PRM School Rocker

Greetings PRM Families,

December has arrived, bringing with it the cool air of winter and the many celebrations and traditions that make this season so special. As we approach the close of the first semester of the 2025-26 school year, we are filled with hope and excitement for the growth and possibilities the new year will bring. Our staff continues to work tirelessly to provide high-quality Montessori instruction and equip students with the tools they need to become confident, capable, and compassionate citizens of the world. Your partnership remains a vital part of this journey.

Your involvement in your child’s education, through communication with teachers, participation in conferences, and engagement in school events, significantly strengthens the work we do each day. We invite you to join us for the 2nd Quarter Parent-Teacher Conferences on Thursday, December 11th, from 4:00-7:00pm. Please schedule a conference time to discuss your child’s progress and collaborate on next steps for learning.

As we continue striving for maximum academic growth for every child, your support in maintaining good attendance and health habits is crucial. Please ensure your child is at school by 7:40am each day and keep them home if they are unwell. Your partnership helps us create a caring and consistent learning environment.

We also want to keep our school environment safe and healthy during cold and flu season. If your child is experiencing symptoms of illness, please keep them home to rest and recover. Your partnership helps us maintain a healthy learning environment and keeps our classrooms running smoothly.

We are excited to celebrate our students and school community with several upcoming events this month. Thank you to all who joined us for our Gingerbread House Event on December 3rd, it was a joyful kickoff to the season! We also look forward to hosting the PRM Handmade Market on December 13th and our annual Winterfest celebration on December 9th. We encourage families to participate in these events to strengthen community spirit and showcase student creativity.

We wish you and your loved ones a safe, warm, and joy-filled holiday season. Thank you for your continued support, encouragement, and partnership. PRM is a special place because of the strength of this community.

Warmly,

Principal Simpson

Email: simpsoa@cpsboe.k12.oh.us

Event updates throughout the month are available on www.prmrocks.org/calendar

*You can subscribe to this calendar on your personal device by finding the green “subscribe” button on the top right side of the calendar page and following the directions.

Tuesday, December 9 – Winterfest Performances 5:00-7:00pm at PRM

Wednesday, December 10 – LSDMC Meeting @ 3:00pm at PRM (Virtual)

Wednesday, December 10 – Foundation Meeting @ 7:00pm at PRM (Library)

Thursday, December 11 – Staff Appreciation Lunch

Thursday, December 11 – Parent Teacher Conferences from 4:00-7:00pm at PRM

Saturday, December 13 – PRM Handmade Market from 10:00am-3:00pm at PRM

Monday, December 15 – ILT Meeting @ 2:45pm at PRM

Monday, December 15 – Friday, December 19 – Countdown to Winter Break Spirit Week

Friday, December 19 – End of Second Quarter and End of First Semester

Monday, December 22 – Friday, January 2 – No School – Winter Break

Tuesday, January 6 – School Resumes; start of Third Quarter

Wednesday, January 14 – LSDMC Meeting @ 3:00pm at PRM (Virtual)

Wednesday, January 14 – PTO Meeting @ 6:00pm at PRM (Library)

Wednesday, January 14 – Foundation Meeting @ 7:15pm at PRM (Library)

Monday, January 19 – No School – Martin Luther King Jr. Day

The weather is beginning to feel like winter! We will continue to go outside for recess if at all possible, so please send your child in with coats, hats, and gloves if they have some at home.

Kindergarteners will be doing two assessments at the beginning of the month (December 1-December 11); both are language and literacy assessments (DCA and Acadience).

As always, let your classroom teacher know if you have any questions or concerns. And reach out to your teachers to schedule conferences on Thursday, December 11, from 4:00-7:00pm.

We are quickly approaching our 2-week-long winter break. Until then, we have three exciting weeks in our classrooms!

In Cultural, we will explore holidays, the year and its parts, personal timelines, maps, landmarks, fundamental needs, land and water forms, leaves, and vertebrates. Experiments in science and the study of the Earth are also included in the agenda.

Language studies will include compound words, verbs, and types of sentences for first grade. Second-grade students will work with prefixes and verbs and study the comma when writing a friendly letter. Third-grade students will study prefixes and verbs in past and present forms. They will learn to use commas for editing and appositives, and will continue developing paragraph-writing skills through informative writing practices.

In Math and Geometry, first graders will continue to develop their addition skills using various Montessori materials, including the Addition Strip Board and Addition Charts. Second-grade students will further develop their addition and subtraction fluency with the Golden Beads and memorization. Third-grade students will continue with multiplication in various forms with Multiplication Charts, the Bead Cabinet, and the Multiplication Board. All grade levels will continue with word problems, measurement and data activities, and the study and measurement of angles.

I-Ready Assessments for third-grade students will begin the week of December 1, and Acadience reading assessments will commence for all 6-9 students in early December. Further, Outdoor Education will complete this semester’s lessons the week of December 8, but will resume again in 2026. Happy Holidays!

December is a busy and festive month at PRM. Parent–Teacher Conferences will be held on December 11 from 4:00–7:00pm, and you should have already received communication from your child’s homeroom teacher regarding scheduling. If you still need to schedule a time, please reach out to your child’s homeroom teacher as soon as possible.

The second quarter will come to a close on December 19, and students are currently in the middle of their winter benchmark assessments, with all testing scheduled to be completed before we leave for Winter Break. Please be sure to check FOCUS for any missing assignments to ensure all work is submitted before the break.

We also have many exciting events coming up, including Winterfest on December 9, the Handmade Market on December 13, and our spirited Countdown to Winter Break Spirit Week. We wish all of our PRM families a wonderful and restful Winter Break, and we look forward to seeing everyone in 2026!

This month will bring a plethora of downtime for students as they spend time with family and friends during the holidays. If you are looking for a fun way for your child to stay busy during travel or spend quality time with an adult working on their reading skills, we have a few resources to share – see links below:

Audio: Storyline Online - Streams videos featuring celebrated actors reading children’s books alongside creatively produced illustrations.

Circle Time by Khan Academy Kids -Join Khan Academy Kids stories and activities with Caroline, Sophie, and friends every other Monday.

Digital: Reading.com Each lesson takes just 15 - 20 minutes to complete, and they’re designed for students and their adults to go at their own pace. Lessons cover letters, letter blends, long vowel sounds, and digraphs, taking your child from basic alphabetic knowledge to reading at a late 1st-grade level.

Print-and-go Games and Activities: Florida Center for Reading Research. Targets pre-K through fifth-grade learners. These premade activities, divided by age band and reading concepts, are designed for fun and practice. Great for travel, as they make packing light and gamify learning. Kinders should work on Phonological Awareness, Phoneme Isolation and segmentation skills, and Phoneme Matching. 1-2nd-grade students can work on Phoneme activities, Phonics, and Fluency skills, and 4-6th-grade students can work on any of the listed skills.

** Pro move** You can print up to 20 pages in color or 33 in black and white per day for free at any of Cincinnati Public Library's 41 locations. Print in person or remotely for pickup! To print via a web browser, click here to open a new window. To print via email, visit here.

Reading: UFLI Parent-Resource hub is the officially adopted curriculum of Cincinnati Public Schools. Look under “activities for students” to find tons of fun resources. Or find decodable text to read online or print that is just right for your learner for practice reading.

Coming Soon...

Coming Soon...

Coming Soon...

It's going to be a busy and fun month of STEM challenges!

9-12: Winter STEM Challenge: Snowball Catapults

6-9: Winter STEM Olympics: Snowboarding

K: Winter STEM Challenges: Snowflakes in STEM

The PRM Winter Choir is performing at the Kennedy Heights Art Center’s Winterfest on Friday, December 5, at 6:45PM. A full performance of “On with the Snow” will take place at PRM’s Winterfest on Tuesday, December 9.

Music students in 9-12 classes have been learning musical symbols and Native American music. The 6-9 classes have been composing and performing their own note patterns. And our kindergarten classes are working on rhythm reading and the steady beat.

PRM String Orchestra students will be performing during PRM's Winterfest on December 9 at 5:30pm in the school’s gymnasium. This will be our first concert of the year. Students have been making excellent progress, and they are excited to share what they've learned so far!

Thank you to all who came out to support Imago’s inaugural Green Tie Gala in November. It was a huge success, and your donations are helping to shape the next generation of naturalists and environmental stewards.

Reminder that the last week of Outdoor Education and Outdoor Explorers Club for 2025 is next week, December 8. We will be starting back up again the week of March 2.

As we wrap up a successful first semester, we want to give a huge thanks to everyone for the incredible staff love, fun events for our students, and unwavering support for our unique school – we honestly couldn’t do it without our amazing parents and special friends. We’re especially excited to support our excellent staff on December 11, when we’ll host a Staff Appreciation Lunch. Please note that the December PTO meeting is cancelled, but we’ll be back together in the new year on January 14 at 6:00pm in the PRM library. We hope to see you there!

November was a busy and successful month for the Foundation! Thanks to your support, we raised more than $1,100 and sold 227 items through our winter plant sale, meeting our goal. Your textile donations are making an impact too—our school’s recycling bin has generated over $300 so far! These funds help us keep the Staff Wellness Room stocked with both essentials and treats for our staff year-round, and they allow us to support our staff in leading after-school activities like the new cooking club.

We also officially launched our fundraising for the new Outdoor Refresh Project during Grandparents Day. It was exciting to unveil the initial ideas and drawings—stay tuned for more updates coming to our whole community in January. In the meantime, you can learn more or get involved at https://prmrocks.org/prmoutdoors/

Looking ahead, we’re thrilled to kick off our reimagined Silent Auction of Experiences

on Friday, December 5. Please consider sharing the link with friends and family who may be searching for meaningful holiday gifts for your children (or for you!).

Restaurant of the Month returns in January, and don’t forget to book your sitters for the adults-only PRM Prom on February 7. If you’re interested in joining the planning committee or have connections we should explore, please reach out to prsfpres@gmail.com.

Finally, all are welcome to attend our next Foundation meeting on Wednesday, December 10, at 7:00pm in the PRM Library. We’d love to see you there!

Great news from our last ILT meeting: all classrooms have paras as of December 1!

PRM is, however, still looking for paras for students with one-on-one needs. Thanks to all the WIN block volunteers; this is a massive support to our students, and Principal Simpson mentioned that our community has really stepped up, which is fantastic. Please note that WIN block volunteers should receive direct communication if the WIN block is cancelled going forward. ILT was made aware that communication needs improvement, and several teachers have stepped up to serve as the point of contact for our volunteers going forward. The WIN block may be canceled for classroom field trips and significant testing days. If anyone continues to have issues, please reach out to Principal Simpson or ILT Parent Rep David Woerner.

Lastly, there will be a Countdown to Winter Break Spirit Week schedule for students to be out of uniform (if they so choose) for the week leading up to break.

And as always, ILT meetings take place on most first and third Mondays of the month at 2:45pm at PRM and are open to all who wish to attend.

LSDMC will have virtual meetings for the next three months. This is an excellent opportunity to join in from home or work to learn more about the resources, goals, and policies that affect our school community. If interested, please join us on Wednesday, December 10, at 3:00pm via Google Meet. LSDMC meetings are open to anyone interested.

LSDMC (Virtual)
Wednesday, Dec 10 · 3–4:30 PM
Google Meet joining info.
Video call link: https://meet.google.com/nhf-wkqe-cqf
Or dial: +1 405-646-0298 PIN: 974953081
More phone numbers: https://tel.meet/nhf-wkqe-cqf?pin=7257683047401

We have 13 basketball teams this season and 134 athletes excited to start! PRM will host home basketball games on December 6, 7, 14, 19, and 20. It can be a lot of fun to watch our PRM teams learn and grow throughout the season. Games will be played at home on most Saturdays and Sundays until the end of February. Please note that gym admission costs $4 for adults. The full schedule can be found on the league website at https://www.cpybl.com/court-schedule

Boosters is currently seeking a new Baseball coordinator. We won't be able to offer baseball in the spring without a coordinator in place by January 15. Email prmathletics@gmail.com with interest or questions. Co-coordinators are always welcome.

Additional information about Boosters can be found at www.prmrocks.org/athletics. Registration for spring sports is currently slated to open on Friday, January 23, at noon.

• If you need assistance with food, housing, health care, utilities, jobs, childcare, or other expenses or needs, feel free to contact Ms. Allison Quinter, School Social Worker, or me, Monique Crosby- Resource Coordinator.

• Check out Michaels. They have in-store and online free classes for the entire family. Click on the link and see what you can get into. Link: https://www.michaels.com/classes

• Skating + Bumper Cars are Now Open-November 1st-February 16th- Click on the link to reserve your skating time. Ice Rink Link: https://myfountainsquare.com/ice-rink/

• Festival of Lights- Cincinnati Zoo: The zoo has transformed into a Wild Lights show for all to enjoy. The show runs from November 20, 2025, through January 4, 2026. The activities run from 4 pm to 9 pm on weekdays and from 10 pm to 9 pm on weekends. Click on the link for tickets and more information. https://cincinnatizoo.org/events/festival-of-lights/

Please keep the electronic link to the Code of Conduct handy for your records. There will not be paper copies printed this school year.

All parents/guardians are asked to submit this form to acknowledge receipt and review of the Code of Conduct.

We must be consistent in acknowledging and enforcing our school uniform policy. Our uniform policy is liberal enough to include several options for families. All PRM Spirit Wear is considered part of the school uniform.

While we don't like to take time away from instruction to deal with uniforms. We must all be consistent to ensure this doesn't become a major issue during the school year.

Please see the policy below and in the PRM Student Handbook.

Cincinnati Public Schools:

513-363-0123

Cincinnati Children's Hospital PIRC intake line:

513-636-4124

Suspected Child Abuse or Neglect:

513-241-KIDS

Suicide Prevention Hotline:

1-800-273-TALK (8255)

Crisis Textline:

Text 4HOPE to 741741

Disaster Distress Helpline:

1-800-985-5990

Domestic Violence Hotline via Women Helping Women:

513-381-5610

Our Character Program centers around:

Respect, Ownership, Compassion, Kindness and Safety, Safety, Safety!

Below are the three school-wide expectations that we expect students to follow throughout all parts of our learning community. Please support us by reinforcing these at home.

• Be Respectful
• Be Responsible
• Be a Problem Solver

Email: simpsoa@cpsboe.k12.oh.us
Website: www.prmrocks.org
Location: 5945 Montgomery Road
Phone: 513-363-4400