Parent and Family Newsletter
July 28, 2022
August 8, 2022
Hello Pinon Parents and Families -
MESSAGE FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT
A portion of our IT services suffered an external attack yesterday evening. As a safety precaution to prevent any further security breaches, our IT department shut down our LAPS network. Fortunately, most of our critical systems are cloud-based and are operational such as email, PowerSchool and access to curriculum. Students, staff and parents will be able to access those systems from their home network, but not from our campuses or offices until we have determined information security for all. We do not know when our IT systems will be fully operational and will keep everyone informed. We are working with a team of experts who are skilled with cyber-attacks for next steps.As of this writing, I’m pleased to announce that we will continue with school starting this Wednesday, August 10th. Buses will continue with planned routes to pick up and drop off our students. Elementary School “Meet the Teacher” is going forward on Tuesday, August 9th at 2:30 PM. Our school administrators are poised to communicate with their staff and school communities for any specific information. Our phone lines remain open at all sites and offices in case you have any questions or concerns.
Parents, be aware of our school zones and buses as we start the school year. We have construction on Diamond Road as well as the Piñon roads which will require a bit more patience from all of us.
I am closely monitoring this situation and will continue to provide updates. I am confident this inconvenience is temporary and will work hard to get back to 100% safely.
Thank you in advance for your good spirits as we start the 2022-2023 school year.
GO LOS ALAMOS! WE WILL PREVAIL!
- Jose
Meet the Assistant Principal
A Letter from Mrs. Kieltyka
It is with great enthusiasm that I write this introduction as the new Assistant Principal of Pinon Elementary School. I am incredibly grateful and excited to join the Panther Family! I look forward to working in partnership with Ms. Austell and the staff. I have always had a special place in my heart for Pinon since my own children attended here from 2000 until 2018. I also worked here one year as the SpEd contact person, a role that I am continuing along with the role of Assistant Principal. Prior to coming here I have held many roles from classroom teacher to Principal. I love working with teachers, students and parents, and look forward to working with you.
Mrs. Jennifer Kieltyka
Welcome Back Events!
Tuesday, August 9th
Class lists will be posted on Tuesday, August 9th at approximately 2:20 on the front windows of the school and will be emailed home via School Messenger.
Meet the Teacher will follow immediately after class lists are posted on Tuesday, August 9th from 2:30 - 3:15. Meet the Teacher is an opportunity for students to drop off supplies and meet their teacher for the school year.
New Family Orientation (for parents) is an informal meeting for kindergarten parents and other families new to Pinon. It is a chance to meet the Principal, Assistant Principal, Guidance Counselor, and office personnel, pick up PTO and other information, and complete last minute registration. This will be held in the gym starting around 2:45, after you have visited classrooms.
Supply Lists
Tax exempt holidays August 5-6
Reuse last year's supplies, shop now or wait for those awesome tax exempt days in August! If you are struggling to gather supplies for your children, please let me know by emailing me at iv.austell@laschools.net and we can help you out!!
Piñon Supply Lists for 2022-2023
GATE, optional
Resource Room, optional
Please note that SHELTER IN PLACE KITS will no longer be required.
First Days Of School
Preschool
4-Y Prekindergarten will be 8:30-12:00, Thursday and Friday, no lunch but a morning snack provided
3-Y Preschool classes are normally half-days in the morning and afternoon but for this week :
- AM Class will attend Thursday, August 11th only, 8:30-12:00, morning snack provided
- PM Class will attend Friday, August 12th only, 8:30-12:00, morning snack provided
Kinder-6th Grades
Kinder-6th grade students will start Wednesday August 10th.
Wednesday through Friday students will attend from 8:30 - 12:00, no lunch but students may bring a morning snack.
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
NEW START DATE: Begins Monday, August 15th
School Hours and Daily Schedule
School Hours
OFFICE: 7:45 AM - 3:45 PM 663-2680
24 HOUR PIÑON ABSENCE LINE 663-2681
Piñon’s Daily Schedule
7:30am – 8:15am – Indoor Supervision in Early Bird Club
8:15am – Playground Supervision Begins
Students should not report to campus before 8:15 if not attending Early Bird Club
8:25am – 1st bell - All students report to classrooms (Run Walk)
8:30am – 2nd Bell - School begins
-- Move-It Time (Whole school run-walk program)
10:00-10:15 – K-3rd Morning Recess
10:15-10:30 – 4th-6th Morning Recess
11:30-12:15 – Preschool Lunch (No Wednesdays)
11:45-12:30 – K-3rd Lunch (No Wednesdays)
12:00-12:45 – 4th-6th Lunch (No Wednesdays)
2:15-2:25 – Afternoon Recess
3:30 DISMISSAL PK-6 (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday)
12:00 PM DISMISSAL on Wednesdays, No Preschool on Wednesdays
Preschool Hours
3Y Program (No Wednesdays)
AM 8:30-11:30
PM 12:30-3:30
4Y Program (No Wednesdays)
8:30-3:30; Lunch 11:30-12:15
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
Pinon Elementary Bus Routes I do not know if these are current - call Keith Rosenbaum with questions at 663-2255
Join our Pinon Choir
Open to 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!
Chartwells and Hot Lunch At Piñon
Exciting Changes!
Going Green! 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.
Outdoor Lunch: We will begin the school year with outdoor lunch. All picnic tables have been moved to the grassy areas between the buildings for easier supervision. If the weather is bad we will eat in the classrooms. We will start eating lunch in the gym when the weather is consistently too cold or windy for comfort.
All Students Eat: We will never allow a student to go hungry at lunch time. If your child forgets their lunch at home or comes to school without a lunch, they will receive a hot lunch and your account will be charged, whether or not you created an account. Chartwells will bill you for the amount.
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.
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.
Parent and Family Handbooks
These are important references for the whole year...
PINON PARENT & FAMILY HANDBOOK 22-23 (newly revised)
PINON PRESCHOOL FAMILY HANDBOOK (under revision)
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.
Health Safety Guidelines
LAPS GUIDELINES
The district administrative team has been monitoring the situation with Covid 19 this summer. We have continued to work with the New Mexico Public Education Department and the New Mexico Department of Health on Covid prevention strategies. We will follow NMPED guidance as well as the CDC guidelines for prevention based on community levels of Covid 19. You can monitor Los Alamos community levels at https://www.cdc.gov. These are updated each Thursday.
Currently, Los Alamos County is "yellow" and masking is optional. Please consider getting your student vaccinated as a precaution. We will continue with many of the same safety protocols we had at the end of the school year including hand-washing, distancing, and cleaning protocols.
Below are the LAPS Layered Mitigation Strategies to keep our school community healthy.
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!
Construction Update
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.
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
Email: iv.austell@laschools.net
Website: https://laschools.net/pinon/
Location: 90 Grand Canyon Drive, White Rock, NM, USA
Phone: 505-663-2680