Dear OMMS Parents and Families:

As a follow-up to Dr. Brooks’ message from earlier this morning, The OMMS faculty and staff are excited about the opportunity to return to in-person learning on Monday (4/19).
I extend thanks to the team of engineers, architects, electricians, Central Office leaders, and  representatives from the State Department of Education who have put in a great deal of time to assess damages, begin the clean-up and repair process, and thoroughly assure the building is safe and ready to reopen. 

As I have shared in previous messages, our aim has always been to get our students back to school as soon as reasonably possible.  A great deal of work has been done over the last three weeks to prepare the building for re-occupancy.  Some classrooms have been relocated for the remainder of the school year, but we are fortunate to have additional classrooms available for all teachers and students.  Referencing Dr. Brooks’ message, we had a good number of buses that were damaged as a result of the flying debris from the F-3 tornado.  The transportation department has been working diligently to make repairs over the last three weeks. 

Unfortunately,  the OMMS bus fleet includes multiple makes and models of school buses, which makes it challenging to receive all necessary replacement parts, primarily windows and mirrors, in a timely manner.  While some buses are ready to resume routes, others are still awaiting parts.  The transportation office will send a detailed message in the coming days regarding routes that will not be running.  We apologize for any inconvenience regarding bus transportation.

Our thoughts and prayers remain with our families who have been affected by the tornado.  I continue to be both humbled and grateful for the outpouring of encouragement and support from the parents, churches, schools, and members of our community.

We will provide information of any classroom relocations in addition to other pertinent information when students arrive at school on Monday.  Thanks again for your outpouring of support and encouragement throughout this challenging time.  

Sincerely,

Larry Haynes, Ed. D
Principal