Winter Food Drive!

OCS Winter Food Drive 2/6- 2/17

OCS is having a Winter Food Drive from February 6th – the 17^th. Please bring in food items to your classroom or the front office. Your food donations will go towards stocking our Panda Pantry, here at school, as well as to the North Valley Caring Services, who serve many families in need and the homeless population in and around the Valley.

We thank you for your participation in our Harvest Food Drive! The number of families in our Panda Pantry program has grown since our last food drive. We are running low on most items. Please refer to the list below as a reference. Please bring in non-perishable and non-expired food. Please bring in food that is in sealed, un-opened packages. Please check expirations dates. Here are some donation suggestions:

Peanut butter (plastic jars)                            Pasta (bags or boxed)

Jelly (squeezable plastic bottles if possible)            Pasta sauce (canned/plastic                  jars)

Powdered milk (small packages)                     Rice

Cereal (sm. boxes or sm. multipack boxes)          Vegetable & Chicken broth        

Canned Tuna                                              Canned vegetables

Canned Fruit                                              Canned soup

Applesauce (small plastic jars or snack size)       Honey

Granola/Cereal bars                                    Toothpaste/toothbrushes

Instant oatmeal (small packets)                   Juice (plastic bottles preferred)

Plans for the OCS Garden!

The first OCS Garden Club meeting was yesterday afternoon. We checked out the garden beds, took a peek at the new 7th grade garden area and had a look at the shed near the K/1 yard. Erin has good things in mind for this year that can involve anyone and everyone who wants to participate! Please see her notes below and stay tuned for updates...

 

First things first is GARDEN WORK DAY! We will be in the garden from 10am-2pm on Saturday, Sept 24th after the Pancake Breakfast. Fill up and mosey on over.

And please help spread the word! Encourage your pals and classmates to come!

 

Please bring:

 

water bottles

garden gloves

hats

old shoes

sunscreen

shovels

hand shovels

wheelbarrows or empty trash cans

your kids

 

Please mark your tools (perhaps your kids too). We do have some shovels and hand tools so you can also bring just your muscles. We are going to be predominately weeding and turning over the soil and laying out mulch. We have a tractor coming also to turn over the soil (on the west side, without beds on it) and we will be pulling the weeds from there as well. We have plans for turning that into a temporary community garden! 

We will also be adding an irrigation system!

WE NEED YOUR SPRINKLER EXPERTISE! 

CALLING ALL THOSE WITH IRRIGATION EXPERIENCE!

 

We need to get water to our beds.

 

Through a generous donation, we are going to rent a trencher to dig a trench for putting irrigation in between the beds. We will then lay PVC and then 1/4" tubing to go up into the beds, attaching it to the sides so kids don't trip on it, and then placing small bubblers in the boxes. We will need to do this for all the boxes.

 

We then want to add some directional sprinkler heads along the garden area that does not have beds. There are 3 hose hookups on each side of the garden we can work with.  We also need to add a timer.

 

We need your expertise! Please let me know if you can help in this area ASAP! We will need to buy supplies ahead of time and I would LOVE help making a shopping list. Justin and I worked on this over the summer but couldn't quite get it done. Feel free to email Erin at ocsvolunteers@earthlink.net or leave a phone message at 323-493-5177.

DONATIONS/WISH LIST

We will accept all donations! We have some money to work with from the Panda Partners but it won't be enough. 

 

We need organic veggie fertilizer - as big a bag as you would like to donate.

 

Fencing - for along the non-box side of the garden. I can get you more info on this

 

Sprinkler supplies

 

Empty spray bottles

 

Empty five gallon containers like the kind they use for paint, etc. 

They are orange at Home Depot and have lids. We will take as many as you would like to donate.

 

Wheelbarrow for school. We have one, need another.

 

We will be looking for plant donations in the near future. More info on that forthcoming.

 

Garden Shed - to place by the 7th grade area. There is a garden area over there as well and we will be gardening there once the fences come down.

WE NEED OUR ARTISTS!

We need garden signs that say "Our Community Garden" and "KinderGarden" "Grade 1 Garden" etc. Also a "No Grazing in Our Outdoor Classroom" sign.

9/24 event - help still needed!

Hello to the OCS community! We will need your help to make sure our pancake breakfast and garden work day are a success. OCS superstar and event coordinator Leah Mayer has done a ton to help us get what we need to have a fantastic morning. However, we still need quite a bit of manpower to sign on and assist with set up, clean up, supplies loans, donations and more. Please check out the current list of needs! Remember, if you come out and assist during this event, this time counts toward your volunteer hours for the year. You can contact Leah at Leahm.ocspp at gmail.com or let your room parent know what you can help out with. Thank you!

SUPPLIES:

electric pancake griddles

mixing bowls

spatulas, wooden spoons

coffee, tea

extension cords

serving bowls and platters

Help on Friday with setup assistance:

We still need at least several people that afternoon from 2-5pm

Help the day of:

We are still in need of 6 pancake station helpers from 9-10am

2 fruit station servers   

4 beverage station attendants  (both the 8-9 shift and the 9-10 shift)

Recycling Guidelines

This year, OCS continues the tradition of recycling. Please save your acceptable recyclable items and check your calendar for collection Mondays at school. They generally will occur every other week. Please refer to this post for what to bring and what to keep at home. Thank you!

OCS RECYCLING COLLECTION GUIDELINES

                                                                             

•     Aluminum Cans

                                                                                          

•     Fruit drinks

•     Glass Bottles (Brown and Green color) – Wine, beer, champagne, etc.

•     Plastic bottles – 2 liter, water, and sports drink bottles

•     Milk, OJ Cartons - Semi-see through 1 Gallon kind and smaller

•     Clear, see through plastic Cooking Oil containers

•     Jam and or Jelly Glass containers with the top off

Please DO NOT INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING BELOW based on what is NOT accepted at the recycling center. Retain items listed below for your BLUE recycling container at home:

           

•     Whipped Cream, Sour Cream, Margarine or butter containers/tubs

•     Orange Juice containers made of NON-See through plastic, i.e.,

      Tropicana, Minute Maid OJ Containers with handles.

•     Liquid Detergent, Fabric Softener, Shampoo, Conditioner or

      bleach bottles of the same type

•     Metal Whipped Cream or Cheese Containers whose

      contents are sprayed through a nozzle.

•     Soup, chili, tuna, canned fruit and vegetable cans.

•     Plastic containers for ice cream, pies, cookies, muffins, danish, etc.

•     Perfume, Hydrogen Peroxide, Rubbing Alcohol

•     Vitamin and other Health care bottles, i.e., body lotion or powder, etc.

•     Liquid Detergent, Fabric Softeners or other laundry bottles.

•     Plastic or Tin Coffee Cans, Mustard or other condiment containers

•     Insecticide or Germicide containers

Again, please put this second group of items in your blue barrel at home for the city to pick up. Thank you in advance for making the process speed through much quicker and your continuing support of our school.

OCS Garden Meeting

OUR COMMUNITY

GARDEN MEETING

Monday, Sept 12th

3:15pm @ the garden

We will discuss goals for our garden, volunteerism, fundraising, education and the

Family Garden Work Day after the Pancake Breakfast on Sat, Sept 24th!

If you cannot attend, you can still be involved! Please let the office or Erin Riley know you are interested.

ocsvolunteers@earthlink.net

Pancake Breakfast and Garden Work Day!



Come and join us for a day of delicious food, conversation, and OCS garden fun! This is a wonderful opportunity to meet new people and help with our garden.
 

Saturday, September 24th, 2011

Breakfast 8:00-10:00a.m. / Garden Work Hours 10:00am-12:00pm 

Tickets are $5 per person 

 Ticket pre-sales will be available the week prior to the breakfast

We will need lots of volunteers and donations! 

There will be sign-up sheets available through classroom parents.

Supplies:

electric griddles

no less than 6 
spatulas


3 warming trays


mixing spoons


mixing bowls

serving platters/trays 


knives for cutting fruit


napkins

-300 
paper plates

-300
 plastic knives, spoons and forks

-300
 heavy duty paper cups

-300
 paper towels


cloth kitchen towels
sponges and dish soap (for clean up)


serving gloves


trashbags


3-4 coolers w/ ice - to keep orange juice and milk cool

4-5 extension cords 15-20'

4-5 power strips

Food:

(We will need multiple quantities of the items below.)

Dry Pancake batter mix

Boxes of sausages


Syrup bottles 


Fruit Salads 


Orange Juice  


Cases of water

Gallons of milk

Ground coffee 


Tea Bags



Working Help:


Set up help (tables, chairs, table cloths, food tables) 3-4 people (Friday the 23rd and  Sat. the 24th at 6:30 a.m.)


Pancake makers - 8 -9 people ( 8-9 shift and 9-10 shift or both)


Syrup servers  - 2


Coffee and tea servers 2-3


Milk, juice and water bottle servers - 2-3


Runners ( help with extras during breakfast) (2)

Clean up crew - from 10-11 a.m. (5-6)


Your participation is appreciated!!

What is Panda Partners?

At one of the summer meetings, one of the moms asked me to define how the Panda Partners would be different from the PTSA. She asked what is the goal of this new PTO (or Parent Teacher Organization)?

I decided to write a description and read it out loud to the parents at the first school-wide Panda Partners meeting on 8-29, during the President's report. I wanted to share it with parents and families who were not able to attend, and might want to know a bit more specifically about events/goals and areas of focus for the group. I hope this can help clarify if there is confusion about the Panda Partners' role within the school. So, here it is!

What is the new OCS Volunteer Group Panda Partners all about?

Our mission statement is: OCS Volunteer Group Panda Partners is organized for the purpose of supporting the education of children at Our Community School by fostering relationships among the school, parents, and teachers through outreach, community and service.

This new group was formed over the summer to serve as a way for parents to connect  and to move forward  with activities that help enrich and improve our students’ educational experience at OCS.

With that in mind, we proceeded to identify 3 main categories for our focus this year. These include Outreach, Community and Service. The outreach committee will be headed by Leah Mayer and will include initiatives that help families in need on campus, and involve students with helping organizations in our local community.  The community committee will focus on events that help build a sense of community and relationship for all who are involved with the school.  Events include monthly Pizza Friday, First week hospitality, the pancake breakfast/garden work day and the panda café, among others.  The third committee,  service, will help to provide volunteers in several ways. First, there are the room parents and room parent coordinators that assist with classroom needs. Secondly, there are sub-committees for recycling, the OCS garden, and the Panda Coalition for the Arts. Most importantly, it is the job of the service committee to help funnel volunteers to support the major school fundraisers. These events are run and coordinated by the development committee and include Kids Dash, Big Night Out, the House of Blues Talent Show and the Spring Faire.

In our foundational year as Panda Partners, we wanted to set small and reasonable goals. We feel the things we have chosen to support and move ahead with are initiatives that we can successfully support. That said, we will truly need the participation of our parent base. We can’t expect one small group of dedicated people to cover all the needs for these different activities. The executive board recognizes that we are a diverse group with many different types of working situations. It is our goal to be able to identify and find ways for all parents to become  involved and an active part of the Panda Partners. Please know that we are open to all ideas and look forward to your feedback and suggestions throughout the year.

Another goal for this year is to create a very open line of communication about what is happening so that parents who cannot attend the meetings can stay up to date. Please look for our facebook page, OCS Volunteer Group Panda Partners online. Another way is to to check the weekly packet for notices, and to check the OCS website Panda Partners section for minutes posted.  Parents can also follow and subscribe to a newly created blog for more detailed information. Please check out: http://www.ocspandapartners.blogspot.com/

Thank you!