Welcome to Pinecrest Elementary
September 2017
About Us
Main Office: 651-480-7280
Nurse: 651-480-7286
Kids' Campus: 651-480-7296
Hastings Bus Company: 651-437-1888
Website: pinecrest.hastings.k12.mn.us
Location: 975 West 12th Street, Hastings, MN, United States
Phone: 651-480-7280
We are ready to start a new and exciting school year! Welcome back to all of our returning families and a special welcome to the new students and their families for the 2017-18 school year. Please contact us with any concerns you may have, as we want the school year to be a successful one for each of you.
Monthly newsletters are available to you online each month. It will be posted just prior to the beginning of the month.
Dates to remember
5 - First day of school for grades 1 through 4
5 - Kindergarten Orientation
6 - Kindergarten's first day of school
20 - Picture Day
29 - Early dismissal at 11:15
October
16 - Evening Conferences
17 - Evening Conferences
18 - NO SCHOOL - Morning Conferences
19 & 20 - NO SCHOOL (Teacher Association Days)
26 - Picture Retakes
WHAT TIME DOES SCHOOL START?
7:30am - 7:55am Breakfast
7:40am First Bell
8:00am School Begins
2:30pm Dismissal for all students
PICK-UP AND DROP-OFF EXPECTATIONS
1) We must make conservative driving decisions. Always Be Patient!
2) Whenever possible, prepare your child(ren) to exit the vehicle on the curbside.
3) Please pull up as far as you can, so other cars can drop off behind you.
4) Do not park your car along the curb and come into the building. If you need to come into the building for any reason, please park in one of our parking lots.
5) As the cold weather approaches, make sure you have clear visibility out all of your windows.
Drop off times are from 7:40 am-7:55 am. Children should not be dropped off before 7:40. If you need to drop off before the 7:40 bell, you can enroll your child in Kids Campus. Further information about Kid’s Campus can be obtained from the district’s website, the Pinecrest webpage, or from our office. Please note, if your child is going to breakfast, you may drop off at 7:30 am and have them go directly to the cafeteria.
END OF DAY PICK UP FOR STUDENTS
In order to minimize interruptions to the classroom, students should not be picked up early unless it is an emergency. On those occasions when it is necessary to pick your child up during the school day, please go to the school office to sign your child out. The office secretary will call the classroom and have the student sent to the office. Teachers will not release students unless the office gives prior approval. This practice has been established to help protect your child.
FALL CONFERENCES
Elementary conferences are scheduled in the evening of Monday, October 16th and Tuesday, October 17th and during the morning of Wednesday, October 18th.
Sign-up will be online. As soon as the sign-up is up and running you will receive an email notice.
BUS TRANSPORTATION
The Hastings Bus Company will be transporting the rural and city elementary children (if you live more than 0.75 miles from school) to and from school. The bus company phone number is 651.437.1888.
Parents of kindergarten and 1st grade students should pin a tag on their child indicating the bus route number, name and address where the child is to be dropped off. These tags should be worn all year for kindergarten and the first two weeks for first graders or until your child is comfortable riding the bus.
CHANGE OF ADDRESS OR DAYCARE
If during the school year your address or daycare changes and this requires a change in transportation, please contact the school, not the bus company. If you give us the information we will work with the bus company to make the changes. The only changes that can be made are those that are permanent or for an extended length of time. It is very difficult for the bus company to make brief or sudden changes in the routes. Thank you for your help in this matter.
ATTENDANCE MATTERS
Please call the Attendance Line, at 651-480-7281, each morning to report when your child(ren) will not be attending school.
Research shows that attendance is directly linked to achievement. In tracking students that drop out of school, one thing they have in common is poor attendance.
Being late for school also hurts a child’s learning. A student who is 10 minutes late every day will miss close to 30 hours of instruction during the year.
Children can make up an assignment, but they can never get back what’s most important: the discussions, the questions, the explanations by the teacher and the thinking that makes learning come alive. Your child’s success in school depends on having a solid educational background – one that can only be gained through regular school attendance.
You may ask, how can I help?
- Enforce a regular bedtime.
- Make sure your child is organized so he/she can get out the door with what they need.
- Remember that everything you add to a schedule means something must be taken away. For example, if you add lots of before and after school activities, you take away time for your child to read, play and study.
We appreciate all you do to ensure that your child(ren) attend school regularly.
Please review the attendance policy on page 3 of the Elementary Handbook.
NURSE
Each school in Hastings has a licensed school nurse on duty. If your child has a health concern, please discuss an action plan with the building RN. The nurse will be on duty from 7:45 to 3:15.
If your child is saying they don’t feel well or showing symptoms, it will be important for you to decide whether they are well enough to attend school that day.
Some important things to remember and go over with your child to help them stay healthy are:
- Properly covering mouth when coughing
- Wash hands often
- Keep your child home until 24 hours after they have had a fever.
More information can be found at the health services website.
DOES YOUR CHILD NEED EYEGLASSES?
The eyeglass program helps individuals that would find it a financial hardship to purchase eyeglasses. This would be a person without insurance for eye exams, lenses and frames, or they may have a high deductible that prevents them from utilizing their coverage. Contact your school nurse for information.
Breakfast and Lunch Prices
Click here for a cost breakdown of meals for each month
Breakfast Prices
Full Pay Meal Prices:
Kindergartners FREE
Grades 1-4: $1.30
Reduce Pay Meal Price:
All grade levels: FREE
Adult Meal Price:
All grade levels: $1.80
Extra Milk or Milk Only $0.50
Lunch Prices
Full Pay Meal Prices:
Grades K-4: $2.70
Reduce Pay Meal Price:
All grade levels: FREE
Adult Meal Price:
All grade levels: $3.80
Extra Milk or Milk Only $0.50
Right to Know
Parents have the right to request and receive information on the professional qualifications of their children’s classroom teachers.
Parents Right to Know Act Concerning Use of Pest Control Materials:
(M.S. 123B.575, Subdivisions 1-14)
Our district utilizes a licensed, professional pest control service firm for the prevention and control for rodents, insects, and other pests in and around the district’s building. Their program consists of:
1. Inspection and monitoring to determine whether pests are present, and whether any treatment is needed;
2. Recommendations for maintenance and sanitation to help eliminate pests without the need for pest control materials;
3. Utilization of non-chemical measures such as traps, caulking and screening; and
4. Application of EPA-registered pest control materials when needed.
Pests can sting, bite, cause contamination, damage property, and spread disease; therefore, we must prevent and control them. The long-term health effects on children from the application of such pest control materials, or the class of materials to which they belong, may not be fully understood. All pest control materials are chosen and applied according to label directions per federal law.
An estimated schedule of interior pest control inspections and possible treatments is available for review or copying at each school office. A similar estimated schedule is available for application of herbicides and other materials to school grounds. Parents of students may request to receive, at their expense, prior notification of any application of a pest control material, should such an application be deemed necessary on a day different from the days specified in the schedule.
Music Notes
Welcome back to all of you! It is wonderful to see some familiar faces as well as some new ones. One of the new faces in the music room is our teacher candidate from Winona State University. Miss Lindsey Nelson will be working with us through the middle of October. We are excited to have her here with us!!
From the hall of music, we are developing our sense of school community and school beliefs through a variety of activities. These activities will include singing, putting instruments together and playing them, learning some new vocabulary, moving in a number of partner and small group activities, and of course, having fun!
You are all invited to attend the Hastings High School Marching Band Preview Show. It will be on Wednesday, September 6th at Todd Field. Admission is free. Seating begins at 6pm and the show will start at 6:30pm. In the event of rain, this fabulous show will be held in the high school gym. Snacks and beverages will be available in the concessions stand. Hope to see you all out there for a wonderful night of music!
Be sure to look for information regarding the Pinecrest Elementary Choir that should be coming home in Friday folders on September 8th. We will begin rehearsals on Tuesday, September 19th to prepare for our first performance on Thursday, October 26th at Hastings High School. This performance is in conjunction with the Children’s Orchestra Concert which begins at 6:00pm that evening. If you have any questions or concerns this year, please do not hesitate to contact me at lponcelet@hastings.k12.mn.us or at 651-480-7298.
We are looking forward to another wonderful year of music-making!
Community Education Recreational Opportunities for Kids
https://hastingscommunityed.com/ or 651-480-7670
- Mon Sep 18 – 12 Quick & Easy Ways to Style Your Daughter’s Hair (for Busy Parents), 6:00-7:30 pm, Tilden Com Ctr, $25/adult-child
- Thu Sep 21 – Parenting: Love and Discipline (for parents of children all ages), 6:30-8:30 pm, Tilden Com Ctr, $19
- Mon Sep 25-Nov 6 – Dance Twirl MN! (for children ages 4-6 years), 5:30-6:15 pm, HHS, 1st Floor B Cluster Area, $45
- Mon Sep 25-Nov 6 – Dance Twirl MN! (for children ages 7-10 years), 6:15-7:00 pm, HHS, 1st Floor B Cluster Area, $45
- Thu Sep 28 – Parenting: Boundaries (for parents of children all ages), 6:30-8:30 pm, Tilden Com Ctr, $19
- Fri Sep 29 Early Release Day – Kidcreate Studio “Shopkins Cute” Art (for children ages 4-9 years), 12:30-3 pm, Tilden Com Ctr, $35