Mr. Elkins' Weekly Wrap: Week of 11/11

Hey Panda Family,

I love this time of the year! The leaves are changing colors, the temperatures drop, football is on all weekend (Lol), and we focus on the things and people we are most thankful for. I have so many things to be thankful for, but near the top of the list is our school family. I am thankful for each one of you as both a colleague and a friend. Your hard work, dedication, strive for excellence, and love you show each and every day is what makes Piney Grove so special. Thank you for being great educators and more amazing people. Have a wonderful weekend! 🐼

Here are the Weekly Wrap updates for this week:

New Updates

Staff Meeting: Our monthly staff meeting is next Tuesday, November 19 @ 3:30 in the Media Center. Please see the agenda listed below:

SEL Opener
Good news & Pandagrams
Turkey Bowling
Core Behavior PD - Chelsey Jones
United Way
Good of the Order

PTA Lunch Coverage: On Tuesday, November 19, PTA volunteers are going to cover your lunch duty! Huge shoutout to PTA!

5th Grade Program: All classes will watch the 5th grade musical program on Thursday, November 21 @ 8:45.

Progress Reports: Progress Reports will go home next Friday, November 22. Please make sure grades are updated in PowerSchool. Thank you!

United Way (from Ms. Ballou): The 2024 United Way campaign will run until 12/6/24. Last year Piney Grove met and exceeded the participation goal! We can do it again and meet the dollar amount too! You should have received an email with the pledge link. I have also included the link below. Payroll deduction is the easiest way to do it, but if you want to give cash, see me.

These are our goals for this year:

2024 Participation Goal is 20%

2024 Campaign Goal is $1500

We have some awesome incentives for pledging:

For every dollar donated, your name will be entered that many times into a raffle for one of two $50 Target gift cards

For example, if you donate $10 your name will be put in the hat 10 times

Anyone who gives a $15 or more donation will receive a coupon for free Chick-fil-A
Anyone who gives a $30 or more donation will receive a free staff shirt
Top donor will receive a free half day sub paid for by Mr. Elkins

If you have any questions just let me know!

Below is the link to pledge.

Pledge Now

Mrs. Gardner: I got to see Mrs. Gardner last week and she is doing well! She is scheduled to return to work on Monday, November 25.

Science Fair Projects: All Science Fair projects will be on display in Room 307 until Thanksgiving Break. We will announce the winners before we leave for break. Swing by and check out the cool experiments!

Pointers from the Principal: Going forward in the Weekly Wrap I am going to give "pointers", or guidance, on random protocols or procedures that you may encounter so you know what to do when it occurs. I hope you will find these weekly tips and advice helpful.

This week's pointer deals with holiday parties. As we enter the holiday season, please make sure to follow these few tips and pointers:

If you know of students in your class that have different views or beliefs, please be sensitive to how you promote your parties. For example, using the phrase "Winter Party" is always the best option.

Please let the front office, specifically Ms. Landreth, know when you are planning to have your party. This way she can be prepared for the higher number of visitors that will be coming through the office to check in.

If you decide to have a holiday party with your class, please plan it for the week of December 16-19.

Shoutouts 🎉: From the office - Shoutout to Emma Owens (former Panda) on signing to play collegiate soccer at Randolph-Macon College! We are super proud of you!

From Ms. Laws - Shoutout to Ms. Guffey for running such smooth CogAt testing sessions! We really appreciate all your hard work!

From Ms. Lloyd - I want to give a shout out to Ashley Charles. She saw that we were shorthanded one morning for car riders and came out and helped us that morning! We appreciate it very much!

Updates from Last Week

After-School Tutoring Interest Meetings: Our school has been allotted a portion of district funds to be used for after-school tutoring. This tutoring will begin in late January. All tutors will be paid. Tutoring is open to both Classified and Certified staff. If you are interested in tutoring after-school here at Piney Grove please attend one of two interest meetings (you only need to attend one meeting). In these meetings we will go over details, dates, pay, etc. The interest meetings will be held in the Media Center on:

November 21 @ 3:30

November 25 @ 3:30

Go Far (from Ms. Fox): No more GoFar practice after school. Fall GoFar is over. Students will need to be dismissed back to their normal way Mondays and Wednesdays.

Picnic Shelter: Here is the schedule for using the picnic shelter during lunch time - Picnic Shelter Lunch Schedule Each grade level has been assigned a day. There are two grade levels on each day, but their lunch times do not overlap. We are asking grade levels to create a system for determining which class will use the picnic shelter for lunch on their assigned day. There are two days for parents to be able to eat lunch with their child at the picnic shelter. I will share this with parents at a later date. Right now, I just want to get our grade levels in the routine of using it on their scheduled day. If you have any questions regarding the picnic shelter lunch schedule please don't hesitate to reach out. Thanks!

Committee Minutes: Please review the updated committee minutes.

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.