PRM School Rocker

Greetings PRM Families,

We are excited to demonstrate the love of our community as we celebrate the valuable contributions of African Americans this month! Throughout the month, there will be various opportunities to acknowledge the importance of African Americans in our history and everyday lives. We encourage you to participate and show your support.

This week was the midterm of the third quarter. Our staff and students continue to work diligently toward academic success. Our PRM team is unwaveringly committed and passionate about the success of our school community. We are dedicated to providing our students with the highest-quality instructional experience, and we will continue to explore new ways to achieve this.

We look forward to sharing progress updates in the Wednesday folders, the blue plastic folders provided for every student, on February 12th. This is a great way for you to stay informed about your child's academic progress.

As we seek to increase the academic outcomes for our students, we are reviewing the iReady diagnostic results from the winter. The growth report shows the projected proficiency of students. Using this information, we have implemented the WIN intervention block to provide skill-based support to students to strengthen their knowledge and understanding. We want every student to be able to demonstrate their understanding of the learning standards. PRM is an amazing school. We want our assessment outcomes to reflect that. Please look for teacher communication about intervention blocks, tutoring, and test preparation.

Thank you for your partnership as we continue to grow our students. Your support is invaluable and plays a crucial role in our students' success. May you have a safe and healthy February!

Love,

Principal Simpson & Asst. Principals Brown and Gray

Email: simpsoa@cpsboe.k12.oh.us

7:40am-2:10pm

Event updates throughout the month will be available on www.prmrocks.org/calendar

*You can also subscribe to the calendar on your device- find the green “subscribe” button on the top right side of the calendar page.

All February – African American History Month

Monday, February 3 – ILT Meeting @ 2:45pm at PRM

Wednesday-Friday, February 5-7 – Candy Grams for Sale ($2 each)

Monday, February 10 – No School – Staff Conference Day

Wednesday, February 12– LSDMC Meeting @ 3:00pm (virtual)

Wednesday, February 12 – PTO/Equity Group Meeting @ 6:30pm at PRM (in the library)

Monday, February 17 – No School – Presidents’ Day

Wednesday, February 19 – Foundation Meeting from 6:30-7:30pm at CHH

Tuesday, February 18 – African American Biography Writing Contest Deadline

Thursday, February 20 – Parent Teacher Conferences from 3:00-6:00pm at PRM

Friday, February 21 – “Souper” Staff Appreciation Meal 10:00-1:00pm

Monday-Friday, February 24-28 – Kindness Week

Monday, March 3 – No School – Staff Professional Development Day

Friday & Saturday, March 7-8 – PRM Musical, Alice in Wonderland Jr.

Wednesday, March 12– LSDMC Meeting @ 3:00pm

Wednesday, March 12 – PTO/Equity Group Meeting @ 6:30pm at PRM (in the library)

Thursday-Wednesday, March 13-19 – Annual PRM Read-a-thon

Parents may submit a concern to the CPS Customer Care Department using this form.

We would like to remind you of our policy around law enforcement on our school campuses as it relates to recent conversations with immigration:

· CPS schools will respond to any ICE officer requesting information or access to a CPS school as the school would treat any other visitor and law enforcement activity at schools. Without a warrant, ICE officers do not have any special authorization to access CPS schools.

· If the ICE officer presents credentials or documentation, including a subpoena or search warrant, it will be forwarded to the Office of General Counsel.

· Requests for student information are subject to state and federal student privacy laws.

· Requests to interview any CPS student may only be conducted pursuant to CPS Board Policy 5540. In any student interview, the student's parents must be contacted by the school first, if the parent is unavailable, an adult from the school must remain in the room for the interview.

For more information, please go to our website: https://www.cps-k12.org/

We had our snow, so we are good to go. Kindergarteners will continue with the WIN block (What I Need) intervention 4 days a week from 12-12:30. Third quarter is underway. Remember, if your child wears boots to school, send in sneakers, too, especially on the days they have gym. Please send your student with a coat, hat, and gloves (if you have them) as we continue to go outside for early recess if the temperature allows. There is no school on Monday, February 10 (Conference compensation day) and Monday, February 17 (President's Day). There will be various activities/events for African American History Month, so watch blue folders and teacher communication for that information. Conferences will be held on Thursday, February 20th, from 3-6pm. Watch for sign-ups from your student's teacher. Kindergarteners will go to the Cincinnati Museum Center on Thursday, February 27th. It is a busy, short month!

Welcome back, PRM! The 6-9 Community is very excited to be back in the building with all our students and other staff. There are still some chilly days ahead, so please ensure your child is dressed appropriately for their early drop-off and dismissal plan. While most of our recess time is indoors, we want to ensure that students are warm and comfortable when they need to be outside.

In January, students finished their middle-of-the-year testing by completing iReady reading and iReady math! That data can be shared with you anytime, but most teachers will share it during conferences on February 20th. Conference sign-ups will start February 6th, so keep your eyes out for those. Students have started their WIN (What I Need) lessons! This transition is new, but the 6-9 team will communicate and problem-solve any concerns.

The 6-9 teachers will continue with our academic lessons and community building here. At the same time, we ask you at home to continue to be our partners on this educational journey!

We are excited to be back and to get back into our routines! Our 9-12 students will be starting the new semester strong in the hopes that we will make even more growth this second half of the year. We are excited to begin our WIN (What I Need) block so that students can focus on the skills they need and get the opportunity to work with teachers and students outside their homeroom community. It is an especially exciting time for our sixth graders as they join in boat making and our Camp Kern kick-off. As a reminder, all students should prepare themselves as best as possible for a successful day at school by getting a good night's rest. Also, be sure to send students appropriate outerwear for this cold weather; if your family needs any assistance obtaining winter clothing, please contact your child's homeroom teacher.

Spring Musical- Save the date for Alice in Wonderland Jr. performances on March 7th & 8th.

Hello PRM families,

If you have a child interested in additional art classes, the University of Cincinnati has an upcoming Saturday art program. Please see the attached flyer for more information about the program and the potential for a scholarship.

If you have a child who is putting together a portfolio for consideration for gifted identification in Visual Art or for admission to The School of Creative and Performing Arts, please reach out with any questions you may have. I am available during conferences to discuss these processes in person with you and your child; my classroom is 3403 in the new wing. Now is a great time to start putting together a portfolio for students interested in these opportunities for next year.

As we return to school, 9-12 students are continuing their coil pot projects inspired by the artist Roberto Lugo. Over the next few weeks, they will conclude the construction process by adding their designs and firing their work.

Students in grades 6- 9 will learn about cubism and Pablo Picasso. They will consider why artists in different cultures and time periods create portraits, discuss why someone might choose to create a more abstract version of a portrait rather than make a work look realistic, and play with different shapes and colors to create a collage portrait.

Kindergarten students will read Jeanette Winter's Henri's Scissors. They will then consider how artists can find inspiration for their artwork in their environments. Students will then work on using different types of lines to create geometric and organic shapes and practice their cutting skills. Finally, they will create a colorful collage using organic shapes found in their environment.

Coming soon!

In case you missed it, here is the link to my January Enrichment newsletter which includes pictures from the classroom Spelling Bees, an update on how the new WIN schedule will impact my enrichment pullout groups, Brain Bowl, gifted testing information, and plenty of photos from December: https://secure.smore.com/n/kzqdc

My February newsletter will be out next week. It will include updates on our school Spelling Bee champion and Brain Bowl and a few new pictures. If you do not receive my monthly newsletters and would like to receive them, please email me at bonfiej@cpsboe.k12.oh.us, and I will add you to my mailing list.

9-12 keeps plugging along on their journey through the genres of literature. We've been focused on poetry for the first part of this quarter, with students writing their own free-verse poems and haikus. We are currently wrapping things up by comparing poems vs. music lyrics. Understanding the nuances in how words are spoken, sung, and emphasized. Next, we journey into the unknown with MYSTERY!

Students in grades 6-9 have been learning a lot about idioms. In addition to learning the idioms, they are learning how to recognize them and understand their meaning.

K is stepping it up a notch. We are buckled down and focused on our reading skills. We are doing more read-aloud in class, with the students repeating sentences after the teacher and answering comprehension, critical, and creative thinking questions. We are also incorporating spelling and handwriting!

In January, 6-9 teachers could sign their classes up for a lesson on a new invasive species, the spotted lantern fly. Students learned how this bug can be deadly to trees and why we should squish it when we see it. Learn more about the fight against the spotted lantern fly on the Ohio Department of Agriculture's website. (https://agri.ohio.gov/divisions/plant-health/invasive-pests/invasive-insects/slf)

This month, Kindergarteners and 6-9 classes are learning about seeds and the plant life cycle. Students will be planting seed starts for the garden. They will transplant the seeds to the garden when we start planting in the spring.

We are looking forward to teaching outside again starting the week of March 3rd.

New champions are needed in the new year! If you are interested in a specific event happening in 2025, please consider being the champion or co-champion of the event. As the champion, you can choose the date and will be asked to coordinate most logistics. PTO/Foundation leadership will help support you with logistics and finances, but we aren’t able to plan and organize all the usual events. If you have an idea for an event or want to champion an annual favorite, such as the Spring Dance or daily Staff Appreciation Week gestures, please reach out to prmpto@gmail.com – for these to occur, they will need new champions.

Lastly, if one of your New Year’s resolutions is to stay connected, you are in luck… subscribe now to receive emails from the PRM Rocks Website - https://prmrocks.org/emailupdates/

The next PTO and Equity Group meeting will be in the library on Wednesday, February 12th. It’s going to be a very informative meeting – invite a friend! From 6:30pm-7:00pm, we will have our PTO Reports from the principal, Ms. Simpson, as well as ILT, LSDMC, Foundation and Boosters. Then at 7:00pm, we will have a presentation from PRM Reading Specialist Ms. Sarah Kleymeyer, covering “What is the Science of Reading?” and “How our brains learn to read,” plus how parents can utilize this to best support learning at home. She will include hands-on, real-world strategies for parents of all learners, including those with learning disabilities and dyslexia and advanced readers. This will be a very informative evening with helpful resources – we hope to see you there.

Please enter through the back parking lot doors. Childcare, snacks, and drinks are provided. If you have questions, please email prmpto@gmail.com. Following the meeting, you may join us for continued socializing at Nine Giant’s Fermentorium on Ridge.

A huge THANK YOU to everyone who made the 2025 Silent Auction fundraiser a success. We raised over $14,000 for classroom materials, teacher/staff support, and school initiatives! We could not have done it without the generous community donations, parent and teacher contributions, volunteers, bidders, Nine Giant Fermentorium, and our incredible sponsor, Johnson Investment Counsel.

Look for other exciting fundraisers, including Candy Grams, the annual PRM Read-a-thon, and PR Margs!

Want to participate in our fundraising efforts? Join us at the next monthly Foundation meeting, which will be held on Wednesday, February 19th, at 6:30 p.m. at Community Happens Here. All are welcome!

Basketball teams will continue regular season games in February. At the conclusion of the season, all teams will participate in a postseason tournament in early March. Spring sports registration is now available through midnight on February 9th (except for Little Roadrunners, which will continue through March). You can find the registration links at www.prmrocks.org/athletics. If a team is sold out, please email prmathletics@gmail.com to get added to the waitlist. Boosters can form more teams if we have enough interest and volunteers willing to coach. Stay tuned for more information on our Spring Volleyball Clinic.

The Instructional Leadership Team meets on most first and third Mondays of each month at 2:45pm at PRM. Updates from the last meeting include: Kindness week will be February 24th-28th. A flyer is now available on the PRM Rocks Calendar. Students will be allowed to be out of uniform when dressed to follow the day's theme. ILT is preparing to update PRM's One Plan for next year's goals. Student placement for the next school year will begin anonymously in April. Also, we want to take a moment to highlight the school’s supported policies on immigration status. Be kind to yourself and each other!

The Local School Decision-Making Committee will meet on Wednesday, February 12th, at 3:00 p.m. All interested stakeholders are welcome to attend; this meeting will be virtual. You can join using the Google Meet link.

Start your scouting adventure with Cub Scouts! Pack 25 has exciting plans for this spring, including our Pinewood Derby, rocket launch, fire station tour, and spring campout.

We meet on the first and third Thursdays of the month at or around PRM. For more information, contact us at cubpack25prm@gmail.com!

PRM community, The CLC Center is here to provide various services you may need. Contact our Resource Coordinator- Ms. Monique Crosby, at johnmon@cpsboe.k12.oh.us. **Mrs. Crosby is on maternity leave until March 2025**

• Help is Available for you! -If you need assistance with food, housing, health care, utilities, jobs, childcare, or other expenses or needs, feel free to contact Ms. Allison Quinter, the School Social Worker, or Ms. Danyelle Burton, the School Nurse.

• Looking for something to do- Check out Michaels. They have free in-store and online classes for the entire family. Click on the link and see what you can get into. Link: https://www.michaels.com/classes
• Skating + Bumper Cars are Now Open-November 1-February 22- Click the link to reserve your skating time. Ice Rink Link: https://myfountainsquare.com/ice-rink/

• Pleasant Ridge Community Council Meetings- This takes place every 1st Tuesday of the month at 7pm at the CRC Building on Ridge Ave.

Please keep the electronic link to the Code of Conduct handy for your records. There will not be paper copies printed this school year.

We must be consistent in acknowledging and enforcing our school uniform policy. Our uniform policy is liberal enough to include several options for families. All PRM Spirit Wear is considered part of the school uniform.

While we don't like to take time away from instruction to deal with uniforms. We must all be consistent to ensure this doesn't become a major issue as we close out the school year.

Please see the policy below and in the PRM Student Handbook.

Cincinnati Public Schools:

513-363-0123

Child Mental Health Crisis

Cincinnati Children's Hospital PIRC intake line:

513-636-4124

Suspected Child Abuse or Neglect:

513-241-KIDS

Suicide Prevention Hotline:

1-800-273-TALK (8255)

Crisis Textline:

Text 4HOPE to 741741

Disaster Distress Helpline:

1-800-985-5990

Domestic Violence Hotline via Women Helping Women:

513-381-5610

Our Character Program centers around:

Respect, Ownership, Compassion, Kindness and Safety, Safety, Safety!

Below are the three school-wide expectations that we expect students to follow throughout all parts of our learning community. Please support us by reinforcing these at home.

• Be Respectful
• Be Responsible
• Be a Problem Solver

Email: simpsoa@cpsboe.k12.oh.us
Website: www.prmrocks.org
Location: 5945 Montgomery Road
Phone: 513-363-4400