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O’Loughlin
Kathryn O’Loughlin McCarthy Elementary School
1401 Hall St. Hays, KS 67601
(785) 623-2510
February 2015
National Title 1 Distinguished School
O’Loughlin Kindergarten Roundup
O’Loughlin staff members have begun to
prepare for the 2015-2016 Kindergarten classes. We have many openings for new students
Dental Health Month
February is National Children’s Dental
Health month! Oral health significantly impacts both overall body health and wellness.
and look forward to meeting parents of Kinder-
Tooth decay is one of
garten students on Tuesday, March 3rd at 6:30
the most common childhood
p.m. in the Hays High School Cafeteria. If you
diseases...five times as com-
have not completed an O’Loughlin enrollment
mon as asthma and seven
form for your Kindergarten student, please
times as common as hay fever in five to sev-
complete and return the attached form. If you
enteen year olds. Children miss school be-
do not have a child to enroll, please feel free to
cause of pain from cavities. Prevention is the
share the form with another family. We wel-
key to good oral health. The American Den-
come all interested parents to join us this
tal Association recommends having the first
evening.
dental visit before age two and then at least
twice a year there after.
Kindergarten 2015
Hot Chocolate Morning
February 27, 2015
If you have an upcoming O’Loughlin Kindergarten student or know of anyone wanting to
attend, attached is a Kindergarten Data
Form to complete. USD 489 District Kindergarten Roundup is Tuesday, March 3, 2015,
6:30 p.m. in the Hays High School Cafeteria.
Sponsored by the O’Loughlin Ambassadors
Enrollment forms are due in the school office
by March 13, 2015.
Proceeds from Hot Chocolate mornings will be
used to fund O’Loughlin’s field day in May.
Hot Chocolate- $0.50
Cinnamon Roll- $0.50
7:30-8:00 a.m.
O’Loughlin will not be accepting Valentine deliveries to individual students.
No School USD 489 Monday, February 16th
Page 2
O’Loughlin Eagles News
Attendance, Absences, and Tardies
We hope parents will
help their children develop responsibility by assisting their
child in maintaining good attendance. Children are counted
absent when they are not in
school for any reason. We ask
that parents call the office if
their child will be absent. Our
secretary will telephone the
If your phone number changes, please let the office know
as soon as possible. We have
encountered a rather large
amount of phone numbers
that have been disconnected
when we have tried to contact
either one or both of a student’s parents. It is imperative we have a working phone
number so if a student is in
need of medical care, we can
contact a parent immediately.
parent if a child is absent and
we have not heard from a parent. Students are encouraged
to be in school on time each
day in order to begin develop“Always remember:
You’re braver than you believe,
Stronger than you seem,
ing good work habits.
At certain times it may become necessary to pick up your
child before school dismissal
time. For your child’s safety, we
request that all students be
picked up inside the building at
the office.
And smarter than you think”
Important Reminders
Make sure those fingers
and ears are covered!!
Frostbite can happen
quickly when our cold
temperatures are combined with wind and uncovered skin.
Parents, please remember
when you send a check to
school with your child, write
on the memo line what the
check is for. We receive
checks for a number of different things and sometimes the
checks get posted to the wrong
account. When you send a
check for lunch, include the
student/students names.
Casual Spring Picture Day, February 26, 2015
Hot Chocolate
Morning
Proceed’s from Hot Chocolate mornings will be used to fund O’Loughlin’s field day in May.
Kathryn O’Loughlin McCarthy Elementary School
Page 3
Helpful Tips for Kansas State Assessments
Kansas Assessments will be administered during March, April, and May for students in
grades 3,4, and 5. O’Loughlin students and staff have worked hard to get ready for this annual
assessment. Students have focused on our district and state curriculum and are well prepared to
do their best. The following suggestions for parents are from the Center for Education Testing
and Evaluation and are designed to help ease test anxiety and promote student success:

Early to bed and getting a good night’s sleep before a test day is preferable

Ensure your child arrives on time to school the days of test

Make sure your child has a nutritious breakfast on test days

Find out when tests will be given so you can avoid making other appointments on those days

Encourage your child to do their best

Be sensitive to the amount of pressure you put on your child to do well; some is desirable, lots
is not as students get overly stressed
2015 Fall Pre-Enrollment
O’Loughlin teachers are beginning to prepare for the
2015 fall semester. To help them prepare we are asking for
current students to let us know what your plans are for
“When
one door of happiness
closes, another opens, but often
we look so long at the closed
door that we do not see the one
next year. Enclosed is a pre-enrollment form to fill out and
that has been opened for us”
return to the office by March 13, 2015.
TMP Victory Road
TMP has agreed to allow O’Loughlin traffic to use Victory Road for arrival and dismissal
times. Parents were notified prior to the start of school in August that all motor vehicles must stay on
the paved Victory Road. O’Loughlin vehicles enter through the south gate and travel to the paved
turn-around where they turn around and then travel east on Victory Road to the designated pick up
spot for O’Loughlin students. Unfortunately, some O’Loughlin vehicles have disregarded the parking
lot instructions and have made U-turns on Victory Road. In order to maintain much needed Victory
Road privileges for our parents and students, all O’Loughlin traffic must respect and adhere to the
paved turn around. Absolutely all traffic must stay on the paved roads. Your immediate assistance
with this traffic concern is critical for safety and convenience for both O’Loughlin and TMP students
and families. We appreciate the cooperation and support we have received from TMP for the past 24
years and look forward to maintaining this positive relationship in the future.
SCHOOLS IN 67 COUNTIES SHARE $149,994
IN HEALTHY HABITS FOR LIFE GRANTS FROM
THE BLUE CROSS AND BLUE SHIELD OF KANSAS FOUNDATION
Nurses, teachers, principals and others at schools in 67 Kansas counties will use $149,994.81 in
Healthy Habits for Life grants from the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas Foundation to foster
positive habits aimed at improving the health of thousands of children. The BCBSKS Foundation recently distributed 163 grants to fund at-school programs designed to help children reduce their cardiovascular risk, increase their physical activity or learn healthy eating habits.
The grant dollars will be used during 2015 for a variety of programs. Some schools will use their
grants to organize walking programs, health fairs and other activities, while others intend to purchase nutrition curriculum, heart monitors, exercise equipment or healthy snacks. Completing its ninth giving cycle, the BCBSKS Foundation has now distributed 923 Healthy Habits for Life grants in excess of
$820,000.
Ellis County
489 Jessica Dale, PE teacher Hays Middle School $1,000.00
489 Nancy Harman, principal Kathryn O'Loughlin McCarthy Elementary School $500.00
489 Patty Weber, PE teacher Wilson Elementary School
$1,000.00
Counselor’s Corner By Mrs. O’Connor
February 2015
National School Counselor Week is February 2-6, 2015! I want to thank all of my wonderful coworkers, students, and parents for such a great place to work. Thank you for
welcoming me as your school counselor this year.
Beating the Winter Blues
The winter blues affect many adults and children who live in a climate with seasonal changes. I
have listed some tips below to help parents and children who struggle with the winter blues. As
with anything if symptoms increase in severity or you feel as though it might be depression seek
professional help.
Get outside when you can- If students have had to spend most of their recesses inside during the week and it warms up on the weekend bundle up and get outside especially if it is
sunny.
Limit screen time- When the weather forces you to stay inside find some activities that are
not computer or tv related. This is a great time to teach your children card games or
games such as chess and checkers. Elementary students are often excited about art activities, winter days are a great time to get out paints, markers, and play dough.
Allow extra time in the mornings- Dreary and gray mornings can make it hard to get out of
bed. My sons sometimes take “wake up showers.” A quick warm shower warms them up
and helps them to start their day. In addition, eating breakfast revs up the body’s metabolism and helps students do better academically.
O’Loughlin Yearbook
The O’Loughlin PTA will again be sponsoring the 2015-
Congratulations!
2016 yearbook. The book will be a keepsake of the school
year with color photos throughout the entire yearbook. This
O’Loughlin Spelling Bee
year’s yearbook will be $20. An order form, advertising form,
Representatives
and baby picture order form are enclosed in the newsletter.
The yearbooks will be back from the printers by the last day
of school in May.
Finally, please take a moment to email any and all candid school pictures you have taken from concerts, room parties, etc. to [email protected]. We are relying almost
exclusively on parent submissions for these informal pictures.
Blake Buckles
Jack Fields
Dustin Rajewski
Grace Weaver
O’Loughlin Elementary School
Pre-Enrollment
Fall 2015
We need your help in planning for next year at O’Loughlin. Please return this form to school
by March 13 indicating your plans for next school year. Staffing needs for our school are
based on this information. Thank you for your help and support.
It is imperative that you return this form indicating whether or not you will be attending
school here. We will be making grade level lists based on the forms return to us. If you do not
return the form and the class fills up, you will be asked to move to another school.
***ALSO – if you have a child who will be starting Kindergarten next year, please indicate
that, as well, so we know to expect your child!
**********************************************************
At this time our child(ren), _____________________________________,
_____Will attend O’Loughlin School next year.
_____Will attend another Hays School -_________________next year.
Have you contacted other school? _____ yes
_____ no
_____Will not attend O’Loughlin School or other Hays School next year.
Where are you moving to? _____________________________
_____We have a child who will be starting Kindergarten next year. His/Her
Name is: ___________________________________.
Parent’s Signature: __________________________________________
Please Return by March 13
Greetings from the PTA!
By: Alaina Cunningham & Mandy Fox
Co-Presidents
Our next meeting will be Tuesday, February 3rd at 6:30 p.m. in the
Media Center. We hope you can join as we start to plan for Fun Night, Friday, May 1st
We enjoyed seeing you all at our Chili Feed Fun to Read Night. It was a very successful event!! We sold out of chili and hot dogs, WOW! Thank you to Hays Public Library
for helping us with this event and to all our volunteers who helped to make it a great
night.
Yearbook orders will need to be returned to the office along w/ payment no later than
March 27th, 2015 & baby photos/ads will need to be in by March 13th to give us time to
format.
Box Top$ For Education
CONGRATULATIONS To M
rs. Doerfler’s class for
collecting the most Box Top$
in January!!!
Please do not send flowers to school for your child for Valentine’s Day. Deliveries should be made to your home.
Congratulations!
Dustin
Ambassador of the
Month
Valentine Party
February brings many opportunities for fun. A
favorite February activity is the annual classroom
Valentine party. O’Loughlin students
always enjoy giving and receiving valentines.
Valentines will be exchanged during
parties held in the classrooms on
February 13, at 2:00 p.m. Please watch
your child’s classroom newsletter
for further information
concerning your
child’s party.
Go to a FHSU basketball game and raise money for our music program!!
The O’Loughlin Singers are singing the National Anthem Saturday, Feb. 7, at the 4:00pm FHSU
men’s basketball game.
If you go to that game and buy the tickets from us at school, $4 of the $8 ticket goes directly to our music fund!!!
If you buy the $8 ticket at the game, we get NONE of the profit. So please fill out the attached form,
and send to school with the money. You may pick up the tickets in our school office.
The deadline for doing this is FEBRUARY 3.
Thanks!!!
Joan Crull
O’Loughlin Singer’s Basketball ticket form
Deadline: February 3
Parent or Guardian’s Name____________________________________
Child’s Name_______________________________
Number of tickets_________________ X $8.00
Total $_________________
(Checks may be made to FHSU Athletics)
Please send this form to school with $ enclosed in an envelope to
Mrs. Crull. I’ll then put your tickets in the office for you to pick up,
or you can come in the music room on Tuesdays after O’Loughlin
singers to get them. I’m sorry that due to lost tickets in the past, we
can’t send home tickets with just the children themselves.
Questions? [email protected] or 785-365-6724
Thanks!