ocean township elementary school ocean breezewelcome back to school and a new year. i hope 2013 is...
TRANSCRIPT
each day.
Wonder together. Instead of providing answers, let
your child take charge sometimes. If he asks you, "Who was the second
president?" help him find the answer. Use it as an opportunity to learn about other things, too. "I wonder
who the second vice president was. Let's find out."
Sincerely,
Dr. Doreen Ryan Reprinted with permission from the February 2013
issue of Parents make the difference!® (Elementary
School Edition) newsletter. Copyright © 2013 The
Parent Institute®, a division of NIS, Inc. Source: L.
Markham, "How Your Child Can Be an A Student,"
Aha! Parenting, http://tinyurl.com/c24hbov
Dear Parents,
As we rapidly approach the second marking period, it is important to ensure that learning is a priority and your
child knows that you actively support their education. According to recent research,
together we can work to raise a responsible student who takes school seriously.
One of your child's biggest responsibilities is being a good student. Doing well in
school is a key to enjoying life! It's hard to imagine paying bills without knowing
math, for example, or voting in an election without understanding history.
In order to be effective students, kids must take the
job seriously--and that requires parents' support. It's important to:
Make learning a priority. Explore the world with
your child. Visit the
library, try new foods and take nature walks. Play games (such as Monopoly) to build important skills.
Show your child that learning is actually fun.
Encourage perseverance. Kids need parents'
encouragement to keep trying when homework and other tasks are tough.
When your child is tempted to give up, provide guidance and a positive outlook. "Let's review the
instructions again. I know you can do this!" Compliment effort and
progress.
Enforce routines. Kids need help creating and sticking with routines that lead to
success, such as going to bed, waking up, reading and studying at the same times
P r i n c i p a l ’ s M e s s a g e
J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 3
MARK YOUR
CALENDARS
1/3
Spelling Bee—4th grade
1/4
Spirit Day:
Favorite Sweater
1/15
SEPTA Mtg. @ 7pm
1/16
PTA Mtg. @ 7pm
1/17
Race to Nowhere
7pm OTHS Auditorium
1/21
Martin Luther King Day
1/22-1/25
Parent/teacher
conferences
Early Dismissal
1/25
2nd Marking
Period ends
1/28
Science Fair Project
drop-off/set-up
1/29
Science Fair 6:30-7:30
2/1
School Spirit Day:
Favorite Sports Team
2/2
Groundhog Day
2/4
Kindergarten Registration
begins
An OTES PTA Publication
Ocea n To wn ship Ele men tar y S chool
OCEAN BREEZE Ocean Township Elementary
School
555 Dow Avenue
Oakhurst, NJ 07755
Phone: 732-531-5690
Main Office Ext. 2000
School Website:
www.ocean.k12.nj.us/ocean
PTA Website:
www.otespta.org
S C I E N C E F A I R: J a nu a r y 2 9 t h — 6: 3 0 - 7 : 3 0 p m What is Science? Science is
LIFE! So come experience it
by joining in on the annual
PTA Science Fair. Entry
forms must be submitted no
later than January 18th,
projects must be delivered on
Monday, January 28th
between 8:30-8:45am or after
school from 3:00-5:00pm in
the gymnasium.
You won’t want to miss this
Science Fair. In addition to
student projects we will also
have an expo set up for locals
who work in science-related
fields to share their
knowledge with us through
interactive presentations.
How to get started on a
project idea? Use your own
experiences...remember a
time you noticed something
and thought...I wonder how
that works?; Search the
internet for sites on science
fairs/experiments; Check the
school and local library for
books or magazines on
science experiments.
All participants will be
entered into a raffle for
science prizes and receive
certificates. Questions?
Contact Paige Vaccaro at 718
-490-3462 or
We are also looking for
bakers and volunteers.
P A G E 2
2012-2013
PTA
Meetings: All meetings begin
at 7pm in the
cafeteria
January 16
February 20
March 20
April 17
Message From the PTA President
Have a newsletter
submission, comment or an
idea for the newsletter? Just
email it to
Suzanne Berg at
Welcome back to school and a
new year. I hope 2013 is much better than 2012!
I hope everyone enjoyed their holidays and winter break. I thought the winter break was
for catching up and relaxing with the family. From everyone I have talked to and from my
own personal experience the past few weeks, it was for catching a cold, the flu or the stomach bug from someone
else, adding more "stuff" to the mess that is my house and consuming way too much of
everything that was offered! Thankfully, I did have a great holiday and New Years with
friends and family, however, I am glad to be back to a routine and I look forward to an
exciting few months ahead of us. The OTES PTA has so many fantastic events scheduled.
Please take a look at all the
Who will win? For every 100
box tops your child’s grade
turns in between January 2nd
to February 22nd, they will
receive a piece of the
snowman for the bulletin
board contest. It takes 10
information coming home and
get involved. The participation this year has been great and we want to keep the
momentum going. Our January PTA meeting is
Wednesday the 16th. The OTES Science Fair will be January 29th, Paige Vaccaro is
setting up some new and exciting ideas, you will not want to miss it. We hope that all the students participate,
even if your child does not make a project, please feel free to come and visit the fair,
we will have special raffles, displays and guest that may inspire you and your child.
January 17th at the OTHS will be a viewing of "The Race to
Nowhere" as well as a workshop after. This workshop is for parents and
young adults. The information
shared at this event should be
extremely enlightening. The Follies are right around
the corner and practices will be starting this month. This is always a spectacular event and
thank you to Heather Campo for taking on this tremendous task. I look forward to seeing
all the talent and follies that our children possess. February and March are action
packed with another Book Fair, Family Social, Read Across America, Valentines
Parties, Basket Ball games and so much more.
Stay warm and healthy. I look forward to seeing you all, and as always, thank you for your
continued support of the OTES PTA.
~ Christy
Box Top Snowman Building Contest
PTA Membership Have you joined the PTA
yet? Individual Membership is
$6 and Family Membership (2
or more members joining) is
$10. Questions? Contact
Paula Wnorowski at
[email protected]. Yearbook News We want your pictures! With so many events
coming up—Science Fair, Follies, PTA Basketball
game—we are sure you will capture some great
photos we can use in the yearbook. Email them to
Christine Murphy [email protected] or save them
on cd and send them in to the PTA mailbox—label
them PTA Yearbook. The more photos we have
to choose from the better the yearbook!
If you are interested in helping with the yearbook,
contact Christine.
Stay Connected! Get the latest school/PTA reminders,
announcements and latest news on our
PTA website at www.otespta.org.
And come like us on
www.facebook.com/OTESPTA
The Township of Ocean School District is
providing you with a valuable on
line resource - eBackpack -
receive school announcements,
forms, and information directly
via email. Sign up today @ http://
www.ocean.k12.nj.us/
pieces to complete a
snowman. The grade that
completes their snowman first
will win a hot chocolate and
chocolate chip cookie party
for the entire grade. Please
make sure all collection
sheets or baggies you turn in
have your child’s name,
teacher and grade written on
them. If you have any
questions contact Linda
Fornataro at
P A G E 3
It is my distinct pleasure to be able to
announce the results of OTES' spelling
bee, held on Thursday, January 3, 2013.
Without a doubt, we are producing
outstanding spellers in this district, as
evidenced by the caliber of words spelled
correctly at each competition! I have done
many, many bees in my years at the
Township of Ocean School District; and I
can honestly say that this year's
competitions were some of the best I have
ever witnessed! Our fourth graders have
every reason to be extremely proud of
themselves!
The first, second, and third place winners
OTES 2013 Spelling Bee Winners February 21 & 22 @ 7:00pm
“The Sky’s the Limit”
Follies forms, instructions and
permission slips have been sent home.
Here is a quick recap: we will be
accepting the first 30 acts that submit
their song sign-up forms. All students
in the group must hand in their form
to participate. Students can only
perform in one act. Final songs cannot
be longer than 2 minutes and are due
by January 30th. Group contact
parents will be notified of the rehearsal
dates that the group has been assigned.
Preliminary rehearsals start February 4
& 5, show rehearsals will be February
11 & 12, and final run through
rehearsal will be February 18th.
If you have any questions please
contact Heather Campo at 732-233-
4541 or [email protected].
Follies News!
Annual Chance Auction- A Sweet Life
Save the date...May 16, 2013 —you won’t want to miss this night.
Planning is in full swing for the 2013 PTA Chance Auction. We have
already begun searching and requesting all those wonderful items and
donations that lead to some great prizes that you could possibly win.
It’s a long, and rewarding, process in which we know that each of you
can help in so many ways - or instance...if you have a business or know
someone who has a business or provides a service that would love to
advertise to nearly 250 people? Or maybe that same company or
business would like to donate an item(s), gift certificates, complimentary
passes or even a cash donation (all donations are tax deductible), OR
maybe you would like to help on the committee and work on some of
the behind the scene action. Donation request forms have been sent
home for you to use when helping us solicit, more forms are available in
the main office. I
If you have any questions contact Christy Mildner [email protected]
732-299-7431 or Suzanne Berg [email protected]/732-859-7551.
So...why come to the Chance Auction? Well not only is it a fun and
food filled night with friends and acquaintances that benefits OTES ...but
you can possibly win fabulous prizes. Last years prizes included: a Keurig,
an American Girl doll, iPods, an iPad, weekend getaways, day passes to
Disney World and hundreds of other awesome prizes, passes and gift
cards. You should expect even more this year!
Beginning February 4th we will be accepting pre-
registration applications for students entering
kindergarten in the 2013/2014 school year.
Registration packets are available from the Central
Registration office or may be downloaded at
www.ocean.k12.nj.us. Completed packets can be
brought to the Central Registration office between
Feb 4-22. For more information contact the OTES
main office.
Kindergarten Registration
at OTES are as follows: Regan Reilly--
First Place Winner, Mr. O'Neill's class,
Nathaniel Stalter--Second Place
Winner, Mrs. Nacarlo's
class, Elliot Topper--
Third Place Winner, Mrs.
Holmes' class.
Honorable mentions go
to: Jack Fitzgerald - Mr.
Ungar, Luciana Kaja —
Mr. Ungar, Lucas Beltran - Mr. O'Neil,
Olivia Schwab - Mrs. Holmes, Chris
Carasia - Mrs. Nacarlo.
The first place winners from each
elementary school will now join our
TOIS first place winner (yet to be
determined) in moving on to the
Monmouth University Spelldown
competition which is scheduled to occur
on March 11 and 12, 2013 at 6:00 PM.
We wish them all the best! -From Eleanor Hughes, Supervisor, Office of English Language
Arts Literacy & Social Studies, K-5, Office of Libraries, K-8
LET US HELP YOU! This holiday did you get that
gift that you just don't like or know what to do
with? Well...let us help you "regift" it without any-
one ever knowing!!!!!
Send in your NEW unwanted item(s) for us to
"regift" at this years chance auction. There will be
a box in the school lobby marked PTA. Simply
drop off the item and your problem is solved, and
now the PTA has another donation for the auc-
tion. We will also be onsite the night of the Sci-
ence Fair, so you can also drop them off then. If
you have any questions, or if the item is too large
to bring to the school, please contact Renee
Walsh at 732-859-1264 or renee-
[email protected] and we can make arrange-
ments to pick up the item.
PTA Chance Auction ReGift-athon
P A G E 4
Parent Conferences in January
IMPORTANT NEW SCHOOL SAFETY PROTOCOLS Important information on new security measures that enhance
protocol for entering the school building before, during, and after
school hours has been sent home. If you did not receive a copy
of these security measures, please contact the OTES main office.
The school Safety Team will continue to meet in the coming
months to seek better and more efficient ways to access our
building safely. Security of all of our schools continues to be the
number one priority for Ocean Township School District’s
administration. If you have any questions or concerns please
contact Dr. Ryan at 732-531-5690 ext. 2000 or by email at
2012-2013 PTA Board Members:
President - Christy [email protected]
1st VP - Renee [email protected]
2nd VP - Paula [email protected]
3rd VP– Beverly [email protected]
Corresponding Secretary - Christine [email protected]
Recording Secretary—Tara [email protected]
Treasurer - Casey [email protected]
Conferences for Preschool through 5th grade students have been
rescheduled for the end of the second marking period. At the
conferences, your child’s progress and development will be
discussed with his or her teacher, and you will have the
opportunity to learn about your child’s educational program in
greater depth. Parent conferences will be held January 22-25 for
grades Pre-school, Kindergarten, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade
students. Evening conferences will also be conducted on Thursday,
January 24th, from 6:00-8:00 PM. To facilitate the conferences,
students will have a shortened day resulting in an early dismissal
on January 22 – 25, 2013.