Poplar Grove Post

Hello PGMS Families and Happy November,

Thank you all so much for your donations of time, supplies, and money for our Invest in PGMS fundraiser over the last few weeks. Thanks to everyone's hard work and donations, we have again exceeded our goal of $12,000! We will begin using that money very soon to update our playground area, improve our instrument storage on the music hall, purchase more water bottle fillers, and so much more. When we work together our students will always benefit. During the celebration last week students were able to enjoy extra recess, hay rides, amazing treats, some inflatables, and much more. None of that would have been possible without your help and support. We cannot thank you enough. Please enjoy some of the photos below showing what a great time everyone had last Friday.

November is a busy month with field trips, Veterans Day Parade, Be Nice Week, Book Fair, Pride time, Sporting events, and more. Please be sure to get the dates listed below on your calendar so you don't miss any of these events.

Be Nice Ambassadors

Each year we select Be Nice Ambassadors to represent our school at the Franklin Veteran’s Day Parade! A boy and a girl from each grade are selected who embody what it is to be of upstanding character and who contribute to strong student culture at PGMS. For the ‘24/’25 school year, the grade-level teams have selected the students below. Congratulations to all of these kiddos!

5th grade - Jameson Bergeron and Adrianna Gutierrez

6th grade - Ashley Galvan-Ramirez and Everett Prince

7th grade - Amber Avila Casillas and Brycen Pauley

8th grade - Amara Elliott and Vincent Perez

11/5 - Election Day/No School

11/11- 11/15 - Fall Book Fair Week

11/11 - 11/15 - Nickels for the Nook Service Project (see below under House News)

11/11 - Veterans Day Parade 11:00pm-12:00pm

11/12 - Progress Reports

11/13 - Cafeteria Thanksgiving Lunch

11/18 - Board Meeting at PGMS 6:30pm

11/22 - Early Dismissal/ Pride Time/ House Day

11/25-11/29 - Thanksgiving Break

It is an honor to recognize Chris Strelecki as our PGMS Teacher of the Year. Mr. Strelecki is an amazing example of someone who puts students first and sees the whole child. We have been blessed to have Mr. Strelecki here at PGMS for 16 years. In that time he has very successfully taught thousands of students choir, produced our student plays each year, coached soccer, and inspired both our students and teachers to be the best version of themselves. Mr. Strelecki has a patient and calm way of dealing with every situation that might arise and it has had a positive impact on our school community and culture. Mr. Strelecki is quick to provide support to anyone who needs it, and he goes above and beyond to make PGMS a better place to belong.

It is an honor to nominate Mrs. Connie Rich as Novice Teacher of the Year. Mrs. Rich exemplifies what it means to be dedicated to leading students to become productive citizens and life-long learners. Her passion and enthusiasm goes beyond her classroom walls and positively impacts everyone throughout PGMS. She works tirelessly for her students and never stops thinking of new ways to engage them to learn. Mrs. Rich is quick to celebrate a student, go to a game after school, or even recommend a book for students or staff. She is a true team player and is continuously working to learn from her peers. In her short time here at PGMS she has made a lasting impact on our students, staff, and school community. We can't wait to see all the amazing things she does in the future.

You're invited to Poplar Grove’s Fall Book Fair!

Poplar Grove’s Fall Book Fair is heading our way! The Fair will be held in the PGES Lobby from November 11th – 15th. All purchases support both the Elementary and Middle School media centers.

Parents, Students, Teachers, and Staff are all invited to come in and shop anytime during the Fair's hours:

Monday, November 11th: 7:30am - 2:00pm

Tuesday, November 12th thru Thursday, November 14th: 7:00am – 2:00pm

Thursday Evening, November 14th: 6:00pm - 7:30pm

Friday, November 15th: 7:00am - 9:30am

To volunteer at the Book Fair, visit bit.ly/3ZZQGBY or scan the QR Code.

Keep it simple, and purchase an Electronic Gift Card for your child to use at the Book Fair! Click on this link: https://literati.com/store/product/gift-card/ to purchase one for your child today!

Students, faculty, and staff enjoyed our visit with Dusti Bowling, author of Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus, our FSD All-In Read. Dusti gave a great presentation, answered lots of questions, and signed lots of Cactus books. It was such a great experience for students to get a behind-the-scenes glimpse into what authors do to plan, write, and publish a book.

Some students were also able to meet Nicki Pau Preto, middle-grade fantasy author. Nicki spoke to students about her books and her process for planning new book ideas. Students received a free autographed copy of her book The Last Hope for Magical Delinquents.

Hello PGMS Families!

We are well into the school year now and November is a wonderful time to focus on fostering gratitude and preparing for the challenges of the upcoming winter months. One way to “train your brain” into thinking more positively and noticing the beauty in the world is to try out a gratitude journal. This can be done by having your student write 3 things that they are truly grateful for each day or it could also be done at the dinner table out loud! Hearing adults model this practice is a great way for kids to catch on quickly.

This past month in the school counseling program we began small groups, delivered classroom lessons, and Samuel Lovett won a skateboard in our quarterly attendance raffle!

On another note, as the holidays approach please keep in mind that we have many programs that can help with food insecurity and other needs. Please reach out to Mrs. Otto by phone or email to learn about these resources.

Wishing everyone a warm and joyful November filled with gratitude and growth!

Best regards,

Caitlin Otto

ottocai@fssd.org"

5th grade wrapped up their Chemical/Physical changes unit with ELEPHANT TOOTHPASTE! We also are excited to welcome Ed Theater back to present NEWTON: THE APPLE AND BEYOND on Nov.19th. This is presented to all 5th graders through a grant from the Tennessee Arts Commission! In addition to this performance, our students will participate in hands-on workshops in the afternoon!

This month, our classroom took a fascinating journey back in time—over 5,000 years! We explored one of the world’s oldest writing systems, cuneiform, created by the Sumerians in ancient Mesopotamia. Our students have been hard at work learning how people communicated in the ancient world, and they even got a chance to create their own "cuneiform tablets."

7th grade science is currently learning about states of matter, phase changes, and how temperature affects pressure. The lab was "explosively" fun!

8th grade science is currently learning about the 3 major types of rocks, how they are made, and how they change into the other types of rocks. Things are getting "heated" in the 8th grade lab as they simulate the rock cycle.

Our Computer Science and STEM classes teamed up to share a Finch (robotic) challenge with Kindergarten students. These students watched a Maze Race, Finch Light Show, and Finch Art. All of these activities were demonstrated by our very own 6th graders!

The Poplar Grove 7th and 8th Grade Band will again be combining with the Freedom Middle Band to perform in the annual Veterans Day Parade in downtown Franklin on November 11th. The students are excited about the performance opportunity and already have their performance music memorized for the event!

Our Spanish classes had the unique opportunity to learn from various individuals about Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Mexico during Hispanic Heritage Month. A special thanks to the Pena family, Diane Price, and Briseyda Gonzalez for your expertise and sharing all about your beautiful cultures.

STEM students are learning about air pressure and why their weather balloon will pop as it reaches higher altitudes. These students are watching a vacuum chamber extract the air out of the jar with the balloon eventually popping. Doctoral Visitors from the University of Alabama in Huntsville demonstrate how the balloon became larger and larger due to the lower air pressure created by the vacuum chamber. Students will be launching their weather balloon in a few weeks!

Interested in playing volleyball? This is open to all students in grades 5th-8th. You must have a sports physical on file to participate. The Spring Coed Volleyball League will take place April-May. Please have your student complete the following interest form. https://forms.gle/stYUbLqqsjzHGbGZ9 For more information, please contact Jake Habegger at habeggerjac@fssd.org.

Our Best Buddies match party is this Friday, November 1st from 7:00-7:25 in Mrs. Nash's classroom. We will be serving hot chocolate and a special treat. Students will find out who they are matched with this year.

We will have a best buddies member meeting on Friday, November 15th in Mrs. Nash's classroom from 7:00-7:25. We will be talking about upcoming events and the Thanksgiving Feast.

Our annual Best Buddies Thanksgiving Feast is scheduled for Wednesday, November 20th from 11:30-12:30 in the PGMS Media Center. We are so excited to celebrate with friends and family!

Drama club will hold audition workshops for Frozen Jr. on December 2nd and December 3rd from 2:30pm - 3:45pm. Students only have to attend one of the audition workshops. Auditions will be on December 9th from 2:30pm - 3:45pm. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to Mr. Strelecki or Mr. Saltz.

It is a tight race in our competition to win the House Cup this year! This month students have had the opportunity to earn House Points in a variety of ways. We have celebrated academic success by awarding points for All A's Honor Roll and All A's & B's Honor Roll. We have celebrated supporting our community with our Pull Tab collection to support Ronald McDonald House and our PTO fundraiser, Invest in PGMS. We have celebrated positive student behavior with Super Tickets for students who go above and beyond in their daily routines. And, we have celebrated good old-fashioned fun with our house competitions just before Fall Break. Our current standings:

We have another House Day coming up on Friday, November 22, and we will have even more opportunities to earn points for our houses in the coming weeks!

As part of our certification to be a Common Sense School, we want to include you, our parents and families, in the important conversation about being good digital citizens. This quarter, we want to share this helpful video that thinks through the question, "How much screen time is too much?" Unfortunately, there is not an easy answer, but this resource provides some great talking points to use in the conversation with your children as you explore this topic.

"How Much is Too Much?"

If you have taken any photos of your child during any of our events that you would like to share for our 24-25 yearbook, please use the link below. If you enjoy taking photos and willing to share your talents, I would love to hear from you! Yearbooks are also available to purchase NOW! There will be a price increase in January. (See attached flyer below) You also have the option to purchase an ad. (See attached flyer below)

Link to share photos is yearbookshare.com and the school code is PGSLIONS.

Thank you,

Andrea Herrero, PGMS Yearbook Editor

herreroand@fssd.org

615-790-4721

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