Principal's Message
A friendly reminder the campus will be closed Monday, September 4 in honor of Labor Day. School will resume on Tuesday, September 5.
As some families may already know, our Engineering teacher, Ms. Melissa Maggio, has been working all summer with our district's College Career Technical Education (CCTE) Department to renovate and modernize our engineering program's maker space. Our program has added new laptops, additional 3D printers, laser cutters, power tools, and completely rennovated the student work space in Rm. 401. A big thank you to Dean Darley from the District's CCTE Department for his support and work on this project.
Last week Dean and students from Hoover High School's CCTE Construction Pathway installed a new storage shed to house some of the equipment (check out the pictures below). I can't wait to share the finished product with families over the next few weeks!
I also want families to know my top priority over the next week is to get strong teachers hired for the two teaching vacancies we currently have due to a signficant increase in our enrollment. I will be conducting interviews this week to fill the Science vacancy and the English/History vacancy we have. In the interim, we have two retired educators who know the Pershing community well covering those vacancies and they continue to work closely with colleagues from their respective departments to ensures there is minimal disruption to student learning. I also wanted to take a moment to thank our students and families as I know having to adjust a student's schedule can often be stressful but is necessary in order to reduce overall class sizes and meet all contractual classroom caps and ratios. The majority of student schedule changes have been completed and we only anticipate a few minor schedule changes this week for students.
And finally I want to give a shoutout to our students for the fabulous job they have been doing keeping our campus clean. We have 100 more students on campus this school year, and particularly during lunch, the students have done a fabulous job cleaning up after themselves. They are demonstrating Panther PRIDE every day and it is much appreciated! Great work Panthers!
Sincerely,
Melanie Kray
Thank you families!!! The Foundation has raised over $10,000 in less than two weeks and we still have many families that have not yet taken the Panther Pledge. Every little bit helps we encourage you to donate and share the link with family and friends. The Panther Pledge drive will end September 16th.
DONATION LINK: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=CXCJYPUVVQ4D2
A reminder that the Panther Pledge is a suggest $75 donation. Money raised through the Panther Pledge goes directly to students and pays for the following activities this school year:
- 6th Grade Camp Scholarships so we can continue to be one of the few middle schools in SDUSD who send our 6th graders to camp
- 7th Grade Enrichment Experience
- 8th Grade Promotion and End of Year Activities
- Field trips, guest speakers, teacher stipends to support enrichment activities in the classroom (ex. science teachers used their stipend last year to create a garden to give students hands on experience with botany).
If every family donated $75 we would meet our fundraising goal for the year and no additional fundraisers would be needed. We still have a ways to go in meeting our overall goal so please donate today!!
Important Announcements for the Week of September 4
SCHOOL PICTURE DAY IS ON TUESDAY, SEPT 5
Fall pictures will be happening on Tuesday, September 5th. Please check your email for the LifeTouch order forms.
VOLUNTEERS NEED FOR OUR UPCOMING BOOK FAIR
We need volunteers to help run our upcoming book for the Week of Sept 11. If you are able to help please use this link to sign up: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090848AAAE28ABF85-pershing
BACK TO SCHOOL NIGHT IS TUESDAY, SEPT 12 @5:30 PM
On behalf of the entire Pershing faculty, we would like to cordially invite you to attend our Back to School Night Event on Tuesday, Sept 12. The event begins at 5:30 PM in the Pershing auditorium and then from 6:00-7:00 PM families will have an opportunity to visit their children's classrooms. This would also be a good opportunity for families to visit our book fair which will be open at 5:15-7:30 PM in the library.
PERSHING FOUNDATION MEETING IS WEDNESDAY, SEPT 13 @6:30
We hope families will join us for our first foundation meeting of the 2023-24 school year. The meeting will be in-person in the Pershing library and accessible online via zoom. The zoom link will be shared in next week's newsletter.
FORMS FROM WELCOME PACKETS DUE BY FRIDAY, SEPT 8
Last week students were given their Welcome Packets for the 2023-24 school. These packets contain important forms that families need to complete and turn in to the school. Please make sure the forms are completed and returned to your child's first period teacher by Friday, Sept 8.
FIRST ASB SPIRIT WEEK IS COMING SEPT 11-15
Panthers are you ready to show off your school spirit during our first spirit week of the 2023-24 school year?!
- Monday, Sept 11: Patriot Day (wear red, white, and blue)
- Tuesday, Sept 12: Twin Day (wear matching clothes with a classmate(s) or teacher)
- Wednesday, Sept 13: Anything But a Backpack Day (carry your school materials in something other than a backpack)
- Thursday, Sept 14: Wacky Thursday (come to school in your wackiest style)
- Friday, Sept 15: Beach Day (slide into the weekend in your best beach outfit)
DID YOU KNOW WEDNESDAYS ARE PANTHER SPIRIT DAYS?!
Every Wednesday is a Panther Spirit Day. Students are encouraged to wear Panther gear or Pershing colors (maroon, grey, black or white). Our online store is now open, check out all the latest deals and ensure your child is ready for our spirit days! A big shout out to our staff we had nearly 100% of our teachers and support staff wear their Pershing gear last Wednesday! Students, looking forward to seeing you in your Panther gear this Wednesday.
AFTER SCHOOL TENNIS ENRICHMENT
Is your child interested in learning how to play tennis? If so considering joining the After School Tennis Enrichment Program. The application is available for download below.
Tryouts will begin this week on your school’s assigned days. Click on the link to view the schedule that SDUSD Middle School Athletics has committed to for the first two weeks of the season that include tryouts/practice: MSA Fall 2023-2024 Tryout/Practice Schedule.
In preparation for next week’s tryouts here are few suggestions for students athletes. Be on time, bring plenty of water, and wear comfortable athletic attire. Day 1 of tryouts is always the busiest with checking in the student athletes which will cut into instruction time. Please remember these tryouts are closed to the parents/guardians as the coaches have limited amount of time with the athletes. Thank you for your understanding.
The PowerSchool Parent/Student Portal is a website parents and students can use to view attendance, assignments, and other academic information. The portal is accessible from any computer or device with an internet connection. For your convenience PowerSchool also offers a mobile app which allows you to access PowerSchool information through your phone.
Parents can view:
Student schedules
Attendance data
Assignments & Grades
Report cards and progress report
If you run into any issues setting up your PowerSchool Parent Portal please contact our Site Tech Ms. Stephanie Kamp at skamp@sandi.net or stop by our PowerSchool Parent Portal Help Desk in the library during Back to School Night on Tuesday, Sept. 12.
Did you know that poor attendance is the most common cause for low achievement and failing grades in middle school?
Each day your child is not in school is a missed opportunity to learn something they will need in order to understand more difficult material later in the year and in future years. You cannot make up for too many absences with homework and make-up work. Making sure your child(ren) are in school every day helps ensure they will succeed in middle school and sets them up for success in high school.
Chances are your child(ren) will need to miss a few days of school in any given school year and while some absences may seem more excusable than others, the impact is actually the same regardless whether your child is sick, ditching, or taking a family trip. Any absence makes it harder for your child to keep up with the everyday classroom learning that is needed to grow and succeed, even when they try to complete what was missed.
Research shows missing just 2 days of school per month is too many. Students who miss too many days fall behind in reading, writing, and math. Long-term, this makes them less likely to be on track to graduate high school. We know some absences are unavoidable; but too many will make your child fall behind and they might not be able to catch up. Keep track of and limit your child’s absences in order to keep them on track to succeed in their future. Save absences for when it is absolutely necessary and make sure they are in school every day.
When your child is absent it is important that you report the reason to the school so the absence can be cleared. There are several ways you can report your child's abence:
- Complete the this google form to report an absence
- Email our attendance clerk Ms. Caputo at dcaputo@sandi.net. In your email please include your child's first and last name, grade level, date of the absence, and reason for the absence
- Call the school at 619-362-3550 option 1 and leave a message.
Please consider joining and supporting the Pershing Foundation. Their first meeting is Wednesday, September 13 @6:30 PM in the library. For your convenience the meeting will also be accessible on zoom so families who cannot attend in person will be able to participate (zoom link will be shared in later newsletters).
Email: pershingfoundation@outlook.com
Website: https://pershingmiddleschoolfoundation.org/
Facebook: https://facebook.com/pershingpanthers
Stay Connected
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