Pleasant Hill Family News
November 22, 2024
Pleasant Hill Families,
As a reminder, there will be no school next Wednesday through Friday, November 27-29, in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday. We wish you and yours a wonderful holiday!
Jenn
Jennifer Humphrey, Principal
Pleasant Hill School
Safer, Smarter Kids
This month's lessons with Mrs. Szeman
This month, all classes will participate in Lesson 4 of the Safer, Smarter Kids curriculum with our school counselor, Mrs. Szeman. Safer Smarter Kids is an abuse prevention education curriculum designed for PreK and elementary-aged children. The education program uses developmentally appropriate information to arm children with the tools and language they need to better protect themselves from abuse. Lessons taught help us to meet our state requirements for abuse prevention education.
Kindergarteners and 1st graders will learn about personal space and safe and unsafe touches.
2nd graders will learn about body boundaries, personal privacy, and safe use of cell phone cameras.
Students will participate in more lessons in the coming months. For more information visit https://safersmarterkids.org/ or reach out to Mrs. Szeman at mszeman@scarboroughschools.org.
Chilly Weather is Here!
The temperatures have been very variable lately and our playground is very shady.
Please make sure your children have jackets and hats and mittens so they are prepared for any weather.
Should your family need assistance obtaining winter gear, please reach out to our school counselor, Molly Szeman at mszeman@scarboroughschools.org.
Thank you!
Library News
Meg Blakemore is in her second year in the Scarborough Schools where she is serving as the K-5 Resource Librarian, overseeing the programs in our four elementary schools.
Notes from the K-2 Libraries
Our goal in the primary libraries is for kids to grow into readers. Here’s what you can do do to help:
When your child brings home their red library bag, ask to see their books.
Ask: “Why did you choose this book?”
Share what you like to read or the types of stories you like.
Ask your student what book the class read during library time. Invite them to retell it to you.
These questions will help kids start to think about who they are as a reader.
If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact your school’s library teacher or Meg Blakemore, K-2 Resource Librarian (mblakemore@scaroboroughschools.org).
The PH Student Support Staff
From L to R:
Mrs. Swinburne, Mrs. Staples, Mrs. Pinkham, Mrs. Richardson, and Mrs. Chadbourne
Fun Fact: All members of the Student Support Team went to college in New England.
A Note from Nurse Dorice
Our community has seen a sharp increase in pediatric pneumonia cases within the past few months. Here is information from the CDC on the surge of Mycoplasma Pneumoniae. Community outbreaks typically occur every 3-5 years...
CDC information on M. Pneumoniae Surge
Per the CDC, M. pneumoniae infections are generally mild and mostly present as a chest cold but some may present with pneumonia. Symptom onset is typically gradual and can include fever, headache, sore throat and a slowly worsening cough. Most recover without treatment, but some need antibiotics to feel better.
Strategies that prevent respiratory viruses, such as handwashing and covering coughs and sneezes, also prevent these bacteria from spreading.
Be Well!
Dorice Groshon, PH Nurse
Clothes Donations Needed for Clinic!
The clinic is running very low on spare clothes, especially pants for both boys and girls/unisex. Sizes 5-8 are most needed. If you have clothes your children have outgrown, we would appreciate them. Thanks to your generous donations at the beginning of the year, we are all set with underwear.
Caught Being Safe, Kind, and Focused
Leona
was so KIND when she helped a friend whose snack had spilled. She jumped right up and helped clean up the mess. Nice work, Leona!
Adam
is so FOCUSED. He is almost always one of the first students to come to the rug ready to learn. He sits down right away, turns off his voice, and puts his eyes on the teacher. Awesome work, Adam!
Pleasant Hill Helpers
Our students amaze us everyday...
by working hard to be SAFE, KIND, and FOCUSED....and by being wonderful helpers. Below are a few opportunities to help out in our community:
Hat, Mitten and Sock Donations
Scarborough Food Pantry Collection
As the weather gets cooler, and the holidays are upon us, let’s team up to support our community! The Food is being gratefully accepted to benefit the Scarborough Food Pantry in November and December. To provide some variety with our donation, we ask grade levels to focus on the following items, but nothing will be turned away, as the folks at the pantry have indicated they currently “need everything.”
Kindergarten- potatoes and gravy
First Grade- cranberry and carrots
Second Grade-stuffing and peas
Staff-fresh, whole squash or bags of apples
We'll collect food in the box in our lobby through December 13th.
In the coming weeks, students will have the opportunity to be Pleasant Hill Helpers by:
gathering items from the class to bring to the donation boxes in the lobby
drawing a picture of their own favorite food to be added to the donation box
helping to count items donated (there will not be a competition of who collected the most…this is just for counting practice and helping out!)
assisting with a morning announcement about how many items we’ve collected together as a school.
Thank you for your support!
Oak Hill Players Presents
Your Partnership is Important to Us
A Request from Mrs. Chaples
Call for plastic bottle caps for spring sculptures
This year at PH we will be exploring sculpture with all grades. As part of this sculpture project, I would like to create sculptures using recycled materials. One of the biggest materials for our school wide project are bottle caps. These bottlecaps can be any color or size. We can also use small to medium size plastic container lids - i.e. lids for yogurt, butter, hummus, etc. We are hoping to collect at least 4-5 trashbags full of bottle caps and lids by March. If you are able to send in some with your child, that would be greatly appreciated. I will be keeping a dropoff area in the art/music classroom. Please reach out to me personally with any questions. My email is jchaples@scarboroughschools.org.
Many thanks for supporting our students' creativity!
Special Parking Request
For those parking on Woodland Road:
To promote safety and prevent congestion, please park only on the right hand side of the road when heading up the hill, leaving 30 feet from the stop sign. Thank you for your assisting, as we work to keep pedestrians safe.
Volunteer/Visitor Training
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:
Monday, Dec. 2nd-12-12:20 pm
Training is 20 minutes in length.
Where: https://scarboroughschools.zoom.us/j/9577613642
No need to sign up, just hop on Zoom!
Free Covid Tests
If interested, you may once again order 4 free COVID tests through USPS. Click this link for further information. https://special.usps.com/testkits
Scarborough Primary PTA
Important Dates
January 13, 2025: PTA Meeting 7-8PM, Town Hall or virtually: *NEW* monthly meeting link
Dec 6: Little Gym Fundraiser Night
Jan 4: Maine Mariners Fundraiser Night
Teacher Feature
This week's teacher feature is Mrs. Jones at Pleasant Hill! Thank you for all you do! If you'd like to support Mrs. Jones' classroom please click here to find her amazon wish list!
FUNDRAISING EVENT WITH LITTLE GYM
December 6th: drop your kids off and go get some holiday shopping done! Each session is one hour and costs $25 per child. 50% of the proceeds will be donated to Scarborough PTA! To find out more and sign up click here!!!
Fundraising Event with Maine Mariners
Communication with the Main Office
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
Bus Routes
Bus routes are available on the Scarborough School Website here. If you have any questions regarding your child's bus stop, please call the Transportation Department at (207) 730-4145, or email the Transportation Supervisor, Sarah Redmond, at sredmond@scarboroughschools.org.
Please click here to learn how to sign up for MY Rides K-12 which will allow you to follow your child's process along the bus route.
Nutrition Information
December Menus are Available!
Please remember to order December Lunches.
Please read this letter from the Nutrition Department regarding school lunch & breakfast. Students are able to access breakfast as soon as they arrive to school.
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.
Mark your Calendars
Upcoming Events
November 26 Fall Flannel Day! Students are invited to wear their cozy flannels or fall colors.
November 27-29 Thanksgiving Break
December 2 12:00 pm Volunteer Training. No need to sign up. Just join at:
https://scarboroughschools.zoom.us/j/9577613642
December 11 Early Release Day. Dismissal is at 1:45.
December 23-January 1, 2025 Holiday Break
Pleasant Hill Primary School
Email: jhumphrey@scarboroughschools.org
Website: https://pleasanthill.scarboroughschools.org/
Location: 143 Highland Avenue, Scarborough, ME, USA
Phone: 207-730-5250