Ocean Avenue Friday Notes

• 01/06-01/24: mClass Assessment Window - Middle of the Year
• 01/08: Dental Clinic at Ocean Avenue School
• 01/14: OAES PTO Meeting in the Library, 6:30-8 PM
• 01/15: Dental Clinic at Ocean Avenue School
• 01/20: Martin Luther King Jr. Day - NO SCHOOL
• 01/22: Dental Clinic at Ocean Avenue School
  
• 01/22 (and every Wednesday): 4th & 5th Grade Board and Card Game Club, 11:45-12:45 PM,
• 01/25: OAES Hockey Night at the Maine Mariners ~ PTO Sponsored Event, 6 PM
  
• 01/28: Community Meeting in the Gym, 8 AM
• 01/29: Dental Clinic at Ocean Avenue School
• 02/11: OAES PTO Meeting in the Library, 6:30-8 PM
• 02/17-02/21: February Break - NO SCHOOL (School Resumes Monday, February 24th)
  
  

✅ To look ahead to future meetings, school events, etc, please click on the link below ⬇️

Portland families who want your children to attend our high-quality pre-kindergarten program this fall: The application for the 2025-2026 Pre-K Lottery opens on Friday, January 10! Children are eligible for Pre-K in the 2025-26 school year if they turn 4 years old on or before October 15, 2025. The application is open through Sunday, January 26. Get all the details on our lottery process here: tinyurl.com/PPSprek

Note: If your child turns 5 years old by Oct. 15, 2025, please register for Kindergarten. Kindergarten registration will open in late February.

IMPORTANT REMINDER:

Please Do Not Bring Candy or Sugary Sweets to School. Please remember to be kind to our teachers...here's what you can do!

• Please leave all candy and sugary sweets at home. Candy can be a fun treat for home. Please remember a teacher has 20 +/- students to engage in learning, and when sugar rushes and sugar lows kick in, it is not easy to manage. Thanks for your help.
  
  
• We are a 5-2-1-0 School. Please help us to establish healthy habits. Healthy snacks are provided to all of our students every day. If you prefer to send in a snack from home, please makes sure it is a smart, healthy snack that will nourish your student's mind and body.

Remember...a healthy snack helps our students stay engaged throughout the day, ready and eager to learn. Thank you for your cooperation!

During the month of January, our IB Learner Attribute is being “Open-Minded” and our IB Attitude is “Empathy.”

When we focus on empathy, it can help us be open-minded because it requires us to take into consideration the perspectives and feelings of others. This helps us with our social interactions, as well as being able to learn from others. During Math lessons, students share multiple ways to solve a problem, which helps students consider and acknowledge different ways of thinking. In Grade 5, students are reading “Building the Golden Gate Bridge,” which tells the story of constructing the Golden Gate Bridge from the perspective of an engineer and also from the perspective of a laborer. Perspective-taking helps us imagine ourselves “in other people’s shoes,” and this is another way in which students can develop empathy.

Here are some ideas for cultivating empathy in the home setting:

• Talk About Feelings
  Discuss feelings with your children and encourage them to share how they are feeling and name their feelings.

• Zoom In and Out
  Help children learn to zoom in, tuning in carefully to others, but also to zoom out, taking in multiple perspectives and people.

• Reflect Together on Empathy
  Notice with your child when someone exhibits strong empathy—or shows a lack of empathy—either in your daily life or in a book or on television. Discuss why acts of empathy are important and why lacking empathy can be harmful.
  
  

Ask your student what they experimented with this week during that time. Here is what everyone explored.

• K: Coding with BeeBots
• 1st: Introduction to Indi
• 2nd: indi Challenge - with Kinesium
• 3rd: Makey Makey - Creating circuits and Loops
• 4th: Microbits and Coding
• 5th: Sphero Bolt - Driving through a Kinesium Maze

We are fast approaching the 90 day mark to get the required immunizations completed. Please make sure to send in any updated immunizations records if you haven't done so already. If you have an appointment, please email the nurse so that your child is not marked non-compliant.

Please see PPS Immunization Requirements for more information.

Hello Ocean Avenue Families,

We are in need of additional storage in the clothing closet to help organize our winter boots. Here is the link for a shelving unit that would help us.

Thank you Ocean Avenue families for all of your support! We truly appreciate it! To be able to have a well stocked clothing closet to be able to provide our students with the clothing and outerwear they need, is truly incredible.

As part of our new Strategic Plan, the district is working to identify strengths and areas for improvement in supporting students who need specialized instruction and special education services. To aid in this, we’ve created a survey to get insights and feedback from families about their experiences and relationships with the district. Please take a few minutes to complete this short survey and share your experiences with us. Your input is essential! The deadline to complete the survey is January 17, 2025.

Complete the Survey Now

Overview
In cases of inclement weather, the Portland Public Schools will use up to three traditional "snow days." Our schools will be closed on those days and students will not be expected to go to school in person or learn remotely. No school meals will be provided on snow days. Those days would be made up on June 16, 17, and 18th. This would mean that the last day of school for students would be Wednesday, June 18th, and the last possible day for teachers would be Friday, June 20. (June 19 – Juneteenth – is a holiday)

If there are more than three days of inclement weather requiring school cancellation, we will have remote learning days in lieu of a snow day. On remote learning days, students will stay home and will be expected to complete academic assignments. Remote learning days will not need to be made up at the end of the year. If an inclement weather remote day is called, the district will make school meals available for families to pick up.

>>READ MORE

Our meeting this month is virtual and we'd love to see you there!

Zoom Link: https://maine.zoom.us/j/86205107456

We will be hosting a PTO Fundraiser at the Maine Mariners game on Saturday, January 25th at 6 PM. The OAES Community had a blast at this event last school year so we are heading back to cheer on the Mariners and enjoy a fun night with family and friends!

$1 from every ticket sold from our link will benefit students and staff of Ocean Ave School. Additionally, we will need 12 volunteers (must be 18+) to work a concession stand for the duration of the game. Please note that volunteers will need to be there at 4 PM and will work through approximately the end of the 3rd period. This is a really fun event and a great way to get involved!

Get your tickets here: Hockey Night with OAES

Concession stand signup: Concession Stand Volunteers

Each year the PTO hosts a benefit and auction in the Spring with proceeds going right back into our school! Thanks to our tireless volunteers, we always have a lot of great items & experiences up for silent or live auction! That’s where you come in - we need your help to make 2025’s auction better than ever!

If you’d like to participate on the auction committee or have questions, please contact volunteer@oapto.org.

We won’t spam your texts but we will send reminders about events! Signing up for texts or emails from the PTO is the best way for direct communication.

If you’d like to join our email list, please contact communications@oapto.org.

FOR TEXTS: