The Panther Pulse
Pershing Middle Community Newsletter (Vol. 1, Issue 13)
Principal's Message
It was a busy week last week and I would be remiss if I didn't give a shout out to our SLIM Families and our three fabulous SLIM teachers Ms. Barry, Ms. Olson, and Mr. Lopez who organized our first ever SLIM Movie Night on Friday! We had a great turnout and I am hopeful this is the beginning of a new tradition at Pershing.
It was also a big weekend in our sports world with championship performances by our Panthers in basketball and track - our Boy's Basketball team brought home the first ever Middle School Athletics Western League Championship in San Diego Unified history. Be sure to check out the middle school sports section below for all the details!
As we look to the week ahead, I wanted to remind students and families it will be important for us to keep our focus over the next month and a half. This is the time of year when fatigue sets in and we need to encourage our students to make sure they are practicing the Panther PRIDE characteristic of determination and keep working hard. Our second grading period (P2) ends on Friday, November 18th. Students need to use the next two weeks to study hard, attend tutoring if needed, and keep those grades up! I signed more than 400 Honor Roll and Principal Honor Roll Certificates for P1 grades and I am hoping to get to sign an even larger number for P2!
And finally, a reminder there is no school on Friday, November 11th in honor of Veteran's Day. On behalf of Pershing Middle School, I want to thank all of the veterans living and working in our San Carlos Community for their dedication and hard work in service to our country!
Our SLIM Teachers and Some of Our Movie Night Decorations
Important Announcements for the Week of November 7th
COFFEE WITH THE PRINCIPAL IS ON NOV 9TH VIA ZOOM
We will be hosting our second Coffee with the Principal event on Nov 9th via zoom at 8:30 AM. Details are available under the news tab on our school website. We hope you will be able to attend. Zoom information is below:
Join Zoom Meeting
https://sandiegounified.zoom.us/j/84525501508
Meeting ID: 845 2550 1508
Password: Panthers
PERSHING PARENT FOUNDATION MEETING ON WEDNESDAY, NOV 9TH @6:00 PM
A friendly reminder that we have our foundation meeting this week in our library. We hope you will be able to attend.
NO SCHOOL ON FRIDAY, NOV 11TH
In honor of Veteran's Day our school will be closed on Friday.
THANKSGIVING BREAK, WINTER BREAK, AND ATTENDANCE
We have noticed that in previous years there is often a dip in our students' attendance in the days before Thanksgiving & Winter Breaks as families sometimes pull students out of school early for family trips around these holidays.
This year the end of our second grading period (P2) occurs on the Friday before Thanksgiving Break - in order to give your students the best opportunity to stay caught up on work we encourage families to keep their children in school the week before Thanksgiving and Winter Break in order to maximize your child's learning opportunities. If this is not possible and your child will be missing 5 or more days of school because of a family trip near the holidays we encourage you to contact our school clerk Ms. Devin Caputo at dcaputo@sandi.net to set up an independent study contract as soon as possible so they do not fall behind.
MODEL UN CLUB AT PERSHING
Several students have been asking if Pershing is going to have a Model UN Club. The answer is yes, Ms. Imonen and Ms. Ruckle, have already sent off the application to attend the Model UN Conference at Henry High. We are waiting to hear back from Henry High Conference so we know which countries we will be presenting, which issues we will focusing on, etc. and as soon as that occurs the club will host its first meeting. Thank you for your patience.
CHERRYDALE FUNDRAISER UPDATE
Prizes and items for the Cherrydale fundraiser should be coming in at the end of this week or early next week. We will also be announcing our large prize winners at that time as well. Thank you to all our families and students for their hard work and for making this fundraiser a success.
PERSHING SCHOOL WEBSITE
https://pershing.sandiegounified.org/
Do you have suggestions for our school website? CLICK HERE to complete our website feedback survey.
Congratulations Boy's Basketball - Western League Champions!
As of the publishing of this newsletter, final results had not yet been posted online for the Track and Field Championships that happened on Saturday but we will be sure to feature our finalists results in next week's newsletter - I did hear from several families that our 5 Panther Finalist - Cole Zanetti, Dominic Pavone, Seth Carling, Khloe Jamerson, and Lila Mercer competed well at the event!
SPANISH TUTORING AVAILABLE
Does your child need help with Spanish? Mr. Barry is offering tutoring support on Tuesdays in Rm. 104 afterschool.
Henry High School Meeting for 8th Grade SLIM Parents
After our Pershing Middle School SLIM Parent Night we reached out to Henry High School regarding our families' desire to have a parent meeting about the Henry Dual Immersion Program. Members of Henry High's Counseling Department will be hosting a parent meeting for Pershing's 8th Grade SLIM Parents on Nov 16th at 6:00 PM on zoom. The information for the zoom meeting is below. To help Henry plan effectively for this meeting and cover the information most important to 8th grade families please take a moment to complete this RSVP form. We hope you will be able to attend.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://sandiegounified.zoom.us/j/85446203221
Meeting ID: 854 4620 3221
WHAT TO DO IF YOUR CHILD IS EXHIBITING COVID SYMPTOMS
If you child is exhibiting any of the following symptoms: fever, chills, cough, shortness of breath, fatigue, muscle or body aches, headache, loss of taste or smell, sore throat, congestion, runny nose, nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea please keep them home from school unless they have have negative COVID test or until the symptoms have abated. If your child is sent home from school with one of these symptoms they must have a negative test to return the next school day. An at home COVID test would be an acceptable test.
SAVE THE DATES!
Nov 9: Coffee with the Principal @8:30 AM via zoom
Nov 9: Pershing Foundation Meeting @6:30 PM in the Library
Nov 10: Internet Crimes Presentation to Students (Grade Level Assemblies)
Nov 11: Veteran's Day (NO SCHOOL)
Nov 15: School Site Council (SSC) Meeting @3:00 PM in the Library
Nov 16: Turkey Trot
Nov 16: Fall Carnival
Nov 17: Henry Cluster Meeting @5:00-6:00 PM via zoom
Nov 18: PR2 Grading Period Ends
Nov 21-25: Thanksgiving Break (NO SCHOOL)
Dec 1: 6th Grade Camp Parent Meeting @6:00 PM in our auditorium
Dec 19-Jan 2: Winter Break (NO SCHOOL)
March 20-24: 6th Grade Camp