Pinto Press
Friday, March 5, 2021
A Message from Your Principal
Good afternoon, Pintos. We've had a fun week celebrating Read Across America!
I hope you and your child's teacher were able to talk about Next Level Learning (summer learning) opportunities. All current students are invited, including those current Early Childhood students who will be entering Kindergarten in the fall. Applications for elementary Next Level Learning will be accepted through March 19. You must register each child separately.
Our 4th grade will attend Next Learning at their middle school. You should have received information directly from that middle school. But if you have any questions, please call the office.
Our wonderful PTA is offering an amazingly good deal on greeting cards as a fundraiser. Check out the information below. Checks should be made out to the PTA and are due on March 15.
Don't forget that our virtual book fair is still happening. Check out some great reads, using the information below. will be hosting a virtual book fair from March 1st-March 14th. Check out the flyer below.
Please reach out if you have any questions or if we can help in any way. Have a wonderful spring break!
With Pinto Pride,
Mrs. Schovanec
Counselor's Corner
Happy Spring Break! We've had a wonderful return to full time in classroom days. It has been such a joy watching kids come to school every day and being able to be with their peers and learning. As we enter our fourth quarter, we will be continuing to promote the importance of our three priority areas: Being Safe, Being Responsible and Being Respectful. Our students learn best, when they are following directions, coming on time and prepared, and able to keep themselves safely distanced from others by keeping their hands and feet to themselves. This can be difficult, especially when school has been a unique experience this year. We are looking to you, our partners, to help us reteach these behavior to help our kids be as successful as possible in the classroom and with their peers.
If you are looking for ways to help your child engage with learning, with lessons, with peers, please reach out so we can support you and them!
Looking forward!
Mrs. Ferree
https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=tm3mWBshN0q36A72lnQgwdfKyQI2d5hInvWH1P2GG29UM0YwTTAwUzZZM1hQRFNKOVQ1R0hRNlNaMC4uImportant Upcoming Dates
- Spring Break! No school for staff or students
March 14
- Last day to order from our virtual book fair
March 15:
- School resumes
- PTA card orders due
March 19
- Last day to register for Elementary Next Level Learning
March 30
- Spring pictures (and fall retakes). More information coming soon.
April 2
- No school for all students
K-4 Arrival Drop Off Time Is 8:35
As a reminder, morning arrival drop off time is 8:35. If you bring your child to school, please keep them safely in your car until 8:35 or until staff signals them to exit. Staff is not on duty so therefore I do not have enough supervision for all students before that time.
I have a few extraordinary volunteers who are assisting me with getting our bus students into the building before then. I have to get buses unloaded and on their way and will not keep students out in the cold. However, regular drop off begins no sooner than 8:35, as that is when I have a full staff for supervision.
Thank you for helping me keep all students safe.
Early Childhood Drop-off
If you are the parent of an Early Childhood student and drop your child off in the morning, you must exit your child on the sidewalk (passenger) side. When students get out on the driver's side, it is not safe for them, you, or the drivers who are coming around you for the K-4 dismissal zones.
Thank you for helping keep everyone safe!
Attendance
Unless enrolled in the All-Remote Learning model, your child is marked absent if they are not physically here at school, even when they join on-line. We do not have a hybrid model where you can transition your child back and forth between In-Person and Remote Learning on a day-to-day basis.
If your child is arrives late (after 8:50) or leaves school early their absence is recorded as well.
Attending school on time every day matters. We know students are more engaged and achieve best when they are here. Plus, we miss our students when they are gone!
Please call the office if you have any questions. Thank you.
OPSF Early Childhood Parent-Pay Registration
To attend this program, your child must be age 4 before the first student day of the OPS 2021-2022 school year. They must also be fully potty trained and participate in rest/nap time.
Please see this link to register.
https://omahapublicschoolsfoundation.org/21-22-ece-reg-form/
OPS Early Childhood Application
This is an application-based program. Your child must reside in the OPS district and be ages 3 or 4 before July 31, 2021.
Application are being accepted from now until March 19. (Acceptance into the program is not guaranteed.)
Please see this link to apply.
Kindergarten Registration
iPad Battery Trouble? Check out these tips!
Battery Life of the iPad: A few things that could be draining your iPad battery:
- Tabs open in Safari- To close them, hold X on an open tab and hit "Close other tabs"
- Multiple Apps opened: Double click on the home button, a small version of all open apps will appear. You will need to swipe them off with your finger to close them out.
- Bluetooth is on: Go under settings and turn bluetooth off.
- Background Apps Refresh: In Settings, go to General, select Background Apps Refresh. Turn off apps that students do not use like maps, books, music, etc. This will prevent these apps from running in the background which will drain your battery and use data.
- Reduce Screen Brightness: In Settings, select Display and Brightness. You can lower the brightness of the screen. This is also better for the eyes!
- Cellular Data/Wi-Fi: If you are on a home Wi-Fi, you need to turn off the cellular data. If you are using the cellular data, you will need to turn off the Wi-Fi (under settings).
- Personal Hotspot: Under settings, turn off the personal hotspot.
Remember to charge all night for updates and battery charge!
Always use the charger that came with the iPad. Other chargers may not work.
Updated Breakfast Procedures
Instruction begins here promptly at 8:50. At that time, students begin actively participating in their morning meeting. We serve regular Grab and Go Breakfast until 8:45.
To limit the amount of time students are unmasked, students will finish eating breakfast no later than 8:50. At that time, students will put their masks back on.
If you plan to have your child eat breakfast here at school, please be sure they arrive as close to 8:35 as possible. That will allow us to balance the safety and nutrition needs of all our students.
Kindergarten Registration Information
Live Instruction for Foundational Skills
If your child is attending school at home, they must log on for morning meeting and for Foundational Skills. Your child's teacher will keep you informed of the times for the LIVE instruction for Foundational Skills. The content taught during our Foundational Skills time is absolutely vital for building strong readers, and attendance is required.
Daily Health Assessment (Updated 1-22-20)
Every day before they leave home, families must complete a self-health assessment, asking themselves three vital questions:
1. Have you or anyone in your household tested positive for Covid-19 in the last 14 days?
2. Are you awaiting a Covid-19 test result, following symptoms or a direct exposure to
someone who tested positive?
3. Have you had one or more of the following: a new cough, new onset of shortness of breath, new loss of taste or smell OR two or more of the following symptoms: fever 100.4 or above, chills, muscle aches, headache, sore throat, nausea or vomiting, diarrhea, fatigue in the last 24 hours?
If you answer "yes" to any of these questions, you will be expected to stay home.
Dressing for the Weather
Springtime means uncertain weather. Please dress your child for the day, knowing we will go outside nearly every day.
Meals to Go
Throughout the break, we will continue our Meals2Go curbside meal distribution. The food provides meals for children ages 1-18 during the recess and is available at no cost to families.
- Meals will be available Monday, March 8, 2021 from 11:30 a.m - 1:30 p.m.
- Each bag will contain 5 breakfast and 5 lunches.
- Meals are available for pickup at the following locations:
- Elementary Schools:
- Bancroft, Belle Ryan, Belvedere, Beveridge, Central Park, Dodge, Florence, Gateway, Gomez, Indian Hill, Sherman, Skinner, Sunny Slope and Wakonda
- Middle Schools:
- Bryan Middle, Marrs, Nathan Hale and Norris
- High Schools:
- Benson and South
If you have questions about student lunches or the Meals2Go program, please contact Nutrition Services at 531-299-0230.
Summer Opportunities!
PTA Information
Safety Links
Valerie Schovanec, Principal
Email: valerie.schovanec@ops.org
Website: https://picotte.ops.org/
Location: 14506 Ohio Street, Omaha, NE, USA
Phone: 531-299-1920
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PicottePintosOPS
Twitter: @OPS_PicotteFam