Ocean City Students Party the Day Away With Santa, Police

Ocean City, NJ – A visit from Santa is clearly the No. 1 highlight of the week for all children in Ocean City, but a visit from Ocean City Police may be a close second.

On their last full day of school before winter break, the students of Ocean City Primary School partied the day away with new friends and role models from the Ocean City Police Department at an event sponsored by the Ocean City Police Benevolent Association (OCPBA) on Tuesday, Dec. 22.

The students arrived at school in their pajamas and spent the entire day participating in numerous activities with police, including holiday-themed physical education games such as “snowball fight.”

Ocean City Police also served the children also pizza, caramel popcorn, cookies, and milk while watching The Polar Express. Police even punched the children’s golden tickets to the North Pole.

Then came the big moment, when Santa arrived on the scene.

“I asked Santa for my two front teeth because I don’t want to look toothless! I also asked him for a baseball glove,” Mackenzie Blizzard, a first-grader at the Ocean City Primary School, said.

This is the second consecutive year that the OCPBA has hosted a daylong party for the students. For many years prior to 2014, the organization delivered gifts to every child, but now prefers this event as the students get to spend time with the policemen and women.

“They’re making memories and role models,” said Ocean City Primary School Principal Cathy Smith said. “They see our police as friends, heroes, and most important, partners. The OCPD helps us throughout the year on a daily basis to keep us safe, assist us, and educate our students on being safe. They are second to none.”

Ocean City Police Sgt. Steve Sullivan said the Ocean City Police Department looks forward to this day for months.

“It’s a priority of ours to be in the schools throughout the year, and this is one of my unit’s favorite days of the year,” said Sullivan, who helped organize the event with Smith and Ocean City Police Det. Bob Koob. “This is a nice day and a positive experience.”

The OCPBA gave every student and staff member a red T-shirt that has “OCPS” and the school mascot on the front, with the saying “Partners in Safety” and the OCPD police badge on the back. The shirts will be worn on Fridays to promote school unity, and on field trips so that staff members can easily keep track of their students.

The information in this post and the attached photos were provided by the Ocean City School District:

Photo 1: Santa greets the students of Ocean City Primary School, who were invited to come to school in their pajamas, on December 22.

Photo 2: Several policemen and women were on hand for the daylong holiday celebration to organize games, serve food, and ensure a good time was had by all.

Photo 3: Noah Martens, a first-grader at Ocean City Primary School, visits with Santa before enjoying a day with members of the Ocean City Police Department. Before Santa’s arrival, the students chanted his name and sang holiday tunes.