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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.
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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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