The Cheetah Coalition #9

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Dear Atkinson Families,

Thank you to everyone who attended the Harvest Festival last week! It was so nice to see so many families out in the garden on a beautiful sunny day.

I sent out a letter earlier this week about the potential teacher strike. Read the letter HERE. For families of 3rd–5th graders who would like to reserve a Chromebook, please fill out THIS FORM. For families of K–2nd graders, the district already sent a survey asking if you need a device to access optional home learning activities.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Debbie Armendariz

darmenda@pps.net

Atkinson Elementary School Principal

OCTOBER VALUE AWARDS: COMMUNITY BUILDING

Our value for the month of October is Community Building, and we celebrated the students who were nominated by their teachers in person during lunch on Friday, 10/26.

FOOD DRIVE

Thank you for the food donations! If your family is in need of food, please reach out to Darcy Wilde at dwilde@pps.net.

SPIRIT WEEK 10/30 – 11/2

Please see the flyers below for our upcoming Spirit Week, Monday 10/30 – Thursday 11/2.

NOVEMBER CLASSROOM LESSONS

This month’s topic for classroom lessons is Executive Functioning, or skills around learning, planning, goal setting, and task initiation.

NOVEMBER MONTHLY VALUE: KINDNESS

This month we celebrate kindness, in our class, school, and in our community. World Kindness Day is Monday, November 13th. World Kindness Day 2023 is a global observance dedicated to promoting and celebrating acts of kindness. This day serves as a reminder of the positive impact that kindness can have on individuals, communities, and the world at large. Did you know that Kindness increases oxytocin, energy, lifespan, pleasure, and serotonin? And that Kindness decreases pain, stress, anxiety, depression and blood pressure? Read more about the Science of Kindness!

MEDICATION DISPOSAL: NATIONAL PRESCRIPTION DRUG TAKE BACK DAY OCTOBER 28

Search here for places where you can take unused medication. It is important to remove unused/expired medication from your home. Unused or expired medications are a public safety issue, leading to accidental poisoning, overdose, and abuse. Unused drugs that are flushed contaminate the water supply. Proper disposal of medications saves lives and protects the environment. If you do not have a place to dispose of medications, empty the medications from the bottle into a bag or sealable container with something unappealing like coffee grounds or used kitty litter. Then seal the bag/container and dispose in garbage. PPS has available Deterra Bags for families who need a safe way to dispose of medications. If you are interested, please email dwilde@pps.net. Look here for more information about Deterra Bags. There will be bags available at Parent Teacher Conferences.

Due to the potential Teacher Strike, we will be celebrating Dia de los Muertos TODAY (Friday, October 27) at 3 p.m. on the upper playground. Treats will be provided to students after school and we welcome you to stop by the beautiful Ofrenda (altar) that is set up in the front entrance. Thank you to the Amigos volunteers who made this event possible!

Halloween does fall on a school day this year, but we want to remind you it is not a holiday we celebrate at school. Over the years, we have found the costumes and candy associated with Halloween lead to too many disruptions to the learning day. We ask that students not wear costumes to school and that Halloween candy only come to school as a small treat to be eaten after a student's lunch.

We will have a hearing evaluation follow-up at our school on Tuesday, November 14. Students that will be evaluated are Kindergarten and 1st grade students who were absent for or did not pass the first screening on October 6 (and sometimes, older students who missed the screening in prior years). If there are other students whom staff or parents have hearing concerns about, we have an opportunity to evaluate them as well if we receive a Hearing Request form, garnering parent permission and faxed to MESD prior to the follow-up test date. If you would like to have your student evaluated, please contact our student health assistant, Vanisha Singh, at vsingh@pps.net.

PPS has created a new format for the K-5 report card that is designed to be:

• more reader-friendly
• new sections for dual language immersion and English language development
• more specific skills and standards
• improved learning habits section
• more space for teacher comments
• updated Academic Proficiency Scale

Learn more HERE.

Check out the latest PTA Newsletter HERE.

The Atkinson yearbook is a wonderful way for your child to remember their special times at Atkinson, and kids love to see themselves in it! Please send your photos from school events, special days and holidays, such as the first day of school, Harvest Festival, Día de los Muertos, Halloween, Running Club, team (or individual) sports events, field trips, Scouts/Campfire, etc. to atkinsonyearbookpps@gmail.com.

The yearbook committee is also looking for new members! If you have a creative spirit, like to collage or organize photos, and want to get involved with the Atkinson community, please join us! Graphic design experience is a plus but not a requirement. Our first committee meeting will be this Sunday, October 29th at 10a.m. at Rain or Shine Coffee on SE 60th & Division. If you are interested, come to the meeting or email Jenny Netzer at ubercheetah@hotmail.com.

Free community vaccination clinics by appointment only.

• October 30–November 3 — Spirit Week!
  
• Thursday, November 2 — End of First Quarter
• Friday, November 3 — NO SCHOOL, Teacher Planning Day
  
• Sunday, November 5 — Daylight Saving Time ends
• Friday, November 10 — NO SCHOOL, Veterans Day Observed
• Monday, November 13 — PTA Meeting, 6:30–8 p.m.
• Tuesday, November 14 — Hearing Evaluation
• Thursday, November 16 — Principal's Coffee in English, 8:50 a.m.
• Friday, November 17 — Principal's Coffee in Spanish, 8:50 a.m.