Pacific Intermediate Newsletter

Subject: 🎉 Pie, Books, & Spring Break on the Horizon at Pacific Intermediate! 🎉

Hello Pacific Intermediate Families,

We've officially crossed the two-thirds point of the school year! The third trimester is upon us, and the finish line is in sight. Over the next few weeks, I'll be diving into student grades, and you can expect to hear from me regarding summer school requirements or retention information, if applicable.

Speaking of summer school, registration for 2025 is officially open! Future 5th and 6th graders will be at Pacific Intermediate, while our rising 7th graders will head to Riverbend. All credit recovery summer school students will be at Riverbend, but everyone needs to register, regardless of location. Don't miss out!

Spring Picture Day is Coming! Mark your calendars—Spring Picture Day is March 12th. Be on the lookout for more details coming soon. Don't miss this chance to capture a great school memory.

Get ready for some delicious fun! Our annual Pie at PI night is coming up on March 13th from 2:50-4:15 PM. Come enjoy a slice of pie, browse the book fair, and connect with our school community. It's a fantastic opportunity to support our library and stock up on some great reads. Questions about Pie at PI? Reach out to Mrs. Meyers at bmeyers@mvr3.k12.mo.us.

Mark your calendars! Spring break is just around the corner, from March 17th-21st. School offices will be closed until we return on March 24th. We encourage students to recharge their batteries, catch up on any missing assignments, and enjoy the beautiful spring weather.

Want to see how we're doing as a school? Check out our updated school dashboard: https://www.mvr3.k12.mo.us/o/pi/page/building-goals

Looking forward to a strong finish to the school year!

Sincerely,

Matt Agee

Pacific Intermediate Principal

The following is a medication guideline for parents’ information. This guideline reflects

our district medication policy (JHCD), and administrative procedure relating to

administration of medications to students (JHCD – AP1), both of which can be found on

the district website.

1. All medications must be delivered to the school by a parent, guardian or

responsible adult. Students are not to bring medications to school.

Medication brought to school by a student will be confiscated until it can be

returned directly to the parent/guardian.

2. All medication brought to school needs to be in a properly labeled container from

the pharmacy or in the manufacturer’s original packaging.

3. Prescription medication requires a pharmacy label or written order from a

physician, as well as parent written permission.

4. Over-the-counter medication requires parent written permission, and will only be

administered in accordance with the manufacturer’s label.

5. Permission forms for the administration of medications are only good for the

current school year, including the summer term, and must be renewed and

updated each year.

6. Only current prescriptions will be given. Long-term medication must have a new

prescription bottle each month. We will not administer any medication past its

marked expiration date.

7. Except for the medications that are only used in an emergency situation, the

district will not knowingly administer single-dose medications or the first dose of

any medication.

8. The district will permit older students with certain chronic health conditions to

possess and self-administer medications as required by law, so long as they

meet the requirements set forth in the Missouri Safe Schools Act (Chapter

167/Section 167.627). Please see your child’s school nurse for these

requirements. Permission to possess and self-administer medications may be

revisited if there is evidence that the student is not handling or administering the

medication appropriately or that the student’s actions may be harming his or her

own health or the health and safety of other persons.

Mrs. Jackson~ Math & Science

Mrs. Menley~Language Arts, Reading & History

Mrs. Alcorn~Math

Ms. DiBlasi~History & Science

Mrs. Tandy~Language Arts & Reading

Mr. Crabtree~Math

Mr. Gilcrease~Language Arts & Reading

Mr. Wengler~History & Science

Dear Parents,

We are continuing our work with fractions and mixed numbers, focusing on multiplication and division. A strong understanding of multiplication facts is essential for success in this unit, so please take some time to review these with your child at home.

After fractions, we will transition to all four operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division) using decimal numbers. This will build on the skills we are currently developing and prepare students for more advanced math concepts.

Homework is very important during this time, as it provides additional practice and reinforces what we are learning in class. Please encourage your child to complete their assignments daily.

Thank you for your support!

We are starting Unit 3: Poetry and will likely be working on this through poetry month, which is April. Students will be reading and analyzing different types of poetry. While learning about figurative language and poetry terminology, students will also be writing their own poems. Students will also be learning how to format titles with italics or quotation marks and when to use an apostrophe to show ownership. This last trimester will be packed with learning!

Science: Fifth grade astronomers will be learning about the solar system during our last Mystery Science unit, "Stars and Planets". They will investigate how bright the Sun appears from each planet in our solar system in addition to stars of other solar systems in galaxies far away. They will also investigate gravity on Earth and gravity on other planets to discover patterns of this incredible force.

History: Students will wrap up our unit on World War I with a project. We will then move on to a mini-unit about the Great Depression.

Mrs. Boling~English

Mr. Effan~Social Studies

Ms. Griffin~Science

Mrs. Voss~Math

Ms. Stumborg~English

Mr. Slaughter~Social Studies

Mrs. Todahl~Science

Mrs. Weil~ Math

Mr. McMahon and Mrs. Meyers

Ms. Shearin

6th Grade English: Mrs. Boling & Mrs. Stumborg

Students in English are wrapping up their argumentative writing unit. Next, we are beginning our unit on research. Students will complete research in books and online. We will focus on choosing good sources, creating research questions, and choosing the best way to showcase the information students find.

6th Grade Math: Mrs. Voss & Mrs. Weil

Regular math classes are starting a Geometry chapter. We will be finding the area of polygons and volume of rectangular prisms. The advanced math classes have started in the 7th-grade book and will be adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing positive and negative numbers. They will finish the year with the first 5 chapters of the 7th-grade book

6th Grade Reading: Mrs. Meyers & Mr. McMahon

In reading, we have started our second novel of the year, The Unwanteds. This will be a six-week unit. We will focus on vocabulary, comprehension, and figurative language. The book focuses on a dystopian society where all creativity is stifled. The characters fight for their individuality over an oppressive government.

6th Grade Science: Mrs. Todahl & Ms. Griffin

We just finished our Human Impact on the Environment unit, where students learned how human activities affect land, water, air, and climate. Now, we’re starting The Changing Earth! Students will explore rock and fossil records, moving continents, geological theories, and how Earth’s surface changes over time. We’re excited about the hands-on activities and discussions ahead!

6th Grade Social Studies: Mr. Effan & Mr. Slaughter

Social Studies will discover classical Greek and Roman Civilizations over the next two months. The knowledge and politics of Greece and Rome directly impact how our democracy works in the United States. Students will understand the connection between classical civilizations' history and our own society's history.

6th Grade Odyssey: Ms. Shearin

Students will begin their planetary science unit. They will create a planet within 1000 Astronomical Units (AU) from Earth. In this unit they will design their planet, lifeforms and the creation and history of their planet. All aspects will be designed by the students using a variety of different platforms.

It's Book Fair time! And the #1 rule... your child will have fun!

Pacific Intermediate’s Spring Book fair will be held March 10th to March 14th!

We're turning up the volume on this year's Fair with more books, more choices, and more fun than ever before. And, you can join the fun too at PI Night on March 13th!!

Don't forget to set up your student's eWallet account for cashless, stress-less shopping. Friends and family can even contribute funds! Set one up here: https://www.scholastic.com/bf/pacificintermediate1 #ScholasticBookFairs

Hello Families!

As we celebrated the end of Trimester 2 on Thursday, February 27th, we would like to congratulate the students with good grades. Your parents and PI are proud of you. To students struggling with grades, do not give up. Success can happen through effort and change.

Over the past couple of months we have been in registration mode for next year. 5th graders were able to learn all about 6th grade. We highlighted expectations, similarities as well as differences from grade to grade. 6th graders learned about Riverbend, 7th grade electives and selected which electives they were most interested in.

Last month 6th grade students learned about personal responsibility, time management and perseverance. Students reviewed the skills of goal setting, short and long-term, writing smart goals, and creating plans to help students monitor their goals. We discussed the value of time and the importance of using their time wisely to reach their goals. Students created a current time usage chart and a more efficient daily time chart. These included reducing time wasters and replacing time with something more beneficial to reaching goals or dreams. Our 5th grade students last month learned about perseverance and resiliency. Learning new concepts can feel frustrating at times and it is important to remember that it is not always a quick process to learn something new. Our mindsets play a huge role in learning and our willingness to grow. 5th graders completed an escape room during one lesson that included various challenges that required a lot of perseverance.

This month we are excited to have guest speakers presenting character guidance for both our 5th graders and 6th graders. For 5th grade, the Compass Health Network will be facilitating a two-day program on March 4th and March 11th called "Violence Prevention." In the program, students will learn bullying and self-esteem skills that are age appropriate.

6th graders will be given the opportunity to participate in a 5-day program called "Changes and Choices" which will help students improve communication and learn coping skills for conflict resolution, dealing with loss, anger management, and addiction abuse prevention. The presenters will be here March 24th - March 26th and finishing April 3rd -April 4th.

Both of these programs are recommended for all students, but are voluntary programs. Parents can decide to have their student attend or not. Non permission slips, (opt-out forms), have already been sent home with your child. These forms should only have been signed and returned if you DO NOT WANT your child participating. Please note, this program takes the place of one of their regular classes.They will not be missing any scheduled classes or work. If you have any questions or concerns about the program(s) please contact your child's school counselor listed below.

Don't forget that all families are invited to "Family Resource Night" at Riverbend, Thursday, March 6th from 5:30-7:30pm for valuable information and family fun.

Have a great spring break. Enjoy spending time with your family and friends!

Ms. Jeanne Diamond

6th Grade Counselor

636-271-1425 x 3504

jdiamond@mvr3.k12.mo.us

Ms. Ally Speicher

5th Grade Counselor

636-271-1425 x 3509

aspeicher@mvr3.k12.mo.us

Pacific Intermediate

195 N Indian Pride Dr.

Pacific, MO 63069

www.mvr3.k12.mo.us

Phone: 636-271-1425

Fax: 636-271-1465