Pleasant Hill Weekly Update
January 8, 2021
Message from Mrs. Steele
This is my 20th year in education and over that time, I've been in a school building during every single national tragedy or major event. In fact, my very first month of teaching is forever marked by 9/11. I was in the teacher mailroom when the first plane hit and standing in front of my students when the second one came. My son was in Kindergarten during Sandy Hook. I was helping out a teacher in a PreK class and knew that every one of their parents wanted to see their kids face just as much as I wanted to see mine. Writing this made me realize that in fact, during every significant event over the past 20 years, I have been with other people's children and a fellow educator has been with my own.
What I know to be true is that educators show up for kids. Every. Single. Time. No matter what is happening out in the world, the nurturing and safety of a classroom and school community holds true.
I want you to know that as we enter 2021 and we are still teaching and learning through a global pandemic, experiencing political unrest in our nation and unsure of what else we might be facing together over the coming months, the staff at Pleasant Hill are going to be here for your kids.
We are taking care of ourselves and we hope you are taking care of you. It is my greatest hope that your family feels supported and cared for by everyone at Pleasant Hill School. The following resource "How to Talk to Children About Difficult News" will be shared in our district newsletter but I wanted to share here with you as well. There is a section on talking to kids under age 7 that is especially helpful. If you need anything at all during this time, please do not hesitate to reach out.
All my best,
Jesseca Steele
Update: Materials Pick-Up/Drop-Off
We have made a change to the bin by the front door in order to make it easier for parents to drop off and pick up materials. We now have 2 bins outside.
*One bin is labeled To Pleasant Hill Families. This will be for parents to pick up materials from their child's teacher.
*Another bin is labeled To PH Staff and students. This will be for parents to leave materials for teachers, as well as student belongings that were forgotten such as lunch boxes, hats, mittens and snow pants and library books. In order to make sure belongings get to the correct place, please call the office at 730-5250 when you drop off something that needs to be delivered quickly. Otherwise, the bin will be checked periodically throughout the day.
Cohort C Friday pickup will remain the same, with student packets divided by teacher.
Thank you for your patience as we work to find the most efficient system.
From Nurse Dorice
We can’t thank our families enough for being so diligent about performing health screenings before sending your children to school and erring on the side of caution when choosing to keep them home. As you know, we have seen a steep increase of positive covid cases within our state and community.
We would like to add an extra layer of protection by recommending to district families that if someone in your household is ill and being tested to please keep your students home until the test result is confirmed negative. Data supports that transmission amongst household contacts is quite high. We acknowledge and very much appreciate that many have been following this recommendation already and we continue to be so thankful for all that you are doing to help keep our schools open. Thank you!
A reminder for those traveling to states other than NH and VT to please (per meCDC guidelines) quarantine for 10 days and monitor closely for symptoms for 14 days upon arrival in Maine or, if you choose to forgo quarantine, send copies of your student’s COVID test results to Nurse Dorice prior to returning to school. Thank you!
Primary PTA Message
Thank you to everyone who participated in the Square 1 Art fundraiser. This year we were able to raise $2000, which will help support and fund our elementary school programming!
Please join us on Monday, January 11, 2021 at 7PM for our virtual PTA meeting. The meeting link will be emailed and posted on Facebook.
Happy New Year!
CLYNK Challenge
We are excited to announce the 10th Annual CLYNK for Schools Challenge$.
The CLYNK for Schools Challenge$ 2021 will run from February 1 through March 31. Enrollment begins today
All Maine and New York K-12 schools are eligible to participate
Funds raised through CLYNK bottle and can redemption will be matched $.50 to the $1 up to $20,000
Three cash prizes will be awarded in each Maine and New York. The top two schools in each state will earn prize money ($1,500 and $1,000) plus there will be an additional Spirit Award ($500)
The 2020 CLYNK for Schools Challenge$ was the most successful yet. 262 schools from all over Maine and New York raised funds for their schools and helped the environment, recycling tens of thousands of glass, plastic and aluminum beverage containers. Although we are all still challenged by the pandemic, CLYNK is here to help you raise funds in 2021.
Please check your child’s backpack in the next couple of weeks for your collection bag. If you need additional bags during the challenge, simply email the office at lolore@scarboroughschools.org and we will send home more with your child.
School Nutrition
Upcoming Dates
January 18th- MLK Holiday- NO SCHOOL
January 21st- School Board Mtg- Virtual