The Panther Pulse

Dear Pershing Families,

Thank you to all the families that were able to come out and enjoy our Spring Fest event! It was so nice to have another opportunities to have students showing their families around campus and celebrate all the amazing academic and extra curricular opportunities we have here at Pershing. I keep telling people how fortunate I am to work at a school that has such great students, staff, and families!

For clarification purposes I wanted to remind all families that Pershing is celebrating Teacher and Staff Appreciation Week during March 8-12. I know some schools are doing it this week but we are following the NEA's suggested week. If you are interested in helping with Teacher Appreciatio Week please contain the Pershing Foundation at pershingmiddleschoolfoundation@gmail.com.

Finally, I want to remind all families that we begin state testing this week at Pershing. May 1-4 students will take the CAASPP ELA in their English classes. To help set your children up for success we ask parents to focus on the following:

• This is our time to shine - although there are multiple measures schools can use to show they are great learning environments for students, state testing is one of the most public. We ask that you encourage your child(ren) to try their best on these exams.
• Your attendance matters - we need our students here every single day! Please do not schedule doctor's appontments or other appointments during the next few weeks. We are required to test a certain percentage of our students and it is important that all students arrive on time everyday.
• Please set your child up for success - ensure they get a good night's sleep and eat a healthy breakfast before coming to school
• Please bring your laptop to school everyday and make sure it is fully charged
• If your child uses their laptop at home please make sure they clear their cookies every evening before they come to school the next day.
• This is the testing schedule for the next 3 weeks

May 1-5: ELA CAASPP Testing through English classes (ALL STUDENTS)

May 8-12: Math CAASPP Testing through Math classes (ALL STUDENTS)

May 15-19: CAST Testing through science classes (8TH GRADE ONLY)

We've got this Panthers! Let's try our best and show off but what we have learned this year!

Sincerely,
Melanie Kray

PE LOANERS & ENSURING STUDENTS ARE HYDRATED

We wanted to remind families that as the weather starts to warm up it is important that students stay hydrated and bring water with them every day. We have had quite a few students coming to the health office.

Also, our PE Department has noticed a significant uptick in the number of loaner PE clothes being distributed daily. We have many students who are asking for loaners daily. This is not sustainable. Please double check with your child to ensure they remember their PE clothes. If you need additional PE clothing because your child has lost or outgrown their current set please contact our financial secretary Ms. Grace Lopez at glopez2@sandi.net.

MAY 4th SPIRIT DAY

The Pershing ASB will be hosting a spirit day on Thursday, May 4th. We hope all Panthers will participate and wear their favorite Star Wars gear. The ASB would also like to remind families that the ASB Food Drive and Pet Food Drive ends at the end of May. Donations can be dropped off in the main office. Look for our "Hunger Games" Flyer that will be coming home this month.

8th GRADE REQUIREMENTS FOR END OF YEAR ACTIVITIES

Students have been working hard and an important benchmark, P4 grades, is fast approaching. CLICK HERE to see the 8th grade expectations that were shared with students to participate in end of the year activities.

PERSHING FOUNDATION UPDATE - STAY CONNECTED

There a lots of a ways to stay involved and support Pershing Middle School starting with our fabulous Pershing Parent Foundation. Be sure to check out their website: https://pershingmiddleschoolfoundation.org/ and visit them on facebook @parentsofpershingpanthers. On their facebook page they have information on how to sign up for Amazon Smile so that a portion of your amazon purchases support our school.

PERSHING SCHOOL WEBSITE

https://pershing.sandiegounified.org/

Do you have suggestions for our school website? CLICK HERE to complete our website feedback survey.

The donation stie for this year's Foundation Challenge Course is now live!

CLICK HERE to access the donation website.

The donation website can also be reached by texting Challengecourse2023 to 33100. Select "students" under the navigate tab and then just search for the student's name to get their individual donation page.

The Pershing Foundation is promoting The Challenge Course as its main fundraiser for the year. Funds raised will support teacher stipends, teacher appreciation and wellness throughout the year, campus beautification projects, educational classroom and teaching enhancements, supplemental supplies for engineering, physical education and the library, and so much more!

We need your help!

1. We are in need of prize donations. As students earn donations via the donation website, they will earn a raffle ticket for each $10 raised. Those tickets will then be used as a chance to win prizes. If you are able to donate items, tickets to events, gift cards, or anything a middle schooler might like as a prize, please contact Diana Smith at pershingmiddleschoolfoundation@gmail.com to coordinate.
2. We need business sponsors!
1. Business sponsors will have their business name and logo printed on the event T shirts, displayed on the donation website, and printed in the 8th grade promotion program! There are several different levels available for sponsorship.

Platinum $1000

Gold $500

Silver $250

Partner $100

We thank you in advance for any donation to this worthy organization. Your donation would be tax deductible, as the Foundation is a 501c3 Checks can be mailed to:

Shawna McCarthy

C/O Pershing Middle School

8204 San Carlos Drive

San Diego, CA 92119

Please do not hesitate to reach out with any questions to the event organizer, Diana Smith at (702) 286-9107 or pershingmiddleschoolfoundation@gmail.com

Important Challenge Course Dates:

Donation website launch - April 24th (more details to come)

Cutoff for donations to count toward prizes - May 14th

Raffle ticket distribution - May 17th

Raffle winners drawn - May 19th

Stay tuned for a list of available prizes!

Our Boys and Girls Flag Football teams remained undefeated after their games this weekend. Our Boys team defeated Bell 38-12 and Roosevelt 37-10. Our Girls' team defeated Farb 28-14 and Standley 18-13. Great work Panthers! Both teams are now ranked #1 in their respective leagues.

SPANISH TUTORING AVAILABLE

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

8TH GRADE HENRY HIGH SLIM PARENT NIGHT

If you were not able to attend the meeting CLICK HERE to see the slide deck the Henry team presented.

COVID-19 cases are on the rise in our area, with San Diego County recently entering the Medium COVID-19 Community Level. Other illnesses such as the influenza virus (flu), respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and the common cold also remain highly prevalent and easily transmissible. Practicing good health hygiene habits – washing hands, staying home when sick, and considering wearing a mask indoors and in crowded areas – can help prevent the spread of illness and is especially important during this time when many will be traveling or gathering with family and friends.

The district is providing all students and staff with at-home COVID-19 test kits to help our school communities have greater peace of mind about returning to school safely on Tuesday, Jan. 3 after the winter break.

The California Department of Public Health now recommends self testing for COVID-19 the day before coming back to school and two or three days after returning. We encourage students and staff to test on Monday, Jan. 2 and again on either Wednesday, Jan 4 or Thursday, Jan 5.

Testing before returning to school is recommended but not required. Additional test kits for students and staff are available at the Ed Center COVID-19 testing facility. If you test positive for COVID-19, please do not attend school and report your illness here.

Please do not send your child to school if they are feeling sick or experiencing symptoms of any cold-like virus, until those symptoms start to improve and there is no fever for 24 hours (without use of fever-reducing medication). Keeping your sick child home will be a great benefit for the health and wellness of our students and staff.

What Symptoms to Look For

• The flu and COVID-19 are both spread from person-to-person, especially indoors and in crowded places. Symptoms for both viruses can include nasal congestion, fever, headache, and muscle and joint pain, as well as a sore throat and coughing.
• RSV is a respiratory virus that has been detected in previous cold and flu seasons. Symptoms of RSV include cough, runny nose, and fever. Treatment consists of managing symptoms.

Tips to Avoid Getting Sick [English | Español)
Public health officials offer these tips to prevent getting sick:

• Consider wearing a well-fitting, good-quality mask, especially indoors or in crowded spaces
• Wash hands thoroughly and often
• Use hand sanitizers, if unable to wash hands
• Stay away from sick people
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth
• Clean commonly touched surfaces and/or wash/sanitize your hands after using them.
• Stay up to date on COVID-19 and flu vaccines

Apr 27: Spring Fest @5:30-7:00 PM

May 1-18: CAASPP School-wide testing

May 8-12: Teacher Appreciation Week

May 19: Pershing Foundation Challenge Course

Jun 8: 8th Grade Evening Awards Assembly

Jun 9: 8th Grade Dance

Jun 12: 8th Grade Promotion Practice

June 13: 8th Grade Promotion Practice & Dave & Buster's Trip

Jun 14: 8th Grade Promotion