Sunday Message for Plan B Families
November 15, 2020
Principal's Message
We are excited to welcome all K-3 cohorts back into the building for in-person learning. We are also happy to welcome Plan B 4th and 5th graders on Cohort 1 back to school. Please see the following document regarding arrival and dismissal procedures. This was shared with families on October 9, but we want to share it again.
Check out this picture of Cameron from Mrs. Leavitt's class. She completed a Word Scramble activity during her remote learning time last week. Great work, Cameron!
Panther Chat
Do you have questions about the spring semester? Are you trying to decide between Virtual Academy and in-person learning? If so, please sign up to attend our Panther Chat session on November 18 from 12:00-1:00. If you cannot attend, we will have a narrated presentation that we post to the PUE website for you to view. Sign up here to add your questions that are you hoping will be answered in this session? (This will help us to try to plan and answer these questions ahead of time). Please sign up no later than Tuesday at 4:00pm. The sign up will end at this time. We need to collect all the email addresses to send the link out to parents/guardians who sign up for the session.
Panther Chat Facilitators will include:
Mrs. Brown
Mrs. Perry
Ms. Baginski
Ms. Coleman
Mrs. Nussbaum
Mrs. Leavitt
Social Distancing & K-3 Students
As K-3 students on Plan B transition back to daily, in-person instruction on November 16, we will have more students in the classroom since cohort rotations will be over. We will have class sizes up to 21 students in grades K-3. We will continue to follow safety protocols but there may be times where we are unable to maintain the full 6 feet of social distancing.
Social Distancing & 4-5 Students
As you begin to think about your options for second semester, please note that the proposed plan from the district is that all K-5 students who are not enrolled in Virtual Academy will attend daily, in-person instruction. Class size may go up to 30 or 31 in grades 4 and 5. Given the number of students in our classrooms, there will be times where we are unable to maintain 6 feet of social distancing. If you have further questions about this, please reach out to me at kbrown20@wcpss.net.
WCPSS COVID-19 Metrics
The district is providing the community with COVID-19 metrics once per week. You can review information pertaining to positive cases in schools here.
Holiday Assistance
The holidays are quickly approaching and our school is preparing to support families as we typically do each year. Due to the pandemic and current health restrictions, we will have to make changes to the holiday assistance program. It is Pleasant Union's hope that during this holiday season the school community will be able to provide gift cards for families. These gift cards are not guaranteed and are contingent upon the level of participation we have.
The information you share is confidential if you choose to participate in this program. This form, or the paper copy sent home with your child, must be submitted by November 20th to give our donating families enough time to gather the gift cards!
If you do not require the assistance of this program please disregard this form. Or if you would like to help out and donate to the program please fill out the donation form here.
Carpool
Bus Attestation Form
Important: Reminder About Bus Attestation Form
Parents of students who plan to ride the bus this school year MUST submit a health attestation form. This form states that you and your child will abide by all health and safety protocols for bus ridership. Students are not permitted to ride the bus until this form has been submitted. Parents will need to submit a form for all of their children who plan to ride the bus during the 2020-21 school year. The form is available online in English and Spanish at wcpss.net/busform.
Students are not permitted to ride the bus until this form has been submitted. You will need to submit a form for all of your children who plan to ride the bus during the 2020-21 school year.
Coffee Chat
Mrs. Bratt, Mrs. Smith, and Ms. Baginski will host a Coffee Chat regarding Middle School options on December 11 from 8:00-8:30. More information on this session is coming soon!
YMCA Before Care Registration
Medication
Parents may drop off medications to be maintained at school for their child on the following dates. You must bring a completed Form 1702 signed by both the physician and parent, as well as the medication labeled with an original pharmacy label.
Monday, November 16th 9:30-10:30 am
Form
Student Accountability & Required Health Protocols
Student Accountability and Required Health Protocols outlines our expectations for students to strictly follow our required health protocols when on our campuses, as well as possible consequences and processes to address non-compliance. Families and students are asked to complete and sign the acknowledgement page and return it to their school, similar to the signature page for the Student Handbook.
Additional information about protocols is available here.
If a student is unable to comply with the face covering requirement, a parent or guardian may request an accommodation for their student that is related to the student’s disability or medical needs. These requests will be considered on a case-by-case basis, taking into account the nature of the disability or medical need, the availability of alternative safety measures, and current public health guidance.
Please sign and return this form to school.
Specials Update:
The Specialist Team has been very happy and excited to see our students both virtually and in person. We want to send out an update to the specialist schedule so parents know what to expect in the coming weeks. Students and parents should continue to check their Specials Google Classroom to make sure they know what is going to be happening in their class each week. The specialist team works hard to create meaningful and relevant lessons for both our live students and virtual students.
Specialist Google Classroom Codes - Link (for new PUE Families. All others should already have joined)
Specials Rotation Schedule - Link
Week of November 16th:
CCK - 3rd Grade will have specials on the same day and time that they have been having specials
4th and 5th Grade
Plan B Students In The Building - will attend the same special for an entire week
Plan B Students At Home - will have asynchronous lessons in their specialist Google Classrooms
PUE PTA News
PUE Dads
Calling all Pleasant Union Elementary Dads! You have a wonderful opportunity to be a virtual Mystery Reader for kindergarten and first grade classrooms. I know several of you have been looking for ways to be more involved in your kids school activities.
Sign up to be a Mystery Reader - Once you have signed up for a slot, Ms. Coleman will put you in touch with the grade teacher. It promises to put a smile on your face and all the kiddos faces watching you read to them.
Virtual Book Fair
We are working hard to keep kids reading and raise critical funds for our school with our Scholastic Online-Only Book Fair from November 9-22. The fair will connect your kids to notable books and inspiring characters, helping them become lifelong readers. All orders ship directly to your home and ship free for orders over $25. All purchases support our school and earn 25% in rewards.
Visit our book fair homepage to learn more and get started: https://www.scholastic.com/bf/pleasantunionelemschool
Membership
We are HALFWAY to our membership goal. Join the PTA in November and receive a PUE magnet. Our students will be designing and voting on the artwork for the magnet. Join here: https://puepta.new.memberhub.store/store
Givebacks
We are excited to tell you about a new program called Givebacks! So, what is Givebacks and how does it work? Its simple. Almost every work we'll be adding new special savings on products and services to our eStore that we think can benefit our families - like discounts on online learning tools and meal delivery services. When you purchase one of these Givebacks from our store, up to 2-% of ALL sales go back to our school! It's also a PERFECT way to get a jump on your upcoming holiday shopping. If you see and purchase a deal you like - share it on social media. The more you share, the more funds we raise.
If you're interested in learning more about the program click https://puepta.new.memberhub.store/store?category=Sponsors
MemberHub - Stay informed & engaged with what is happening in your child’s classroom and the school. Memberhub centralizes all teacher and school communications. Memberhub signees are not necessarily members of the PTA but PTA members are automatically part of Memberhub. Sign up for MemberHub here: Pleasant Union Elementary School PTA
BAC Meeting
The Board Advisory Council meetings are made up of citizen members, school administrators, and other staff to provide feedback and consultation to each board member by district. The next BAC meeting will be a virtual meeting scheduled for Monday November 16th at 6pm.
The speakers will be as follows:
Marlo Gaddis, Chief Technology Officer for WCPSS on technology in our schools which includes remote learning, connectivity, and devices.
Mark Winters, Finance Officer for WCPSS on PPE, cleaning supplies, and thermometers for our schools.
Paul Koh, Assistant Superintendent, Student Support Services for WCPSS on social and emotional support.
All are welcome to attend. If you are interested, please email Sarah Gupta at president@puepta.com for a link and include BAC in the subject line.
Social Media
Like us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
Donations
· Box Tops-you can just scan your receipt and proceeds will be sent to the school
https://www.boxtops4education.com/
· Harris Teeter-you can link your VIC card online with the school
https://www.harristeeter.com/together-in-education
· Amazon-shop through Amazon and they donate 0.5% of the purchases
· Lowes- link your Lowes Food Fresh Rewards card
https://rewards.lowesfoods.com/Account/SelectCard?mode=CartToClass
If you have any questions or concerns regarding PUE PTA do not hesitate to contact Sarah Gupta at president@puepta.com.
Mark Your Calendar
Monday, November 16
All Cohorts (1, 2, 3) PreK-3 Students report for in-person instruction
4th & 5th Grade students on Cohort 1 report for in-person instruction
4th & 5th Grade students on Cohort 2 and 3 follow the Plan B remote learning schedule
Virtual BAC 3 Meeting with Board of Education Member Roxie Cash at 6:00
Tuesday, November 17
All Cohorts (1, 2, 3) PreK-3 Students report for in-person instruction
4th & 5th Grade students on Cohort 1 report for in-person instruction
4th & 5th Grade students on Cohort 2 and 3 follow the Plan B remote learning schedule
Wednesday, November 18
Asynchronous Day
No in-person instruction
No live instruction
Students complete remote learning assignments to be counted present.
Panther Chat Session for Parents from 12:00-1:00
Thursday, November 19-Friday, November 20
All Cohorts (1, 2, 3) PreK-3 Students report for in-person instruction
4th & 5th Grade students on Cohort 1 report for in-person instruction
4th & 5th Grade students on Cohort 2 and 3 follow the Plan B remote learning schedule
Friday, November 20
2nd Quarter Interim Reports Sent Out
Sunday, November 22
PUE Online Bookfair Ends
Monday, November 23-Tuesday, November 24
Remote Learning for all students
No in-person instruction
No live instruction
Students complete remote learning assignments to be counted present.
Wednesday, November 25-Friday, November 27
Thanksgiving Holiday
Wednesday, December 2
Asynchronous Day
No in-person instruction
No live instruction
Students complete remote learning assignments to be counted present
Wednesday, December 2-Wednesday, December 9
Virtual Academy Window Opens
Friday, December 11
Coffee Chat All About Middle School Options
8:00
Wednesday, December 16
Asynchronous Day
No in-person instruction
No live instruction
Students complete remote learning assignments to be counted present
Monday, December 21
Remote Learning Day
No in-person instruction
No live instruction
Students complete remote learning assignments to be counted present
Tuesday, December 22
Remote Learning Day
No in-person instruction
No live instruction
Students complete remote learning assignments to be counted present