Pine Forest School of the Arts

Happy Saturday, Pine Forest families!

I would like to take a moment to thank each of you for such a wonderful opening of school so far.

Thank you for your cooperation during Morning Arrival and for ensuring the safety of our students by waiting to drop them off until 8:00am. Thank you for announcing your student(s) through PikMyKid and having your 3-digit numbers ready to help our car line flow smoothly and more efficiently than ever! We are wrapping up early dismissal by around 3:15 each day! That takes a tremendous amount of teamwork between faculty, staff, students and YOU! We appreciate you!

I also want to thank our parent volunteers for stepping up to assist with various needs around our school during the day. From greeting students during morning arrival, working alongside teachers in classrooms and opening milk carton after milk carton in the cafeteria, we cannot thank you enough. It's never too late to get involved and help support our teachers and students. We will continue to provide school-wide volunteer opportunities in our newsletters; however, please feel free to reach out to your child's teacher, too. Remember, you must be an APPROVED DCPS VOLUNTEER to volunteer during the school day. This includes having lunch with your own child if you wish to do so. CLICK HERE if you need to apply to be a DCPS volunteer!🙂

As you continue to scroll through this week's newsletter, please take a moment to pay close attention to the electronic forms in your Parent Portal that require your attention. Please be sure to have the forms completed by the deadlines listed below. Also, your child will be bringing home a Flu Vaccination Consent Form this week. While our school's Flu Vaccination Clinic will not take place until later in September, we want to be sure to give you enough time to complete the form and return it to your child's teacher if you wish to have your child participate in this year's clinic.

Finally, September is Attendance Awareness Month. Did you know that one in six students in the United States miss enough school to be considered chronically absent according to the US Department of Education? Chronic absenteeism is widely defined as missing 10 percent or more of a school year. The image below shares attendance data from the 2023-2024 school year and the percentage of chronically absent students in each grade level.

This month we will be sharing additional information in our newsletters, on our social media pages and during the school day to promote healthy school attendance for all students. Please join us in an effort to increase student achievement by ensuring that your child arrives to school on time each school day. Instruction begins at 8:30am and continues until afternoon dismissal begins. Please strive to avoid early check-outs. Students miss out on learning opportunities of all sorts when they are not at school. Every minute counts. Please join us in supporting and spreading that message.

Have a beautiful weekend,
Principal Matthews

NO SCHOOL-Labor Day

*Breakfast: Assorted Breakfast Cereal, Seasonal Fresh Fruit, Apple Juice & Milk

*Lunch Entrees: Choice of Chicken Egg Roll w/ Veggie & Egg Fried Rice, 3-Bean Chili w/ Cheese or Superfood Spinach Salad w/Garlic Croutons

*Waterford Testing for Kindergarten

*Breakfast: Mini Cinnamon Waffles, Banana, Orange Juice & Milk

*Lunch Entrees: Choice of Crispy Fish Sticks w/ French Fries, Mediterranean Grain Bowl or Honey Mustard Chicken Salad w/Garlic Croutons

*Waterford Testing for Kindergarten

*All 4th and 5th Grade Students will attend Advanced Art Classes today. Please make sure they come to school prepared (i.e. dance attire and shoes, instruments, art supplies).

*Breakfast: Turkey Sausage Croissant Breakfast Sandwich, Chilled Peaches, Grape Juice & Milk

*Lunch Entrees: Choice of Turkey Taco Mac, Classic Chicken Sandwich or Chopped Greek Salad w/Garlic Croutons

*Waterford Testing for Kindergarten

*FAST ELA Testing for 3rd, 4th and 5th Graders--Please make sure your child arrives to school on time and remains at school all day.

*12:20-1:00: 2nd Grade Arts Resource Time

*1:10-1:50: 5th Grade Arts Resource Time

*2:00-2:40: 4th Grade Arts Resource Time

*6:00pm: Open House for all Kindergarten, 1st Grade & 2nd Grade Families

*Breakfast: Scratch-Made Chocolate Chip Muffin, Red Delicious Apple & Milk

*Lunch Entrees: Choice of Cheese Pizza, Pepperoni Pizza or Turkey Coin Chef Salad

*Waterford Testing for Kindergarten

*FAST MATH Testing for 3rd, 4th and 5th Graders--Please make sure your child arrives to school on time and remains at school all day.

*12:20-1:00: Kindergarten Arts Resource Time

*1:10-1:50: 1st Grade Arts Resource Time

*2:00-2:40: 3rd Grade Arts Resource Time

*Saturday, 9/7 is the LAST DAY to place orders for 2024-2025 School Spirit Shirts. All orders must be placed online through SchoolCash Online.

In addition to the required school registration forms, there are many electronic forms in your Parent Portal that need to be completed as well.

Please take a moment to log into your Parent Portal and complete the forms listed for each child. More detailed information is included below for some of the forms:

Please complete the Book and Media Materials Access Form AND the Student Media Release Form by Wednesday, September 4, 2024.

Book and Media Materials Access: This form is used to assist with book check-out in Media Center.

Request for Paper Communication: Only complete if you would like to receive paper copies of Progress Reports and Report Cards this school year.

Student Media Release: Fall photos are coming up and we are already beginning to capture photos for this year's yearbook as well as for our website, social media pages, etc. Please complete this form as soon as possible.

Only complete the forms below if you wish to opt your child out of viewing the videos/participating in lessons. If you wish to opt your child out of these initiatives, please be sure to complete the "opt out" forms by Sunday, September 8, 2024.

Elementary Active Shooter Training "Opt Out" Form

2024-2025 School Health Services "Opt Out" Form

Title IX Grade Level Viewing Form

The following information was recently communicated via email to all DCPS families.

Your child has a right to be safe at school and learn in an environment free from sexual discrimination and harassment. These rights are rooted in Title IX, a federal civil rights law that makes sex-based discrimination and harassment illegal in schools.

To assist with equipping students with this information, we have created three age-appropriate videos for each grade-level that discuss Title IX and the resources that students have to report concerns.

Over the next few weeks, schools will be reaching out to families regarding when their video presentations are taking place. We wanted to ensure you had the opportunity to view these videos in advance. There are three videos, and each one is geared toward a specific grade band: elementary, middle, high. They can be found at www.duvalschools.org/titleix.

We encourage you to watch these videos with your children. If you would like your child to view the video in school, no further action is required. If you would like to opt your child out of watching the video in school, you can submit a Parent Opt-Out form. You will find this form in Focus under Forms. It is titled “Title IX Grade Level Video Viewing.”

The NEW all-in-one app streamlines everything your family needs to stay connected with your child's school and Duval Schools. From notifications, to communications with your child's teacher, to accessing your child's grades, the Duval Schools App puts numerous features in one place to simplify and enhance your overall school experience.

For more information regarding the new DCPS app, CLICK HERE! The video below is also full of important information, too.

In order to volunteer at Pine Forest School of the Arts, you must be a DCPS APPROVED volunteer. This includes being able to have lunch with your child, attend field trips and volunteer in classrooms. If you have not already done so, please click on the link below to apply to serve as a volunteer in any capacity. The background check and approval process can take 2-3 weeks. Don't wait. Apply today.

Already an approved DCPS volunteer?! Great! Here's how you can help!🙂

Based on the data from last week's newsletter, it appears as if the two Science videos shared received a lot of views by our Pine Forest families! Great job! 🙌

This week's Academic Focus in our newsletter is the topic of Place Value. Grade levels are either wrapping up this unit and this will serve as a great review OR they are just getting into it! It is always helpful for our students to practice spelling their number words, too.

If you would like to view last week's Science videos again, click on the box below and it will take you to last week's newsletter. 🙂

As a friendly reminder, all students are required to come to school dressed out in proper dance attire on Dance days. For safety purposes, students not properly dressed out for dance will be assigned alternative dance assignments during dance class focused on Dance vocabulary, styles, etc.

Girls may wear a black leotard and pink tights OR a black t-shirt and black leggings. Jeans are not leggings. Hair must be in a bun or pulled out of the face. Pink ballet slippers are required. Students cannot dance in tennis shoes or socks.

Boys may wear black gym shorts or black sweatpants with a white t-shirt. Black jeans or dress pants are not allowed. Black ballet slippers are required. Students cannot dance in tennis shoes or socks.

Need to know where to purchase ballet slippers, tights and/or leotards? We have you covered. 😉

Danzar Dance Boutique: 9119 Merrill Rd Suite #41, Jacksonville, FL 32225

Julian's Dancewear: 9825 San Jose Blvd #31, Jacksonville, FL 32257

Make Believe Costumes and Dancewear: 1855 Parental Home Rd, Jacksonville, FL 32216

Mrs. Moser-McCrimon always does amazing work with our student artists in all grade levels; however, producing these beautiful works of art can often be time consuming and expensive.

Thank you for making sure that your child has their supplies for their individual art kits.

Please consider donating an item from her wish list below if you are able to do so. 🎨

HINT: Canvases, paintbrushes and packages of Sharpies can usually be found at Ross Dress for Less pretty cheap! 😉

Join Pine Forest PTA's efforts in supporting our community by sending in an unopened box of breakfast cereal between September 3-13, 2024. We have a fun surprise for students planned on Friday, September 13, 2024; however, we need several boxes of cereal to make it happen! 🥣

Encourage your child to show off his/her talent in the visual and/or performing arts by participating in this year's PTA Reflections Contest! For more information, send a message to our PTA board by CLICKING HERE!

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