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Friday, January 15, 2021 Quote of the week: "Life's most persistent and urgent question is, 'what are you doing for others?'" -- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Dear Ocean Shore Families, I'm writing this on Martin Luther King Jr.'s actual birthday. He would have been 91 today. He was only 39 years old when he was assassinated. 39. For some reason, I always think of him as older, maybe because of all he accomplished. We think of him as an icon--larger than life--and in many ways he was. However, he was also an ordinary person with a wife, four small children, and a job. In some ways, he was deeply flawed, as are many men and women who achieve great things. We all struggle in some way, and we all stumble. It's so important to let our children see us struggle, to admit our mistakes, to acknowledge our flaws, and to model resilience. So often our focus is on achievement and mastery: how can we earn the highest grades, make the most money, be the best parent, excel on the football field or in the boardroom. Martin Luther King, Jr. points out that our focus should be on how we can help others, and that we should be urgently and persistently finding ways to be of service. As we head into this three-day weekend, I challenge all of us to consider Martin's question, and find at least one small thing that we can do in our lives to answer it. Take care, Jeanne Shout out of the week: Jonathan, Jason, Sophie, and all of the students who participated in our virtual MLK celebration! The 19-minute video starts with an speech excerpt, continues with short (15 second) clips of students sharing their thoughts, and the final portion of the video is a moving rendition of "This Little Light of Mine" with some special Ocean Shore lyrics written by Jonathan. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YoXrz74EZr0&ab_channel=Lily%26Jennifer%27sKinderKids School News: There is no school on Monday, January 18th as we celebrate the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. DLG (Diversity Learning Group) Virtual Book Club: If you missed the introduction meeting but still want to join in, Adults and 7/8th grade readers are welcome. Please see below plan and next meeting zoom details. The book club aims to promote community discussion focused on the DLG vision “to instill an understanding of the value in acceptance and respect for one another’s differences so that we can grow as a society.” Three upcoming meetings: o Mon Jan. 25, 7-8pm (Chapters 1-6) o Feb. 8, 7-8pm (Chapters 7-12) o Feb. 22, 7-8pm (Chapters 13-18) Zoom link: https://fhda-edu.zoom.us/j/6489556005 How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi. - This book is described as taking readers through a widening circle of antiracist ideas – from the most basic concepts to visionary possibilities - that will help readers see all forms of racism clearly, understand their poisonous consequences, and work to oppose them in our systems and in ourselves. More info can be found at https://www.ibramxkendi.com/how-to-be-an-antiracist Note: Book is available on Libby both as an ebook and an audio book if you are not interested in purchasing the book. (Libby is a free library app to access San Mateo Library system) Return to School Update: Because of recent developments and because we are awaiting new updates on vaccine distribution from the state, the district office will not be presenting the return to school plan to the school board until February 10th. Our options for hybrid learning might change based on that new information. We are implementing regular COVID testing for staff members who work on site starting this Thursday.
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Jeanne BellingerPrincipal of Ocean Shore. Check back here for weekly updates and messages from the principal. Archives
June 2022
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