PRESTON MIDDLE SCHOOL 4901 Corbett Dr Fort Collins, CO 80528 SEPTEMBER 2017 Office: 970.488.7300 Attendance Line: 970.490.3059 Principal Amy Schmer Assistant Principal Bill Saint Assistant Principal Lindsey Matkin From the School Resource Officer Hello Preston Parents, I want to say thank you to those of you who drive your students every day for a great start to the school year. You may have noticed as of September 1, 2017, that I did not place cones out for traffic direction. I do this for the first week or so of school as to gently remind everyone of the traffic pattern and to help make our new 6 th grade parents aware of the pattern. Please continue to follow those patterns and the controlled direction and times of the two signs as you exit. (See photos) Dean of Students Kyle Healy Editor Darla Mader dmader@psdschools.org continued on next page
From the School Resource Officer continued Helpful reminders to keep our Preston Pumas safe: Use nearby crosswalks at the entrance and 200 feet south of the south entrance when crossing Corbett to get to school Safety is always our number one concern and we would like to partner with our families to remind students to avoid darting between cars on foot and on bikes. Please do not park in the red zones to the north of the crosswalk at the entrance to the school at the end of the school day. Parent may not park in the red zones as they are designed to allow southbound cars to see students entering the crosswalk. If cars are parked in the red zones it severely limits southbound drivers from seeing students enter the crosswalk. The traffic starts to build around 7:31 am and can linger until 7:45 am. To avoid waiting in the long lines arrive before 7:30 am. This will also be extended during harsh weather days so please plan accordingly. I would encourage you to have your students ride the bus, bike or walk if possible to help alleviate all the extra cars. Please see the Preston Website under the parent section and click on From the SRO for complete maps and directions for morning drop off patterns, afternoon pickup patterns, special events parking, and drop off and pickup during the school day. Thanks again for a great start to the school year!!!! Officer Hart, School Resource Officer Preston Middle School, Kruse, Linton and Traut Elementary Schools. 970-490-3698 2
Preston Direct Dollars Donation Preston staff would like to thank the Preston community for the generous The Direct Dollars Donations we have received in the first few weeks of the school year. We are excited to share with you that donations have exceeded $10,000. The direct dollars donation allows for 100% of the monies donated to directly benefit Preston students. We are close to reaching our goal of $14,000. Our main goal is to help make your child s educational experience at Preston the best it can be. The Preston Direct Dollars Donations are intended to raise monies to support our students and school. The fund provides families an opportunity to contribute to a variety of school-wide needs; Lego Robotics, Teacher Mini- Grants, supplement The Color Run, New Innovative Physical Education Equipment, and much more. By contributing to The Preston Direct Dollars Donation, you are ensuring that Preston will continue to achieve the high levels of academic success and stellar community involvement that has been recognized for over twenty-three years. Your generosity is what allows Preston to continue to Make The World a Better Place! If you are interested in donating, please click here to view the Direct Dollars Donation Form. Complete the form and return it with your donation in an envelope to the Preston Main Office or make your donation through the PSD online payment portal, SchoolPay. We happily accept donations throughout the school year. 3
6th Grade Career Exploration Would you like to share your STEM related career with our current sixth grade students? We are looking for 24 parent volunteers to share their passion and expertise with our students. If this opportunity interests you please continue reading and fill out the Google Form. Thank you! What would the 1:45-2:30 pm time-frame look like as a presenter? Talk with students about the path you took to get to your current position, share the joys and challenges of your job, explain your daily responsibilities. What advice would you give yourself if you were in middle school? And then brainstorm any visuals or hands-on activities that you could use to increase student engagement during your presentation. Thank you! Please fill out this: Google Form General Mills Box Tops For Education Please remember to save your Box Tops for Preston and turn them into the front office. Thank you for thinking of us! 4
From the Preston Kitchen We are excited to be back and serving all the great Pumas here at Preston! A couple reminders for all parents. If you would like to put money on your student s lunch account online the new site is schoolpay.com. All money from last year will roll over to this year, also for those needing some assistance you can apply for Free or Reduced lunch at Myschoolapps.com. If you qualified last year you still need to reapply again this year. Parent Parents please take a look at the Parent for important reminders on the Preston Middle school website https://pre.psdschools.org/parents You will find Bus Pass Request forms, announcements, and pick up procedures etc. 5
Being a parent is not easy...there is not a handbook, but you are not alone! Join the Preston Parenting Support Group once a month to meet with other people who are also facing the challenge of raising middle school students. We will have a general topic each month based on our discussions at the September meetings. There will be two meetings per month that cover the same topic, so you choose which day works best in your schedule. We will focus on the Love and Logic style of parenting and learn with each other throughout the year. Jill Simpson (health and German teacher and mother of 17- & 15- year old children) will facilitate each week. The group will meet in the Preston front office conference room from 10:45-11:45 on each of the following Fridays; you choose which day in the month is most convenient for you to attend: September 15 or 22; October 13 or 27; November 10 or 17; December 1 or 15; January 12 or 26; February 9 or 23; 3/2 or 3/23; 4/6 or 4/20; 5/4 only. Please emailjsimpson@psdschools.org with any questions. 6
Welcome to the 2017-2018 school year! Attention 8th Grade Parents!! Have you heard about Read-a-latte? Read-a-Latte is a FUN reading incentive program exclusively for 8th graders. Once a quarter, your student s English class turns into a coffee shop. Students can order hot chocolate, tea, and snacks and eat/drink while they read, and the teacher becomes the barista!! But, there s a catch, the students must earn their way to Read-a-Latte. How does my student earn their way to Read- A-Latte? There are two requirements to get to Read-A-Latte: 1. Each 8th grade English teacher has a required reading log. Your student needs to log (and get a parent signature) EVERY NIGHT for 20 minutes of reading homework. Reading logs will come home the first week of September after Labor Day weekend. 2. There is a minimum book requirement for each quarter. Ask your student what it is for this quarter! If you are interested in helping sustain this reading incentive program, please consider making a donation for Read-A-latte. 7
Social Supporters- Calling All Twitter Users! Many of our Preston staff members share the incredible learning that happens here every day using the #Pumaslearning. PSD also tweets frequently using the #PSDproud. This is one of many ways that we are sharing and learning from people/schools across the district and world-wide. Join us in the learning! Come Mountain Bike With the Outing Club! All abilities are welcome! Parents are encouraged to ride with us, but this is not mandatory. Students will need a working bike, helmet, snacks, water, and sunscreen. We will meet at the Soderberg trailhead at 11:45 am on Saturday, September 23. We will ride the valley trails to the Timber trail parking lot and then head back to the Soderberg parking lot. We will be riding for approximately two hours. Please email Dan Lowndes dlowndes@psdschools.org if you have any questions. We are looking forward to getting outside with your family! 8
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