Hello Golden Eagles and families!
I hope that you had a wonderful weekend with family and were able to spend as much of it outside as possible! Spring has certainly sprung and we look forward to having all of our students at PCMS beginning on April 12th! Below are a few important messages regarding our return, the protocols that remain, and the adjustments that have had to be made in order to move into our new phase.
Daily Schedule and Protocols: Although ALL-IN sounds like things are basically back to normal for students, this is far from the truth. Basically, the only thing that has changed with our protocols is that students can be 3′ apart in the classroom while receiving instruction. Six feet protocols remain for students in hallways, in lunch spaces, outside, and anywhere other than the direct classroom. This is also true for our transportation system which has protocols that remain as well. In fact, our ability to keep these protocols in place is the only way that we are able to move to and remain in the “All-in” phase.
These safety protocols make it so that the only way our students within BLP can get to schools is by having our schedules be at quite different times. In a typical year, we are able to have all students to and from school using 2 bus route sessions. This year and moving forward, student transportation takes 4 routes, which is why there is such a gap between the middle and elementary schedules. I have spoken with several of you who are feeling stretched when it comes to drop-off and pick-up of children at multiple levels. It is also affecting those students who participate in outside activities. We all recognize that these changes are less than ideal and impacts families in a variety of ways, including the families or our own staff who have kids in our schools as well. Please know that we too are aware of and hear your concerns yet are trying to work on making a system work within the constraints that we currently have.
Classroom Spacing and Schedule Changes: Because we share staff at high schools and other middle schools, we are needing to make alterations due to schedules as well as the recognition of crowded spaces when all students (A-Z) come together at once. We must balance these classes in order to have a successful end to the school year. In order to move to all students in each classroom, there are many students who will experience a slight schedule change in order to balance class numbers. In most cases, we are able to continue to have students have the same teachers but they may be in a different order beginning on April 12th. If your child has a schedule change, you will receive notification via e-mail. Please know that we are working hard to make it feel as seamless as possible.
Conferences: This year, similar to past years at PCMS, our conferences will be done using a Take-Home Conference format. I will send a specific letter home regarding conferences on Thursday with this information as well. In a nutshell, students A-K will bring home a conference to go over with you on Thursday evening this week. Students L-Z will bring home a conference to go over with you on Friday evening this week. The student will share with you an artifact from each class that represents current work within the classroom. Additionally, they will share their reflection about the class and goals for moving forward.
Families can also spend time watching classroom videos made by teachers to share what students are experiencing in class and what families can expect as we move into the end of the year. If, after seeing these videos and going over the Take-Home Conference with your child, you believe you would like to have a virtual conference with one or more of your child’s teachers, you can sign up using the My Conference Time website for Pacific Crest. This site will go live on Saturday morning.
Conference times will be listed for Wednesday, April 14 from 8-8:45 and 3:15-7:30. They will also list for Thursday, April 15 from 4:45-7:45. Conferences are a maximum of 8 minutes and your student should accompany you to them. Although we want anyone who wants a conference to sign up, please be judicious when choosing to have a conference with a teacher. With these times set aside, a full-time teacher has approximately 40 conference opportunities. With over 180 students per teacher, they cannot meet with everyone. As always, if you have specific questions, our teachers will continue to respond to e-mail and be available for appointments as needed throughout the rest of the school year.
Other important information:
- We will be having state testing this year. More information to come. If you do not want your child to participate in assessments, please complete and return the OPT-OUT form.
We can’t wait for everyone to be together again! Thank you for your continued support of our students and community. Go Golden Eagles!
Calendar
- Mar. 29 – Apr.9 | Eagle Week Schedule- NO SCHOOL on March 31 and April 7
- Apr. 5 | Football and Cross Country Season Begins
- Apr. 7 | No School
- Apr. 12 | All-In Begins
- Apr. 14 & 15 | Conferences | Wednesday 8-8:45 & 3:15-7:30 and Thursday 4:45-7:45 (sign-ups go live on Saturday, April 10 at myconferencetime.com/pcms
- Apr. 16 | No School
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