PCKCS News

Please read the entire newsletter as there are many important items featured.

GEM (Greet-Eat-Meet) Night and fall Registration is scheduled for Thursday, August 12^th from 4-6 p.m. Registration instructions will be mailed out at the beginning of August. Once again, we will be offering Express Check-in for those families wishing to expedite their registration process on the 12^th. The PCK PTA will have ice cream treats, as well as some cool new logo items, for sale that evening. Classroom teachers will be on hand to welcome students to their new classroom and to gather school supplies**. PCK Office Staff will be available to check any questionable uniform items or shoes (especially shoes) you may have purchased over the summer. Bring your items that night for a quick verdict BEFORE your child wears it to school.

**For those who ordered school supplies through Tool Box, your supplies will be ready for pick-up at GEM night.

What’s NEW or Newsworthy? Keep reading…

NEW PCK WEBSITE UNDER CONSTRUCTION!

The PCK website is under construction this summer, with a tentative unveiling date of early fall. We have incorporated the new look and logo, as well as reorganized the layout of our school site for greater convenience. During the school year, we ask that you check this site regularly for school announcements, event information, calendar items and other important links. A new FAQ page will feature responses to frequently asked questions, as well as helpful reference information about Special Education, MAPS and other school initiatives

Additionally, we will have a separate link for our new Preschool, which is scheduled to open in the fall of 2011. If you have friends or neighbors with preschool age students, please be sure to direct them to our website for details and information. Information meetings will be held in September and October, with an early registration opportunity for current PCK families on September 23^rd at 6:30 p.m. Invitations and announcements with meeting details will be sent to all current and waitlist families early this fall.

NEW STAFF

Please join us in welcoming the following new PCK staff members:

Kristen Wilson – 2^nd Grade

Micah Chadrick – PE

Lisha Bustos – MS Humanities

Kristi Resler – PCK Preschool Director

NEW CARPOOL FLOW
Starting this August, we will incorporate the recommendations of the Douglas County Traffic Department into our carpool process. These recommendations should help keep our carpool flowing safely, while reducing any back-up traffic on Pine Drive and eliminating unsafe cross traffic movement in our parking lot.

When school starts, ALL cars coming on to the school property during the hours of 7:40- 8:00 a.m. and 2:50 p.m. to the end of carpool will be routed through the Centennial Drive entrance on the North side; cars WILL NOT be permitted to enter through the main entrance during these times. The cars will then flow in one direction through the parking lot and, upon exiting, cars may choose to exit and turn right out of the main entrance or turn left in the parking lot and exit at the North end of the parking lot back on to Centennial Drive. With two separate exit routes, we should have an overall safer, smoother carpool process. For those of you who are more visual, we will have new carpool flow maps available at GEM Night.

Please keep in mind that changes and new routines take time (there will be an re-training period here), but we are hopeful the new flow will improve our overall carpool process. As always, your patience and caution when proceeding through carpool is appreciated.

NEW WING for Middle School and Preschool

The OC has been working diligently all summer to explore the option of building a new wing off the Southwest end of our current building. With financing and architectural details still being sorted, the OC would (ideally) like to break ground in late November/early December, with a completion date sometime in June 2011. The proposed addition will feature a two-story building with a new middle school facility on the upper level and space for the new PCK preschool on the lower level. Each level will have its own separate entrance. Once all the building plans and financing details have been sorted, the OC will host a Town Hall Meeting for all PCK families to unveil the plans and address any questions related to the proposed building project. Stay tuned for more exciting details about this project…

NEW ONLINE ORDERING for HOT LUNCHES

In an effort to streamline their process, Lunch on the Go Catering will utilize a new online ordering system this fall for ALL hot lunch orders. – They are going completely paperless! Additionally, their daily menu will feature three meal options: a hot entree, a cold sandwich/box lunch or a salad meal. These changes, along with several new ala carte items, a daily fruit or vegetable and whole grain products, and 48 hour ordering for cold items (ONLY) will enhance the flexibility, convenience and, hopefully, the appeal of the hot lunch option for PCK families. Online ordering instructions are also linked below as well as from the home page of the school website. The ordering period for August lunches begins on July 26^th, so be sure to place your order by the deadline posted.

Instructions for ordering hot lunch from Lunch-On-The-Go starting July 26th

RUN-PLAY-EAT

No, this is not the sequel to the book Eat, Pray, Love. This represents the new order of events for recess and lunch next year. There is growing research about the benefits of having students get their energy and socializing out of the way before sitting down to eat their lunch. The research indicates students and schools often realize the following benefits

Students are more focused on eating instead of rushing to get outside so they tend to eat more of their lunch. Once properly replenished, students are better able to focus on learning during afternoon classes.
Less food is wasted or thrown out because students are hungrier by the time the come in from recess to sit down for lunch.
There are fewer behavior issues because students have already expended pent up energy running or socializing and can then focus on eating.
Some studies indicate that all of the above lead to higher student achievement levels – This is what we are chasing!

SPIRIT DAYS vs. Formal Dress Days…and other Dress Code Changes

Starting next fall, we will periodically designate certain days as Spirit Days. On such days, students will need to wear their white PCK logo uniform shirt (either polo, button down or Dennis blouse) with the rest of their uniform. ‘Spirit Days’ will allow students to demonstrate their school spirit by dressing in obvious PCK logo-wear. Spirit Days may be called when we have special visitors to the school or when we host special school events such as Veterans Day, Grandparent’s Day, Science Fair, etc. Students may also be required to wear their Spirit Day shirts for class field trips.

In an effort to minimize the expense and ensure that ALL students have one (1) white shirt with a PCK logo on it, the PTA has generously offered to cover the embroidery cost of one new PCK logo per student -- please bring one (nice) white uniform shirt to GEM night and the PTA take it from there. Students may opt, at their own expense using Instant Imprints here in Parker, to have additional PCK logos embroidered on other PCK uniform shirts.

For a complete listing of all newly revised uniform changes - click here. We especially ask that you note the changes to the approved colors for athletic shoes.

HOMEWORK CLUB

Back by popular demand, the PCK Homework Club will kick-off the week of August 23^rd, and run through May 12, 2011. The Homework Club will run Monday through Thursday from 3:30 – 5:00 p.m. No reservations needed, but space is limited! Pricing will be as follows:

Weekly rate: $20 for four days per week (non transferable)

Drop-in rate: $8.00/day

Students in grades 3-8 are invited to participate. Simply drop in and get started. Parents and students alike enjoy a more relaxing evening at home knowing that most (if not all) homework is complete by the time the student leave each day. For further question/details, contact Mrs. Harth at jharth@ckcs.net.

COMMITTED to EXCELLENCE

We say this a lot around here, but after 16 strong years, the OC believes it’s time to ask everyone – staff, parents and students – to recommit! As part of this year's registration process you will be asked to read and sign a Parent Commitment to Excellence form. The Parent Commitment to Excellence form specifically outlines PCK’s commitment to parents and, conversely, your commitment to help ensure excellence here at PCK. Students and staff will also sign a similar agreement when school starts. The OC hopes to remind all parents, staff and students that ‘we’re in this together’ and maintaining a level of excellence school wide requires something from everyone.

Parents are, and always have been, an essential piece in our quest for academic excellence, and volunteering each year is a big part of that effort. Angie Runyon, PCK Volunteer Coordinator, ask all parents to make a plan for meeting the 20+ hours/year volunteer commitment. Think about what you like to do…how you can contribute to our quest for academic excellence…and jump in early. Those who wait to fulfill their commitment often don’t make it. Plan ahead and start early.

On that note…here are some early VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES. Contact Angie Runyon at angela_runyon@yahoo.com if you can help with any of the needs listed below: