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Quote of the Week: "“I’m dreaming of a white Christmas but if the white runs out, I’ll drink red.” --Unattributed (stylecaster.com) Dear Ocean Shore Families, The holidays are upon us! This time of year is always crazy at school. There just seems to be more of everything. Much of it is good: more excitement, more celebrating, more giving, more thinking about others. Some of it isn't: more stress, more acting out, more anxiety, more commercialism. It can be a tough time of year for anyone suffering from illness, from depression, from grief or from economic insecurity. Like many of you, I have experienced one or more of these things during the holiday season. It's extremely important that we acknowledge, to ourselves and our children, that the holidays aren't always easy, and that it's ok to feel down or disappointed. Turning our focus to helping others can make us feel better, and can provide a great lesson for our kids. It can be as simple as making cookies for a neighbor or sending a card to a relative you haven't spoken to in a while. Speaking of helping others, our Winter Bazaar will be held this Thursday, December 9th from 3:00-4:30 in the yard. A separate email with more information about bidding on baskets will go out early next week, as will information about our virtual celebration next Friday evening. Patty McNally will be with us in spirit! Happy Hanukkah to those that are celebrating the festival of lights this week! Cheers! Jeanne Shout out of the week: To all of our students and families who have made donations to local charities and especially to Kaavel Basu who dropped off over 50 Lego sets to UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital for the second year in a row! https://twitter.com/UCSFChildrens/status/1465816271950286854?t=4Jc5nw5S9KnCPDQnoowysw&s=19 School Business: Vaccine Clinic- Sunset Ridge on December 7: There are still openings for the 2nd dose at Sunset Ridge Elementary School on December 7th from 2 to 7 pm. Please see the link below to sign up for the 2nd dose https://www.signupgenius.com/go/8050b4cadac2ca4fb6-pacifica1 You should remember to bring your medical card and your child’s Covid Vaccine card for the 2nd dose (or the adult’s card for a booster dose, if available.) Vaccines are free and available to all humans with or without insurance. However, Safeway, the provider, will require all insured individuals to show their insurance card. Snacks to support our 8th grade class: We are excited to announce that the snack window will be open every Wednesday after school. Although we are unable to sell freshly popped popcorn at this time, we will be offering a variety of pre-packaged snacks such as chips, cookies, popsicles and flavored sparkling water. Everything will be $1. Thank you for supporting the 8th Grade Class. Parking: Parents please don't park in the teacher parking lot. Some of our specialists are at multiple sites during the day and need to be able to park quickly. Either park in the small parent lot, or park on the street and walk on to campus to pick up your child. In addition, please do not double park. DLG - Diversity Learning Group – Meets Wednesday, December 8th @ 7-8:30pm. 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. Join via Zoom Meeting ID: 630 060 3544 password: DLG OSS Tours: If you know parents interested in Ocean Shore, our tours/informational meetings are virtual again this year. Three are geared toward incoming kindergarten parents, and one is geared toward parents interested in transferring their incoming 6th graders to Ocean Shore. Here is the link to the dates, times and Zoom links for each meeting: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1lyf1WNS2l4fhyOHrJkmV24QOUBWa0gGhq3ufEYAoPp0/edit?usp=sharing. The dates are 12/8, 12/14, 1/12 & 1/19 (6th grade transfers). Fliers attached: PSD job recruitment (substitutes), December lunch menu, Recommendations for COVID-safe holiday activities (English & Spanish). 
Friday November 19, 2021 Quote of the Week:" I don't have to chase extraordinary moments to find happiness - it's right in front of me if I'm paying attention and practicing gratitude." --Brene Brown (professor) Dear Ocean Shore Families, I'm definitely the kind of person who needs to be reminded to practice gratitude. A large chunk of my job involves problem solving, and sometimes just problem "listening" because I can't always solve the problems that I'm presented with. I'm not unique in this. Most of us deal with issues every day that don't have easy answers, and it can be frustrating and exhausting. That's why practicing gratitude is so important. When we stop and think about what is good in our lives, it makes us happier. It DOES take practice for most of us. When one thing after another seems to be going "wrong" at school, the last thing I'm likely to do is think about what I'm grateful for. However, when I do take the time (it only takes 30 seconds) to take a few deep breaths and think of something positive in my life, I feel better instantly. It doesn't make the problems go away, but those few seconds of gratitude can interrupt my negative focus and sometimes jolt me into thinking about a solution or a work-around that didn't occur to me. We all need to model gratitude practice to those around us, especially to our students. I'm grateful to my teachers and school staff who work endless hours for our students. We have the best staff in the world. I'm so grateful to all of you for supporting our school and for sharing your children with us. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving! Take care, Jeanne Shout out of the week goes to our Read-a-thon winners! Our top readers were: K/1st grade (tie): Zhara Rolke & Luciano Campagna, 2nd/3rd grade: Embar Metzgar, 4th/5th grade: Kaavel Basu, 6th grade (tie): Nina Alexiev & Alvine Ekah, 7th/8th grade: Zachary (Kai) McArthur. Congratulations to our top readers and to all of the students that participated this year! School Business: We are off all next week for Thanksgiving break. School will resume on Monday, November 29. Read-a-thon results: Our students read over 197,000 minutes and raised over $40,000!! Please see the attached flier for a complete list of winners, top fundraisers and winning classrooms. PTO Corner--a message from our PTO president: We are in desperate need of 2 people who have evening /weekend time and are somewhat skilled with online sign-ups or finance to help with our After School Enrichment Program. This is a “desk job” so to speak. Please email Tarra at president@osspto.org if you are interested or have questions. Please see the attached PTO Corner flier for other information about fundraising and employer matching donations. PEF: Giving Tuesday is coming up on November 30th. Please consider supporting the Pacifica Education Foundation! https://www.pacificaef.org/ Office Needs: Patricia is in need of Seventh Generation Disinfecting Wipes to clean our reusable ice packs. Lost and Found: We have many, many, many water bottles and lunch boxes in our lost and found as well as the usual large number of sweatshirts and jackets. All bottles and lunch boxes will be thrown out after December 3rd and clothing will be donated to Goodwill. Please come to the office and ask to "visit" the lost and found if your child is missing something. Fliers attached: Read-a-thon winners, PTO passive donations, PTO corner, PSD job recruitment, December lunch menu, Medi-Cal Dental benefits, PSD Calendar with OSS minimum days.
There is no post this week. I'll be back on November 19th just in time to send everyone off for Thanksgiving break!
Take care, Jeanne Quote of the Week: " In the velvet darkness/Of the blackest night/Burning bright there is a guiding star/No matter what or who you are." --Richard O'Brien (lyrics from The Rocky Horror Picture Show) Dear Ocean Shore Families, I do really feel that there is a light in the darkness this week. The news that children ages 5-11 can now be vaccinated is a gamechanger. Our Sunset Ridge vaccination clinic filled up within hours. Right now, Safeway is working to get additional staff so that we can open up more appointments on November 16th at Sunset Ridge. There are many other options as well. I've attached the latest flier from the San Mateo County Office of Education to this newsletter with more information about vaccination sites. Walgreens, CVS and Rite Aid will soon follow with vaccination spots. Gitima is also a guiding light for us at Ocean Shore. Here is a message from her about world kindness day: "Hello everyone, Saturday, Nov. 13th is World Kindness Day. We will commemorate World Kindness Day on Nov. 10th, Wednesday through strengthening our "Acts of Kindness" initiative and contributing to "Kindness Corner" where all students, teachers, staff, and parents can drop in their favorite quotes or words of encouragement in a "Jar of encouragement" and/or place flowers to spread hope and joy. Hope you can join us in cultivating a culture of care, respect, and compassion! One of my favorite quotes that I plan to place in "Jar of Encouragement" is in the book titled, Hope is a Decision: Selected Essays by Daisaku Ikeda: "No matter what kind of difficult situation one may find oneself in, some opening, some opportunity to fight one’s way out, can always be found. What’s most important is to hold fast to hope, to face the future with courage." I love the idea of hope being something that you choose to feel. Being around your children everyday helps me to choose hope. Gardening and planting trees is also an act of hope. Arbor Day is being celebrated on November 12th and the city of Pacifica sponsored an art contest, is helping each school site plant a tree, and is hosting a tree planting and celebration on November 13th @ 10:00 am at Fairmount Park and Recreation Center. I'm proud to announce that Ocean Shore had multiple winners and honorable mentions. These students' work will be displayed at Sanchez Art Center this weekend and next, and the names of the winners will be announced at the city celebration on November 13th. I've attached a flier with full details. Sending out kind thoughts, hope and good karma to all of you! Jeanne PS Get those kids vaccinated! Shout out of the week: Congratulations to all of our students that participated in the Tree Art Contest. A special congratulations to contest winners: Maya Warner (5th) and Nova Duncavage (6th), and to those that received Honorable Mention: Olive Keller (3rd), Katherine Tran (4th), and Mia Oliva (5th). All of you are shining stars! Staffing/Library Update: Speaking of shining stars, I'm so excited to welcome another Ocean Shore parent to our staff. Here's a message from her: My name is Jackie Downing. I am the new Library Tech for Ocean Shore. I am thrilled to be working in the library. We are so excited to open the library during the lunch period for 3rd - 8th graders. *3rd-5th graders- Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday *7th-8th grades- Wednesday and Friday. We will need to limit the number of students to 25. If it gets too crowded we will ask them to wait or come back the next day. Please remind your students that they can't bring food or drinks to the library, and that the students are welcome to come after they finish eating. Thank you! Jackie We are still looking for a part-time school office assistant (3 hours per day) and a part time Playworks yard duty supervisor (4 hours per day). Let me know if you are interested, or have questions about the positions. We are still short staffed. School Business: Daylight savings time ends. Don't forget to set clocks back an hour on Saturday night. Thursday, 11/11 is Veterans Day. We do not have school. Conferences: The week of 11/15 is all minimum days so that teachers can conduct conferences. Sixth grade will be at Outdoor Education that week as well. Please contact your child's teacher to set up a conference if you have not done so already. Drop off/pick up reminders: Please don't bring scooters or bicycles on campus. Leave them by the others at the bicycle rack by the gate and walk to pick up your child. Also, on minimum days, do not allow your children to play on the upper blacktop. The 6-8th graders are at lunch recess when the younger students are being dismissed. You can walk through the playground to get to the Nelson gate, but please don't have conversations or linger in that area. This is for everyone's safety. Thank you! Water Update: The A wing, B wing, and most of the C wing are completely dry. Belfor Construction will be replacing our baseboards over the next few days. I am beyond grateful that there was no damage to the walls and no need for construction. Picture Day Volunteers Needed: We have our makeup picture day the morning of November 18th. We need two parent volunteers to work from 8:20 to 12:30. Please contact Patricia Buddington if you can help. Fliers: PEF seasonal newsletter, Thanksgiving week Football camp, Legarza Sports Camps, Pacifica American Little League, Vaccination information (English/Spanish), Art contest details, November lunch menu, Spanish and Portuguese translations of my letter.
Thursday, October 28, 2021 "Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water..." --Peter Benchley (Jaws) Dear Ocean Shore Families, You might have heard that we had some water back in the building this week. We did. The storm Sunday dumped inches of rain all over Northern California and some of it seeped under our wing doors and into the A, B and C wings. There is still some moisture in the A, B and C wing hallways and breakout rooms. None of the classrooms were affected. Balfour Construction's recovery team is working to remove the moisture this week with the hope of not having to repair the walls. This week, there will be dehumidifiers in the hallway and breakout rooms. Next week, there will be a crew on campus after school to restore the baseboards. The current plan is to have the materials back in the breakout rooms by the end of next week. We hope to minimize the disruption to the classrooms, and I will keep you updated as things progress. Enjoy the Halloween weekend tricks and treats! Jeanne School Business: Tomorrow (11/29) and Monday (11/1) are minimum days. Please plan accordingly. Read-a-thon: Let's end strong! Keep reading and encourage friends and family to support Ocean Shore's readers. https://www.osspto.org/read-a-thon.html Fliers attached: San Mateo County Library, PGSL, PNLL, Pacifica United Soccer, Coffee fundraiser.
Quote of the Week: “There is a child in every one of us who is still a trick-or-treater looking for a brightly-lit front porch.” – Robert Brault, writer Dear Ocean Shore Families, I love Halloween. I have vivid memories of sprinting from house to house to maximize the amount of candy I could get in the two hour trick-or-treat window. I loved the excitement of dressing up and the anticipation of seeing everyone's costumes and home decorations. I loved stories about vampires, witches, and black cats. Why am I using the past tense? I still love those things. Of course, I can't trick-or-treat as an adult, and now I can't even walk around with my kids because at 18 and 20, they would get strange looks knocking on doors. The next best thing is being a principal, and getting to watch your children dress up, eat candy, and listen to spooky stories. We won't be doing our school wide parade this year, but the younger grades are doing smaller parades and our older children will be doing activities in their classrooms. It's especially exciting because at this time last year, the classrooms were empty, and the halls were silent. Our lives are stressful, and the pandemic is still with us. We have plenty of real things that scare us and make us anxious. Halloween provides us with the chance to pretend to be someone else, to be scared by unrealistic monsters, and to eat and drink sugary treats. It's an escape that I welcome every year, and one that I am privileged to share with your children. Take care and keep reading! (Read-a-thon has raised over $20,000 so far) Jeanne P.S. Please make sure that your children don't bring any fake weapons to school or wear costumes that are overly bloody. Be mindful of costumes that could be considered cultural appropriation such as Native American headdresses. If you have a question about whether or not a costume is appropriate, please contact your child's teacher or me. Thank you! YSB counselors: I have biography pages attached as PDFs for Jessica and Tiffany, our YSB counselors. Please contact Gitima Sharma if you are interested in having your child see a counselor (gsharma@pacificasd.org). I can not tell you how amazing these three women are. We hit the counseling jackpot this year, and it couldn't have happened at a better time. School Business: Kindergarten Registration for 2022-23: Information can be found on the PSD website: http://pacificaredesign.cyberschool.com/District/1150-Kindergarten-and-TK-Registration.html Tour information is not yet posted. All tours will be virtual. The OSS dates/times for virtual tours are: 12/8/21 @ 10:00 am, 12/14/21 @ 9:00 am & 1/12/21 @ 6:30 pm. Zoom links will be posted on the PSD website. Kindergarten packets are due by noon on 2/1/22. The packets can be picked up at any school site or the district office. They are available now. Please contact the district office if you have questions about registration that aren't answered on the PSD website. JUHSD High School Open Houses: Please see the attached flier for information. Registration information will be coming soon to their website: https://www.juhsd.net/Page/2003. Clothing needed: We need leggings (all sizes) and pants for boys 1st-5th grade to keep in the office for spills and other types of accidents. Additional fliers attached: Flu Vaccination Clinics (Eng. & Spanish), JUHSD Open Houses, PGSL, PNLL, Pacifica United Soccer, City of Pacifica Halloween, Read-a-thon FAQ, Bios for YSB counselors.
Quote of the Week: "Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible." The Dalai Lama Dear Ocean Shore Families, I'm going to turn over my "mic" to Gitima this week. It's been a long time since I looked at the Pacifica School District Mission Statement, but I was struck by how much of it dovetails with the challenges that we are facing right now. Here is the heart of that statement. We believe that:
Right now, many of us are struggling with personal interactions. In order to better support our community, and encourage the practice of kindness (it IS a practice), over the next few weeks we will be rolling out a Kindness Campaign. Gitima is meeting with teachers to work out a few more details, but I wanted to share what we have so far. Stay tuned for more information. Take care and keep reading! Jeanne Counselor's Corner: The era of COVID-19 pandemic has caused unprecedented struggles, which have strengthened the need for compassion, empathy, and kindness at individual- and systemic-levels. The Ocean Shore School Community will be initiating a campaign to inspire students, teachers, and staff to engage in acts of kindness in their own unique ways - big and small. Teachers are excited about reading books and facilitating circles on the topics related to kindness such as respecting individual and cultural differences. Each class will further use the "Acts of Kindness" wheel to track the number of acts that the school community engages in to express kindness to self, family members, class peers, school community, society, and world at large. We at Ocean Shore will therefore use the Digital Citizenship to promote our students' socio-emotional wellbeing rooted in these words by a Peacebuilder, Daisaku Ikeda: "When we care for others our own strength to live increases. When we help people expand their state of life, our lives also expand. Actions to benefit others are not separate from actions to benefit oneself. Our lives and the lives of others are ultimately inseparable." Warmly, Gitima School Business: Kindergarten schedule changes: On Monday, our kindergarteners will be here until 2:00 pm. Kindergarten Registration for 2022-23: Information about Kindergarten Registration and tours (virtual) will be coming next week. Upcoming minimum days and Holidays: Friday, October 29th and Monday, November 1st will both be minimum days. Thursday, November 11th is Veteran's Day and school is closed. Conferences: Conferences will be coming up the week of November 15th. Please contact your student's teacher to schedule an appointment. We will have a minimum day schedule all week. DLG Book Club, this Monday @ 7:00 pm: Join us for the next meeting of the Diversity Learning Group (DLG) Book Club! We're reading the first three chapters of My Grandmother’s Hands by Resmaa Menakem. I'm putting in a personal plug. I'm getting so much out of reading these books, and listening to the insights of these amazing women. --Jeanne Zoom link is here. JUHSD High School Open Houses: Please see the attached flier for information. Registration information will be coming soon to their website: https://www.juhsd.net/Page/2003. Additional fliers attached: San Mateo flu shot clinics, PNLL Baseball, PGSL softball, Slam Poetry event TONIGHT at OSS, JUHSD high school tours, Social/Emotional Learning parent nights.
Friday, October 8, 2021 Quote of the Week: "Many teachers and staff are feeling 'April tired in October.'" -- Jill Tucker, San Francisco Chronicle reporter Dear Ocean Shore Families, We are changing our morning drop off procedures effective this Tuesday, October 12th. The gates will open at 8:10 am, but teachers will no longer be opening their classrooms early. Students will line up on the blacktop, in class lines, when the bell rings at 8:21, and the teachers will come out and escort them to the classroom. This Tuesday, we will have multiple staff members in the yard to direct traffic. Going forward, there will be a teacher on supervision duty in the yard from 8:10 until 8:22 every day. This procedure is similar to what we did previously, and is in line with the contract between the school district and LSEA (the teachers union). Teachers volunteered to open their classrooms early to start the year, and now we are returning to our previous practice. I've attached a brief article from the San Francisco Chronicle that discusses some of the challenges schools are having with behavior and social skills. None of this is surprising to our staff, but it is exhausting to deal with on a daily basis. We are explicitly teaching social skills in the classroom, and reminding students how to interact and play on the yard. We are working on a school wide kindness campaign that will complement our social emotional learning curriculum and encourage students to treat others the way they want to be treated. We are continuing with restorative meetings, circles, and community building activities in the classroom. Please reach out to your child's teacher or to me if you have questions or concerns about negative interactions between students or questions about how a particular incident involving your child was handled. Take care, Jeanne Link to the SF Chronicle article: https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Cursing-meltdowns-and-playground-tussles-Bay-16512312.php School Business: No school on Monday, October 11th. We are off Monday for Indigenous Peoples Day. Staffing update: Here is an introduction from our new counselor: I am Gitima Sharma, Ocean Shore School Counselor. My educational background (Masters in Counseling and Ph.D. in Counselor Education) along with previous experience in providing counseling to students within K-12 and college settings inspired me to use my knowledge and skills to advance K-12 students' socio-emotional wellbeing during these challenging times. I have therefore started working as a part-time counselor at Ocean Shore on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. During non-working hours, I enjoy playing board games with my 6 year old son, cuddling my 18 months old baby, and reading books by my favorite author - Daisaku Ikeda. I feel passionate about advancing world peace through nurturing future leaders who are grounded in respect, compassion, and empathy, and promoting children's socio-emotional wellbeing. Please email me at gsharma@pacificasd.org if you want to discuss any concerns. You can also use the following link to make counseling referrals: https://forms.gle/JU8pLvJh5LRXkkSd9. Thank you for your support and collaboration! Read-a-thon: Keep reading, everyone! Find out information about the Read-a-thon here: https://www.osspto.org/read-a-thon.html Cell phone reminders: Please remind your children to keep phones in backpacks during the day. We are having issues with students using phones at recess and lunch. If they need to call you, or you need to get in touch with them, please go through the office. Please don't call or text them between 8:22 am and dismissal time. Halloween: The staff is finalizing plans for Halloween. We will not be doing our traditional school wide parade. However, there will be a variety of activities happening on campus. Your child's teacher will be sharing plans for the day. I've attached the link to a video that discusses the issue of cultural appropriation and costumes. It's designed for teens, but I think parents are also an appropriate audience. Thank you DLG for providing this resource. https://www.teenvogue.com/story/cultural-appropriation-halloween-costume-video PTO fundraisers: Why cook dinner tonight when you can order from Round Table and support our school? Please see the flier below for details. Make sure to say that you are from OSS when you order. If you are a coffee drinker, please consider a monthly subscription from Simple Pleasures Coffee and support OSS and a local small business in the process. Additional fliers attached: Round Table fundraiser-tonight, Coffee fundraiser, October lunch menu, Ohlone Heritage Hike, Pacifica PB&R Halloween event, Girl Scout event, PSD hiring cooks.
Quote of the Week: “Reading is a discount ticket to everywhere. ” Mary Schmich, journalist Dear Ocean Shore Families, Our 13th annual Read-a-thon kicks off today. At the beginning of the pandemic, reading was a huge comfort to me. Not only did it allow me to "go" to far away places while I was stuck at home, but it let me dive into other experiences and to empathize with people going through their own challenges, whether those individuals were fictional or real. Remind your children that reading can be done in many ways, from sitting down and picking up a book, to listening to an audiobook while you walk, to reading articles on a website such as National Geographic. It all counts and it's all valuable. Not all children love reading, I know, because I raised one. I have a master's degree in English Literature, books in every corner of my house, and a son who doesn't enjoy reading. Many reluctant readers respond well to graphic novels, and those were a staple in our house for both of my children. Ask your child's teacher or a librarian for recommendations, and encourage your child to read what they enjoy! Take care, Jeanne ] School Business: No school on Friday, October 8th and Monday, October 11th. We have professional development for teachers on Friday and we are off Monday for Indigenous Peoples Day. Staffing update: , Gitima Sharma, our new counselor, will be with us on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. (originally we had planned for Fridays) Parents are welcome to reach out to her if you think your student could benefit from some support. Here is a link to our new Counseling referral form: OSS Counseling Referral Form. Read-a-thon: Find out information about the Read-a-thon here: https://www.osspto.org/read-a-thon.html. I've also attached a flier with Read-a-thon FAQ. Cell phone reminders: Please remind your children to keep phones in backpacks during the day. We are having issues with students using phones at recess and lunch. If they need to call you, or you need to get in touch with them, please go through the office. Please don't call or text them between 8:22 am and dismissal time. Scoliosis Screening: 5th-8th grade students will be screened for scoliosis on October 5, 6 & 7. No clothing is removed during these screenings aside from bulky jackets. There is a flier below with more information. The opt-out letter is also below. Halloween: The staff is finalizing plans for Halloween, and I will send out an update next week. In the meantime, I've attached the link to a video that discusses the issue of cultural appropriation and costumes. It's designed for teens, but I think parents are also an appropriate audience. Thank you DLG for providing this resource. https://www.teenvogue.com/story/cultural-appropriation-halloween-costume-video Additional fliers: Scoliosis flier and opt out letter, October Lunch Menu, Girl Scout informational event, Read-a-thon.
Friday, September 24, 2021 Quote of the Week: "Nothing is so simple that it cannot be misunderstood." --Freeman Teague, Jr. Dear Ocean Shore Families, I've been thinking a lot about communication this week. No, I'm not talking about the latest OSS virtual meeting issue, and I apologize to anyone who had to wait until we figured out how to fix the problem! Let's face it, after 18 months in COVID times, our social skills are rusty. We see it every day at school, whether it's kindergarteners arguing over a toy, fourth graders disputing kickball rules or eighth graders disputing who said what about whom. I see it in meetings (virtual and IRL), at Safeway, and while driving. It doesn't help that we are all still under more stress than normal, and that COVID protocols change frequently and are different depending on where you are and who you are with. Luckily, Ocean Shore has a fantastic staff, and we are utilizing restorative practices and conflict management strategies through class meetings, small group discussions and one-to-one conversations with our new counselors. We are practicing mindfulness at staff meetings and in classrooms. Students are reading stories, discussing characters' feelings, and being encouraged to empathize. If there has been a conflict, students are guided through discussions that focus on how to make better choices, how to repair harm, and how to look at the incident from multiple points of view (students, teachers, office staff, custodians, kitchen staff, parents). Learning to communicate effectively, empathize with others, and resolve conflicts are lifelong learning goals, and we all have room for growth. Especially me. Take a deep breath and take care, Jeanne School Business: Staffing update: I'm thrilled to announce that we have a new counselor, Gitima Sharma. She will be with us on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. I'm also happy to announce that Ayesha Siddiq, one of our parents, is transferring to Ocean Shore from Sunset Ridge and will be assisting with supervision on the playground and working with students in the classroom. Barbara Bualat is resigning from her dual positions of Library Technician and Office Assistant/Yard duty supervisor. As much as we hate to see her go, I'm excited to see her advance in her career. She will be replacing Kelly Alves as the executive assistant to the superintendent. Congratulations, Barbara! You will be missed. PTO General Meeting: The PTO General meeting wasn't recorded on September 23, but slides from the meeting will be posted soon on the PTO website. Picture Day: Picture Day will be Friday, October 1st. Classes will come to the library one at a time. Students will be masked until they sit down to have their photos taken. Read-a-thon: Read-a-thon will be virtual and will take place during the entire month of October. Information will be coming from your student's classroom teacher or ombud. This year's theme is the Olympics and we will all be reading for the gold (and for the cash)! In 2020, Read-a-thon raised over $30,000 for our school. Scoliosis Screening: 5th-8th grade students will be screened for scoliosis on October 5, 6 & 7. No clothing is removed during these screenings aside from bulky jackets. There is a flier below with more information. The opt-out letter is also below. Water Protector Video Contest: Earthcapades, run by Ocean Shore alumni parents, Hearty and Lissen, is sponsoring a water conservation video contest for kids of all ages. See this link for details and for more information: Earthcapades Water Conservation Video Contest Fliers: Arbor Day tree art contest, scoliosis information, scoliosis opt-out letter.
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Jeanne BellingerPrincipal of Ocean Shore. Check back here for weekly updates and messages from the principal. Archives
November 2021
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