Pulse of the Pirates
November Newsletter for Plainview Elementary School
Important Dates
November 1st - Daylight Savings (Fall back an hour!!)
November 4th - 1:00 Dismissal, Professional Development
November 11th - Veteran’s Day, School Assembly (students only - link will be available on school website)
November 13th - World Kindness Day!
November 17th - Blood Drive
November 18th - 1:00 Dismissal, Professional Development
November 25th-27th -NO SCHOOL - Thanksgiving Break
November 26th - Thanksgiving Day
November 27th - Native American Heritage Day
After School Pick-Up Procedures
Our first bell will ring when all four busses arrive outside (typically around 3:27). At this time students who ride the bus and walk home are dismissed. We allow five minutes for bus students to load busses and for the safety of our walking students to get far enough from the school and to clear the crosswalks. At 3:32 we give the signal for busses to leave and Mrs. Patsy rings the second dismissal bell for all other students.
As the busses pull off we ask all cars to pull all the way up to the crosswalk on the west side of the school. As students load into cars and they pull off, please continue moving forward. This ensures that all cars will be able to load students in front of the school.
If you have any questions or concerns about pick-up procedures, please contact the office. I would be happy to discuss your concerns with you. While we do understand there may be an occasional hiccup here and there with how smooth the procedure runs, our primary concern during pick-up is the safety of all students. Thank you for your assistance in ensuring all of our students are safe!
Box Tops for Education
BoxTops is a super simple way to earn money for our school, and BoxTops for Education has recently made it even easier for you to “collect” Box Tops! No more clipping and saving all those little tops! All you have to do is go to the app store and download the BoxTops for Education app and then enter Plainview Elementary School as your school!
The next time you go shopping, simply click “scan” and take a picture of your receipt. Anything with a BoxTop will automatically be credited to our school! Last year our school earned $176.60 from parents scanning receipts, and this year we have already earned $17.20! But the number that amazes me the most is our LIFETIME amount - as a school we have earned $9,351.59 from BoxTops! That’s an amazing amount of money from something that is super simple too!!
As a school we really appreciate your time and effort in saving Box Tops. Every Box Top is very valuable to us and can help improve education for your child in some form or another. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.
Guys in Ties
Starting in November, Mr. Peter will be introducing a NEW club to guys in 4th, 5th, and 6th grade. Meetings will take place once a month from 7:45-8:05. Guys will be required to wear dress shirts and ties for the entire day on meeting days. They will be taught how to tie their ties as well as many other important life lessons such as how to look a person in the eyes when having a conversation, or to give a firm handshake with an introduction.
If you would like to donate gently used ties to our new club, please contact either Mr. Peter at the High School office or Mrs. Thompson at 402-582-3808. We are also happy to accept monetary donations to help purchase shirts for boys who do not have them or are not able to purchase them.
Thanksgiving Vacation!
There will be no school on Wednesday, November 25, Thursday, November 26 and Friday, November 27 classes resume on Monday, November 30th!
Winter is Near!
Please see that your child is dressed appropriately each day when he/she leaves for school. During the winter months we will go outside for recess everyday if at all possible, so your child should always bring appropriate clothes, outerwear (hat, scarf, and gloves) and boots. Recess is typically a full 20 minutes, and can be VERY uncomfortable if your child is not dressed appropriately.
We will be outside unless it is raining or the actual OR “feels like” temperature is LESS THAN TEN degrees. When there is snow on the ground, Preschool through sixth grade students need to bring snow pants and boots in order to play anywhere other than the blacktop at recess. These can be taken home each evening so students can enjoy the snow with siblings and family members as well.
If you have any questions about recess protocol or procedures, please contact either Mrs. Thompson or Mrs. Patsy at the elementary school.
School Cancellations and Early Dismissals
School cancellations, late starts, and/or early releases will be announced via the phone messaging system and also on the following radio stations: KNEN, Norfolk, KEXL/WJAG-Norfolk and WNAX-Yankton. If no report is heard, it can be assumed that school will be in session. Now is a great time to make sure that the school has accurate and up-to-date phone numbers for you. Please call Mrs. Patsy to check your contact information if your number has recently changed.
While it is never an ideal situation, there are times that school may need to be released early due to an impending storm. Please take some time to develop a plan for your children to follow if school is ever released early for inclimate weather.
World Kindness Day
If you would like to practice some acts of kindness, but just can't come up with any as a family, here is the top five on a list of 100 that was compiled by CoffeeCupsAndCrayons.com:
- Put change in a vending machine.
- Hold the door open for someone.
- Do a chore for someone without them knowing.
- Tell a joke.
- Return someone’s cart at the store.
The entire list is in the image below and can be downloaded HERE if your family would like to go on a Kindness Quest!
Note to all 5th & 6th Grade Parents
It is our hope as a school that we are able to have open communication with students and that we can help you, as parents, have open communication with your child(ren) as well.
If you have questions about The Mind Inside, please feel free to contact Mrs. Thompson and/or Dr. Arlt directly.
COVID-19 Updates
The North Central District Health Department has updated the symptom list that requires us to send students home. With that in mind, I wanted to make sure to communicate the updated list with all of you. Each morning, prior to coming to school, please check your child(ren) for the following symptoms:
- New shortness of breath
- New loss of taste and smell
- New cough
- Temperature above 100.4
If any of these "Big Four" symptoms are present, please keep your child home and call the school to let us know. The Health Department recommends you then call and/or visit your primary care provider. They will be able to tel you if there is something other than COVID-19 in our area that could be causing your child's symptoms OR they may recommend a COVID-19 test.
If you ever have questions, you are welcome to contact North Central District Health Department at 402-336-2406. NCDHD serves Antelope, Boyd, Brown, Cherry, Holt, Keya Paha, Knox, Pierce, and Rock counties.
No Soda November!
The American Heart Association is putting out a new challenge to all of us in November (and it will be a doozie for me)! No Soda November!! The average American drinks a bathtub full of sugar in a year! That doesn’t include any of the sugar in the foods they eat!!
Here is what they want all parents to know:
Bubble, fizz, ahhhh...when you have kids, it’s tough to keep soda and sugary drinks out of your grocery cart. But think about this: a child who drinks one or more cans of sugary drinks a day is
55 percent more likely to be overweight than a child who drinks little or none. Regular soda has lots of calories, no nutrients, and more sugar—about nine teaspoons per can—than your child’s
body needs. Sugary drinks—including regular sodas, sports drinks, energy drinks, and juice drinks with added sugar—are also linked to other health problems like heart disease, high
blood pressure, diabetes, and tooth decay. Let’s work together to teach about healthier beverage choices. Reach for water first. Milk can also be a good option, but remember that your drinking glass may have multiple servings.
Soooooo......we will be hanging signs around the school and talking to students about the challenge. If you'd like to join, I encourage you to do so! Let's see how we feel at the end of 30 days!
Mrs. Thompson - Principal
Email: hthompson@plainviewschools.org
Website: www.plainviewschools.org
Phone: (402) 582-3808
Twitter: @mrs_thompson007