R.F. Pettigrew Panther Tracks

o Be Positive

o Be Accountable

o Be Wise

o Be Safe

Mr. Kevin Dick

This month, I want to dive into a fantastic topic that I believe holds immense value not only for our Pettigrew students, but for our Pettigrew community as a whole: infectious generosity and its link to the 6th mindset of the 7 Mindsets, "Live to Give."

What is Infectious Generosity? Recently, I located and listened to a podcast that spoke about the concept of Infectious Generosity. This podcast featured and interview with Chris Anderson, the leader of the organization known as TED. He has written a book called Infectious Generosity that discusses this topic. He outlines that it is the concept of giving freely and selflessly, inspiring others to do the same. It's about creating a ripple effect of kindness and compassion that spreads throughout our community and beyond. When someone demonstrates infective generosity, their actions are so genuine and impactful that they motivate others to follow suit.

Live to Give: The 6th Mindset The 7 Mindsets curriculum teaches our children valuable life lessons that foster social-emotional growth and character development. The 6th mindset, "Live to Give," encourages a mindset of abundance and generosity. It teaches children that true fulfillment comes from giving to others without expecting anything in return. When children embody this mindset, they become catalysts for positive change in their communities.

How Infective Generosity Relates to "Live to Give" Infectious generosity and the "Live to Give" mindset go hand in hand. When individuals embrace the idea of living to give, they naturally become agents of infective generosity. By consistently giving of themselves and their resources, they inspire others to do the same. Whether it's a simple act of kindness like helping a classmate or a larger gesture like organizing a community service project, each act of generosity has the power to multiply and create a culture of giving within our school and beyond.

Fostering Infectious Generosity at Home As parents, we play a crucial role in nurturing infective generosity in our children. Here are a few ways you can encourage this mindset at home:

1. Lead by example: Show your children the power of giving by modeling generosity in your own actions and words.

2. Volunteer together: Find opportunities to volunteer as a family, whether it's at a local shelter, food bank, or community event.

3. Encourage empathy: Help your children understand the importance of empathy and seeing the world from others' perspectives. This will inspire them to act with kindness and compassion.

4. Celebrate generosity: Acknowledge and celebrate acts of kindness and generosity, both big and small, to reinforce the value of giving.

Let's Spread the Joy of Giving! As we continue to instill the "Live to Give" mindset in our children, let's also empower them to embrace infective generosity and be catalysts for positive change in our school, our community, and the world. Together, we can create a culture of kindness and compassion that uplifts and inspires everyone around us.

Thank you for your ongoing support and partnership in nurturing our children's social-emotional growth and character development.

March Parent Input –Pettigrew staff will be working together on classroom assignments for the 2024-2025 school year in the coming weeks and months. Our goal is to ensure a well-balanced blend in each classroom. We realize that parents and guardians may wish to provide input about how your child learns best. You may obtain a PARENTAL INPUT FORM in the school office for you to offer this input after March 4th. This is NOT a form to request a specific teacher’s classroom by name, but rather to tell a bit about the environment that your child learns best within. All input must be in writing on this confidential form and returned to the Pettigrew School office by Thursday, March 28th. Information from this form will be considered. However, to allow us to achieve a set of balanced classrooms, the final decision for student placement rests with the school administrators.

Music

Here are some February highlights from the music department:

Kindergarten – Long & short (introduction to rhythm), Nursery rhymes (rhyming words & steady beat)

Song “Down By the Bay”

Instruments – triangles, wood blocks, hand drums

Introduction to solfege (pitches) sol and mi

Song “Doggie, Doggie, Where’s Your Bone?”

First Grade – Quarter rests

Song – “Ickle Ockle” with game

Introduction to the music staff (pitches sol, mi, and la)

Song “Jump, Jim, Joe”

Second Grade – Practicing all songs for our upcoming second grade program, Welcome to the Jungle.

Third Grade - Instruments of the Orchestra (string, woodwind, brass, and percussion families) We are preparing to attend the South Dakota Symphony concert at the Washington Pavilion on March 25.

Fourth Grade – Ukuleles (chords learned so far are C, F, and Dm). We are beginning to work on the G7 chord next.

Fifth Grade – Ukuleles – Reviewing chords and songs learned in fourth grade. We are beginning to work on the Em chord next, followed by D and G7.

Two-part singing – “Rocky Top” and “The Lion Sleeps Tonight”

The second graders would like to invite you to their second grade program on April 11. It is entitled Welcome to the Jungle. The evening performance will be held in the Pettigrew Gym at 7:00 pm.

Have a great March . . .

Mrs. Wahl & Mrs. Monlux

Art

The art rooms will be busy in March! We will be finishing 3rd quarter projects, starting 4th quarter projects, and choosing our favorite artists in an Art March Madness!

Kindergarteners will create art inspired by children’s book illustrators and review lines/shapes.

1st Graders will create art inspired by American landmarks and review lines/shapes.

2nd Graders will continue creating art inspired by Asian art and use space/depth in their artwork.

3rd Graders will continue using fiber art techniques and create collaborative art.

4th Graders will create art inspired by African art/artifacts and create art with form.

5th Graders will create an interpretation of a work of art and create art inspired by Mesoamerican culture.

All grade levels will also begin preparing for our Art Show, which will be Friday, April 19th. Be on the lookout for an art show poster to come home at the end of the month.

If you’re downtown during the month of March, stop by the Washington Pavilion second floor lobby (free area to visit) and view Pettigrew Art. Artworks by 60 students have been chosen to be on display in the “Off the Fridge” exhibit. The students and their families were notified in February.

We’re excited for a fun, busy month in the Pettigrew art rooms!

--Mrs. Meyer and Ms. Selberg

K01 Braylynn Ruffino

K02 Leo Hudelson

K03 Hansen Munce

K04 Logan Bretsch

K05 Emerson Weyer

101 Genevieve Pratt

102 Maribel McDowell

103 Weston Marsh

104 Shepard Johnson

106 Brooklyn Nelson

201 Saiyid Phommaracksa De Leon

202 Rayan Dahal

203 Charlotte Gengler-Not Pictured

204 Autumn Peralta-Not Pictured

205 Aria Reichert

206 Unable To Photograph

302 Jalyn Mesch

303 Claire Van Emmerik

304 Daxon Lindemann

305 Alex Horning

306 Jessica Janis

401 Sadie Felix

402 Josie Schumacher

403 Christian Walker

404 Mason Harris

405 Solomon Gaye

406 Sapphire Gunhammer

501 Katelyn Wharton

502 Laylani Castro-Rocha

503 Isaac Subah

504 Kory Vant Hul

505 Jack Stahlberg

Kindergarten Round-Up Open House is one week away!

Kindergarteners will have a chance to meet our Kindergarten teachers, the principals, as well as the office staff and our school nurse. The PTO will be selling Spirit Wear and the Student Council will be giving school tours.

We can't wait to meet all of our incoming kindergarteners!

Please be sure to have your online registration completed BEFORE you come to our event. If you are not registered you will be required to do this before you attend the event. The online registration takes about 30-45 minutes to complete and we will have devices available at the event.

We appreciate the Junior Achievement volunteers who have been visiting classrooms in our school again this year! Combining JA programming and their own personal and professional experiences, JA volunteers teach students about careers, money, owning a business, and ethics. They assist students in bridging the gap between what they learn in school and the skills necessary for success in both their professional and personal life.

Junior Achievement (JA) gives students hope for a better future. Nearly 2,000 JA classroom volunteers committed to teaching JA programs this school year and hope to empower over 55,000 South Dakota students to achieve their dreams.

Please extend a special thank you to the volunteers and teachers listed below who are participating in JA during the 2023-24 school year. If you are interested in sharing your knowledge and business experience with students in our community or if you would like to sponsor a student for $25, please contact the JA office at (605)336-7318 or jasd@ja.org.

Contact us with any questions or to learn about volunteer opportunities!

Email: rfp.president@yahoo.com
Website: rfpettigrew.org/pto
Location: 7900 West 53rd Street, Sioux Falls, SD, USA
Phone: 6053623564
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/RFPettigrewPTO/?ref=share