May 2018 Edition

Mrs. Peggy Griebenow, Principal 115 Upper Glenway/PO Box 10 Palmer Lake, CO Phone: 719-488-4760

Special Points of

Interest:

Principal’s Message

May Events

Back to School Dates

2017-2018

PTO News

5th Grade News

Social Worker , Music

& Library

Kindergarten, 1st

Grade, & 3rd Grade

News

EL & 6th Grade News

A Note from the Nurse

PANTHER PANTHER

PRIDEPRIDE We believe in local, national, and global stewardship to We believe in local, national, and global stewardship to

create strong citizens who will secure a better world. This create strong citizens who will secure a better world. This

is why we educate. is why we educate.

Once a Panther

always a Panther...

Principal’s Message

Dear Palmer Lake Families,

As a “seasoned” educator, I am always mildly surprised when this time of year rolls around. May? Really? This year is no different - in a blink of an eye, we are closing out another year.

Parents, if you are wondering how to prevent “summer lag” in your child’s reading, writing and math skills below are just a few simple ideas of how to connect school and summer:

Take family field trips to the library, museums, the zoo, points-of-interest.

Have your child read every day - just for 15-30 minutes. Celebrate suc-cess with a sticker chart.

Find and do math in cooking, traveling, and the great outdoors.

Have your child journal, keep a diary of their daily or weekly activities.

In a few short days, our classrooms and halls will empty as students begin their summer vacation. Our custodial and maintenance crews will kick into high gear to thoroughly clean our building and spruce up some spots in and around the build-ing.

I wish you all a wonderful and relaxing summer. It has been a privilege to work alongside an amazing staff and community of parents.

~ Peggy Griebenow, Principal

LOST & FOUND

LAST CHANCE.. Please take some time to look through our lost and found items outside of our cafeteria. All unclaimed items will be donated at the end of the school year. Thank you!!

May 2018

JULY 4th Fun Run

Remember this is our biggest fund raiser!!!

Volunteers Needed For

Getting Sponsors

Getting Food donated for end of race

Helping with Race Set up

Working at Packet Pick-up

Working at Race on Race Day

Please Contact Lindsey Lieker @ July4funrun@gmail.com for more information or to Sign –up!

BACK TO SCHOOL DATES FOR 2018-2019

Aug.1st - Office Opens

Aug. 20th - PLECC Popsicle Pop - in 1:00-2:00

Aug. 20th - PLES Popsicle Pop - in 2:00-3:00

Aug. 21st - First Day of School

Aug. 24th - Assessment Day

Aug. 28th - Back to School Night

Aug. 31st - PLC Day, No School

Sept. 3rd - Labor Day, No School

Events in May

May 4th - Popcorn Friday May 8th - Postal Field Trip May 11th - Writers Conference May 14th - Red Cross Pillowcase Project 4th Grade May 15th - Hawk Quest K-3 9:00-10:00 4-6 10:15-11:15 May 16th - 1st Grade Field Trip– Cheyenne Mtn. Zoo May 17th - Award Ceremony K-3 9:00-9:45 4-6 10:00-10:45 May 18th -6th Grade Promotion - 9:15-10:45 May 19th -Last Day of School for Students May 24rd - Report Cards Mailed home

We wish to thank the out going PTO Board for their hard work this year and welcome the new PTO Board for the 2018-2019 school year!

New PTO Board: Sheri Parks- President

Holly Longenbach- Vice President Sarah Hedrick - Secretary

Carrie Coates & Dana Schaefer- Treasurer

Teacher Rep. - Lori-Ann McConnell Fundraiser- Carly McAdams

May 2018

5th Grade News

Forty-two 5th graders, 5 teachers, and 12 Palmer Ridge High School counselors enjoyed the warm

sunshine, great food, and the four story treehouse at High Trails on April 11-13. Great fun was

had by all as we hiked, played, danced, and learned more about the outdoors and working togeth-

er. Many students had only positive comments about the delicious food, the interesting stations at

the Interbarn, the wild and crazy Hoedown, the s’mores, and even a beautiful early morning

hike. Overall, our visit to the Colorado Outdoor Education Center was a memorable and bonding

experience.

The 5th graders also enjoyed a “chilly” geology field trip to the Garden of the Gods on April

24th. The hands-on experience was informative and interesting. You now have a Junior Ranger to

help you tour the city park.

Busy Days Ahead

Students are done presenting their ancestors projects, which have been wonderfully informative

and interesting. We receive so many positive comments from the staff when they are posted in the

hallways. The month of May is jam packed with events and is sure to pass quickly. During the

week of April 30, students will take their end of the year NWEA assessments. We will be COM-

PLETELY finished with all our testing the first week of May and I am anticipating great gains for

all students. On Friday, May 4th we are having a representative from Progressive Insurance teach

a math lesson on probability. The Young Author’s conference will be all day on May 11th, and

yearbook signing will be the afternoon of May 16th. Finally, there will be an end of the year

awards assembly on the 17th. More details will come later about that.

Please consult the school calendar for the many events this month.

Have a safe and peaceful summer. Keep the PLES community garage sale in mind if you do any

sorting or cleaning over the summer.

And thank you again for sharing your 5th grader with us this year. We all agreed that it was a fun

and productive year.

Mrs. Malone and Mrs. Balkenbush

From the Desk of Social Worker

The end of the year is quickly approaching! I have enjoyed working with your

children this year either in whole class guidance, groups or on an individual

basis. I hope you have a great summer spending quality time with your kids. I can't wait to see them again in the fall. Next year we will continue

with some of the programs here at Palmer Lake Elementary including Diver-

sity week, Peer Advocates, Watchdogs and Path2Empathy. If you have ideas

of other programs you would like to see brought to the school please feel free

to contact me so that we may discuss them.

~ Mrs. McConnell

May 2018

Music/Band

Notes from Mrs. Jensen:

1. The PLES 6th grade band performed so

well at the All-District Band Concert and

Festival Band in April!

2. Fifth grade parents be sure to contact

Mrs. Jensen with your intent to take band,

or not to take band.

Summer band is available in August this

summer. Check the school website during

the summer for information.

3. All Grade Levels have done a music

performance this year. Hooray for all the

wonderful singing and playing, and for all

the parent support!

Happy Summer from Mrs. Jensen

A Word from Library…..

Greetings from the Library! It’s hard to believe, but this will be our final week for the library check out. I will continue to send home overdue/fine reminders, but even if you don’t receive one for your child, it would be great if you could still help. Please take a quick look around the house and in the cars. Play dates, sleep, overs and car pool may have left books with you which other students and parents would be thrilled to see returned. All books needs to be re-turned by Friday, May 11th. If you have any questions contact me. My email is: kalwais@lewispalmer.org. Thank you, Mrs. Alwais

Kindergarten

Wow, what a year kindergartners have had! We have worked hard and

learned so much. We are readers and writers, mathematicians and scien-

tists! We took care of each other and helped each other. We celebrated

successes and learned from mistakes. Most of all, we had FUN! We are

so proud of these students!

Congratulations Kindergartners!

Mrs. Edstrom and Mrs. Sturgill

3rdGrade

Our third grade classes have progressed from learning to read to reading to learn. We have reviewed addi-

tion, subtraction, learned multiplication and introduced division facts. Third graders discussed Pikes Peak

history. Students researched the life cycle of insects and took a field trip to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo.

We explored communities. Students learned about rocks and minerals, researched each student’s individual

birthstones and visited the Cave of the Winds. Students have been writing narratives, non-fiction book writ-

ing and persuasive and we are finishing the year with fairy tale writing. We’ve have had a year filled with

discovery, new challenges and much growth.

. ~ Mrs. Middleton and Mrs. Miller

May 2018

1st Grade

It is hard to believe that our school year is almost over. When we see the current kindergarteners walk-ing the halls, it is a great reminder of just how much our first graders have grown. Looking back on their early attempts at reading and writing, and seeing what they are able to accomplish now, shows just how diligently these boys and girls have worked this year and how much they have learned. Over the sum-mer, we encourage you to keep them growing by finding engaging ways to allow them to practice their academic skills. Some ideas might include; joining a reading program, writing letters to grandparents, asking your children to tell you the time, or having them count out money for a purchase. Above all be safe, have fun, and enjoy these precious moments together. We look forward to seeing you again in Au-gust and hearing about your summer adventures!

Mrs. LeSage and Mrs. Berg

May 2018

6th Grade This has been a big year for the 6th graders as they transition from elementary school to middle school in a few weeks. We have seen a lot of growth throughout the year and are very excited for the students and the possibilities that await them.

Students have learned everything from chemistry and Civic Responsibility to writing research papers and a whole lot of cool stuff in between. As they face an environment of more independence and responsibility, we feel confident we have done our best to prepare the students for this exciting change.

Ask your student about the hike to the reservoirs. On Monday April 30th the 6th grade made their way up to see the 2 lakes where they had lunch.

The 6th grade promotion ceremony is going to be Friday, May 18h at 9:15. A reception will follow in the cafe-teria.

Lindsey Burris, Jen Coopman, & Wayne Hughbanks

6th Grade Promotion 6th Grade families are invited to attend the 6th Grade Promotion at PLES on

Friday, May 18th 9:15-10:45

We have a limited time frame as we need to clean up and be cleared out of the cafeteria as lunch starts at 11:25 for students at PLES.

Parents may take their 6th Grade student home after promotion. Please check them out in the office before you leave.

*Check your email as sign-up Genius will be open this week for parents to help with promotion.

EL News………

I have thoroughly enjoyed this year in the EL program and have learned a lot

along the way. The best part of all is the relationships that have grown with these

students with whom I’ve had the privilege to get to know. Thank you, Parent(s) for

working in partnership with me throughout the year. Your children have made

steady progress throughout the school year thanks to your interest in his/her educa-

tion.

Homework Club allowed for some valuable time and help for those students

who attended. Thank you for allowing your student to participate and we look for-

ward to continuing that next year. The family meals that took place twice this past

year were also well attended and enjoyed by everyone. I will be happy to host those

again next year.

-Mrs. Bumpus

A Note from the Nurse…...

If your child has medications in the office, please pick them up by the end of the school

day on May 18th. Please remember, medications cannot be transported to/from school

by students.

Any medications that are left at school after the end of the school year will be destroyed.

Upcoming Kindergarteners:

Most children will need immunization boosters prior to Kindergarten entrance next August.

Please check with your provider to determine the immunization needs of your child:

· DTaP (diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis)

· IPV/OPV (polio)

· Hep B (hepatitis B)

· MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella)

· Varicella (chicken pox)

*If your child has had the chicken pox, please provide documentation from your health care

provider. The documentation will fulfill the Varicella requirement.

Upcoming 6th Graders:

All students entering the 6th grade are required to have the Tdap (adult tetanus, diphtheria and

pertussis) immunization prior to the start of school next August. Most physicians require that

your child be at least 11 years old to receive this vaccine. If this is the case for your child, he/

she will not be required to have this vaccine until after his/her 11th birthday.

In addition to your primary care provider, there are community resources available for low/no

cost depending upon your health insurance status:

· El Paso County Health Department: 578-3272

· Tri-Lakes Cares: 481-4864, ext. 103 to make an appointment

Students with Personal/Religious Exemptions for immunizations: Just a reminder that the

State of Colorado now requires that all personal and religious exemption forms be re-signed

ANNUALLY. Please go to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment’s

website for information about this process: www.colorado.gov/vaccineexemption

Please provide proof of updated immunizations or the appropriate exemption documentation

to the front office on or before the first day of school in August.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions.

Ann M Colby, RN

LPSD38 District Nurse Consultant

acolby@lewispalmer.org

719-433-6418

May 2018