Thanksgiving

Dear Parents and Students:

I am very thankful for all you do to make this a great school. This week, you will have Wednesday – Sunday to spend time with your family. I encourage you to make good use of the time. Here are some things EVERY ONE should do over the break:

• Read a book
  
• Practice any weak skills (multiplication, division, addition, sight words, etc.)
  
• Have a feast
  
• Spend time together
  
• Talk to one another
  

The most important things you do on break will be those things you do with your families. Please make time to have some fun and be with one another. Our thoughts and prayers go with you as you give thanks over the break.

 

David Jones,

Principal

HawkSmarts

Round 3 of HawkSmarts will be over this Thursday. We had about 240 students attend each day. Thanks to you parents for letting your children attend. We wouldn't ask if it wasn't important.

Round 4 starts on 30 November. We have already sent out invitations to K-3 students. 4-5 will get their invitations on Monday. Because of the holidays, we have a quick turn-around time on this. Please return your forms by 18 November, 9:00 a.m. if you want your child to attend.

 

Holidays are Coming

Reminder:

 

23 November    -     Club III/Club IV Field Trip

24 November    -    Day of Excellence

25, 26, 27 November    - No School

DIBELS testing starts on 10 December so remember to read with your child.

18 December -        Last day before Christmas Break

Veteran’s Day

There will be no school Wednesday, 11 November in honor of Veteran's Day. We offer our humble thanks to all who have served our country with a willing heart. Your service is a blessing to us all. From the greenest private heading to Iraq to my friend Oliver who served in World War II, I thank you all.

Family Weekend

I had a fantastic weekend. I just wanted to let you all know about it. We drove up to Pine Mountain – about 45 minutes from home – and took a hike. The leaves are changing colors and falling from the trees. The hike was wonderful. We spent $3.00 for a day pass to the park and I bought a Dr. Pepper. The time we had was priceless. We were able to have fun and talk about nature and science. We also were able to talk about Franklin Roosevelt and the CCC (Pine Mountain – FDR State Park – was a CCC project). Most of all, we were able to spend time with each other.

Many of you live just a few minutes from the Riverwalk and a short drive from Pine Mountain or Providence Canyon. Three bucks and a little gasoline will get you priceless family memories. I encourage each of you to spend time with your children making memories.

HawkSmarts Reminder

Parents:

The third session of HawkSmarts begins Monday, 2 November. We will meet Monday - Thursday until 19 November. Many thanks to you all for your overwhelming support. We sent out about 340 invitations. 310 of you responded. About 15 of you said your child could not come to HawkSmarts. Only 30 of you did not respond at all. This is an amazing level of support. Because of your dedication to education, we have seen great improvements in our students. Our commitment to you stands: We will give them a quality education in HawkSmarts and we will target the instruction to meet their specific needs.

Thank you for your commitment.

 

D. Jones

Halloween

Students and parents:

Please be careful trick-or-treating tonight. It's dark and rainy. Also, parents: Don't forget to check your children's candy to make sure it is individually wrapped and hasn't been tampered with.

 

Don’t forget…

Set your clocks back one hour tonight!

I Have To Tell The Kids…

Last weekend, I drove to Watertown, New York on Friday and back home on Saturday.

It snowed on me most of the way through Pennsylvania! See if you can find New York and Pennsylvania on a map.

What Can I Do At Home To Make A Difference?

There are many things you can do to make your student a success. Here are the crucial skills you can help us with right now:

• Kindergarten:
  
  • Recognize numbers 1 - 25
    
  • Count to 25
    
  • Count sets of up to 10 things
    
  • Recognize letters (upper case and lower case)
    
  • Read to your child every night for 15 minutes
    
  • Ask questions and teach them about the world around them
    
• First Grade:
  
  • Know the first 300 sight words (you should have a list coming home soon)
    
  • Know your addition facts up to 10 (1 + 1 = 2, 1 + 2 = 3, 1 + 3 = 4, etc.)
    
  • Read with your child every night for 15 minutes – you read some, they read some
    
  • Ask questions and teach them about the world around them
    
• Second Grade:
  
  • Know the first 600 sight words (you should have a list coming home soon)
    
  • Know your subtraction facts up to 10 (10 – 1 = 9, 10 – 2 = 8, 10 – 3 = 7, etc.)
    
  • Know your multiplication tables for 1, 2, 3, 5, and 10.
    
  • Have your child read to you every night AND tell you about what was read
    
• Third Grade:
  
  • Know all 1000 sight words (you should have a list coming home soon)
    
  • Know your multiplication facts through 12
    
  • Read, read, read
    
• Fourth Grade:
  
  • Know all 1000 sight words
    
  • Know your multiplication facts through 12
    
  • Read, Read, READ!
    
  • Practice writing fun stories using good grammar
    
• Fifth Grade:
  
  • Read frequently and talk about what was read
    
  • Write often with good grammar
    
• All Grades
  
  • Spend time with your kids
    
  • Teach them what you know about the world
    
  • Take them to fun places – many in our area are inexpensive or free
    
    • The Riverwalk
      
    • Providence Canyon State Park
      
    • Pine Mountain
      
    • The National Infantry Museum
      
    • Your back yard
      
  • Talk to your kids
    
  • Make sure everyone is ready for weekly spelling and vocabulary tests
    

I am so glad to have such good parents as you at our school. Keep up the good work. The harder you work, the better your child will learn.

Fall Festival

Thanks to the coaches for throwing a great fall festival today. Your kids should sleep well tonight.

Day of Excellence

Dear Parents:

The vision of the Phenix City School District is Pursuing Excellence on Behalf of Every Student In Every School. I am glad you share our vision. While this takes hard work, there is also nothing like some good, old-fashioned fun along the way. In honor of every student that pursues excellence, we have declared 24 November our first annual DAY OF EXCELLENCE. That day will be a day of fun for everyone who does the following:

• Has no office visits for disciplinary reasons (including bus discipline)
  
• Maintains an A in conduct
  
• Is on time for school each day
  
• Has no unexcused absences
  
• Tries their hardest:
  
  • Does homework
    
  • Does schoolwork
    
  • Does quality work
    
  • Turns assignments in on time
    

We will work together to make this day the most fun ever for our hard workers. Your child does not have to be a straight A student to attend. He or she just has to PURSUE EXCELLENCE. Good luck and success to you all.

HawkSmarts - Way to Go!

Parents:

Many of you have gotten personal invitations to send your children to HawkSmarts - our after-school program. Your response has been remarkable. In September, we had 120 children stay after school and improve their skills. In October, 200 students hung around for an extra hour-and-a-half to sharpen their abilities. We invited 350 of you send your children in November. So far, 300 of you have said, "YES!" This is remarkable.

Your commitment to us is simple: Allow your child to come to HawkSmarts. Our commitment to you is straightforward: We will provide your child with targeted instruction aimed at his or her specific needs. You are doing your part. We are doing ours. As a result, we see our children improving each week.

Thank you for your confidence and support. We couldn't do it without you.

D. Jones

Rules Are Made to Be ....Kept!

A father and son were flying a kite once. The child said, "Make it go higher, daddy!" The father gladly let out more string. The kite went higher and higher until there was no more string to let out. The child asked his father to send the kite higher. The father explained that there was no more string. The child asked, "Will you let go of the string so it can go higher?" The dad tried to explain that it would not go any higher if he let go of the string. The child insisted. Finally, the wise father let go. The kite plummeted to the earth and was badly damaged. The father explained to his son, "Sometimes things which seem to hold us back really hold us up."

Sometimes we have rules in a school that seem silly to the public. We have tested our practices against time and experience. Such is the case with our dismissal policy. There are still about 20 of you that insist on showing up early to pick up your children. When you do this -arrive and block traffic- you cause a safety hazard for our school. Our rule may seem restrictive to you. However, if we removed all rules for dismissal and let each of you decide what you want to do, chaos would ensue. You simply must do things our way. Not because we have any better way than any of you but because we will then do things the same way.

Safety is our main concern. Last year, we had to get an ambulance into our school at 3:00. It took almost 10 minutes to move the parked cars and get the ambulance into the schoolyard. Frequently, traffic would back up to 20th street because of the people arriving 10, 20, or even 30 minutes early to sit in our parking lot and save themselves the 5 minute ride through our traffic. The problem was compounded by the fact that vehicles sitting in a school parking lot are a safety issue. Every car on our property is an intruder until we verify who is in the car.

Please do as we ask. Don't be part of the problem. Be part of the solution. For comments, concerns, or questions about our afternoon procedure, please email me at djones@pcboe.net. I will be happy to respond to you.

Registration

Registration is finally over and I want to thank every parent who came in and registered their child on time. You are a tremendous help to us. Each year, we have nearly 100 students and their parents show up on the first day of school to register. This slows everything down for us on the first day of school.

We have a pile of things to do to get ready for you this year but we are very excited to have your child with us.

D. Jones

We have a need:

We have a need for filing cabinets. Specifically: good, locking, 4 drawer, letter-sized cabinets. We need about 10. If any of you would like to donate a cabinet, please let me know and we'll make arrangements to pick it up.

D. Jones

Registration Yesterday

Thanks to you! We had 276 students come register yesterday. We expect 730 this year so the rest of you need to get moving. Please come by this morning by 12:00 and register. We will close registration today and not re-open until the first day of school.

Registration on the first day of school will be from 9:30 to 11:30 and from 12:30 to 2:30. Student who register after school starts will not stay at school on the day they register. They will start the next day.

D. Jones

Hawks After Care

Many of you have asked about our Hawks After Care program. We will begin on the first day of school. The cost is $25 per week. We will be opened from 3:30 to 6:00. Students get snack time, play time, homework time, and computer time. If you have to work late, this is a great place for your kids to hang out where you know they are safe and cared for.

There will be a sign-up at registration. Please be prepared to pay the $25.00 deposit and the first week's $25.00 fee.

D. Jones

Registration

We are working hard to make registration run smoothly. Remember to have all of your documents in hand when you arrive at registration tomorrow so we can get you in and out of here quickly.

Now go and enjoy the rest of your summer!

D. Jones

One Last Vacation

We've had a busy summer and no time for any out of town stuff this year until this last weekend. We went to a cabin outside of Blue Ridge, Georgia. The mountains were beautiful. The nights were cool. We had a blast.

One place we went was Amicalola Falls. This Georgia state park is a great place for kids and families. Every time you get a chance, do something nice like this for your family. I promise the return will be great. Most Georgia state parks are very inexpensive. Many have playgrounds. Almost all have hiking trials and other fun things.

Please remember that registration is this Thursday and Friday. Be here and on time. People who register after school starts may have long waiting times and will have to miss school on the day they register.

D. Jones,
Principal

Whew!

We moved a ton of boxes, trash, and furniture today. This is always an exciting time for me. I can't wait to meet our new students and greet our old ones. We have some new teachers here that you should meet:

Amanda Norris: 2nd Grade
Sarah Robinson: 3rd Grade
Haley Meeks: 4th Grade
Whitney Hayes: 5th Grade
Heather Vanderboom: 5th Grade
Terri Brewer: Reading Specialist/Coach
Wesley Taff: PE

Mrs. Annah Mitchell has moved from 2nd grade to 1st grade.
Mrs. Lasean Spencer has moved from 1st grade to 2nd grade.
Mrs. Laketra Duchesne has moved from 4th grade to math specialist.
Mrs. Andrea Humber has moved from 5th grade to math specialist.

I have great confidence in these people. They will do a great job for you and your children. Please welcome them to our family.

D. Jones

Field Trip T-Shirt

Don't forget to bring $7.00 to registration for your field trip T-Shirt. If you already have a field trip shirt and it fits, it will do fine. Remember - you cannot go on a field trip from PCES without your field trip shirt. This is a security measure and is important.

D. Jones

National Infantry Museum

Wow! Columbus, Georgia is now home to the new National Infantry Museum. Check this out:

National Infantry Museum

Please take some time to take your family to this free museum. I promise you a wonderful time.

D. Jones

We have less than two weeks to go before registration and we are getting excited. The school is clean and freshly painted. The grass is cut. The teachers are setting up classrooms. We have a million things to copy but we are ahead of schedule. We look forward to having you come and register for another year. The biggest problem with registration is that some people just don't come. Last year, we had nearly 100 returning students and their parents show up during the first two days of school to register. That just slows us down.

Registration is 23 July from noon to 5:00 and 24 July from 7:30 to noon. Please come register during those times so we can have a smooth start to the school year!

I can't tell you how excited we are to have your children come learn with us. We have added so many great things to the school and we are planning a 9 classroom addition - complete with a computer lab. Many thanks to our school board for their support.

D. Jones

Welcome to our blog

Dear Parents and Students:

Welcome to our newest feature: A web log (blog) with news, views and other useful information. I am looking forward to an exciting year in 2009-2010. I expect great things from your children and our teachers. Stay tuned for more information and have a great summer.