The Panther Post

Happy Fall Pleasant Hill Families!

It is hard to believe we are a quarter of the way through the 2024-2025 school year. It has been an exciting journey so far. This is one of my favorite times of the year when we get the opportunity to set up student led conferences and sit down with all of you to share the progress your children have made.

We invite you in for student led parent teacher conferences on October 9-10 from 4:00-7:00 PM. PLEASE CLICK HERE to sign up for a time slot with your child(ren)'s teacher(s), or call the Main Office to assist in setting up your time.

Students are SO excited to share with you what they have been learning about and how they are progressing with their SMART goals they set at the beginning of the school year. Your child's teacher will send out a sign up genius link for you to easily sign up for a conference time. Please sign up for your child's conference as soon as possible if you have not already done so. It is very important teachers meet with all their students' parents/guardians.

We look forward to seeing you all very soon! Don't forget to join us for our October family engagement activities!!!

Yours in Education,

Dr. Lisa Weaver

Superintendent

The Limestone Township and the Alpha Park Public Library would like to invite you to join the first annual Walk & Roll to School Day October 2, 2024! PH will have a tent in front of the school with giveaways & information. As kids walk, bike, and roll into school they can learn about safety and pick up some cool swag. All parents/guardians are encouraged to walk with kids or lead a walk/bike train that day. Come join in the fun!

The first Monday in October has been declared bring your parent to school day in the state of Illinois. We invite you to come in to Pleasant Hill on Monday, October 7 for an afternoon of fun! See details below!

THANKS to all who helped in making Book Blast 2024 a huge success. We appreciate all those who donated to help our students and classrooms earn both books and prizes and understand the importance of reading and literacy. A huge shoutout goes to Mrs. Dimmitt for spearheading Book Blast. We SO appreciate you!

Bullying is unfair and one-sided treatment of a peer that happens when they are being continuously hurt, frightened, threatened or being left out on purpose. In an effort to prevent bullying, schools, as well as other agencies such as The Center for Prevention of Abuse, are uniting communities around the world to educate and raise awareness of bullying prevention.

I know often times, students have difficulty determining the difference between actual bullying and conflict. The Center for Prevention of Abuse uses the acronym HOUR to help distinguish bullying from tattling and conflict. HOUR refers to the four defining factors of bullying. The defining factors are questions we ask to make our determination. First, is it hurtful? Second, is it one-sided? Third, is it unfair? Lastly, is it repeated? We encourage you to always keep an open dialogue between your children, reviewing the four defining factors of situations to determine if bullying is occurring, and then discuss how bullying can be handled if it is indeed happening.

In an effort to come together – in schools, communities, and online – and send one large ORANGE message of support, hope, and unity to show that we are together against bullying and united for kindness, acceptance and inclusion...we ask that all parents and students wear ORANGE on Wednesday, October 16th for UNITY DAY. Although we won't be in school on Unity Day, we can still share our message of unity by WEARING ORANGE out in the community. To learn more about unity day, please visit the following website! If you would like more information on bullying prevention, please visit the following site!

In our continued efforts to prevent bullying here at Pleasant Hill, we will be having an ANTI-BULLYING SPIRIT WEEK when we return from fall break October 21-25. Your child is welcome to be out of uniform throughout this week IF he/she is participating in the themes for the day and clothing is school appropriate.

Now is your chance to grab all of your favorite Pleasant Hill spirit wear. Simply click on the link below to browse and make your purchases!!

SPIRIT WEAR SHOP

MEDICAL RECORDS NEEDED:

Kindergarten: IL SCHOOL PHYSICAL EXAM (with updated immunizations), DENTAL EXAM, and VISION EYE Exam. DUE BY OCTOBER 15th!

2nd grade: DENTAL EXAM DUE BY MAY 15th but get theses done ASAP.

6th grade: IL SCHOOL PHYSICAL EXAM (with updated immunizations) and DENTAL Exam DUE BY OCTOBER 15th!

If your student is new to Pleasant Hill, please remember that you only have 30 days to get all of their Health records into the office. This includes physical exam, immunization records, dental exam and eye exam.

Please get these exams complete ASAP! Thank you!

It's time to FALL into Healthy Sleep Habits!

We have had several VERY sleepy kiddos coming to school. Please make sure your student is getting plenty of sleep! Sleep is the key to staying healthy and being able to learn! Check the chart below to see when your child should be going to bed.

Is screen time before bed bad for my child? Simply, YES, VERY!!! Studies have shown that screen time doesn't only keep your child awake before bed, it makes it harder for child to fall asleep and stay asleep!

Please help your child and their teachers by making sure ALL electronics are out of your child's room or turned off at least ONE hour before bed. Thanks for your help!

We are in need of volunteers for our extra-curricular events. Some jobs we need assistance with include keeping score, taking money at the admission gate, running the clock, or working at the concession stand for both girls and boys basketball games.

If your child is participating in a sport, we ask that you volunteer for at least TWO games to help us out. For example, if your girls is playing girls basketball, then you could volunteer at the boys basketball games so you can still cheer your girl on at her game.

It is so important we have volunteers to help out with these events so we can continue to host them. We truly appreciate any help you can give.

Click the LINK to get signed up today!

• Our Pleasant Hill teachers and staff 💙💛🖤 to support your questions regarding our students! They have an expectation to respond to all family calls/emails within 24 hours, due to their top priority being teaching and supporting great behaviors in the classroom. Please be sure when sending questions and requests to staff to keep this in mind, in case the response is not immediate. If you have information that needs a faster response due to emergency, please call the Main Office and we can assist you.

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• Please make every effort to have your child at school by 7:45 each morning. It is important for students to be at school on time each and every day to get the most out of all learning experiences!
  
• It is very important that students dismissal procedures are kept consistent each day at school. When serving 170 students, we cannot take phone calls during the day to adjust dismissal procedures on a regular basis. If a change needs to be made for some reason, please be sure to send in a written note so we can make that change.
• Don't forget if your child is sick and going to be absent for the day, you will need to call the school office at 637.6829 to let us know..
• Pleasant Hill utilizes social media daily to help families stay informed about important upcoming events and learning experiences taking place in classrooms. Please follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter @PHillPanthers
• Parents Club is always looking for volunteers. If you would like to be a part of the Pleasant Hill Parents Club, please email them at parentsclub@phill69.com.
• Boys basketball for 6th-8th grade students will begin on October 22nd. If students would like to participate, they will need an updated sports physical on file with the school nurse. Coach Weaver & Coach Tate will host a mandatory parent meeting for all interested students and their parents on October 22nd at 4:30.
• Cheerleading for 6th-8th grade students will begin on October 21st. If students would like to participate, they will need an updated sports physical on file with the school nurse. Coach Comfort will host a mandatory parent/cheerleader meeting on October 21 from 2:45-3:15.
• Safety is a number one priority for our students. In order to keep our students safe during pick up and drop off, please DO NOT pass buses which have their stop arm out. Not only is it ILLEGAL, but it is also a safety risk for our students. Please stop and allow any student who is a walker to cross in front of you when you are parked in front of the school. One more reminder, please DO NOT turn around, pass anyone after dropping off your children, pull to the top of the hill to drop off and then back up down the street, or pull in the neighbors driveway . You MUST EXIT straight through the parking lot as we have one way traffic flow. Thank you for helping us keep the children SAFE!

We believe every kid deserves to thrive, which is why we’re so excited to announce our partnership with Cartwheel Care. Cartwheel is the trusted mental health partner to schools, providing rapid access to care for students, including therapy and medication evaluation and management. An astounding 92% of students report they feel better after working with Cartwheel.

This partnership also includes access to parent guidance, family therapy, and staff therapy, all virtually and with no waitlists. Their licensed therapists and child psychiatrists are diverse, culturally sensitive, and committed to affordable care for everyone—including those covered by Medicaid. For more information, visit www.cartwheel.org.

Cartwheel also offers free webinars for caregivers and school staff focused on providing practical and actionable information on mental health topics affecting youth and families today. You can find the full schedule here.

Popcorn Fridays are BACK here at Pleasant Hill. Your child can purchase popcorn and help the 8th grade students raise money for their special field trip at the end of the year. Each student will be able to purchase a maximum of 2 bags of popcorn @ $1.00 per bag plus 50 cents for an additional topping.

In the month of October, we will have 2 popcorn Fridays on October 4 & October 25. Please be sure that popcorn order forms and money are turned on the Thursday prior to each popcorn Friday to ensure your child receives their popcorn!

• October 1-8th Grade Field Trip to Career Spark @ Civic Center

• October 2-Walk, Bike & Roll to School Day-Girls Basketball Game @ PH VS. Hollis 5:00-Custodian Appreciation Day-Thanks for all you do Don, Larry, & Frank!

• October 3-6th & 7th Grade Field Trip to Farmdale Reservoir 9:30-2:30
  
• October 4-Popcorn Friday-Happy Birthday Ramyiah (6th grade) & Esteban (7th grade)
• October 7-Girls Basketball Game at Pleasant Valley 4:30-Happy Birthday Ms. Mathewson, Michael (7th grade) & I'Yanah (2nd grade)
• October 8-Girls Basketball Game @ Limestone Walters 5:00
• October 9-End of First Quarter-Student Led Conferences 4:00-7:00-Happy Birthday Enrique (4th grade)
• October 10-Start of Second Quarter-Progress Reports-Student Led Conferences 4:00-7:00
• October 11-No School
• October 13-Happy Birthday Mrs. Skauge, Maylie (PK) & James (PK)
• October 14-18-Fall Break-No School-Happy Birthday Ndai (4th grade)
• October 19-Happy Birthday Alijah (1st grade)

• October 20-Happy Birthday Zayden (PK)
• October 21-Return to School-Mandatory Parent/Cheerleader Meeting 2:45-3:15

• October 22-Boys Basketball Practice Begins 2:45-4:30-Mandatory Parent Meeting 4:30-Cheer Practice 2:45-4:00-Board of Education Meeting 6:00
• October 23-Boys Basketball Practice 2:45-4:30-Girls Basketball Game @ Bartonville Grade School 5:00
• October 24-Cheer Practice 2:45-4:00-Boys Basketball Practice 2:45-4:30-Happy Birthday Avery (8th grade) & Brystin (3rd grade)
• October 25-Popcorn Friday-Happy Birthday Thalia (4th grade)
• October 27-Happy Birthday Miliano (3rd grade)
• October 28-Girls Basketball Game @ South Pekin 4:30
• October 29-Cheer Practice 2:45-4:00-Boys Basketball Practice 2:45-4:30
• October 30-Girls Basketball Game @ PH VS. Beverly Manor 5:00-Happy Birthday Valentina (K) & Jaelynn (8th grade)
• October 31-Wear Orange & Black Shirts with Uniform Bottoms-Happy Halloween! Cheer Practice 2:45-4:00-Happy Birthday Le'Tisha (3rd grade)

Email: lweaver@phill69.com
Website: www.phill69.com
Location: Pleasant Hill Elementary School, West Malone Street, Peoria, IL, United States
Phone: 309.637.6829
Facebook: facebook.com/PleasantHillElementarySchool
Twitter: @PHillPanthers