Mr. Elkins' Weekly Wrap: Week of 9/16

Hey Panda Family,

Every school year is like running a race; a marathon not a sprint. I have never run a marathon (and probably never will 😂) but I can envision all kind of elements factor in to how successful the runner will be in the race: time spent conditioning before the race, weather on race day, having the right athletic apparel and shoes, is the course flat or hilly, and so much more. Some of these elements the runner can control and some the runner can't. What separates the most successful runners from the rest of the field are those that master the elements that they can control. In our school race we have lots of controllable elements (how we prepare our lessons, how we respond to adversity, etc.) and some uncontrollable (the school calendar, how our students behave, etc.). Keep your focus on the elements within your control and know we are all running the race together as a family! Support one another as we keep running, just like the dad in the video from the staff meeting. Thanks for being a Champion!

Here are the Weekly Wrap updates for this week:

New Updates

School Improvement Plan Vote: Our School Improvement Team has worked hard to create intentional and meaningful goals for this year to help our students grow and excel. Here are the goals:

Goal 1: To increase overall school attendance to 95% as measured by Unified Insights.
Goal 2: To increase school-wide grades 3-5, EOG reading and math proficiency by 3% by 2025.
Goal 3: Students across grades K-3 will be at least 82% proficient based on the composite score at Mclass EOY.
Goal 4: Teachers will input monthly Paw Form data into the Educator's Handbook with 100% participation.
Goal 5: Increase parent and staff participation at PTA activities.

All staff should review and vote on the approval of these goals. Please vote using the link below by Monday, September 23. There is also a space for comments if you have any. Thank you so much to our SIT team for all their hard work on forming these goals!

Vote on the School Improvement Plan Goals HERE!

Book Fair: Next week is Book Fair! All classes will attend Book Fair during their Media Specials. If parents want to put money on their child's account they can do so via this link:

https://kidcredit.bedfordfallsusa.com/kidCredit.php?fairID=16988

Pumpkin Book Character Competition (from Ms. Lloyd): This year, same as last year, we are asking each homeroom class to decorate a pumpkin as a book character! We have had some great entries in the past and are looking forward to seeing them all! During Fall Festival on Saturday, 9/28, visitors to the book fair will be voting on their favorite pumpkin! There will be a PreK - 2nd & 3rd - 5th grade winner. The two winning classes will be awarded $100 each by Mr. Elkins to spend on their classroom!

Pumpkins are available by the front entrance. Please feel free to come and pick out the perfect pumpkin to decorate. Deadline to turn pumpkin in is by Friday September 27th. Bring it to the Media center and let either Mrs. Epperley or me know so we can assign a number and know who it belongs to!

Mclass Progress Monitoring: I am beginning to check that all K-5 teachers have started progress monitoring their students in Mclass. Please make sure this is part of your weekly routine. Here is the progress monitoring schedule so you know which students to focus on each week - Mclass/Dibels Progress Monitoring Schedule

Absence Notes: If a parent sends you an absent note via Dojo please screenshot it and text it to Ms. True. Ms. True's cell phone number is 336-403-0458.

Insurance Benefits: Please make sure you sign up for a time to meet with our benefits specialist. Our Benefits One-On-One Meetings will be held ON-SITE this enrollment. Reminder: ALL faculty, staff, and team members will need to meet with their benefits counselor this year.

Monday October 14th, 2024 from 8 am to 5 pm

Tuesday October 22nd, from 8 am to 5 pm

Click link below to make an appointment:

https://calendly.com/piney-grove-elementary/piney-grove-elementary

State Health Plan (from district): Open Enrollment in the State Health Plan will be conducted September 30th through October 25th. The State Health Plan is transitioning from Blue Cross NC to Aetna beginning January 1, 2025. Aetna State Health Plan Information Flyer

During Open Enrollment, all active State Health Plan members will automatically be enrolled in the Base PPO Plan (70/30) unless they take action to enroll into the Enhanced PPO Plan (80/20). Members will need to complete the tobacco attestation online during Open Enrollment to reduce premiums . With the transition to Aetna, members will need to select a new Primary Care Provider (PCP) during Open Enrollment.

Help sessions are available this year and will be held in the Administrative Center's Computer Lab on the first floor at 475 Corporate Square Drive in Winston-Salem. Times and dates are listed below:

WEDNESDAY 10/02/2024 10:00 AM TO 1:00 PM

WEDNESDAY 10/09/2024 1:00 PM TO 4:00 PM

FRIDAY 10/11/2024 9:00 AM TO 12:00 PM

MONDAY 10/14/2024 9:00 AM TO 12:00 PM

FRIDAY 10/18/2024 1:00 PM TO 4:00 PM

MONDAY 10/21/24 9:00 AM TO 12:00 PM

FRIDAY 10/25/24 9:00 AM TO 12:00 PM

Parent Communication Log: When you have completed your Parent Communication Log please turn it in to Mr. Elkins. Here are the bullet point reminders:

Here is a copy of the log - Parent Communication Log
By the end of September, teachers should have contacted all parents with a positive Dojo message or phone call
If parent does not respond, try another form of communication (phone call, email)
All students should receive a Pandagram home during the 1st quarter
Turn in log by 9/27/2024

New Science Standards: Check out the DPI canvas page for updates on the new Science standards -https://ncdpi.instructure.com/courses/12448

MTSS Updates: Please see the MTSS updates below.

Thank you to everyone for your patience as we get Tier 2 plans entered into the systems
Here are the schedules for Tier 3 meeting- Friday, Sept. 27 & OTHER

Fire Drill Rescheduled: Our monthly fire drill has been rescheduled to Tuesday, September 24 @ 2:20.

Updates from Last Week

Flu Shots: Kernersville Pharmacy is coming Tuesday, October 1 for flu shots. They will be here from 7:00 - 9:00 am. They will bring the paperwork ahead of time. This is optional.

Media Updates (from Ms. Epperley): Please see the media resources below.

GoGuardian is the replacement for NetRef. There are a lot more resources available in addition to monitoring student screens. Here is the information to get set up: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1sZCBNFbLrIKtDk2l8R8ZZNrJVi6n-Ju0OPybIwCmehU/edit

Thematic Collaboration opportunity: Need to meet your PDP goal? Your media specialist is available to co-plan and co-teach in your classroom. Just let me know and we can make it happen! Use your core books or any other standard.

Blood Drive: Our annual Fall Festival is coming up on September 28 🍂 The American Red Cross is holding a blood drive at the festival. If you would like to donate blood that day please sign up here:

https://www.redcrossblood.org/give.html/drive-results?zipSponsor=Piney%20Grove%20Elementary

Committee Minutes (from SIT): In an effort to make sure everyone is receiving the same information from committees, we are going to post the minutes from each committee meeting in the Weekly Wrap. That cuts out the middle man for departments/grade levels. One less thing for the rep to do and everyone hears the same info.

To make this even easier for everyone, we made copies of the minutes form we use at SIT. We use the same document for the entire year and add the newest meeting to the top, like we do PLT agendas. All the minutes will be accessible to everyone whenever they are needed. Please have whoever takes minutes for your committee use your form for 2024-2025. We added the committee chairs as editors so you can then share with whoever is your notetaker.

We're hoping this helps with communication throughout the building and takes one thing away from committee reps. Please let Ms. Gant know if you have any questions or trouble with the forms. Thanks!

PTA Dues & Hospitality Dues: We hope everyone will pay their PTA & Hospitality dues. We are shooting for 100% participation. Here are the links:

PTA

Hospitality

WS/FCS Interpreter Services: If you need a district interpreter, here is the link to request one. REQUEST FOR INTERPRETATION SERVICES LINK

IEP Minutes Document: Teachers will continue to take minutes during IEP meetings.