Panther Weekly Update

You can link to the live calendar at https://calendar.google.com/calendar/r/month?tab=mc.

Prairie Lane Elementary - District 66 - https://www.facebook.com/prairielaneelementary

Prairie Lane Community Club - https://www.facebook.com/plcc.panthers

Dear Prairie Lane Families,

We’re excited for our Halloween festivities this year!

Halloween Parties:
Each classroom will have a Halloween party on October 30th, organized by the Prairie Lane Community Club, room parents, and the homeroom teacher. Please watch for details from your room parents regarding volunteer opportunities, donations, and needed supplies. To help with organization, space limitations, and safety, we will limit the number of adults in each classroom. This year, the room parent and volunteers will assist in making the party a fun event for the kids. Please make sure if you have signed up to volunteer, you have completed a background check! Thank you for your support!

Halloween Parade:
All Prairie Lane families are invited to join us for the Halloween Parade, which will take place on the school field.

• Parade Time: 3:10 PM

• Location: Students will proceed around the track. Families, please gather along the field to watch the fun.

Costume Guidelines:

• Students may bring a costume for the parade.

• Costumes must be worn over their regular clothes.

• For safety, students will not change clothes at school.

• Costumes should be school-appropriate: no offensive, scary, or inappropriate themes.

• No weapons (real or fake) are allowed as part of the costume.

• Please, no makeup.

• Students should bring their costumes in a clearly labeled bag. Costumes should not be worn to school.

Arrival Time for Families:
If you plan to join us for the parade, please arrive between 3:00 and 3:10 PM and gather along the field.

Dismissal:

After the parade, students will return to their classroom and dismiss as usual. If you are picking up your child at dismissal that day and if that is not their regular daily dismissal, please notify their teacher ahead of time *We ask parents to return to their cars, or, if you wish, to meet your child out front, and NOT enter the building, so teachers can quickly gather students, bring them outside for dismissal, and help limit the number of adults in the building for safety reasons. Thank you for your cooperation in helping make dismissal go smoothly.

Thank you for helping us ensure a safe, respectful, and responsible Halloween celebration!

Please check your email and spam folders for lunch money notices. All accounts should be at or above $0.00 at all times. We thank you for your help in this matter.

Look for ticket vouchers in your child's backpack!

Elementary students attend library classes on a four-day rotation, receiving instruction and the opportunity to check out library materials weekly or every other week. Materials may be borrowed for two weeks and renewed if needed.

Our updated library system automatically sends email reminders about checked-out and overdue items. Many elementary librarians serve two buildings, so returned items may not be checked in immediately. We do not charge overdue fees. However, fees may apply for lost or damaged materials.

If you receive a reminder for an item your child has already returned, please allow time for it to be processed.

PLCC Meeting

We hope you join us for our next PLCC Meeting on October 27th at 6:30pm! Suggestions or comments can be directed to president.plcc@gmail.com

BEST DAY EVER:

THANK YOU to all our volunteers who helped make our BEST DAY EVER a success. We had great weather, great fun, and great prizes. We couldn't ask for anything more!

Halloween Volunteers:

Please make sure you have completed your Volunteer Background check this year. This must be completed every year. The link can be found at the bottom of the newsletter.

Prairie Lane Items For Sale:

PL Yard Signs and Stickers are available in the office. See below for pricing:

• Yard Signs For Sale $30
• Stickers For Sale $3

These students had the opportunity to turn Ms. Mann into a sundae!

1. Ellie H
2. Charlotte M
3. Diana S
4. Ginny W
5. Veda F

Congrats to the MANY students who got to soak Ms. Mann and Mr. Christie! We had such a FUN time and hope you all did too! Be sure to check out our Prairie Lane Facebook page for pictures which will be up soon.

What is BIST?

BIST is our school-wide approach designed to provide "grace and accountability" for all students. Its primary goal is to help students learn the emotional and social skills they need to be successful in the classroom and throughout their lives. Rather than focusing on punishment, BIST focuses on teaching. We believe that when a student struggles with a behavior, it is simply a skill they haven't mastered yet—much like a challenging math problem or a tricky reading word. Through supportive relationships, our staff guides students to recognize their feelings, take responsibility for their choices, and make a plan to do better next time.

BIST MODEL:

BIST is about providing what students need:

• Early Intervention (When)- Utilizing the expectations that it's never okay to be disruptive to learning (it’s always ok to be a good learner) or hurtful (it’s always ok to be kind) allows adults to intervene consistently with all students. A student will be asked one time per activity to stop a behavior that is disruptive or hurtful. Adults will intervene in a quick, kind, calm, firm and close manner if a student cannot meet this expectation.
• Caring Confrontation (How)- Caring Confrontation is a language of partnership when intervening with a student’s disruptive or hurtful behavior. With the intent of creating awareness of the situation and one's actions, Caring Confrontation provides the student with an opportunity to meet the set standard and partner with the adult.
  ∘ “I see …" (disruptive behavior)
  ∘ “Can you …" (desired behavior)
  ∘ “Even though …" (student’s feelings)
• Protective Plan (What)- Protective Plans provide an opportunity for the adult and student to identify a missing skill and partner together to develop the skill. Teaching replacement skills and practicing the Goals For Life helps students manage their behaviors and move toward making life changes. Protections to restrict the student from what they can’t manage is often significant to start the process of life change.
• Outlasting the Acting Out- Maintaining a relationship and restrictions while guiding the student to identify their level in the Continuum of Change (Noncompliance, Compliance, Partnership, Independence) until the student is able to partner with and be coached by adults.

Thank you for supporting and reminding students to follow our school-wide expectations daily!

Join us for Sensory Make and Take on November 14 from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. at Oakdale Elementary School, 9801 West Center Road, Omaha, NE 68124. Families will create personalized sensory tools, explore interactive stations, and take home their creations. Register here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdXVX92IX3OSrfvZvYk0PZdRgg3Js25-duvUUx9qTX8l-lr2Q/viewform?pli=1

Westside Community Schools does not discriminate on the basis of sex, sexual orientation, race, color, national origin, religion, disability, age, marital/parental status, military/veteran status or any other category protected by law in its programs and activities or in admission or access to, or treatment in, hiring and employment, and provides equal access to the Boy Scouts and other designated youth groups.

The following District personnel have been designated to coordinate compliance and can address inquiries about the District’s nondiscrimination policies and procedures:

For questions or concerns by students, parents or others:

• Coordinator of Student Services/Title IX Coordinator – ABC Bldg. 909 So. 76th St. Omaha (402) 390-2100 E-mail: titleixcoordinator@westside66.net

• Director of Special Services/ADA & 504 Coordinator (disability/accommodation) ABC Bldg. 909 So. 76th St. (402) 390-2100 E-mail: ADAcoordinator@westside66.net

For questions by District employees or applicants:

• Ass’t Supt. for Human Resources/Lead Title IX Coordinator - 909 So. 76th St. Omaha, NE (402) 390-2100