Mr. Elkins' Weekly Wrap: Week of 11/18

Hey Panda Family,

Two more days and then it is Thanksgiving break! We got this! "Champions don't show up to get everything they want; they show up to give everything they have". Proud of each of you for giving it your all each day. I see it and I feel it throughout every classroom, every meeting, and every interaction. Thank you for all you do! 🐼

Here are the Weekly Wrap updates for this week:

New Updates

iReady: Your students do not need to complete iReady next week since it is a short week.

iReady MOY Diagnostics (1st - 5th only): The diagnostic window opens up on Monday. Please make sure you hide your iReady diagnostic until we return from Thanksgiving break. Here is a video to remind you how to hide your diagnostic until you are ready for your class to take it - How to Hide iReady Diagnostic Video

Pictures With Santa: Pictures with Santa will take place on Tuesday, November 26 in Room 307. A volunteer will come to your room to pick up your kids who have paid. The schedule is listed below. Please reach out to Ms. Medley if you have any questions. Proceeds raised go towards the 5th Grade Williamsburg Field Trip Fund.

HR Mobile: HR Mobile will be at Piney Grove on Wednesday, December 4 from 1:00 - 4:00. Our goal with these visits is to allow your employees a few hours to meet directly with HR, Benefits, and/or Licensure without having to come up to the Central Office building. This will be drop-in only. They will be set up in the small office across from the PLT room.

Paw Store (from PBIS): The Paw Store will be open on December 16 & 17. All classes have an assigned time. Please see the Paw Store Schedule linked here - Paw Store Schedule. We will only have a volunteer present on Monday to assist check-out for K-2. Third-fifth grade classes will go on December 17 (teachers are responsible for checking out students). If your class is not able to make your assigned time that is okay. We will keep the store open on December 18 & 19 for these situations. Please remember there is a two-item limit. Thank you!

PGE Substitute List: Going forward we will keep the substitute list linked in the Weekly Wrap so it is easily accessible. We are constantly adding new subs to the list when we get good reviews or references. Here is the updated list - PGE Substitute List.

Holiday Staff Dinner (from SCC): Our Holiday Staff Dinner will be held this year at Fire and Sticks Japanese Steakhouse and Sushi on Friday, December 13th at 6:30. Everyone will order off the full menu and will be responsible for their own meal and drinks. Spouses/significant others are welcome.

Please fill out the google form if you are planning on attending by November 29th.

https://forms.gle/pY7jyWkMS76xb4HAA

Resources from Ms. Ceglowski: Here are some of the resources Ms. Ceglowski shared at this week's staff meeting. Everything is linked below. All you have to do is click on the links!

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

Message from Ms. Tiano: I want to say a huge thank you for all of your support while I was at PGE. It has been a pleasure to work with you and the little Pandas! I am so grateful to have had this time with you all and will definitely be back to visit! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Shoutouts 🎉: From Ms. Lawson - This week, I want to give a big shoutout to Ashley Charles. She has been incredibly helpful, patiently answering my thousands of questions while also managing her own demanding caseload. Ashley, thank you for all your help—it has made my transition from middle school to elementary so much smoother. I truly appreciate you!

From Ms. Mabe - Shout out to Brookshire for the Cornish Hen Bowling Game. What a creative game! It made the staff meeting extra fun and we all enjoyed the friendly competition! Making my family play at Thanksgiving. LOL

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

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!

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.