PCCS : Eriksson's Frog Pond Report ~ 10/17/21

Press release from Plymouth-Canton Community Schools:

10/17/2021 2:00 PM

Frog Pond Report ~ Sunday, October 17,  2021

The following is our Schedule of Events for the Week of October 18, 2021

Friday, October 22, 2021

The Eriksson PTO has scheduled a Trunk or Treat event from 6:00-7:30 PM in the Eriksson parking lot.  Our PTO leadership is asking for volunteers to be trunks for our event. Volunteers would be asked to decorate their trunks and provide a bag of candy to pass out.  Volunteers can sign-up using THIS LINK. We do ask that all trunk volunteers please plan to stay for the duration of the event to avoid driving where children will be walking. We thank you in advance for your support to make this a fun event for the kiddos!!

OTHER NEWS:

It is great to be back!  I am so happy to see that many of the needed changes to daily routines due to construction have normalized.  We will continue to monitor adjust and communicate further changes as more of the building becomes accessible to us.  

I am happy to see that arrival seems to be going much smoother. Schools will never have enough spaces for every car during drop-off, but many are noticing that if the front lot is full, being patient and circling the lot will allow for spaces to open up after 8:50 when the students from the first wave start entering classrooms.  Also, now that we are into mid/late October, kindergarten and first grade parents may start promoting independence of their students by either dropping them off in the back loop or parking in the front lot, walking them to the sidewalk and send them to their classroom on their own, and leaving.  Of course, parents of kindergarteners and 1st graders may stand with them at their classroom door if they wish.  Students in second through fifth grade should use the drop-off loop as much as possible.  And of course, please remember to reserve the  handicapped parking spaces at the front of the school for those who have a tag. 

I would like to remind parents that during dismissal, parents should stay outside of the fenced area until after 3:45, or 11:50 on half days, so that teachers can effectively monitor students during recess.  All classes have been asked to end recesses 15 minutes before dismissal so that parents can move to classroom doors in advance of dismissal.

I am asking that students stay off of the playgrounds during dismissal until after the buses leave.  Several students have been leaving classrooms and playing on the playgrounds, unsupervised and not going directly to their buses.  Though after school is a great time for parents picking their children up to play with them on the playground, I ask you wait until after dismissal has ended to help us ensure our students go where they are supposed to go.

In order to reduce food waste and maximize the efficiency of the cafeteria, parents are asked let us know if you would like a daily breakfast bag to be sent home with your child or children.  Our process will continue as it has throughout the month of October, but ONLY parents who complete THIS FORM by October 29 will receive breakfast bags each day staring on Monday, November 1.  Again, breakfast bags remain free of charge throughout this school year.   Please provide the following information.

Please see this week’s Frog Pond Report emailed today and posted on the Eriksson website for information about:

Please look for information coming from your child’s classroom teacher about Halloween celebrations on October 29.  To highlight key points, 

• Students will be able to wear costumes to school on Friday, October 29.  This is a student half day, with students being dismsissed at 12:10 PM. As always, costumes are optional, and should not show “blood and gore” as these costumes can be overly scary for our youngest students. Students may not wear Halloween masks except for during the parade. No one should come dressed as a clown or Deadpool.  Fort Nite costumes will be OK, but students may not bring anything resembling a weapon. 

• A student parade will be held outdoors, weather permitting, at a time to be determined.  Parents are welcome to observe the parade.  However, because of the lack of parking and our need to walk on the driveways during the parade, access to the parking lot will be closed prior to the parade.  Parents are encouraged to park on Metaline Dr. or Saltz Rd. and walk up the path to the back playground to watch from the wood chipped or grassy areas during the parade.   

• Unfortunately, parent volunteers are not permitted in the building due to continued social distancing protocols.

P-CCS will once again offer the take-home device program for students.  Our 2021-22 take home program is open to Y5 through 5th graders whose families make them eligible. Only students on quarantine or those whose parents make them eligible through our checkout process in MISTAR, may take devices outside of school.  

To be eligible for the take home program, a student's family needs to have:

1. identified their child as a participant by appropriately selecting from the drop down choices on the student's Chromebook/iPad Take-Home Participation form found in MiSTAR Parent Connection

2. met the liability requirement through insurance or deposit

3. resolved all outstanding technology debt

Parents must complete the agreement and pay the liability fee by Monday, October 25, 2021.  Devices will be distributed the following week.  Note that ONLY those families who qualify for Free or Reduced Lunch will be able yo waive the liability fee this year.

The steps to complete the user agreement are:

1. Log onto MiStar and log in to your Parent Portal account.

2. Click My Information in the top area

3. Then "Register Now" to the right on the line with your student's name on it. 

4. Then select the Chromebook User Agreement found on the left.

5. Please read through the agreement.  If you agree and want to obtain a district Chromebook for take home select the choice "we want to participate" and submit.

Those who sign up after October 25 will not be able to start the take-home program during round 1.  They would be issued their take home devices during round 2 sometime in January or February of 2022.

District News:

• Plymouth-Canton Community Schools will host a Community Virtual Town Hall meeting on Tues, Oct. 19 from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. The event will be hosted by P-CCS Superintendent of Schools Monica Merritt and she, along with other P-CCS leaders, will be answering questions from the community about the district’s return to school plan. Questions can be submitted in advance at: https://forms.gle/zwYRVqehez82QhGQA  The Virtual Town Hall meeting can be viewed on the Districts’ official YouTube Channel at:  https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=plymouth+canton+community+schools

• Plymouth-Canton Community Schools is hosting a virtual job fair for many open positions throughout the district.  The deadline to register for an interview is Monday, October 18, 2021.  Open positions include cafeteria aides and substitute cafeteria aids, cleaning assistant, paraprofessionals, licenced technicians (HVAC and Electrician), art, music and physical education teachers, speech pathologists, school psychologist, school social workers, security offices, high school health and physical education teachers and middle school social studies teachers. For more information, please click here.  

As always, I thank you for your attention to this message, and remember, Learning & Leading… It’s the Eriksson Way!

Sincerely,

Kevin M. Learned, Principal

kevin.learned@pccsk12.com

(734) 981-6995

P-CCS COVID-19 TOOLBOX

This press release was produced by Plymouth-Canton Community Schools. The views expressed here are the author’s own.