Did You Know...
Family Handbook Reminders to Keep You Informed
School Lunch and Breakfast
Checks or cash for lunch or breakfast need to be placed in a school lunch envelope with the child's name and student ID number on it. Lunch envelopes are available in the office. Parents can send money daily, weekly, or monthly. The money is placed in your child's account and can be used throughout the school year. Parents also have the option of setting up an online account through paypams.com.
School breakfast and lunch menus are sent home each month, and can also be found on the Portland Public Schools website - CLICK HERE.
What is Peaceful Lunch?
Each child has 30 minutes of recess before lunch. Students enter the cafeteria and wash their hands to start the 30 minute lunch period. Students are able to choose from the two options of hot lunch or their home lunch. Once all the students are seated with their food, we start peaceful lunch. This is a five minute period where students focus on eating, and not talking. We started this process at OAES in 2012, which was in response to students complaining about the noise level. Since this time we have noticed several benefits: 1) more food is eaten, meaning brains are better fueled for the afternoon of learning, and there is less food waste; 2) once students do start socializing after the five minutes, they can talk at a conversational level; and 3) Students feel more comfortable with the noise level in the cafeteria.
Crossing Guards Update
The additional crossing guard position at the corner of Walton and Ocean was originally placed when Borealis Bakery was open, since it was open during early morning hours through the afternoon. Borealis Bakery has now closed and the restaurant at this location now (TIPO) does not open until 4 PM on weekdays, the decision was made to utilize this crossing guard at a more critical location in Portland.
Students walking to school should still only cross at the two locations where our crossing guards are located. Students should NOT cross the road by themselves at TIPO. Please see the map below for reference.
Please contact the Main Office if you have any questions. Thank you!
Winter Gear Needed!
Do you know that we have a school closet, stocked with donated clothing for children and adults? Or that we have at last count 45 students who are homeless? Or that many students moved to Portland from much warmer climates, just this school year?
Many of our students will experience our Portland winter without the clothing they need to enjoy winter and stay safe during cold weather. They need mittens, boots, and warm winter jackets.
For many of our families, our school closet provides a chance to “shop” for what they need. They are so grateful for the help. But our closet needs your help! Can you donate clothing your family no longer needs?
Do you want to help? Our closet needs warm winter clothing, in sizes 6 to 14 (give or take a little bit is okay, too). If you have unneeded winter clothes, clean and in good condition, we would love to put them to use again. We especially need:
- mittens and gloves, lots and lot of mittens or gloves
- warm boots
- snow pants
- winter jackets
If you have the time and are able to separate and label the clothing into bags labeled with the gender and clothing size (boys 6, etc), that would really help with putting the clothes away.
Thank you for helping all Ocean Avenue students stay warm this winter!
The 8th Annual CLYNK Challenge Launches January 14th!
The eighth annual CLYNK for Schools Recycling Challenge is taking place January 14-March 22, 2019. For every dollar raised in the Challenge period, OAES will receive a bonus 50 cent match from Hannaford Supermarkets, plus the opportunity to compete for other cash prizes provided by CLYNK. Please start collecting your returnables now and putting them aside for the challenge. CLYNK bags are available in the Main Office at Ocean Avenue.
Last year, Ocean Avenue won the CLYNK Challenge, winning an additional $1,500 for our school, in addition to the funds raised from your redeemable container returns! In total, Ocean Avenue raised $2,577.08! Let's work together again this year to bring home the prize!
First ($1,500) and second ($1,000) prize will be awarded per state for schools who collect the highest number of redeemable containers. Third place ($500) will be awarded per state for schools that put forth an extraordinary effort, as identified by CLYNK. Cash prizes are awarded.
Janice Caminiti, Ocean Avenue’s amazing lead secretary and current CLYNK ambassador, has a strategy for all of us ~ start saving your bottles and cans now but wait to CLYNK them on or after January 14, 2019.
Thank you for your support! Happy CLYNKing!
Family Handbook Reminders
To read the Family Handbook 2018-2019 in its entirety, CLICK HERE.