Dear Families,
Well, the Elementary Spring Concerts on Wednesday were out of this world! What amazing spirit both on the stage and in the crowd. Hopefully you also had a chance to stroll the hallways to enjoy all the beautiful art projects as well – so impressive! We’ll be sending the link to the recording in the coming days. Next up is our middle school this coming Wednesday – they sound fabulous in rehearsals!
We also finished up our state testing this week (just a tiny number of make-ups left to do). We felt the tests were very fair, well-constructed, and not overly burdensome, taking anywhere from 40-90 minutes on average depending on the grade. I’m also proud to say that we tested close to 97% of our students! Thank you for your support.
MIDDLE SCHOOL SPRING CONCERT – MAY 10
6PM- Fifth & Sixth Grade
7PM- Seventh & Eighth Grade
Middle School students dress in white tops and black bottoms
OTHER EXCITING SCHOOL EVENTS NEXT WEEK
· 3rd grade takes a trip to Jacob Burns Film Center
· Shakespeare Theater of New Jersey visits Poco to perform for 3rd – 8th grades
BUDGET VOTE – MAY 16
PLEASE do not forget that our school budget vote is MAY 16. Below is the link to the Capital Project Phase II presentation and informational video.
District Facilities Projects / Capital Project Phase II - Proposed (pocanticohills.org)
ASIAN AMERICAN / PACIFIC ISLANDER HERITAGE MONTH
As part of Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month, we are featuring Americans of Asian descent each day on our display boards (as we have for other recognition months as well) and we will be featuring foods in our cafeteria, thanks to our families! If you would like to contribute to this, please click the link to the signup-genius below. It includes a description of the initiative and opportunities to participate.
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/508054CAAA622A6F94-asian
POCANTICO HILLS SCHOOL FOUNDATION MUSIC FESTIVAL – MAY 20th
The 2nd Annual Music Festival is now slated for Saturday, May 20th, from 4:00-8:00pm at Kingsland Point Park! More details to follow, but make sure you save the date!
REMINDER: NEW PHONE SYSTEM
The school now has a new phone system, and many of the extensions have changed. When you hear the welcome message, just know that most of the people you’ll need will probably be under “School,” which is “1.” A directory list is on the website, here: Department Contacts / Department Contacts (pocanticohills.org)
An important one is our Nurse Juliet – she is now at extension 713.
DON’T FORGET: PLANT SALE IS ONLINE
The online plant sale has become a new twist to a longtime Poco tradition, and we always appreciate your support. All proceeds will go to the Pocantico Hills Garden Program. The Garden Program gives students the opportunity to learn about where their food comes from, how it grows, and what it means to have access to fresh food. In addition to the Plant Sale, the garden hosts two main events during the school year, the Harvest Soup Festival in early October and Salad Day in June. All of the events focus on learning about food and community development. We would love to grow our program to offer more activities throughout the year!
https://go.rallyup.com/poco2023
FROM THE NURSE’S OFFICE: GENTLY USED CLOTHING NEEDED FOR PK-3
Nurse Juliet would love to have any unneeded and gently used clothing that might fit children in grades PK-3. These would then act as “spares” in her office for children who are in need of an immediate change-out.
REMINDER FROM THE CAFETERIA: PRE-ORDERING LUNCH
If your child plans to order lunch at school on any given day, please remind him/her of the importance of telling that to the teacher (elementary) or putting it down on the lunch form (middle school). Also, they cannot change their mind once they get to the lunch line! Those are the two most common issues our cafeteria staff is managing – kids not ordering at all or kids wanting something different at the last minute. This is more common with our older kids where there is more independence with the process, but your support is appreciated!
MAY RECOGNITIONS
Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month
Jewish American Heritage Month
Mental Health Awareness Month
Better Hearing and Speech Month
National School Nurse Day – May 10
Have a fantastic weekend!
Adam
