The Panther Pulse

Dear Pershing Families,

PR1 grades are now visible in the PowerSchool Parent Portal and congratulations to our students. More than 400 students have earned Honor Roll (3.5 GPA or higher) or Principal's Honor Roll (4.0 GPA) status and will be receiving certificates. Let me say that again - more than 400! Congratulations to our Panther Scholars and to their families for putting in the time and starting the school year off on the right foot - we are so proud of you!

If your child is struggling there are multiple supports available (an updated tutoring schedule is listed below) and we encourage you to reach out to your child's teacher directly if you have any questions. There is still plenty of time for students to improve their grades and get help if needed.

Also, a few housekeeping items. As you know, we have been very strict about cell phones this school year - they must be turned off and in backpacks during school hours - and the students have done an excellent job following this policy. Unfortunately, however, we have noticed in the last week an uptick, particularly among our 6th graders, in students using smart watches to communicate during class time via group chats. We ask that you please have a conversation with your students about practicing Panther PRIDE and using Responsiblity and Integrity when it comes to smart watches on campus. Smart Watches should not be used as a communication device during school hours. We appreciate your support and our hopeful that just like cell phones, when we clearly communicate our expectations with the students, they will rise to the challenge again.

We have also noticed that students are bringing money to school to purchase items from the cafeteria and ASB Snack Shack for themselves and their friends. Although we appreciate our students' generosity in purchasing items for there friends we do not want to create a situation where down the road students feel pressured to purchase items for other students. Therefore we want to remind students that if they would like to bring a small amount of money to purchase items for themselves they are welcome to do so but we do not want them giving money to other students. Again thank you in advance for your support.

FLU SEASON IN HERE

Multiple high schools have experienced high illness rates due to probable Influenza. So far COVID tests have been negative. Typical signs and symptoms include cough, sore throat, runny nose, fever, and other upper respiratory infection symptoms. CLICK HERE for recommendations to help prevent the spread.

PICTURE RE-TAKE DAY ON TUESDAY, NOV 18th POSTPONED

LifeTouch photography contacted us on Friday to make us aware they are still processing proofs from the original picture day and still have not shared pictures with families. As a result, LifeTouch recommended we postpone the picture retakes to give them additional time to process the photos. Our new picture retake day is tentatively scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 2nd. We apologize for any inconvenience.

8TH GRADE BABY PHOTOS FOR YEARBOOK

8th Grade Parents - the yearbook staff is on the look out for baby pictures of our 8th graders. They can either turn in a physical copy (will be returned) or send a digital copy to our yearbook advisor Ms. Ruckle at sruckle@sandi.net. Please make sure the student's name is either on the subject line of the email or the back of the photo. The deadline to submit a baby photo is December 9th.

6TH GRADE CAMP INFORMATION MEETING ON TUESDAY, OCT 18th

For our 6th grade families, the Pershing Foundation is hosting an information night about sixth grade camp at 6:00 PM in the auditorium. We hope you will be able to attend.

MODEL UN MEETING THIS WEDNESDAY AT LUNCH FOR STUDENTS

Ms. Ruckle and Ms. Imonen have volunteered to help start a Model UN Club on campus with the goal of participating at the Model UN Conference held at Henry High in the Spring. If your child is interested in participating in Model UN please encoruage them to attend the meeting on Wednesday at lunch. This is a great opportunity for our students.

AFTER SCHOOL TUTORING OPTIONS AVAILABLE

We have been working hard to get an after school tutoring program up and running to support our students. Now that students have received their PR1 grades, if you are noticing your child is struggling we having the following tutoring options available.

• Math - Rm. 303 on Tuesdays and Thursdays @2:50 - 3:45 PM
• English - Rm. 301 on Tuesdays and Thursdays @2:50-3:45 PM
• Spanish/SLIM - Rm. 104 on Tuesdays @2:50-3:45 PM

Many of our teachers also tutor informally during lunch time. It is always a good idea to reach out to teachers individually regarding tutoring options as well.

COFFEE WITH THE PRINCIPAL ON OCTOBER 19th POSTPONED

Unfortunately the Coffee with the Principal event we had scheduled this week conflicts with another district event I have to attend. We hope you will be able to join us at our next Coffee with the Principal on Nov 9th. We apologize for any inconvenience.

SCHOOL PLAY AUDITIONS ON OCT 26TH @2:00-5:00 PM

We are pleased to announce that several parents and community members have agreed to run our school play this year. Students will be performing Seussical Jr!

Auditions will be held Oct 26th from 2-5 PM. In order to audition you must complete the sign up form.

For additional information CLICK HERE or visit the link under the Students tab on our school website.

CHERRYDALE FUNDRAISER ENDS OF WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 19TH - HELP US REACH OUR GOAL

Pershing Middle School Foundation's fundraiser started Oct 5th and we need your help. Our goal is to raise $35,000.00 for essential programs this 2022-2023 school year! As of Friday, Oct 14th we had hit our mid-week goals! This fundraiser ends on October 19th - please keep sharing the links and encouraging people to place orders - we are almost there - our fundraiser ends in 4 days!

Also, if you did not pick up your Share 10 gift bag for sharing your link with 10 friends and family they are available for pick up after school Monday-Wednesday next week.

LEAVING CAMPUS EARLY FOR AN APPOINTMENT

We know from time to time it is necessary for a student to leave campus early for an appointment. We have noticed that often times parents are coming to pick up their child during the lunch period or during their PE period and we just wanted to make sure families are aware if you try to pick up your child during the lunch break or during PE you may face delays. Is it extremely challenging to locate a student quickly during lunch time. Also, if you are coming to pick up your child during PE, the PE teacher has to find supervision so your child can go into the locker room and get their personal items. Because of this we are requesting to the best of your ability to try to and schedule appointments outside of the school day so student are not missing instructional time. And if you do not have any other options and need to pick your child up early we wanted you to be mindful of the issues that pop up if you are trying to pull a student out during lunch time or the PE period.

NEW LINK TO SEE CLUBS ON CAMPUS

Parents you have been asking and it is finally here! We have added a link under the Student tab on our website so you can see all the clubs that are currently available on campus and when they meet. You can also CLICK HERE.

PARENT WORKSHOPS: UNDERSTANDING RJP

In collaboration with our district's Leadership and Learning Department we will be hosting a 3-part parent workshop series to help families gain a better understanding of Restorative Practices and our restorative discipline model. The meetings will be held in person at Pershing Middle School on Nov 1, Dec 6, and Feb 7 @6:00 PM. We hope you will be able to attend.

PERSHING WEBSITE UPDATES ARE NEARLY COMPLETE!

https://pershing.sandiegounified.org/

After a great deal of work, the Pershing website's makeover is nearly done. Our goal is for the school website to be your first stop to obtain information about what is happening at the school. To meet that goal we need your input - what additional information would be helpful for families to have access to on the school website. CLICK HERE to complete this website feedback survey.

Also, we are trying to increase our social media footprint and provide multiple ways for families to access information so please follow us on Instagram @pershing_sdusd or follow me on Twitter @melanie_kray for the latest information.

I was lucky enough to see our Boys Basketball team and Boys & Girls Track teams compete at Mission Bay High School this weekend! Congratulations to Maximo Mineo for being named Player of the Game in our Boys' victory over Roosevelt Middle on 10/15. And congratulations to Nora Witt who was named Player of the Game in our Girls' teams' victory over Taft.

I would be remiss if I did not recognize our player standouts from our games on 10/8. Congrats to Madin Gardini who was named Player of the Game in our victory versus Bell and to Jack Gendron who was the Player of the Game in our win against Standley.

And finally congrats to our track and field standouts: Isabelle Schaefer for her third place overall ranking in the long jump for her 12' 6' jump on 10/8. And congrats to Lila Mercer for her first place overall rank in the 400 M for her performance on 10/8.

Did you know that our SLIM Program is hosting a SLIM Movie Night on Friday, November 4th?

Does your child need help with Spanish? Mr. Barry is offering tutoring support on Tuesdays in Rm. 104 afterschool.

WHAT TO DO IF YOUR CHILD IS EXHIBITING COVID SYMPTOMS

If you child is exhibiting any of the following symptoms: fever, chills, cough, shortness of breath, fatigue, muscle or body aches, headache, loss of taste or smell, sore throat, congestion, runny nose, nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea please keep them home from school unless they have have negative COVID test or until the symptoms have abated. If your child is sent home from school with one of these symptoms they must have a negative test to return the next school day. An at home COVID test would be an acceptable test.

Oct 18: Make-Up Picture Day

Oct 18: 6th Grade Camp Fundraising Meeting @6:00 PM in the Auditorium

Oct. 19: Coffee with the Principal @6:30 PM via zoom (POSTPONED)

Oct 24 & 25: 5th Grade Parent Tours @9-10:30 AM (for families interested in attending Pershing via CHOICE)

Oct 26: School Play Rehearsals @2:00-5:00 PM in the Auditorium

Oct 31: Spirit Week

Nov 1: Pershing Parent Workshop#1: Understanding Restorative Practices @6:00 PM in the Library

Nov 3: 8th Grade Panoramic Picture

Nov 3: Internet Crimes Presentation for Families @6:00 in the Auditorium

Nov 4: SLIM Program Movie Night

Nov 9: Coffee with the Principal @8:30 AM via zoom

Nov 9: Pershing Foundation Meeting @6:30 PM in the Library

Nov 10: Internet Crimes Presentation to Students (Grade Level Assemblies)

Nov 11: Veteran's Day (NO SCHOOL)

Nov 15: School Site Council (SSC) Meeting @3:00 PM in the Library

Nov 16: Turkey Trot

Nov 16: Fall Dance

Nov 17: Henry Cluster Meeting @5:00-6:00 PM via zoom

Nov 18: PR2 Grading Period Ends

Nov 21-25: Thanksgiving Break (NO SCHOOL)

Dec 19-Jan 2: Winter Break (NO SCHOOL)

March 20-24: 6th Grade Camp