Acronyms/Abbreviations
ASEP After School Enrichment Program
B2SN Back to School Night
CDC City Day Care
DLG Diversity Learning Group
DO District Office
EAT Environmental Action Team
FTC Field Trip Coordinator
IEP Individualized Educational Plan
LCAP Local Control Accountability Plan
LCFF Local Control Funding Formula
MPR Multi Purpose Room
OSS Ocean Shore School
PE Physical Education
PEF Pacifica Education Foundation
PSD Pacifica School District
PTO Parent Teacher Organization
RSP Resource Specialist Program
RTI Response To Intervention
SEPAC Special Education Parent Advisory Council
STEM Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics
STEAM Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics
TTT Temporary Tot Tending (now Happy Hall before and after care)
Glossary
After School Enrichment Program (ASEP). ASEP provides a warm, caring environment beyond school hours where your children have the opportunity to engage in fee-based classes to learn, play, and grow.
Back to School Night. Event in the evening in September that provides the opportunity to meet your child’s/children’s teacher(s) and to learn what to expect in the coming school year.
Book Fair. Every Fall and Spring during the school year, a Book Fair is held in the school library for one week. Literati or Scholastic sends our school cases of books and other educational material for us to sell at our fair. A portion of the sales will go directly to the librarian to purchase books and to our PTO to help offset costs of other expenses throughout the school year or offer special events for our children.
Celebrate Diversity Day. This is an OSS tradition brought to you by the Diversity Learning Group designed to recognize and highlight our children’s diversity and celebrate what makes each student unique.
Challenge Day. An organization that helps young people learn to connect through powerful, life-changing programs in their schools and communities. The day-long, interactive Challenge Day program provides teens and adults with tools to tear down the walls of separation, and inspires participants to live, study, and work in an encouraging environment of acceptance, love, and respect. Challenge Day is for 7th/8th graders and occurs every other year.
Cheddar Up. Third party solution used by the PTO to collect payments and signups all in one spot.
Field Trip. Experiential learning is a cornerstone of Ocean Shore School and field trips are key to that experience. Teachers plan field trips to go along with curriculum students are learning in class.
Fog Fest. The Pacific Coast Fog Fest each year promotes the City of Pacifica, attracts visitors, celebrates our community and raises funds for local community groups as well as the “Gift for Pacifica Fund.” Now over 50 groups benefit and to date, an amount of $1,250,000 has been donated back. Fog Fest occurs the last full weekend in September and kicks off Saturday morning at 10 am with the Parade, honoring the local community. There are also Arts and Crafts booths, Food and Beverage booths, Music & Entertainment, Family Fun Fest and a variety of other activities along Palmetto.
Junior Olympics. Track and Field event for students in Pacifica. It is typically held in the Spring.
Live Scan. Live Scan fingerprinting is an ink-less electronic fingerprinting that scans your fingerprints directly into the computer to determine who a person is so that a background check can be done. A Live Scan reports all or part of your Summary Criminal History Record and can also include your Federal Record. The Summary Criminal History Record is the criminal record kept by the California Department of Justice. Live Scan is required for field trip drivers and chaperones.
LCAP. The Local Control Accountability Plan is a three-year district plan that details how funds will be spent to improve student outcomes. The LCAP must address the Eight State Priorities and include stakeholder engagement, goals and progress indicators, and actions, services, and expenditures. District information available on PSD website.
LCFF. The Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) is California’s new funding system that allows school districts to direct resources and services to meet the needs of low-income students, English learners, and foster youth. LCFF requires each school district to adopt a Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) that shows how funds will be spent to provide high-quality educational programs and improve student outcomes.
Math Fair. Event for K-3 that is put on by the 7th/8th graders filled with fun math challenges and games.
Multicultural Night. A chance for our school community to come together and celebrate the diversity that makes us unique. The event tends to feature performances, a potluck, and displays from a range of cultures and backgrounds.
Oceans411. Oceans411 is a program in where Kindergarten through 8th grade students at Ocean Shore School participate in an immersive learning experience focused on marine science. Each year there is a new theme, and classroom teachers explore different subtopics. Students move from classroom to classroom, learning and applying their knowledge, through observation, experimentation, and playing academically enriched games. 7th/8th grade students, parents and local experts collaborate to teach key concepts. Oceans411 has been an annual program at Ocean Shore School for over 30 years! Visit the website for more information and watch this video.
Oceans411 Café. Kick off to Oceans411.
Ombud. An individual that serves as liaison between classroom team, parents, teacher, students, and PTO executive board to facilitate communication between these parties, to solve conflicts and problems in a constructive manner preserving relationships, both working and personal.
Open House. Occurs near the end of school and provides an opportunity for students to show parents/caregivers around their classroom and for parents/caregivers to see a sampling of their work and Oceans411 decorated halls. Students can also visit their rising grade classroom.
ParentSquare. A multipurpose unified platform that includes mass notifications, classroom communications, and other communication-based services that is used by the Pacifica School District and each school within the district. Visit parentsquare.com to sign up and/or download the app.
POD. Each student is placed in a POD (each POD consists of a Kindergartener-8th Grader), and they stay together as a POD for their time at OSS.
POD Day. The POD members will get together with their assigned teacher and go to the same classroom where they work on various activities. Most of the POD Days will have a theme and there are approximately five per year.
Read-a-thon. An annual event where students use the Reading Log to record minutes they read while collecting donations from family and friends to support their efforts. The goal is for each student to read at least 20 minutes every day and raise at least $100 each. Read-a-thon is the largest fundraising event for OSS.
Ruby Bridges Walk to School Day. In 1960 at six years old, Ruby Bridges integrated an elementary school in New Orleans by becoming the first African American child in an all-white school. Today we celebrate the bravery of Ruby Bridges and walk, step-by-step, to end racism and ensure all students have access to a quality education.
SignUpGenius. An online software tool for volunteer management and event planning used by the PTO and classroom volunteers.
Theme Day. Students spend a day/half day learning about a specific theme. Parent volunteers lead 3-4 different activities related to the theme. Example themes are Space, Biographies, Poetry, Native American, and Rainbow.
Winter Bazaar. Since 2001, Ocean Shore School has run a Winter Bazaar in early December to raise funds for the Pacifica Resource Center, Pacificans Care, Pacifica Library Foundation, and Youth Services Bureau. The beloved teacher, Patty, was staff leader in this effort to give back to the community and in recent years there has been an additional focus to continue her 45-year Pacifica School District legacy.
It is the time of year where OSS staff like to remind ourselves and our students to think about what we can do to help others and to give back to the community. Our community feeling and ties are really what helps us stand out as a volunteer-based school program. Students make handmade crafts and food to sell at the after-school bazaar and each class puts together one or two themed gift baskets for a silent auction. Proceeds are donated to the community.
Yard Duty. Help monitor students outside during recess and lunch periods.
Year End Picnic. Annual OSS last day of school picnic at Frontierland Park. Students check in at school in the morning and then head over to Frontierland for family fun.