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WEDear Ocean Shore Families, Hello! This weekend is PEFathon – I hope to see you there! This is really fun event, and one that your whole family can enjoy! I look forward to bringing Alex with me to cheer on the race and represent Ocean Shore with pride! I look forward to seeing you there. Next week, our students will participate in some events and an assembly in celebration and recognition of Indigenous Peoples’ Day. These are memorable moments and I encourage you to ask your child about their takeaways from the events next week. Readathon is in full swing! Monday will make the first announcement to compare class totals. Help us make this a fun and healthy competition to promote how exciting reading can be at home! Stay tuned for class total updates next week! Reflections From My Office: This week our 8th graders went Yosemite for their coveted signature field trip. What an experience for our kids! Despite having to return a day early due to poor air quality from forest fires, they had an incredible time. I am grateful for the hard work that went into preparing for the trip from fundraising, organizing details and last minute arrangements. The students always arrive back to school with more confidence, composure and cohesion than they had before the left. It is truly a bonding experience, and for many – it will be something they remember forever. Here are some highlights that their teachers shared with me. If you know an 8th grader, ask them about one of these experiences! Here are some first experiences that students might have had:
Weekly Podcast: Take a moment to listen to the latest episode and hear from student voices about what is happening at Ocean Shore! Click HERE for the latest episode: Welcome to Ocean Shore Sarah Scarfe! We are happy to announce that Sarah Scarfe joined our Ocean Shore faculty team this week! Sarah is our new speech and language therapist. She is joining our expert team of specialists who work with our staff and students in a variety of ways from consultations to individual students who have specific learning needs. Sarah recently moved to the area to accept this position and has introduced herself to you below: Sarah says, "I'm looking forward to a good year here at Ocean Shore. Julie took me on a tour today and I learned many innovative teaching strategies and an environment that has been achieved here. I look forward to collaborating with each of you. Just a little about myself... I like photography. My mom has a lovely yard with many different flowers and bushes. I like to get snapshots. I'm planning on getting them on note cards to use and give to friends for their use." Staff Makin’ Waves: Check out our “Staff of the Week” posted below!  See you at the PEFathon!!   Weekly Flyers: Dear Ocean Shore Families, Hello! What a great evening this week at our Readathon Kick Off Event! It was a full house and I am so proud of how our community came out in full force to learn more about literacy! At our workshop, we shared some effective questions for families to use at home with young readers. I have posted them HERE for everyone to use. These are part of the “Family Resources” folder we wish to build upon for the rest of the year. Here are a few images from the night: Reflections: October is bully-prevention month. This topic brings to light many emotions, questions and experiences that we can all relate to on some level. In my weekly message to you, I thought it would be helpful to include tips, thoughts or advice. A firm believer that it takes a village to raise one child, I know our partnership is critical to the development of each of our children. As our children mature, it is essential that we create strong, happy and confident kids who are ready to be problem-solvers . Many times, I read articles or parents have shared insightful information with me that I think would benefit parents. Please feel share with me any feedback or ideas you have! I want to share some resources that were shared with me a few years ago. Take a moment to look at the link posted below. There are many short videos posted on anything from fostering empathy and compassion in our youth to helping them build healthy relationships.. This is an awesome resource for parent to help their children understand stress, bullying, social media, grief, mental health challenges and body image. PODCAST: Dolphinently Talks! Speaking of ways families get involved, hear from our kids on what it means to have their parents involved in school! Check out the latest episode! Episode 3! CLICK HERE! Scenes from the Week! Check out some scenes from a busy, productive week at Ocean Shore!  Hope to see you at the PEFathon! Be sure to register! Weekly FlyersDear Ocean Shore Families, Hi there! 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 sad to miss this event. Please tell me all about it on Monday! We are fortunate to have so many celebrations and festivals in our community that bring us together. A final reminder – Help us reach our goal that EVERY child will be represented at our Super Fun Night of Reading on Tuesday 10/1! With events being offered before school (7:45 am) and in the evening (6:00 pm) we are hoping a family member can join with a student! This will kickoff Readathon and equip our families with tools to make reading fun and meaningful at home! See you there! Reflections From My Office: In the next few weeks, we begin many of our overnight field trips for older students from Outdoor Ed, to the 6th grade Calistoga trip and the infamous 8th grade trip to Yosemite. Seva and I had the opportunity to visit the 5th grade students and teachers at Outdoor Ed on Wednesday evening. This year’s trip will be remembered by so many sweet moments and memories that are transformative for the kids – from hot weather and Virginia keeping kids cool with a “mister” or spray bottle - to the famous “skit night” around the campfire. It was pretty magical to see them all in action and see the kids respond to this amazing opportunity. It was fun to hear of how many parents and staff recalled their own experience as a child at Outdoor Ed. Do you relate? Can you recall this childhood memory? The 5th graders arrived home today as they were full of energy and eager to tell their stories from 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. 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? PODCAST: Dolphinently Talks! Speaking of ways families get involved, hear from our kids on what it means to have their parents involved in school! Check out the latest episode! Episode 3! CLICK HERE! Staff Makin’ Waves: Be sure to read about our “Staff of the Week” – Natasha! We are so grateful Natasha joined our team this year! As an Ocean Shore alumn, she came to us from Vallemar this year. Learn more about one of our new members from the team!  See You Next Week at Ocean Shore's Super Fun Night of Reading! Check out the latest from PEF! We hope you can make it to the Family Fun Fest at PEFathon! You will not want to miss this super fun event! Weekly Flyers:Dear Ocean Shore Families, Hello! What a wonderful PTO meeting last night! It brings me such pride and joy to see our community in action. It was great to hear from all our parent and community groups that support our school. As I shared last night, the way our kids are supported by these groups can be compared to a wheel on a wheel on bike. Each group – PTO, PEF, DLG, EAT, school site and district supports, etc… all represent the spokes of the wheel. The outside tire is our collective efforts to provide the Ocean Shore experience. And at the center, integral to the integrity of the wheel, is the “bolt” - our children. Each spoke provides an essential role for every child. As evidenced by last night, our partnerships are strong and mighty! What a privilege to be part of this journey with you! Reflections from My Office: Last night, families and teacher facilitators had powerful conversations about the struggles and victories of supporting literacy at home. Parents swapped best practices with one another about what works for their child at home. I noticed many parents taking notes and sharing ideas with one another. That was awesome! People asked intriguing questions such as, “How do I compete to get my child to read a book with video games and You Tube?” Or, “My child has a learning challenge with reading. Is it alright for them to listen to an audio book once in awhile?” How refreshing to hear such honest and purposeful conversations. People shared success stories about how they used their time spent driving in the car to listen to a book or podcast together, and then discuss it. Or, how some families read together – long after their child had already learned how to read. Check out this article that was used in one of our sessions last night – posted HERE! As I was leaving last night, I had a great conversation with Virginia – our 4th/5th grade teacher. Despite a very long day of facilitating her session for parents and teaching kids all day, at 9 pm she was as jubilant as ever. She was so grateful for the opportunity to talk with parents and answer important questions – knowing the power that comes from family engagement with literacy. Beaming from ear to ear, she said, “I just love nights like this. Our parents want the best for their kids and it is so great to work together to support them.” I felt her excitement and it motivated me! The commitment from our community is so strong and so inspiring! This left me feeling pretty great for my drive home to Half Moon Bay last night. Thank you for this inspiration! Every Child Represented: Last night we launched a goal. It is our school goal to have EVERY CHILD represented at our next family education night – the Kickoff for Readathon! Every single child deserves this and we hope you are willing to help us reach this goal. Encourage one another to attend and find ways to help families join. Any family member can attend with their child! Why Should You Go? Our teachers will be working with families and children for a 30 minute workshop where we guide you through questions that can be used to discuss a piece of literature. Families will gather together and practice so that when you leave, you can feel confident about how to best support reading practices at home. Come to the Readathon event to learn the “how to” when we ask you to be reading every night, every family, for every child. Remember the importance of recording this practice at home with your child’s Reading Log or homework agenda – and celebrate the success of using it daily! When: OCTOBER 1st: (2 sessions being offered!) If you can only attend in the morning, come to school at 7:45 am – 8:15 am (MPR). If you can join for the evening, come for dinner at 5:30 pm (pizza fundraiser) for dinner, 6:00 – 6:30 (workshop)and then 6:30 – 7:30 (Classroom visits). See the flyer below!  Weekly Updates:  Weekly FlyersDear Ocean Shore Families, Hello! What beautiful sunny weather we are having! I hope are about to enjoy a lovely weekend outside. Fall is absolutely my favorite time of year! I already have my pumpkin candles burning at home with fall decorations going up this weekend! Reflections from My Office: This coming week is a special event. It is our first PTO general meeting for all families on September 19 at 6:30 pm. While we do ask that all families attend, I believe it is important to inform you on why this matters. You have heard me mention the importance of family engagement quite a bit lately. It's because this matters for our kids so much. While Ocean Shore was founded on a family partnership model, what matters most is how your involvement begins at home with your expectations of your child’s success. Attending the general meeting on Thursday is an important bridge between home and school and links those family expectations to school. I am really proud of the work our PTO has done over the past year to make PTO meetings meaningful for parents. You may be have noticed that there are more workshops for parents on things like student wellness and how to support learning at home. The meeting on Thursday will offer important updates, this years budget, other business, and you will be introduced to the various groups that represent all of our programs and initiatives and help connect with a group. In addition, the bulk of the evening will offer various breakout sessions for parents to help them develop their child's literacy skills across all ages and reading levels. Please take a moment to carefully look at the 5 different sessions being offered by our very own Ocean Shore faculty along with some community resources. I am really excited about this event and can’t wait to share this informative and special evening with you! We ask that you SIGN-UP for the 3 sessions in effort to keep each session organized with balanced group sizes. Session sizes are limited to 40 people due to classroom size. SIGN-UP's for the PTO Breakout Sessions are POSTED HERE! Why should you attend the PTO Meeting? Simple: “Family participation in education was twice as predictive of students’ academic success as family socioeconomic status. Some of the more intensive family engagement programs had effects that were 10 times greater than other factors.” (Wahlberg, 1984). To help how this quote can relate to Ocean Shore, I wish to share with you the personal story of an Ocean Shore family who joined our school a few years back. I recently heard about their journey here at Ocean Shore and felt it inspiring to share with you. Currently, this family is very involved in their children’s education but this was not the case at first. When they arrived to Ocean Shore, they had just moved from another county. They were grateful for the new school and community yet had a different perspective of the role of home and school than our parent participation model. In their experience in the past, the role of the family and school were very separate. The school was the sole provider of teaching and learning experiences, while the home provided everything else. Families were not involved in their child’s learning experiences because this was the role of the school. When this family arrived, they began to notice one of their children was having some difficulty learning to read. It was after a parent-teacher conference when this was discussed that things began to change. The teacher and parent talked about how reading at home would greatly support the work being done at school. This work at home does not replace the role of the school, but enhances the practices at school to optimize the learning for the child. The parent did not take over the role of the teacher but assisted in making sure their child established a reading routine at home that worked for their family. In her reflections, she shared with me, “I realized how much this meant to my son. He really wanted to have that time with me (to read together). When I started making it important, he started making it important. And then I started to notice the improvement at home and in his classwork. It was then that I realized it was really important for me to be involved at home which helps him at school. I love being in the classroom for both of my kids. I hope other parents can learn from this experience to help understand why it is important to know what your kids are doing at school and how you can help them at home – no matter what age they are or how well they are doing in school.” I hope this can be a great reminder for all of us on the value of supporting your child’s learning at home and at school. This triangle of support will provide the best education possible! PODCAST: Dolphinently Talks! Speaking of ways families get involved, hear from our kids on what it means to have their parents involved in school! Check out the latest episode! Episode 2 is all about WHY FAMILIES SHOULD ENGAGE IN SCHOOL (from a child's perspective!). CLICK HERE! UPDATES: (Click here for links to flyer posted below!)    Dear Ocean Shore Families, Hello! I hope you enjoyed your Labor Day weekend! As I have mentioned, every week I take a moment to reflect on the week at Ocean Shore with this blog. Be sure to read to the end for important details and updates from our campus. Reflections from My Office: This week I was interviewed by some very talented young documentarians – our 7th and 8th grade podcast and newscast elective class. A small team of these students came by my office to ask me about the year ahead and what makes Ocean Shore School the special place that it is. I love opportunities such as these – to highlight things we are very excited about for this year! With the guidance of our 2nd grade teacher Juli and 7th/8th grade teacher Sophie, these students will make up our OSS Newsroom team! This is an awesome way for us to see our school through the lens of our students and hear from their voices firsthand on important topic, which will change each week! This year, we will continue with the “Dolphinetly Talks!” – a weekly podcast entirely created and produced by Ocean Shore students. In addition to the podcast, students will also be producing a video newscast. I am so excited to share these with you this year! In one week, they created the first episode of “Dolphinently Talks!” SEASON 2 where you hear from our own Ocean Shore students. It is very “Ocean Shore”! Their first podcast episode of the year features a segment on the value of family engagement. Listen as the kids reflect on their own families and what it means to have involved parents at their school. They also interviewed some important volunteers! I continue to value our partnerships with families and what a difference family expectations make for student success. Take a moment to listen – it is worthwhile for the 8-minute segment! Find it here: https://anchor.fm/os-dolphinetly-talks All the platforms Ocean Shore Dolphinetly Talks is on: Apple Podcasts Breaker Google Podcasts (only for Android users) Overcast Pocket Casts Podbean Radio Public Spotify Stitcher Updates: (CLICK HERE for direct links to the Information posted below! )   Dear Ocean Shore Families, What a great night last night for Back to School Night! As I mentioned, it is a dream come true for a school to look across the MPR and see it filled wall to wall with families. Your presence last night matters greatly! Standing together, I felt our connectivity and your investment in the most important thing for our future – our children’s education! Thank you for your partnership, and willingness to engage at home and at school, providing another group of children with the world-class opportunities to learn in hands-on activities and experience learning with authenticity! This is what makes Ocean Shore such a special place. You heard us speak of family engagement. I wish to reiterate a powerful statement: “The most consistent predictors of children’s academic achievement and social adjustment are family expectations of their child’s academic attainment and satisfaction with their child’s education at school.” - Reynolds, et, al.. Let’s continue our partnership to ensure our shared goals and expectations of success for your child thrive in this new school year! Reflections: Over the summer, I received a message from a family that moved away. At our first staff meeting, I read this to our teachers and want to share it with you. I think this family captured the essence of our school and hope you find the same appreciation for their sentiment that I did! The decision to bring our family out to the Bay Area in 2017/18 for a year was a pretty scary one. However we cannot believe how well it all went and how lucky we were to have two of our boys enrolled at Ocean Shore. What the school gave our family is more than words can truly describe – friendships, opportunities, growth and awareness. It is amazing what a difference a year or two has made in the lives of our boys. In one year, our oldest Ocean Shore attendee was transformed from a boy who fought the idea of moving to California to now being a young man who says he can make friends and be happy living or going to school anywhere. Over the past year during our family trips back to California, he has looked forward to visiting the school, the community and the good friends that he made during his time at Ocean Shore. This was an incredible transformation that will serve him well for the rest of his life. Our youngest) had two wonderful years at Ocean Shore (under the guidance of Virginia) and is developing into a very thoughtful, empathetic and confident young man. We are proud of what he is becoming and we deeply appreciate the role that everyone at Ocean Shore has played in his development. As they say, it takes a village to raise a child, and last year we certainly depended on that village. That village has given our son more than we could have ever have dreamed of. Ocean Shore is so unique in welcoming students and families. You have no idea how much that has meant to us... Being open to parent involvement and being SO welcoming…was a tremendously important and positive experience in her life. What you have at Ocean Shore is very special and unique. Hold it close, nurture it, fight for it and continue pay it forward – this community and particularly this school is an incredibly positive place that we are so glad to have been a part of. This will always be part of us and we will always consider ourselves part of the Ocean Shore family. You will be seeing us from time to time and we always look forward to coming through the front door and once again absorbing the feeling of being “back home” at Ocean Shore! I love this call to action for our school! Let’s do it! Updates CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE NEWSLETTER BELOW!  CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE PEF FLYER WITH LINKS TO FLYER  Hello Ocean Shore Families! Welcome to the 2019-20 school year at Ocean Shore! We are officially underway with the new academic year. I would like to extend a special warm welcome to our new families. Welcome home to your new school community! We look forward to greeting you. What is the Weekly Message? Each week, I write a blog about Ocean Shore. You would not believe how much occurs in just one week at our school! I love to share stories and memories about our kids, staff and community. One of the best parts of my job is being able to walk from classrooms to our playground and soak in the entirety of our sweet school. I notice things like the ways in which a new middle school girl stood by herself near the lunch tables on the first day, only to be swooped up by a group of other students eager to make friends with her. I notice how students run to their previous teacher’s classroom at recess on the first day, eager to say hello from months spent apart over the summer. This speaks to the strong relationships our kids build with their teachers. Especially for family members who are not able to be on campus regularly, I hope this blog provides a window into a “day in the life of Ocean Shore School.” I want to share my favorite part of my job with you each week in this blog! In addition to the reflections, this is the place you should look for important information related to updates from the office, critical dates for events and meetings at school and in the community, and other new information. We are working to provide an efficient way of sharing the enormous amount of information being shared with you all week! Reflections: One of my favorite places to visit the first week of school is our kindergarten yard. It is filled with new little faces, laughter and new friendships being formed. It is precious! When asking our new students what their favorite part was about their first week in kindergarten, they shared these answers…. “We don’t have naps! No naps!” “I liked chasing the kitty in the office. When we went on the scavenger hunt to find it!” “I like the outside time (recess)!” “My new friend.” “Now I go to the same school as my big sister!” “I have a lunchbox!” “My teacher.” “Everything!” And from a parent… “Those teachers… they were a sight for sore eyes on the first day! What angels!” I encourage you to ask your child what the memorable moments of the first day of school were for them! I look forward to seeing you next week at Back to School Night on Thursday 8/29 starting at 6 pm for grades K-3! Important Information: (CLICK HERE FOR LINK TO UTILIZE THE LINKS POSTED BELOW!)  Weekly Flyers!ODear OSS Families, Hello! HAPPY SUMMER! It is the last day of school. I am in disbelief at how fast we have arrived at the end of the school year. This week is full of celebrations and memorable moments as our kids transition to the next grade level, and our 8th graders move onto high school! The walk of pride through the hallways yesterday where I had the pleasure of joining the 8th graders as we walked down the hallways lined with the entire Ocean Shore family. It was blissful joy and sweet appreciation for our 8th graders. This a feeling I will never forget, and makes me incredibly grateful that every graduating 8th grader will get to feel such love from their school. Reflections from my office: As I sit here reflecting on my first year at Ocean Shore, I pause to realize how much I have enjoyed sharing reflections with you each week. Writing this weekly blog has been an enjoyable part of my duties to share some extraordinary things happening around our campus everyday. Far too often, we are bombarded with negative reports about the status of youth today, skewing our perception. On the contrary, positive contributions from our kids and stakeholders outweigh the aforementioned. From my perspective, I have had the privilege of seeing many corners of the campus throughout the day. Without question, good things are happening on a daily basis and I love telling you about what I see around school. We have our share of struggles, as every school does. However, the story of Ocean Shore deserves to be told and celebrated. The random acts of kindness and benevolence shine brightly on our playground and in our classrooms. We can always continue to develop this further, but there are many moments that were celebrated and cherished. When you look at Ocean Shore on paper, we are a high-achieving school. Our curriculum is rigorous, and our students are academic superstars. Our teachers are highly qualified, experienced, and effective educators. Our office and support staff is professional and invested in our school vision. We are fortunate to have a team of parent volunteers serving our school everyday. While these things are essential to the successful outcome of everyday, dig deeper and you will find the heartbeat of Ocean Shore. This is the story I love to tell in my weekly messages. It is the tender moments when people take care of another. It is the magical experiences in the classrooms where teachers ignite discovery. It is out on a field trip when a student’s confidence grows as a learner. It is the endless hours of late nights and early mornings for our parent volunteers who dedicate themselves to making a difference in the experiences of our kids. This is where our character determines our success. As we conclude our school year in my first year at Ocean Shore, I want to thank you for the warm welcome. Parents, you have greeted me with open arms and supportive understanding. I feel incredibly fortunate to be apart of this treasured place. I look forward to next school year, and hearing about your summer adventures! Remember to enjoy summer moments together, read together, and give your kids opportunities to relish in their free time. Let them play. Former Ocean Shore Students Makin’ Waves! Many parents feel ask how well the Ocean Shore experience impacts their child’s future, especially as they transition to high school. We hear from our graduates how well they feel prepared to enter high school. I think a great reflection of how they were prepared comes from how they leave high school. This year, the 2015 OSS graduating class graduated from high school. There was only one 8th grade graduating class, and the percentage of students from high school with honors/high honors is impressive! Here is a report from Oceana and Terra Nova High School! Terra Nova High School Class of 2019 graduating with High Honors: Padma Armstrong Ben Bruxvoort Joel Glasman Henry Lie Patrick Nolan (Valedictorian) Oceana High School Class of 2019 graduating with High Honors: Andrea Camacho Florence Chang (Valedictorian) John King Wesley McIntosh Robin Pilapil Rita Velazco With Honors: Phillip Mochel Akira Sugahara Ocean Shore was in the news! Check out the article published in the Tribune detailing Oceans 411. Take a look at all of the great work going on at our school! CLICK HERE FOR THE ARTICLE HAVE YOU HEARD THIS PODCAST YET!? Check out our Student Podcast! Episode #4 is Dedicated to our beloved custodian, Ron! Here the voices of our own students! New hosts this week, Annie and Liam, share their insights with you. https://anchor.fm/os-dolphinetly-talks Updates for Next Year! Expect to hear from me at the end of June, along with receiving your summer letter! In this update, I will post my summer letter here for your reference! I will provide updates on expected staffing changes and important dates and information for the start of school in August! Have a wonderful summer! Fondly, Julie Tarango Weekly Flyers: |
Julie Tarango
Principal of Ocean Shore. Check back here for weekly updates and messages from the principal. Archives
October 2019
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