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PRE Newsletter
April 19th, 2024
Important Dates
April 22-26--Autism Acceptance Spirit Week-See details below!
April 23--Body Venture--See below! We still need several volunteers!
April 25--Kindest Kansas Citian and 2nd grade music program @ 6:30 PM
May 3--Carnival!
May 10--Volunteer Appreciation Breakfast
May 14--Retirement Party-See invitation below!
May 16--Senior Send-off Parade
May 17--Field Day
May 20--Field Day Make-up Day
May 21--5th Grade Farewell
May 22--Talent Show and Lunch with Buddies
May 23--Last Half Day with Dismissal @ 12:10 PM
Body Venture
We are excited that Body Venture has rescheduled with us and will be visiting PRE this Tuesday, April 23. This is an exhibit offered by the Kansas Department of Education and is an amazing learning experience for our students. We had this at PRE a few years ago, and students still remember this day!
Here is a description of Body Venture...
Kindergarten through fifth grade students tour the human body with this exciting immersive
experience. Throughout the exhibit, they will learn how to apply the Body Venture Motto:
EAT SMART. PLAY HARD.
At each of the 11 Body Venture stations, a volunteer presenter engages the students in a five-minute activity focused on healthy choices. The tour begins when students, in groups of eight to ten, enter the school lunchroom and become a food such as a carrot, a strawberry or a piece of cheese. In the second station, they walk through a giant brain. Inside the huge brain, students experience “brain waves” and learn about brain function. The “foods” step into the exhibit’s larger-than-life mouth, are “swallowed” through the esophagus tunnel and move into the stomach. From the stomach, the students travel through the small intestine where they become nutrients that are “absorbed” into the blood stream. Then, they follow the path of the nutrients to the heart, lungs, bones, muscles and skin stations. Students leave the body through Body Venture’s Pathway to Life. This final station recaps key health concepts from each of the 10 previous stations.
We cannot do this without the help of volunteers. If you can help with any part of this process, it would be greatly appreciated. Please see sign-up opportunities below!
PRAIRIE RIDGE CARNIVAL FUNDRAISER-Friday, May 3rd from 6:00-9:00 PM
Buy carnival wristbands and raffle basket tickets here: my.cheddarup.com/c/precarnival2024
Last day to buy presale wristbands will be Friday, April 26th!
This year’s CARNIVAL will feature:
· Midway Games
· Game Prizes
· Inflatable Playhouses
· Raffle Baskets
· The Finale of the Silent Auction
· Carnival Photo Booth
· Temporary Tattoos and Hair Decorations
· Food Truck Festival
All proceeds go directly back to the PTO so we can continue to support our teachers and students.
Wristbands for ages 5-15 are $25 in advance and $30 (no raffle tickets included) at the door. Wristbands will include: Inflatable Playhouses, Midway Games, Prizes, and 5 Raffle Tickets. Adults do not need to purchase a wristband. Children 4 and under are free.
CARNIVAL RAFFLE BASKET FUNDRAISER
Please consider donating an item from our Amazon wish list. Our raffle baskets are full of fun prizes that our students love to win! We need your help to make this possible. Baskets will be displayed in the school office prior to the carnival. Winners will be drawn during Carnival on May 3rd. You do not have to be present to win.
https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/2P817WUCVNDL5?ref_=wl_share
Would you like us to do the shopping for you?
We gladly take monetary donations. Please donate via PayPal to prefamilies@gmail.com or send checks payable to Prairie Ridge PTO to school in an envelope marked PTO Carnival Raffle.
Carnival Volunteers
We need volunteers to make Carnival a success! Students from Monticello Trails Middle School and Mill Valley High School have already volunteered but we need adults to help as well. Volunteers help with inflatable playhouses, games, prize tables and more. Sign up today:
Online Auction
The PRE PTO is getting ready for our annual auction! Do you have tickets to a Chiefs or Current game you can't use? Tickets to a performance at Azure Amphitheatre or Kauffman Center you can't make? A rental property you'd be willing to allow us to use? We'd love to auction off those items this year to raise money for the PRE PTO and our great faculty, staff, and students! Contact Abby Polich (abby.polich@gmail.com) or 608.509.6272 for more information!
PARENT FEEDBACK FORM CONCERNING 2024-2025 CLASS PLACEMENT
There are times when parents have information that is pertinent to share regarding class placement. In my experience, only about 5% of parents share information as parents feel that the classroom teachers know their child well and make decisions that best suit their child. You are your child(ren)’s first teacher, their strongest advocate, and know them the best!
In this feedback, you may wish to share information on your child’s learning style, academic strengths, or social needs. Or you might know information about a situation outside of school which might impact your child’s learning or social-emotional well-being. This information assists us in placing each child in the classroom that suits him/her best.
If you are providing input about teacher-student fit, I would ask that you please refrain from requesting any specific teacher by name. There are several reasons for this:
- Grade levels spend a great deal of time reviewing student needs both academically and socially as we determine class placement.
- Accepting requests for specific teachers from the bulk of our parents would make assigning students to classes very difficult, if not impossible.
- Further, there may be multiple requests from families for children to be in the same classroom, yet this could create a situation that is not conducive to learning for all students in the classroom.
If you are providing input on multiple children from the same family, please complete one survey PER child.
Parent input will remain confidential. If you choose to provide input, please do so before APRIL 24. Thank you!
Need something to do this summer? Get a Skate City summer pass and skate for $2 a session!
☀️ Anyone can buy the pass (not just PRE students) So please pass it on to friends and family members as well! Just have them put Prairie Ridge in the school field!
Purchase your pass here: https://app.getoccasion.com/p/n/s99VvZ7K/v5
(It will look like you're making a reservation but you're just choosing the date as your purchase date).
Students of the Week
Congratulations to our students of the week! As a reminder, one change this year will be the Student of the Week yard signs. The Student of the Week yard signs will be in the office. If you would like to stop by and grab a sign to have in your yard the week that your child is student of the week, please stop by and get a sign. When the week is done, please simply return the sign to the school for other families to use. We love celebrating each student!
Jett Jacobson
Charlie Lowe
Ernie Crawford
Sebastian Nunez
Ben Stewart
Henry Tanner
NOW TAKING RESERVATIONS FOR LUNCH AT SCHOOL
Would you like to come and enjoy lunch with your child? We would love to have you come experience lunch at PRE. Right now we are reviewing lunchroom expectations (and training our new Cougars!), so we will invite families in after Labor Day. We will continue with signing up for lunch to ensure that we know who will be entering the building as a safety measure. There are THREE families per grade level. If you are coming as a family, please use ONE spot for your family. For those who are new to Prairie Ridge, visitors for lunch are often a parent, a relative, or a family friend, usually someone who is visiting from out of town.
Please, keep in mind the following important points:
- Lunch periods are 27 minutes long and we have to stay on schedule to fit everyone in close to a normal "lunch time."
- Parents may be joined at their reserved table by their child only. It can create negative competition with hurt feelings when we allow for others to join.
- Parents may bring in outside food for their dining party only. We have several students with food allergies and intolerance, and the students know that for safety reasons we do not share or trade food. Food and/or drink must be consumed during the lunch period and not sent back to class with the student.
- Confidentiality is important to us, so kindly refrain from sharing stories later if you happen to notice that another child is having behavioral or learning challenges. We've got people for that! Feel absolutely free to seek assistance from our on-duty staff if you notice that someone needs help!
How do I sign up? Click this link to let us know when you are coming! Closer to your date, please call the office to reserve a school lunch if you're not bringing your own. The cost of an adult lunch is $4.35, which needs to be paid (with exact change, please) on the date you will eat with us.
2023-24 Lunch Times
10:50--K
11:50--1st
11:20--2nd
12:20--3rd
12:50--4th
1:20--5th
If you like LOTS of happy noise all at once and don't mind the possibility of wearing syrup and ketchup on your body when you leave...feel free to join us!