Mr. Elkins' Weekly Wrap: Week of 11/4

Hey Panda Family,

As I think about our word for this school year, CHAMPION, we must acknowledge some of the true champions for our country - our veterans. Our military goes above and beyond each day to protect our freedom and to provide us with the ultimate layer of security. I send my thanks and gratitude to all veterans in our school community and veterans in your families for their service. Have a wonderful long weekend and a Happy Veterans Day ⭐

Here are the Weekly Wrap updates for this week:

New Updates

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

Dental Screening: Dental screening will take place on Tuesday, November 12 for PreK, K, 3rd, and 5th grade. It will be on the stage. Here is the schedule - Dental Screening Schedule. Please arrive to the stage a few minutes before your scheduled time. Thank you!

United Way: The 2024 United Way campaign will run until 12/5/24. Last year Piney Grove met and exceeded the participation goal! You should have received an email with the pledge link in October. A second email was sent out on November 6 with the link and information about the campaign. Payroll deduction is the easiest way to do it, but if you want to give cash, see Ms. Ballou. Ms. Ballou is our United Way representative.

These are our goals for this year:

2024 Participation Goal is 20%

2024 Campaign Goal is $1500

We will announce incentives for pledging soon!

Below is the link to pledge. Thank you for supporting this wonderful cause!

Pledge Now

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.

Fire Drill: We will have a fire drill next week. Please review procedures with your class so they are prepared.

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 parents who want to sit in your class to watch their child. If you have never had it happen, it probably will at some point. This normally occurs because the student has been misbehaving and the parent wants to help by being present. Here is my advice and suggestion on how to handle this situation.

Parents should never show up unexpected and attend your class. This is distracting to you and the students. Plan it in advance with the parent if they want to attend.

It is awkward just to have them sit there and watch. If they want to be present in your classroom, make sure they are a cleared volunteer, and give them a task to do. They could complete clerical tasks for you, work with a small group, etc. This way, if it is to monitor their child's behavior, they can do that by being present in the classroom while also volunteering.

Don't ever tell a parent they can't come in. This looks like you are trying to hide something from them. Just set boundaries and expectations for when they will come and what they will do when they visit.

Lastly, if you ever need guidance handling a situation like this just come see me and I will talk you through it.

Shoutouts 🎉: From Ms. Fox - SHOUTOUT to Jen Kindred. Fall GoFar would not have been possible without her. She did so much for me and the team to make the season a success! Thank you Jen!

From Ms. Rempe - thank you to our instructional assistants and to Ms. Corlett for helping one of my students!

Updates from Last Week

Spirit Wear Link: Here is a link to purchase PTA Spirit Wear - bit.ly/pandagear Feel free to share it with your families too!

Mack Strong (from Ms. Ceglowski): There is a fundraiser being held for Ben Mack after his recent cancer diagnosis. Ben is a well known Piney Grove fun dad! Larkin is at Hanes Middle in 7th grade, and she attended Piney Grove. Ollie is in 4th grade with Mrs. Jones. Finn is just a baby panda with Mrs. Panico in Kindergarten.

One way we can show support is by buying Mack Strong T-shirts. They are making them to coincide with a KLL fundraiser tournament the weekend of Nov. 16 and 17. I will pick up any shirts ordered by PGE staff and deliver them to school on Nov. 18. Here is the link to order:

https://forms.gle/tWMPVdv48NtN5DcK8 (https://forms.gle/tWMPVdv48NtN5DcK8

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.