Dear PVES Families,
I hope that you are all enjoying the nice long weekend, and Happy Rosh Hashanah to all who celebrate! It looks like it’s going to be a beautiful week ahead, and as always, we will be very busy at PVES!
Please mark your calendars for this Friday, October 11th. Schools will be dismissing 15 minutes early as part of a state-mandated early evacuation plan. Please be at your child’s bus stop 15 minutes early on Friday. There will be no school on Monday, October 14th in honor of Columbus Day.
Please be sure to check our Weekly Notices for important elementary events. Clubs and other after-school activities are included in these attachments, and we want to make sure that you are aware of upcoming opportunities for your children.
Thank you so much to all our PTA volunteers who helped to facilitate such a successful School Picture Day this past week! Our students were so proud to pose for their pictures, and we thank our amazing volunteers who made it run so smoothly. Our Elementary Picture Re-take Day will be held on Thursday, November 21st for those who missed the pictures or who would like them retaken.
We are scheduling our first Building Steering Committee meeting for later this month. Our parent/faculty team will meet 4 times throughout the year to discuss new ideas, communication suggestions, exciting initiatives, and any other topics that come up for review. If you are interested in volunteering to take part in these meetings that will take place on Wednesday afternoons in-person from 3:30 to 4:30, please reach out to me.
We are also looking for our families and friends who are First Responders and who would like to take part in our annual First Responder Visit on Friday, October 25th. All First Responders are welcome to visit the school from about 9:10 to 9:50 AM on that day, speak with students, share about your important work, and maybe read a story to a class. If you are available to take part in this event, please email me at mpodesta@pvcsd.org. Thank you so much for all that you do!
This week, we look forward to our annual Fire Safety Day. Our Putnam Valley Volunteer Fire Department will be visiting our school on Wednesday, October 9th to teach the students in all grade levels about fire safety. Thank you to our community volunteers who are always so willing to help and who teach our students such important information.
Our Character Education & Diversity theme for this month is “Problem Solving.” All classes will be sharing a school-wide read aloud based on this theme, and Mrs. Robey and I will be visiting with each grade level at our Community Meetings to discuss how we can all work to solve problems in all kinds of ways throughout each day. This theme follows our “positive thinking” focus from last month. Please be sure to discuss these themes with your children, and please take part in this month’s Family Challenge:
Family Challenge: This month, we ask families to problem solve and work together. Please choose one of the “challenges” below. Students can bring in a picture of their finished product!
- Build a tall tower
- Carve a pumpkin
- Make a Halloween costume
- Cook a meal/bake
- Complete a puzzle or crossword puzzle
- Reorganize a space in your house (bookshelf, toy room, pantry, etc.)
Thank you for your participation and support!
Enjoy the week ahead and all the apple and pumpkin picking you are sharing with your children. They will never forget those special moments.
Sincerely,
Dr. Margaret Podesta
Principal