The Panther Pulse

Dear Pershing Families,

As always thank you for your support - our attendance data continues to be excellent with just over 96% average daily attendance. This is a huge accomplishment and continuing our trend of increasing - this is about 2% above where we were last school year and nearly 6% above two years ago! Good attendance is one of the most important indicators of students success in middle school and high school; research shows missing just two days a month is actually too many! Thank you for making getting your children to school everyday a priority, it is much appreciated!

This week is going to be be an action backed week (spirit week details are below). Our ASB is hosting a spirit week and on Tuesday, October 31 students may wear costumes to school. Please be sure to review the costume guidelines, we want students enjoy the day but still be able to engage in all required learning tasks.

Sixth grade families, I sent out an important email with an update about sixth grade camp. If you did not get a chance to see it the contents of the message are below in the sixth grade camp section.

Sincerely,

Melanie Kray

SPIRIT WEEK OCTOBER 30-NOVEMBER 3

Our second spirit week of this school year is fast approaching. We hope all students will participate

• Monday: Candy Corn Wars
• Tuesday: Halloween (students may wear a costume to school - please see costume guidelines below)
• Wednesday: Adam Sandler/PJ Bottom Day
• Thursday: Crazy Hat Day
• Friday: Country Day

Ms. Robe, our ASB Advisor is also seeking a few hay bales for spirit activities she has planned. If a family is willing to donate those items please contact Ms. Robe at srobe@sandi.net

HALLOWEEN COSTUMES ON OCT 31ST

Students may wear costumes to school on Tuesday, October 31st but all students must adhere to our dress code guidelines and following these additional guidelines:

• Masks or make-up that conceal the entire face or prevent staff from identifying students are not allowed
• Weapons, pretend or real, are not allowed including but not limited to guns, knives, swords, sabers, etc.
• Costumes cannot promote violence, drugs, alcohol, or any inappropriate behavior
• Costumes that may offend others due to race, culture, gender, religion, or sexual orientation are not permitted
• Costume should not include items with sound effects, lights, or other components which would disrupt the classroom learning environment
• And finally, costume must not inhibit the ability of a student to participate fully in all classes

PANORAMIC PICTURE DAY

On Thursday, Nov 2. LifeTouch Photography will be on campus to take panoramic pictures for each grade level. The panoramic photos typically go in the yearbook. Please check PeachJar flyers if you are interested in purchasing a panoramic grade level photo for information

SAVE THE DATE: TUESDAY, NOV 14 PHHS MEETING FOR 8TH GRADE FAMILIES

For our current 8th grade families, please mark your calendars! PHHS will be hosting a virtual meeting for all current 8th grade families who's children plan on attending PHHS next school year.

6TH GRADE CAMP INFORMATION NIGHT

On Tuesday, Nov 14 @6:00 PM in the auditorium, a representative from Camp Cuyamaca will be on campus to provide information about what the sixth grade camp experience is like. It is intended for families who have never sent a child to camp before. The representative will also be visiting sixth grade classes in December to provide additional information to our students about the camp experience. We understand that this information night is happening the same night as PHHS's articulation for 8th graders. We encourage families with both an 8th grader and a 6th grader to prioritize the PHHS event because they already know what to expect from camp since their 8th grader has already gone through the camp experience. The information night is intended to provide basic information about the camp experience for families who have never sent a child to camp before.

FOOD BANK AND PET FOOD BANK DRIVES BEGIN THIS WEEK

One of the goals of Pershing Middle School is to teach students of the value of giving back to their communities. To help forward this school we are beginning our annual Food Bank and Pet Food Bank Drives. If you or your child have items they would like to donate they can be dropped off in the front office. For any questions please contact Ms. Stacy Robe at srobe@sandi.net

AUDITIONS FOR SHREK JR. COMING IN NOVEMBER - SIGN UP TO AUDITION NOW!

We are proud to announce that this year Pershing Middle School's drama program will be putting on a production of Shrek Jr. Auditions will be held November 8 from 1-3 PM in the Auditorium. You must sign up to audition. Please take a moment to review the drama program's informational letter and if you are interested in auditioning please CLICK HERE and complete the sign up form.

CLICK HERE to complete the online registration form

CLICK HERE to make a payment online

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to reach out to:

6th Grade Camp Coordinator | Erika Ohnesorgen | erikarenae28@gmail.com

MESSAGE FROM PRINCIPAL KRAY SENT TO FAMILIES ON 10/26

Dear Sixth Grade Families,

I have some important information to share with you. School reservations for sixth grade camp are typically done a year in advance and when Pershing created our reservation for the 2023-24 school year, it was based on an enrollment projection that turned out to be significantly lower than the actual number of sixth graders that are now attending Pershing.

Unfortunately, the increase in enrollment means that Camp Cuyamaca cannot accommodate all of our students on the originally reserved week of April 8-12 and as a result we will have to send some of our students to Camp Cuyamaca on a different week – the Week of June 3-7.

Please know that we have been in regular communication with Camp Cuyamaca regarding this issue and have explored multiple options and tried to find a way that all of our students could go the same week but we were not successful. Regardless of whether students go in April or June, Pershing students will be sharing the Camp Cuyamaca facilities with students from other school sites. Camp Cuyamaca also shared that Pershing is not the only school facing this situation of having to send students in two groups and attending two different weeks.

We understand that this is a less than desirable situation but feel it is important that every student who wants to go to sixth grade camp get the full five-day camp experience.

If your child will be attending sixth grade camp, or if the new date in June has changed your thinking and you would now like your child to attend camp, we are requesting that you complete the Camp Date Availability/Preference date survey . We also want to make sure families are aware June 3-7 is the final week of the 2023-24 school year as this may impact your availability. Families that are willing to send their child to camp the Week of June 3-7 will have the opportunity to select one friend who is also going to camp that week as a bunkmate until we hit our reservation limit. This bunkmate selection option is not guaranteed for students going the Week of April 8-12. Families not sending their child to sixth grade camp DO NOT need to complete the preference date survey.

We will also be hosting a brief Q&A session at 6:00 PM on Wednesday, November 8th in the Pershing library before the start of our Pershing Foundation Meeting if families have any additional questions. Again, we apologize for this inconvenience and the frustration you may understandably be feeling about this situation. We also appreciate your patience and understanding as we work together to address this challenging situation and ensure that all students have a positive experience at camp regardless of the week they attend.

Sincerely,

Melanie Kray, Principal

October is National Depression and Mental Health awareness month.

To make online screening more accessible, Mental Health America created an online screening program, including this screener for youth: https://screening.mhanational.org/screening-tools/youth/?ref

Additionally, attached are tips from the National Association of School Psychologists for supporting children and young adults with depression at home.

We are fortunate to have a very active parent community and an engaged foundation that works tirelessly to ensure our school has the funds it needs to allow our students to have enriching academic experiences beyond the typical program.

Email: pershingfoundation@outlook.com

Website: https://pershingmiddleschoolfoundation.org/

Facebook: https://facebook.com/pershingpanthers

Oct 30-Nov 3: ASB Spirit Week

Oct 31: Costume Day

Nov 2: Panoramic Pictures

Nov 8: Pershing Foundation Meeting @6:30 PM in Library or via zoom

Nov 9: P2 Grading Period Ends

Nov 10: Veteran's Day (NO SCHOOL)

Nov 13: SGT Meeting @3:00 PM in the Library

Nov 14: SSC Meeting @3:00 PM in the Library

Nov 15: Coffee with the Princpal

Follow Pershing Middle on Instagram & Threads

@Pershing_sdusd

Interested in volunteering on campus?

Contact our Community Assistant Ms. Johana Moreno at jmorenoperez@sandi.net

Email: mkray@sandi.net
Website: https://pershing.sandiegounified.org/
Location: 8204 San Carlos Drive, San Diego, CA, USA
Phone: (619) 352-3550
Twitter: @melanie_kray