The Panther Pulse

The first progress report is just around the corner - the grading window closes on Friday, October 7th and grades will be available for parents to review on Friday, October 14th. If your child is struggling please make sure you are reaching out to their teacher or their counselor for additional supports. Tutoring is also available on Tuesdays and Thursdays after school in Rm. 303.

I am looking forward to another great week at Pershing but I do want to thank families for their support. We had an issue this past week with one of the Tik Tok Challenges. It is called the One Chip Challenge and a student brought a box to school containing the one chip. The chip is foul-tasting and leaves the tongue blue. Other sites have reported some of the students become ill after eating the chip. Fortunately we were able to resolve the issue before anyone had eaten the chip but those boxes are for sale and available at most local convenience stores in the area. I am happy to report after we sent the information home to families we have not had any further issues. It truly does take a village and we appreciate your support.

This week we will be emphasizing the final Panther PRIDE character trait of empathy - being able to put yourself in someone else shoes and think about how your actions impact others is such an important skill for our students to have. I am looking forward to celebrating "catching" our students practicing empathy and I know we have another great week ahead of us!

SCHOOL SITE COUNCIL (SSC) PARENT REPRESENTATIVES ELECTIONS

Please take a moment to vote in the election for the remainder of our parent representatives on the SSC. We are in need of 3 voting members and one alternate. CLICK HERE to review the ballot and make your selections. The voting window will be open Sunday, Oct 2 - Thursday, Oct. 6

BIG NEWS ABOUT THE SCHOOL PLAY

I am please to announce that several parents and community members have agreed to run our school play this year. This year's play will be Seussical!

Tryouts will be held Oct 26th from 2-5 PM - a sign up sheet for students interested in auditioning will be available soon. Once the cast had been selected rehearsals will be every Tuesday and Wednesday beginning November 1st.

CHERRYDALE FUNDRAISER KICK OFF ASSEMBLIES THIS WEDNESDAY

On Wednesday we kick off our CherryDale Fundraising event for the 2022-23 school year. This is our main fundraiser for the entire school year - a large portion of the fundraising helps support sending students to 6th grade camp. We are one of the few comprehensive middle schools in San Diego County that sends sixth graders to camp and it is because of the strong support we have from teachers and the community. Be sure to look for the information folder students will be bringing home on Wednesday.

NEW COUNSELING WEBPAGE NOW AVAILABLE

Please take a moment to check out our new counseling team webpage. The page is also accessible through the school website under the "Departments" tab.

OUR FIRST PROGRESS REPORT IS NEARLY HERE

A reminder that the first reporting period ends this Friday, Oct 7th. Families will be able to access their child's PR1 grades in PowerSchool on Friday, Oct 14th. Pershing PowerSchool Parent Portal will temporarily be down from Oct. 7th-Oct 13th while the grades are processed. If your child needs any assistance tutoring is available after school in Rm. 303 on Tuesdays and Thursdays and many teachers offer tutoring during lunch.

REMIND STUDENTS TO BRING FULLY CHARGED CHROMEBOOKS TO SCHOOL

As a 1-to-1 device school is is imperative that students bring their chromebooks with them to school every day fully charged. In the past week we have noticed an increase, particularly among our sixth graders, in the number of students leaving chromebooks at home or not bringing them to school charged. We are asking that you double-check with your child to make sure they are charging their chromebook nightly and ensuring the chromebook is packed with their school supplies in the morning. This is a great opportunity to discuss the Panther PRIDE characteristic of Responsibility with them.

ASB SNACK SHACK OPENS ON FRIDAYS

We are excited to announce that the ASB Snack Shack will be open after school on Fridays. Students are able to purchase sweet and salty treats as well as drinks at the snack shack. This a great fundraising opportunity for our ASB students. Most items will cost $1 per item.

FOOD DELIVERY AND LUNCH DROP OFF

While we understand from time to time a child may forget their lunch and it is necessary for a parent to drop it off in the office we do want to reiterate that Pershing Middle School is a closed campus. Students and parents are not permitted to order food and have it delivered to the school site through food deliver services like GrubHub and UberEats. Our office is also not able to deliver fast food items that parents drop off for their child(ren) during the school day. Even if a child forgets their lunch, they are able to get a free lunch every day through the cafeteria since all students in California are eligible for universal meals at school.

PARENT PORTAL ON POWERSCHOOL

Parents are you able to access the Parent Portal on PowerSchool? In middle school a great deal of information about your child is accessible through the Parent Portal - our goal is for 100% of parents to have access. If you are not able to access information through Parent Portal please contact our Site Tech, Ms. Stephanie Kamp, at skamp@sandi.net and she will help you obtain access.

PERSHING WEBSITE: WE ARE ALMOST THERE!

After a great deal of work, the Pershing website's makeover is nearly done. Our goal is for the school website to be your first stop to obtain information about what is happening at the school. To meet that goal we need your input - what additional information would be helpful for families to have access to on the school website. CLICK HERE to complete this website feedback survey.

Also, we are trying to increase our social media footprint and provide multiple ways for families to access information so please follow us on Instagram @pershing_sdusd or follow me on Twitter @melanie_kray for the latest information.

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.

And congratulations to Jaden Harden and Ayvah Ruiz who were named Players of the Game during last week's games.

Oct 5: CherryDale Fundraiser KickOff Assemblies

Oct 7: PR1 Grading Period Ends

Oct 12: Pink Panther Day for Breast Cancer Awareness

Oct 12: Pershing Parent Foundation Meeting @6:30 PM

Oct 13: SLIM Parent Night @6:00 PM in the Library

Oct 18: Make-Up Picture Day

Oct 18: 6th Grade Camp Fundraising Meeting @6:00 PM in the Auditorium

Oct. 19: Coffee with the Principal @8:30 AM via zoom

Oct 24 & 25: 5th Grade Parent Tours @9-10:30 AM (for families interested in attending Pershing via CHOICE)

Oct 31: Spirit Week

Nov 11: Veteran's Day (NO SCHOOL)

Nov 16: Fall Dance

Nov 18: PR2 Grading Period Ends

March 20-24: 6th Grade Camp