Panther Updates
NEWS, RESOURCES AND LEARNING FOR PANTHER STAFF, 10/29/18
HAVE YOU SCHEDULED YOUR TIME TO VOTE!!!
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Thanks to the After School Program for such a creative Halloween Haunted House experience. Thanks also to Mrs. Hopper for her flexibility in the use of the art room.
ANNOUNCEMENTS FOR THE WEEK OF October 22, 2018
CONGRATULATIONS to Keri Woronka and Tina Clark for successfully renewing their National Board designation.
Assistant Superintendent classroom walkthroughs scheduled for Monday, October 29th have been cancelled and will be rescheduled for a future date.
Buses/Transportation: When we track in and out the student population on the buses changes. This affects stops and how long it takes for children to get home. This sometimes causes parents to alter transportation arrangements, as well. Please communicate to parents in your weekly message to continue to send in transportation changes in a timely manner and to update emergency contact information if that has changed.
Critters on Campus: Help us curb the critter population at school by cleaning up and storing all food stuffs daily. With the cooler weather we have had various "critters" visiting classrooms and other locations in the building. In order to reduce and hopefully eliminate these unsanitary nuisances clean behind any appliance that creates heat (Technology carts, refrigerators, etc...) Have students check desks for food and and candy, and have students clean up the floor after snack time to avoid "smashing" the food into the carpet. Halloween and seasonal learning experiences many times leave lasting residue. Lastly, please report critter sightings that you cannot lasso to the office.
Annual Patriotic Arts Night is right around the corner! On Thursday November 8, 3rd graders will present their patriotic art and then perform their concert, joined by our 4th and 5th grade Chorus. Art Show begins at 6:30 and the concert begins at 7. Of course it goes unsaid as a professional responsibility that if your students are performing you should be in attendance to support your students and colleagues.
Ms. Freer would love for you to send in photocopies of friends or family who are or were, veterans to display in the lobby these next few weeks. Go to the ”My Hero” FORM to submit your names and hero pictures.
QUICK ITEMS TO REMEMBER:
- Please make sure to check the CURRENT lunch schedule in the PUE Master Folder for recent information concerning lunch table assignments, times, and such.
- Fall Weather: Fall weather brings cooler temperatures and colds/flu. Encourage parents to dress students in appropriate clothing as the weather changes. Help students be diligent about checking the playgrounds for coats and jackets before coming in from recess. Encourage students to wash his/her hands and use tissues.
- HAVE YOU TURNED IN YOUR Emergency Lesson Plans? ALL Emergency Lesson Plans/Ready to use activities WERE due by the end of last week--Friday, October 26. Be sure that if yours are not already turned in that they are turned into office before you leave on Monday, October 29th.
- Planbookedu.com: Thanks to those who have already shared for the year their planbook. This is a big help keeping abreast of what grade levels and specialists are working on at any given time. If you have any questions on how to do this please use this Help Page.
LAST CALL FOR HP OPEN ENROLLMENT: The State Health Plan will conduct Open Enrollment September 29-October 31, 2018. Expect a Decision Guide in the mail. This guide includes information to help you choose the best plan for yourself and your family.
Get ready for Open Enrollment https://www.shpnc.org/blog/2018-09-14/get-ready-open-enrollment by reading a quick overview of the actions you will need to take and some upcoming opportunities for you to learn more.
ELECTION DAY: Election Day, Tuesday, November 6 is expected to be very crowded at the polls. You may want to consider the Early Voting option. Go to Board of Elections to find the various voting sites in and out of Wake County. MOST IMPORTANT IS THAT YOU VOTE!!!
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United Arts Campaign
The United Arts of Wake County is an organization that is responsible for organizing for artists to be hired to visit schools (Artists in Residences, Writers in Residence, Cultural Arts performances) as well as performances such as Pieces of Gold. Most importantly, the organization is an arts advocacy group created to support Wake County.
In order for United Arts to continue to provide these outstanding programs they are asking for donations. Peggy Freer is our school rep for information and facilitating information and the process for contributions. The online process for one time donations or payroll donations are as follows:
- One Time donations
- Payroll deduction
- Employees can also contribute using a monthly donation by credit card
You will receive a dedicated, secure online portal link from your workplace school captain for any type of donation. (see the links above)
See below what you can win with donations:
There are some GREAT prizes this year for both individual donors and schools!
- For a $40 donation, the donor is eligible for one ticket for our drawing
- For a $60 donation, two tickets
- $75 donation, three tickets
- $100 donation, four tickets
Indicate how many tickets you would like to use for each prize. Prizes will be announced at the end of October.
- Pair of Guess Who's Coming to Dinner? Tickets (November 1-3). For more information, visit Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?
- Pair of Pieces of Gold tickets (to keep or to give to a child)
- $100 worth of classroom supplies
- 4 tickets to a local show (possibly Theatre in the Park's A Charlie Brown Christmas)
Schools that have the most increase of participation from last year (by percentage), or raise the most money (percentage or number) will be eligible to win $300 towards an Artists in Schools performance, residency, or workshop!
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PUE STAYS IN 2ND PLACE IN NORTHERN REGION
Pleasant Union Continues to be second place in the READvolution program. Let's see if we can catch the leading school by encouraging their children to read 20 MINUTES PER NIGHT and posting their book titles on hockey pucks for the ice rink at the front of the school. Wake County Schools are continuing to partner with the Carolina Hurricanes to implement READvolution in all of our elementary schools. We're getting closer to the Friday, November 16 wrap up. It would be great if we could be in the drawings for hockey tickets.
Students who achieve the reading goal of 20 minutes per day throughout the allotted time frame (for a total of 800 minutes) will receive two complimentary ticket vouchers to a Hurricanes home game.
For the school-wide component, schools that collectively read 2,020 books between Sept. 24 and Nov. 16 will be entered into a drawing by region to participate in this year’s Cool School Field Trip to the PNC Arena in February 2019. If our school is selected from the drawing to attend the Cool School Field Trip, students will have the opportunity to see a Hurricanes practice, participate in fun activities, and hear from the players.
Schools that are selected for the 2018 Cool School Field Trip that achieve the 2,020 goal this year will have their names entered into the regional drawing once. Schools that were not selected in 2018 and achieve the 2,020 goal will have their names entered into the drawing twice.
Guides have been created to share with families and school staff to help log reading and books into the READvolution Dashboard. Go to video overview to find out how to log in new books. Also go to the following links for more parent information on READvolution and a "info sheet" on signing books in.
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DUTIES FOR WEEK OF October 29-November 2, 2018 Track 3 OUT
AM Hallway: Blocker (Help greet parents/students, check with Ms. Person to see what is needed at the visitor sign-in tables or the carpool tag/ transportation table.)
AM Carpool: Newman BE SURE TO PUT CONES OUT NEAR THE ENTRANCE AND TO MOVE THEM AFTER CARPOOL. Also put two cones at the top of the carpool lane to prevent cars from going around other cars
AM Breakfast: Brown
AM Bus: Lavin (Write down arrival times of buses. Work with others to disembark students, trouble-shoot issues.)
PM Hallway: Schreier (Check all students for tags in the bus line. If a student does not have a tag, inform Fricke and Ms. Britt ASAP.)
PM Carpool: Bednar/Renfrow (outside,) Garrett/Perry/Barber/Biles MAKE SURE CONES ARE NEAR THE ENTRANCE TO CARPOOL.
PLEASE MAKE SURE TWO PEOPLE OUTSIDE AT ALL TIMES. If someone is absent, someone from inside should go outside to make sure things are covered.
Freer (Call carpool numbers. Do not call a number if parents do not have a tag. Those parents should park and come into the building OR you can provide a tag. This includes all grade-levels.)
PM Bus: Gainey (Call one bus at a time. Write down arrival times. Work with Fricke to trouble-shoot, solve issues.)
**If someone is not available, staff members that are available may be called to assist.**
THANK YOU FOR ALL OF YOUR HARD WORK THIS WEEK! SEE YOU MONDAY!
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Mark Your Calendars
Monday, October 29
- 6:00 District 3 Board Advisory Committee, Millbrook High School
Tuesday, October 30
- Tracks 1 and 2 Second Quarter Interims go home
Wednesday, October 31
- Halloween
Tuesday, November 6
- Election Day, WCPSS 2-Hour Delay
Thursday, November 8
- Tracks 1, 2, & 4 Picture Make Up Day
- 6:30 Patriotic Arts Night, Student Art Display & Veteran's Day Concert
Friday, November 9
- Track 2 Tracks out
Monday, November 12
- Veteran's Day, WCPSS Closed
Tuesday, November 13
- Track 3 Tracks in
Tuesday, November 20
- 8:15 PTA Board Meeting, Media Center
- Early Release/Staff Professional Development, Students dismissed at 1:15
Wednesday, November 21- Sunday, November 25
- WCPSS Closed for Thanksgiving Break
Thursday, November 29-Tuesday, December 11
- Holiday Shop in the Makerspace Room