The Parrots' Nest

Parents,

Your continued support of our school is why we are able to provide so many opportunities for our students and families as well as celebrate our staff. Our Parent Teacher Organization, also known as PTO, has continued to thrive this year, offering you ways to remain connected with Pontiac, enjoy family dinners together, safely, and synergize with your children through our Paint Night Date Night! We steered clear of traditional fundraisers, recognizing this has been a difficult year for many of us. Still, PTO has remained a cohesive organization, comprised of several parent volunteers and teachers within our building.

We need your help in continuing to serve our school! Have you considered getting more involved at Pontiac? Do you want to volunteer your time? PTO might just be a good fit for you!

We are accepting nominations for officers for the 2021-2022 school year.

Officer roles include the following:

President:

The President is the principal officer and is responsible for leading PTO meetings, and coordinating all business of the PTO.

Vice President:

The Vice President assists the President, as needed and steps into the role in the absence of the President position during monthly meetings.

Secretary:

The secretary keeps minutes of PTO meetings and shares these each month with PTO members.

Treasurer:

The Treasurer keeps accurate accounting records of PTO and gives a financial report at each PTO meeting. The Treasurer is in charge of all financial transactions of the PTO.

If you are willing to serve in any of these positions, please nominate yourself by emailing pontiacpto@gmail.com

If you would like to nominate a parent of a Pontiac child to serve in any of these positions, please nominate him/her by emailing pontiacpto@gmail.com

Nominations will be accepted through Friday, April 9.

Our next PTO meeting will be held, virtually, on April 15 at 6:30pm. We hope you will mark your calendars to join us!

Can you believe the doors to Pontiac Elementary opened 30 years ago?

As we look towards celebrating and honoring 30 years of Pontiac Pride, we want to ensure we have everyone's contact information to share details as dates are scheduled and approved for us to do so safely.

Please invite former Parrots to use this LINK to capture their personal contact information.

Please share the link with as many former Pontiac Parrots as you can!

The planning committee will be in touch with everyone soon with details!

You might wonder about each of these 7 Habits that your child comes home and shares with you. Over the next 7 weeks, we will share what these habits mean and how you might use the habit at home.

Sharpen the Saw

Sharpen the Saw means to have balance in your life. Life can’t be all about work and no play. Habit 7 reminds us that we are more productive when we are in balance—body, brain, heart and soul. Take time to do the things that bring you joy. On a car ride or at the dinner table, discuss activities that bring each family member balance. Challenge yourself to find time daily to “Sharpen the Saw.”

Dear Pontiac families,

I wanted to be sure you are aware of an additional Pandemic EBT (P-EBT) benefit coming for eligible students from the Department of Social Services (DSS) and the SC Department of Education (SCDE).

P-EBT is an optional federal program designed to provide food benefits to children who have temporarily lost access to free or reduced-price meals at school.

Parents/guardians are asked to verify the students mailing address in the link below. It is a simple process to verify; however, parents/guardians will need to know their child’s Student ID.

All households with potentially eligible students are strongly encouraged to validate their address in the DSS P-EBT Address Portal on or before March 19, 2021.

The PEBT Address Portal is located on the DSS website at https://benefitsportal.dss.sc.gov/#/pebt/addressverification. To locate a child in the Address Portal the parent must have: Student Last Name, Date of Birth, Student ID, School District, and School Name. If a parent or guardian does not know the Student ID, they must obtain this information from the child’s school or Parent Portal.

Please let me know if you have any questions!

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Please notify Nurse Larck if your child is on quarantine, isolation or a close contact for COVID-19. This applies to our elearning students as well.

Remember to wash your hands, wear a mask, and socially distance.

During the month of March, we encourage you to talk with your child about internet safety. Check out the calendar below for 21 topics to discuss with your child for 21 days. Our students are growing up in a digital world, and we want to make sure they have all of the skills they need to navigate it safely. You can discuss these topics with your child in the car on the way to school in the morning or at the dinner table. We hope you enjoy these important conversations with your children and will make them a part of your normal routine to discuss.

See the calendar below or click here for a printable version of this calendar.

March 19 - Early Dismissal at 11:30 am

March 25-26 Asynchronous Learning Days

March 29 - Military Monday

March 31 - PTO Lick Ice Cream Night 5:00 pm until 8:00 pm

Please be sure to follow us on our social media platforms for up to date information as well as a glimpse into our school! We are so excited to welcome your family to our school family!

Website: https://www.richland2.org/pe/
Location: 500 Spears Creek Church Road, Elgin, SC, USA
Phone: 803 699-2700
Facebook: facebook.com/Pontiac
Twitter: @PontiacElem