2008-2009 was OCEAA's 4th year and along with our educational achievements, OCEAA students & families had many fun times at our annual events, recitals, performances & participating in community service projects.

Please scroll down to relive some of the great memories from this past year...

• 4th Annual OCEAA Talent Show & End of Year Extravaganza ~ 5th June, 2009.
  
  Celebrate good times....COME ON!!!
  
  What a terrific way to end another wonderful year at OCEAA with everyone in attendance enjoying the family atmosphere & festivities.
  As usual, Chef Sean provided everyone with a delicious dinner, our talented students showed us a wide variety of fun & entertainment from the stage & the Silent Auction provided an exciting ending to the night.
  
  Please click here to see a video of the teachers' performance.
  
  Please click on the 'Disco Ducks' below to see more pictures of all the fun!
  
  

• 2nd Annual International Festival ~ 3rd April, 2009.
  
  Thank you to the coordinators who helped organize and spent countless hours contacting the countless volunteers who helped to make this event such a success!
  
  Set-Up: Celin Huáneeri Kindergarten: Nayeli Valdez. First/Third: Arizay Aparicio/ Dommy Martinez. Second: Elivia Arroyo. Fourth: Alma Ahumada. Fifth: Araceli Lopez, Fabian Solorzano, Lupe Andrade. Middle School: Elizabeth Bausman.
  Food Contest: Paul Navarro.
  Clean Up: Elvira Navarro.
  
  Food Contest.
  Thank you to all the families that participated: Alves, Lindbeck, Nuñez, Ortiz, Ramirez, Ramos, Reyes, and Romain.
  The winners were chosen by our judges Chef Sean, Ms. Hardman-Greene, and Ms. Garcia:
  
  Best Side Dish: Ratatouille by Lindbeck Family
  Best Entrée: Chicken Fajitas by M. Ramos Family
  Best Dessert: Tiramisu by Romain Family
  
  Donations.
  A big thank you to the businesses and families that donated their time and resources: Mexi Jr. Restaurant, Nowel Family, photography by Mark Bausman, Padilla Family, Ron and Joe, Inc., Navarro Company, Safeguard Breslin and Associates, FSO and State Farm agent Monica Martinez Drevon.
  
  Ticket Count.
  Kindergarten Cookies, Brownies, and Nachos- 345; First/Third grade Tacos- 473; Second grade Aguas Frecas- 430; Fourth grade pasta- 146; Fifth grade chicken bowls and egg rolls- 201; Middle School apple pie, pizza, and sports bottles- 800, and food contest- 272.
  
  Together we were able to raise over $2,500 for OCEAA!!
  
  Please click on the 'Puppets of Many Colors' below to see more of the festival.
  
  
  
  
  
  

• Spirit Week ~ March 30th - April 3rd, 2009.
  
  Everyone was in fine spirits during Spirit Week at OCEAA. The final preperations for the International Festival were in full swing, it was the week before Spring Break & much fun was had by students & staff with wacky hair, crazy costumes & an abundance of School Spirit!
  
  Please click on the 'Twin Monsters' below for more 'Spirit'.
  
  

• 'Keeping Our Children Safe in an Online & Mobile World' Live Webcast ~ April 7th, 2009.
  
  Several distinguished guests including Bill Habermehl, Orange County Superintendent of Schools & the Honorable Sandra Hutchens, Sheriff-Coroner, Orange County participated in a roundtable discussion on this topic & the event was streamed live at www.kcommyouth.com.
  
  The program focus was;
  - How to proactively address the threats to children in an online and mobile environment and protect them from cyber bullying, predators, fraud, identity theft.
  - How to help children adopt healthy and safe online behaviors.
  - How to increase awareness and support for this crucial issue.
  
  More information about the participating panelists & the webcast replay can be found at www.kcommyouth.com

• 1st Grade's Service-Learning Project ~ March 2009.
  
  During the month of March, OCEAA's 1st grade students studied the difference between necessities and wants and discussed the world of jobs and careers. After noticing how many homeless people they passed while on a walk to the library, the grade along with their 4th grade 'buddies' decided to connect their studies with real-world experience by helping the needy in our community. They embarked on a service-learning project which followed California state academic standards objectives in language arts, science, math & art.
  
  They worked in conjunction with the Orange County Rescue Mission Shelter, shopping for necessities for the Mission's homeless population, writing letters to them, making hygiene kits & holding a school wide canned food drive. The students also wrote books about their experience, copies of which they have donated to local schools & libraries. Other classes joined in with the book publishing aspect of the project & we are proud to say that OCEAA now has nine published titles to its credit this year!
  
  Our teachers used their TEAMS/Americorps grants for this project & we are so proud of them for enabling their students to use their studies in such a practical & helpful way. We are humbled by the compassion these students have shown the less fortunate in our community & we thank their parents & all our OCEAA families for their support in this effort.
  
  We also thank the Orange County Rescue Mission Shelter for their assistance. They kindly sent a letter to Ms. Martinez detailing how the students' efforts helped them in their endeavours.
  Click here to read the letter.
  
  Please click on the books below for pictures of the project in action.
  
  

• Congratulations to Chef Sean & Staff! ~ March 13th, 2009.
  
  The Orange County Environmental Health Division has recognized Chef Sean and all of the nutrition services staff at OCEAA for consistently maintaining exceptionally high food safety and sanitation standards through the year and has given them the Award of Excellence for a great year of such wonderful and healthy food!
  Please join us in congratulating Chef Sean and staff for providing us with excellent food every day.
  
  
                      Chef Sean & the Nutritional Services Staff.
  
  
  

• Winter Recital ~ March 12th, 2009.
  
  Students from the OCEAA After School classical guitar & violin classes delighted the audience with their performances.
  
  Please click the musicians below for more pictures.
  
  

• Welcome to the World ~ Ginger Louise Rush! ~ March 5th, 2009.
  
  As many of you know, our After School Coordinator Mrs. Dani Rush had taken maternity leave last month & we are so happy to announce she delivered a beautiful & healthy baby girl on March 5th.
  
  Click on the picture of Ginger to see the announcement...
  
  
  
  Congratulations Rush family!
  
  
  
  Dr. Seuss' Birthday Celebration & Puppet Performance ~ March 2nd, 2009.
  
  On March 2nd, the Arts Committee sponsored a family fun night at Barnes & Noble on Main St in Orange. Over 25 families came to make Sneetch puppets, celebrate Dr. Suess's birthday, and earn money for our Arts Library.
  
  It was jam-packed with activity as the kids cut out stars, browsed books and won prizes.
  Ellen Schulze, the popular 'Puppet Lady' presented an interactive play that delighted all who were there.
  
  Many thanks to Arts Committee chairs Mrs.Ratnaweera and Mrs. Hernandez for making it all possible.
  
  Please click on the Sneetchs below to see more of the fun!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

• OCEAA Students Perform at CABE National Conference ~ February 28th, 2009
  
  OCEAA students were invited to perform on the closing day of the CABE National Conference at the Long Beach Convention Center on Saturday, February 28th.
  
  This national conference is one of the biggest in the area of bilingual education in the country & was a great opportunity for OCEAA's Two-Way Immersion Program & Arts Program to shine in the national spotlight.
  
  15 students from 1st through 6th grades performed a dance from India titled "Bhangra". They learned the dance last year through the OCPAC 'ArtsTeach' residency program at OCEAA.
  Students also performed this at the 2-Way CABE Conference last summer.
  
  More information about 'ArtsTeach' can be found on the 'Art Programs' page of this website.
  
  Please click on the performers below for more pictures.
  
  

• 2nd Annual Jog-A-Thon ~ February 21st, 2009.
  
  OCEAA's second annual Jog-A-Thon took place at the Santa Ana Bowl on Thursday, February 21, 2009. Approximately 500 students participated in various events, such as the 100 yard dash, sack race, tug-a-war, three-legged races, bean bag tosses, ladderball, long jump, and the jog-a-thon.  
  
  Over 80 volunteers and staff gladly spent their hours with the students to promote fitness, exercise, and safety.  
  
  Many students commented that they'd like to have this event every week at school, while adults applauded the organization of the event, which was lead by Lisa Guererro and Tania Reyes.
  
  Click the 'happy hoppers' below for more pictures.
  
  

• Mummies...Mysteries...Oh My! ~ January 2009.
  
  Thanks to a grant through the website www.donorschoose.org, Ms. Dowd's class now has a set of 36 books - 'The Egypt Game'. This book will help students not only learn about the early civilization of Egypt, but experience it as well.
  
  If you would like to help our teachers by donating to one of their grant proposals, please click www.donorschoose.org to see the latest list of OCEAA projects.

• TEAMS/Americorps Grants 2008 - 2009. ~ December 2008.
  
  OCEAA is delighted to announce that our teachers Ms Martinez & Ms.Valencia, have won $1,000 grants from TEAMS/Americorps. Our teachers will be using these grants to incorporate service-based projects into their curriculum this year.
  Along with Ms. Martinez & Ms. Valencia, teachers Ms. Ratnarweera, Ms. Riley & Ms. Reyes are all members of TEAMS/Americorps, a collaborative of schools and community based organizations that help provide resources, support and preparation for educators.
  
  Read more about TEAMS/Americorps here.

• OCEAA Awarded Target Grant ~ December 30th, 2008.
  
  Thank you to Target & congratulations & thank you to OCEAA's 1st Grade teachers; Krista Bagdagulyan, Doraima Gomez & Natalia Martinez, who were awarded a $700 Target Field Trip Grant, designed to help bring learning to life for students.
  
  The educators were selected from more than 25,000 applicants from across the country!
  
  Read More Here...

• 3rd Annual Fall Festival ~ October 24th, 2008.
  
  Pirates, fairies, witches, cowboys, princesses & many more great personalities all gathered together in the playground for an evening of fun on Friday night.
  A delicious dinner prepared by our own Chef Sean was enjoyed by all, along with musical entertainment courtesy of our middle school students & DJ.
  
  Everyone had a blast 'raising the roof'on the dance floor as you can see below.
  
  PLease click the pic to check out the rest of the fun.
  
  

• OCEAA Joins Tanaka Farms' CSA Project. ~ October 2008.
  
  We are happy to announce that OCEAA has teamed up with Tanaka Farms in an exciting project to bring fresh fruit & vegetables to our community. The CSA, 'Community Supported Agriculture' project enables OCEAA families to purchase delicious organic fresh fruit & veggies every week from Tanaka Farms as well as other local growers, some of these being harvested the very morning of delivery!
  
  Below is a sample of what you can expect to receive in a box. The contents changes weekly according to seasonal availability.
  5 bananas, 4 oranges, 4 tomatoes, 1 bunch of carrots, 2 zucchini, 2 yellow squash, 1 large onion, 1 head of broccoli, 1 head of lettuce, 1 bunch of green beans (about 1lb), 2 green bell peppers, 2 cucumbers, 1 yellow skinned cucumber.
  
  Click on the fruit & veggies below for more information & order form.
  
  

• Mexican Independence Day Celebration & Parade. ~ September 12th & 14th, 2008.
  
  In our playground Friday night September 12th, OCEAA families & friends were entertained by some wonderful student performances & treated to some delicious food in this annual OCEAA event.
  On Sunday, September 14th, OCEAA Students, staff & families participated in the Fiestas Patrias Santa Ana Parade.
  
  Please click on the fun below to see more pictures of these events.
  
  

  Friday Celebration	Fiestas de Patrias Santa Ana