The Panther Pulse

Dear Pershing Families,

On behalf of the entire Pershing School Community I would like to wish our families a Happy Mother's Day. We hope you had a wonderful weekend with your loved ones.

I also want to be sure to recognize our fabulous Pershing Foundation Board and ASB for all the work they did to celebrate our staff for Teacher Appreciation Week. You truly did a masterful job of making our staff feel special and appreciated. We are so fortunate to work in such a giving community.

Finally, I want to remind families that our Foundation Challenge Course Fundraiser is in it's final days. Based on online fundraising and cash turned in to the main office, we have nearly reached our goal and if we get 40 more donations we will achieve our goal of raising $15,000. I am so excited for our students, so if you haven't given yet or if you have a bit more you are willing to contribute, we encourage you to use the donation link below and/or share it with family and friends. Every little bit helps and the money raised goes directly back to Pershing students to support end of the year activies, 8th grade promotion gifts, and ensuring enrichement activities for next year's students.

DONATION LINK:

https://pershingmiddleschoolfoundation.rallyup.com/challengecourse2023/Campaign/Details

Sincerely,
Melanie Kray

CAASPP TESTING AND THE CAST

CAASPP testing for ELA and Math is nearly complete. ELA testing is done and there are only a few students we have left to finish make-up testing. This week our 8th graders completed the Science CAST in their 8th grade science classes with Ms. Moreno and Ms. Benson. I want to thank the students, staff, and parents for their support over the last two weeks. It is much appreciated.

END OF THE YEAR ACTIVITIES

The end of the year is fast approaching we have a variety of activities planned for students, particularly our 8th graders.

• June 6th - End of the Year Awards Assembly for 6th & 7th grades (families who have children receiving awards with receive an email with further details)
• June 7th - 8th Grade Yearbook Signing Party @2-3 PM in the Lunch Arbor
• June 7th - 8th Grade Semi-Formal Dance @Pershing Little Gym @6-8 PM
• June 8th - 8th Grade Awards Night (families who students have met the criteria will receive invitations via email)
• June 12th - 8th Grade Promotion Practice @8:00 AM
• June 13th - 8th Grade Promotion Pracitce @8:00 AM
• June 13th - 8th Grade Dave & Buster's Trip
• June 13th - 6th & 7th Grade Field Day
• June 14th - 8th Grade Promotion @8:30 AM

8TH GRADE PROMOTION @8:30 AM ON JUNE 14TH

We will be celebrating 8th grade promotion on June 14th on the upper turf fields. The gates on the corner of Navajo and Boulder Lake will open promptly at 8:00 AM and there are 1000 seats available for spectators that will be distribute on a first come first served basis. There is ample space available on the upper field for families to stand or bring their own seating to observe the promotion ceremony so we are not limited the number of guests a student may bring.

JOINT JUNETEENTH ACTIVITY WITH GAGE ELEMENTARY

The week of June 5th, Pershing Middle School has been invited to join Gage Elementary in celebrating Juneteenth. We are looking for approximately 8-10 middle school students to represent Pershing at this activity. If you are interested please contact Ms. Jakalah Jones our Library Tech.

PE LOANER UNIFORMS

Our PE Department has noticed a significant uptick in the number of loaner PE clothes being distributed daily. The idea behind our loaner program is to provide students with a loaner shirt or pair of shorts every once in a while in case they left their PE gear at home. We have many students who are asking for loaners every day. Please double check with your child and make sure the are bringing their PE uniform to school. If your child has lost or outgrown their PE gear please contact our financial secretary Ms. Grace Lopez at glopez2@sandi.net

APPLE TOURS 8TH GRADE EAST COAST TRIP 2023-24

There will be an informational meeting hosting on zoom by Apple Tours regarding next year's 8th grade East Coast Trip on May 17 @6:00 PM. Be sure to check out the flyer below for details about the meeting. Please note this trip is not affliated with Pershing Middle School or SDUSD.

PERSHING SCHOOL WEBSITE

https://pershing.sandiegounified.org/

Do you have suggestions for our school website? CLICK HERE to complete our website feedback survey.

The donation site for this year's Foundation Challenge Course is now live!

CLICK HERE to access the donation website.

The donation website can also be reached by texting Challengecourse2023 to 33100. Select "students" under the navigate tab and then just search for the student's name to get their individual donation page.

We need your help! If you are able to help on May 19th at the Challenge Course or can help by supplying some needed items, please click on the Sign Up Genius link.

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30E0F44AFAA29A7FE3-pershing1

The Pershing Foundation is promoting The Challenge Course as its main fundraiser for the year. Funds raised will support teacher stipends, teacher appreciation and wellness throughout the year, campus beautification projects, educational classroom and teaching enhancements, supplemental supplies for engineering, physical education and the library, and so much more!

We need your help!

1. We are in need of prize donations. As students earn donations via the donation website, they will earn a raffle ticket for each $10 raised. Those tickets will then be used as a chance to win prizes. If you are able to donate items, tickets to events, gift cards, or anything a middle schooler might like as a prize, please contact Diana Smith at pershingmiddleschoolfoundation@gmail.com to coordinate.
2. We need business sponsors!
1. Business sponsors will have their business name and logo printed on the event T shirts, displayed on the donation website, and printed in the 8th grade promotion program! There are several different levels available for sponsorship.

Platinum $1000

Gold $500

Silver $250

Partner $100

We thank you in advance for any donation to this worthy organization. Your donation would be tax deductible, as the Foundation is a 501c3 Checks can be mailed to:

Shawna McCarthy

C/O Pershing Middle School

8204 San Carlos Drive

San Diego, CA 92119

Please do not hesitate to reach out with any questions to the event organizer, Diana Smith at (702) 286-9107 or pershingmiddleschoolfoundation@gmail.com

Important Challenge Course Dates:

Donation website launch - April 24th (more details to come)

Cutoff for donations to count toward prizes - May 14th

Raffle ticket distribution - May 17th

Raffle winners drawn - May 19th

Stay tuned for a list of available prizes!

Congratulations on another great weekend for Pershing flag football. Our girl's team remains undefeated knocking off top rival Marshall 25-8. They also defeated Muirlands 32-24. Our boy's team suffered a tough defeat against Wangenheim but bounced back and defeated Correia 38-20. Both teams head to the playoffs as the team to beat in their respective leagues. Great work Panthers, we are so proud of you!

SPANISH TUTORING AVAILABLE

Does your child need help with Spanish? Mr. Barry is offering tutoring support on Tuesdays in Rm. 104 afterschool.

8TH GRADE HENRY HIGH SLIM PARENT NIGHT

If you were not able to attend the meeting CLICK HERE to see the slide deck the Henry team presented.

COVID-19 cases are on the rise in our area, with San Diego County recently entering the Medium COVID-19 Community Level. Other illnesses such as the influenza virus (flu), respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and the common cold also remain highly prevalent and easily transmissible. Practicing good health hygiene habits – washing hands, staying home when sick, and considering wearing a mask indoors and in crowded areas – can help prevent the spread of illness and is especially important during this time when many will be traveling or gathering with family and friends.

The district is providing all students and staff with at-home COVID-19 test kits to help our school communities have greater peace of mind about returning to school safely on Tuesday, Jan. 3 after the winter break.

The California Department of Public Health now recommends self testing for COVID-19 the day before coming back to school and two or three days after returning. We encourage students and staff to test on Monday, Jan. 2 and again on either Wednesday, Jan 4 or Thursday, Jan 5.

Testing before returning to school is recommended but not required. Additional test kits for students and staff are available at the Ed Center COVID-19 testing facility. If you test positive for COVID-19, please do not attend school and report your illness here.

Please do not send your child to school if they are feeling sick or experiencing symptoms of any cold-like virus, until those symptoms start to improve and there is no fever for 24 hours (without use of fever-reducing medication). Keeping your sick child home will be a great benefit for the health and wellness of our students and staff.

What Symptoms to Look For

• The flu and COVID-19 are both spread from person-to-person, especially indoors and in crowded places. Symptoms for both viruses can include nasal congestion, fever, headache, and muscle and joint pain, as well as a sore throat and coughing.
• RSV is a respiratory virus that has been detected in previous cold and flu seasons. Symptoms of RSV include cough, runny nose, and fever. Treatment consists of managing symptoms.

Tips to Avoid Getting Sick [English | Español)
Public health officials offer these tips to prevent getting sick:

• Consider wearing a well-fitting, good-quality mask, especially indoors or in crowded spaces
• Wash hands thoroughly and often
• Use hand sanitizers, if unable to wash hands
• Stay away from sick people
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth
• Clean commonly touched surfaces and/or wash/sanitize your hands after using them.
• Stay up to date on COVID-19 and flu vaccines