Pleasant Hill Family News

Despite the warmer temps this week, we know the cooler temps are coming! Next week, staff and students will be working to put the gardens at PH to bed for the winter. We've got some plans underway for what is to come in the spring!

On Monday, bus students practiced evacuation drills with their bus drivers. They did a terrific job following directions and practicing exiting the back of the bus. On Thursday, we practiced another of our required evacuation drills. Students continue to pick up on routines. We have discussed the importance of remaining quiet and following adult directions during drills. Thanks, as always, for follow up discussions at home.

I wish you all a wonderful weekend,

Jenn

Jennifer Humphrey, Principal

Pleasant Hill School

jhumphrey@scarboroughschools.org

If your child wasn't here for Picture Day, they will automatically get their picture taken. You can either order a package beforehand or order off the website after you see the proof.

If you would like to order retakes, please send your original picture packet back to school to be turned in on or before October 28th. This way you won't have to pay for your second package.

More information is below.

Don't Forget to Order This Year's School Pictures

ENJOY 10% OFF

your order!

CODE: F202410OFF

EXPIRES: July 31, 2025

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Don’t forget to order your FREE Digital SmileSafe card!

More about the Smilesafe program here.

There were smiles aplenty this week as families visited the book fair at school. Thank you to all the many PTA volunteers who made this event possible. The proceeds from this fundraiser will help support special activities for students and provide classroom support as well.

Three times a year, students across K-2 take the iReady assessment in reading and mathematics. iReady is one among multiple data points we use to target instruction and assess student progress. On Thursday, reports will go home electronically, along with a letter from Katie Vetro, Director of Curriculum and Assessment, with more information about the assessment itself.

Should you have questions, please reach out to Principal Humphrey or your child's' teacher. Of course, iReady can be discussed at conference time which begins Nov. 4.

We are looking forward to hosting fall parent-teacher conferences in just a couple of weeks. Be on the lookout for sign up information to come home from classroom teachers. 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

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.

A fun time was had by all on October 9 on Walk/Bike/Roll to school day.

If you missed it and wish to participate, just gather up friends in your area, choose a meeting spot, and head to school by foot (or on wheels) on Fridays, weather permitting.

This is a parent organized activity. Please keep in mind, there are no safety officers or school chaperones walking with groups. As a result, caregivers/parents are responsible for ensuring safe routes and safe travel. For more safety info, please see https://www.walkbiketoschool.org/plan/how-to-plan/safety-first/.

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 4: Pats Pizza Restaurant Fundraising Night

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

• Dec 6: Little Gym Fundraiser Night- more info to come!

• Jan 4: Maine Mariners Fundraiser Night

Teacher Feature

This week we thank Emily Hill, art teacher at Eight Corners for all you do! If you'd like to support Emily's classroom you can click here to see her wish list!

THANK YOU!!

We would like to extend our gratitude to all those who helped make Book Fair 2024 a success! We could not do it without our wonderful volunteers! And thanks to all the families who shopped, the kids benefit from every dollar we raise!

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

October 28 Picture Retake Day

Nov. 4-15 Fall Conferences. More info to come.

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.

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