OV Weekly WAVES of News

Week ✌🏻✌🏻 ✌🏻 ☝🏻 = 7 Looking forward to seeing everyone at Parent-Teacher Conference Day tomorrow!

💙✨ Responsibility Starts with Ownership! ✨💙

As our Dolphins continue settling into the school year, we are counting on teachers and families to communicate and work together to establish clear expectations for students. Those expectations may look different across grade levels, but the goal remains the same: helping every child make responsible choices and grow in Ownership and Excellence. 🌟

In Kindergarten, responsibility may be as simple as bringing a communication folder to school and making sure it reaches the teacher, or practicing keeping hands to ourselves when we feel upset. In the upper grades, it may look like reviewing cafeteria expectations, including remaining seated during lunch and not running around to visit friends. The cafeteria is for lunch, not a social sprint! 🍽️🏃

When teachers and parents are on the same page, it makes a big difference. If a teacher calls or checks in with home to ask for your help reinforcing a school or classroom expectation, that partnership sends a powerful and consistent message to your child. With more than 500 students at Ocean View, clear expectations and shared support help us prevent chaos from becoming calamity. We love energy, but we prefer it focused on learning! 😊

At OV, All You Need is lOVe: Learning, Ownership, Voice, and Excellence. Together, we can help our Dolphins take ownership of their choices and show the excellence we know they are capable of. Your support matters more than you know! 🐬💙

All in,

Mrs. Murphey

Haynes Photography will be at Ocean View on Thursday, October 8th to snap those Dolphin smiles for Fall pictures! Flyers with a QR code have already gone home, so families can easily place orders online.

These photos will be used in our yearbook, so please help your child arrive present, on time, and “picture ready” with their best smile. No pressure, Dolphins, but this is your red-carpet moment! 🌟

Our next picture day will be in the spring, during April.

Parent-Teacher Conference Day is coming up TOMORROW, Monday, October 5!

Attending your child’s conference is an important way to show your part in our schoolwide theme, All You Need Is lOVe: Learning, Ownership, Voice, and Excellence. It is a chance to learn about your child’s progress, take ownership in the home-school partnership, share your voice and insight, and work with the teacher to support excellence for your Dolphin. 💜

Students notice when the important adults in their lives are actively involved in their education. A conference may only last a short time, but the message it sends is huge: “Your learning matters to me.” We look forward to partnering with you to help every Ocean View Dolphin thrive! 🌊

Norfolk Public Schools invites families to its Specialty Programs Showcase Night on Tuesday, October 13, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Norview High School.

The elementary and middle school program presentation will take place from 6:00 to 6:30 p.m., followed by a program fair from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. Families can meet program coordinators, learn about specialty opportunities available to elementary students, and begin exploring pathways that may spark your child’s interests, talents, and future goals.

Whether your Dolphin loves the arts, STEM, leadership, or hands-on learning, this is a great chance to discover what NPS has to offer. Visit www.npsk12.com/specialtyprograms for more information.

Mark your calendars for Thursday, October 29, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. for Ocean View’s biggest family event of the year, hosted by our amazing OV PTA!

Bring the whole crew for an evening packed with fall fun: an inflatable obstacle course and bounce house, petting zoo, trunk-or-treat, yard games, DJ, raffles, face painting, vendor tables, food trucks, and so much more. It is sure to be a gourd time! 🎶🐐🍁

The Fall Festival is also our largest fundraiser of the year. Every wristband purchased helps the PTA provide meaningful activities, experiences, and support for our students and staff throughout the remainder of the school year. We are grateful for the families and valued community partners who make this special OV tradition possible!

Wristbands are $35 for four or $10 each. Children age 3 and under are free. Every attendee over age 3 needs a wristband, including adults, which includes entry to all listed activities, trunk-or-treat, and the petting zoo. Purchase wristbands online using the QR code on the flyer or click on the flyer by October 19. Wristbands will be delivered to students on October 22 and 23, and none will be sold at the event.

We cannot wait to celebrate with our Dolphin families! 💙

🏃🏻‍♀️Girls in grades 3, 4, and 5 are invited to join Girls on the Run at OV! This fun and empowering program helps girls build confidence, make meaningful connections, and discover the joy of movement. 💗

📅 Mondays and Wednesdays

🕓 4:15 - 5:45

🚗 Parents are in charge of picking up girls on time

🏁 Season begins September 28

🎉 Ends with the 5K Festival on November 22

Registration closes October 5th - scan the QR Code on the flyer to sign up!

👕We are using a new vendor this year for OV Spirit Wear! There are so many choices so show your Dolphin Spirit! Please log on and order. It is mailed straight to your house! How easy! I can't wait to place to MY order! You can find both an English and Spanish version of the catalog on the website! Click on the picture to head straight there!

The Norfolk Public Schools Student Code of Conduct is available online this year. Please make yourself and your student familiar with the expectations laid out by Norfolk Public Schools. There will not be a "paper copy" coming home this year as in years past, so please also make yourself familiar on how to find this on the NPS website in the event you need information. Thank you!

🌏Ocean View Elementary School is READY for the NexTrex Recycling Challenge, where students collect clean plastic film like grocery bags and bubble wrap to earn prizes including a Trex bench 🪑 and Solo Stove. Trex upcycles over 400 million pounds of plastic annually into composite decking through its school program. Please bring ALL plastic bags and drop them off to room 136!

There are 2 types of absences: excused and unexcused.

Excused Absences - an absence accompanied by documentation (ie. illness, medical/dental appts, etc.)

Unexcused Absences - an absence WITHOUT documentation OR the following reasons (extra-curricular trips/family vacations, child-care for younger siblings/relatives, lack of transportation, or any absences without parental consent. These turn into TRUANCY.

* Only 5 parent notes are accepted per semester to excuse student absences.

* After 5 absences by parent note, doctor's notes are required.

We are tracking our Chronic Absenteeism closely. Our Attendance Tech will be doing home visits (to get Attendance Plans signed AND to verify addresses) and presenting truancy cases in court.

Please do your part and send your student/s to school every day!

Excessive absences, tardies, late pick-ups, and early dismissals contribute to the suspicion that students may not reside in the attendance zone for their current school. Parents/guardians are responsible for updating their addresses and phone numbers with their child(ren)’s school(s) every school year or when changes occur. OV'S Attendance Team will initiate address verification procedures based on the above suspicions, or if mail has been returned to the school. If evidence supports that the enrolled student does not reside at the address currently on file, that student will be withdrawn, and their parent/guardian must provide proof of residency to re-enroll.

§ 22.1-264.1. Any person who knowingly makes a false Student Handbook 2025-2026 Page Attendance 49 statement concerning the residency of a child, as determined by § 22.1-3, in a particular school division or school attendance zone, for the purposes of (i) avoiding the tuition charges authorized by § 22.1-5 or (ii) enrollment in a school outside the attendance zone in which the student resides, shall be guilty of a Class 4 misdemeanor and shall be liable to the school division in which the child was enrolled as a result of such false statements for tuition charges, pursuant to § 22.1-5, for the time the student was enrolled in such school division.

Per the NPS Student Code of Conduct, linked here https://www.npsk12.com/Page/1349, elementary students are not permitted to bring cell phones, Smartwatches, or Gizmo Gadget type devices to school. The VDOE and the Governor have enacted "Guidance for Cell-Phone Free Education Pursuant to Executive Order 33" which can be found at this link, https://www.doe.virginia.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/57403. Elementary School students are not to have cell phones/electronic devices (smart watches), however, if a parent chooses to send one for safety reasons with their student, it must be off and not on their person. If a student has one visible during the instructional day, it will be held by the teacher and sent home at the end of the day. If the student repeats this offense, the device will be held in the front office and a parent will be required to pick it up. Please review the Cell Phone Policy carefully, as the discipline steps are leveled. The front office will not be storing/keeping student cell phones during the school day.

Ocean View has both an Instagram and Facebook page. Please follow us!

Also, please submit all inquiries and attendance documentation to out informational email address (askoves@nps.k12.va.us) . This is monitored throughout the day and responses will be timely!