October 21 - No school for all PCS students

It is expected that all families read our handbook at the start of each new school year. Handbook acknowledgment forms were sent home in Tuesday folders on 9/3/24.

Pamlico Primary School will be teaming up with several other local organizations in our area to be a drop-off point for supplies for those in western NC that need our help. As a community that has been on the receiving end of donations such as these in times of disaster, we know firsthand how helpful these items can be. We encourage any family who would like to pay it forward, to drop off any donations to our collection tub outside our front office. Please see the graphic below for a list of accepted donation items. We will collect donations throughout the first two weeks of October.

Please join us to raise money for our school! Concessions and glow accessories will be sold. The price of admission includes a glow stick.

Report cards for the first grading period will go home on Tuesday, October 29th.

We will hold our awards ceremony for the first grading period on October 18th. Families of students who will be receiving an award will receive invitations to this ceremony in Tuesday folders on October 8th. There are different awards ceremonies for each grade level. The times of each ceremony will be on the invitation.

October is bullying awareness prevention month! One of the ways that PCPS will be celebrating is with a spirit week! We encourage all staff and students to participate.

• Monday Oct. 28th- Time to Shine: Wear Sunglasses!
• Tuesday Oct. 29th- Teamwork Tuesday: Wear your favorite team color or jersey!
• Wednesday Oct. 30th - Wacky Wednesday: Dress Tacky and Wacky!
• Thursday Oct. 31st *Book Character Parade Day* - Wear your favorite book character costume and say "Boo" to Bullying. No weapons or gory attire! PCPS Character Parade begins at 9:00 am.
• Friday Nov. 1 - Put a rest to bullying! Wear your pajamas!

We will be celebrating our love of stories with a book character parade on the morning of Thursday October 31st. We are encouraging all of our students to dress as a character from one of their favorite books on this day. Our parade will begin at 9:00 am. Parents are invited to attend but may not check in to view the parade until 8:45 am.

October is Fire Safety Month. The goal of Fire Prevention Month is to raise fire safety awareness and help protect homes and families. In 1922, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) named the second week of October Fire Prevention Week in commemoration of the Great Chicago Fire in 1871. In partnership with Pamlico County Emergency Management and the NC Fire Service, our students will have multiple opportunities during the month of October to learn about Fire Safety from special guest presenters, including Smokey Bear!

Thank you to all of our families who came out to our Fall Title 1 Night, Pups Pathways: Exploring Careers Together! It was a great success! The documents discussed at Title 1 Night are linked below. Compacts will be signed at first quarter conferences.

There must be an adult at the bus stop each morning and afternoon at drop-off and pick-up. Adults must be visible in the afternoon in order for the driver to leave the student at their stop. If there is no adult visible, the student will be brought back to PCPS and parents/guardians will be called to pick up the student. There is a $20 fee for students who are brought back to PCPS more than once.

PCPS Pre-K will be closed for students on the following days this school year:

• October 4, 2024
• November 1, 2024
• February 14, 2025
• March 7, 2025
• May 16, 2025

Each Sunday at 5:30 pm you should be receiving an automated message with important information from the principal. Please do your best to answer and listen to these calls. If you miss the call, the script of the messages can be found on our website and at the link pasted below. This year we have also sent the text of the call to parent/guardian emails that we have on file. If you are not receiving our calls, please contact our data manager, Tina Lee, at tinalee@pamlicoschools.org.

Each classroom teacher will utilize Class Dojo this year to communicate with parents and track positive student behavior. Please be sure to register with Class Dojo and sync your account to your child's class as soon as possible.

Remember to follow us on Facebook for even more PCPS content!

Infinite Campus is the new Student Information System that is being used across our state. If you have not already, please complete the application for the Infinite Campus Parent Portal. You must complete the attached form and bring it into your child's school with a government-issued photo ID. Once your application is vetted, you will receive more information containing activation instructions for the new Parent Portal.

In order to ensure school safety, we will be asking all adults who are signing students out for photo identification. Asking for photo ID allows us to verify that the name on the ID matches the person who is on the authorization for pick up form. Please communicate this with all adults who may pick up your child early from school.

The school day begins at 7:55 am and ends at 2:45 pm.

Please be mindful of the following:

• All transportation changes must be communicated prior to 2:00 pm
• To keep the front entrance and exit of our building accessible, parents or family members picking up students in the car-rider line should not park and wait in the front loop prior to 2:15 pm.
• Parents/Guardians may not park and walk up to retrieve their student from the car rider waiting area. This creates a challenge when supervising students and making sure that they all leave with the correct adult. It is also much safer to keep pedestrians from crossing the loop when we are trying to keep the car rider line moving as quickly as possible.
• If students arrive at school after 7:55 am, they are considered tardy and a parent must walk them inside the building to sign them in.

Parking in the red zone (pictured below) is prohibited while waiting to pick up students in the afternoon prior to 2:15 pm. If you arrive earlier to pick up students, please park in the parking lot. You may leave the parking lot and wait in the loop after 2:15 pm. When cars arrive early and back up to the front entrance of our driveway at Neals Creek Road, access to our school is blocked off. It is important to keep this access clear in case if we were to ever need it during an emergency. Thank you for understanding and doing your part to keep our school safe!

We kindly request that parents refrain from calling the school after 2:00 PM to request a change in their child's transportation for that day. This policy has been put in place to minimize disruptions during dismissal and ensure a smooth and efficient process for all students and families. Making last-minute transportation changes near the end of the school day can lead to confusion for students and staff members. Our dismissal process is carefully planned and executed to ensure a safe and timely release of students and late requests may cause delays and disrupt the flow of dismissal. By finalizing transportation arrangements before 2:00 PM, we can maintain accurate records, ensuring your child's safety and providing clear accountability for their well-being. Again, we kindly ask for your cooperation in adhering to this policy by ensuring that transportation arrangements for your child are confirmed and communicated to the school office before 2:00 PM.

In order to ensure uninterrupted and meaningful instructional time, maintain a smooth traffic flow, and be considerate of other parents in the pick-up line, we kindly request that students are not signed out of school after 2:15 PM. Early sign-outs around the time of dismissal can lead to disruptions in the traffic flow around the school premises, causing inconvenience to other parents, staff, and community members. We understand that waiting in the pick-up line can be a challenge at times. By refraining from early sign-outs, we help create an equitable environment where every parent has a fair opportunity to pick up their child without delays caused by early departures. We kindly request your cooperation in supporting this policy by scheduling appointments, extracurricular activities, and other commitments outside of regular school hours whenever possible. Students who are being signed out early will be called to the office once the parent or guardian has arrived at PCPS. This is in order to protect instructional time and ensure proper student supervision. Please plan accordingly and arrive at PCPS with enough time for your student to pack up and walk to the office as we will not honor phone call requests to have students ready and waiting for early pick-up.

ALL parents, guardians, and visitors, MUST sign-in at the front office and receive a visitors pass sticker. Stickers must be worn during the duration of your visit and must remain visible at all times.

As a reminder, all excuse notes must be turned in within three days of a students absence. Excuse notes may be turned in online at the link below.

The next PCPS PTO meeting will be after school on Thursday, October 3rd in the media center. We will get started as close to 3:00 as possible. All PTO meetings will occur on the first Thursday at 3:00.

Breakfast and lunch are FREE for all students!