Pleasant Hill Weekly Update
March 12, 2021
Message from Mrs. Steele
Dear PH Families,
We are nearing the end of Trimester 2 in our K-5 schools and want to share how extremely proud we are of your students. Every day we see your kids working so hard and giving their very best! In preparing for spring conferences and trimester 2 report cards, it is important to us that we communicate clearly how we are monitoring and supporting your student's learning growth this year.
Unfortunately, there is a narrative in the world that because of Covid-19, kids are somehow "behind." While we do not disagree that the Covid-19 disruption in spring 2020 impacted the opportunity for monitoring student growth in our core academic areas, we want you to know that we do not subscribe to the idea that this generation of kids is "behind" anyone or anything. They are all experiencing the same pandemic at the same time. We adjust, they adjust and we draw a new line in the sand as we move towards our goals.
Our job as educators has always been to meet kids where they are, implement a rigorous and meaningful curriculum based on common standards and then monitor their growth towards learning those standards. The learning standards on our report cards are what our students should know and be able to do by the END of a school year. Teacher ratings on the report card indicate how a student is progressing towards that learning standard during Trimester 1, Trimester 2 and then finally at the end of the year.
A "B" means students are at the very beginning stages of demonstrating skills, a "D" means that students have developed some of the skills, a "C" means that students show competency in the skills, and an "S" means that those skills are strong. In the classroom, teachers are monitoring student growth in many different skills. Sometimes students show a lot of growth, sometimes there is steady growth and sometimes students are not progressing through the skills as we would hope. When we see students making little progress, it is important to find out why. Sometime kids just need more time or we might need to teach it in a different way. As you can imagine, there is an art and a science to all of our work.
The hybrid and remote learning model has required us to modify many aspects of how we teach and how we move through our curriculum but we are still working on the same skills that we were working on pre-pandemic. Next week, our instructional coaches will provide families some examples of how we have approached covering our learning standards this year.
Again, we are extremely proud of our students and we are seeing and celebrating their growth this year. We are determined to combat any notion that these kids, the first generation in over a 100 years to experience a global pandemic is somehow not measuring up to generations before them. We are in awe of how they are handling this and impressed with what they know and can do. Your kids are amazing and we see it every single day.
Enjoy your weekend!
Best
Jesseca Steele
Save the Date!
Virtual Pleasant Hill School Scholastic Book Fair
Monday, March 29 - Saturday, April 11, 2021
More Info to Come!
Spring Conferences and Report Cards
Teachers are excited to share how much your student has grown so far this year during our spring parent/teacher conferences which will be offered from March 29-April 9th. Pleasant Hill will offer 2 "late nights" which means teachers will open up times until 6PM on March 30th and/or April 6th. Your teacher will reach out soon to let you know what additional days/times they will have available during the conference window. To facilitate the coordination with specialists and support services please see the list below:
Academic Support (Kelly Statczar)- April 6th
kstatczar@scarboroughschools.org
Special Services (Darlene Boissonnault)- March 30th
dboissonnault@scarboroughschools.org
Special Services (Danielle Anderson)- March 30th
danderson@scarboroughschools.org
Music (Sue Remillard) - March 30th
sremillard@scarboroughschools.org
We will send days for other staff not listed above next week. Report cards will go home on April 1st (Cohort B), April 2nd (Cohort C) and April 5th (Cohort A).
Instructional Coaches Corner- From Mrs. Graffius Instructional Technology
From Nurse Dorice
Maine's Travel Guidelines have been updated:
Maine residents may now travel to these exempt states and return without testing or completing a 10-day quarantine.
- Connecticut
- Massachusetts
- New Hampshire
- Rhode Island
- Vermont
Exempt effective March 5, 2021:
Exemption for those who have had COVID-19: An individual who had a positive COVID-19 molecular or antigen test is exempt from the testing and 10-day quarantine requirement above for 90 days (3 months) after their first positive test, provided they remain asymptomatic.
If you are planning to travel with your student outside of the United States please reach out to Nurse Dorice for International travel guidelines (this includes US territories). These guidelines for travel differ from the above guidelines.
General Announcements
Primary PTA Message
Race 2 The Point:
As an organization we are still trying to decide what to do for Race 2 the Point this year. We know how much the kids and families look forward to this event, but for safety can not encourage an in person race. We are hopeful for 2022! There is the possibility of a virtual event - very low key. No prizes, sponsors, bags, etc but likely a t-shirt and active fun at home with your family.
We would love any and all feedback or ideas: https://forms.gle/RYMQky3eiM5gHwWR7
Restaurant Night:
Save the date for our next fundraising night. This will be at Nonesuch River Brewing on Thursday, March 25th and here is the flyer!
Kindergarten Registration 2021-2022
We are eager to welcome our newest Kindergarten students to Scarborough Public Schools! We are currently planning for Fall 2021 and will be able to release more information about what school will look like later this spring. If you have a child who turns 5 on or before Oct. 15, 2021 and you are considering sending them to school in the fall, please complete this form. Formal registration packets will be available on our website at a later date.
The information you provide is important for us to accurately plan for the number of classrooms, teachers and materials we will need in the fall. Please complete the form so we can contact you through email with updates and news about the 2021-2022 school year as the situation evolves and decisions are made. We will hold registration appointments at each school later in the Spring.
Upcoming Dates
March 19th: End of Second Trimester
March 29th-April 9th: Spring Conferences
Thursday, April 1st and Monday, April 5th: Report Cards go home
April 16-April 23rd- Spring Vacation- NO SCHOOL
School Nutrition
Please check out the February Breakfast and Lunch menus. Starting this month, there are new menu items and expanded options for both.
Please remember you must order the night before. Here is the link to menus: http://www.scarboroughschools.org/central-office/nutrition-program/menus