Pleasant Hill Family News

iReady reports went home via email last week. i-Ready is an online program that helps us to determine your child’s strengths and areas for growth, personalize their learning, and monitor their progress throughout the school year. i-Ready allows us to meet your child where they are by providing us with data to inform instruction. Should you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to us.

On Monday morning, March 10th, all K-2 students in the district will be attending at Kinderconzert at Scarborough High School. This is a wonderful opportunity for our students and is put on by members of the Portland Symphony Orchestra. In music class this week, students have been learning what the Kinderconzert will be like and what to expect with Mr. Martelle. Students will leave PH at approximately 10:45 and return at approximately 11:40.

Have a terrific weekend,

Jenn

Jennifer Humphrey, Principal

Pleasant Hill School

jhumphrey@scarboroughschools.org

(207) 730-5250

Mrs. Smith's 2nd grade class learned about Black History month throughout February. At the end of the month, each student chose a person who was influential to them and did some research to learn more about them. At our Community Meeting this Wednesday, students shared an interesting fact from their research. Please enjoy their wonderful accompanying portraits below.

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

Emma Dickinson, Special Education edickinson@scarboroughschools.org

Nicole Johnson, Special Education njohnson@scarboroughschools.org

Tara Carter, Multilingual Learning tcarter@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

Alex Spark, Phys Ed aspark@scarboroughschools.org

Jess Chaples, Art jchaples@scarboroughschools.org

Andrew Martelle, Music amartelle@scarboroughschools.org

Note: Mr. Martelle is available at PH on March 19 - 7:30-8:30am, March 26 - 3:30-5:30pm , and April 1 - 7:30-8:30am.

The Calendar for the 2025-2026 School Year was approved by the School Board last night,

This year's Hannaford Helps Schools program runs from March 16 to June 7!

Through this program, shoppers will earn 3 School Dollars for every 4 participating products purchased. At checkout, customers will receive a School Dollar printout they can redeem online to donate to any school in this program.

To redeem School Dollars, all shoppers need to do is enter the unique printout code and store number on the Hannaford Helps Schools program website and select their school. Each School Dollar printout has a QR code that will bring shoppers directly to this link, ensuring that redeeming School Dollars is as easy as possible. Please note that the in-store collection tower has been eliminated. However, schools will be able to turn in School Dollar printouts via a collection envelope included in their program packet.

The top 200 schools to raise the most money by redeeming School Dollars will each receive a $1,000 bonus check!

All K-2 students have participated in Digital Citizenship lessons through Common Sense Media in their classrooms. We will be sharing a variety of family tips and tools. In an effort to support families, we invite you to look through this presentation, created by Common Sense Media, on ways to find balance with family and technology in this digital age.

K–8 Presentation for Parents & Families

In the fall, we received generous donations of snacks to keep on hand in the office for children who might be feeling extra hungry one day. :) We have finally run out of our supply. If you would like to donate, the following is what we could use (individual packages, please):

Smart Food/ Pirates Booty

GoldFish

Cheez-its

Nut Free Granola Bars

With spring approaching, the children are loving playing with sidewalk chalk. If you see any on sale and can grab an extra for us, we would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks for all you do for our students and staff!

Click here to access the registration page.

Due to the popularity of the before-school and after-school care programs and the space limitations per site, our registration for next school year is broken up into two registration periods:

CURRENT ENROLLED FAMILIES
Families who are currently enrolled in the 2025-26 program are able to register online beginning at 8:00 am on March 4. All current enrolled students have received instructions for that process. Current families will have March 4-7 to register. If you have a sibling who has not attended, you will register them during this period, as well, but new siblings will be put in AFTER the registration period has ended for current families. If you do not register during this time period, you will be put on a waitlist.

Please Note: Registration does NOT mean a guaranteed spot at Wentworth, as the step up from primary schools involves the combining of three sites into one and we have a max number allowed.

NEW TO THE PROGRAM:
Families who are new to Scarborough or new to our program may enroll their child or children on the Child Care Waitlists beginning at 8:00 am on March 4 at 8:00 AM. Prior to March 4, please make sure you have a registration account in our system. Call us at 207-730-4150 so we can set up an account for you, update an existing account, or give you your login information. This waitlist enrollment will essentially assign you a spot in line at your child’s school site so that we may contact you should space become available. Please note that we will retain this waitlist all year long as spaces may open up as the school year progresses.

We will begin emailing waitlist enrollees one by one after Monday, March 10, moving down the list in numerical order. If we contact you and you are interested in the days we have to offer, we will hold the days for you, assess the registration fee, and ask you to pay that fee within the next 48 hours online or over the phone. If payment is not completed within that time, we will release those spots to the next person on the waitlist.

How to Register for CHILD CARE Waitlist

• Go to Webtrac Registration -- Child Care Waitlists.

• All waitlists will be specific to the school site your child will be attending. Select your chosen school site by clicking the + button on the left hand side. PLEASE NOTE: You will need to enable pop-ups to continue registration.

• Login in with your username and password.

• Click Proceed to Checkout.

https://www.scarboroughschools.org/building-project

We are excited to announce the 3rd Annual All-Town Chorus Concert! This concert features student musicians from all six schools in grades 2-12. Due to popular demand, this year’s event will be held in SHS’s Alumni Gym. As such, families will not need to reserve tickets ahead of time. The concert is free and open to the public. Please join us in person or via livestream on Tuesday, March 25th at 6:30pm for this wonderful community celebration!

Special event for the 2nd Graders as well:

All of our 2nd graders in the district will be attending a field trip at the high school to participate in a district-wide choral rehearsal from 10:05 am-11:05 am on Tuesday 3/25. Students will then have the option to come to the concert on Tuesday evening at 6:30 to sing one song with the whole district if they choose to do so. The evening concert is OPTIONAL and students who are attending the concert will be invited up to sing a song we have been working on with the whole district at the end of the concert. This was the highlight of the year for some of our 2nd graders last year!

For safety's sake, please wait for staff to open doors before letting your children out of your vehicle. We appreciate your help with this.

Tooth Protectors is coming for their second visit this year on:

March 27th, 2025

Our school is partnering with Tooth Protectors, Inc. to offer preventative dental care for Students and Staff WITH or WITHOUT dental insurance. Services are FREE to those with MaineCare (age 1-100). Fees are included on this Attached Flyer for those who are self-pay. Tooth Protectors can bill other Dental Insurance, but currently DO NOT accept: Harvard, Pilgrim, Humana, or Martin's Point.

If your child participated earlier in the year, nothing needs to be done unless

you do not want your child to attend the second session. Please reach out to

Nurse Dorice with any questions.

(dgroshon@scarboroughschools.org or 207.730.5286)

If your child did not participate in the program earlier this year and you would like

to sign them up for this second session-

Please click on this link and return this document to Nurse Dorice-Tooth Protectors Permission Form

or fill out the On-line Permission Form

Our school calendar allows for 2 traditional snow day cancellations. After those 2 days, all subsequent school closure days will be remote learning days. The district has created a website (www.scarboroughschools.org/district/weather-closures) to make it easier for families to access information about school closure and to plan accordingly.

Each phase level has a plan for students that can be accessed on the website (K2 Phase Level Remote Learning Plan for Snow/Inclement Weather Days linked here). Non-perishable meals are available in advance. Please fill out this form (also located on the website) to receive this support. Please reach out with any questions about snow days or remote learning days.

Now that we have had two official snow days, future inclement weather days will be remote learning days for students. Remote learning packets have been sent home. Please keep this packet in a safe place, and reserve it for upcoming remote learning days. The packet is available on the website listed above as well.

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:

Thursday, April 3, 12:00 pm

Training is 20 minutes in length.

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

No need to sign up, just hop on Zoom!

Important Dates

• CHANGE OF DATE March 18, 2025: PTA Meeting 7-8PM, Town Hall or virtually: *NEW* monthly meeting link

• Big 20 Fundraiser night 3/23

• Race 2 The Point 4/13

Join us Sunday, April 13, 2025 for 14th annual 2025 Race 2 the Point -- a day of fun and fitness featuring a 5K run/walk, a ½ Mile Dash for children ages 12 and under, and a free Kids’ Fun Run for our youngest athletes. Visit our sponsors at the Race Expo and bring your kiddos over to check out the activities in the Kids’ Fun Zone and play on the Blue Point School playground.

All Race 2 the Point proceeds directly benefit Scarborough’s primary schools, funding initiatives like new technology, classroom materials, field trips, and resources to support our dedicated teachers and staff. Last year we raised more than $8000k to support our schools!

Register today to guarantee a race shirt for the 5k run/walk and Kids' ½ Mile Dash (no advance registration necessary for the kids' fun run): https://runinarace.com/Race2thePoint/index.html

Check out www.race2thepoint.org for more details!

CALLING ALL CANDIDATES: We're looking for individuals who are excited about joining the PTA board! Click here for info and to nominate!

We are always looking for people willing and able to help! Join a committee or our email list to find out more! Thank you!

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

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

March 10 ALL K-2 students to Portland Symphony's "Kinder Konzert" at Scarborough High 10:15-11:45

March 14 No School for Students - Staff Professional Development Day at the High School

March 19 Grade 2 to Public Safety Building 9-11:25 (Smith & Costello)

March 21 Gr. 1 to SHS Auditorium 9:15-10:50 to see the play "Little Red Riding Hood"

March 23 PTA Event - Big 20 Bowling

March 25 Gr. 2 to SHS Auditorium for Chorus Practice 9:40-11:30

March 27 Tooth Protectors program (for those who signed up) at Wentworth

April 13 Race to the Point

* On Fridays: We invite you to wear red or your Scarborough gear to show your Red Storm Pride!

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