Robert Down Principal's Update

Dear Robert H. Down School Community,

Happy New Year! I hope each of you had a chance to connect with family and loved ones during this past break, whether you were celebrating holidays, travelling, and/or enjoying time at home.

Thank you all so much for the holiday well wishes, notes, and gifts. I am so grateful for such a thoughtful school community.

Those of you who lost power over the break, I hope your families were able to remain safe.

Yesterday, I enjoyed hosting Lunch with the Principal with a group of Kindergarteners who shared with me the various antics of their Elves, what they loved most about the break, as well as how many teeth they have lost (which ranged from 0-2)!

This time of year always brings a few good-byes as well as welcomes as families transition in and out of our school. We wish the families who have left us our best wishes and welcome new families with open arms hoping they will enjoy their time here with us at Robert Down.

📣 Important School News

• Reminder: Smart Watches and devices are not to be used at school other than as a watch.

Electronic Devices/Cell Phone Policy and Regulation

• Per Board Regulation §5131.8, except with prior consent for health reasons, electronic signaling or imaging devices must be turned off and put away throughout the school day in a student’s backpack. These include, but are not limited to, cell phones, gaming devices, smart watches with the ability to audio or video record. Students may not carry excluded electronic devices with them on campus during the school day without expressed permission from the principal. Devices are not to be used during the school day for phone calls. PLEASE DO NOT CALL OR TEXT YOUR STUDENT DURING THE SCHOOL DAY. Call the office and we will quickly contact your student. Phones are located in each classroom that students may request to use. On those days when a particular lesson or project would be enhanced with such devices, the teacher will notify the parents and students that they are allowed to bring their device to school. These devices will be collected and stored by the teacher on that day. Activity trackers have been approved by the district to be used; these are devices that do not have the ability to call/text nor provide camera/video options such as Fitbits, Garmins, etc.

• Any time a student found to be using a cell phone or other electronic device, or with the item on or out during the school day, will receive a disciplinary intervention.
• First offense, the student will be issued a warning, and may reclaim the item no sooner than the end of the school day from the teacher and a parent will be contacted
• Second offense, the student will be issued a referral and the parent must pick up the item from the Principal.
• Third offense, the student will be issued a referral, a parent conference will take place with the Principal, and the student will lose the privilege of having the cell phone/device on campus for the remainder of that quarter. Phone storage agreements will be made at the parent conference.

• Personal Items: Please keep toys and items of sentimental value at home to prevent loss or damage.

• 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.

🛠️ Facilities & "Culture of We"

• Facilities Update: A huge thank you to parent Chuck Brinker for representing us on the District Facilities Committee. View the proposed project list for Robert Down here. Our next District Facilities Committee mtg is on Tuesday, January 13 at 5PM at the District Office.

• Technology Committee: We will be meeting TODAY at 3:30PM in the Library. Topics to include our District Draft Ed Tech Plan, current Scope and Sequence of K-5 Educational Technology Program, and discussion.

• Absence Requests: All justifiable absences are now processed as Independent Study. Please submit forms to the office at least two weeks in advance.

📅 Upcoming Events & Dates

• Thursday (January 8): Technology Committee at 3:30 PM

• January 12-23: Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) Testing Window K-5

• Thursday (January 15): Picture Retake Day

• Monday (January 19): Martin Luther King, Jr. Day- NO SCHOOL

• Tuesday (January 20): 100th Day of School

• Tuesday (January 20): School Site Council at 3:30 PM- Note: NEW DATE

• Friday (January 23): Save the Date! Paint Party for Kids & Adults | 6:00 PM

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Looking forward to the second half of the 2025-2026 school year!

With joy,

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