Sunday Message for Virtual Academy
November 15, 2020
Principal's Message
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
As you consider your options for the spring semester, please keep this information in mind:
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.
Coffee Chat
Mrs. Bratt & Mrs. Smith are continuing their parent outreach sessions.
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!
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.
Virtual Academy Specials Info
The Specialist Team has been very happy and excited to see our students virtually. 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 students.
Week of November 16th:
Virtual Academy - K-3 Students will have live lessons through their specials google classroom
4th and 5th Grade Virtual Academy - students will have a combination of live and asynchronous lessons through their specialist google classroom.
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
Virtual BAC 3 Meeting with Board of Education Member Roxie Cash at 6:00
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
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