Panther Post

• 1/7 - El Paso Spirit Night, 11am-10pm
• 1/9 - 80's Day

• 1/13 - Principal’s Advisory Council Meeting, 5:30pm

  1/13 - Pattie PTCO Meeting, 6:30pm

• 1/13 - Lockdown Drill
• 1/19 - No School: MLK Holiday
• 1/22 - End of 2nd Grading Period
• 1/23 - No School: Teacher Workday
• 1/26 - No School: Parent/Teacher Conferences

The Virginia Department of Education has released 2024-2025 school performance outcomes - a new school accountability system under the School Performance and Support Framework. Pattie is one of 9 elementary schools (traditional schools excluded) in PWCS to receive the designation of "Distinguished". Only 23% of schools across the state of Virginia have received this designation. This is a testament to our school's culture and the hard work of our dedicated teachers and support staff. Follow the link to learn more about this new rating system: https://www.doe.virginia.gov/teaching-learning-assessment/road-to-readiness-school-performance-and-support-framework-resource-hub/2024-25-spsf-accountability-data-release

Pattie's Teacher of Year, and nominee for PWCS' Outstanding Educator of the Year, is Kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Shannon Cooper! In addition to being an outstanding teacher, Mrs. Cooper has served as a mentor to new staff at Pattie and she works tirelessly to provide an inclusive learning environment for all of her students. Congratulations, Mrs. Cooper!

PWCS is updating the student transfer request process for the 2026–27 school year. The transfer window will be open March 6 through April 30, 2026.

In addition, the process is now fully digital, making it easier for families to apply online—no paper forms required.

Visit the Student Transfer Request webpage for details and updates.

Note: These changes do not affect Specialty Program applications, which close February 1, 2026.

On or around the 80th day of school, Pattie celebrates the rad decade of the 80's. All staff and students are encouraged to dress in the style of the 80's and have some 80's inspired fun throughout the day. As the 80th day always falls right after the holiday break, we'll celebrate the 80's on Friday, January 9th.

We want to bring to your attention an increasing social media trend involving incidents of

"pantsing" that are starting to show up in some of our schools. Pantsing is defined as forcibly

removing or pulling down another individual's clothing without their consent. Pantsing is a

serious violation of our Code of Behavior and may constitute “criminal sexual contact” under

Title IX. “Criminal sexual contact” replaced “fondling” under Title IX and includes a much

broader range of unwelcome touching between students. Pantsing not only infringes on

personal boundaries but also causes humiliation, distress, and potential harm to the targeted

student with lasting negative impact. Our school division is committed to maintaining a safe and

equitable environment for all students, and any incidents of pantsing will be subject to

disciplinary action and may trigger Title IX investigations. We ask for your partnership in

discussing the seriousness of this behavior with your children and reinforcing the importance of

respecting others' privacy and dignity. Together, we can foster a culture of respect and safety for

every student.

Families are now able to sign up for times to visit their student(s) during lunch. Because of our limited seating in the cafeteria, we do have to limit how many family members visit each day. Please use the sign up below to reserve your day and time.

Happy New Year! We have a lot of students who are excited about their new shoes they received over winter break. Please continue to teach students how to tie their shoes! This is an important fine motor skill that helps foster confidence and independence.

Our next unit we are headed into is bounce/catch (K-2) and hand dribbling (2-5). Students will be working on skills for catching, self-toss, hand dribbling, personal space and spatial awareness!

The Pattie Chorus and the 5th Grade Strings held their Winter Concert on December 7th. One song the chorus students performed was based on a Jamaican folk song. After the destruction from Hurricane Melissa this past fall, singing a song from Jamaica connected strongly with the students. Pattie kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Kelly, happens to be from Jamaica. She has many friends and family who still live in Jamaica and continue to rebuild after the destruction. Following the concert, students got an opportunity to talk with Mrs. Kelly and hear more about her country and culture. We then worked with Mrs. Braxton to create artwork we could send to a school in Jamaica as a gift. Take a look at this link to get a glimpse of the gift we shared with our friends in Jamaica.

January and the cold winter months are the perfect time to curl up with a good book! Try this January reading challenge at home with your family and enjoy some good books!

Join us for our January Spirit Night at El Paso in Dumfries. Please mention Pattie Elementary when you order and 20% of the sales will come back to Pattie PTCO!

We had the wonderful opportunity to adopt several families from our Pattie community this holiday season. We were able to provide gifts for *38* Pattie Panthers because of your generosity! We are a Pattie Family, we take care of each other. Thank you!

Thank you to the many 4th grade families who helped provide a hot chocolate and coffee bar and fun prizes for the December staff meeting! We truly appreciate you. Together we are Pattie Strong!

The Principal's Advisory Council is open to all families and staff, and it is an opportunity for shared decision making. It is also an opportunity to gain insight into, and ask questions about, Pattie's processes, procedures, instruction and building operations. Each meeting will focus on a particular topic of interest, but will also provide opportunities for open dialogue. Our meeting times are 5:30pm to help parent participation, and it will immediately be followed by our PTCO meeting at 6:30pm.

This month’s PTCO meeting will recap our first semester efforts and activities and plan for the Spring.

Both meetings will take place in Pattie's library, and both have virtual options, as well.

Advisory Council Zoom Link: https://pwcs-zm-edu.zoom.us/j/85751845192?pwd=YktGbW5EbHhMOXljdFNIUkQ1V2o0Zz09

PTCO Zoom Link: https://pwcs-zm-edu.zoom.us/j/86987817532?pwd=YlRlZm5rTlpNcVl1a2tqWUV1TGsvUT09

The Pattie PTCO is all volunteer run and needs your help. There are lots of opportunities to get involved, like working a shift at Pattie events, attending meetings and sharing your ideas, scanning your receipts for Box Tops, dressing up as Pattie Panther, helping stock the staff lounge snack cart, and more. Join here and tell us how you would like to help.

*If you joined in previous years, you will need to rejoin for the 25-26 school year.*

PTCO Facebook Page - The Pattie PTCO Facebook page is active and a great place to get more information, see reminders and ask questions.

Pattie PTCO Linktree - This link is updated with resources you may need related to the PTCO.

If you have any questions, ideas, or would like to help in any way, please feel free to contact us at any time at PattiePTCO@gmail.com.

If you are interested in checking out Pattie's daily, student produced, morning show, they are uploaded to Pattie's Youtube channel daily. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCh-odLQZRxQm1vN_zOTSiYw