The Panther Pulse

Dear Pershing Families,

The end of the school year is always a busy time but it is also a time to celebrate the progress the school and students have made and I have to tell you, there was a lot to celebrate this past week!

First, congratuations to Ms. Alissa Cott and our entire PE Department. We recently received word that the grant proposal she wrote has been accepted and Pershing will be receiving $35,000 from the Log Angeles Charger's Impact Fund to upgrade our equipment and facilities to create a new fitness center space for our students next school year!

Ms. Melissa Maggio also received good news from our District's College & Career Technical Education (CCTE) Department. Our Engineering classroom will be receiving a makeover this summer with furniture and upgraded equipment to better support project-based learning which is a key driver of our Engineering program. Congrats Ms. Maggio!

Our Music Program hosted their Spring Concert on Wednesday and I can tell you we have some incredibly talented students at this school, we are so proud of our students in the music program and to their teacher Ms. Rebeca Tamez. We also sent our first ever Model UN student delegation to UCSD to participate in this year's JMUN Conference and one of our students, Isaac Sadja, was recognized as the "Best Delegate" on his Security Council Delegation.

And last but not least, our Boys and Girls Flag Football Teams won the SDUSD Middle School Flag Football Championships this Saturday capping off a pretty incredible year in sports for our student-athletes. Pershing Teams competed in 7 of the 10 middle school championship games this school year and as a result our school was awarded the "Overall Sports Champion" Trophy for SDUSD!

All of the successes of the past week really got me thinking about what an incredible year we have had together and here are a few more highlights I thought it would be nice to share:

• Over 85% of students are scoring low risk or advanced on FAST reading assessments
• Over 90% of students are scoring proficient or advanced on DEMI math knowledge questions
• 247 8th graders are promoting to high school
• 15 8th graders earned Certificates of Biliteracy in Spanish
• 9 new clubs were started this year
• We were named a 2022-23 No Place for Hate School
• We sent 250 students to sixth grade camp
• With parent support we continued our tradition of hosting a yearly school play and raised $10,000 for an endowment fund to support our drama program in future years
• We won middle school league championships in Boys Basketball, Girls Soccer, Boys Flag Football, and Girls Flag Football

And that is just a few of the highlights. Amazing things are happening everyday in our classrooms. It's a good time to be a Pershing Panther and I look forward to celebrating our accomplishments during these final two weeks of school!

Sincerely,

Melanie Kray

END OF THE YEAR ACTIVITIES

The end of the year is fast approaching and we have a variety of activities planned for students, particularly our 8th graders.

• June 6th - End of Year Awards Assembly for 7th graders @8:00 AM (please note there was a typo on the invitation sent home to the families of students receiving awards, the event will happen at 8:00 AM, not 8:00 PM)
• June 6th - End of the Year Awards Assembly for 6th graders @2:00 PM (the families of students who will receive an award should have already received an invitation)

• June 7th - 8th Grade Yearbook Signing Party @2-3 PM in the Lunch Arbor
• June 7th - 8th Grade Semi-Formal Dance in the Pershing Little Gym @5-7 PM. Tickets for the event will be $5 and includes pizza dinner, drinks, and snacks.
• June 8th - 8th Grade Awards Night @6:00 PM (families with students who have met the criteria will receive invitations via email)
• June 12th - 8th Grade Promotion Practice @8:00 AM
• June 13th - Minimum Day Students will be dismissed at 12:44 PM
• June 13th - 8th Grade Promotion Pracitce @8:00 AM
• June 13th - 8th Grade Dave & Buster's Trip
• June 13th - 6th & 7th Grade Field Day
• June 14th - Minimum Day Students will be dismissed at 12:44 PM
• June 14th - 8th Grade Promotion @8:30 AM

TEXTBOOK COLLECTION CONTINUES

Don't get hit with unexpected library fines. If you have textbooks at home please have your child bring them to the school and turn them in to the library.

If you have any questions please contact our librarian Ms. Jakalah Jones at jjones7@sandi.net

PROGRESS FLAG RAISING CEREMONY

June in LGBTQIA+ Pride Month. This is a time to celebrate and commemorate the lives, accomplishments, and history of members of the LGBTQIA+ community. In honor of this month, and in consulation with our Pershing Pride GSA Club, we will be hosting a flag raising ceremony and raising the progress flag throughou the month of June.

JOINT JUNETEENTH ACTIVITY WITH GAGE ELEMENTARY

The week of June 5th, Pershing Middle School has been invited to join Gage Elementary in celebrating Juneteenth. We are looking for approximately 8-10 middle school students to represent Pershing at this activity. If you are interested please contact Ms. Jakalah Jones our Library Tech.

PHHS ROBOTICS INFORMATION

From Ms. Van Loan at PHHS:

Here is the link to robotics summer registration!! You can register for both sessions, or just one. If you are retaking an academic class (or two) you can register for one session and we can fit you into the one that works for the academic schedule. This is open for any Henry student incoming 9th graders through rising seniors are welcome, no experience is expected, please feel free to share these links with anyone interested.

Mr. Espinoza will teach the first two weeks and Ms Van Loan will do the last three weeks. We are also going to be looking for mentor support. Our goal is to build another robot... lofty I know.

Dates: 6/20-7/21, holiday 7/3 and 7/4.

AM Session: 9:30-11:30
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe1nNKqe1lEhmf_juM6kBt4Pqov0sZVieSn_neirWBPGqLYqQ/viewform

PM Session: 12:30-2:30
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfP0SQV3E4PEdW2nN9KXAU93XAZRfy8P75l7Gaw5KQucv3oQQ/viewform

Please let Adria Van Loan-Polselli know if you have

any questions:
Adria Van Loan-Polselli
Engineering Academy Lead
San Diego County Council of Engineering Educator of the Year 2018
First Robotics Coach For Team 4738 The Patribots

Patrick Henry High
School RM 508
6702 Wandermere
Drive San Diego, CA 92120

PERSHING SCHOOL WEBSITE

https://pershing.sandiegounified.org/

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Wednesday, June 14th – Promotion:

The one-hour ceremony will begin promptly at 8:30 AM on the upper turf fields at Pershing Middle School. The gates on the corner of Navajo and Boulder Lake will open promptly at 8:00 AM and there are 1000 seats available for spectators that will be distributed on a first come first served basis. There is ample space available on the upper field for families to stand or bring their own seating to observe the promotion ceremony so we are not limiting the number of guests a student may bring.

What should I wear for promotion?

We are encouraging students to dress as they would for a nice family event. Students may wear dress slacks, dress shirt/blouse, dresses or skirts with comfortable shoes. Ties and

jackets are optional. Be sure to wear low, comfortable shoes and avoid any heels that would make walking difficult. High heels are not allowed on the artificial turf.

My 8th grader has younger sibilings who attend Pershing and we want them to go to the promotion ceremony?

Our office and school staff will be focused on supporting the promotion ceremony on June 14th and as a result we will not be able to honor parent requests to pull 6th & 7th graders out of class to attend the promotion ceremony. If you want a younger sibiling to attend the ceremony we recommend having them go directly to the ceremony with you and then when the ceremony is over they can go to class.

Does my 8th grader have class after the promotion ceremony is over?

No, 8th graders will go home with their families at the conclusion of the promotion ceremony.

Am I or is my family allowed to bring any celebratory things to promotion?

Air horns and other noisemakers are prohibited because they disrupt the dignity of the ceremony and make it difficult for the audience to hear the names being called. Families may bring balloon bouquets, posters or any celebratory materials to share with students at the end of the ceremony but we ask that families that bring those items sit on the aisles or towards the back so they do not obstruct the view of other guests.

Where should my family park their cars for promotion?

Parking is extremely limited. If you are able to walk or carpool to the ceremony that is highly recommended. There is street parking available in the neighborhood.

Congratulations to our Girls Flag Football Team on winning the inaugural Western League Championship! They defeated Farb Middle 52-16 in the semi-finals to advance to the championship round. In the Championship game they took on a strong Standley Middle School team but ended up with a 38-24 victory. Congratulations to Whitley Swain for being named the Girls Western League MVP. Our girl's team was also featured on KUSI this week. Here is a link to the story: https://www.kusi.com/sdusd-middle-school-flag-football-opening-doors-for-youth-in-first-year/

Our Boys Flag Football Team also had a great weekend. They took on cross-town rival PB Middle and defeated them 34-30 in a thrilling semi-final game. During the Championship game, they were able to come through against a strong Standley team winning the day 29-26. Congratulations to Kymani Joseph for his selection as the Boys Western League MVP.

Pershing Middle School dominated the district's first full year of middle school sports. Pershing teams competed in 7 of the 10 championship games and took home four league titles. Because of our success Pershing was names SDUSD Middle School Athletics Overall Sports Champions. Congratulations to all our Panther student-athletes, you have set a high bar for next year's teams!

SPANISH TUTORING AVAILABLE

Does your child need help with Spanish? Mr. Barry is offering tutoring support on Tuesdays in Rm. 104 afterschool.

8TH GRADE HENRY HIGH SLIM PARENT NIGHT

If you were not able to attend the meeting CLICK HERE to see the slide deck the Henry team presented.