Dear PES Families,

I sincerely hope you are enjoying a different pace of life by having your kids around for the holiday season. As a mother, having a bit of extra time with my family has felt great, and yet I still miss our PES students and look forward to school beginning again one week from today.

This is a friendly reminder that students will join us back at school on Wednesday, January 4. On Tuesday that week, our PES staff will be participating in professional learning around our new reading and writing curriculum in addition to getting things set up for our new standards-based report card that will be coming out at the end of January.

As we close out this year and look to set our sights on our future together I wanted to take this opportunity to share with you some of our goals at PES and how we can work together for our students. Our mission is to ensure that we provide all students with the skills and knowledge necessary to be their most excellent selves. This includes giving them the tools to read accurately and efficiently, to learn math and science in a way that enhances their critical thinking skills, and to collaborate and work with peers as teamwork is an essential life skill. Of course, this is not an exhaustive list as we also incorporate art, health and wellness, music, social skills, and other highly important and valued topics. Some of the ways in which we could use your help to maximize our ability to enhance student learning include:

1. Attend school regularly - our hope is that both our students and staff can stay healthy and that our school attendance can improve. In looking at our calendar, we only get our students for roughly 170 days each year and we need every second with our students to help them learn. Thank you for sending your kids to school regularly, it is essential.
2. Practice reading when and where you can - This year we have held two family engagement events where teachers have been able to share some valuable tools that families can do at home to help students sharpen their reading skills. Doing things like choral reading, echo reading, and partner reading can really enhance students' skills, and doing what you can, even a little goes a long way. When looking over our survey data from these events, families have shared that they really appreciate this new direction we are taking with family engagement. Many of you know that I have two sons in our district (2nd and 4th grade) so I experienced conferences along with all of you. When my 2nd-grade son was able to see his reading skills compared to his peers it was shocking for him to learn how far below grade level he was hovering because, in his mind, he's a smart guy. And he is!!! There are many factors at play as to why he is not reading at grade level but I was so encouraged by his teacher's ability to convey hope with my son and give us simple things we can do at home that can make a big difference. Things that even as a principal, I didn't know. I share this with you to say that by us engaging with our families, together we can really accelerate learning.
3. Giving us feedback - We value what you have to say and want to hear about your needs. Please know that you can always contact your child's teacher, email me directly, or we have a new anonymous suggestion/comment box in our office. As things come up for you or you have comments you'd like to share.

Some families have inquired about when PES will be having a music program as they have seen other events from other schools being showcased. We have our amazing music teachers on the PES campus on Thursdays and Fridays and as you may remember, we had several Fridays in November where we didn't have school so we simply didn't have the time with our students to prepare. Currently, we are scheduling with our friends at Phoenix High School to solidify a date because we know our gym is just not big enough to host a whole school concert. Please know that we have every intention of highlighting the wonderful things going on in our music classes so we will let you know when we find a date that works for all.

Finally, here is a little fun video of our traditional sing-a-long in our PES library just before the break. We really do have a sweet little community of learners and we love being together in celebration of this holiday season. Have a great rest of your break and we will see you in one week.

PES Sing-a-long

In appreciation for you,

Shawna Schleif

shawna.schleif@phoenix.k12.or.us

Monday, Dec. 19 - Monday, Jan. 2 - Winter Break - No School

Tuesday, Jan. 3 - Teacher Inservice

Wednesday, Jan. 4 - Classes resume

Monday, Jan. 16 - Martin Luther King, Jr. Day - No School

All volunteers, whether working in the classroom, on campus or attending a field trip, must complete the background check form found HERE

Completing the form should be done at least 2 weeks prior to volunteering and they are good for 2 years.

All volunteers and visitors must sign in at the office using our Raptor system. Please be sure to bring your ID with you. Do not hesitate to give us a call should you have any questions.