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Dear Ocean Shore Families, Hello! I hope you are ready to enjoy a nice weekend and are able to make it to Fog Fest! I will be out of town and am sad to miss this event. Please tell me all about it on Monday! Speaking of Fog Fest, your help is needed if you are able to help out! See down below in this message for more information! Reflections From My Office: I had the opportunity to visit the 5th grade team of students and teachers at Outdoor Ed. It was pretty magical to see them all in action and see the kids respond to this amazing opportunity. Today we welcomed back 5th graders as they were full of energy and eager to tell their stories from this past week at Outdoor Ed. Thanks to the efforts of our teachers and the Outdoor Ed staff, the kids had an extraordinary experience. I am grateful our students have this opportunity each year. The exciting part happens upon their return. It is nothing short of magical to see the differences in the kids when they arrive back to campus on Monday. I recall this from being a teacher when I went with my students on a similar trip. They are bonded, more confident and tolerant of one another. Many reasons contribute to why Ocean Shore kids come back in high school or years later to visit the campus they called home for so many years. They are drawn to the memories they made with their classmates. This week will no doubt be etched in their childhood memory bank for years to come, cherished as a reminder of the unique experiential educational opportunities provided to them at Ocean Shore. Here are a few pictures from my visit on Tuesday. Does it bring back memories to you?       Staff Makin’ Waves: This week at the District Leadership Council meeting, we started with a neat activity. Our Superintendent, Dr. Heather Olson, asked each one of my colleagues of principals and the executive cabinet members, to reflect on something we are proud of at our schools. It was great to hear about the things happening across our district, and I was eager to share about the work of our teachers. Having returned that day from Outdoor Ed, I shared my observations about the positive impact our teachers made on the kids. I beamed with pride for the team that was out in the woods with our kids. 4th/ 5th grade teacher Virginia was a great example of how she lives what she "teachers" to her kids. She walks the talk without a doubt! While we were on the beach, she shared with me her first experience as a student visiting Outdoor Ed for. It changed her life. This impacted her work as an educator to pursue science education, relating back to the experience of being inspired and feeling the pride of being a successful student outside of the confines of a classroom. To see how she advocates and seeks this experience out for her own students is totally inspiring. Patty, who has that wonderful way about her of making you smile no matter what - was positive and upbeat as always. I was amazed at how she was so present with her kids, despite several events like weddings to return to this weekend! It doesn't matter how many years she had attended Outdoor Ed - she was just as excited about being there this week as if it were her first time. Jonathan had some fun stories to share about his own experience as a kid at Outdoor Ed. Like the time he cut his finger while "whittling" a stick (back when that was part of what you did at camp!). Just like Virginia and Patty, he was as excited to be there with our kids as he has been every year. I was especially touched with how he handled a few students who needed some "TLC" at just the right moment. He knew exactly how to make them laugh and get excited about what they were learning. Natalie arrived to spend a few days with the kids as well. The anticipation of her arrival was what kept some kids smiling and moving along when they started to miss home. This speaks volumes about her impact and role with our kids! What a treat it was for me to see how our students are so fortunate to have such dedicated, energetic and compassionate teachers with them for a week. This will be a week the kids will never forget, and the way in which their teachers played such an instrumental role in making the experience possible for them - was an indelible part of the whole trip. Parents Makin’ Waves (Shared From a Parent to All Parents!): You may have noticed in this post our “Wish-List” posted on Amazon to stock current books in our school library. Several parents were incredibly generous to heed our call for books. A huge "Thank You" to the Tinari and Darah Katz families for their most generous donations of many books to our school library! We truly appreciate your help in our efforts to foster a love of reading in our students. We hope this love of reading lasts them a lifetime! Student Safety Updates: This week, parents, teachers, our Superintendent and myself gathered for a very productive round-table discussion on student safety. I look forward to more meetings this year, and invite anyone to attend! It was very productive to discuss relevant topics that relate to ways we can continue to help students feel safe, secure and happy at school. One document I want to share with you is our Big 5 Safety Protocol. This is the San Mateo County of Education protocol that is used across our county. I encourage you to print this out, place it on your refrigerator so that you can familiarize yourself with the different procedures we will practice this year to respond to various situations. These protocols are important to think about anywhere you are in the community, even outside of school. Big 5 Protocol Another great topic we discussed was how our school staff uses restorative questions to discuss conflict matters between students. This comes from trainings that our teachers have received on facilitating community circles from the Center for Nonviolent Communication. We thought this might also be a helpful tool for parents! While these questions are a guide that we apply accordingly, they are helpful to use when you are thinking about guiding children to learn from difficult situations, socially or between family members. I hope you can find it useful! Restorative Questions From the Front Office: Parents! Please Be Mindful of the Playground Use on Wednesdays After School! For our families with younger students who are dismissed before 1 pm on Wednesdays, you may not be aware that our middle school students are still on the playground after lunch until 1 pm. If you are waiting on campus after school between 12:40 and 1 pm, please help us by directing your child away from the big playground. This playground structure is reserved for students in grades 6 -8 who are still in school and enjoy using the playground equipment. For safety reasons, when the older students are using the structure during their assigned lunchtime, we ask that our younger students play on the kindergarten structure while being supervised by their parents. The school does not provide supervision outside of the school day students, which includes younger students and/or younger siblings (toddlers or preschool children). This also includes minimum day schedules. We will ask you to relocate to another play area if your younger child is playing on the structure during this time. Thank you for helping us all share the playground so that our students can stay safe and happy! Amazon Wish List for Books for our Library! A new wish list for books for the Ocean Shore library has been added. These are books we would love to add to our collection. Parents can search for "Ocean Shore School Library" from their Amazon account. When they have located us, the list "OSS Library Wish List" will be accessible. Thank you for helping us keep current and interesting books in the hands of our students! OSS Amazon Wish List From the PTO Corner: Ocean Shore PTO Corn Booth Volunteers Needed September 29 & 30. Have fun at Fog Fest and earn hours while raising money for Ocean Shore PTO! We are still seeking volunteers to work in the corn booth at the Fog Fest this weekend. No sales experience needed. If you can say “Hi” with a smile and ask how many corns and how many lemonades, you’re perfect for the job! Take a look at the time slots to see which one you can sign up for. When you do decide, please email Sam Leon at [email protected] Corn. Booth SAT. Slots Open 11:30-1:30. 1 1:30-3:30 3 3:30-6. 1 Sun. 9:30-11:30 1 11:30-1:30. 1 3:30-6:00 3 More From Fundraising: The Silent Auction Golden Ticket Parking Spot bid sheets for the months of November, December and January are posted on the fundraising board in parent hall until Friday. Go place your bids! READATHON! Welcome to Ocean Shore School's 10th Annual Readathon! Theme: Wild About Reading! Let your imagination run WILD! When: October 1st thru October 31st Why: To raise money for field trips while building literacy skills How:
 From the Diversity Leadership Group Corner: The Diversity Leadership Group invites parents and caregivers to a discussion of school culture. The DLG supports Ocean Shore's commitment to kindness, inclusiveness, and respect for diversity in our community. Join us in the library on October 4, from 6-8, to share questions, concerns, and ideas for upcoming school-wide events such as International Literacy Day, Indigenous Peoples Day, and Ability Awareness Week. If you’re unable to attend the meeting, feel free to leave comments in the DLG parent folder. Do you speak another language? Would you like to share a picture book story read in that language to a classroom of students, and then share a little something about your culture or the culture of your language or why you speak this language…? The Diversity Leadership Group is recruiting volunteers to do short 15 – 20 minute presentations in a classroom or a few classrooms to celebrate International Literacy Day. We are going to celebrate it all week long the first week of October with the first week of the annual read-a-thon. Please email [email protected] if you want to know more or want to volunteer to present. From PEF Corner: SUPPORT PEF! The Pacifica Education Foundation (PEF) is taking education to new heights. They completely fund educational programs which exceed California’s core school standards; which our district budget cannot accommodate. Simply, PEF funds, advances, and protects a higher quality education for OUR students. Learn more, here. PEF SPONSORED PROGRAMS: - Elementary School Music Program - Middle School Band Program (Music Matters in Pacifica - MMIP) - Middle School Computer Science Program - Elementary School Slam Poetry Program (SPARC - Stage Performance + Rhythmic Culture - Poetry) - Professional Science Curriculum Development & Training For Teachers (Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)) Learn more, here. GIVE BACK! PEF gives our children an enriched educational experience. Give back to PEF and don’t forget your employer-sponsored donation matching too! Give back or donate here. UPCOMING PEF EVENTS: - PEFATHON: Mark Your Calendars - Oct. 28th - Run & Walk to support our school! Races for all ages, Fitness Fair, Awards, Prizes and much more! See the attachment on this newsletter; or click here. -http://www.pacificaef.org/givingNEW MEMBERSHIP PLANS: Membership provides you tickets and/or discounted access to fun annual family events, supporter decals, and much more. Learn more, here. - LISTEN & LEARN: PEF Ambassadors will be onsite at PTO events. You can volunteer to help us here. HOW CAN I HELP? - Volunteers needed, here. - Like & Follow PEF on Facebook, here. - Reach Out to our PEF Ambassadors, below:
NEXT WEEK HAPPENINGS! Picture Day is October 4th! Don’t forget to your student with a smile on Thursday next week for picture day. DLG Meeting October 4th 6 -8 pm in the OSS Library! Join for a meeting discussion about school culture. All are welcome! UPCOMING EVENTS! Monday, October 8th Join the E.A.T committee for their monthly meeting on garden and campus beautification! Meeting will be in the evening (exact time TBD and location to follow). EASY WAYS TO SUPPORT OUR SCHOOL COMMUNITY AND GAIN VOLUNTEER HOURS: NEED HOURS OUTSIDE OF SCHOOL HOURS? OUR ROBOTICS TEAM NEEDS YOUR HELP! OSS is fortunate to have a volunteer coach our Robotics team, which meets on Friday after school. Due to popular student demand, we are in need of additional help from volunteers to help supervise. Could you help? If so, contact David Bradley at [email protected] . Any and all help is appreciated! Do you have a truck? Our PE coordinator for the primary grades, John Lyons, is looking for your help to transport field hockey goals! Could you help him transport some goals from IBL to Ocean Shore? This would be a great way to support the school and gain hours! Contact John at [email protected]. Weekly Flyers:  Dear Ocean Shore Families, Hello! It was so great to meet with you last night at our first general PTO meeting. As I mentioned, the packed house of attendees speaks volumes about our community’s commitment to our school. Many schools dream about how to get parents involved. This is not a dream at Ocean Shore, it is our reality. Last night there was standing-room only for our meeting, which indicates how Ocean Shore families play such an integral role in our school and how we place a value on maintaining the experiential educational opportunities for our kids. At times, this requires attending late night meetings after a long, full day of work and family demands. I applaud your efforts to stay involved in your child’s education. Ultimately, as a result of our collaborative efforts, our kids receive the benefits of partnership! On behalf of the students, staff and parent organizations, thank you for playing a vital role in our education system! Last night, we intended to show several short videos. I have posted two of the videos below that speak to the power of parent involvement at our schools and how it “takes a village” to raise our children. Enjoy the videos! On Parent Involvement: https://youtu.be/nOhZ6U5yaXA From the Ocean Shore School Class of 2019: (Thank you to 2nd grade OSS teacher Juli Chang for helping students create this video!) https://www.wevideo.com/view/1195825077 Below are the slides from the presentation last night. Please feel free to refer to them as needed or if you were unable to attend the meeting. Thank you! PTO Meeting Presentation Reflections From My Office: After the meeting last night, a parent shared a special story with me. Tanya Guido is an Ocean Shore parent who has led an after school yearbook class for the students of Ocean Shore for the past 11 years. She came up to me at the end of our meeting with such excitement to tell me about a former yearbook student. She had just heard from another parent about the whereabouts of this young man, who left Ocean Shore years ago. This student had participated in the yearbook class. The yearbook class is another great example of the opportunities afforded to our students. In yearbook class, students are led by a parent volunteer (Tanya) who provides them with a safe space to explore and create. As a result, they produce a yearbook for all students. They manage and create their own page. This young man gained so much from his experience at Ocean Shore, he was hopeful to continue this trend when he went to high school at Summit Shasta. However, when he arrived, he realized they did not offer a yearbook class for students. So he did something very “Ocean Shore” – he created one. On his own, he reached out to the organization (TreeRing) that he used at Ocean Shore. He started the same sort of class that he participated in as a student here. He continued through the program all of his years in high school and has now graduated onto class. Tanya was ecstatic to tell me the next part. She shared that a parent of another girl recently told her about her daughter’s experience. Like the previous young man, this girl had enjoyed being in the yearbook class at Ocean Shore. She is now attending the same high school, and was eager to continue creating yearbooks. The yearbook class that was created by an Ocean Shore student at the high school became so successful and popular that they now only admit a certain number of students each year. This incoming freshman girl was one of only six who were admitted into the class. This year, she will continue the trend of Ocean Shore alumni contributing their creative influences to better their communities beyond their time here on our campus. I have heard other stories such as this one that was shared with me last night. I think it is incredible to think about the influence our young minds will have on our world today. We need their voices to be heard and to continue to give them opportunities to expand on what they gained here as students of Ocean Shore. Share your alumni stories with me so that I can share with others! These deserve to be celebrated! Reflections from the Playground: On Fridays at recess, you will hear music play over the loudspeaker. Today I had the pleasure of being in our kindergarten yard. I wish I could have bundled up the energy that was flowing from our little ones when they heard the music. They were ecstatic. Without care, they gleefully bounced and moved around. Several boys were thrilled to teach me how to do the “floss” dance. One little girl ran up to me with a beaming smile and exclaimed, “What is all this racket!?” She squealed and ran to dance. How fun to share this moment with them, and to remind you all to find time this week to stop and enjoy the music – wherever you may hear it. Another little one ran up to me with a smile to proudly display a note she found in her lunchbox. She told me her dad writes a note to her everyday. She was beaming, as the note indicated. What a sweet idea. I pass it onto you so that you can be inspired to share such kindness with others! Here was a picture of her note: (Hint to parents! This is a great way to make your child's day! Staff Makin’ Waves: I had the opportunity to visit Beccy’s 6th grade class this week. They were in the science lab, rotating through 4 different labs. There were parent volunteers assisting to lead the separate labs. I was impressed with the coordination and careful planning that Beccy put into creating this experience for her students. One station launched a “rocket” outside. While most students get pretty jazzed about watching a plastic bottle “launch” like a rocket, it was the moment after this that really captured my attention. Excited by what they created and observed with the rocket launch, they raced to their science journals to write down their observations. They were ecstatic to describe what they learned. That moment was pretty magical to observe. Hanging on their last word they wrote, they moved to the next station full of enthusiasm for learning about energy and science. Beccy had created the perfect pace and experience for her students to get excited about learning. That is what our schools days are all about! Here was a look at what learning looks like at Ocean Shore:   Parents Makin’ Waves (Shared From a Parent to All Parents!): Note to Parents: Please recommend a peer that you notice going above and beyond! I would love to celebrate their contributions to our community! Thank you to our PTO presidents, Amber Metkiff and Michele Tuman for their leadership! Our PTO meeting last night was an example of their skill and grace to coordinate many different programs and activities to ensure our school year begins with great success. The hours they give outside of school to coordinate our PTO are immeasurable. Their effort, tenacity and grace are invaluable to our school and we are grateful for their service! From the Front Office: Introducing our School Mental Health Therapists, Hart and Erin! We are fortunate to have two counselors on our campus, in addition to our district mental health counselor, Kristina. We have a strong team of support providers who will be working with our students on their social and emotional learning. In addition to consulting with our teachers and collaborating in classrooms, they will be working with students in groups and individually. When parents sign a consent form, our counselors will be able to begin working with students in these small groups or one-on-one. Hart will be working primarily with our elementary students while Erin will work with the middle school students. Allow me to introduce them to you! From Hart: Hi! My name is Hart Haragutchi and I am going to be at Ocean Shore this year as the Youth Service Bureau trainee counselor. I am currently a graduate student at Palo Alto University’s master’s in counseling program. Before pursuing a degree in counseling I did several different jobs, including working in emergency medicine and critical care, and teaching English in Russia for several years. I now live in San Francisco where I enjoy cooking, reading, and walking by the water in my free time. I am excited to be at Ocean Shore this year, and I look forward to meeting you and to working with your children! From Erin: Hello! My name is Erin McTigue and I will be working as the mental health clinician this year at Ocean Shore School. I graduated with a Master’s Degree in Counseling Psychology from the University of San Francisco in 2015. For the past four years, I have been working as a clinician for the Youth Service Bureau in various schools throughout the San Mateo/Foster City School District as both a clinician and school safety advocate. Prior to obtaining my counseling degree, I worked for 10-plus years in Bay Area public school systems, both as a special education teacher and administrator. In these roles I gained extensive insight into the inner-workings of various school systems and what is needed to successfully navigate them to provide students with much needed services. I look forward to working with the wonderful students, dedicated staff and outstanding administration of Ocean Shore School this year. Feel free to stop by the office on a Tuesday or Thursday to introduce yourself! Amazon Wish-List for Books for our Library! A new wish list for books for the Ocean Shore library has been added. These are books we would love to add to our collection. Parents can search for "Ocean Shore School Library" from their Amazon account. When they have located us, the list "OSS Library Wish List" will be accessible. Thank you for helping us keep current and interesting books in the hands of our students! OSS Wish List on Amazon Questions Regarding Requirements such as Live Scan for Parent Volunteers: We are in the process of working together with our staff, district, parent and larger community including law enforcement to gain the most current information regarding our policies and practices required for parent volunteers at our school. Student safety is our top priority, and collaborating with all stakeholders to ensure our special programs and field trips can continue through our reliance on parent volunteers while keeping students safe is essential. I welcome any questions or suggestions you may have regarding this topic. You will be updated as information related becomes available. From the PTO Corner: Fog Fest Help: We are looking for volunteers for the corn booth at this year's Fog Fest on Sept 29 & 30. Each year we are counting on parents to volunteer to help out in this booth because we do receive a proceed from the Fog Fest Committee. Your job as a volunteer is sales and to collect tips which that is part of what is donated to OSS PTO. We have been a part of this booth for many years and we do benefit monetarily and you benefit with making friends with OSS families. It is two hours that go by so quickly and can be a fun way to earn towards your family hours. We need 2 hour shifts with 3 volunteers each, Saturday & Sunday between 9:30-6pm. Here's a few ways you can sign up; NOW on the link below or sign up sheet at the Fundraising Board in the parent hall. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080a45aaa823a5fd0-fogfest For Corn Booth questions please email Sam Leon at [email protected] Support Ocean Shore with a Coffee Subscription: Take a look at this video for more information on Simple Pleasures Coffee. Click here is the Video Linkwww.facebook.com/liling.pang.7/videos/10155591437437341/ Click here is the Order Form: From the Diversity Leadership Group Corner: Do you speak another language? Would you like to share a picture book story read in that language to a classroom of students, and then share a little something about your culture or the culture of your language or why you speak this language…? The Diversity Leadership Group is recruiting volunteers to do short 15 – 20 minute presentations in a classroom or a few classrooms to celebrate International Literacy Day. We are going to celebrate it all week long the first week of October with the first week of the annual read-a-thon. Please email [email protected] if you want to know more or want to volunteer to present. From PEF Corner: SUPPORT PEF! The Pacifica Education Foundation (PEF) is taking education to new heights. They completely fund educational programs which exceed California’s core school standards; which our district budget cannot accommodate. Simply, PEF funds, advances, and protects a higher quality education for OUR students. Learn more, here. PEF SPONSORED PROGRAMS: - Elementary School Music Program - Middle School Band Program (Music Matters in Pacifica - MMIP) - Middle School Computer Science Program - Elementary School Slam Poetry Program (SPARC - Stage Performance + Rhythmic Culture - Poetry) - Professional Science Curriculum Development & Training For Teachers (Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)) Learn more, here. GIVE BACK! PEF gives our children an enriched educational experience. Give back to PEF and don’t forget your employer sponsored donation matching too! Give back or donate here. UPCOMING PEF EVENTS: - PEFATHON: Mark Your Calendars - Oct. 28th - Run & Walk to support our school! Races for all ages, Fitness Fair, Awards, Prizes and much more! See the attachment on this newsletter; or click here. -http://www.pacificaef.org/givingNEW MEMBERSHIP PLANS: Membership provides you tickets and/or discounted access to fun annual family events, supporter decals, and much more. Learn more, here. - LISTEN & LEARN: PEF Ambassadors will be onsite at PTO events. You can volunteer to help us here. HOW CAN I HELP? - Volunteers needed, here. - Like & Follow PEF on Facebook, here. - Reach Out to our PEF Ambassadors, below:
NEXT WEEK HAPPENINGS! Garden Day THIS SUNDAY 9/23 from 11 – 1 pm! Join the efforts to beautify our school to help work in the garden this Sunday! All are welcome to join! Tuesday, September 25th Ocean Shore School Safety Committee Meeting 7 pm in the Library: Join me, our new Superintendent, Dr. Heather Olson, teachers and parents interested in discussing ways we can support student safety and well-being at our school. All are invited to attend! UPCOMING EVENTS! EASY WAYS TO SUPPORT OUR SCHOOL COMMUNITY AND GAIN VOLUNTEER HOURS: NEED HOURS OUTSIDE OF SCHOOL? Do you have a truck? Our PE coordinator for the primary grades, John Lyons, is looking for your help to transport field hockey goals! Could you help him transport some goals from IBL to Ocean Shore? This would be a great way to support the school and gain hours! Contact John at [email protected]. Weekly Flyers: Dear Ocean Shore Families, Hello! Happy Friday! I hope you enjoyed the week. I was excited to enjoy the lovely sunshine! I have been told by many to “hang on” until the beautiful weather arrives in September and October! Everyone was correct in this prediction! I am excited for a very important event next week. Thursday (9/20) at 7 pm is our first general PTO meeting. It is a mandatory event, so be sure to send another adult on your behalf if you are not able to join. You do not want to miss this important evening! I look forward to seeing you there! Arrive early to meet with PTO representatives who will have booths available to talk with parents about required volunteering forms, spirit wear or other pertinent questions. I look forward to sharing updates with you for my Principal’s Report. Expect to hear from me in this report about topics such as my initial impressions of Ocean Shore, my core values as an instructional leader, the 2018-19 Pacifica School District curriculum highlights and student safety at Ocean Shore. Below is the proposed PTO budget for your review. Take a moment to review so that you have adequate time to review this prior to the meeting next week: PTO Proposed Budget Reflections From My Office: I had the opportunity to spend some time in our classrooms this week. I was eager to join their writing activities, known as Writer’s Workshop. This is an instructional model at Ocean Shore that has been the cornerstone of our instructional practices to teach writing across all grade levels. The fact that Ocean Shore has this workshop model for writing and reading was one of the main reasons I was so eager to come to Ocean Shore. As a classroom teacher, I found immense pleasure in watching how my students began to see themselves as real writers. Much of the Writer’s Workshop model rests upon the idea that students should write about ideas that matter to them. From small moment personal narratives to persuasive writing, students find that they have lots to say! Writing becomes a cherished activity, because they have the ability to express themselves. It has been inspiring to see how the students of Ocean Shore embody the mindset that they are writers with much to say about the world around them! When I observed a few of our classrooms today, I noticed that students were fanatic about getting their important thoughts on paper because they feel they have something important to share with their audience. This comes from feeling supported and encouraged in a positive classroom environment. This confidence is what Writer’s Workshop promotes, and to see it done through the collaborative partnerships that our teachers foster between students is magic! Each child comes to appreciate the other through the lens of writing and sharing ideas. In a 6th grade classroom, students were paired up and offered effective feedback to one another as they worked on personal narratives from their summer experiences. In a 3rd grade classroom, the teacher facilitated a constructive conversation about how to “show, not tell” your story. I captured her posters that decorate her room, which are posted below! As the 3rd graders worked on their pieces, they walked back to the poster to refer to the tips from their teacher. This is exactly how writing instruction should be for our students – it was informative, engaging, and prompts growth as a writer!   Staff Makin’ Waves: We are fortunate to have music available to our students at Ocean Shore in a variety of ways. I would like to highlight the contributions of one of our music teachers, Mark Unbehagen, who teaches music to our 3rd – 5th graders (brought to us by the Pacifica Education Foundation!). A talented musician himself, his love of music is contagious for our students and staff alike! Last week, he did something really fun for all of the staff in Pacifica. He organized a “Teacher Play-Date” after school on Friday. Teachers were invited to join him in the music room to try-out all of the different instruments. While the teachers enjoyed being students themselves with new equipment and learning opportunities, they also were given an opportunity to know more about the instruments their students would be using in music. Mark plans to host these events a few more times this year. I admire his innovation, which benefits our community in many ways! Parents Makin’ Waves (Shared From a Parent to All Parents!): Note to Parents: Please recommend a peer that you notice going above and beyond! I would love to celebrate their contributions to our community! Welcome to Ocean Shore, Johnny Davis! Johnny has brought his enthusiasm, energy and expertise to Ocean Shore by joining the committed group known as the Pacifica Education Foundation. As a new incoming kindergarten parent, Johnny is also jumping into his role as the VP and Volunteer Outreach Chair of PEF with contagious energy! We are fortunate to have his family at Ocean Shore! From the Front Office: Please Remember to Update Your TB Test! A reminder to visit your healthcare provider to update your TB test results and share this with our PTO record keepers! You can get this service done easily at places such as Daly City Urgent Care! It is open 7 days a week. This is required of ALL volunteers. Thank you! Amazon Wish-List for Books for our Library! A new wish list for books for the Ocean Shore library has been added. These are books we would love to add to our collection. Parents can search for "Ocean Shore School Library" from their Amazon account. When they have located us, the list "OSS Library Wish List" will be accessible. Thank you for helping us keep current and interesting books in the hands of our students ! You can find the link here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/25LCHT7LY60YB September is National Preparedness Month. You and your family can be better prepared by registering with SMC ALERT to receive important information in the event of a natural disaster or major emergency. SMC ALERT is the primary means of communication used by the San Mateo County Office of Emergency Services (OES), the Pacifica Police Department, Fire, and Emergency Medical Services, to alert our communities to major traffic events, critical incidents, and emergencies. Information during an emergency would include safe evacuation routes, the location of evacuation centers and community points of distribution for supplies. SMC ALERT provides emergency communications delivered to your cellular telephones, electronic mail and text messages in order to inform the community of events that may impact them. Stay informed and be prepared – sign up for SMC ALERT today. To learn more or to register go to www.smcalert.info or just text your zip code to 888777. Questions Regarding Requirements such as Live Scan for Parent Volunteers: We are in the process of working together with our staff, district, parent and larger community including law enforcement to gain the most current information regarding our policies and practices required for parent volunteers at our school. Student safety is our top priority, and collaborating with all stakeholders to ensure our special programs and field trips can continue through our reliance on parent volunteers while keeping students safe is essential. I welcome any questions or suggestions you may have regarding this topic. You will be updated as information related becomes available. From the PTO Corner: THANK YOU for your continued patience with parent volunteer forms: THANK YOU to all of our parents for your patience and flexibility as we adjust our procedures for collecting volunteer forms. In an effort to protect privacy, the collection process has been adjusted this year. While this new process is put in place, your support has been much appreciated. We expect a smooth roll-out of these forms next year as we continue to improve our systems and reduce inconveniences for all of our parents, volunteers, teachers and staff! Ocean Shore PTO Corn Booth Volunteers Needed September 29 & 30. Have fun at Fog Fest and earn hours while raising money for Ocean Shore PTO!Sign up here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080a45aaa823a5fd0-fogfest Questions? Contact Sam Leon at [email protected] Join Us for a Fun Fundraising Event! FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 21st at Sea Bowl is Ocean Shore Family Fun Night! Take your family bowling with fun lasers and fog machines while supporting our school! Join Empowered Fitness between NOW AND HALLOWEEN and all proceeds will benefit OSS PTO! Get fit, have fun all while supporting our school! From the Diversity Leadership Group Corner: Do you speak another language? Would you like to share a picture book story read in that language to a classroom of students, and then share a little something about your culture or the culture of your language or why you speak this language…? The Diversity Leadership Group is recruiting volunteers to do short 15 – 20 minute presentations in a classroom or a few classrooms to celebrate International Literacy Day. We are going to celebrate it all week long the first week of October with the first week of the annual read-a-thon. Please email [email protected] if you want to know more or want to volunteer to present. From PEF Corner: SUPPORT PEF! The Pacifica Education Foundation (PEF) is taking education to new heights. They completely fund educational programs which exceed California’s core school standards; which our district budget cannot accommodate. Simply, PEF funds, advances, and protects a higher quality education for OUR students. Learn more, here. PEF SPONSORED PROGRAMS: - Elementary School Music Program - Middle School Band Program (Music Matters in Pacifica - MMIP) - Middle School Computer Science Program - Elementary School Slam Poetry Program (SPARC - Stage Performance + Rhythmic Culture - Poetry) - Professional Science Curriculum Development & Training For Teachers (Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)) Learn more, here. GIVE BACK! PEF gives our children an enriched educational experience. Give back to PEF and don’t forget your employer sponsored donation matching too! Give back or donate here. UPCOMING PEF EVENTS: - PEFATHON: Mark Your Calendars - Oct. 28th - Run & Walk to support our school! Races for all ages, Fitness Fair, Awards, Prizes and much more! See the attachment on this newsletter; or click here. -NEW MEMBERSHIP PLANS: Membership provides you tickets and/or discounted access to fun annual family events, supporter decals, and much more. Learn more, here. - LISTEN & LEARN: PEF Ambassadors will be onsite at PTO events. You can volunteer to help us here. HOW CAN I HELP? - Volunteers needed, here. - Like & Follow PEF on Facebook, here. - Reach Out to our PEF Ambassadors, below:
NEXT WEEK HAPPENINGS! Coastal Clean-Up Tomorrow! (9/15 at 9 am) Ocean Shore School Ocean Shore School has adopted Sharp Park Beach as our clean up area. Come help and earn volunteer hours for our school! If people are willing to volunteer, you will need to be at the start of the levee at 9am to sign in and complete a waiver. Alternatively, you can complete a waiver on line here before hand: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScDF_whO84HnInP_PMLERlIVB13M_Zob5miXo6gaTYxLBFu_Q/viewform Thursday, September 20th PTO General Meeting 7 – 9 pm in the MPR: I hope to see you at our first General PTO Meeting! I look forward to speaking with you and sharing insights for our year ahead. This will be my first meeting, so join me if you are also new or returning for another great year at OSS! Join Us for a Fun Fundraising Event! FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 21st at Sea Bowl is Ocean Shore Family Fun Night! Take your family bowling with fun lasers and fog machines while supporting our school! UPCOMING EVENTS! Tuesday, September 25th Ocean Shore School Safety Committee Meeting 7 pm (Room TBD): Join me, our new Superintendent, Dr. Heather Olson, teachers and parents interested in discussing ways we can support student safety and well-being at our school. All are invited to attend! EASY WAYS TO SUPPORT OUR SCHOOL COMMUNITY AND GAIN VOLUNTEER HOURS: NEED HOURS OUTSIDE OF SCHOOL? The Oceans 411 committee needs you! We're looking for parents to cut and paint plywood for a project. If you can help, email Sheila at [email protected]. HELP RUN AN ELECTIVE FOR 7th and 8th GRADERS! We are still looking for parents who would partner with our teachers to facilitate an electives course. These are offered each trimester and we hope to host a class such as a language, coding or computer-programming course. If you have an interest in offering this opportunity to our kids, please let me or a 7th/8th grader teacher know about your expertise or availability! Weekly Flyers: Dear Ocean Shore Families, Hello! I hope you had a wonderful Labor Day weekend. This week sure went fast! I am looking forward to the return of the football season this weekend! A tradition my dad and I have shared for many years is cheering (a little too loud at times) for our beloved Wisconsin Badgers and the Green Bay Packers. I welcome any rival football discussions, as I know I am deep in 49er territory! Reflections From My Office: At our staff meeting on Wednesday, we did something pretty neat. All the teachers and I lined up in order of our years of service in education. It was remarkable! The overwhelming majority of our teachers have been teaching beyond 15 years. Many of our teachers have spent the bulk of their careers at Ocean Shore, while others have deliberately moved from other schools to be here. That says something about Ocean Shore as it is a place that educators aspire to join or stay indefinitely. Joining us at our meeting was our new superintendent, Dr. Heather Olson. It was great for her to witness this representation in years of service and commitment to the Pacifica School District! In particular in regards to our staff, I have noticed the strong bond between our teachers. From our veteran staff to those who recently entered the education field, this team of educators is woven tightly together. It was easy to see right away how they support, inspire and guide one another. There are so many fun traditions that I have loved discovering! The stories from years past of the fun things they did together as a staff, and their excitement to try new ideas speaks to their cohesiveness. I love how they intentionally come together at recess everyday, which is not common at all schools (especially one that spans nine grade levels!). You will likely see everyone out together in the community, because they care about each other as friends and colleagues. I feel very fortunate to join this team. Their friendship, tolerance and acceptance of each other are an example I am grateful your children are privy to witness everyday. Staff Makin’ Waves: One of our teachers, Natalie Abinante, wears many, many hats at Ocean Shore. You have seen her in all of our classrooms working with every grade level. As our resource specialist teacher, she consults and collaborates with our general and special education teams. She is an essential part of the “glue” that binds her expertise with academic and behavior intervention with our general education programs and curriculum. However, her impact extends far beyond her role as a RSP teacher! You will find her helping out in the office, working on this website, and attending PTO meetings. I have affectionately given her the nickname, “The Mayor” for her ability to answer any question related to all things Ocean Shore! We are lucky to have her on our team! Parents Makin’ Waves (Shared From a Parent to All Parents!): Cristin Fong and all of the Ombuds - Cristin Fong is the Lower Grade VP of the PTO, and Mom to a Kinder, 4th Grader, and 5th Grader and so much more! She has held numerous Ombud roles for teachers over the years, is the co-lead for our amazing Talent Show, and most recently has taken on the role of leading the Ombuds. In her role this year she has already spent numerous hours answering questions for Omuds about the new paperwork process, made copies for many, and is often on the phone/email at all hours making sure that everyone has what they need. She also has found time to volunteer in the kinder classroom this year, and is always willing to jump in and support the PTO Board as needed! Thank you Cristin for being such an awesome parent volunteer, our kids and parents are lucky to have you at Ocean Shore! We would also like to highlight the Ombuds for all of their work they do all year. They are the main contact for the teachers and the parents, and always ensure everyone in the class gets their questions answered and what they need. They plan gifts for teachers, help coordinate volunteers for the classroom, and of course help with the huge job of collecting paperwork and ensuring we have compliant parents working with the kids! Our Ocean Shore Program runs more smoothly because of these amazing parents and we want to thank them for all of their hard work! From the Front Office: After-School Timely Pick Up of Students: All parents are reminded to pick up their students after-school on time. There is no student supervision after the dismissal time. Please remember that if your child is not picked up on time, they are not being supervised and we care about the safety of your child! Parking: Please be respectful of our parking spaces designated for staff. Parents are reminded to refrain from parking in the front lot on school days from 8 am to 3 pm. As it is, we do not have enough parking spaces for all of our staff so taking additional spots means our staff have fewer places to park! Thank you! “Parent University” Series Coming Soon: Are you interested in sharing ideas and resources with other parents around the idea of student wellness? Some student support specialists and I were exploring ways we would like to reach out to our parent community to discuss ideas related to supporting the social and emotional needs of our children. If you are interested in this idea, please let me know. We hope to roll out a few different topics. We welcome your input! From the PTO Corner: Vacant PTO Position Grade 6-8 Parent Representative of the PTO Executive Board has recently opened up. If you are interested in being considered for this position, please see www.osspto.org or the PTO board in the parent hallway for the job description and sign up on that board by Sept 12. If more than one person is interested, there will be an election Sept 13-20, 2018 to determine who will fill the vacancy. If there is only one person who signs up as a candidate, the PTO Board will vote to approve the candidate at the PTO Executive Board Meeting on October 9th. Please email [email protected] with any questions or interest in this job. From PEF Corner: SUPPORT PEF! The Pacifica Education Foundation (PEF) is taking education to new heights. They completely fund educational programs which exceed California’s core school standards; which our district budget cannot accommodate. Simply, PEF funds, advances, and protects a higher quality education for OUR students. Learn more, here. PEF SPONSORED PROGRAMS: - Elementary School Music Program - Middle School Band Program (Music Matters in Pacifica - MMIP) - Middle School Computer Science Program - Elementary School Slam Poetry Program (SPARC - Stage Performance + Rhythmic Culture - Poetry) - Professional Science Curriculum Development & Training For Teachers (Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)) Learn more, here. GIVE BACK! PEF gives our children an enriched educational experience. Give back to PEF and don’t forget your employer sponsored donation matching too! Give back or donate here. UPCOMING PEF EVENTS: - PEFATHON: Mark Your Calendars - Oct. 28th - Run & Walk to support our school! Races for all ages, Fitness Fair, Awards, Prizes and much more! See the attachment on this newsletter; or click here. - NEW MEMBERSHIP PLANS: Membership provides you tickets and/or discounted access to fun annual family events, supporter decals, and much more. Learn more, here. - LISTEN & LEARN: PEF Ambassadors will be onsite at PTO events. You can volunteer to help us here. HOW CAN I HELP? - Volunteers needed, here. - Like & Follow PEF on Facebook, here. - Reach Out to our PEF Ambassadors, below:
NEXT WEEK HAPPENINGS! Wednesday, September 12th: School Safety Event The Coalition for Safe Schools and Communities is holding a community event on the Big Five protocols and school safety on Wednesday, September 12, 2018 in the Jefferson High School Theater from 6:15-8:00 pm. See Flyer here: School Safety Event UPCOMING EVENTS! Thursday, September 20th PTO General Meeting 7 – 9 pm in the MPR: I hope to see you at our first General PTO Meeting! I look forward to speaking with you and sharing insights for our year ahead. This will be my first meeting, so join me if you are also new or returning for another great year at OSS! Tuesday, September 25th Ocean Shore School Safety Committee Meeting 7 pm (Room TBD): Join me, our new Superintendent, Dr. Heather Olson, teachers and parents interested in discussing ways we can support student safety and well-being at our school. All are invited to attend! EASY WAYS TO SUPPORT OUR SCHOOL COMMUNITY AND GAIN VOLUNTEER HOURS: NEED HOURS OUTSIDE OF SCHOOL? The Oceans 411 committee needs you! We're looking for parents to cut and paint plywood for a project. If you can help email Sheila at [email protected]. HELP RUN AN ELECTIVE FOR 7th and 8th GRADERS! We are still looking for parents who would partner with our teachers to facilitate an electives course. These are offered each trimester and we hope to host a class such as a language, coding or computer-programming course. If you have an interest in offering this opportunity to our kids, please let me or a 7th/8th grader teacher know about your expertise or availability! Weekly Flyers: |
Jeanne BellingerPrincipal of Ocean Shore. Check back here for weekly updates and messages from the principal. Archives
June 2022
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