Ocean Avenue School News
October 2018 ~ Volume 29, Issue 29
IN OCTOBER, IB STANDS FOR “Be an Inquirer!”
We all know that IB stands for “International Baccalaureate” and that Ocean Ave School celebrates being part of the international coalition of IB schools offering the Primary Years Program around the world.
BUT…..
In October, Ocean Ave students, teachers and staff are thinking about how to Be an Inquirer by showing how we are CURIOUS--how we observe the world around us, wonder how it works and how it interconnects with us and others; how we ask deep questions, look for answers, explore to understand more, consider what we learn to make better sense of the world, and put our new learning to work through the actions we take and the new questions we discover. This natural cycle of learning is sometimes called THE INQUIRY CYCLE, where we consciously notice how powerfully we learn when we are curious and pursue our own understanding of the world and ourselves.
Being an Inquirer is a lifelong journey for everyone, and at Ocean Ave, we continue to build and reflect on our teaching and learning through the Inquiry process--we identify this process as:
AT HOME: Talk with your student, and your family members, about how you learn something new. What motivates you to look into something new? How do you form your questions? Where do you go for answers? How do you make sense of what you learn? What do you do with your new understanding? What new questions come out of this process?
Ocean Ave School is hosting an IB PYP REGIONAL workshop for teachers on the topic of INQUIRY! We will have an IB Workshop Leader here at Ocean Ave from Thursday Oct 25 through Saturday Oct 27 midday, who will help us dive deeper into the best strategies for teaching and learning through Inquiry across our curriculum. Seven of our classroom teachers will be joined by teachers from Vermont and Massachusetts, giving us a special opportunity to learn from colleagues and experts, and grow our teaching practices.
This is an exciting opportunity! Thanks to our OAPTO for helping us expand participation in this workshop.
Ocean Avenue Elementary School Parent Survey Results 2018
Since 2014, Portland Public Schools (PPS) parents and guardians have been asked to take part in a survey. Last spring, the survey was changed in several ways:
- Reduced number of survey questions, and focused on the Portland Promise goals.
- Administered from the superintendent’s office using phone and web automation.
- Used questions developed by the American Institute of Research and tested for reliability and validity in a US Department of Education (DOE) pilot.
These changes meant it was easier for parents to engage with the survey. The message prompted parents and guardians to answer the questions through the automated call or use a link to answer on a webpage. These links expired within a couple of days, which meant not everyone was able to participate, without reaching out to get a new link. However, the positives did outweigh the drawbacks:
- The district saved $14,000 on an outside contract, and had faster turn-around for survey results.
- Increased percent of responses in languages other than English from 9.1% to 20%.
- Word of mouth feedback indicates the survey was easier for parents to complete.
- The survey list has been set up and saved to be re-used each year, saving even more time in the future.
In comparing the results for OAES, to the USDOE pilot and the PPS average, our parents are feeling good about the climate and culture of our school. This is cause for celebration, and we are always looking to improve. We notice the question about communicating information and procedures could be improved. Our office team will be looking at this. We will be soliciting feedback on what parents and guardians want to know, and what is the best way to communicate it. If you have ideas, please contact Principal Beverly Stevens.
A second area is students sense belongingness at school. Our social work team will be developing a plan with our teachers to move from 88% to 100% of our students feeling they belong at OAES.
Ocean Avenue's Family Handbook 2018-2019
Please CLICK HERE to access The OAES Family Handbook for 2018-19. The handbook is in alphabetical order by topic, so check the table of contents to easily find the answer you are looking for!
If you have further questions, principal Dr. Stevens, assistant principal Ms. Girsch or any of our office staff will be glad to help you.
Enrollment and Facility Study ~ Feedback Wanted!
The Portland Public Schools is undertaking an Enrollment and Facility Study to evaluate the most effective and efficient use of our school buildings.
The Public Affairs Committee of the Portland Board of Public Education will hold neighborhood forums about the study and gather input from the public during the month of October 2018.
Click HERE to see a flyer with the schedule of the neighborhood forums. Click HERE to learn more about the study and to complete the community survey. We want your feedback/input!
Please note that that you can attend any meeting you want, even if it's not in your neighborhood. We want to hear from everyone, so please come to a meeting most convenient for you!
Classroom News and Happenings
Kindergarten News
WHO WE ARE: “Learning about ourselves helps us understand and connect to others in the world.”
During this first IB unit of inquiry, the children are enthusiastically getting to know each other. As we read, draw, write, play, and engage in discussions, students are making observations about the many ways that we are similar as well as different from each other.
One of our lines of inquiry is “how we learn at school.” The children are discovering how to be respectful, responsible, and caring members of their classroom and school community, with a focus on two attributes of the Learner Profile: Caring and Principled.
HOME CONNECTION: Ask your child to tell you something he/she has learned about one of his/her classmates. Ask your child to tell you one attribute of a good learner.
KINDERGARTEN CURRICULUM NIGHT
On September 27th, parents had the opportunity to meet each other, learn about the Kindergarten Curriculum, and learn about ways to support their child’s learning.
Second Grade News
Once upon at time in a school not so far from the sea, sixty inquiring second graders were about to embark on a journey into fairy tales, folk tales and fables. They will be involved in inquiries about the features and lessons of fairytales, folktales and fables, the role of story telling in a culture, and comparing and contrasting different versions of stories by different authors or different cultures. They will write their own adaptations of The Three Little Pigs. Portland Stage, Play Me a Story will be in to perform reader’s theaters of fairy tales, folktales and fables. The performers will also be joining our second graders in our classrooms to learn how to tell stories with our voices, bodies and imaginations!
Fourth Grade News
It is hard to believe October is here! Fourth Graders have been working hard and are already showing excellent growth in all areas of academic and social development. This month we will publish our realistic narratives and and begin writing expository essays on how the world works. Linked to this important transition in our writing, we will begin to inquire about Earth's systems.
In mathematics, we are finishing our work with place value relationships and moving into the essential properties of adding and subtracting whole numbers:
1. Commutative Property
2. Associative Property
3. Identity Property
Enjoying our fabulous fall in Fourth Grade,
Mr. Pike, Ms. Gurney, and Ms. Guillaume Chimenti
October Music Notes
Here are some of the concepts and activities students have been learning in music classes this fall:
Kindergarten
Students continue to work on pitch exploration-getting our singing voices moving, exploring new ways to move our bodies to music and learning some percussion instruments. Students are moving with scarves to The Syncopated Clock by Leroy Anderson. We have also been reading. “Everyone Asked About You” by Theodore Faro Gross which has a wonderful song accompaniment recorded by Bob McGrath.
Grade 1
Students in 1st grade classes have been working on moving to the beat, reviewing simple songs and lots of movement exploration. This month we started exploring sounds and notes on the glockenspiel.
Grade 2
Students in 2nd grade classes are developing and re-enforcing some locomotor movements with songs (tip-toe, skip, hop, slide, jump). Students have also mastered a new Folk Dance called “Old Brass Wagon.” Ask your 2nd grader to teach you how to Do-Si-Do!
Grade 3
Students in 3rd grade have been working on singing canons (or rounds) and playing music games that develop cooperation and teamwork skills. Students have also been exploring a variety of percussion instruments.
Grade 4
Students in 4th grade have been demonstrating curiosity as we learn about Japanese music and culture, focused around a rhythm game called “Omochio Tsukimasho” which means let’s make rice cakes. This game requires teamwork, collaboration and drums!
Grade 5
Students in 5th grade are reviewing and building on rhythm reading skills and demonstrating rhythms on a variety of percussion instruments. Students are exploring how to improvise on these instruments.
More Music Opportunities at OAES!
Join "Moving Bodies, Moving Voices" Chorus!
The Ocean Ave elementary school chorus ~ "Moving Bodies, Moving Voices" is an additional music ensemble which meets on Friday from 11:45 AM-12:20 PM this year. If your child would like to join, just have them come to the music room on Friday during their recess time starting October 5th at 11:45 AM!
Chorus provides students with more opportunity to involve their mind, bodies and voices in music making and performing. Students will be learning how to sing as a chorus, develop vocal techniques and musical movement. Participating in chorus also helps develop friendships, social skills, a sense of accomplishment, and a sense of commitment and pride. The purpose of the group is to sing, perform a variety of musical styles, and to prepare for special events both in and outside the school.
All interested 4th and 5th grade students are welcome to join. We will rehearse every Friday in the music room.
Physical Education News
It has been a busy start In Physical Education this Fall. At all grade levels students have been talking about “How we organize ourselves”. September classes highlighted procedures in the gym as well as schoolwide expectations. Students in grades 3-5 participated in activities like Hula Hoop Four Square, Team Mat ball, and Teambuilding Parasheets to illustrate how rules can influence games. We discussed how to use our thinking to make fair decisions. We are continuing this theme as we begin our soccer skills unit. Cooperative Scarf Dribble, Four Corner’s Soccer and Pirates of the Pug are a few of the activities we will be using in October to promote teamwork and cooperation. Fourth and fifth graders have been connecting the concept of rules as a means of organizing ourselves both in sports and in society. In third grade we connect our work in soccer to the importance of physical activity as as way to keep our bodies strong.
Students in grades 1-2 have been working on spatial concepts and basic locomotor movements. They are learning how we organize activities in the gym in order to keep everyone safe. Cooperative activities like Caterpillars and Milkweed, and Frisbee Cars promote team building while at the same time teach the students the basic ways we use shape in our classes to organize activities.
Finally, we welcomed 4 new Kindergarten classes to the gym in September. It has been fun getting to know them. Kindergarten students have been learning how to organize themselves as well. They are learning the importance of using Personal Space and General Space in the gym safely. They are also working on incorporating basic locomotor movements into simple games and activities.
Art Room News
In the Art room students are completing Vincent van Gogh art inspired work. Work is displayed throughout the halls, art room and glass case at OAES.
Library News ~ Book of the Month!
What do you do when you have an idea? How do you keep it safe and let it grow so it can hatch and become something spectacular? The book of the month is "What Do You Do With an Idea?" by Kobi Yamada. It's a wonderful conversation starter for discussing how to be spark CURIOSITY and be an INQUIRER. Check it out!
Did You Know...
Afterschool Club Updates
5th Grade Art Club
The first session of the 5th Grade Art Club will start on Tuesday, October 9, and will be held for three consecutive weeks. It meets in the Art Room from 3-4:15 PM under the instruction of Mrs. Mitchell, Art Teacher. In the first session, students will be doing colored pencil drawings. In the second session (4 weeks), beginning November 27, students will be doing acrylic painting. New sessions with different focuses will be offered beginning January 2019. A reminder will be sent home the week before the club begins to enrolled students.
5th Grade Math Team
The Math Team is a team that meets once a week and will participate in Math Meets throughout the school year. There are "Portland Only" meets, in which 5th graders from elementary schools only in Portland will compete. There are also regional meets, organized and hosted by Southern Maine Elementary Math League (SMEML). Students are expected to attend practices and do extra math work outside of the practice time. This is in addition to homework. Math Team practices are held on Monday afternoons, starting Monday, October 15, 3-4 PM. Parents are expected to pick up students at 4 PM; buses are not available to transport at this time.
If your 5th grader is interested in signing up for Math Team, please email Mrs. Gurney at gurnec@portlandschools.org. Permission slips will also go home with all 5th grade students. Once registered, more information will be sent home with your student with practice and meet dates.
Chess Club (Grades 3-5)
Students in grades 3-5 are invited to join the Chess Club for a weekly meeting to analyze problem solving strategies relating to the more than 1,500-year tradition of chess. Students will be introduced to cause and effect, sequence, and multi-step problem solving.
Session 1 of the club began on Thursday, September 27 from 3-4 PM in the Library. Session 1 dates: September 27, October 4, 11, 18, 25 and November 1. Fourth Grade Teacher, Hannah Guillaume Chimenti will instruct the club. Each session is limited to 12 students! If your student is interested in joining or you have any questions, please contact Mrs. Guillaume Chimenti at: roerih@portlandschools.org.
Homework Club (Grades 3-5)
Homework Club is a place that students in grades 3-5 can go after school on Thursdays to complete homework assignments in a quiet, cozy environment. The club meets on Thursdays, starting October 5, from 3-4 PM in Room 221. Enrollment is on a first-come, first-serve basis. Fifth Grade Teacher, Brian Rounds, will instruct the club. For more information, please contact Mr. Rounds at: roundb@portlandschools.org.
5th Grade Civil Rights Club
The Civil Rights Club will be meeting again this fall, with the first meeting scheduled for Thursday, October 4. The club is for 5th grade students ONLY, and will meet on Thursdays during 5th grade recess and lunch in Room 227. The Club is run by OAES social worker, Chris Salamone, and retired social worker, Nancy Dix. Permission slips were sent home with all 5th graders. If your child did not bring home a permission slip and they would like one, or if you have any questions, please contact Mr. Salamone at: salamc@portlandschools.org.
EARLY RELEASE WEDNESDAY!
- EARLY RELEASE REMINDER: Early release started on Wednesday, September 26, 2018. Every Wednesday, September 26-May 29, 2018, students will be dismissed at 2 PM. If your student is a pick-up, please be sure you are here by 1:50 PM every Wednesday for early release. Thank you for your cooperation!
Nurse Notes ~ Flu Shots Coming Soon!
Most doctors' offices also give flu shots if that setting is preferable to you or your child. And, remember to encourage your child(ren) to use a tissue to 'catch' germs from their coughs and sneezes, wash their hands frequently and stay at home if they are sick. Thanks for your support in encouraging healthy habits, and if anyone wants to donate a box of tissues, I am happy to accept!
Many thanks!
- Nurse Laurie
Picture Retake Day
New Volunteer Procedure
We at Ocean Avenue Elementary (OAE) consider our school a special and successful place due to the combination of a dedicated staff, involved community partners, and especially due to our many parent volunteers. This year, Portland Public Schools (PPS) has implemented a new procedure for volunteers. If you are a NEW volunteer to OAE, you must fill out a Volunteer Application online. Please CLICK HERE to complete a volunteer application. Make sure to indicate that your children are at OAE. Once approved, you will be receiving an email letting you know that you are all set to volunteer.
If you are a returning volunteer, you MIGHT need to be re-screened if you application is over 3 years old. If you are not sure, please contact our Community Coordinator, Sylvie Montello at montes@portlandschools.org to see if you do need to re-apply to be a volunteer.
CLYNK Program
- Green CLYNK bags are available in the Main Office at school. Please stop in during office hours to pick up your bags! We have a large supply, so you can take one or a whole handful! Feel free to take bags for yourself, or for friends and other family members.
- Our Ocean Avenue sticker is already on the bag, so all you need to do is fill the green bag with your returnable bottles and cans.
- Filled bags can be returned to a CLYNK center at any Hannaford grocery store.
- Please remember to return only bottles and cans purchased in Maine.
This is a great opportunity to raise money for our school. Last year, Ocean Avenue Elementary crushed the competition and came in 1st place for schools in the State of Maine. Let's see if we can do it again this year! Thank you for your support!
Play Me a Story
The goal of PLAY is to connect theater with literacy by making literature performative and encouraging reading fluency, character recall, understanding of themes, emotional recognition, physical storytelling, and vocal characterization. They actively engage students in small groups/workshops using their bodies, voices, and imaginations to build understanding of the text while bringing the stories and characters to life.
October News from the PTO
Join us for the October PTO Meeting!
Wednesday, October 17th at 6 PM
Ocean Avenue Elementary School Library
We hope to see you there!
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Tuesday is the new Friday!
We have two fantastic opportunities for you to enjoy delicious pizza with your family AND help the Ocean Avenue PTO! Mark your calendars!
- On Tuesday, October 16th, 8% of all sales between 5-9pm at OTTO Read Street will go to Ocean Avenue PTO! Come eat pizza with Ocean Avenue families or order takeout or delivery! Tell your friends, family, and neighbors!
- On Tuesday, November 6th, join us at Flatbread for another pizza fundraiser! A percentage of sales made between 5-9 pm will go to Ocean Avenue PTO. Can’t bear the thought of parking in the Old Port? Order takeout or delivery through 2dinein to support the cause. Plus, who feels like cooking dinner on election night!? Order takeout, or better yet--come hang out with friends.
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There are MANY opportunities.
- Volunteer with the PTO. Let us know what you'd like to do and how to get in touch with you by filling out this online form OR printing a paper form and handing it in at the OAES Main Office. A paper copy went home last week--you only need to complete one form per family!
- Bring gently used or new children's items to the clothing closet. Cold, wet weather is just around the corner! Current needs are:
- Shoes
- Boots - rain and snow
- Jackets
- Winter coats
- Snowpants
- Hats and gloves
- Help with the auction. The PTO is looking for volunteers to help with the annual Bids4Kids auction, our largest fundraiser, taking place in February 2019. Planning is already underway and we need your help! Email Victoria at president@oapto.org if you're interested in being involved.
- Come to a PTO meeting! We meet the 3rd Wednesday of the month and our next meeting is October 17th at 6 pm at the OAES Library.
- Email Tori at volunteer@oapto.org and let her know you'd like to be involved.