Welcome Back Pittman Families

Dear Pittman Families,

It is with great pleasure and enthusiasm that I write this letter as your Pittman principal for the 2024-2025 school year!

This will be my 19th year in education. I taught for 10 years before I became Pittman's instructional coach. I enjoyed that position for four years before I became principal. This will be my 5th year as the Pittman principal.

Personally, I am a wife and mother. I have three sons; Najem (13), Layth (12) and Jasim (9). They keep us busy with soccer, swimming, and boy shenanigans. As a family we enjoy being outdoors, watching professional soccer on TV, or playing board games. This summer we traveled to Montana where we hiked, played in some mountain snow, and kayaked.

One of the most important aspects of my work here at Pittman is to continue building strong relationships with families, students, staff, and community members. You’ll find me in classrooms, hallways, and community activities. I am a leader who is passionate about providing a safe, loving, and academic-rich environment for ALL students.

I am excited to start the 24-25 school year and look forward to seeing all our returning families and meeting new ones at our Meet the Teacher event on August 15th from 3:00-4:30. You can read more about this event below.

I look forward to working with you this year!

GO EAGLES!

Mrs. Agnew

This year we have some new faces in the building...please welcome...

Ms. Bethany Hubbell - Kindergarten teacher

Ms. Elizabeth Harvey - 1st grade teacher

Ms. Lindsay Schroeder- 4th grade teacher

Ms. Catrina McMillian - Cross-Categorical teacher

Ms. Anne Longwell - School Community Liaison

Ms. Robin Montez - LIbrary Clerical

Ms. Laura Evans - Cross-Categorical teacher

These staff members have moved on to other adventures this year:

Ms. Amanda Janson

Ms. Valerie Ross

Ms. Cory Sutherlin

Ms. Maggie Dickerson

Mr. Hayden Puckett

Mr. Travis Clubb

Ms. Amanda Werhan

July 29th - The building is open to take care of any registration needs or questions!

August 14th - Fass Pass Day - pick-up your back-to-school paperwork anytime from 7:30-4. This will help you bypass completing it at our Meet the Teacher event.

August 15th - Tinga Tacos Food Truck on-site for purchase. Come get lunch! 11-2:00

August 15th- Meet the Teacher - 3:00-4:30 *See flyer below

August 19th- First Day of School! *see more details below

August 19th - Celebrate the first day with delicious ice cream. Hart of the Ozarks will have their ice cream truck parked near the playground from 3:00-4:00, with ice cream for purchase.

August 26th- We will have an all-school, all-drill walk- through. This means we will practice our lock-down, storm drill, and fire drill on the same day for teaching purposes. We notify parents to allow for preparation of loud noise and to reduce any fear or anxiety.

September 2nd- NO SCHOOL - Labor Day

September 3rd - PTA Meeting @ 6 in the library

September 5th- Pittman SPS U (open house) - 5:00-6:30

September 30th - School Picture Day - individual & class picture (this is the only opportunity for school photos, as there will be NO spring photos this year)

October 18th - NO SCHOOL - teacher workday

October 21-Nov 1 - Parent Teacher Conference Weeks

If you are a returning Pittman family I want to make you aware of a big change in the way we communicate. We will no longer be using Class Dojo as our communication tool. This year all K-5 buildings in the district will be utilizing SeeSaw. You will be receiving an email on August 15th with details on how to sign-up. If you do not receive the email, your child's teacher will have information on how to sign-up at Meet the Teacher.

The below flyer is headed to your mailbox! Make sure you are following us on our facebook page and have our website sps.org/pittman bookmarked. We will post details here when they become available.

Meet the Teacher

Don't forget to join us at Meet the Teacher on August 15th. Come grab your back to school paperwork on August 14th. You can fill it out on-site, or take home and return during business hours or at Meet the Teacher.

This completed paperwork will get you a fast pass to your teacher's name at Meet the Teacher. We appreciate your help in advance as we gather all the necessary paperwork for Back to School!

*For more information see flyer below.

August 19th - First Day of School! Parents are welcome to walk their students in on the first TWO days of school. Door #1 opens at 7:40. Door #1 will be the only arrival door this year.

Those that arrive between 7:40-7:55 will need to stay in the cafeteria to wait as teachers welcome students in classrooms at 7:55. From 7:55-8:10, families can walk their student straight to their classroom. When the bell rings at 8:10, families will need to exit so students can start learning about their classroom and building relationships with their teacher and classmates. After the first two days, all students will walk themselves to class.

PLEASE PARK YOUR CAR IN THE LOT IF YOU ARE WALKING YOUR STUDENT(S) UP TO THE BUILDING TO AVOID BLOCKING THE FLOW OF CAR DROP-OFF

Celebrate the first day of school with some ice cream! Visit Hart of the Ozarks food truck by our small playground. They will have ice cream for purchase starting at 3:00 on the first day of school.

All school supplies, with the exception of backpacks and water bottles, will be provided by Schweitzer Church! We will have some backpacks available at our Meet the Teacher event - first come, first serve.

The government program that paid for students to eat lunch has expired. This year all students will be charged for lunch, unless your student qualifies for free lunch program.

At Pittman, we have a program called Breakfast in the Classroom. This program provides free breakfast for all students who want to eat.

Lunch Prices:

Lunch: Full: $3.15 Reduced: $0.40

As part of the back to school paperwork, ALL families (regardless of financial status) will complete the Free and Reduced Meal Application. You can get started with yours HERE. You only need to fill out one form per family. All families must reapply each year.

Meal Payment

Cash/Check: You can send in meal payments in an envelope, labeled with your student's name, in their red folder.

Online Payment: You can pay online HERE.

Lunch Menus

The lunch menu link will be included in my weekly newsletter. You can find it HERE.

Eating Lunch with your Student

Pittman is fortunate enough to have outside picnic tables and a few tables in the hallway. Families are welcome to eat lunch with their student at either location. Any visitor must check in at the front office first (Door #1).

Read more information about district lunch procedures HERE.

1. Students should not be dropped off at the front doors before 7:40 am to avoid a gathering of unsupervised students.

Door #1 will open at 7:40. Any student who arrives from 7:40-7:55 will sit quietly in the cafeteria.

Door #1 is at our main entrance. This door is accessed by our circle drive. (SEE ARRIVAL MAP BELOW). Door #1 will be the only arrival door this school year.

2. The tardy bell rings at 8:10

3. Breakfast ends at 8:20

**Going to be late or absent? Call the office (417-523-4700), message Ms. Gwen on SeeSaw, or email gethomas@spsmail.org by 8:10.

If your student arrives after 8:25, please walk them into the building to sign them in.

Riding a Bike: With permission, students in grades 3-5 are allowed to ride their bikes to school without an adult. Please wear helmets. Bike riders must walk bikes on/off school grounds and have a way to lock their bikes to the racks. Scooters, skates, or skateboards are not allowed on school property. Due to safety concerns, students in grade K-2 are not allowed to ride their bikes to school without an adult present.

Walkers: Should cross only at the crosswalk on Bennett and enter the building using Door #1. Walkers should avoid arriving before 7:40. There is no staff supervision before 7:40.

Car Riders: Students should remain in cars until the door opens at 7:40. Please do not let your student out of the car until a staff member is present.

Walkers exit the building out door #1 or #6 depending on which direction they walk. Door #1 if they cross Bennett or walk along Bennett; Door #6 if they walk toward the neighborhood area to the south of Pittman. Please make sure your child knows where to exit. Students are responsible for leaving school property and heading straight to their destination.

Walkers are dismissed at 3:05

Car Riders (SEE DISMISSAL MAP BELOW)

3-5 students are dismissed out door #1 to the circle drive, unless they have a K-2 sibling.

K-2 students (and any 3-5 siblings) are dismissed out door #6 on the east side of the building.

Car Riders are dismissed at 3:10

Please help us make car lines go smoothly AND keep it safe:

1. Always display your car tag. Please pick one of these up at our Meet the Teacher event.

2. Always stay in your car. Staff members will load students into cars. If your student still struggles to buckle themselves, please pull over into the parking lot to help them.

3. At the East Parking Lot pickup, we load 10 cars at a time then the line will move. Please keep your car in park until the line moves.

4. Never block the crosswalk in the circle drive.

5. Please be patient.

At Pittman, we have 3 options for After School Care and 1 before school option:

1. Y Academy (formerly Primetime): through the YMCA and on-site. For enrollment and pricing information check out the program details HERE. This program has BEFORE and AFTER SCHOOL care and runs from 6:30am - 6:30pm

2. Boys and Girls Club: off-site but they provide transportation only for AFTER SCHOOL. For enrollment and pricing information, for more details click HERE. This program runs until 7:30pm each day.

3. East Grand: off-site but they provide transportation AFTER SCHOOL. For more information click HERE or by emailing Stephanie Brown at eastgrandcommunityservices@gmail.com for before school care. This program runs until 6:00pm each evening.

Front Door:

Students, parents, and patrons need to ENTER THE SCHOOL THROUGH THE DESIGNATED FRONT DOOR by the office (door #1) once school has started. All other outside doors will remain locked, including the door adjacent to the cafeteria. Please enter through the door that has the red #1 sticker on it. Push the buzzer outside of the secretary's office to alert the secretary. Have your ID ready.

Visitors

During school hours, all visitors and volunteers must check-in at the office. If visitors are entering the building they will check-in using our Hall Pass system and will need their ID.

Visitor vs. Volunteer

For more details regarding the difference between being a visitor and being a volunteer click HERE.

Pets:

Animals are not allowed on district property, except in accordance to district policy. Read more about the district's policy HERE.

Birthdays:

Food - Per the district wellness policy, students may bring only food items that fit the wellness policy on their birthday to share with classmates (fruit snacks, small bag of chips/crackers, etc.). Only prepackaged food allowed. Preferably non-food items (stickers, pencils, etc.) may be brought to celebrate.

Invitations - Birthday party invitations will only be handed out, if the entire class is invited. Staff cannot provide parents with any directory information.

Dress Code:

Policy JFCA and the Student Handbook outlines the Student Attire and Health and Safety Standards. Included in that policy are some of the following:

1. Hats, including beanies, animal ears, and hoods are not to be worn in the school building unless approved by building administration. Religious exemptions allowing head coverings should be directed to the building administration.

2. Shoes must be worn at all times. Slippers or heelys are not appropriate footwear.

3. Coats or jackets shall not be worn/used in a disruptive manner by students.

4. T-shirts and/or other apparel will not contain profanity, obscenities, suggestive, or provocative statements, statements that cause disruption and uncivil conduct in school, drug, alcohol symbols, advertisements, or gang dress symbols are not to be worn.

5. Clothing that promotes disruptive behavior of other students are not allowed.

6. Sunglasses are not to be worn in the school building.

7. Any part of a costume should not be worn in the school building (masks, tails, etc.)

8. Chains attached to wallets or used as a fashion accessory are not to be worn in the school building or on school grounds.

9. Strapless, backless, and revealing tops, or clothing that is revealing are not to be worn in the school building.

10. Visibly showing your underwear and/or undergarments is not allowed in the building.

11. Wearing tops that show the bare midriff are not to be worn in the school building.

12. Overly bulky or overly loose clothing including coats that may conceal a weapon or have been used to establish affiliation with groups or gangs whose activities or activities are believed to involve intimidation, violence, or other illegal activities will not be permitted

Class Parties:

Pittman hosts two class parties each year—one in the winter and one for Valentine’s Day. Teachers may request parent support through volunteer participation or donations. If parents attend, please note that siblings are not allowed.

PBIS

At Pittman, we focus on ways to Be Kind, Be Safe and Be a Learner. We call these three focus areas “The Pittman Way”. At school, students will learn the expectations of their behavior in the hallways, lunch, recess, and more. Teachers and students will engage in activities to practice these expectations. Teachers will give out eagle points when students are caught following the expectations. Every other week, students will be able to buy things with their eagle points at our school store.

Behavior/Attendance Quarterly Celebrations

Each quarter, students who have 95% or above attendance and no office referrals, for that quarter, will get to celebrate their hard work! Each quarter we will have a different activity for students. Some of our celebrations last year were a Glow Party and Bounce House. Each quarterly event will be announced at the beginning of each quarter in our Pittman Press newsletter.

Conscious Discipline

In addition to PBIS, Pittman also utilizes Conscious Discipline. Conscious Discipline is a caregiving philosophy that teaches adults to regulate their emotions so that they can help kids to do the same. Some routines & rituals you might hear your student talking about are our breathing techniques, our wish well ritual, classroom jobs, friends and family board, and safe place. To learn more about Conscious Discipline, reach out to our school counselor, Ms. Crystal.

District Discipline

At times, discipline may occur when a behavior incident arises. Mrs. Agnew and Ms. Longwell refer to the district scope & sequence for discipline. This is located in the Student Handbook starting on page 56. This year, all grown-ups will receive a paper copy of the student handbook along with a document to sign and return stating that the handbook has been read by a parent/guardian.

Attendance:

Our goal is for your student's attendance rate to be 95% or higher. Our building goal is to have our attendance rate 95% or higher at all times. We understand that things come up, but please make every effort to have students to school on time. With an early dismissal time, please try to make appointments after 3:10. In order for you student to be most successful, they need to be at school, all day and on time. Please let us know how we can help!

When your student does have to be absent, call Ms. Gwen in the office before 8:10am each day your student is absent to let us know why they are not present at school.

Transfer Policy:

If you are at Pittman on a transfer, please remember that in order to stay on transfer, your student needs to:

*Keep their attendance rate higher than 90%

*Have no more than 3 discipline referrals that result in ISS or OSS

In the event that either of these actions occur, you will be issued a warning letter to keep you informed of the situation. Transfer is a privilege and we want to hold ALL students to high expectations.

School Devices:

All students will have Chromebooks this year.

Students will not be bringing home their devices this year.

On the above PBIS matrix, you will see our expectations for Digital Citizenship. Students are responsible for their devices and their online behavior while at school.

Devices from Home:

All electronic devices, such as but not limited to, cellular phones, cellular watches, headphones, or iPods may be in the student’s possession as long as they are on silent and in the student's backpack. If a student is found with their device during school, the teacher will ask that the device be put back in the backpack for the first offense. During a second offense, the teacher (or office) will safely store the device until the end of day. The School District will not be responsible for lost or stolen items.

If you need to provide a message to your student during school, please call the office.

My goal is to provide clear and consistent communication. I will send out the Pittman Press twice a month, on last day of the week. Included in the Press will be information that will help the school year run smoothly. It will be sent out on SeeSaw, posted on Facebook, and sent out in a text. If you need to receive a paper copy of the Pittman Press, please contact your child’s teacher.

Please make sure to call the office when you have an email, phone number, or address change. I will be using a text/email system called Blackboard Connect. This year, you will need to receive timely updates. Please make sure your contact information is up-to-date and that you are signed up to receive these texts. Here are the directions on how to do that.

If at anytime a problem should arise, please contact your child’s teacher first. Teachers will communicate with parents via SeeSaw, phone, and email. If you wish to speak to your student's teacher, please call the 417-523-4700 during school hours. If the teacher is available, Ms. Gwen will put your through, or if it is an instructional time, she will put you through to their voicemail.

Feel free to contact me or the office through SeeSaw, phone or email.

School—417.523.4700

Mrs. Agnew Email—mragnew@spsmail.org

Ms. Gwen (school secretary) Email - gethomas@spsmail.org

The office is open from 7:30-3:30 each day.

**Mrs. Agnew answers emails and SeeSaw messages from 6:30am-4:30pm as quickly as possible.** Other hours are reserved for family time and rest. I appreciate your understanding.

Check out PTA's table at Meet the Teacher to join the PTA and get a sweet treat!

This year's officers are:

President: Alicia Bliss

Vice President: Maggie Cornell

Secretary: Brandy Mahan

Treasurer: Courtney Goings

Have questions about PTA? email them at pittmanptarocks@gmail.com

Email: mragnew@spsmail.org
Location: 2934 East Bennett Street, Springfield, MO, USA
Phone: 417.523.4700
Facebook: facebook.com/pittmanelementary.com
Twitter: @PrincipalAgnew