Robert Down Principal's Update

Dear Robert H. Down School Community,

Thank you so much for your dedication in supporting your child(ren)’s growth as we close out our second trimester and prepare to embark in our final trimester for the 2025-2026 school year! I have personally seen our students develop, grow, and mature academically, socially, and in friendships! It has been wonderful to see many of you on campus for student conferences this week!

It was so fun to see many of you at the PTA Dine Out event last night at Hops & Fog! Thank you to Adeline Finley for arranging this and to those who attended for supporting our Robert Down PTA!

National Maintenance Worker Day

We want to give a huge shout out to our District Maintenance Staff comprised of Cliff Houston, Jeff Stutzman, Rob Bullas, and Ryan Pryer in honor of National Maintenance Worker Day, which was Wednesday, March 4! Several of our classes made special signs recognizing them for their hard work ensuring that our building and facilities are maintained and repaired not only at Robert Down, but throughout our District!

Read Across America Week

Several grade levels as well as our Library celebrated Read Across America this week with some fun activities including creating rhymes, sharing books, engaging in a March Madness book bracket, wearing clothes people can read, among others!

Ramadan

I’m so grateful for our diverse school community and the ways they teach others about their culture! I had an opportunity to hear from a few individuals in our school community how their families celebrate Ramadan, received some cards and gifts, and heard about how their fast has been going. Thank you!

If you have a student that is fasting during the school day during Ramadan, please let me know here, so I can be sure to provide some accommodations away from food during snack and/or lunch.

Elementary STEAM Night at PGMS

Please be sure to join us for Elementary STEAM Night at PGMS next Thursday, March 12 from 5-7PM! I am in need of volunteers for the Math Festival and PTA is looking for Pie Donations! Click here if you can volunteer for the Math Festival facilitating math games and here to sign up to donate a pie or two! Food trucks will also be there to provide dinner for purchase.

The Great Taste of PG

PG P.R.I.D.E., a local group that raises and provides significant funding for our classrooms, is hosting a beautiful event called The Great Taste of PG on Saturday, April 4 from 5-8PM at The Inn at Spanish Bay in Pebble Beach. See below for flyer and link to sign up!

Islands Restaurant is Closing! Use Golden Pineapple Awards!

I just learned that Islands Restaurant at the Del Monte Center in Monterey is closing this weekend! If your child has a Golden Pineapple Award they have not yet used, please take them this weekend before Islands closes! We are also looking for an additional place that could provide a similar type of award for our students to receive with their Otter Awards. If you have any leads, please let me know!

🛑 Safety: A Community Effort

You may have noticed an increase in PGPD presence around our campus during drop off and dismissal. We are grateful for their continued support in keeping our campus safe. Please remember to slow down and heed all signs posted around our school.

Thank you to our District Office staff as well as PGHS students who have volunteered to support us with safety at the Pine and 13th intersection! Our Crossing Guard position remains open and we invite you to apply here, if interested.

We have placed buckets with flags at the corner of Pine and 13th in the event you see a student or family who may need support, you are welcome to use the flags to assist with the crosswalk.

📅 Upcoming Dates

March

Women’s History Month

Disability Awareness Month

March 8- Spring Forward

March 10 - School Site Council at 3:30PM

March 12 - PG Elementary STEAM Night 5-7PM at PGMS (Need volunteers!)

March 16 - NO SCHOOL- Teacher Work Day

March 17 - St Patrick’s Day

March 18 - Secure Campus Drill

March 20 - RHD Rock Your Socks Day in honor of World Down Syndrome Day! (See flyer below for more information!)

March 20 - Eid al-Fitr (End of Ramadan)

March 25 - 2026-27 PGUSD TK/K Parent Meeting, PGHS Library, 6:00 PM

April 2 - World Autism Awareness Day

📣 Important School News

• 2026-2027 Registration: Know an incoming TK or Kindergartner? Pre-registration for next year is now open. See link here.

• Yearbooks: Pre-orders and ads are available now through April 17th here.

• Personal Items: To prevent loss or heartbreak, please ensure toys and sentimental items stay safely at home.

🤝 "Culture of We" Opportunities

• Volunteer for the Big Sur Marathon and support our PTA! Sign up here.

• Julia Robinson Math Festival Volunteers: We are seeking at least five parent and/or high school volunteers that would be willing to facilitate fun math activities at our STEAM Night on March 12. Training will be provided. Please click here if you are interested.

• Ideas for an Art Mural: We will be working to develop a new mural for the entrance of the school. If you have ideas for images or words you would like to include that represent our school community, please share them here.

• Celebrations: We would love your help highlighting Disability Awareness Month and Women’s History Month. If you would like to create a bulletin board or give a presentation, please email me at ebrownfield@pgusd.org.

• Link to Robert Down School Site Council Agenda for March 10

Wishing each of you a wonderful weekend.

With gratitude,

Emily Tsai Brownfield, Principal

Please have your child to school on time. Gates open at 8:30 AM. Warning bell rings at 8:40 AM. Final bell rings and instruction begins at 8:45 AM. When a student is tardy it is disruptive to the office and classroom. In addition, students miss important information and announcements from their teacher first thing in the morning.

Did you know that you can report your child's absence with your ParentVUE app? Simply log into your ParentVUE account to send the office a message about why your child is absent.

* Ways to report a student absent *

a) ParentVUE app (click the bell icon next to your child's name)

b) 24 Hour Absence Line (831) 646-6663

If you plan on being a VOLUNTEER on campus or a CHAPERONE for a field trip, please be sure you are fingerprint cleared with our district. To make an appointment at the District Office please contact Bree Nehring by calling 607-8892 or emailing bnehring@pgusd.org

Before coming to campus to volunteer, please check with your child's teacher to schedule a time that works best for them.

Pre-registration for the 2026-2027 school year is OPEN for new to the district TK and Kindergarten age children. If you have a child turning 4 or 5 years old by September 1, 2026, please submit a NEW STUDENT PRE-REGISTRATION FORM

Turn 4 years old on or before 9/1/26 = Transitional Kindergarten (TK)

Turn 5 years old on or before 9/1/26 = Kindergarten

If your child is a current student at Robert Down you do not need to submit a pre-registration form. This form is only for new to the district children.

This notice is to tell you about our voluntary program designed to build the RHD library and foster your child’s love of reading.

Here is how it works: To join the Robert H. Down Birthday Book Club fill out the information below (scroll way down to the bottom of this message to print the Birthday Book forms) and deposit it in the Drop Box at school along with a check for $20.00 (please make the check payable to the P.G.U.S.D. and write R.H.D. Birthday Book on the memo line).

When your child’s birthday month comes around Ms. Scanlon will present a new book in honor of your child’s birthday. Your child will be the first one to check out and read the book that has been donated to the library to celebrate their birthday. A bookplate with your child’s name will be affixed to the inside cover for all future readers to appreciate.

Robert Down is proud of our commitment to social and emotional learning (SEL). Both of the programs we use, Toolbox and Second Step, are aligned with the Center for Social and emotional learning (CASEL). You can learn about CASEL and our SEL programs below.

https://casel.org/fundamentals-of-sel/what-is-the-casel-framework/

Robert Down SEL Programs:

1. TOOLBOX

Toolbox is taught in every classroom at RD and on ‘Toolbox Tuesdays’ during P.E. time with Mrs. Tobin and Mr. Dixon. Robert Down has embraced this program for over ten years.

https://toolboxproject.com/https://toolboxproject.com/

2. SECOND STEP

We are in our second year of piloting the Second Step program. Second Step is a research-based program that focuses on developing human skills. Students (K-5) have two second-step lessons per month and 15 in total throughout the year.

https://www.secondstep.org/digital-k-12-curriculum

Website: https://robertdown.pgusd.org/
Location: 485 Pine Avenue, Pacific Grove, CA, USA
Phone: (831) 646-6540

Email: RHDOffice@pgusd.org