Pleasant Hill Family News

Today we held a special safety drill called a Lockdown Drill. We are required by State law to have 2 of these drills per school year and 8 other safety drill exercises. We have already practiced Evacuation Drills or fire drills where we leave the building to stay safe, and a Hold in Place drill where we stay in our classrooms and out of hallways. Activities in the room continue as usual, we simply ask everyone to stay out of the hallway. This is used for a medical need that we don't want everyone exposed to or to protect the privacy of a student or staff member. The final drill is the Lockdown.

In a Lockdown drill, teachers help students find a quiet space away from view from doors and windows. The doors are locked, lights are out, and everyone is quiet.

This is how we explain it to students.

“We have to practice different kinds of drills to keep us safe. Sometimes we do Fire Drills where we have to leave the building to be safe. Sometimes, we do Lockdown Drills where we stay in the classroom to be safe. Today, we are practicing a Lockdown Drill. As soon as someone tells us over the intercom that we are in Lockdown, we will stay in the classroom, away from the doors and be as quiet as possible. As soon as someone from the office tells us over the intercom it is over, we can go back to our regular day.”

We understand this is a difficult topic with many emotions. We try to keep things as simple as possible for students.

If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Thank you for your support and partnership to keep everyone as safe as possible.

Have a great long weekend,

Jenn

Jennifer Humphrey, Principal

Pleasant Hill School

jhumphrey@scarboroughschools.org

There will be no school on Monday, November 11th in remembrance of Veterans' Day and our military servicemen and servicewomen who have served our nation and made the ultimate sacrifice. We remember their families as they pause to remember loved ones as well.

Mrs. Costello, Mrs. Smith, Mrs. Ousback, and Mrs. Michaud

Fun fact: Did you know the second grade teachers all love the fall, and they all have dogs?

The temperatures have been very variable lately and our playground is very shady.

Please make sure your children have jackets and hats and mittens so they are prepared for any weather.

Should your family need assistance obtaining winter gear, please reach out to our school counselor, Molly Szeman at mszeman@scarboroughschools.org.

Thank you!

Our community has seen a sharp increase in pediatric pneumonia cases within the past few months. Here is information from the CDC on the surge of Mycoplasma Pneumoniae. Community outbreaks typically occur every 3-5 years...

CDC information on M. Pneumoniae Surge

Symptoms of M. Pneumoniae

CNN Article on MP Surge

Per the CDC, M. pneumoniae infections are generally mild and mostly present as a chest cold but some may present with pneumonia. Symptom onset is typically gradual and can include fever, headache, sore throat and a slowly worsening cough. Most recover without treatment, but some need antibiotics to feel better.

Strategies that prevent respiratory viruses, such as handwashing and covering coughs and sneezes, also prevent these bacteria from spreading.

Be Well!

Dorice Groshon, PH Nurse

Fall conferences continue next week. If you have not scheduled a conference time with your child's teacher, please reach out to them. Our goal is to meet with 100% of families to discuss student progress.

Specialists and Allied Arts teachers will be available to connect as well. If you wish to meet with them, please reach out to them directly via email to coordinate a time.

Kate Swinburne, Academic Support kswinburne@scarboroughschools.org

Sarah Chadbourne, Early Intervention Teacher schadbourne@scarboroughschools.org

Molly Szeman, K-2 School Counselor mszeman@scarboroughschools.org

Alex Spark, Phys Ed aspark@scarboroughschools.org

Andrew Martelle, Music amartelle@scarboroughschools.org

Jess Chaples, Art jchaples@scarboroughschools.org

Emma Dickinson, Special Education edickinson@scarboroughschools.org

Nicole Johnson, Special Education njohnson@scarboroughschools.org

Maura Heffernan, Multilingual Learning mheffernan@scarboroughschools.org

Erin Litcher, Behavior Specialist elitcher@scarboroughschools.org

Chantel Dionne-Michaud, OT cdionne-michaud@scarboroughschools.org

Dora Gough, PT dgough@scarboroughschools.org

Gigi Stone, Speech gstone@scarboroughschools.org

Dorice Groshon, Nurse dgroshon@scarboroughschools.org

by working hard to be SAFE, KIND, and FOCUSED....and by being wonderful helpers. Below are a few opportunities to help out in our community:

Over the next several weeks, we will be collecting non-perishable food items to benefit the Scarborough Food Pantry. Canned goods or healthy snacks are welcome. If you or your child are interested in dropping off food items, we'll collect them in our lobby here at PH through December 13th.

This year at PH we will be exploring sculpture with all grades. As part of this sculpture project, I would like to create sculptures using recycled materials. One of the biggest materials for our school wide project are bottle caps. These bottlecaps can be any color or size. We can also use small to medium size plastic container lids - i.e. lids for yogurt, butter, hummus, etc. We are hoping to collect at least 4-5 trashbags full of bottle caps and lids by March. If you are able to send in some with your child, that would be greatly appreciated. I will be keeping a dropoff area in the art/music classroom. Please reach out to me personally with any questions. My email is jchaples@scarboroughschools.org.

Many thanks for supporting our students' creativity!

To promote safety and prevent congestion, please park only on the right hand side of the road when heading up the hill, leaving 30 feet from the stop sign. Thank you for your assisting, as we work to keep pedestrians safe.

NOW is the time to get volunteer trained! This is REQUIRED for anyone who wants to volunteer, chaperone a field trip, or visit your child's classroom.

Trainings will be held monthly, and you only need to be trained ONCE during your time here at Pleasant Hill School. If you are unsure if you have received training yet, you can always check with the front office at 207-730-5250. If it turns out you have already taken the training, we will send you the updated confidentiality link, which you are required to sign ANNUALLY.

UPCOMING TRAINING SESSIONS:

Tuesday, November 12th, 5:00-5:20 pm

Training is 20 minutes in length.

Where: https://scarboroughschools.zoom.us/j/9577613642

No need to sign up, just hop on Zoom!

If interested, you may once again order 4 free COVID tests through USPS. Click this link for further information. https://special.usps.com/testkits

Important Dates

• Nov 12: PTA Meeting 7-8PM, Town Hall or virtually: *NEW* monthly meeting link

• Dec 6: Little Gym Fundraiser Night

• Jan 4: Maine Mariners Fundraiser Night

FUNDRAISING EVENT WITH LITTLE GYM

December 6th, The event will be December 6th. Each session is one hour and costs $25 per child. 50% of the proceeds will be donated to Scarborough PTA! Click here to sign up today!

Fundraising Event with Maine Mariners

Join Our Email List or sign up for a committee

PTA | Email Sign Up

For all communication regarding students, please contact the office via email -phoffice@scarboroughschools.org or by phone at 207-730-5250. Please include your child's teacher on the email if it is regarding a change in dismissal plans.

Absence Reporting:

We ask families to report their child's absence from school by calling the main office at 207-730-5250 or by email at phoffice@scarboroughschools.org. When leaving a message, we ask that you state the reason for the absence, otherwise, office staff will reach back out to you for that information.

Excusable reasons for an absence:

• illness
• appointment
• religious holiday
• family emergency
• planned absence

For Planned Absences (a day out of school which is not illness or medical appointment related), families should fill out the PH Planned Absence Form. To reduce lost instructional time, we ask families to do their best to coordinate vacations so they line up with our scheduled school vacation weeks.

For questions about attendance, please contact the main office at 207-730-5250 or email us at phoffice@scarboroughschools.org

Bus routes are available on the Scarborough School Website here. If you have any questions regarding your child's bus stop, please call the Transportation Department at (207) 730-4145, or email the Transportation Supervisor, Sarah Redmond, at sredmond@scarboroughschools.org.

Please click here to learn how to sign up for MY Rides K-12 which will allow you to follow your child's process along the bus route.

Please read this letter from the Nutrition Department regarding school lunch & breakfast. Students are able to access breakfast as soon as they arrive to school.

For breakfast meals in all of our schools, you can order online on the same day before 6:30 AM, while for lunch meals, you can order online on the same day before 7:30 AM. You can order meals for the day, or set up a weekly or monthly plan for meals to be provided to your children. The menus for all meals for a new month will be posted on the school’s website and on the Nutrislice app the last Monday at the end of the previous month.

School Menus Page

Nov. 4-15 Fall Conferences

November 11 No School. Veterans' Day

November 12 5:00 pm Volunteer Training

Where: https://scarboroughschools.zoom.us/j/9577613642

November 20 Early Release Wednesday 1:45 Dismissal.

November 27-29 Thanksgiving Break

Email: jhumphrey@scarboroughschools.org
Website: https://pleasanthill.scarboroughschools.org/
Location: 143 Highland Avenue, Scarborough, ME, USA
Phone: 207-730-5250