Parent and Family Newsletter
July 28, 2022
August 15, 2022
Hello Pinon Parents and Families -
Welcome to our first full week of school. It was great seeing the kids and hearing about their summer fun. There is definitely an air of excitement this year and I think we are all looking forward to returning to some old traditions and annual events.
With the cyber attack that happened last weekend, the technology department is working like crazy to get everything up and running again. Because of this delay, we do not have our classroom Chromebooks ready to use, and many of our technology programs and assessment platforms are still getting set up. They are hoping things will be up and running by next week, and that teachers will be able to print again.
Meanwhile, we will begin and we are very excited! If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to email me at any time.
Ivanna Austell,
Principal
THIS WEEK
Monday
Early Bird Club Starts - 7:30
Tuesday
Early Bird Club - 7:30
Wednesday
Early Bird Club - 7:30
No Preschool
Noon Dismissal K-6
Thursday
Early Bird Club - 7:30
Advanced Band and Orchestra Meetings - 8:30
Friday
Early Bird Club - 7:30
Early Bird Club
Morning Child Supervision Begins Monday, August 15th
Piñon offers a FREE before school activity program for students from 7:30AM - 8:15AM called Early Bird Club. If you would like your child to participate in the Piñon Early Bird Club program, please complete and return the permission slip on their first day.
Your student may not attend the program without the permission slip.
EARLY BIRD CLUB PERMISSION SLIP
Bring them into the lobby area where they will sign in and get a choice of various activities including Art Club, Library Club, Fitness Club, Calm & Quiet, or Maker Space.
Hot Lunch Starts Monday
Exciting Changes!
Hot Lunch Service begins on Monday, August 8th with daily service except for Wednesdays, which are noon dismissal days. School Lunches are $5.00 and milk is $.50. Snacks will be offered for sale as well, starting sometime in September. These items will be charged to the student's account. We will go green this year with trays and silverware!! No more plastic or styrofoam meal service and Chartwells will wash and disinfect these items for us after each lunch.
Contactless Payments: We are moving towards online payment ONLY and encourage you to open an account in SchoolCafe. All students are automatically assigned a PIN# whether or not you register but with an account made in advance you can preload your students' account with money for hot lunch, milk, or snacks provided by Chartwells. Not only does this eliminate the need for cash exchange at school but it makes the service line move much faster. Cash will still be accepted but sometimes the proper change cannot be provided.
Milk Tickets: Students who bring a lunch from home but would like to purchase milk at school can charge it to their Chartwells account. A new option this year is to purchase lunch tickets at the main office, paying with cash or check to Chartwells. Parents can put a milk ticket into student lunch boxes instead of cash. Milk is $0.50.
Free & Reduced Lunch: Los Alamos Public School lunchroom will continue to offer a FREE meal option for students who qualify for “free” lunch status, and students who qualify for “reduced” lunch status will continue to pay only $.40 per meal served.
Click to download a copy of the Free and Reduced Meal Program application.
See this week's MENU
Getting to and from School
Walking, Bicycles, and Parent or Bus Transport
WALKERS: Most Pinon students live close enough to campus to walk to school or ride a bike. Please educate your children regarding bike safety rules, which would apply to scooters, and on general safety when walking to school. Be aware that on-going construction at Sherwood and Grand Canyon is on-going and may actually include a hard closure in the coming days. There is a crossing guard at that intersection as well as directly on school property where cars and buses enter the parking lot
CAR DROP: Parents dropping off students by car may use the drop off lane delineated by cones and signage in the parking lot. You may not park or exit your car - this is for quick drop offs ONLY. Be sure your children exit along the curb, not into the car lane. This line can become very congested and backed up onto Grand Canyon, especially on bad weather days, and will be severely impacted by current construction. Please be patient and follow staff directions in the parking lot.
PARKING LOT: You may also park your car in the lot and gather in the crosswalk waiting area. It is marked off by tall orange cones and is the only access to our one crosswalk. It is rather awkward but it prevents people from crossing over though the car line and keep everyone safer. Parents of younger children may say goodbye there, or cross over with them when directed by the crossing guard.
SCHOOL BUS: All students who live more than a mile from school qualify for bussing.
Please register your PreK--6th grade students by completing this form. Please complete one form for each child. LAPS BUS CARD
3-Y Preschool Transportation: Bussing is available for eligible 3 year old preschoolers but is not arranged using the Bus Card. Please call Student Services directly at 663-2212.
Clubs and Activities
We are looking for Club Assistants
Pinon offers a variety of clubs and activities bother within the school day and extracurricularly.
Right now we are looking for some adult support for a few of our clubs that require extra hands:
- Chess Club
- Sewing Club
- K-Kids Club
Other than Early Bird Clubs, most others won't start for a few weeks. Here is a list of the clubs and activities we offer at Pinon. Feel free to contact the staff sponsor of clubs you are interested in for your student: PINON CLUBS AND ACTIVITIES
Pinon Choir for Grades 4 - 6
We will be restarting our Pinon Choir this year. If your 4th-6th grader is interested, please use this link to sign them!
Parent and Family Handbooks
These are important references for the whole year...
PINON PARENT & FAMILY HANDBOOK 22-23
PINON PRESCHOOL FAMILY HANDBOOK
Visitors/parents are welcome on campus with prior notice to the teacher. The following guidelines have been established for the safety of all students.
Parents who volunteer regularly must complete a background check facilitated by the LAPS Human Resource office
All visitors must report to the office to sign in - Volunteer Badges must be worn.
Parents should not pick up other children (neighbors) without a written note from the parent.
Parents wanting to visit a classroom or dropping off lunch, snacks or other items for the class, must check with the office. Prior arrangements for classroom visits are required.
You may be asked for a photo ID when picking up a student during the day.
Safe School Protocols
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Our safety protocols are from a website: https://iloveuguys.org/ but specifically we use this page for Standard Response Protocols: https://iloveuguys.org/The-Standard-Response-Protocol.html
We are required to have one drill per week for the first 4 weeks of school --- 2 Fire Drills, a Lockdown, and an Evacuation --- and four additional practice runs during the year to include Shelter and Hold.
Goat Head Alert!!
Earn Money for Pinon
Smiths Community Rewards
Smith’s Food and Drug Inspiring Donations!
Go to smithsfoodanddrug.com and sign in or create an account
Once signed in you can enroll in the Inspiring Donations Program to link your rewards card to Pinon Elementary School PTO
Smith’s will donate .5%!
Amazon Smile
Always start at smile.amazon.com
You will be prompted to enter your charity of choice.
Select Pinon Elementary School PTO or go directly to https://smile.amazon.com/ch/85-0382207
Amazon will donate .5% of all purchases!
Box Tops for Education
Clip box tops from qualifying items you buy at the store and bring them to your child’s classroom.
You can also download the Box Tops for Education app to scan your receipts for qualifying purchases.
Every little bit that you can contribute helps the school tremendously!
Piñon Parent-Teacher Organization
Please Join - Contact a Board Member
Meet your 2022-23 PTO Board Members!
From the left: Kellee Beddeson (treasurer), Lisken Mason (vice president), Tera Deines (secretary), Jennifer McNeel (president), and Christin Whitton (treasurer).
If you see us around school, come say hi!
OLD SPIRIT WEAR?
We would love to start a collection of lightly used spirit wear that no longer fits your students. You can bring these items to the school lobby wear there will be a box for collection.
Open House
One Year Until We Break Ground!
Plans are coming along well for our new school. I will give you more live updates during the year and DPS, our architectural firm, will be here at Open House with diagram and visuals to share.
If funding holds, we will have a competition sized gym, full serving kitchen, a separate cafeteria, double the parking, a full bus loop and a separate parent drop-off loop, beautiful open areas, and lots of windows and glass walls to let in the light.
Upcoming Events
Mark Your Calendar...
August 2022
Mon, August 15 - Wed, August 31 --- BOY Istation Assessment (K-2)
Mon, August 22 - Fri, September 2 --- BOY iMSSA Testing (3-8)
Wed, August 31 --- 8:345-9:15AM --- Pinon Evacuation Drill
Wed, August 31 --- 5:30-7:00 PM --- Pinon Open House
September 2022
Thur, September 1 --- Fall Picture Day
Mon, September 5 --- Labor Day - NO SCHOOL
Fri, September 9 ---- College & Career Day - Wear a COLLEGE, MILITARY, or CAREER SHIRT!
Fri, September 16 --- CraZe-Science with CraZe Dave --- Assemblies by grade levels
Fri, September 16 --- 12:00 PM --- Early Dismissal for Homecoming Parade
Fri, September 16 --- 2:30 PM --- Homecoming Parade
Wed, September 28 --- 9:00-12:30 PM --- LAPS Elementary Fall Choir Workshop
Wed, September 28 - Fri, September 30 --- Elementary Fall Parent-Teacher Conferences
October 2022
Mon, October 10 --- Indigenous Peoples’ Day - NO SCHOOL
Fri, October 14 --- 3:45-5:00 PM --- End of First Quarter
Mon, October 31 --- 2:15-3:15 --- Halloween Parade & Parties
Piñon’s Guiding Principles
Piñon’s Vision Statement
All Piñon students will be Kind and Learn.
Piñon’s Mission Statement
Piñon Elementary provides the skills and values for student success now and in their future.
Piñon’s Core Values:
- Character: Piñon Elementary School teaches, models, and practices kindness, integrity, and resiliency.
- Community: Piñon Elementary School fosters a mindset of safety and respect in school and home communities.
- Commitment to Learning: Piñon Elementary School utilizes learning strategies that promote academic rigor and students' passion to learn.
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PIÑON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Principal Email: Ivanna Austell, iv.austell@laschools.net
Asst. Principal Email: Jennifer Kieltyka, j.kieltyka@laschools.net
Website: https://laschools.net/pinon/
Location: 90 Grand Canyon Drive, White Rock, NM, USA
Phone: 505-663-2680