PCK Weekly Newsletter

For this week’s spotlight, we simply want to say thank you to everyone who helped make Teacher Appreciation Week so special.

Our incredible PTO put together a wonderful theme that took our teachers on a trip around the world—no passport required! From enjoying Churros in Mexico, to savoring Crepes in France, and sipping Italian Sodas in Italy, our staff was truly treated to a global experience.

Beyond the delicious treats, what meant the most was the overwhelming kindness and generosity from our community. The thoughtful messages, treats, and gestures of appreciation reminded every staff member how valued they are.

Times like these remind us of the powerful impact we have on one another. We are deeply grateful for the effort, care, and love shown to our team—it made us feel truly seen and cherished.

As we approach the end of a wonderful school year, we were excited to hold our final Character Assembly to celebrate students who exemplify the values we’ve focused on throughout the year. This month, we recognized a handful of students for demonstrating Courage and Creativity, our character traits for April and May.

Whether through bold acts of bravery or imaginative thinking, these students stood out as role models in our community. We are always looking for meaningful ways to celebrate the many positive qualities our students possess, and this assembly was a joyful way to honor the ways that they enrich our school.

We celebrate the growth of our students this year, not just academically, but as thoughtful and compassionate individuals. We are proud of all they have accomplished this year!

As we approach the end of the school year, we have several themed and class-specific dress down days planned. Please review the schedule below and prepare accordingly. Note that if a specific class is mentioned next to a dress down day, it applies only to that class.

Dress Down Day Schedule

• Monday, May 19 – Read-a-Thon Pajama Day (Preschool–3rd Grade)
  

• Thursday, May 22 – Alice in Wonderland Day (3rd Grade only)
  

• Friday, May 23 – Final Friday Dress Down Day (All Grades)
  

• Tuesday, May 27 – Favorite Color Day: Wear your favorite color from head to toe (All Grades)
  

• Tuesday, May 27 - Pirate Day (4th Grade only)

• Wednesday, May 28 – Tropical Vacation Day (All Grades – no swimsuits)

• Thursday, May 29 – Class Theme/Color Day (1st–7th Grade)
  

• Thursday, May 29 – Dress Up Day for Kindergarten Continuation (Kindergarten only)

Our annual Field Day is coming up on Thursday, May 29—at Salisbury Park. To help everything run smoothly, here are the key details for the day:

• Student drop-off will begin at 8:30 a.m. at Salisbury Park.

• Student pick-up will begin at 1:00 p.m., as Field Day activities begin to wrap up.

A huge thank you to all the incredible volunteers who stepped up this past week—we’ve already filled over 60 volunteer slots! Your support is what makes events like Field Day possible.

That said, we still need a little under 120 additional volunteers to fully staff all stations. If you’re available, we would love to have you join us. Please check out our volunteer opportunities at the link below.

Our science classes recently concluded their unit on life cycles with a special hands-on experience: releasing butterflies after they transformed from caterpillars. It was an excellent way to close out the learning opportunity about lifecycles firsthand.

In addition, some of our students took the lead in preparing a Monarch Butterfly Waystation on campus. This space not only supports local pollinators but also helps beautify our school grounds.

Our Athletic Department will be hosting its final tournament of the year with a Cornhole Tournament on Thursday, May 22 at 5:00 p.m. This event will feature three different brackets: Grades K–2, Grades 3–5, and Grades 6–8.

Prizes will be awarded to the top two teams in each bracket: first-place winners will receive a $50 Santortas gift certificate, and second-place finishers will receive a $25 Santortas gift certificate.

Teams will compete in a round-robin style format. What makes this tournament special is that we’re encouraging family participation—parents or guardians are welcome to compete alongside their child as a team. Please refer to the team and player registration forms below for more information on this tournament.

Way to Go’s Schoolpool program is returning to PCK for the 2025–26 school year. Schoolpool helps connect nearby families to share school transportation through carpooling. It’s also a great way to meet neighbors or have backup ride options.

If you don’t want to participate or share your contact info, please opt out using the form below. No action is needed if you wish to join.

Each week, any items that are clearly labeled with a student’s name are returned to their classroom. However, there are many unlabeled items still remaining at the Lost and Found station.

We kindly ask that you remind your child to check the Lost and Found for any belongings they may have misplaced during the school year. Please note that any unclaimed items will be donated once we leave for Summer Break.

With summer right around the corner, we’d like to remind families that any student medications brought to the health room during the school year must be picked up prior to Field Day, on May 29. Medications cannot be stored over the summer. Thank you for your attention to this matter!

We have partnered once again with School Tool Box for the 2025–26 school year. You can now order prepackaged school supply boxes tailored to each grade level’s supply list—everything your child will need for the entire year.

Orders are open now through Sunday, June 1. Please be sure to select the box that matches the grade your child will be entering this fall.

Our Auction Encore has officially concluded!

If you placed a bid during the event, please reach out to us at thefoundation@ckcs.net to find out if you won your item. We’re happy to assist and share the final results with you.

To all of our donors—thank you. This year, your generosity was more than a gift; it was a powerful statement of belief in what our school can become. You didn’t just give—you gave boldly, with the expectation of transformation. And for that, we are deeply grateful.

At our final SAC meeting of the year, we reviewed the results of our recent parent survey. We were delighted to see increased participation this year and are so appreciative of the time and thoughtful input shared by so many of you. Your insights and passion for our school community play a crucial role in shaping our direction and priorities. The SAC is an advisory committee, therefore our role is to gather feedback from the PCK community and provide meaningful recommendations to help improve and/or maintain the high quality of our school systems.

Here are a few key takeaways and next steps:

• Website Improvements: We heard your concerns regarding the school website and we are excited to inform you that updates to enhance usability and accessibility of the PCK website will take place over the summer!

• Community Engagement:

• We received valuable feedback on how to make our school organizations more welcoming and their meetings more accessible. This information is being passed along to SAC, PTO, the Foundation, and the Board of Directors so they can look at ways to support positive changes.

• The survey revealed a recurring theme: a clear need to better inform and educate parents on a range of topics, from specific aspects of their children's education to accessing important information. In response, we have recommended the development of “Parent University,” a series of short videos designed to raise awareness and support parents through accessible, practical guidance.

• Activities and Clubs: The school is exploring opportunities to offer more activities and clubs for students to further enrich their school experience.

• Strategic Planning: Based on your input, our administrators are working to further the staff retention plan as part of the overall strategic plan, reinforcing their commitment to supporting and retaining our talented educators.

• Educator Performance: We were pleased to see that you feel our educators are performing at a high and satisfactory level, and we appreciate your recognition of their dedication and hard work.

• The survey results will be presented to our Board of Directors to inform decision-making moving forward.

Thank you again for your engagement and support throughout the year. As this was our final meeting of the year, we wish you all a safe, restful, and enjoyable summer!

This week, we are proud to shine our Volunteer Spotlight on the incredible individuals and families who helped bring our production of Fiddler on the Roof to life.

We are deeply grateful for the time, energy, and heart that each of you contributed. Whether you helped behind the scenes, supported with costumes and sets, managed logistics, or encouraged our students every step of the way—your involvement made all the difference.

Thanks to your dedication, our students had the unforgettable opportunity to participate in and learn from this meaningful production. We truly could not have done it without you.