Robert Down Principal's Update

Dear Robert H. Down School Community,

I hope each of you were able to spend a bit of extra time together as families over the break! My family had planned to spend a few days skiing/snowboarding in Truckee, but we never made it to our planned destination due to the storms. Nevertheless, we were safe and did get to enjoy some extra time together, particularly in the car!

Pink Shirt Day

It was lovely to see so many students participate in Pink Shirt Day yesterday to stand against bullying and stand for kindness!

Ramadan

Special thanks to parent, Dinara Uissinbayeva, who provided a lovely cultural presentation to our 3rd-5th grade students on Ramadan on Wednesday, February 23! Students learned about some traditions, brainstormed about what they would eat for their meal before sunrise and after sunset, as well as shared about their own favorite traditions in their own homes.

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.

Book Fair

Thanks to PTA and the coordination from PTA parent volunteer, Adeline Finley, we have had a very successful Scholastic Book Fair this week. The hours are 7:30AM-8:40AM, 12:00PM-1:00PM, and 2:00PM-5:30PM and the last day will be Friday, February 27. Thank you for all your support!

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. There is a discount for tickets purchased before March 1. See below for flyer and link to sign up!

Conference Week Next Week

Please remember that next week is conference week! TK and Kindergarten students are dismissed at 12:15 all week next week (March 2-6), while 1st through 5th grade students have a regular schedule on Monday and Tuesday (March 2-3) and have a minimum day (dismissal at 12:15) Wednesday through Friday (March 4-6).

🛑 Safety: A Community Effort

Morning Supervision

8:30 AM: Campus gates open and official supervision begins

8:40 AM: The warning bell rings

8:45 AM: The final bell rings and formal instruction begins.

If your child needs to be dropped off earlier than 8:30 AM, they must be enrolled in the Monarch Club to ensure they are in a supervised environment. Please do not have your child arrive prior to that time unless they are enrolled in Monarch Club.

I’d like to take a moment to extend a big 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 in the coming weeks until we secure a hired Crossing Guard.

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

March - Disability Awareness Month

March 2-3 - Purim

March 2-6 - TK and K Conference Days (Minimum Days)

March 3-4 - Holi

March 4-6 - 1st-5th Grade Conference Days (Minimum Days)

March 4 -National Maintenance Worker Day

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

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

📣 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

• 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, Women’s History Month, Purim, and Holi. If you would like to create a bulletin board or give a presentation, please email me at ebrownfield@pgusd.org.

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