


Pine Panther Pulse
January 5, 2025
This week at Pine...
Hello Pine Families!
Happy New Year and welcome back to more learning at Pine! We return from Winter Break with an asynchronous eLearning Day on Monday, January 6th. Students were provided instructions and assignments before we left. There will be no live instruction on Google Meet or Zoom as students work from home, but teachers can be contacted via email and/or Class Dojo if there are questions. Be sure to complete all assignments!
Winter weather is here. Students will still be going outside for recess as often as possible so they will need to have proper coats to keep them warm. Hats, gloves, and scarves are encouraged as well. Hoodies are shirts, not coats, and shouldn't be considered sufficient attire. When the temperature is too low though, all students will have an indoor recess prior to eating their lunch.
The start of 2025 is a great time for all students to commit to doing their best, working hard, and showing the habits of character each day. Spending time each day reading, writing, and thinking will help all our Panthers be the best they can!
We're looking forward to another great week of learning at Pine!
David A Alvarado
Principal
Pine Chorus performing at the MCAS Administration Building
ILEARN Checkpoints Family Guidance
Pine is using IDOE Checkpoints in grades 3-6 as a way of monitoring what students know and how prepared they are for the ILEARN assessments in the spring. See the attached family guidance letters attached here for more information. Talk to your child's teacher to find out when your students will be taking this assessment!
Be on time and ready to learn!
Doors open at Pine each morning at 8:15. Students have until 8:45 to arrive, have breakfast, and wait with their classmates in the gym. Teachers pick up students by 8:35 to head to classrooms. Students arriving after 8:45 are marked tardy. Be sure your children arrive on time!
Late arriving students should be walked into the office by a family member and signed in. Please refrain from dropping students off at the curb without checking them in. Student absences should be called into the office. Students learn most when they are at school each day! Let's work together to have the best attendance possible!
Drop-off & Pick-up
Arrival Procedures
Doors open at Pine at 8:15 AM. Parents dropping off students at school should only use the north parking lot by the Red Pod. PreK families, students requiring special assistance, and families who need to visit the office may park in the south lot by the main entrance, otherwise this area is designated only for school buses. Breakfast is served from 8:15 - 8:45. Students arriving after 8:45 will be marked tardy. Attendance matters!
Dismissal Procedures
The final bell rings at 3:00. Bus riders will be escorted by their teachers to their proper buses. Boys and Girls Club members will report to the cafeteria. Car riders will report to the red pod where staff will organize them per our dismissal procedures. Parents picking up students should join the line around the north parking lot. Please comply with all instructions and expectations while remembering that student safety trumps adult preferences at all times. Parents must communicate any changes in dismissal plans to the office before 2:00 to ensure they are shared with teachers.
Recess and Lunch
All students will have a supervised 15 minute recess each day before lunchtime.
All Pine students are invited to take a school breakfast and school lunch each day at no cost to families. Parents who prefer to send a home lunch with their child are of course welcome to do so.
MCAS Strategic Plan
See the link below for information on our Strategic Plan, the document that sets the purpose and describes our goals for serving our community.
Keep in Touch!
Talk to your child's teacher about how communication will take place between home and the classroom this year! Whether it be via Class Dojo, email, or some other communication method, when teachers and parents stay in touch and work together, our students benefit the most!