons

MS Spring Dessert Party

Friday, March 6

11:45am-12:25pm

SAC

EXECUTIVE BOARD MEMBERS

GENERAL BOARD MEMBERS

Lara Haddock

President

Linda Wright

President-Elect

Michelle Reese

Treasurer

Ronda Lane

VP Fundraising

Larraine LaRovere

VP Public Relations & Publicity

Susan Jones

Meet & Greet Chair

Kristy Kundysek

Meet & Greet Chair Elect

Grandparents Day Chair

US Teacher Appreciation Co-Chair Elect

Kelly Broadus

Back to School Fair Chair

Deme Cleveland

Back to School Fair Chair Elect

Susan Daniels

Parent Ambassador Chair

Alison Fawthrop

Magazine Sales Chair

Holiday Treasures Co-Chair

Lori Jones

Liz St. John

Magazine Sales Co-Chairs

Carey Ogle

Holiday Treasures Chair

Jill Houseworth

Holiday Treasures Co-Chairs

Fran Lyons

School Supplies Chair

Andrea Meller

Denise White

Book Fair Co-Chairs

Tessa Guevara

Book Fair Chair Elect

Victoria Walker

Uniform Resale Chair

Denise Barley

Angela Cary

Uniform Resale Co-Chairs

Holly Fagan

Oakridge Pages Chair

Mellie Joiner

Oakridge Pages Chair Elect

Shawna Wright

Box Tops Chair

Gay Swinney

Box Tops Chair Elect

Lindsey Hey

Connecting Owls Co-Chair

ECC Teacher Appreciation Co-Chair

Cindy Pettigrew

Connecting Owls Co-Chair

ECC Activities Chair

Michal Tincup

ECC Activities Chair Elect

Niti Ross

Connecting Owls Chair Elect

Uniform Resale Co-Chair

Angela Redding

Owlfest Chair

Jill Houseworth

Haley Shimek

Owlfest Co-Chairs

Mitzi Willis

Owlfest Advisor

Jennifer O’Connor

LS Activities Chair

Michelle Emmert

LHMS Activities Co-Chair

Gail Bedford

LHMS Activities Co-Chair

Amy Key

LHMS Activities Chair Elect

Diana York

Christine Davis

Test Snacks Co-Chairs

Chasidy Pettigrew

UHMS Activities Chair

Pam Pierson

UHMS Activities Chair Elect

Test Snacks Chair Elect

Carole Fong-Kutchins

US Activities Chair

Melissa Frank

US Activities Chair Elect

Marissa Farhat

ECC Teacher Appreciation Co-Chair

Leslie LeMond

ECC Teacher Appreciation Chair Elect

Melissa Blum

LS Teacher Appreciation Co-Chair

Kara Hembree

LS Teacher Appreciation Chair Elect

Melissa Jiles

MS Teacher Appreciation Chair

Audrey Stehr

MS Teacher Appreciation Chair Elect

Chris Di Filippo

US Teacher Appreciation Chair

Michal Tincup

Secretary

Kelly Broadus

Parliamentarian

Deme Cleveland

VP Membership

Lyn Snyder

VP Recognition & Appreciation

Jennifer Tompkins

VP Divisional Activities

OPC Winter 2015 Newsletter

Documents

Transcript of OPC Winter 2015 Newsletter