The Panther Press

September is Attendance Awareness month, and it is a great time to remind you of our attendance procedures.

If your child is absent, please call the office at 714-997-6265 or email Miss Cindi at cynthia.walsh@orangeusd.org to let us know why your child is not at school.

If you know your child will be absent in advance and you would like them to do work to receive credit for attendance, please contact the office as soon as possible. We can create an independent study contract for absences of any length, as long as the teacher has sufficient notice to prepare work. Three days used to be the minimum amount, but now we can do it for one day. By completing the work, your child will receive full credit on completed work during the time they are not at school, and their attendance will not be affected. If a child misses school due to a personal reason, this becomes a truancy; however, if your child completes their independent study contract it does not count as an absence.

Once your child reaches 5 absences, you will receive a letter from the district to notify you of the number of absences. This is so you are aware when making future plans. After conferences, if a child's absences are greater than 10% of the school year thus far, we will schedule an attendance meeting to discuss the absences and assistance to support your child's attendance, academics, behavior, and social skills.

This week and next week, our after school programs will begin. These classes have been offered to our students who qualify for extended learning opportunities first, and now all remaining spots are open to all students. These classes are free of charge. Please only sign up if you plan on having your child attend all the classes. We have had issues with attendance in the past. We have very few spots, so other children miss out when a spot is taken but not attended. All students will be placed on a waitlist upon registration to ensure we enroll 20 students in each class. You will receive a confirmation email before the start of classes, if there is room in the class. You can find information on all classes here: https://ousdcds.ce.eleyo.com/search?redirected_yet=true&sf[category]=81

TK - Kindergarten: Spooky Science on Tuesdays from 2:20 - 3:35, September 17 - October 29, Register here: https://ousd.ce.eleyo.com/course/544/enrichment-2024-25/spooky-science-fall-session%E2%80%946

1st - 6th Grades: Running Club on Monday, Wednesday, AND Friday, 7:30 - 8 AM, begins September 23 - May 30, Register here: https://ousd.ce.eleyo.com/course/453/enrichment-2024-25/running-club

1st - 3rd Grades: Homework Help on Mondays from 2:20 - 4:20, September 16 - November 4, Register here: https://ousd.ce.eleyo.com/course/550/enrichment-2024-25/homework-help-fall-session%E2%80%947

4th - 6th Grades: Homework Help on Wednesdays from 12:50 - 2:50, September 18 - November 6, Register here: https://ousd.ce.eleyo.com/course/550/enrichment-2024-25/homework-help-fall-session%E2%80%947

3rd - 6th Grades: Spanish on Tuesdays AND Thursdays from 2:30 - 3:30, September 24 - November 21, Register here: https://ousd.ce.eleyo.com/course/551/enrichment-2024-25/spanish-fall-session

4th - 6th Grades: eSports on Mondays from 2:30 - 3:30, September 23 - May 19: This team will require an application. Applications will be going home this week. The students chosen for the team will be provided with the link to register. Students not chosen for the team will not be able to participate.

1st Grade Tutoring with Miss Woodward: Those students who are invited to attend these tutoring sessions will receive a paper to register. Only those students can participate.

This week, we will kick off our focus on wellness with Start with Hello! This week has been designed to help students identify loneliness and social isolation in themselves and their peers while teaching them strategies to reach out and help others. This week we focus on inclusivity.

Some events for this week include ...

Monday: Hey Day - everyone wears a nametag to greet each other by name

Tuesday: Post-it if it's a Positive Day - students write positive post-it notes to leave a nice message

Wednesday: Mix It Up Day - play with a new friend

Thursday: Random Acts of Kindness Day - complete a random act of kindness at school

Friday: Be an Upstander Day and Wear Green

We have successfully launched our Positive Behavior Support program - Panthers C.A.R.E. This week, we will focus on reviewing C.A.R.E. - Courtesy, Achievement, and Responsibility for Everyone. Please review this with your child throughout the week. Encourage them to show you their CARE ticket balance and the CARE Store through PBIS Rewards.

This week, we conducted our quarterly lockdown drill. During the lockdown drill, the lights were turned off and the students moved away from the doors and windows. Prior to the drill, classes were notified that we would be having a drill. I explained that if there is an unsafe situation on our campus, we will need to do a lockdown to ensure all of our Panthers are safe.

Don't forget to place your spirit wear order on the PTA website. The last day to order Spirit Wear is September 20th and will be delivered to your student October 22nd.

Tuesday, September 17: Art Masters Parent Lesson/Art Masters Student Assembly

Tuesday, September 17: PTA Meeting

Wednesday, September 18: We CARE Wednesday -Wear shirts with positive messages

Friday, September 20: Be an Upstander - Wear Green

Friday, September 20: Last day to order Panorama PTA Spirit Wear

Tuesday, September 24: Picture Day

Wednesday, September 25: We CARE Wednesday -Wear shirts with positive messages

Thursday, September 26: Vision & Hearing Testing

Friday, September 27: PTA Back to School Dance

Monday, September 30: School Site Council Meeting @3 PM

Wednesday, October 2:We CARE Wednesday -Wear shirts with positive messages

Monday, October 7: Panther Fun Run Kickoff

Monday, October 7 - Friday, October 11: Parent Conferences, MINIMUM DAYS

Wednesday, October 9:We CARE Wednesday -Wear shirts with positive messages

Some over the counter medications, such as lotion and petroleum jelly, are available at school. If you would like your child to have access to these, please fill out and send in the Over the Counter Parent-Guardian Authorization Form found below.

If your child needs medication at school, please bring the medication and the Parent-Physician Medication Form below to the office. If we do not have the Parent-Physician Medication Form, the medication cannot be kept or administered at school.

Click on a grade level below to see the wish lists.

Section 5 of Article IX of the State of California Constitution guarantees students a "free public education." The State Supreme Court concluded in the 1984 case of Hartzell v. Connell, "that all educational activities carried on by public school districts, extra-curricular as well as curricula, must be without cost to the students who participate in such activities." This same ruling found that "mandatory fees for participating in such extra-curricular activities as drama, music, and athletic competition were illegal under the State Constitution." Furthermore, they also rejected the argument that "fees could be charged so long as the district waived fees for students who were financially unable to pay." Recent proposed legislation includes reimbursement with interest for any illegally-collected fees as well as a district sanction.

Transitional Kindergarten

Kindergarten

First Grade

Second Grade

Third Grade

Fourth Grade

Fifth Grade

Sixth Grade

Arrival

- Students may be dropped off as early as 8 AM.

- Enter the parking lot in the inner and outer lanes only. DO NOT ENTER THE PARKING LOT IN THE MIDDLE LANE FOR SAFETY REASONS, even if you see space in the front.

- Stay in the inner and outer lanes, until you are ready to exit the parking lot. You may use the middle lane to exit.

- Pull all the way forward and drop off your child.

- Please help your child quickly exit by having all supplies ready to go. If you need to help your child out of the car, please wait until you are able to stop after the crosswalk.

- Do not leave your car unattended at any time.

- A staff member will be outside to direct students through the front gate until 8:15 AM.

Parking

If you need to enter the school, please park your car in a designated parking spot and come to the office. Never leave your car in lanes unattended or parked along the side wall.

Dismissal

- Place your placard in your window. We will have them available in the parking lot and the office during the first two weeks of school. This placard should include the name of your child(ren), grade(s), and teacher's name(s).

- Enter the parking lot in the inner and outer lanes only. DO NOT ENTER THE PARKING LOT IN THE MIDDLE LANE FOR SAFETY REASONS, even if you see space in the front.

- Stay in the inner and outer lanes. Pull all the way forward and your child will be called to come to your car.

- Your child will enter the car.

- Do not get out of your car or leave your car unattended at any time.

Please be patient as families learn this system. This system keeps everybody safe and efficiently moving forward. Thank you very much for your cooperation and efforts to keep all of our Panthers safe.

Please be sure to label all lunchboxes, sweatshirts, and jackets. Items will quickly begin to appear in our lost and found! If your child is missing an item, please remind them to check the lost and found outside of the office.

Breakfast and lunch will continue to be provided to all students at no cost this school year. Breakfast is served before school starts, beginning at 8:00. Please be sure to have your child here at 8:00, if you would like them to eat breakfast before school starts. This ensures they have enough time to finish.

All students need to be sure they let their teacher know the day before they buy lunch. We may not have enough lunches if they do not request one. Also, please remind your child that they should not be getting lunch if they bring one. On Wednesdays, due to the modified schedule, lunch is not served. Instead, we serve brunch at recess. Please remind your child to let their teacher know on Tuesday that they will be buying brunch on Wednesday. You can find the lunch menu here: https://www.schoolnutritionandfitness.com/index.php?sid=2501081743337031&page=menus

On Wednesdays, brunch is served during recess instead of lunch at the end of the day. Due to this, students attending CARES will need to pack a lunch, if the snacks served are not sufficient. Picking up lunch from nutrition services will not be an option on Wednesdays. Please contact CARES with any questions about the snack schedule.

Don't forget to place your donations in our usagain container. We receive a small amount of funds each time we fill the collection bin in our parking lot. Please deposit any unwanted clothing items in our bin. You can see the items accepted in the image below.

Panorama recycled 9,126 pounds of clothes which led to 23 trees being planted! Keep up the recycling to raise money for our school and to help the environment.

Students are required to possess a bus pass before boarding school buses. Parents choosing to participate in the OUSD busing program must complete an application and select the designated bus stop determined to be the safest and closest bus stop to their home address. You can find the application here.

If your child was in third through sixth grade last year, they completed the Smarter Balanced Summative Assessments. You can access your child's score report in the Aeries Parent Portal under "Test Scores" and then "State Electronic Score Reports." These results will also be discussed with you at parent conferences in October. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the office.

Our 2024-2025 PTA Membership drive has begun! Be sure to purchase your family membership here: https://panoramapta.membershiptoolkit.com/home. When you join PTA, you not only financially support PTA, but you become a voting member. Share your voice at our monthly PTA meetings.

See the flyer below for more information.

Calling ALL artists... "Accepting Imperfection" is the 2024-2025 school year's theme for the annual National PTA Reflections Contest. Explore the arts and express yourself by entering this contest. You can enter projects in the following areas: dance choreography, film production, literature, music composition, photography, and visual arts. Entries will be due in mid-October. Please email reflectionspanorama@gmail.com with any questions.

When your artist is ready to submit, please fill out the entry form for your child here:

https://forms.gle/b1bjvpKDTWLEsUYk7

To keep up to date with PTA news and events, be sure to follow us on social media.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/panoramaelementarypta/?ref=share

www.instagram.com/panorama.elementary.pta

Preparing, valuing, and empowering our scholars to learn, lead, and succeed.

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Twitter @panoramaousd

Email: panoramaprincipal@orangeusd.org
Website: https://www.orangeusd.org/panorama-elementary-school
Phone: (714)997-6265
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PanoramaElementary/
Twitter: @panoramaousd