'Tis the Season (almost)

10/23/2020

Friday, October 23, 2020

Hang on to your hats parents, we are headed into the holiday season! Patricia asked me what we were doing as a school for Halloween and my initial response was "nothing." However, that's not true. Teachers are planning spooky activities, reading and having students write scary stories, and the 2/3 team is organizing a theme day. Staff and students alike are encouraged to dress up for their Zoom classes. It's more important now than ever before to celebrate. True, some things will look different, and a few traditional activities, like running all over the neighborhood to collect candy, aren't possible this year. Family gatherings might be a little smaller, not as many of us will travel, and we won't be attending as many holiday parties as we might normally do. Maybe I'll actually lose weight this holiday season instead of gaining my usual five pounds. Then again, I WILL be able to bake cookies and drink eggnog, so I should probably count on making my traditional New Year's resolution to work out more and eat less. This year, it's important to focus on what traditions we can still participate in, and it's crucial that we put effort into making the holiday season special. Our holiday rituals are reassuring; they give us something to hold on to in times of change and when things are difficult. This reassurance is important for adults, but it's crucial for children. So bring out those decorations, dig up grandma's recipes, and start planning for the holidays.
Cheers!
Jeanne
P.S. A special thanks to Sophie Korn and all the staff members and former staff members who participated in our first annual Read-a-Thon live. We raised an additional $720 dollars for Ocean Shore and had a blast in the process. Thank you to everyone who attended and to those who were able to donate!

School Business:
PEF fundraiser: PEF is proud to announce its partnership with Coastside Dance School, LLC. To launch the partnership, Roxanne Selinger of Coastside Dance School will be hosting two virtual dance classes for Pre-K to 8th graders, the morning of Halloween, with all proceeds supporting PEF! Please see the attached flier for more information. PEF needs our support more than ever, so please donate if you can! https://www.pacificaef.org/

Picture Days will be November 4th and 5th.
Please see the flier below for more information. Here's a link to Lifetouch's safety information.
Lifetouch Safety and here is link to Lifetouch for online ordering: https://my.lifetouch.com/mylifetouch/#/ Our picture day id number is : EVTVBR6T4. We will be taking temperatures and asking screening questions. Anyone with a temperature of 100.4 will not be allowed into the building.

School Lunch
School lunches are currently free for all Pacifica School District students until the end of June, 2021. Many family’s financial situations have changed in 2020. Please consider completing this application for Free and Reduced Price Lunch by October 28, 2020. It is important for us to have an accurate count of the number of students who would qualify for free or reduced price meals as some school funding is based on this count. The applications are one per family and can be turned into your school or to the district office or emailed to Marta Grech at mgrech@pacificasd.org. The application for Free and Reduced-Price Meals is here: English or Spanish

Read-a-Thon: Keep reading! Any questions about reading logs or donations? Please contact your teacher. YDL families, please reach out to Virginia Clements @ fullyeardistancelearning@pacificasd.org. Need more books? Check out this information about curbside pick up from the San Mateo County Library System. https://smcl.org/curbsideservices/

Diversity Leadership Group - October 28th @ 7-8:30pm
The Diversity Leadership (DLG) group is back and virtual! 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. Please join our monthly meetings on the last Wednesday of the month, from 7-8:30pm. For more information or to get involved email: dlg@osspto.org
Join Zoom Meeting https://zoom.us/j/92213022393?pwd=SUNuaWxoUHlxTDhpb0Q1R3dJanVMQT09
Meeting ID: 922 1302 2393
Passcode: OSSDLG