The Puma Paw

Hello Puma Families!

Let's get it started in here! The Pinebrook family is getting ready to go. We are about collaboration, celebration, and relationships - all of us, for the success of every child. We think about these students as individuals as we move together.

The new kindergarten class will be welcomed to their "Houses" on the second day of school, as will new students new to Pinebrook. They will be in one of six houses - Yosemite, Yukon, Sonoran, Patagonia, Everglades, or Andes to build unity, connections between grade levels, and excitement to hold to the high standards of Pinebrook Elementary. The House reveal will be the talk of the kids when it happens.

Our instructional focus is on point - our emphasis will continue to develop our Personalized Learning program at every grade level. We will also implement Science Of Reading concepts throughout the building. But this work happens with you. Our partnership is setting daily routines at home, having your child present daily, and being in our school as often as you can.

• Aug. 14 - Class rosters and bus routes are available in ParentVue
• Aug. 16 - Teachers return - please give them a few days to get things organized and ready before emailing. Thanks!
• Aug. 22 -
• 8:30 AM - Kindergarten Orientation - Group 1 - Barber, Biggs, Edwards, Fox, Gallop, Ondeck
• 9:30 AM Kindergarten Orientation - Group 2 - Cicippio, Devore, Derrenbacker, Khan, Lee, Noel
• 9:30 AM Safety Patrol Orientation in the library or cafeteria
• 10:30 - 11:30 AM Open House Grades 1 - 5
• 11:30 - 12:00 - Popsicles with the Principals - Pinebrook Playground!
• 6:00/6:55 PM Back To School Night Gr. 1 - 5 Session I and II
• Aug. 23
  
• Case Manager Breakfast at 8:30 AM in cafe for Special Education Families
  
• Chalk The Walk-Get Ready For School! at 2:00 - 3:00 PM on Pinebrook sidewalk!
  
• Aug. 24 - First Day of School - arrival 7:40 AM and 8:00 AM is the late bell
  
• Sept. 1 - No School - Non-working day
  
• Sept. 4 - No School Labor Day Holiday
  
• Sept. 11 - Patriot Day Ceremony at 8:05 AM in the bus loop - all caregivers invited!
  
• Sept. 14 - Back To School Night for Kindergarten Parents at 6:00 PM - please have children stay at home
  
• Sept. 20 - Spirit Night at Brusters!
  
• School Supply Lists for the 23-24 School Year - click here!
  
• Student Calendar for the 2023-2024 School Year

• ParentVUe will be a communication source for student progress, bus information, and registration. Click here for more info.
• Kindergarten Orientation: Our official introduction to Pinebrook for our Kinder families; families join us in the gym for a welcome, students take a short bus ride, then parents talk with the teacher for a brief overview of kindergarten.
• Open House: Students in grades 1- 5 check out their classrooms, see their desks, find classmates, and meet their teachers.
• Popsicles With The Principals: At the end of the Open House, Bach-To-Rock rocks us out with music as students share popsicles passed out by the admin team and staff on the playground!
• Back To School Night Gr. 1 - 5 Session I and II
• Case Manager Breakfast: Families with students receiving services connect with other families and talk with the assigned Case Manager.
• Chalk The Walk-Get Ready For School: Decorate the sidewalk of Pinebrook Elementary for messages of kindness, school spirit, and setting off the school year in a fun and creative way! PTA sponsors and provides the chalk!
• Patriot Day Ceremony: We remember the importance of Sept. 11 and honor our local First Responder heroes.
• Spirit Nights - a simple community connection with a local business to fundraise and enjoy our school.

We are tied! The first place is within reach! If you haven't, sign up for the Summer Reading program by clicking here! If you've already signed up, then finish the program! The trophy is within reach! We can get it done, Pinebrook!

We are excited to announce, Mrs. Layoya Davenport as Pinebrook's new Dean!

Latoya has a welcome message for you!

Hello Pinebrook families,

My name is Latoya Davenport. I am excited to start my administration journey as the Dean here at Pinebrook Elementary School.

I am starting my 6th year with Loudoun County, where I have taught kindergarten. Before moving to Virginia, I taught in Evansville, Indiana. I earned my Bachelor of Science in Economics from the University of Illinois and a Bachelor of Science in Early Childhood from the University of Southern Indiana. I graduated from Shenandoah University with my Master's Degree in Education Administration.

I am married to my husband, Jarrad, and we have three sons and three dogs. I was born and raised in Bellwood, Illinois, but I live in Round Hill, VA. In my free time, I enjoy spending time with my family, walking, playing basketball, and traveling to basketball tournaments with my youngest son.

I look forward to meeting and working with all the wonderful families in the Pinebrook Community!

Episodes of the Puma Pawd are available!

Check it out on Spotify, Apple, Amazon, iHeartRadio, and Google (google by RSS feed). Click or search one of the listed platforms.

Have an idea for the Puma Pawd? -Big or small - click here to let us know! -And thanks again to those that sent some ideas! Send more!

We're bringing back Friday Spirit Day! Each Friday, have your child wear their PNB Spiritwear or house colors!

School Colors - navy blue, maroon, white

House colors:

• Yukon - yellow
• Yosemite - red
• Patagonia - purple
• Sonoran - orange
• Everglades - green
• Andes - blue

*For many students, they might know their color ... we might not have locked up the specific house names yet.

To Our Pinebrook Community,

We have a beautiful school courtyard that requires help. Our school has a wonderful Garden Committee that is trying to make this happen, but we need more hands and help get it growing. With a bit of care and community contributions, we're certain it will bloom to be a thriving, valuable resource for Pinebrook.

We need items to help make this garden a reality and provide hands-on learning opportunities for all grades. We are looking for gardening items and monetary donations to keep the momentum going; students and our committee have already started planting vegetables, and our seeds are sprouting!

If you have items you no longer use in your garden, we would love to

have them. If you are not the gardening type, we welcome any monetary

donations to purchase items such as tools and items the committee will use to build our garden space. We have volunteers eager to help get the garden courtyard into shape for students to use; we need the funding and supplies.

For monetary donations, you can:

1) Click the link School Cash Online or go to

https://lcps.schoolcashonline.com/Fee/Index (Click here for directions)

2) Make a check payable to Pinebrook Elementary School in the notes/memo, and write "Garden Committee."

3) Cash: Secure envelope with PNB Garden Committee on the front

For garden items to donate, here are some ideas:

● Any plastic pots that are not being used or that can be reused

● A bunch of little hand shovels

● Outdoor watering cans

● Gloves

● Rake, hand trowels, transplant trowel, hand rake, hoses, shovel, etc.

● Clipboard to be used outside

● Building tools (hammers, nails, etc.) for our garden beds.

● Any other garden elements (stepping stones, trellises, hoses, sprinklers, etc.)

Please email Michael Weinheimer if you want to donate garden items.

Send all monetary donations to the front office, or have your student give

envelopes to their teacher to take to the office.

Thank you in advance for your contributions. Every little gift will help sow

the seeds to make this a place we will be proud of for many seasons to come here at Pinebrook.

Sincerely,

Michael Weinheimer – PNB 3rd Grade Teacher

michael.weinheimer@lcps.org

Karthik Gopal – Lead Parent Committee Volunteer

kartgop@gmail.com

Have you ever wondered if a certain movie, show, video game or even book is appropriate for your child's age? Common Sense Media is a great resource that you can turn to for advice on these questions. You can look-up just about anything and find its recommended age level. They also have a multitude of resources on how to teach your child to be a responsible digital citizen. Students learn about digital citizenship in counseling, library and classroom lessons at school. We use Common Sense Media resources to help teach positive digital citizenship. In this day and age when technology is all around us, educating students and ourselves on all possible safety measures is a must. Check out the website, it's a great resource!

https://www.commonsensemedia.org/

Hovatter ES has space available in their Early Childhood Education program for the 2023-2024 school year. This classroom will educate children with disabilities, whom Hovatter currently serves, and typically developing children from the Hovatter Elementary and Pinebrook attendance area. We are searching for typically developing children who will be four years old by Sept. 30, 2023. Our program has limited openings; please review the criteria to see if your child meets our specific requirements.

The criteria include:

*Availability to attend 5 days a week from 07:30 - 11:30 AM

*The child must be 4 by Sept. 30, 2023

* The family must live in the Hovatter ES or Pinebrook ES attendance zone

*The parents will be required to arrange transportation to and from school

*The child may not have a current IEP

For more information about the inclusion program, please call or email AP at abigail.cebular@lcps.org or Barbara Veltri barbara.cavalcantiveltri@lcps.org.

See the flyer below for SchoolCash Online! Field trip fees, scholastic orders, and other school payments will now use SchoolCash for transactions. Please sign up today!

• When you come to school, it's essential to be in the habit of three things:

1. Make an appointment
2. Have your ID;
3. Have your phone, especially if you are tardy, picking up, or returning a child to school, as we use an electronic form to record the child's return. You will access the form via a QR code scanned by your phone.

Website: https://www.lcps.org/pinebrook
Location: 25480 Mindful Court, Aldie, VA, USA
Phone: 703-957-4325

2023 All Rights Reserved – Loudoun County Public Schools