Penngrove Press

Panther families,

An idea came up at the School Input Committee last week to get more student voice as to concerns and needs regarding Penngrove. I'd love to put a "mailbox" somewhere in the main building so students can put anonymous notes in when they have concerns, questions or ideas. That said, does anyone have an old mailbox which could be spruced up to be used, or is handy and wants to build one for the office? Just send me a message if you can help this effort!

I'm sharing the Penngrove Traffic study link again so you can have an opportunity to share your thoughts with the study team.

In an effort to communicate and include families in our school-wide goals, we are asking for your assistance. We have noticed an increase in physical aggression amongst our students, and want to address this head-on. One of our Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) team purposes is to evaluate and address issues affecting student’s safety, sense of respect and responsibility for their behavior. Physical aggression is never ok nor permitted on campus. All educational partners; teachers, support staff, students, and families, are expected to help us solve this problem. At school, staff has been trained on how to respond to such behaviors in a restorative manner so that students feel supported and safe. We are here to help your students determine when they need adult assistance and help to solve a problem. We feel our role is to create a safe space to help solve problems to avoid physical aggression. Staff will be contacting you with more regularity when any form of physical aggression occurs, so that you can follow up with a conversation at home as to how your student can make safer choices in the future.

Additionally, we need your help at home. Somethings you can do as guardians:

• Morning reminders for your student to have a safe body at school.

• Remind students of their tools, which have been taught in class.

• Practice the breathing tool as a family.

• Remind your students of the “Use your words” tool, which includes asking an adult for assistance when needed.

• Help your student identify where they feel anger in their bodies: for example: do their shoulders get tight, do they get knots in their tummy? Help them create a plan once they have that physical cue.

• If your student comes home with a report of an incident, ask your student some questions (we ask similar questions at school): How did this make you feel? What was happening right before and right after the incident? How do you think the other person perceived the situation? How did things end? And then what? Who was affected by this and how? What do you think needs to be done by each person to make this as right as possible?

• And please remember this guideline when talking about an emotional situation: everyone has their own truth, and there are many sides to a story. These are children, and may be unable to recognize their role in the situation, so we may need to help them recognize their part.

Stay awkward, brave and kind!

Carley Harp

I receive a lot of questions regarding consequences for students when issues arise. All schools follow the basic guidelines as presented by California Education Code. Additionally in PCS, we are implementing Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports. There is a misconception in and among any school community upon implementing PBIS that consequences have gone by the way side. The facts is, they have not, but they do look different. Education Code requires schools to attempt Restorative Practices for all students prior to removing students from the classroom for an extended amount of time. Additionally, there is recent research showing that removing students from the classroom does not actually result in positive behavior changes, but does increase the risk of future drop out rates. Our goal is to educate students in all areas of life, including behavior. PBIS and Restorative Resources offer a framework with staff training so we can improve our practices therein. In PCS and Penngrove, we focus on repairing the harm caused by the behavior and work collaboratively with the student, staff and family involved to come up with and agree upon a plan which allows the student to remain a valued part of our community, and offers a chance to rebuild the trust lost in the interaction. All of our staff have been trained to facilitate these restorative conversations, circles and practices in order to maintain our positive relationships with students and families. We strongly believe in empowering our students to correct their mistakes with the support of caring adults.

Here are the generic steps for consequences, however, please remember we individualize this to each situation:

1- We have a restorative conversation with those involved. This could be with any staff on site.

2- We contact parents to discuss behaviors and school based consequences (if any), and enlist support from home.

3- Student(s) will have a school-based consequence which will remove them from the setting in question and gives them a task to repair the harm caused to the community.

4- More severe loss of privilege will occur, such as missing a recess to do a restorative lesson. Parents contacted.

Any further consequences are tailored to meet the needs of the student(s) and correct the behavior.

Over the past few weeks, our site has experienced an increase in staffing absences due to the rise in illnesses within our community. As you can imagine, when staff members are unexpectedly absent, we need to move members of our team around to ensure the most critical needs on campus are met. We are hoping to find some parents, family members, and community members to bridge the gap with our staffing shortages.

How can you help?

We are in need of classified substitutes particularly in the following positions:

• Crossing guard (M-F, 7:50-8:20 on Old Adobe Rd by the Redwood Grove)

• Instructional assistants (working with students in a classroom setting, with students 1:1, in TK classrooms, special education etc.)

• Office support (clerical, answering phones, attendance, secretarial duties)

• Yard supervisors (facilitating play with students during lunch and recess, ensuring student safety, providing a nurturing play environment) Beginning after Spring Break- we are in need of a yard staff from 11:30-1:30!

If you are willing to substitute in any of the positions mentioned above, please email Ursula Perez Lopez at uperezlopez@petk12.org. Ursula and our Human Resources team will provide you with fingerprinting instructions and the district will even cover the cost of fingerprinting! After your fingerprints are clear, Ursula will work with you to complete your paperwork which takes about 20 minutes. Finally, you’ll become a fan favorite at school when you swoop in to save the day the next time someone calls in sick or needs to be absent.

Hello, Penngrove Families! We are over halfway through the school year... which also means it's time to plan for next year!

Please click here to access the Intent to Return form. With enrollment open and the next school year right around the corner, we are starting to think about placements for next year. Whether you plan to return to Penngrove or not, we're asking for you to complete this form no later than Wednesday, 2/15.

Please reach out to Mrs. Marcy at jmarcy@petk12.org or (707) 778-4755 if you have any questions.

Question of the week from Principal Harp

Each week, I will be sending out a question with which you will be given the opportunity to engage in a new conversation with your child. We all know how hard it is to draw out responses other than, "nothing" or "fine" when we ask "What did you do today?" or "How was school?" Be sure to use open ended follow-up questions and statements such as "Tell me more about that!" or "What did you think of that?" Please ask your student(s) the question below, share their response with us and make our day! You can submit more than one response! (No need to put names or identifying words.)

What is one kind thing you've done for someone else this week?

Join us on Friday, February 24th for a night of BINGO!

RSVPs are REQUIRED for this event.

Pizza & Drinks will be available for purchase

There are a limited number of tickets for this event, so be sure to RSVP early

Petaluma Youth Lacrosse is the recreational lacrosse club of Petaluma. Anyone born from September 2008 to August 2017 can sign up to learn and play this athletic team sport during the spring of 2023.

CHESS FOR KIDS, Inc. is a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing chess to as many young people as possible in Sonoma and Napa Counties.

PCS Volunteer Application

Statement of Insurance Coverage

Email: penngrove@petk12.org
Website: penngroveelementary.org
Location: 365 Adobe Road, Penngrove, CA, USA
Phone: (707) 778-4755
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Penngrove-Elementary-School-323595021067904/
Twitter: @pennpanthers