November 2020

Parent Surf Report - Ocean Lakes Elementary School

From the Principal's Desk

Linda M. Reese, Principal

We have completed the first grading period. Our students have learned so much already. I am really excited about the progress the students will make this year. Thank you for taking the time to meet with your child’s teacher. This partnership between home and school is essential. I hope your time with your child’s teacher was very productive and you were given strategies and suggestions to help your child at home. Report cards will be issued on Wednesday, November 15. Please take the time and review the report card with your child. Praise your child for what he or she did well, and talk about your expectations for student improvement.

Now that we are at the end of the first nine weeks teachers are holding Zoom conferences with parents.

Virginia Beach Schools and the military community are celebrating November as Military Family Appreciation Month. On Friday, November 13 we will celebrate R.E.D. Day - Remember Everyone Deployed- by wearing red. By wearing red we will demonstrate our support for military families and their active duty loved ones and spread a message of recognition and appreciation for their service not just during Military Family Appreciation Month, but every day of the year.

Ocean Lakes is a Distinguished Purple Star School. The Virginia Purple Star Designation is awarded to military-friendly schools that have demonstrated a major commitment to students and families connected to our nation’s military.

The 2020 federal card survey will include a hybrid model for elementary schools. Elementary Option 1 students will receive their federal card in hand from their homeroom teacher, as is our usual practice. Option 1 parents are asked to return completed and signed federal cards to their child’s homeroom teacher no later than Friday, Nov. 20. Elementary option 2 students’ parents will receive their child’s federal card in the mail following the Nov. 13 survey date. Elementary option 2 students’ federal card packets will include a federal card, a letter to parents and a postage-paid return mail envelope. Return envelopes will be pre-addressed to be mailed to each child’s school.

As a reminder for parents dropping off students in the morning, please make sure that all cars dropping off stay to the right until you have dropped your child off and the cars in front of you have pulled off. The only cars passing on the left should be those parents who are parking. Also, please do not park in a visitor spot and have your child walk in. This creates unsafe conditions both for your child and the other cars in the carpool line.

On behalf of the faculty and staff at Ocean Lakes, we wish you and your family a Happy Thanksgiving.

Dr. Reese

Upcoming Events

11/3/20 – State Holiday/Election Day - Schools Closed; SCA Speeches Due
11/4 - 11/6/20 - SCA Voting
11/5/20 - PTA M
11/6/20 - Spirit Day - Wear red, blue and white to honor our Veterans; SCA Winners Announced
11/9/20 - 11/13/20 - SCA Food Drive
11/9/20 -11/20/20 - Online Book Fair
11/10/20 – Adjusted Dismissal for Students: Last Day of 1st Nine Weeks
11/11/20 - Veterans Day - Schools Closed
11/13/20 – 2nd nine weeks begins; Wear Red to celebrate military students on R.E.D. Day
11/17/20 - Report Cards Issued; Virginia Utilities Virtual Assembly
11/20/20 - Spirit Day
11/25/20 - Adjusted Dismissal Day
11/26 -11/27/20 - Thanksgiving Holiday - Schools Closed
12/01/20 - Picture Day!
12/03/20 - PTA Board Meeting on Zoom
12/4/20 - Spirit Day!
12/18/20 - Spirit Day!
12/21/20 - Progress Reports Emailed
12/23 to 1/1/20 - Winter Break

New Camera Requirements

Whether learning remotely or face-to-face, students having the ability to build relationships with one another and their teachers is an essential part of the educational experience. It’s also critical for teachers to have the ability to see their students’ faces to gauge understanding, make informal assessments of progress and engagement, and encourage or redirect students just as they would in a traditional classroom setting.

With that in mind, the division has revised the guidelines for student participation in virtual learning.

Beginning Wednesday, Nov. 4, student cameras must be turned on at the beginning of class for teachers to verify attendance. In addition, cameras should be left on during live instruction and group work and may be turned off during independent work. Students must use their real name (assigned in VUE) as their name in ZOOM and Google Meets.

The Department of Technology is working on a solution for students to be able to either blur their background or to use a virtual background when their Chromebook camera is activated for video conferencing via Zoom or Google Meet. In the meantime, parents are encouraged to assist their children with identifying a suitable location in their home when engaging in synchronous instruction.

Report Cards

Report cards will be issued to all students November 17th. All students in grades K-5 receive a standards-based report card that includes proficiency scores rather than single letter grades for student performance. The report card shares specific feedback, a student's progress towards skills, and understanding of each subject in a subject area. Parents can also monitor student grades on ParentVue.

OLES Mission Statement

Ocean Lakes Elementary opens the door to learning to all by providing a nurturing environment that promotes 21st century learners. By engaging and being responsive to all students’ needs while creating opportunities for teachers, parents and community partners to collaborate and support successful achievement for all our students.

Picture Day

Picture Day is December 1. We want everyone photographed because this is the picture that goes in the yearbook. We will be taking pictures of students that are face to face during the school day. We will also take pictures of students working remotely, either with an Ocean Lakes teacher or a teacher from a different schoo, from 4 to 6 p.m. in the library. A sign-up will be sent when picture day gets closer. If your child has a remote teacher from another school they should get their picture taken at Ocean Lakes so they will be in our yearbook. Please let me know if you have any questions at linda.reese@vbschools.com.

Compass to 2025 - Every Student, Every Day

Compass to 2025 is the new strategic framework for the division. It charts the course for teaching and learning across the division with the focus on ensuring that every student is challenged and supported to reach his or her full potential. The five year strategic framework includes six goals –Educational Excellence, Student Well Being, Student Ownership of Learning, An Exemplary, Diversified Workforce, Mutually Supportive Partners, Organizational Effectiveness and Efficiency – and multiple strategies to guide this work. Interested in learning more? Click: http://www2.vbschools.com/compass/2020/content/pdfs/Compassto2025.pdf

Follow us on Twitter:

Follow us @oceanlakeses on Twitter to learn about all the ins and outs of Ocean Lakes Elementary School. We will be posting updated information, pictures from school, and much more!

Clinic Notes

Check out this link for tips on how to make staying active a family affair. https://www.actionforhealthykids.org/active-at-home/

CLOTHING REMINDER:

Please remember to keep a seasonally-appropriate set of clothes in a Ziploc bag in your child’s backpack. Spilled lunches, restroom accidents, and mud that soil your child’s clothes can be quickly remedied if a clean set of clothes is available.

Reporting Student Absences:

Student absences and late arrivals should be reported daily. Please call 648-3200 and use Option 3 to report absences or late arrivals. Please leave the following information: student name, teacher name, state whether the student will be absent or tardy, and reason for absence or late arrival.

Solar Panels Update

You may have noticed the construction happening on the roof at Ocean Lakes Elementary. Workers are finished installing the frames for the solar panels. All the panels are in place. They cover most of the roof. The panels are fixed at 30 degrees facing south. On Saturday, November 7, the workers will be tying the solar panels into our main power box. Once complete we will be a zero net energy building. This combined with the new Geo Thermal system makes us an energy star building. We are going to use this project to teach our students about energy usage.

Student Accident Insurance:

The school division is continuing to provide voluntary student accident insurance information. This information is available online on the school division website, http://www.vbschools.com/health/insurance.asp

REDcard at Target:

Did you know that Target donates 1% of their REDcard holder’s purchases to OLES? Please take advantage of this amazing opportunity for our school! Target offers a 5% savings on every purchase made at a Target and Target.com when you use your Target REDcard. To take advantage of the many benefits offered by owning a Target REDcard, parents should visit the local Red Mill Target store at 2233 Upton Drive and inquire with any team member at a register. To sign up for a REDcard credit card all you need is an ID, and for a REDcard debit a blank check and ID. The process is super easy and takes only a few minutes to help support the Waveriders!

Papa John's Dollars for Dough Program

Our school has been involved with this program for over a year! The Dollars for Dough (d4d) program is an on-going program that will earn our school funds of 10% each month! When ordering any items online from Papa John's, simply put in the code OCEANLAKES.

School Spirit Days:

Show your Waverider school spirit on the first and third Friday of every month by wearing a school t-shirt or school colors (blue and white). The class with the highest percentage of students wearing spirit wear, on each grade level, will earn the spirit banner for their grade level. We have two special Spirit Days this month. On November 6 we are asking students to wear red, white and blue to honor our veterans. November 13 is R.E.D. (Remember Everyone Deployed) Day. We want to support our students with active duty parents serving in the armed forces.

Parent-Teacher Conferences:

Teachers will be scheduling parent-teacher conferences from October 2nd to November 20th. Teachers will be contacting you to schedule a time to discuss your child’s progress. Please take advantage of this time to discuss your child’s personal goals and classroom progress.

VBCPS Bus App:

Catch your child's bus on time! VBCPS has introduced a new mobile app for tracking your child's bus. The new app is Edulog Parent Portal Lite and can be downloaded for free via the App Store or Google Play. Step by step instructions can be found on the vbschools website. The registration code you will need is 49520952.

Parent Portal now ParentVUE:

Parent Portal is now being provided via the Synergy ParentVUE. This change will require you to create an account on the ParentVUE portal. ParentVUE will allow you to access your child's information such as grades, schedules, assignments, and attendance. You will be able to sign up multiple children under one account. In order to set up your account you will need an activation key which the office can provide you. Please contact our office to receive that information. You can find out more information on our division website, vbschools.com and click on the parent portal tab.

School Lunches and Friday Friends:

Until December 31, 2020 the US Department of Agriculture has extended free breakfast and lunch for all students regardless of their parent's ability to pay for lunch. You can also pick up weekend meals at Ocean Lakes ES on Fridays between 10:30 and 1:30 for your children. This Friday pick-up time takes the place of Beach Bags. Unfortunately we cannot send the food home in backpacks. The food is pretty substantial and would be too heavy for most of our students to carry. If you need a different time please let me know at linda.reese@vbschools.com.

Yearbooks for Sale:

We still have a few 2019-2020 yearbooks for sale. They are $25.00. You can call or email Amy Imbriale at amy.imbriale@vbschools.com if you are interested in purchasing a yearbook.

Parent Drop Off and Pick-up:

Parent drop off and pick-up has been going very well. We appreciate everyone's patience as we work to safely accommodate the increased number of students being dropped off and picked up each day. Thank you for making left turns when you depart the campus. I know it is an inconvenience for those of you that live down Upton Drive. We just need to keep the traffic flowing. In the long run it is probably faster.

Chromebooks:

Students will take their Chromebooks back and forth to school. Please keep the charger at home and charge for the next day. The charging carts are too large to put in the classroom with the social distancing guidelines we currently have in place. Students will need their Chromebooks to complete Asynchronous work on Mondays.

PTA membership:

Please consider joining PTA. Individual memberships are $5.00 each or $10 for a family . You can join at by completing the attached sheet and returning with payment. There are membership forms in the office. Or you can sign up through Member Hub at https://app.memberhub.com/

Upcoming OLES Events

SCA Food Drive

OLES SCA will be collecting canned foods and non-perishable food items the week of November 9th through November 13th. All donations will go to local needy families. The class on every grade level that collects the most number of cans will get to choose their own spirit day activity e.g. crazy hair, dress like a twin, hat day

Scholastic Book Fair

Ocean Lakes Elementary will be having an ONLINE book fair this year will be 11/9/20 -11/20/20. Visit and shop at https://www.scholastic.com/bf/oceanlakeselementary. Free shipping on qualifying book orders. We have been advised to order non-book items separately to get the best shipping rates. You can contact our librarian, Mrs. Reed at 648-3219 or montessa.reed@vbschools.com with any questions. A flyer will be sent out in the Wednesday folders soon.

Coldstone Creamery Pie Sales

We will be selling Coldstone Pies beginning October 28. Look for a flyer to come home soon. You pay for the pies through Ocean Lakes Elementary. In turn you will receive a voucher to pick up the pies from Cold Stone at Red Mill Commons.

Important Dates to Remember

• November 3 – Election Day – NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS AND STAFF

• November 6 – Spirit Day - Wear Red, White and Blue to honor our Veterans

• November 10 – Early Dismissal Day – STUDENTS DISMISS AT 12:20 P.M.

ECSE PreK classes will attend 8:20 – 10:20 a.m. (am class); 10:20 – 12:20 p.m. (pm class)

• November 11 – Veterans Day – NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS AND STAFF

• November 13 – Wear Red to celebrate military students on R.E.D. Day

• November 25 – Early Dismissal Day – STUDENTS DISMISS AT 12:20 P.M.

ECSE PreK classes will attend 8:20 – 10:20 a.m. (am class); 10:20 – 12:20 p.m. (pm class)

• November 26-27 – Thanksgiving Holiday – NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS AND STAFF

Special Recognition Weeks/Months in November:

November 13 – World Kindness Day
November 18 - Education Support Professionals Day
November 11 - 15 - Anti-Bullying Week
November 16 - 20 - School Psychology Week, American Education Week

November – Native American Heritage Month

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