​Dear Ocean Shore Families,
 
Hello! It was so great to see so many parents at our PTO meeting last night!  Thank you for joining for an informative meeting.  I appreciated speaking with you and introducing you to Barbara Ng, our interim principal while I am gone on maternity leave. It seems hard to believe that today is my last day at Ocean Shore before I go on leave!  I will sure miss seeing the friendly faces of Ocean Shore while I am home. 
I look forward to visiting with my little baby boy once he arrives and will be coming back in June for the last few fun weeks of school! 
 
As a reminder, you can contact Barbara Ng with any questions, or our Vice Principal, Seva Steel who will be your administrator team.  The school is in good hands! 
 
Reflections From My Office…Thank You Families for Teaching Me About Parenthood:
In just a few weeks, I will become a parent for the first time.  This has given me lots to ponder, and the fact that today is Valentine’s Day has me thinking a lot about love and parenthood.  I want to take a moment to acknowledge how much our community has taught me about parenting. 
 
With all my years in education, I feel pretty confident about how to support children once they enter school. I have had a lot of experience working with families on how to support student success at home and school.  How to help you child build successful study habits at home?  This is my wheelhouse!  However, when it comes to those early years – the first walk, trying new foods, waking up to a bad dream, fixing bumps and bruises, establishing bedtime routines – this is all new territory for me!  I have lots to learn and know there will be many questions! But know that your steady example of parenthood as the Ocean Shore community has left an indelible mark on me. 
 
I want to thank you for teaching me along the way.  I have watched the way you walk your kids to school, come to advocate on their behalf, held your child accountable for their actions at home, sent little notes in their lunchboxes, and showed up for conferences and meetings.  All of these things speak to the way a parent loves a child.  You have been a strong example to me on how to parent – in the most loving and supportive way.  Sometimes this meant being firm while other times not.  This careful balancing act has contributed to the well-rounded kids we see everyday at Ocean Shore.  You have shown me that our children need parents at every stage of development; whether they are learning to walk, to read, or navigating the social landscape of a lunchroom as an adolescent.  I have been observing and carefully taking in the way you love your children, and they way this is reflected in their demeanor at school.  Their calm, confident and happy dispositions reflect the foundation you have provided them at home.  All of these things have left a lasting impression on me as a future parent.  Thank you for being such a good example!

Flood and Construction Updates: 
 
Portable Classrooms Construction Work Begins:  Over the break, the construction crew will begin working on our portable classrooms (our 6th grade classroom of Jessica/Beccy’s room, our RSP room and our music/band room).  This work will continue into the week we return from break.  Therefore, these classes will be temporarily displaced and operating out of rooms in our main building.  We expect this to last for the week of February 24th.  As the work progresses, we will update you on any extension of this timing. 
 
Thank you for your understanding and flexibility as these portable rooms will be taking over the following rooms: 
 

• 6th Grade Classroom (Jessica/Beccy’s room) will move into the ART ROOM.
• RSP Classroom will move into Patty’s Breakout Room in D-Wing.
• The Music/Band Room will move into the MPR and use of the stage for all music classes. 

 
Please note:  This means the art room, Patty’s breakout room and the MPR/Stage will be reserved for these classes.  Please note that other activities planned to take place in these spaces should be relocated or moved into the general classroom during this time.  Thank you for your cooperation as we try to minimize this impact on our students!
 
The Library Is Open!  We are excited to announce the completion of the library reconstruction.  Our library will be operating again beginning on 2/24!  The work is completed and our librarians worked quickly to put the books back together!
 
Cabinets and Sinks Being Installed:  Over the break, Belfour will be installing the new sinks and countertops in the classrooms.  We also will have shelving and furniture built and returned to classrooms.  This means that the remaining boxes of classroom materials from the storage pods will be begin to be brought back into classrooms.  Teachers will be working with a crew from Belfour to unpack all of these items in hopes of getting our classrooms restored to full capacity as soon as possible! 
 
After School Access:  We have appreciated having our campus vacated by students and families so that Belfour can get right to work.  Please continue to abide by this practice during the week of 2/24 as they are still continuing to restore our classrooms.  We expect to be able to begin after school access in March.  Stay tuned for details! 
 
Weekly Flyers: 
  

​Dear Ocean Shore Families,
 
Hello! It was another fun week at Ocean Shore!  We continue to appreciate being back on our campus though we are still undergoing construction and transitions.  I have loved hearing the stories and creativity that has come from The Great Flood of 2020 at Ocean Shore!  Thank you for your ongoing support, flexibility and understanding!  Our community has been so strong and resilient – this keeps us going!
 
I look forward to seeing you next week Thursday, February 13th at 6:30 pm at IBL in the MPR for our General PTO Meeting!  This is our makeup meeting from 1/16 (which was postponed due to the flood).  At this meeting, we will cover some important topics such as updating you on our improved student reunification system in the event of a school emergency!  Hope to see you there!  (NOTE:  We will not be facilitating parent breakout sessions due to the alternative location.  We will resume this practice once we return back to the MPR at OSS!). 
 
Also, next week will be my final week at OSS before I go on maternity leave.  I look forward to introducing you to Barbara Ng, our interim principal who will be stepping in for me while I am gone until June 1st along with our Vice Principal, Seva Steel.  Barbara is a veteran Pacifica School District administrator and has spent time at our school.  Barbara and Seva will be strong administrative team for Ocean Shore and know our kids will be in good hands!
 
Reflections From My Office…More Flooding Updates: We continue to receive so much support and kindness from our community as we endure this next phase of reconstruction.  Here are a few highlights from the week: 
 
Global Play Day: Classrooms took the opportunity to use the empty boxes that were storing some of their items for creative projects across all the grade levels!  Middle school and primary grade students alike engaged in problem-solving creative play opportunities use boxes to create things! 
 
Thank you 7th and 8th Grade Parents for Teacher Appreciation Lunch!  Staff were treated to a wonderful lunch from our 7th and 8th grade families in recognition of staff appreciation week (usually this occurs in May but was greatly appreciated this week!).  While our staff lounge has chairs back, our counters, sink and remaining kitchen items are still sitting in boxes.  This makes it difficult for our staff to have lunch so we were so appreciative of this effort! 
 
Continued Support from all of our Stakeholders on the Flood Project Management:  This week was a very productive meeting between all of our specialists on our project.  From our insurance providers, Belfour team and our school district administrators, our school has been very well cared for to ensure our project is completed with efficiency and accuracy.  We have continued to see these folks on campus this week around the clock who helping us put things away and get our school up and running.  Our primary goal has been getting our teachers materials and supplies back into the classrooms so that inconveniences can be minimized.  The support from our district office and administrators has also continued to help us get items replaced and coordinate logistics!  We have received strong support from our district every step of the way!   
 
ACE Hardware:  The 7th/8th grade oceanography/clean up elective would like to thank Ace Hardware for donating buckets and trash grabbers.  The original buckets (which Ace donated) and trash grabbers were lost in the flood.  We were so grateful for this donation! 
 
Thank You Belfour for the Catered Lunch for Staff on Friday! Our Restoration Crew (Belfour) provided lunch for our entire staff on Friday as a thank you for our patience and thank you cards.  They were so appreciative of the thank you cards our kids made for them for helping us clean our school.  We heard their office has displayed these cards in their office on their bulletin board. How kind!
 
Thank You to our Neighbor District Schools!  We feel so grateful to be part of such a strong support of other schools in the district!  Sunset Ridge staff provided us with morning treats for staff.  IBL has offered their campus to host our PTO night next week!  Today, Vallemar sent us a huge pile of cards made by students to welcome us back to Ocean School.  What a great district with supportive schools!

Take a look at the photos below.  I love the smiles on our faces - including our drawings of the flood!  

 
Help Us Continue to Share our Kindness Stories: 
 
Share Your Stories of Kindness! Do you have a story to share about how our community has come together?  Please share!  I am collecting your stories to post on our website!  We will archive these anecdotal moments to help us remember the kindness that was exchanged during the Ocean Shore Great Flood of 2020!  Share your stories here: 
 
https://forms.gle/Dt6CtaKfKDa3hrqA8
 
 
Welcome to Ocean Shore, Kathy Portiera!  We are thrilled to welcome our new Special Education Teacher to our team!  Here is an introduction from Kathy:
​
Dear All, 
It is my great pleasure to get to join the instructional team at Ocean Shore School! I look forward to getting to know one another over the weeks to come! In the meantime, I will share a few details about myself:

I am a California native and have been in education for over 20 years. I have worked with every year level from Kindergarten through year 12. Originally, I entered the teaching profession working with students who accessed the general education curriculum; later, I chose to get my Master of Education in Special Education after my son, Michael, was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Since that time, I have been joyfully working as both an Educational Specialist and a Department Coordinator domestically and internationally. 

After all of these years, I feel just as passionate and invigorated by this wonderful career as I did when I entered the profession! I value compassion and kindness above all else and infuse these qualities into every aspect of my teaching practice! I am simply overjoyed to get to live and work in Pacifica with such a warm and welcoming group of students, parents, staff, and community! 

With heart, 
Kathy Portiera

Reminder About Valentine's Day! In a K-8 school, Valentine’s Day is a sweet celebration of friendship and kindness.  I encourage you to remind your child that we want all of our students to feel included and recognized.  Bringing valentines is a lovely gesture, especially when everyone receives it.  Please be mindful and sensitive to our children with food allergies should treats be associated with Valentine cards, and get further direction from your child’s teacher regarding classroom protocols.  I look forward to this sweet celebration!  
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Weekly Flyers: