Ponderosa Weekly

DECEMBER 23 - JANUARY 7 - WINTER BREAK - NO SCHOOL - STUDENTS RETURN JANUARY 8TH

JANUARY 20 - MARTIN LUTHER KING DAY - NO SCHOOL

FEBRUARY 17 - PRESIDENTS DAY - NO SCHOOL

FEBRUARY 18 - STAFF PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT DAY - NO SCHOOL

👇 Link to District 2024-2025 School Year Calendar 👇

Dear Friends at Ponderosa Elementary School,

Woof woof! Oakley and Rocco here—your favorite furry friends! This holiday season, we’re putting our paws together for a special mission, and we need your help to make it a tail-wagging success.

We’re teaming up to start a fundraiser and collection drive for the Colorado Pet Pantry, a wonderful

organization that temporarily provides food for pets in need. This helps families care for their furry friends with the goal of keeping pets out of shelters and in loving homes. With your help, we can make this holiday season brighter for pets and their families all over Colorado.

Here’s how you can help! Colorado Pet Pantry is looking for the following items (in order of importance):

1. Dry adult dog food

2. Dry cat food

3. Canned dog food

4. Cat litter

5. Canned cat food

6. Toys, leashes, collars, and accessories

If you’d like to make a monetary donation (to help buy these items or support their work), you can visit https://www.coloradogives.org/story/Cvmr2g Every little bit helps, and we know your generosity will make tails wag and whiskers twitch with joy. There will be collection bins for each grade level.

We’ll have a special drop-oV station at Ponderosa Elementary where you can bring any of these items. Let’s work together to make a paw-sitive impact on our community. Together, we can ensure that every pet feels the love and care it deserves this holiday season.

Thank you for being such amazing friends and for supporting this pawsome cause. Let’s fetch some hope, Ponderosa!

Sending lots of wet-nose kisses and tail wags,

Oakley & Rocco

(P.S. We may be dogs, but we think you’re *panda-stic*!)

If your child was eligible for the upcoming district written spelling test, your child received a word list to study.

The district test will be given to all of these eligible students on Wednesday, 12/18/24, at this school, during the school day.

Even if your child didn't study, it's fine for them to take this written test. Top scorers on this test will be invited to the oral spelling bee, which takes place in late January. I will announce the results as soon as I have them! Happy spelling! For any questions or concerns, please email me at christine.davies@tsd.org.

Dear Families,

The December 2024 edition of the Healthy Kids Connection is now available on the Healthy Kids website -- healthykidsclub.org

This edition contains resources and information about how you can help your family get started on creating and sustaining the 5210+ healthy habits before the 20th annual Healthy Kids 5210+ Challenge in February 2025. It also highlights all of the FREE school wellness programs offered by Healthy Hearts and Minds.

Kindergarten registration for the 2025/2026 school year is now open! You can begin registration at: https://www.tsd.org/enrollment/registration/student-registration

Apply Now! Thompson School District’s Choice/Open Enrollment 2025-2026 school year 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟏 - 𝐃𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟎

The process is designed for students who wish to attend a school outside of their attendance boundary. Families are encouraged to submit their application at any time during the enrollment period - Choice Enrollment applications that are received will be entered into the district's lottery system. 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐞: 𝐃𝐮𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐝𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫, 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬/𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞-𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞/𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓-𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫. More information is located at https://www.tsd.org/choice. If you have any questions, please send an e-mail to choice.enrollment@tsd.org or call 970-613-5355.

~Submitted by the Communications Department

We’re excited to announce the 2025 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration! This year’s theme, “A More Excellent Way, of Love,” honors Dr. King’s belief in justice, unity, and kindness. We invite Pre-K to 12th-grade students to participate in our art, writing, and (new) music contest, expressing their vision for a world filled with fairness and compassion.

Submit your entries by December 11, 2024, at 4:30 p.m. Winners will be recognized at the Loveland MLK Community Celebration on January 16, 2025, where their work will be featured. For any questions, please contact Andrew Dutch (andrew.dutch@tsd.org). Let’s honor Dr. King’s legacy together through creativity!

• Official Contest Guidelines - English | Spanish

• Contest Entry Form - English | Spanish

• Contest Flyer (English and Spanish)

• Social Media Tile - English | Spanish

Yearbooks are now available for purchase! They are currently available at $24 each. Prices go up to $30 each after December 31st. Go to https://ybpay.lifetouch.com/ and use code 14930925 to purchase a yearbook for the 2024/2025 school year. We will have a very limited number available for purchase in the office at the end of the year but those numbers are limited and the price will increase. Yearbooks will be delivered the last week of the school year.

As many of you have noticed, our new nutritional services program has menus that have a lot more detail, but are not user friendly. You can view the online menu here. Just be sure to change the school to "Ponderosa" and that you are on the "lunch" option, NOT the "ECD lunch"

School Hours:

• 8:00 am - 3:10 pm - M, T, Th, F
• 9:00 am - 3:10 - Wednesdays

Breakfast:

• 7:40 am - 8:00 am - M, T, Th, F
• 8:40 am - 9:00 am - Wednesdays

Please note - students may not be on school grounds before 7:40 am (8:40 am on Wednesdays) unless they are participating in a school sponsored activity. There is no adult supervision before that time.

The YMCA of Northern Colorado offers safe and structured care for Ponderosa students before and after school. YMCA is open from 3:10 pm until 6:00 pm each day after school. And Wednesday mornings from 7:00 am to 8:40 am. For more information or to register, please go to: https://www.ymcanoco.org/before-after-care/thompson

Next PTA meeting:

Wednesday January 8, 2025

To Contact PTA:

Email us at info.pespta@gmail.com

Find us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/groups/PonderosaPTA/

See more PTA information at https://www.thompsonschools.org/domain/256

Attendance Line: (970) 679-9590

Additional information can be found at the Thompson Schools

Email: nicole.jackson@tsd.org
Website: https://pes.tsd.org/
Location: 4550 Florence Dr., Loveland, CO 80538
Phone: (970) 679-9500
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ponderosapandas

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