Pine Panther Pulse
January 26, 2025
Hello Pine Families!
Tomorrow is the 100th day of school! The year is moving right along and I'm very proud of all the learning taking place at Pine. On Tuesday, all Pine students are invited to wear black & white or spots for the 101st Day of School Dalmatian Day!
As the third quarter is now underway, testing season is upon us. Students who receive services from the English Learners department have begun their WIDA testing, 2nd and 3rd graders are completing practice tests for the upcoming IREAD, CogAT testing, Checkpoint testing, AMIRA, Dyslexia screeners and more are all taking place. Talk to your children about what they are learning, and stay in touch with your child's teacher about what you can do to support the learning at home. Reading for just 10 minutes a day can make a big difference!
The #CityReads initiative is underway across Michigan City Area Schools! See the video below from Supt. McCollum for important information. Second and third grade parents can expect additional information about IREAD in the near future. Those parents are also encouraged to plan to attend an important meeting on Wednesday, February 12. Details coming soon. Let's work together to develop a culture of reading at Pine and across Michigan City!
We're looking forward to another great week of learning at Pine!
David A Alvarado
Principal
The Laporte County Symphony Orchestra would like to invite all students and their families to enjoy our February Family Concert, Animal Kingdom. This concert will be shorter than our usual season concerts but still have plenty of incredible music. The orchestra will be performing Saint-Saens Carnival of the Animals, Peter and the Wolf by Prokofiev, and the United States premiere of Dangerous Creatures by Australian composer Matthew Hindson.
We are proud to partner with the Michiana Humane Society and Humane Indiana to provide pre-concert activities with live animals!
We ask that you invite any interested students to attend for free! Plus, their family can get one discounted ticket at $15. Here is how they can reserve their tickets for the show on Saturday, February 8 at 4:00 at LaPorte High School:
Students can reserve a ticket online or show their student ID at the door. If reserving a ticket online, they should go to https://lcso.net/event/animal-kingdom/.
1. Click "Get Tickets"
2. For student tickets, click "Enter Promo Code". The code for students is "StuAdmiss".
This gives them one free ticket per transaction. If there are multiple students, they have to complete a different transaction for each student.
3. For an adult discounted ticket, enter another promo code. This code is "ParDisc". This will apply at checkout and give $10 off one adult ticket per transaction.
Snow Days/eLearning Procedures
With winter weather here, there is always a chance that MCAS will call an unscheduled eLearning Day. If/When this happens, Pine students will follow the schedule below for live, online instruction with their teachers to keep the learning going from home. See the webpages linked here and here for more information.
Elementary School Students:
Live instruction
9:00am - 11:55am
(Break for lunch 11:55am-12:25pm)
Independent work, individual/small group instruction, and email support: 12:25-3:00pm
If you haven't done so yet, be sure to sign up for alerts from Michigan City Area Schools and Pine Elementary. https://mcas.parentlink.net/main/login/new-account-sign-up
Be on time and ready to learn!
Doors open at Pine each morning at 8:15. Students have until 8:45 to arrive, have breakfast, and wait with their classmates in the gym. Teachers pick up students by 8:35 to head to classrooms. Students arriving after 8:45 are marked tardy. Be sure your children arrive on time!
Late arriving students should be walked into the office by a family member and signed in. Please refrain from dropping students off at the curb without checking them in. Student absences should be called into the office. Students learn most when they are at school each day! Let's work together to have the best attendance possible!
Arrival Procedures
Doors open at Pine at 8:15 AM. Parents dropping off students at school should only use the north parking lot by the Red Pod. PreK families, students requiring special assistance, and families who need to visit the office may park in the south lot by the main entrance, otherwise this area is designated only for school buses. Breakfast is served from 8:15 - 8:45. Students arriving after 8:45 will be marked tardy. Attendance matters!
Dismissal Procedures
The final bell rings at 3:00. Bus riders will be escorted by their teachers to their proper buses. Boys and Girls Club members will report to the cafeteria. Car riders will report to the red pod where staff will organize them per our dismissal procedures. Parents picking up students should join the line around the north parking lot. Please comply with all instructions and expectations while remembering that student safety trumps adult preferences at all times. Parents must communicate any changes in dismissal plans to the office before 2:00 to ensure they are shared with teachers.