On behalf of the entire Pershing faculty and staff I would like to cordially invite our families to Back to School Night (BTSN) this Thursday, August 29. From 5:30-5:55 PM the campus will be open so families can participate in a variety of optional activites and then at 6:00 PM, BTSN officially begins, and families will visit each of their child's classes for 10 minutes. Students are welcome to attend with their families but the event is designed with a parent audience in mind.

During the optional activity window we encourage families to visit the Scholastic Book Fair happening in the library, seek assistance at the PowerSchool Parent Portal Help Desk in the library classroom, and check out the various tables set up around the campus providing information about volunteer opportunities, social emotional and commuity resources, and clubs we have on campus this year. Students will be bringing home a handout where they can write down their class schedule for families to help navigate the campus. Schedules can also be accessed electronically in the PowerSchool Parent Portal. Parents are responsible for supervising their children during the event. We are looking forward to seeing you on Thursday and sharing our instructional vision for this school year.

I also wanted to remind families that our first spirit week is this week - Panthers I am looking forward to seeing all your school spirit!

• Monday, August 26: Beach Day Monday - wear your favorite beach outfit to school

• Tuesday, August 27: Twin Day Tuesday - partner up and match with your friend(s) and/or teacher

• Wednesday, August 28: Anything But a Backpack Challenge - carry your school materials in anything but your backpack

• Thursday, August 29: Go Crazy Thursday - Wacky Hair, Crazy Hats, Mismatched or Backwards Clothes, the wackier the better

• Friday, August 30: National College Day Friday - wear gear representing your favorite college

**A friendly reminder that all attire worn during spirit week must adhere to the school dress code policy and on Wednesday, during the "anything but a backpack" challenge, we encourage students to exercise good judgement when selecting what you will use to carry your school materials. Items deemed unsafe or overly distracting will be stopped at the entrance and stored in the office until the end of the school day.

Sincerely,

Melanie Kray

Click here to take the Panther Pledge today!

A big thank you to those that have already made their Panther Pledge, we are almost half way to our goal of raising $30,000! This is our Foundation's main fundraiser and all donations go directly to supporting students and creating enriching experiences for them (check out the pcitures below highlighting just some of the activities and items the Panther Pledge funded last school year)! Even if you are not able to donate the full $75, every little bit helps, so please make your donation today and feel free to share the link with family and friends.

What is the Panther Pledge?

The Panther Pledge is a suggest $75 donation that helps fund our Pershing Parent Foundation. If every student was able to raise $75 our Foundation would meet their fundraising goal for the entire year!

Your entire donation other than any PayPal fees goes directly to the Foundation, and helps pay for:

• 6th Grade Camp Scholarships
• 7th Grade Experience to Rockin' Jump Trampoline Park
• 8th Grade Promotion and End of the Year Activities
• Teacher Stipends for Class Enrichment Activities
• Teacher Appreciation
• Campus Beautification / Improvements
• Guest Speakers…and more!!!

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

TAKE ADVANTAGE OF WEDNESDAY OFFICE HOURS

Pershing offers an extended window of time every Wednesday from 12:45-1:20 PM where students can seek individual help with a specific classroom teacher. The expectation is any student who has a C or lower in any class will attend office hours weekly for that class until the grade is a B or higher.

If your child struggled in a class like Math 7 last year, we encourage you to proactively send them to Math 8 office hours with their teacher now, BEFORE the first grading window closes, so they can can stay on track and make sure they are building a solid foundation for this school year. Office hours is a great opportunity for students to get the extra support they need and we encourage families to have their child(ren) take advantage of this opportunity.

STUDENT SCHEDULE CHANGES

Our counseling team has been working hard to get classes balanced and complete schedule changes for students. We anticipate having all schedule changes completed by this Friday, September 1. Please be aware the majority of changes are being done to reduce classes and ensuring we meet all contractual classroom and student ratio caps. Student initated class schedule changes can only be done if there is space available in the requested class.

SCHOOL PHOTO DAY ON TUESDAY, AUGUST 27TH

Fall pictures will be happening on Tuesday, August 27th. Order forms have been sent out through PeachJar Flyers and hard copies are also available in our main office. Yes, picture day is the same day as Twin Day. You can always bring a change of clothes so you can match with your twin after taking your school photo. Photos will be done through students PE periods.

WEDNESDAYS ARE PANTHER SPIRIT DAYS!

Every Wednesday is a Panther Spirit Day. Students are encouraged to wear Panther gear or Pershing colors (maroon, grey, black or white). Our online store is now open, check out all the latest deals and ensure your child is ready for our spirit days!

NO SCHOOL ON MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 2ND

A reminder that Pershing Middle School will be closed on Monday, September 2nd in honor of Labor Day. School will resume on Tuesday, September 3rd.

APPLE TOURS 8TH GRADE EAST COAST TRIP INFORMATIONAL MEETING

Apple Tours will be hosting a zoom informational meeting for a June, 2025 historical east coast trip to Washington D.C., New York City and Boston on Thursday, September 5th at 6:00pm (this trip is for 8th grade students only…we will not have spaces for any parent chaperones to attend). Here is the link (we will record the meeting for any families who can not make it): https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89530646446

Registration will open after the meeting and not before. If you have any questions after the September 5 meeting, please email Dr. Rice at rrice@sandi.net or our tour company representative, Yuval Bauman, at yuval@apple-tours.com Thank you!

GRADE-LEVEL BEHAVIOR EXPECTATIONS ASSEMBLIES THRU PE CLASSES

Last week, our Associate Principal, Mr. Hawthorne and our counseling team, will meet with students through their PE classes to review Panther PRIDE and our school-wide behavior expectations. CLICK HERE to view the presentation that will be shown to students.

TENNIS LESSON AVAILABLE AFTER SCHOOL

Are you interested in learning how to play tennis? Henry Foundation Board Member and retired SDUSD teacher, Scott Bucky is looking for students intersted in learning to play tennis. Check out his flyer below. If interested please contact him at 619-922-2802 or email him at sbuc19@gmail.,com

Tryouts for Basketball and Track and Field start this week!

CLICK HERE to view the Middle School Athletics Tryout and Practice Schedule. All tryouts for Pershing students are currently slated for Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Students trying out may change in the Boys and Girls Locker Rooms and then wait in the lunch arbor for their coaches to arrive.

WE NEED YOU!

We have many opportunities for our parents and staff to contribute, run and improve our Foundation!

If you have any interest and / or would like to learn more about Foundation volunteer opportunities, please fill out this form

This year we are looking for new At Large Board Members, especially those that may have interest in the Board positions of President, Vice-President and secretary next year, so you can shadow current Board Members in these roles.

We would especially love some more 6th grade parents onboard! We will be voting in our at large board members at our first meeting this week, so if you have not already, please fill out the form prior to the meeting, if you’re interested or would like to learn more:

Foundation Volunteer / Board Interest Form

PLEASE JOIN OUR FIRST MEETING ON TUESDAY NIGHT!

Please join us for our first meeting of the School Year. This is a great opportunity to meet the board and learn about our Foundation, including our budget, expenses and fundraising efforts.

We welcome all Parents, Teachers and Staff to join us and we appreciate everyone’s input, ideas and suggestions. Our first meeting is Tuesday 20th at 6PM in the School Library or join us via Microsoft Teams.

Join Foundation Meeting via Microsoft Teams: CLICK TO JOIN

BOARD & BREW, PAPA JOHNS AND SHUTTERFLY

Our first Dine-out is scheduled for September 18 from 4pm to 8pm: Board & Brew Dine-out

Papa Johns has 30% off Regular menu price when you order at papajohns.com with promo code PERSHING (20% of purchase benefits Pershing): PapaJohns

Shutterfly – Use the link from our website to order, and 8% of your purchase benefits Pershing – Shutterfly Info

Email: pershingfoundation@outlook.com

Website: https://pershingmiddleschoolfoundation.org/

Facebook: https://facebook.com/pershingpanthers

There is no denying the many benefits and conveniences that cell phones have brought to our society and we hear frequently from parents that they enjoy the convenience of communicating with their child by cell phone, especially if there is an emergency.

The research, however, is increasingly clear that for adolescents in particular, there are many negative side effects that come with cell phone and social media use . These negative side effects include: distractibility in the classroom, anxiety, negative self-image, feelings of isolation, loss of sleep and cyberbullying just to name a few. In fact, concerns about the impact of smartphones and social media on adolescents has become so great the U.S. Surgeon General has even issued an advisory about the effects of social media on youth mental health.

That is why we want Pershing to be a place where students "unplug" from their cell phones and social media and focus on reconnecting with their peers and avoid the distractions that make learning more challenging. Cell phones must be silenced and in students' backpacks during school hours. Phone may only be used before and after school.

We hope families will speak with their middle schoolers not just about the cell phone policy but also the reasoning behind it. Below are some articles about the impact of cell phones and social media on adolescents and their learning:

How Using Social Media Affects Teenagers

Negative Health Review of Cell Phones and Social Media

Are Smart Phones and Social Media Hurting our Kids?

5 Reasons to Ban Smart Phones in School

August 26-30: First Spirit Week

August 27: Fall School Pictures

August 29: Back to School Night @6:00 PM

September 2: Labor Day Holiday - NO SCHOOL

September 20: P1 Grading Window Closes

Follow Pershing Middle on Instagram & Threads

@Pershing_sdusd

Interested in volunteering on campus?

Contact our Ms. Sylvia Patton a spatton1@sandi.net

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