Dear Families,

First, a huge shout out to the students and families that are part of our drama production Shrek Jr. Last week our student performers put on six shows - one for 500 elementary students from our feeder schools, two day shows so all their Panther middle school peers could see the performance, and 3 evening shows so over 800 audience members and the community. They did a spectacular job! Thank you to our parent volunteer and producer Ms. Tracy Carson, our director and choreographer Ms. Jessica Couto, the Sadja Family for their work on the sets and helping with the sound system, and to all the parent volunteers who helped with rehearsals, supervision, and set up - we couldn't have done it without you! Check out the photos from the performance at the end of this message.

This week, we invite all current Panther Families and our future Panthers from our feeder elementary schools to stop by the campus on Tuesday, April 30 for Spring Fest: An Exhibition of Learning from 5:30-7:00 PM. See student work samples, visit our science expo, check out the Scholastic Book Fair in the Library and bring a few dollars to enjoy food and sweet treats from the four food trucks that will be in the lunch arbor. Let's celebrate the great Panther learning that has been taking place this semester. We look forward to seeing you on Tuesday!

And last but not least, we start our final fundraister of the school year our Pershing Foundation's Challenge Course. Please check out the Challenge Course Section below for details about the great prizes your child can earn and ways to donate! We are also looking for a parent who would be interested in being the treasurer for the Pershing Foundation for the upcoming school year, if you are interested please check out the details below.

Sincerely,

Melanie Kray

The Pershing Challenge Course is a way for our students to participate in raising much needed funds for our school while also having the opportunity to win some great prizes and have some fun. Donations raised will be used to continue to support the teachers, staff and students of Pershing Middle School. If each family was able to raise or donate $25 we would reach our goal!

How it Works:

Visit the event website at: https://pershingmiddleschoolfoundation.rallyup.com/challengecourse24

Click on the “Students” tab or go to the “Student Center”, use the search box to find your student’s name and go to their fundraising page. You can cut and paste the page link to send to family and friends.

For every $10.00 your student raises in donations, they will earn 1 raffle ticket. Tickets will be placed in the prize boxes of their choosing at lunch the week of the all-school obstacle course on Friday, May 24th. The last day for donations to count for tickets is Friday, May 17th. Winners will be chosen after the event and announced in the Sunday newsletter.

What Can You Win?

Click on the flyer below and see the awesome prizes available!

Due to current board members promoting out from Pershing 8th grade, our Foundation is urgently seeking a treasurer for the upcoming new school year. Without a treasurer, our foundation cannot function and we cannot do amazing things for our students and staff, such as getting our 6th graders to sixth grade camp and offering teacher stipends.

We would hugely appreciate anyone that can step up and help in this vital and rewarding position. Our current treasurer (and VP who was treasurer last year) are ready and available to help anyone who steps up to take the role.

If you’re interested or have questions or would like to learn more about it, please contact our President Antoni Hanus or Vice-President Shawna McCarthy at PershingFoundation@outlook.com

STATE TESTING IS FAST APPROACHING

May 6-17 students will take the CAASPP Math in their Math classes and the CAASPP ELA in their English classes. We will be on a special block schedule during those two weeks to support testing.

To help set your children up for success we ask parents to focus on the following:

• This is our time to shine - although there are multiple measures schools can use to show they are great learning environments for students, state testing is one of the most public. We ask that you encourage your child(ren) to try their best on these exams.
• Your attendance matters - we need our students here every single day! Please do not schedule doctor's appontments or other appointments during state testing. We are required to test a certain percentage of our students and it is important that all students arrive on time everyday.
• Please set your child up for success - ensure they get a good night's sleep and eat a healthy breakfast before coming to school
• Please bring your laptop to school everyday and make sure it is fully charged
• If your child uses their laptop at home please make sure they clear their cookies every evening before they come to school the next day.
• This is the testing schedule:
• May 6-10: Math CAASPP Testing through Math classes (ALL STUDENTS)
• May 13-17: ELA CAASPP Testing through English classes (ALL STUDENTS)

It was another strong athletic performance for our Pershing teams this weekend.

Our Boys Wrestling team remains undefeated with a 5-0 record heading into the final week of matches before playoffs. Our Girls Flag Football team also remains undefeated with two decisive wins over CPMA and Muirlands. Our Boys Flag Football fought hard and split the weekend with a win over Correia and a tough loss to Muirlands.

One more weekend of regular season play and then it's on to the playoffs!

We are fortunate to have a very active parent community and an engaged foundation that works tirelessly to ensure our school has the funds it needs to allow our students to have enriching academic experiences beyond the typical program.

Email: pershingfoundation@outlook.com

Website: https://pershingmiddleschoolfoundation.org/

Facebook: https://facebook.com/pershingpanthers

• April 30: Spring Fest: Exhibition of Learning @5:30-7:00 PM
• May 6-17: School-wide Testings CAASPP English & Math (special block schedule)
• May 24: Challenge Course Day
• May 28: 7th Grade Awards Ceremony @8:00 AM and 6th Grade Awards Ceremony @2:00 PM
• May 30: 7th Grade Experience: Rockin' Jump Trampoline Park
• May 31: 8th Grade Semi-Formal Dance @5-7 PM
• June 3-7: 6th Grade Camp for Group 2
• June 3: 8th Grade Awards Night @6:00 PM
• June 5: 8th Grade Trip to Dave and Busters
• June 6: 8th Grade Promotion @8:30 AM

Follow Pershing Middle on Instagram & Threads

@Pershing_sdusd

Interested in volunteering on campus?

Contact our Community Assistant Ms. Johana Moreno at jmorenoperez@sandi.net

Email: mkray@sandi.net
Website: https://pershing.sandiegounified.org/
Location: 8204 San Carlos Drive, San Diego, CA, USA
Phone: (619) 352-3550
Twitter: @melanie_kray