Week of 12/9 - 12/13

Hey Panda Family,

Week 16 is complete! I can hear the sleigh bells ringing 🔔 

 

Staff Meeting: Staff meeting this Tuesday @ 3:30. The agenda items are: Kay Pridgen dedication, AIG Retirement information, SIOP, I-ready updates, Staff awards. 

December 20: On Friday, December 20 we encourage all staff to wear your favorite holiday outfit! You may wear PJs, ugly Christmas sweaters, etc. We hope it will be a fun and festive way to end the week! 

Lesson Plans this Week: Lesson plans will still be due this week. I fully understand that you may have parties/activities that are going on and will take some time away from instruction. If you would please just make it clear in your plans when these activities are occurring.

Family Tree News Story: Click the link to watch the wonderful story Fox 8 did on our family tree! 

https://myfox8.com/2019/12/13/kernersville-art-students-and-faculty-create-family-tree-at-piney-grove-elementary-school/ 

Purchase Pre-approval: Reminder that per district policy we must have a pre-approval form completed for all purchases. The pre-approval form is a yellow form located in the front office. Even if I approve your purchase over email, you must complete a pre-approval form and have me sign off before you make the purchase. Don't hesitate to reach out if you have any questions. 

Staff Updates: Please join me in congratulating Caryn Monroe! Ms. Monroe has accepted a behavior specialist position with Iredell-Statesville Schools. We hate to see her leave us, but we know she is super excited for her next adventure. Thank you, Ms. Monroe for everything you have done for your students during your time at Piney Grove! Ms. Monroe's last day will be this Friday, December 20. 

Matt Pisini had to have emergency surgery this week on his heart. The surgery was successful. Please keep Matt in your thoughts and prayers as he recovers. 

PBIS Gaming Truck: The gaming truck will be here this Friday, December 20! See below for your grade level time slot. We will announce when we are ready for grade level participants to come to the truck. The location of the truck is TBD. 

Time	Grade	# of kids	Supervision
8:30	K	15	Pizzino
9:30	1	11+ 6 of Brookshire’s	Musten
10:30	5	20	Medley
11:30	3	24  ** eats in classroom	Vaden
12:30	4	21	Rempe
1:30	2	19	Ball

Safety Update: We will have a community lockdown along with our monthly fire drill before we leave for break.  Please review procedures for a community lockdown with your students.

Spelling Bee (4th & 5th grade only): Reminder that you need to have your class representative selected by December 20. Please see Ms. Sweeney with any questions. 

United Way: This is the online link & the easiest way to donate to United Way: https://uwfc.upicsolutions.org/WSFCS We have met our monetary goal (currently raised $1,563), but we are still working towards 100% participation. As of Friday we had 67% participation from the staff. If we meet both goals then I will cancel the January staff meeting :) 

Winter Parties: If you are planning a winter party for your class please schedule it for the last week before winter break (week of December 16). Make sure to keep the focus of the parties more winter themed (snowmen, candy canes, etc.) than holiday themed; unless you plan to highlight a variety a winter holidays. We want to avoid highlighting one holiday over another. 

Staff Spotlight: Huge Thank You to Ms. Mabe & SCC for planning and hosting such a wonderful staff holiday party! 

Teacher Tuesday Spotlight: Our school Facebook page is highlighting a teacher each week! Our spotlight this past week was Ms. Gant. Check it out! 

Lesson Plans: Friendly reminder that Lesson Plans should be posted to the PowerSchool Wiki the first day of each week by 8:00am.

IF Updates

i-Ready: Diagnostic MOY window has CHANGED! The window is now January 6 to February 7.  REMARK your calendars!  Also, we will start an incentive program that will track hitting usage goals AND to highlight overall percentages of passing scores for each class.  Stay tuned for more details about this super program!

Istation: When writing your lesson plans for the week of January 6, don’t forget to include time for the Istation MOY benchmark!  This should be administered in a testing-friendly environment (quiet in the room, take a bathroom break before you start, etc).  If you need to borrow computers in order to make a complete class set, then just see your buddy class to work out a time. 

Upcoming Dates:

December 16 - WFU Women's Basketball game for 2nd, 4th, & 5th grade 10:00 - 1:30
December 17 - Staff Meeting @ 3:30
December 17 - PGE Skate Night @ 6:00
December 19 - Gardner @ AP meeting 8:00 - 11:00, Elkins @ Principal Meeting 12:00 - 3:00
December 23 - January 3 - Winter Break! 
January 6 - School resumes
January 7 - PBIS & Wellness Committees meet @ 3:30
January 8 - Spelling Bee @ 8:30
January 9 - FCAE Meeting @ 3:30
January 13 - PTA Meeting @ 6:30
January 14 - ELA Check-In & EOQ Test (3rd - 5th grades)
January 14 - SIT @ 3:30
January 15 - Math Check-In & EOQ Test (3rd - 5th grades)

Winner from last week was Ms. Gant! I will get you your prize :)

We had this discussion at a holiday get together recently: What is your favorite Christmas/Holiday movie? Please share in the comments below! Mine is Tim Allen's Santa Claus 🎅