Pleasant Grove Gazette

Dear Families and Students,

What an exciting start to the school year! We kicked off the event with a visit from KCRA, where they highlighted our welcome back celebration for our Tigers. We had a PBIS kickoff, where staff members reviewed the schoolwide expectations with our students and stamped their "Passport" so that our families could see their learning.

Our PTA had its first meeting, where they set the budget for the year and announced their new PTA website. I hope you've had a chance to check out the hard work they've done to support their communication with all families! We are looking forward to their first big event, the Sock Hop, on Thursday, September 24.

The staff has been learning about our students and supporting each other in developing strong Tier 1 instruction for all students. In a recent release day, staff went over student needs with specialists from areas including academics/curriculum, social emotional learning, and behavioral support. While our staff has plenty of support, their best partner in your child's education is you! Reach out to your child's teacher if you have any needs or questions.

Our new traffic cones are here! We refreshed the cones placed on the street and in the parking lot. Drop off and pick off have been flowing more smoothly, but we need your help! We only have one volunteer to be a crossing guard (not enough to start a program) so the safest way to drop off or pick up is to park in the parking lot, or utilize the drop off/pick up loop. Please pull all the way forward in the loop to the furthest tall orange post possible. Remember that ExL opens at 7, and the first pickup window is 3:45, if you want to have your child enjoy some extra enrichment while also reducing the AM/PM traffic! The link to sign up for ExL is available by clicking here.

Families, are you interested in being on the Superintendent's Advisory Committee? They are asking for a representative from each school. Call the office to let us know if you want to be on the committee!

We wish you an educational and adventurous September!

Sincerely,

Tara McCartney

Principal, Pleasant Grove Elementary School

9/1 & 9/2 - Flag Football Tryouts (5th & 6th graders only)

9/3 - Young Rembrandts starting every Thursday (1:55-2:55)

9/7- NO SCHOOL (Labor Day)

9/10 @6pm PTA Meeting @South Slope Wine

9/22 Mandarins Music begins every Tues & Wed (2:45-3:45)

9/24 @5:30-7pm Sock Hop on campus

ParentVUE helps parents/guardians stay informed and connected by providing day-to-day insight into their child’s academic experience. This is the best way to keep your information updated with the school, see your child's transcripts, attendance, and grades, and receive school communication.

Please complete the Educational Benefits section in ParentVUE as soon as possible! It helps in many areas beyond just school meals. This form ensures continued funding to support all students in EGUSD, including protection of class size reduction, buying school euqipment, supporting student mental health, and lowering the cost of transportation.

Join us at our next PTA meeting on Thursday, September 10th @6:00 p.m. at South Slope Winery! This location has plenty of outdoor seating, space for the kids to play, and food. We'll be discussing the upcoming Sock Hop (9/24), Book Faire (9/21-25) and Fall Carnival (10/23). Want to volunteer to help with these upcoming events? We'll have sign-up sheets going out in the Friday bulletins so stay tuned!

What's for dinner?!? The eternal struggle... but struggle no more! Pizza Bell in Sheldon will be hosting a 'Dining for Dollars' night on Wednesday September 16th from 4pm-close! Order from Pizza Bell that evening and a percentage of every purchase will go towards PG. Tell your friends, family, coworkers and anyone who loves Pizza Bell (who doesn't O.o) to mention PG that evening when they order!

This year we are using a new curriculum - Second Step. It is similar to Character Counts, but focuses more on the SEL competencies of self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and decision making. It also supports our ELA Listening and Speaking standards!

Don't forget to vote for the members of School Site Council! The Council will be announced in Friday's parent bulletin.

Click here for the ballot.

Are you the parent of a multilingual student? We would love your participation on our English Learner Advisory Committee! The committee advises and assists the school principal, staff and School Site Council (SSC) as follows:

• The school’s program for English learners
• The school’s needs assessment
• Efforts to make parents aware of the importance of regular school attendance.

Sign up for the English Learner Advisory Committee by clicking here!

In our small community, we don't have a lot of extra space for drop off and pick up! Plan on arriving early if dropping your student off in the morning. Consider:

• Using the early program with ExL (drop off between 7:00 am - 7:50 am)
• Bringing your student to breakfast (7:50 am - 8:05 am)

The gates for 1st - 6th graders open at 8:05 am, and students will get their morning steps in before lining up promptly at 8:15 am.

At pick up, remember to pull all the way forward so we can fit as many cars in the pick up loop as possible. Remind your student(s) to pay attention to the car loop, and move to the yellow line as soon as they see your car. Consider:

• Using the afterschool ExL program (pickup windows are strictly adhered to)
• Bring your patience! The line typically is worst from 2:40 pm - 2:50 pm, but most cars are gone by 2:55 pm.

Please leave soda and energy drinks at home. Water and milk are the best choices to keep students hydrated and ready to learn. We appreciate your support!"

Students will be recognized in the classroom for AR, perfect attendance, and Computer Lab awards starting at the end of September.