From the Principal’s Desk
Mr. Kevin Dick
I will take little break from my previous article content about the 7 Mindsets we have been teaching in classrooms, and how they relate to qualities that all parents want their children to exhibit to be successful in school. I plan to pick that topic up again next month, as we get deeper into our 7 Mindset curriculum and lessons. I want to take this opportunity to announce several changes at Pettigrew that have recently come about and will be in effect as soon as this newsletter is published and circulated to parents and our Pettigrew community. This month of November is when we often pause and reflect on the blessings of our lives. We should do that again this year, as well as throughout the year, and I hope that everyone at Pettigrew can count this Pettigrew community and families that make up this community as one of their true blessings in life. We truly are blessed by our Pettigrew community and the support that we can provide each other. That support can be from school to families, from families to school, and from family to family.
A case in point is our successful fundraising efforts we have just recently concluded. We set a goal of raising $30,000 for classrooms and library learning areas, and the community responded by exceeding that goal by about $10,000. That was a huge success, there were some neat lessons and programs that were engaged in along the way, a fun event was held as a culminating activity, and the extra funds provided will really add up to extra learning opportunities for our students in the classroom and the library. Thank you for your support, and we want you know that we work hard, every day, to support the learning of our students we share, as we focus on our mission, “to educate and prepare each student to succeed in a changing world by emphasizing growth in social skills, emotional well-being, and academic progress.”
Parents/Guardians Allowed to Eat Lunch at Pettigrew:
Our Child Nutrition program has accomplished some great tasks, and now is ready to host parents/guardians at student lunch sessions. We have trained all students on Offer vs. Serve, the district standard of all school lunch programs. We have gotten our new lunch card procedures moving smoothly, and we are now serving from 2 lines, as opposed to earlier sessions of one line.
The procedures we will expect parents/guardians to follow, if they choose to come to the MPR and eat lunch with their students are as follows: (reminder, parents/guardians have always been able to check students out and have a meal at a restaurant, and return before the end of recess time without any loss of learning time.)
• Parents/Guardians must sit with their child (children have designated spots to sit in the cafeteria, there is a seat on either side of the student, and one across, too).
• Younger siblings of elementary students may not attend lunch (our cafeteria and playground are busy, and supervising another youngster could prove challenging)
• Parents/Guardians must inform the classroom teacher they are coming to lunch, and order a school meal, if they wish to eat lunch during the visit. Adult meals must be ordered at the school office or with the teacher no later than 8:30 am.
• Parents/Guardians may either eat school lunch or choose not to eat. Parents/Guardians will not be allowed to bring food into the cafeteria.
• Parents/Guardians may pay for their school lunch with cash or charge it to their student’s lunch account, if there is money deposited in the account. We have no change at school, so if extra cash is brought to school, it can be deposited in the student lunch account.
• Parents/Guardians must check in at the office, present a government issued photo ID and receive a visitor sticker. Your ID will be retained and will be given back to you when you check out through the office.
• Parents/Guardians may visit the cafeteria and accompany their student to recess on the playground. Classroom visits are only coordinated through the principal’s office. A parent may also discuss volunteering experiences with the teacher.
By following these few simple rules, students will be able to be safe and our school and district Child Nutrition expectations will be able to be met. Let us know if you are interested in joining us.
Change in Communication and Documentation Procedures of the “Low Level Discipline Plan”
What is NOT changing:
• Expectations of students following our school rules
• Communication from school staff to parents/guardians, when an incident is dealt with by staff
• Logical consequences will be administered by staff as appropriate for the student and situation
What IS CHANGING:
• Minor Offense Tickets (MOTs) will not be used for a means of communication. Rather, we will communicate with email, phone or in person.
• Students will not be receiving MOTs
• Student incidents will be documented and reported to school leaders and entered in our data collections system as either a “Major” or a “Minor”.
• Major issues will be dealt with following the district’s Discipline Matrix and may result in an Office Referral. These are entered into a student’s permanent school record.
Why the change?
Our district is embarking on a district-wide effort and initiative, engaged in at Pettigrew and throughout the district, called a Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS), where the school works to clearly define the first tier of curriculum or services that all students receive, and then if additional curriculum or services are needed for an individual student or group of students, the school works to provide those additional tiers of support.
Part of the MTSS process is also looking at Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS), which is the MTSS manifestation of social and emotional learning in school, which also encompasses behavior. PBIS has a system of recording and tracking behavior data in school, that allows the school to study this data and any trends it reveals, and then respond to this data. The way the BPIS tracking system works is to break down behavior data into Majors or Minors, and then track them as a school-wide process. This is an improvement to our previous “low-level behavior system” of MOTs, as this MOT data was not consistently recorded and tracked in our previous process. Now, we will be using technology and clear-cut expectations to respond to and track these low-level expectations. This really a refinement of our previous process, and again, the focus is on students being taught about and making good choices, being rewarded for making good choices, and providing interventions if choices are not up to our expectations. All along this path, we have always intended to communicate with the family about these choices, logical consequences, and how we can work together for all students to be successful in all areas of life, academically, socially, emotionally, and behaviorally.
Building Up or Tearing Down
By Dr. Jane Stavem, Superintendent
Raising children is difficult. Working with children can be difficult. But parenting and working with children can also be the most rewarding and meaningful things we can do.
When we care for our babies, we focus on their basic needs, and our entire lives are consumed with feeding and sleeping schedules. I often looked back and wondered why it was so hard to get something done when my children were babies when all they did was sit in one place and smile at me!
When we reach the toddler stage, we deal with busy hands and feet that require constant monitoring to keep children safe from power outlets, falling objects, and eating dog food. Well, maybe the dog food was just at my house! There are tantrums in the toy aisle, bargaining over candy in the grocery store checkout lanes, and the continual need for reteaching and redirection as we train children about what is right and wrong.
Finally, children are ready for school, and the focus shifts to helping them learn, dealing with friendships and social settings, and learning accountability and responsibility through activities and new challenges.
At last, independence arrives, and worries shift to safe driving, safe choices, and hoping they don’t head down a path that leads to failure or hinders their adult trajectory.
My youngest child graduated, and I felt this overwhelming relief. We had run the gauntlet and come out on the other side. Now I had to worry about my children from a distance. I would no longer be able to monitor their daily life, and it was time for them to be responsible for their adult choices.
When I think about the community of Sioux Falls and the Sioux Falls School District, I am continually amazed and reminded of so many things that have been put in place to support children and families through the journey of parenting and school. From essential resources to awesome activities, we live in this fantastic place where the focus is on helping families thrive.
As we look to the future, there are new challenges and opportunities, and for me, there is a clear line for determining what should become part of our Sioux Falls life.
• Does it build kids and families up or tear them down?
• Does it make it easier to be a child in Sioux Falls, or does it make it more difficult?
• Does it help families thrive or create new avenues for challenges?
Every day, thousands of people come to work in Sioux Falls to make a difference in a child's life. It has never been easy work, and it never will be. Let’s make sure we’re doing everything possible to increase those things that make parenting and working with children better and reduce and eliminate obstacles to that goal whenever possible.
Our children depend on us for a bright future!
R.F. Pettigrew PTO
Email: rfp.president@yahoo.com
Website: rfpettigrew.org/pto
Location: 7900 West 53rd Street, Sioux Falls, SD, USA
Phone: 6053623564
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/RFPettigrewPTO/?ref=share