Pine Panther Pulse

November 10, 2024

This week at Pine...

Hello Pine Families!

We're only two weeks away from Thanksgiving Break! Let's keep working to learn and grow each day while showing the habits of character in all that we do. Our first girls basketball game of the season will take place tomorrow after school, and our 3rd and 4th grade art club will begin meeting on Tuesday. Our first PTC meeting of the year will take place next Tuesday. Come join us!

Tomorrow is Veteran's Day! Thank you to all members of the Pine faculty, staff, and community who served our great nation!

We're looking forward to another great week of learning at Pine!

David A Alvarado

Principal

Pine Parent Teacher Council

Pine's PTC has a new president! Thank you to Ms. Donna Hultquist for stepping up and filling this important role! The PTC will meet in the Pine library next Tuesday, Nov 19 at 3:30. Be on the lookout for information about PTC events and activities so parents and families can be involved at Pine! See the flyer linked HERE for more information.

Spirit Wear Sale is On!

Spirit Wear flyers came home with students last week. Please consider adding some fresh Panther gear to your closets! All purchases help support our school and build our school spirit! Go Panthers!

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!

Fourth and Fifth Grade Showcase

New Playground is Open!

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.

https://www.mcas.k12.in.us/strategicplanning

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!