 Friday, January 8, 2021 Quote of the week: "My mom used to say, when the news is scary, look for the helpers." --Fred Rogers, former longtime host of Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood on PBS. Dear Ocean Shore Families, It feels like every time I sit down to write, I sigh and think, "what a week!" Like most Americans, I was horrified by what happened on Wednesday at our Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. I was an American Government major who attended college in Washington, D.C. partially because I wanted to go into politics. Life took me down a different path than I had planned, as it often does. However, I have always remained politically active, and I have always defended politicians at the local, state, and federal level. Most people that go into politics do it out of the desire to improve their communities and to help other people. Much like in education, no one becomes a school board member, state senator, or congressional representative for the money. I am grateful that there are people willing to take on the cost, responsibility, headaches, and physical danger involved in serving the public, and I am reminded that I should take the time to thank them for their service. If I have time to check Facebook, I have time to email our city council members or school board members or Jackie Speier. Maybe that should be a new inauguration day tradition. In sad news, the 15-year-old brother of an OSS student was in a car accident over the holiday break and is currently in a coma. There is a GoFundMe page to help the family with expenses. https://www.gofundme.com/f/pacifica-15-yr-old-accident-victim-needs-our-help?utm_campaign=p_cp+share-sheet&utm_medium=email&utm_source=customer-andr Fred Rogers on Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood was always a voice of love, kindness, and acceptance. He represented a quiet strength and promoted civility. I love the above quote because it points out that there are always helpers. Right now, so many people are going above and beyond to help others: health care workers, teachers, grocery clerks, parents juggling work and childcare. The everyday heroes in our country greatly outnumber those that would see our democracy crumble. It's important to highlight those in our community who are helping others. I invite you to email stories to me of Ocean Shore students who are rising to that challenge, and I hope to have a new shout out each week to celebrate them. Take care, Jeanne Shout out of the week: Kaavel Basu, in Stephanie Trelogan's 3rd grade YDL class, used his savings to purchase 20 LEGO sets and dropped them off at UCSF Benioff's SF Children's Hospital to be passed out to children who were spending the holidays in the hospital. UCSF gave him a shout out on their Twitter feed, and I was thrilled when his mom passed the news on to me. Thank you, Kaavel for your thoughtfulness and generosity! School News: Come join The DLG (Diversity Learning Group) Virtual Book Club: The DLG Book Club aims to promote community discussion focused on the DLG vision “to instill an understanding on the value in acceptance and respect for one another’s differences so that we can grow as a society.” Come join us on our inaugural discussion circle! When: Monday, January 11, 2021 Time: 7:00pm-7:30pm Book: “How to Be an Antiracist” by Ibram X. Kendi. For: Any Adult and or 7th/8th graders Zoom: https://fhda-edu.zoom.us/j/6489556005 Pre-req: No need to have read anything by this meeting. “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) Environmental Action Team - wants your help! This Sunday, January 10th, from 10am-1pm Garden Day. Outdoor, socially distanced, mask wearing, garden work going on. Adults only for now. Come join us to keep the garden looking snazzy. Monday, January 11, 6:30-7:30 EAT Meeting - Join our zoom to help us plan for the garden and ways to bring the garden to our students. Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84816396584?pwd=UnhZN3JiQmZqKzlSU2RQODYxVHpXUT09 Meeting ID: 848 1639 6584 Passcode: 1MwrRe-- Honoring Martin Luther King, Jr.-Please read this message from Sophie Korn. Teachers will be sharing this with students, but I wanted parents to have the information as well. "Each year we honor the life and legacies of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on the 3rd Monday of the month, which is closest to his birthday, January 15. We would like to hear from Ocean Shore students! What does his message and legacy mean to you? What hopes do you have for our school, our community, or our country? How do you plan to honor his memory? Please encourage, or assist, your students to share their thoughts with us on this community Flip Grid." They must be logged in to their psd account to open the link. https://flipgrid.com/9b95cf5d Return to School Update: With COVID-19 cases rising, and San Mateo County in the deep purple tier, we will not be returning to school any time soon. However, the Return to School Committee and the district office are finalizing our return to school plan and will present it to the Pacifica School Board on January 20th. If it's approved, the plan will be sent on to San Mateo County for their approval. Hopefully, COVID numbers will drop, and vaccines will be distributed quickly. We are implementing regular COVID testing for staff members who work on site starting this month. 
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Jeanne BellingerPrincipal of Ocean Shore. Check back here for weekly updates and messages from the principal. Archives
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