PICKERINGTON ELEMENTARY NEWS
October 2018
PRINCIPAL'S MESSAGE
Dear Families,
Our PTOs Welcome Back Party on Thursday, Aug. 30, 2018, was a great success. Thanks to all of you who were able to attend with your children. We hope you were able to meet some of their friends, learn more about our wonderfully supportive PTO, and have fun!
It was also nice to see some new faces at our first PTO meeting of the year on Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2018. The PTO is continuously looking for new families to be involved in the organization and our school. If you couldn’t make our first meeting, the next one will be held on Wednesday, Oct. 17, 2018, in our Media Center with child care provided free of charge.
Our first set of Parent/Teacher conferences is rapidly approaching. There will be a day of Parent/Teacher conferences from 11:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m. on October 22, 2018, with no school for students. They also will be held from 4:45 p.m. – 8:15 p.m. the evenings of October 18, 2018, and October 25, 2018. The information regarding conferences will be sent home with your child on October 1, 2018. Please plan to schedule a conference.
We’ve had another great start to a new school year. Your children are working very hard while they’re here, exhibiting good behavior and practicing their seven habits. They’re making us all proud. Thank you for your support.
Melissa Moriarty, Principal
K.I.S.S. Luncheon
Our KISS Luncheons, Kids Invite Someone Special, are planned for families to enjoy a school lunch together. Please mark the date on your calendar from the schedule below. We hope you can join us.
November 9, 2018 – Ms. Gutzeit, Mrs. Bryan, Mrs. Schaar, Mrs. Hissom
November 16, 2018 – Mrs. Fisher, Mr. DiCerbo, Mrs. Wolfinger, Mrs. Brockwell
March 8, 2019 – Ms. Manalac, Ms. Klipa, Mrs. Way, Mrs. Stemm
March 15, 2019 – Mrs. Rogers, Mr. Friedrich, Mrs. Burre
COUNSELING NEWS!
Panorama Survey (Third AND Fourth Grade)
Monday, October 8th and Tuesday, October 9th, students will take the Panorama Survey. This is a new survey offered district-wide to students 3rd through 12th grade. The survey will provide us with social and emotional learning (SEL) information. SEL is the process through which children and adults apply the knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary to understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions. These are skill sets that support college and career readiness and promote success in life. If you are looking for additional information you can use the following link, https://www.panoramaed.com/
Gifted and Talented Testing (Second AND Third Grade)
2nd and 3rd-grade students will take the gifted and talented assessments for math and reading. Testing will take place at Pickerington Elementary October 15th through October 19th. 2nd-grade students will take the Stanford/Otis-Lennon assessment, while 3rd-grade students will take the TerraNova/InView assessment. Assessment results will inform teachers of student achievement in comparison to other students across the country. As well, the assessment will identify the student as gifted and talented. We ask that you please be mindful of scheduling appointments around the testing window.
Ohio State Tests (Third Grade ONLY)
3rd grade students will take the AIR ELA test on Monday October 29th and Tuesday October 30th. We ask that you please be mindful of scheduling appointments around the testing window.
Red Ribbon Week
RRW will be October 22nd - 26th.
Monday - No School P/T conferences
Tuesday - Wear Red (The Red Ribbon will make an appearance)
Wednesday – We are wacky about being drug-free! (Dress in your wacky Wednesday attire)
Thursday - We take pride in ourselves and CAN be drug-free! (Dress to impress today and bring in a "CAN"ned food item)
Friday – Wear your favorite football team attire
Holiday Assistance
Dear Families,
The holidays are quickly approaching along with all the wonderful memories made during this special time of the year. The holidays are an enjoyable time with family and friends, however, that does not mean that they are not stressful! I realize some families may need some extra assistance providing a more memorable holiday for their children. Pickerington Schools are teaming up, once again, with the Violet Township Fire Department to help provide some holiday assistance for families in need during this holiday season.
For those out and about during the holiday season, you may see big red boxes throughout the community and in the schools. If you would like to donate a new toy/gift for the holiday season it can be placed in the big red boxes. Gift cards are also appreciated. If you would prefer to donate in other ways, please let me know.
If you would like a request form for holiday assistance this year, please contact me at kendra_stewart@plsd.us or (614) 548-1431. The request form will then be provided to you, only one per household please. This form is handled in a confidential manner; however, the information will be shared with local agencies. More details will be shared with those families requesting holiday assistance. The forms must be turned into a Pickerington school counselor by Monday, November 19th.
Best Wishes,
Kendra Stewart
Pickerington Elementary School - PLSD
School Counselor
Weekend Food Program
This program was created to help those families in need of meals for their children over the weekend. This is a wonderful program that helps those families in need within the PLSD.
What it is:
- Food provided per student for 3 meals a day over Saturday and Sunday.
- The food will be dropped off at the school office on Fridays.
- The appropriate student will be notified and will come to retrieve their food bag.
We follow the school calendar & inclement weather schedule. No deliveries on Friday if no school. If we do know of a long weekend, we can arrange to drop for 3 days worth of meals. We have been approached by Mid Ohio Food Bank and have partnered with them to grow this program. Violet Baptist Church has volunteered to host the program and recruit volunteers from the community to join at VBC weekly to pack the food and distribute to the appropriate schools. Again, HOPE does not know whom the recipients are in order to keep strict confidentiality. If there is a food allergy we do identify that up front.
We keep strict guidelines on safety at the elementary levels for food prep. No food that needs a can opener, heat or microwave for little hands and safety. This changes for the upper levels. Also, we keep records for food safety and handling according to the standards set by the FDA and have completed training for such at Mid Ohio.
Lastly, this is no strings attached. Absolutely FREE for the student. If a household has more than one student, each student would receive a bag of food.
Please contact Kendra Stewart, School Counselor at Pickerington Elementary School, if you are interested in this program or would like to learn more about it.
Phone: 614-548-1431 email: kendra_stewart@plsd.us
NEWS FROM THE CLINIC
Emergency Medical Forms
We are still missing emergency medical forms. These forms should be completed online this year. If you have not completed your online forms, please do so immediately at https://Plsd.esvportal.com.
Thank you to those who have donated used clothing to the clinic. You can rest assured they’ll be put to good use! We could still use pants, especially boys with elasticized waists, athletic pants/shorts, and sweats.
School and Illness: Should Your Child Stay Home
Parents often have trouble knowing whether their child is too ill to go to school. The following guidelines will help you decide.
Your child is too ill to go to school if he/she has any of the following symptoms:
- Seems very tired and needs bed rest (this is common with flu symptoms)
- Has vomiting and diarrhea
- Becomes short of breath or has an increase in wheezing during normal activity
- Has a cough that interrupts his/her normal activity
- Has a temperature above 100 degrees by mouth
- Has yellow or green drainage from the eye(s)
- Breaks out in a rash
Fever
- Your child should not go to school if his temperature is above 100 degrees. He or she may return to school 24 hours after his temperature is below 100 degrees without the use of fever-reducing medication, such as Tylenol or Motrin, and he or she is feeling better.
Contagious Disease
- A contagious disease is one that can be spread by close contact with a person or object. Examples of contagious diseases are; chickenpox, the flu with vomiting or diarrhea, strep throat, and “pinkeye.” A disease is most often contagious 24 hours before the child shows signs of illness. It is very hard to prevent the spread of some germs, especially in a school classroom. Good hand washing will prevent the spread of germs.
- Your child should stay home from school if he or she has a contagious disease to keep from spreading it to others
- If your child has chickenpox or strep throat, ask your doctor when he or she may return to school. Generally, children who have active chickenpox should not return to school until all the lesions are dried and crusted. Children with strep throat should be on antibiotics for 24 hours and have no fever before returning to school.
- If an antibiotic medicine is prescribed for our child, be sure he has taken the medicine for at least 24 hours before returning to school. Remember – the antibiotic medicine should be taken as prescribed until it is all gone.
Please Remember
- School is a child’s work. It is important for normal development. If your child is absent often, it may be harder to keep up with the class. It is important that your child does not miss more than a few days of school a year due to illness.
- Ask your doctor when you are not sure about keeping your child home.
Cafeteria News
Dates to Remember
10/3/18: 2 HR Late Start - Professional Development
10/8/18 - 10/9/18: 3rd & 4th Grade Panorama Survey
10/8/18: PTO Max & Erma’s Fundraiser (All Day)
10/11/18: PTO Walk-a-thon
10/12/18: NO SCHOOL - Professional Development
10/15/18 - 10/19/18: 2nd & 3rd Grade Gifted Testing Window (please try not to schedule appointments during this timeframe)
10/18/18: K-12 Evening Parent/Teacher Conferences
10/22/18: NO SCHOOL K-8 Only (ALL Day P/T Conferences)
10/22/18 – 10/26/18: Red Ribbon Week
10/23/18: NO SCHOOL KINDERGARTEN ONLY (All Day P/T Conferences)
10/25/18: K-12 Evening Parent/Teacher Conferences
10/29/18 - 10/30/18: Third Grade AIR Testing Window (please try not to schedule appointments during this timeframe)
11/2/18: STEM in the Parade