The Pine Bough
Pine River Elementary School Newsletter, Summer 2020
Summer Message
Dear Pine River Families,
To say that the 2019-2020 school year has not ended in the way we wanted it to is a serious understatement. The loss of our classroom and school communities, spring events and celebrations, and the daily ways we support and uplift each other in person have been devastating. However, I want to take a moment to recognize our students, staff, and families. Our Pine River family embraced the challenge and worked together to facilitate unprecedented learning from home with no experience or training. Together, we did an outstanding job of turning homes into classrooms and engaging our students in meaningful ways during this period of quarantine.
Teachers and parents worked more closely than ever to communicate and problem solve through the weeks of remote learning. Teachers sent detailed lesson plans, recorded videos, and hosted Google Meets. While continuing to educate students, they also taught their own children. Meanwhile, parents balanced teaching, parenting, and working from home. Teachers and parents were true partners in education as they collaborated to continue learning and maintain a sense of calm and predictability for our students during this health crisis.
Watching our Pine River family pull together to provide our students with emotional and academic support during the mandated school closure made me very proud! We worry about the months of lost learning and the challenges we face in the upcoming school year. However, we know we will get through whatever comes next because we are in this together.
Thank you for a memorable year! Before the pandemic, we were making great strides with all of our students. During the school closure, we realized how adaptable we can be and developed our technology and communication skills in new and exciting ways. We will use all that we learned this spring to embrace any challenges in the next school year and reinvigorate our practices together as a Pine River school community.
Have a fun and relaxing summer!
Rachel Card, Principal
Summer Reading Challenge
READ 1000 MINUTES THIS SUMMER, 2020
Be a Champion Reader!
Earn an invitation to the Breakfast of Readers in September!
Read your favorite books, magazines, mysteries, joke books, and newspapers!
Mrs. Card is challenging Pine River Pioneers to read 1000 minutes or more this summer. Each time you read, log your minutes on the calendars provided during the last week of school. Log a total of 1000 minutes or more by the time school starts on September 8th, and you will be invited to a special Celebration of Readers in September. You can count the time someone reads aloud to you, too.
Happy Reading!
2020-2021 PTO Board
We are excited to announce our new PTO Board Members for the 2020-2021 school year!
President: Lisa Franks
Vice President: Caitlin Middel
Treasurer: Karen Oleaga
Secretary: Emily Phelps
Thank you so much to our outgoing board members: Tiffany Bean, Kari Mills, and Jodie Randall. You made a huge positive impact on our students and our whole Pine River family!
Great Start Readiness Program
Little Explorers' Preschool
Mission: The mission of the Pine River school community is to work collaboratively, providing an enriched curriculum that allows for intellectual, social, emotional, physical, and creative growth in a positive and safe environment, empowering all children to become productive lifelong learners.
Pine River Elementary is dedicated to the belief that all students can learn and achieve through the combined efforts of the staff, parents, students, and community.