Good Afternoon!
I hope you all enjoyed your extra long weekend. We had a wonderful day and a half of learning last Thursday and Friday:
Paraprofessionals from Cornish and Plainfield attended Medicaid billing training, federally required crisis response training, and Playworks training. Playworks is an organization that specializes in designing and supervising recess in ways that promote leadership, conflict resolution, and ultimately academic success. This is something our paraprofessionals and some teachers will be working on over the next couple of years. Stay tuned for more information in the future.
Teachers worked on a variety of initiatives:
- Training to support our rollout of online report cards at the end of this term
- Continuing to become better acquainted with our Branching Minds software which houses all kinds of student data that can be used to identify and meet student needs.
- Time with teams to work on important initiatives such as student-led conferences in the upper grades, aligning units of instruction in 3/4, and Writing Workshop lessons in grade 5.
- Practicing peer observation skills by watching videos of each other’s teaching and looking for signs of student engagement and strategies the teachers were using to elicit engagement. This is part of our ongoing Universal Design for Learning work that started a few years ago and is still going strong!
It was a packed day and a half but I think most everyone left feeling like it was time well spent. We so appreciate the opportunity to learn and take time to reflect throughout the year as we are implementing and fine-tuning instruction and programs here at PES.
PRINCIPAL-PARENT FORUM October is National Bullying Prevention Month. I feel fortunate to live in a community where parents and the wider community are unified in a desire to prevent and respond to bullying. The tricky part is knowing what constitutes bullying, when to intervene, and how to prevent it. There is no single, effective “cure.” Relationships are tricky and learning how to have and use power is even trickier. Misuse of power in relationships is at the root of most bullying and happens for a variety of reasons. And as such we have to look to a variety of strategies. The bottom line is we will be more effective if we do this work together (Bullying Facts.)
I hope parents will join me tomorrow night from 6 pm to 7:30 pm in the Music Room to discuss this important topic. My goal is that we will collaboratively develop a deeper understanding of what bullying is, how to respond when it happens, and steps we can take together to prevent disrespect, bullying, and violence in our school community.
Babysitting is available.
ALSO HAPPENING THIS WEEK:
Tuesday, October 11
- K to 4 Sing - 8:05 am in the lobby. Caregivers welcome.
Wednesday, October 12
- Stone Soup - Students in Grades K through 4 will participate in the annual reading of Stone Soup and celebrate our harvest with some homemade soup of our own!
- 5 - Hier: Hood Museum Trip
- School Board Meeting - Topics include the annual budgeting process and the FAST program.
Thursday, October 13
- Grades 3/4 French’s Ledges Hike
- 5 - Cook: Hood Museum Trip
For a full list of upcoming events, please see the calendar at the end of this email.
TIME IS RUNNING OUT
Just a quick reminder from the 8th grade Class of 2023 advisors - Marcy and Sara:
The 8th grade Class of 2023 is starting our first fundraiser and we will be selling Charleston Wrap! For those of you not familiar with this program, Charleston Wrap specializes in high-quality wrapping paper however has expanded their product line to include household items, candies, kitchen gadgets etc. Charleston Wrap has moved to a semi-virtual sales platform and thus the full array of products can be viewed at the link below. Feel free to place any order online and the class will still get credit however you will pay shipping on orders less than $99. We will be placing a bulk order from the school to save on shipping costs and there is an order form in the lounge. Please reachout with any questions (pesclassof2023@gmail.com) and thank you for your support.
https://registercw.com/gateway?organizationMidasId=25124
Enjoy the rest of your long weekend. We look forward to seeing you all tomorrow!
Audra
PS - Please be sure to listen/read the message about the P5 bus route change. It is coming 10 to 15 minutes earlier in the morning and 10 to 15 minutes later in the afternoon. These changes are due to a change in ridership.
OCTOBER
11 K to 4 School Sing – 8 am in Main Lobby – Parents/Guardians Welcome
11 PTA Parent Forum 6:00 PM – Music Room – Babysitting Available
12 Stone Soup – Lower Grades
12 PES School Board Meeting, 5:30 pm – Music Room
13 Grades 3 & 4 French’s Ledges Hike (14th rain date)
17 4 Winds Training at Plainfield 8:30 am
17 Wellness Committee Meeting – 3:10 to 4:30 pm
18 K to 4 School Sing – 8 am In main lobby – Parents/Guardians Welcome
20 Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee Meeting – 5:30 pm - Library
21 Mid-Term Progress Reports Sent Home
21 Fall Fun Day - All School Assembly
21 Middle School Dance (6th gr sponsor) – 7 to 9 pm
25 K to 4 School Sing – 8am In Main Lobby – Parents/Guardians Welcome
26 Professional Development Committee Meeting – 3:10 to 4:30 - Library
27 Early Release Day, Parent/Teacher Conferences (notify parents about lockdown drill)
28 Early Release Day, Parent/Teacher Conferences
30 PTA Sponsored Trunk or Treat – Times TBD