Ocean Avenue Friday Notes

• 9/30: Early Release Wednesday, 1:10 PM
• 10/5: Grade 2 Field Work at Baxter Woods, 11:30 AM-1:30 PM
• 10/7: Early Release Wednesday, 1:10 PM
• 10/9: School Picture Day! (Retake Day: 11/13)
• 10/14: Early Release Wednesday, 1:10 PM
• 10/16: Hearing Screenings ~ Grades Pre-K, K, 1st, 3rd and 5th
• 10/21: Vision Screenings ~ Grades Pre-K, K, 1st, 3rd and 5th
• 10/21: Early Release Wednesday, 1:10 PM
• 10/28: Early Release Wednesday, 1:10 PM
• 10/29: Flu Vaccine Clinic at OAES, hosted by Maine Health
• 11/12: Math Game Night, 5-6 PM

Ocean Avenue School Picture Day is Friday, October 9th with Strawbridge Studios! Your student(s) will be coming home with their picture forms next week. If you do not receive your form or need a new one sent home, please contact the Main Office. You can also order a picture package online without the form. Please see information below on how to do this.

Please Note: Every student will receive a School ID Card and Class Composite Picture, even if a picture package is not ordered for your student(s).

HOW TO PLACE YOUR SCHOOL PICTURE ORDER ONLINE:

To order a picture package and pay online, go to www.strawbridge.net. Click Order Pictures and enter the following code: PX506446.

While we do not celebrate birthdays at school, parents/guardians are welcome to send a healthy snack for their child's class in honor of a birthday. Examples of a healthy snack include a fruit platter, popcorn, pretzels. Please do NOT send in cake, cupcakes or other sugary sweets. It is appreciated if you let your child's teacher know of your plans in advance.

Please do NOT bring in balloons, or other items that could trigger allergies and can disrupt learning. Please let your child’s teacher know of your plans in advance. This allows for appropriate planning and to ensure any allergies, etc. are accounted for.

**PLEASE NOTE: STUDENTS MAY ONLY HAND OUT BIRTHDAY PARTY INVITATIONS AT SCHOOL, IF ALL STUDENTS IN THE CLASS ARE BEING INVITED TO THE STUDENT'S CELEBRATION.

September’s IB Learner Profile Attribute is “Caring”, so I interviewed students and caught students showing acts of kindness with her “Caring Cam”. These 4th grade students talked about the importance of including students who may need someone to play with and also about playing safe during recess time. They shared how they practice respect and consideration in the garden by using quiet voices, knowing that the garden is located near the PreK classroom during nap time. This thoughtful awareness of others is a wonderful example of kindness in action. Through these simple yet powerful actions, they are actively practicing inclusion and belonging.

What an impressive message from our students. Kindness is not simply something we talk about. It is something we choose to practice every day.

Thank you to all of the staff members and student volunteers who worked together to make our first community meeting a success!

- Hana Tallan, Interim Assistant Principal

Great news! Typing.com is now available ad-free and with supported curriculum to students in grades 3-5! A huge thank you to the generous donors who made it possible to expand the program to grades 4-5, as well as the district-supported 3rd grade. Now, students will have a chance to practice typing, build their accuracy, and see their progress as they improve over time. In the library, we've been learning to start slowly and resist the urge to look at our fingers. (Ask about our blacked-out Chromebook keyboards!) They can access Typing.com through Clever both at school and at home. Please contact Ms. Eva with any questions!
platte@portlandschools.org

Greater Portland Health's Children’s Oral Health Program provides dental services on-site at Ocean Ave Elementary. By enrolling your child, you provide them with access to on-site dental cleanings with a Greater Portland Health Dental Hygienist.

Please complete the Children’s Oral Health Program Enrollment Form at the following link - Enrollment Form - to allow your student to receive dental cleanings at their school. Enrollment is optional and open to all students, regardless of where they get their primary care.

If you filled out a dental enrollment form for your child last year and they remain in the Portland Public School District, you do not need to complete a new one. If you have any questions, please call 207-874-2141 option 7, visit our website, or contact your school nurse’s office

Third graders went to Gambo Preserve to be next to the river to which they belong to: the Presumpscot River. Students rotated through different stations discovering the various ways water moves around and at a dam, as well as the impact on its riparian inhabitants. Students learned from a Wabanaki community member the importance of rivers in their culture; and for all people, as well as getting to see some of the fish from the river!

AAA is partnering with Safe Kids Maine to conduct a free community car seat safety checkup event on Saturday, September 26 from 10 AM to 1 PM in our parking lot in Portland (68 Marginal Way).

Come on Down to CornerFest 2026!

Friends of Woodfords Corner invites the entire Ocean Ave Elementary community to join us at CornerFest woodfordscorner.org/cornerfest> on Saturday, October 3, from 2-7pm, on Grace Street
maps.app.goo.gl/72TXdZQ52f5T9SMN7>.

This FREE, all-ages block party celebrates all things Woodfords Corner. There will be fun activities
for kids and adults, food, live music, and—best of all—neighbors! Learn more at woodfordscorner.org/cornerfest, and we hope to see you there!

Lois Lowry (author of The Giver and Number the Stars) will be at the Westbrook Performing Arts Center to celebrate her latest book, Building 903.

Lois will be sharing the stage with Rebecca Traister, author of Angry Girls Will Get Us Through. We will hear their conversation on the empowering themes that both of them espouse so eloquently: resistance, resilience, hope, action, and the power of youth.

Tickets are required for entry and are available here. If you would like to attend but face a financial barrier in purchasing tickets, please Ms Eva know and we'll do our best to make something work. It's going to be great!