Week of 6/7 - 6/11

Hey Panda Family,

We made it!!! I hope everyone has a wonderful summer break 🌞 If you need anything at all over the break, please don't hesitate to reach out. The school will be open Mondays - Thursdays each week if you need to stop by. Take time to rest, relax, and recharge. You deserve it! Here are the final Weekly Wrap updates for this year:

Staff Changes for 2021-2022: Here is a comprehensive list of all the staff changes to date.

Ms. Ashley Owens will be our Lead Financial Secretary. We are super excited to have a familiar face with tons of financial experience in this role! 

Ms. Erin Harman will be joining the 1st grade team. Ms. Harman brings a wealth of experience and a strong collaborative mindset to the 1st grade team! 

Ms. Deseree Smallwood will be joining the 1st grade team. Ms. Smallwood comes to us from the Virtual Academy. We are so happy you will be joining our Panda family! 

Ms. Tina McCracken will be returning to the 2nd grade team. Ms. McCracken did a tremendous job this year on 3rd grade, but 2nd grade is where her heart is and we are thrilled to have her rejoin the 2nd grade team of teachers! 

Ms. Alexis Tomlinson will be joining the 2nd grade team. Ms. Tomlinson comes to us from the Virtual Academy, but I also know her from my internship year at Caleb's Creek. Ms. Tomlinson brings an undeniable love for children, she works tirelessly to meet student's needs, and she is an amazing team player. We are so happy you are joining our Panda family! 

I am sad to announce that Ms. Brittany Fischer will be leaving us. Ms. Fischer is exploring opportunities outside the field of education and we wish her nothing but the best. Thank you for your service to our school and we will miss you dearly! We are currently working on filling this position. 

I am sad to announce that Ms. Michelle Berrier will also be leaving us. Ms. Berrier and her family will be moving back to Wisconsin over the summer. Thank you for your service to our school and we will miss you dearly! We will be filling Ms. Berrier's position over the summer. 

Our ESL allotment for this upcoming school year was reduced by .5. We are happy to say that Ms. Pereda will still be with us next year, but we will be sharing her with Sedge Garden too. Ms. Pereda has done amazing job growing our ESL program, and we are so thankful that she will be able to continue to do so - even in a limited role with us.  

Our EC Resource allotment was increased by .5. I am happy to announce that Ms. Ashley Bowman will be with us full-time next school year to help support our EC Resource students! She has been a great addition this year, and we are excited to see how she can continue to help our EC students grow in this expanded role. 

The school district has created a hybrid role of Media Assistant/Testing Support for next school year. I am excited to announce that Ms. Secrest will be assuming this role for us! She will continue to be a wonderful support for the Media Center as well as a great resource to help with the logistics of testing. 

Summer Hours: The school will be open Mondays - Thursdays from 7:00 - 5:00 during the summer. Feel free to stop by if you need to! If you need to work in your room, please just check with us first to make sure the floor crews will not be in there working. 

WS/FCS Staff Calendar for 2021-22: Here is the district staff calendar for 2021-22. Please note that the first day back for staff is Monday, August 16.

Staff Calendar 2021-22

Archiving Class Dojo: Please make sure you archive your class in Class Dojo at the end of the year. This will save all messages and communication in case you need it for future reference. It is a very simple process. See the directions linked here - Archiving Class Dojo Roster

 

Eating for Education (from Kernersville Chamber of Commerce): The Kernersville Chamber of Commerce is bringing the Eating for Education program back this year and we hope to bring back the success that we have had in the past as we move back to normal. The restaurant dates are July 14^th, August 11 and Sep. 8^th.  Additionally, the application part is much easier this year and your teachers can begin to apply for them right now.  The application is completely online, Education - Kernersville Chamber of Commerce (kernersvillenc.com),  and much shorter than in years past.  Just fill it out and hit submit.  We were hoping to take away as many barriers as possible this year and make it as easy as possible. 

Have a wonderful summer break! Make sure to periodically check your email for updates, and don't hesitate to reach out if you need anything 😎

Week of 5/31 - 6/4

Hey Panda Family,

Whew, what a wild two weeks it has been. I am happy to report that I came home from the hospital on Friday, and I continue to improve each day. I apologize for my abrupt absence, and I can't thank each of you enough for stepping up while I was gone! A huge shout out to Ms. Gardner for leading in my place, and this just shows why we have the best school family in the whole district! All of the prayers and support meant more than you know! I look forward to seeing you and the kids this week 😊

Who can believe we only have 2 days of school left in this crazy year!?! I am so proud of your resiliency and effort over the past ten months! Be proud of yourself for hanging in there when things kept being thrown your way. We will all be stronger and better educators because of this year - I promise! Y'all are amazing! Here are the Weekly Wrap updates:

Ms. Willis: Congratulations to Ms. Willis on her upcoming retirement! We are so thankful for her many years of service to our school and we wish her a happy and restful retirement with her husband. 

Ms. Owens: I am thrilled to announce that Ms. Ashley Owens will be filling our Lead Secretary vacancy beginning July 1, 2021. Ms. Owens worked in the financial world for over 20 years before she came to PGE. She has experience in banking, accounts payable, cash management, financial reporting and consulting. She started at the bank in college and ended up working in finance at Volvo for 10 plus years before becoming a stay at home mom.  She came back to work at Piney Grove 5 years ago and has held several different positions with us including teacher assistant, reading interventionist and testing coordinator. Congratulations, Ms. Owens on your new position! 

Ms. Crisp & Ms. Billock: Thank you for your many years of servicing educating our Pandas! We will miss you dearly and we wish you nothing but the best in the next chapter of your careers. 

Sunset Slush: On Wednesday, June 9 one of our parents is graciously providing Sunset Slush for the entire staff to show their appreciation of all the hard work you have put in this year. The Sunset Slush truck will arrive at 11:00 on Wednesday, June 9. 

EOY Checklist: Please make sure to complete all items on the EOY checklist before you leave for the summer - EOY Staff Checklist

Mask Updates (from district): NCDHHS still requires everyone 5 and older to wear face coverings when indoors at schools, preschools, and on school transportation on days students are in the building. But now, according to new guidance, days when no students are in the building, face coverings will be optional for employees. If a student is present, employees must wear a face covering. Face coverings are still optional for everyone when outdoors. Effective June 7, face coverings will also be optional for employees at Central Office locations since employees are not likely to interact with children.  Anyone who is not fully vaccinated is strongly encouraged to wear a face covering and maintain 6 feet of social distance. Also, Effective June 7, schools will be allowed to have school-wide meetings with staff. Face covering will be required at any school-wide meeting that does not maintain 6 feet of social distancing.

Class Pictures: One of our parents has graciously volunteered to take last day of school class pictures for everyone on Tuesday. She plans to create a digital file with all the pictures that she will share with us. We would like everyone to take advantage of this sweet gesture. Please make sure to sign up for a time slot here - Last Day of School Class Picture. Pictures will be taken on the blacktop. 

Archiving Class Dojo: Please make sure you archive your class in Class Dojo at the end of the year. This will save all messages and communication in case you need it for future reference. It is a very simple process. See the directions linked here - Archiving Class Dojo Roster

Preparing Room for Summer Cleaning: Please make sure all your belongings are safely packed away and moved against the wall near your hallway door (see picture below for a reference). If you need any help moving anything please don't hesitate to reach out and we will lend a hand! Also, we will help you get your belongings from the cafeteria to store back in your room for next school year. 

 

Eating for Education (from Kernersville Chamber of Commerce): The Kernersville Chamber of Commerce is bringing the Eating for Education program back this year and we hope to bring back the success that we have had in the past as we move back to normal. The restaurant dates are July 14^th, August 11 and Sep. 8^th.  Additionally, the application part is much easier this year and your teachers can begin to apply for them right now.  The application is completely online, Education - Kernersville Chamber of Commerce (kernersvillenc.com),  and much shorter than in years past.  Just fill it out and hit submit.  We were hoping to take away as many barriers as possible this year and make it as easy as possible. 

PBIS News & Updates (from PBIS Committee): 

Paw Store

• June 7th: K-2
• PAW Store (Virtual Students can place an order)

SCC Updates: At our May meeting, there were several questions/ concerns brought to attention.  Below are the questions and answers.

1. Are we doing a scheduling committee for next year? When and how?  Are there tweaks being made?  When are grade level reps being notified or recruited? 
   Your SIT rep should have information on about this.  The scheduling team is meeting on June 11 at 8:00 in the media center. 2. 
2. People assigned to am and pm duty were wondering if they could give their input on the time of day that is assigned to them. 
   Please have them send me an email and I will look over the schedules.  I cannot make any promises. 
3. Will you consider asking the staff for feedback about what will stay or go from this Covid schedule.... for example:  lots like the bathroom breaks, but will we go back to regular morning and dismissal procedures with when or where the kids are housed?  Lunch in room? 
   Keep in mind we do not know what district guidelines will be at this point.  We want as much "normalcy" as possible. We want feedback from the staff.  Grade levels can get together to send me one email OR individuals can reach out.  Please do this by Thursday, June 10.  We are keeping dismissal the same next year. 

Morning Announcements: Here are the Morning Announcements for this week.

June 7 - https://youtu.be/QpzQbAtx4QE

June 8 - https://photos.app.goo.gl/JqzczXyKaAyfg8s69

Staff Spotlight: From Ms. Gardner - We have a lot of staff members that need coverage during the 5th grade celebration.  A huge THANK YOU to everyone for their flexibility.  We can cover the 5th grade celebration, testing, AND have specials.  

• Musten- Willis
• Panico- Seely
• Laws- Christopher
• Staley- Lindley- 9:20-11:00
• Adams- Flynn- 8:30- 11:00
  
• Epperley- Postle- 8:30-11:00

From Mr. Elkins - Thank you to everyone for the thoughtful gestures, prayers, and support while I was out, and for Donnay and Ryleigh. Your support is unbelievable! 

Reminders from Previous Weeks

iReady School Growth Data: I have created two Google documents that review our school EOY growth data for both iReady Reading & Math. All the data in these documents is growth data. None of the data represents proficiency (not all students will be proficient, but they can all grow!). I have removed the teacher names and have assigned random class numbers. You can see how your data compares to the rest of the school. If you are interested in reaching out to some of the teachers that have tremendous growth to see what they are doing in their class, please let me know and I will steer you in the right direction :)   

iReady Reading Growth Data 2020-21

iReady Math Growth Data 2020-21

4th Quarter Specials: Here is the link for the first week of 4th quarter specials. 4th quarter- Specials Schedule- Week 1 Below is the link for the remainder of 4th quarter (after spring break). We will have an alternate schedule during EOG week. 4th quarter specials 

Positive/Exposed Covid-19 Students: Some parents are only contacting the teacher when their child has tested positive and/or been exposed to Covid-19. If you have a parent reach out to you in regards to their child testing positive and/or being exposed, please make sure they also let myself or Ms. Gardner know too. They can call, email, or message us on Dojo and we will follow-up. For every exposure and positive case we have to fill out specific information for the district. Thanks so much for your help with this! 

Student Attendance: Managing student attendance this year has been such a rollercoaster. The guidance from the district is constantly changing. Luckily, we only have a few more weeks of remote learning and managing concurrent attendance. See below for the latest guidance from district. To be clear, I do not expect you to prepare materials for in-person students that are out on a moment's notice and participate virtually. See below:

Please share this clarification regarding taking attendance of the students, especially now that more students have returned to school.  Our goal is to indicate “Present or 1R” for all students who engage in daily instruction.

 

PowerSchool indicators:

• Leave blank, if “Present”- All students who engage in face-to-face learning.

• Indicate 1R- For all Remote learners who participate in instruction, both those who are full-time remote students and those you may be home for quarantine or learning from home on specific dates.

• Mark Absent- Any student who is not present for either in-person or online learning.

 

We want all students learning and not excluded.  Please do not exclude students from joining their classes, if they are supposed to be in school, but are logging in from home on a given day.  We want all students learning and not excluded.  In-person learners should email or call their teacher if they will be learning from home on a particular day and indicate the reason why.  If they join remotely, they are present (1R). 

Working Remotely: We can only approve individuals working remotely if it is COVID related. If you are not able to come in to work you must take sick, personal, or annual leave.   

IF Updates  

iReady data chat: Please sign up here for a data chat with Mr. Elkins, Mrs. Gardner, and Mrs. Grubbs.  

Building Classes for 21-22: We will make classes on Wednesday, June 9 in Room 126.  Here is the schedule: 8:00 Kinder, 11:00 1st, 12:00 2nd, 1:00 3rd, 2:00 4th.  Please bring your completed cards with you.  

Testing Dates:

May 24 to June 8: K-2 Math EOY assessment window

Upcoming Dates:

   

June 7 - 5th Grade Celebration @ 9:00

June 8 - Class Pictures - Last Day of School Class Picture

June 8 - Last Day of School! 

June 9 - SIT @ 9:00 in Media Center

June 9 - Class Roster Builds (8:00 Kinder, 11:00 1st, 12:00 2nd, 1:00 3rd, 2:00 4th)

June 9 - Report Cards must be completed

June 11 - All items on EOY Checklist due - EOY Staff Checklist 

Thank you again for all the thoughtful notes, texts, messages, and encouragement while I was out. I can't even begin to describe my appreciation! It has been a whirlwind the last two weeks, but I am happy to say that Donnay and baby Ryleigh are doing amazing. Thank you for being an extension of our family!