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Friday, September 25, 2020 Quote of the week: "Fight for the things that you care about, but do it in a way that will lead others to join you." --Ruth Bader Ginsburg I keep waiting for the week where I don't feel like the wind has been knocked out of me by some tragedy. Ruth Bader Ginsburg was a force of nature, and has been a source of inspiration to me for a long time. I didn't always agree with her, but I always respected her strength, her sense of purpose, and her ability to work with people whose views were in direct opposition to her own. Her words are so impactful. We all need to be reminded that we can charge ahead full of righteous anger, but if we alienate everyone in the process, our efforts are meaningless. I've been thinking about all our families in year-long distance learning, and I know that many of them feel adrift. Are they part of Ocean Shore? Part of Sunset Ridge or Vallemar or IBL? The answer is yes to both. Right now, more than ever, we are all a part of the Pacifica School District. Twelve years ago, I became the president of the new Pacifica Education Foundation. Some of the PTOs, teachers, and parents were not supportive. Many struggled to understand why it was important to donate (if you were able) to both your school's PTO and to PEF. At first I was angry that people couldn't see what an education foundation could offer Pacifica's children. I was passionate about bringing the schools together and striving towards a vision of equitable education; one foundation working for one district. I soon learned that I would get nowhere with that vision if I didn't figure out how to convince others to join the small group of parents that made up our board. It took a few years, lots of speeches, fundraising parties, informational coffee hours, PTO meetings, school board meetings, city council meetings, and yes, more parties, to get PEF off of the ground. Now, almost everyone in Pacifica recognizes the value that PEF adds to our community. We are all part of the Pacifica School District, no matter what our school assignment is for this year. If you are one of our distance learning families, take advantage of learning more about the new school community that you are a part of. I promise there will still be Ocean Shore activities to participate in, and that you will be kept informed when we have them. Take care and enjoy your weekend! Jeanne School Business: Please also look at the "Flyers for this Week" section on the homepage of the PTO's website for information about other events and services. https://www.osspto.org/ Our virtual back to school nights went well! There was no school wide assembly, so distance learning families didn't miss anything. Families and teachers met either in homerooms or grade level meetings. Read-a-thon is coming up October 1st! Teachers, the PTO, and I will send out more information, and yes, our year-long distance learning families will be part of the fun! Picture Days will be November 4th and 5th. More information and logistics to follow. DLG - Diversity Leadership Group - September 30th @ 7-8:30pm The Diversity Leadership (DLG) group is back and virtual! DLG serves as a resource for parents, teachers, staff and students in the OSS community to identify and discuss ideas, concerns and areas in need of further growth or awareness. The Diversity Leadership Group’s mission is to provide leadership, guidance and support to the Ocean Shore community to cultivate an environment of inclusion where each individual is valued and respected. Please join our monthly meetings on the last Wednesday of the month, from 7-8:30pm. Our next meeting is Wednesday, September 30. For more information or to get involved email: dlg@osspto.org Join Zoom Meeting https://zoom.us/j/97307944575?pwd=eUI2VmhjS1FWVDBnSEhRc25yeklZQT09 Meeting ID: 973 0794 4575 Passcode: DLG 
Tuesday, September 8, 2020 Quote of the week: "As we individuals grow in our resilience-as we become better at staying conscious and not losing heart-we will be able to remain strong in challenging conditions for the long haul. This is within the capacity of all of us." --Pema Chodron from Welcoming the Unwelcome: Wholehearted Living in a Brokenhearted World. Dear Parents and Guardians, What can I say? I'm just ready for 2020 to be over. The loss of Sean Nunan hits us hard. He was a gifted teacher and an amazing human being. Many of you have already seen the Go Fund Me link for his family. Here it is again in case you wish to donate.GoFundMe link for the Nunan family We will be planning some additional celebrations to honor Sean's life. Look for updates from myself or your teachers. We are also able to offer some counseling services to students who need help processing this loss or just processing the trauma of 2020 in general. Please reach out to your teachers or me if you'd like your child to be referred for counseling. I try to keep an open heart and mind in times of crisis, but it's not easy. As a former English teacher, I often turn to books to escape and relax but also for inspiration. I'm currently reading Pema Chodron's newest book. The above quote jumped out at me because sometimes I feel like I DON'T have the capacity to deal with all of this. I'm sure that I'm not alone. Pema points out that we all have the capacity to grow and be hopeful in difficult times: even when good people die young, even when we are stuck inside because of smoke and COVID, even when the sky itself turns a dark, alien orange and gets darker, not lighter as the day goes on. We can only do this together. Reach out when you need help; you are not alone. Take care, Jeanne School Business IMPORTANT: PLEASE FILL THIS OUT IN ORDER TO RECEIVE IMPORTANT NEWS AND EVENTS FROM YOUR CLASS OMBUD AND THE PTO. It takes 30 seconds. Thank you! PTO Communication Survey Back-to-School Nights Back-to-School is next week. We are going to have two nights. Look for an email with the Zoom or Google Meet link from your teacher. September 15th for 2/3 (5:30-6:30) and 6-8 (6:30-7:30) YDL 6th grade (6:30-7:30) September 17th for K/1 (5:00-6:00) and 4/5 (6:00-7:00) Diversity Leadership Group The Diversity Leadership (DLG) group is back and virtual! Please join our monthly meetings on the last Wednesday of the month, from 7-8:30pm. Our next meeting is Wednesday, September 30. Zoom link is here. Diversity Leadership Group (DLG) was founded at Ocean Shore School over 10 years ago by parents dedicated to increasing awareness and inclusion in the school community. Today, DLG serves as a resource for parents, teachers, staff and students in the OSS community to identify and discuss ideas, concerns and areas in need of further growth or awareness. The Diversity Leadership Group’s mission is to provide leadership, guidance and support to the Ocean Shore community to cultivate an environment of inclusion where each individual is valued and respected. Upcoming virtual events in October: Indigenous People's Day celebration and International Literacy Week. For more information, questions, comments, or concerns you would like to discuss, please email DLG at dlg@osspto.org. Technology Update: This message went out to all staff from the district office on 9/8:
Monday, August 31, 2020 Quote of the week: "There's too much. Too much ... perspective!" David St. Hubbins (actor, Michael McKean) in This is Spinal Tap Dear Parents and Guardians, Perspective. The above quote, which uses stronger language, comes from a scene in This is Spinal Tap. The three main characters, aging members of a once-famous rock band, stand at Elvis Presley's grave. They are depressed because they are broke and no longer famous. Nothing is going their way and they are thinking about all of it while standing looking at Elvis's tombstone. One of them casually mentions that it (looking at the grave) puts things into perspective. David St. Hubbins responds in desperation, "There's too much. Too much ... perspective!" That quote resonated with me this week. My thoughts go out to those I know (and those I don't) that have had to deal with the fires out West and the hurricanes back East. COVID numbers aren't going down fast enough, and there seems to be so much division and hatred in this country right now. Every time I look at the news, it's something else. Frankly, I don't need any more perspective! However, all of these events make me think twice about my concerns around Zoom log-ins, unreliable WiFi, and misplaced textbooks. My home isn't burning, my family is healthy, and I have a job that I love. Enough said. I have a lot to be grateful for. School Business: It was brought to my attention by one of our amazing PTO presidents that I should really be making my blog posts available in multiple languages. I'm going to use Google translate and attach PDFs in Spanish, Arabic and Portuguese. I know Google translate isn't perfect, but it's a place to start. Lunch Program I am so excited to announce lunch is free to all students through December. Parents or caregivers can pick up on Tuesday/Thursday at OSS in front of school between 11am-1pm. Food is frozen and needs to be reheated at home. Back-to-School Nights Since we did parent/teacher conferences last week, the teachers thought it would be better to wait a bit for Back-to School Night. We are going to have two nights: September 15th for 2/3 (5:30-6:30) and 6-8 (6:30-7:30) September 17th for K/1 (5:00-6:00) and 4/5 (6:00-7:00) Seva and I will drop in at the beginning of each session to say hello. More information will follow. Technology Help I know technology can be an issue. If your family is having problems with the Chromebooks or log in codes, please use this Google Form to contact the district office. If you don't get a response in a day or two, please let me know. IT Parent Help Center Dental and Health Please see the below fliers regarding low cost dental and health care in San Mateo. Thank you for your patience. I know the last few weeks have been stressful for all of us. I also know the process of distance learning will get easier, and that we will all adjust. I miss seeing the kids, but I feel so lucky that I get to live in this beautiful place and interact with the best staff and parent community ever, even if most of that interaction is virtual! Take care, Jeanne
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