Pacific Intermediate Newsletter

Welcome to October!

We're thrilled to have our students back in the classroom for another month. As we kick off the fall season, we have several important announcements to share.

Coin War Fundraiser and Dodgeball Tournament Get ready for a friendly competition! We'll be starting our annual coin war fundraiser to provide Thanksgiving baskets for families in need. The homerooms that raise the most money will have the opportunity to compete for the coveted dodgeball trophy. Let's work together to make a difference in our community!

Parent-Teacher Conferences If your child has received a D or F in any class, please expect to receive a communication from their teacher during the first full week of October. We encourage you to schedule a conference to discuss your child's progress and explore strategies for improvement.

Homecoming Mark your calendars for our Homecoming celebration on October 11th, which will feature an early dismissal. Let's come together to show our school spirit and celebrate our community.

Book Fair Information about our upcoming book fair was sent home with students. Be sure to check your child's backpack for details. Don't miss this opportunity to explore new books and add to your home library. The fair runs September 30th through October 4th.

Home Football Games We invite our students to attend the three home football games at the high school in October. However, please note that students must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. Let's show our school spirit and support our athletes!

Red Ribbon Week Get ready to show your school spirit during Red Ribbon Week, which will take place at the end of October. A list of spirit days will be available closer to the event.

Halloween Costume Guidelines Students are encouraged to wear costumes on Halloween, but please adhere to the following guidelines:

• No gore or weapons

• No face paint or masks

• No inflatable costumes

Let's have a fun and safe Halloween at Pacific Intermediate!

We look forward to a wonderful year filled with learning, growth, and community involvement. Please don't hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or concerns.

MVR-III Approves Universal Free Breakfast for All Students

Meramec Valley R-III School District

August 16, 2024

As the 2024-2025 school year kicks off, the Meramec Valley R-III School District is excited to offer a nutritious and energizing start to every student's day—FREE breakfast for all! This incredible opportunity is made possible by provision 2 under the National School Breakfast Program, and it’s designed with one simple goal in mind: ensuring that our students have the energy they need for a successful day of learning.

However, to keep programs like these available, it’s crucial for families to complete the Free and Reduced Meal Application. By doing so, you help the District qualify for vital funding that supports all students. Your participation ensures that every child continues to receive the benefits of nutritious meals, which are key to their academic and personal growth.

If you haven’t yet filled out the application, please reach out to your child’s school office for a form or assistance. Together, we can make sure every student in the Meramec Valley R-III School District starts their day ready to learn, grow, and succeed.

Mrs. Jackson~ Math & Science

Mrs. Menley~Language Arts, Reading & History

Mrs. Alcorn~Math

Ms. DiBlasi~History & Science

Mrs. Tandy~Language Arts & Reading

Mr. Crabtree~Math

Mr. Gilcrease~Language Arts & Reading

Mr. Wengler~History & Science

We are currently finishing our unit on whole digit multiplication and moving right into whole digit division. Parents and guardians, we need your help! Many of our students are struggling with their basic math facts. Please study nightly with them. If you need any resources to help your child practice at home, please reach out to us, and we can help with ideas and resources. Also, please check with your child nightly to make sure all homework is completed and ready to be returned to school the next day! Thank you so much for your support in your child's learning!

We have been working through our new series. Our focus has been personal narratives. Students have been learning skills such as: personification, inferences, strong verbs, strong and descriptive adjectives, as well as, writing their own personal narrative. Students will be bringing home an assignment in the next couple of weeks to ask questions about how they got their name. After this unit, we will be moving on the Mayas, Incas, and Aztecs in reading.

Science

We will be focusing on our life science unit entitled "Web of Life". Students will learn about food chains and webs, plant growth, the function of decomposers, and ecosystems. Students will play interactive card games to help them learn these concepts and will be creating and observing a mold terrarium.

Social Studies

Students will partner up with a classmate and create a WeVideo presentation about a specific Westward Expansion topic. Students will begin by doing reading and research of their topic while taking notes. Then they will create a short video about their topic using the WeVideo website.

Mrs. Boling~English

Mr. Effan~Social Studies

Ms. Griffin~Science

Mrs. Voss~Math

Mrs. Stumborg~English

Mr. Slaughter~Social Studies

Mrs. Todahl~Science

Mrs. Weil~ Math

Mr. McMahon

Ms. Shearin

Language Arts

Our students are currently completing their survey projects, which involve creating charts and graphs to showcase how their classmates responded to questions about their inventions. After receiving feedback from their peers and making necessary edits, they will begin presenting their projects. Looking ahead, our next major assignment will be a narrative essay. This project will allow students to focus on real experiences from their lives. We will start the process by brainstorming specific memories related to events, objects, or people that have had a significant impact on them.

Social Studies

Ancient History: In October, students will conclude their study of Mesopotamia and begin an exciting journey into ancient Egypt. We will investigate the physical landscape and the development of this intricate civilization.

Math

6th grade math students are finishing up Multiplying and Dividing Fractions and will be starting Additing, Subtraction and Multiplying, Dividing Decimals this month.

Advanced math students are finishing up Ratios and will be starting a chapter on Converting Fractions, Decimals and Percents.

Please make sure you are keeping updated in Infinite Campus for any missing assignments. And make sure your child has pencils for class.

Reading

We will be enjoying Unit 6- Hidden Truths. We will be reading "The Mouse Bride", "The Boatman's Flute", and "Prince and the Pauper". Book Reports will be due October 30th. The book reports can be accessed online.

Science

Homework Check: Please take a moment each night to check in with your child about any homework they may have. Staying on top of assignments is crucial for their success.

New Module: We have begun an exciting new module titled, “The Sun-Earth-Moon Systems.” As part of this module, students will be completing a STEM Module Project that will serve as an assessment grade.

Absences and Classwork: If your child has been absent or is struggling to keep up in class, it is vital for them to bring home any unfinished work to prevent falling behind.

Supplies Needed: Some students have been forgetting to bring essential supplies such as pencils, highlighters, and colored pencils. Please check with your child to ensure they have everything they need to succeed.

Odyssey: Students will be finishing their historical event project and presenting their findings the first week this month. Then we will move into our statistics unit.

Hello Pacific Intermediate families!

We are in the seventh week of school and we are pleased to report that your children are doing awesome in the new school year! Students are getting used to their new schedule, adjusting to new teachers, making friends and learning at a new grade level with higher responsibilities and expectations. Last month we were able to serve many students and families with our counseling services. Our goal is to always help students and their families in any way possible. Sometimes we cannot change a situation but we can always offer an understanding, supportive, safe place to listen and help students through difficult times.

Last month, in the classrooms, we learned about bullying prevention. While many of our students feel confident about prevention, there is an ongoing need to remind students about the risks and consequences of bullying behaviors. Students should now feel confident about recognizing when bullying is happening, reporting to a trusted adult, and refusing bullying by being kind and inclusive. Hopefully many students will be able to take a leadership role and move from bystander to upstander in standing up for themselves and others. Parents, we can use your help to connect school and home by making sure to let us know if you hear about bullying. Please let your child know they can report bullying to any trusted adult at school or at home and give them the clear message that it is never okay to bully others. We realize a lot of bullying happens outside of school, so if your child is being bullied outside of school, please ask them to share with you, so you can protect them by talking to bullies parents, keeping your child away from harmful social media sites, blocking the bully or reporting to the police if life threatening. Thank you for helping us make our school a safe, respectful, and caring place where everyone can learn.

This month we will be celebrating Red Ribbon Week October 28th - 31st. This year's theme is “Life is a Movie, Film Drug Free.” The students will be watching videos, having discussions, and learning more about making healthy and safe choices. We will be celebrating with many upcoming contests such as student art, essays, skits, videos, door decorating, etc. Contest winners will be announced at our assembly on October 31st with the opportunity to present. Pacific Intermediate will have Red Ribbon spirit dress up days and on Halloween, students will be allowed to wear school appropriate Halloween outfits. Please note, students are not allowed to wear face paint or masks at school.

If the counseling department can be of any assistance to you or your child, please contact us and let us know how we can help.

Warm Wishes,

Ally Speicher 5th Grade Counselor

Jeanne Diamond 6th Grade Counselor

Emails will be sent out to parents and guardians with vaccine non compliance.Please ensure that medical records are up to date by October 11th. You can update them through the parent portal or by contacting the school nurse and providing the necessary documents.

Pacific Intermediate

195 N Indian Pride Dr.

Pacific, MO 63069

www.mvr3.k12.mo.us

Phone: 636-271-1425

Fax: 636-271-1465