PRM School Rocker

Greetings PRM Families,

Signs of Spring are sprouting everywhere! We are hard at work to have the best academic outcomes for our learners. We value your partnership in support of your child's learning. We see the best growth when working collaboratively to implement effective and consistent strategies that yield the best results. Parents are a child's first teacher. Your engagement is so vital to our collective work.

The last day of 3rd quarter is Friday, March 8th. We will kick off this school year's 4th and final quarter on Monday, March 11th. We will send home 3rd quarter report cards on Friday, March 15th.

The next few weeks of instruction are critical as we prepare for the final assessment cycle of the school year. Please ensure your child brings their charged device (laptop) to school daily. Please check teachers' weekly communication and progress updates for the most effective ways to support your child. We aim to have every student demonstrate at least one year of growth (typical) or more than one year of growth (stretch) by the assessment date. That only happens if we know skill deficits and work together to close gaps and expand knowledge.

After we return from Spring Break, the Ohio State Test cycle begins for grades 3-6. Testing will be happening throughout April and the beginning of May. Grades K-2 will take the spring iReady Diagnostic in reading and math, as well as the end-of-year Acadience assessment for literacy. This assessment cycle determines our school's rating on the Ohio State Report card. It is an opportunity for our students to shine and showcase the wealth of knowledge they have gained this academic year. The teachers have exposed them to sample test questions and effective test-taking strategies, so they know what to expect. You may also familiarize yourself with the assessment by going to Practice Tests - Ohio State Testing Portal. If you have any questions about the assessment, please feel free to contact your child's teacher; they will be more than happy to explain more.

Finally, we need your help. Many students are still coming to school late every day. Please ensure your child is at school by 7:40am daily; every minute counts. It is imperative during the OST and end-of-year assessment cycles that all students are present every day and on time. Please do not schedule medical appointments or vacations during this time. Our school social worker, Allie Quinter, will reach out to families to support them with resources and create Attendance Intervention Plans.

Thank you for being an excellent partner in our children's education. We look forward to the visible growth we will see in every student and in the spring flowers.

Love,

Principal Simpson & Asst. Principal Brown

Email: simpsoa@cpsboe.k12.oh.us
Phone: 513-203-9087

7:40am-2:10pm

*March is Women's History Month*

Monday, March 4th-Wednesday, March 13th~Scholastic Book Fair at PRM

Thursday, March 7th-Wednesday, March 13th~READ-A-THON www.prmrocks.org/readathon

Thursday, March 7th, 14th and 21st~ Coffee with PTO President @ 7:30am at Coffee Cup Café

Friday, March 8th~Book Character Parade @1:15pm at PRM (parents arrive out front at 12:45)

Friday, March 8th~ End of 3rd quarter

Wednesday, March 13th~LSDMC Meeting @ 3:00pm at PRM

Wednesday, March 13th~PTO/Equity Group Meeting @ 6:30pm at PRM

Friday, March 15th & Saturday, March 16th~School Musical; Beauty & the Beast @ 6:00pm at PRM

Monday, March 18th~ILT Meeting @ 2:45 at PRM

Wednesday, March 20th~Foundation Meeting from 6:30-7:30pm at CHH

Monday, March 25th-Friday, March 29th~ No School; Spring Break

Monday, April 1st~School Resumes

Event updates throughout the month will be available on www.prmrocks.org/calendar

*You can also subscribe to the calendar on your device- find the green “subscribe” button on the top right side of the calendar page.

Greetings PRM Community,

We need your help. Our gracious partners at Pleasant Ridge Presbyterian Church have been very accommodating. Please be sure you are only parking in the designated parking area for our school overflow parking. Please share this information with your family and visitors so we don't lose this valuable resource. Thank you!

Hi PRM Families! Cincinnati Public Schools is implementing a new communication system for easier access for families who have questions or need support with something. This week, several families received a text message stating the amount of days that your child has missed-it seems that some of these text messages with the attendance information were inaccurate. If you have any questions or concerns about your child's attendance please reach out to your child's teacher or myself (Allie Quinter-School Social Worker)! Please keep in mind the House Bill 410 regulations regarding attendance which includes the following:

• The Ohio General Assembly passed House Bill (HB) 410 in December 2016. The purpose of this bill is to encourage and support a preventative approach to excess absences and truancy. Although CPS had prohibited the practice for some time, other Ohio schools and districts are no longer allowed to suspend or expel students for excessive absences. HB 410 categorizes absences into two groups: excessive absences and habitual truancy.

• Excessively Absent: This applies to students who are absent with or without excuse for 38 or more hours in a month or 65 hours or more in a year. A notice must be sent.

• Habitually Truant: This applies to students who are absent for 30 consecutive hours, 42 hours in a month, or 72 hours in a year. An attendance intervention plan (AIP) must be developed.

• What is considered an unexcused absence?

• An unexcused absence is when a student is absent from school and the front office, teacher or social worker are unaware of the reason for the absence. All family vacations or days missed due to traveling are considered to be unexcused. Many families who take vacations often surpass the threshold of habitual truancy due to missing 30 consecutive hours. The family must meet with the social worker and complete an AIP even if the days missed are the only missing days for the school year.

• What is considered an excused absence? (Board Policy 5200)

• Personal illness or illness in the family necessitating the presence of the child. A pattern of absences in excess of five (5) consecutive days shall require a written physician’s statement verifying the illness and the number of days the child was required to be absent.

• Quarantine of the home. Such absence is limited to the length of the quarantine as determined by the proper health officials.

• Death in the family. Such absence is limited to a period of three days unless reasonable cause may be shown for a longer absence.

• Observation or celebration of a bona fide religious holiday.

• Absence during the school day for medical or dental appointments; such absence may require a written note from the medical or dental professional upon return to school.

• Circumstances in which the judgment of the superintendent, as determined by the principal, constitutes a good and sufficient cause for absence from school.

• Absences related to a student visiting with his or her parents related to military leave or deployment.

• Tardy Information:

• The school doors open for students starting at 7:30AM. Students will have the option to go to the cafeteria for breakfast or report straight to their classroom. If a student is tardy due to the bus, the front office will mark this as an excused tardy due to transportation. School begins at 7:40AM. The front office staff will begin tardy slips at 7:45AM. Please make sure your student is getting to school on time daily to avoid receiving letters/phone calls regarding attendance.

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns regarding attendance and I am happy to support you in any way I can!

Allie Quinter, School Social Worker

513-363-4449

quintea@cpsboe.k12.oh.us

3-6 News:

It is almost spring and almost the fourth quarter of the school year. The 3-6 team is excited for the return of the garden teachers during the week of March 5th for Kindergarten. Later in March, the Kindergarteners will take a field trip to the zoo on March 19th. As always, please ensure your student is dressed for the weather, especially for the morning start recess, which happens before 9am for all 3-6 classrooms. As always, please let your teacher know if you have any questions or concerns. Spring break is March 25-29. We return to school on Monday, April 1st. Happy reading during this month of March!

6-9 News:

March is Reading Month! PRM Students will participate in the Read-A-Thon, Book Fair, and Character Parade this month. Please contact your Community Classroom if you have questions about the events listed. The 6-9 Students will be able to watch the PRM Beauty and The Beast Performance during the school day the week of March 10th. We are so lucky that Ms. Maria has organized this for our learners and staff members! Outdoor Education is beginning this month and I know our students are eager to get back outside into our garden. End-of-the-year testing will begin in April so our classrooms are continuing direct instruction to build the knowledge of each and every learner.

9-12 News:

The 9-12 team is diligently working to prepare our students for state testing in April and May. Students are participating in our school-wide intervention block. Please make sure your child is completing their iReady minutes and lessons in both Reading and Math each week. Reach out to your child's teacher with any questions.

Field trips to the Cincinnati Art Museum are continuing. Mr. Wolfinger, Ms. Moorhouse, Ms. North, and Ms. Williams' 4th graders recently attended their trip, which focused on the art of creating portraits. This field trip was a success!

Mother Nature is keeping us on our toes! Please keep an eye on the weather and temperatures. Your child must be dressed in proper outerwear for recess.

Many 9-12 students participated in PRM's 2024 African-American History Biography Writing Contest. Their projects looked amazing and earned many compliments from teachers, staff, and visitors to PRM! Each student received a Certificate of Participation. This year's winners are Raul S. and Layla R., with Peter K. as (very close!) runner-up. Winners received a gift card and certificate.

6th Graders received information regarding our annual overnight trip to Camp Kern. This year's trip will take place April 10, 11 and 12th. Permission slips and contracts were sent home last week. Both are due by Friday, March 22nd, for students to attend. Please reach out to your child's teacher with any questions.

News from the Specialist Team:

Outdoor Education:

We are so excited to be back outside and in person with your students! This month, students will be learning about what is under the ground. Students will have the opportunity to learn about moles, fossils, and soil. We are introducing a new permanent garden station for our 6-9 students this month- the discovery station. Here, students will be able to engage in loose parts play, sit spot prompts, and spend some time digging deeper into each unit's theme. We will also be working in the garden this month, and students will have the opportunity to turn compost in our new compost bin system and plant early spring greens!

Enrichment Update from Ms. Bonfield:

Gifted Testing

All gifted referral and rescreen testing has been completed. The district will send the results in the next 2-3 weeks. Please contact me if you have any questions.

Brain Bowl

Our PRM Brain Bowl team is having a phenomenal season. They have won five of the six games they have played and have two games left in the regular season. On Saturday, March 16th, they will participate in the district tournament. We wish them well!

SUPRA ET ULTRA

The February SUPRA ET ULTRA is due March 9th. The March SUPRA ET ULTRA challenges will be distributed the week of March 11th and due April 5th.

PTO:

It is starting to feel like spring! And this month is all about literacy! Hopefully you and your family can find a way to participate in one of our many literacy events happening currently. The Scholastic Book Fair is at PRM through Friday, March 8th; the reading menu that came home with students last week and is due back on Friday, as well as the literacy character parade that takes place on Friday afternoon at 1:15pm out front of PRM. The 6th Annual Read-a-thon runs from Thursday, March 7-Wednesday, March 13, and the Family Literacy Night is happening at PRM on Wednesday, March 13th, during our PTO/Equity group meeting that starts at 6:30pm.

The goal for all this literacy is for students to learn to love reading and to be able to read to learn. The goals of the Read-a-thon are for all students to read for 7 consecutive days and to track and log their reading. All students who accomplish this goal will receive a PRM Read-a-thon spirit wear tee-shirt. All reading minutes, as well as any funds raised, can be turned in through the collection envelopes or can be submitted online at www.prmrocks.org/readathon. Please encourage your child(ren) to read… you can read to them or model to them that you are reading. ALL reading counts!

A special shout out to Sara Ambrosino, who designed the winning bookmark for this year’s Read-a-thon. Her design is being printed now so all students can receive one. The runner-up (top ten) included Abram Owens, Sadie Hellwig, Eva Wilkey, Felix Mayer, Jude Hellwig, Silas Bohart, Micah Freeze, Emmanuelle Rowley, and Ada Schenk.

Equity Group:

Join us this month as we celebrate with a Family Literacy Night on Wednesday, March 13th, in the cafeteria at approximately 7:00 p.m., directly following the 6:30 p.m. PTO Meeting. We have partners who will join us for arts and crafts, book reading, cooking demonstrations, raffles, book giveaways, and light bites. The entire family will truly get to enjoy this hands-on Literacy Experience!

Foundation:

The Foundation is currently looking for businesses to sponsor the great things happening at PRM. If you know of a business that might be interested in supporting our school, please share this 2024 PRM Sponsorship Guide with them.

Remember that the PRM Read-a-thon also supports our school. Don't forget to help your child log their reading minutes, and please consider asking for donations. Both can be done using the reading log envelopes or online at https://prmrocks.org/readathon/

The Foundation meets in person on the third Wednesday of the month at Community Happens Here at 6:30pm. Our next meeting is Wednesday, March 20th. All are welcome!

Please email prsfpres@gmail.com with any questions.

ILT:

The Instructional Leadership Team typically meets on the first and third Mondays of each month at 2:45 p.m. at PRM.

LSDMC:

The LSDMC met virtually in February but will return to in-person meetings in March. The next meeting will be on Wednesday, March 13th, at 3:00pm at the school. Everyone is welcome to attend!

In February, the LSDMC reviewed the One Plan goals and discussed the steps being taken for and with students to improve test scores during the spring testing session. A request was made for those with tutoring availability to assist with after-school programs. Updates were also given regarding the Ad Hoc group, school addition construction, upcoming fundraising efforts from the Foundation, and the Resource Coordinator's report.

Each year in the spring, the LSDMC completes the task of budget approval. The CPS board is currently reviewing the district wide budget and recommended reductions in spending. We will begin to review how these items impact PRM as a group at our March meeting.

Boosters:

Winter Sports have wrapped! Congratulations to all 12 of our basketball teams on great seasons and impressive showings in the end-of-season tournaments. A record 5 PRM teams won their championship brackets. The Cheer squad had a great season and showed off their skills while helping create an awesome atmosphere during home basketball games. A huge thank you to all of our coaches, the parents, custodians, administrators, and Mr. T for being a part of the needed support system that helped make this season possible for all our athletes.

Spring sports are just around the corner. Practices for all teams will begin in mid-March, with games and meets starting in early April. Boosters will also be offering two clinics this spring. Volleyball will have a five-week clinic for 2nd-grade girls starting the week of April 15th. Cheer will be hosting a one-day clinic on April 6th from 9am-noon, open to all (K-6). Registration is now open at prmrocks.org/athletics.

The Brain Bowl team is off to an impressive start, going 5-1 over their first 6 matches! The team has 2 regular season matches left before the big tournament on March 16th at the CPS Central Offices. All are welcome to come cheer the team on to victory.

The CLC Center is here to provide you with various services that you may need. Contact our Resource Coordinator- Mrs. Monique Crosby (Johnson) at johnmon@cpsboe.k12.oh.us.

• Black History Month- Our PRM celebration was very nice this year. The students had an opportunity to learn about one African American person a day during their morning meeting session. The door decorating was beautiful. It's a sight to see! The students even dressed up as their favorite person and the winners of the Biography Contest won some great gift cards. All participants received a certificate and a free item from McDonald’s. We ended the month with a wonderful musical program put on by the Clark Steel Band, and our students and teachers truly loved it.

• Book Fair- Our Book Fair is back and off to a great start. The Book Fair will run from March 4-13th. We were able to extend it to Wednesday, March 13th. Our students have been so excited to see so many books and to receive a new book just in time for our Read-A-Thon. Thank You to everyone who volunteered for the Book Fair. We could not have done it without you! Our online shopping experience is up and ready for you and your family, so click on the link to do some more book shopping.

Online Shopping Link: https://www.scholastic.com/bf/prm

• Read Across America- The students are ready to come to school on Friday, March 8, 2024, dressed as their favorite book character and parade around the school. I know it will be a sight to see. The parade will start at 1:15 pm and we are asking parents and spectators to be here by 12:45 pm, lining the sidewalk of the school.

• PRM Read-A-Thon- will start on Thursday, March 7, 2023, and end on March 13, 2024. We ask that your reading log be returned on or before Friday, March 15, 2024. Your student can read independently or with another person and then track electronically or on the envelope provided to your child in their Wednesday folder. Every child will receive a 2023 bookmark, and all students who read all seven (7) days and log their time will earn a PRM Read-A-Thon spirit wear shirt. For more information, reach out to the main office.

• Family Literacy Night- On Wednesday, March 13th, at 6:30pm, we encourage all families to come out to PRM for a night full of fun. We have partners who will join us in doing arts and crafts, cooking demonstrations, providing light bites, and taking home a book, “No Cellphone.” The entire family will truly enjoy this Hands-on Literacy Night!

• PRM Swim Lessons at the YMCA of Blue Ash- We are excited about offering Free Swim Lessons to our students here at PRM. There will be 2 different sections and 2 different times to select for a class. Each session is for 6 weeks. Session 1 will start on Friday, March 8th, and Session 2 will start on Friday, April 12th. You can select either the 3:30-4 pm or the 4-4:30 pm class time. An application and a waiver must be completed before the start of class. Click here to access the application and stop by the PRM main office or the YMCA Blue Ash office for the waiver form. Please make sure that you read the requirements before applying. If you have any questions contact the Resource Coordinator via email at johnmon@cpsboe.k12.oh.us. Here are a few things to remember for the Free PRM Swim Lesson- Safety Around Water Program:

1. The child must be a student of PRM.

2. We are ONLY accepting students in Kindergarten - 6th Grade.

3. Each child must have a paper waiver filled out before starting on March 8th (session #1) and April 12th (session #2).

4. If you missed the parent meeting on Tuesday, March 5th, no worries. Miss Monique- the Resource Coordinator, has some paper waivers to complete at school.

4. When bringing your child to the YMCA, a parent/guardian MUST remain in the building during the child's class.

5. You MUST complete the online form to select your class session and time.

6. Your child should attend class on time, with their swim gear on. You can use the locker rooms for changing before the start of class.

If you have any further questions, please reach out to our Aquatic Director Devon Winebrenner at DWinebrenner@cincinnatiymca.org

• Spring Picture Day- Cheese!!! Picture Day will be held on Wednesday, March 20th.

• Opening Day Parade- Thursday, March 28, 2024, downtown at 12 pm. The baseball game will start at 4:10 pm at Great American Ballpark.

Resources

• Financial Assistance Needed- United Way and the Freestore Food Bank will help assist any family in need during the winter months. Reach out to our Resource Coordinator for more information.

• Looking for something to do- Check out Michaels. They have in-store and online free classes for the entire family. Click on the link and see what you can get into. Link: https://www.michaels.com/classes

• Free Tax Preparation- Looking to either volunteer or do you need assistance with filing your taxes? United Way is providing a free service to file your taxes. Click on the link to access when and where you can get your taxes done for free.

Link for Free Tax Prep: https://www.uwgc.org/get-help/free-tax-prep/for-taxpayers

• 5/3 Community Days @ The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center- This is providing free admission to all guests on the 3rd and 5th Sunday of 2024, as well as on MLK Jr Day and Juneteenth. Click on the link for more information: https://freedomcenter.org/53-community-days/ Free Days are: 1/15,1/21, 2/18, 3/17,3/31, 4/21, 5/19, 6/16, 6/19, 6/30, 7/21, 8/18, 9/15, 9/29, 10/20, 11/17, 12/15, & 12/29.

Looking for something to do- Check out Michaels. They have in-store and online free classes for the entire family. Click on the link and see what you can get into. Link: https://www.michaels.com/classes

CPS has updated the Code of Conduct to include more restorative practices, clearer language around offenses, and suggested responses.

Please keep the electronic link to the Code of Conduct handy for your records. There will not be paper copies printed this school year.

Cincinnati Public Schools:

513-363-0123

Child Mental Health Crisis

Cincinnati Children's Hospital PIRC intake line:

513-636-4124

Suspected Child Abuse or Neglect:

513-241-KIDS

Suicide Prevention Hotline:

1-800-273-TALK (8255)

Crisis Textline:

Text 4HOPE to 741741

Disaster Distress Helpline:

1-800-985-5990

Domestic Violence Hotline via Women Helping Women:

513-381-5610

Our Character Program centers around:

Respect, Ownership, Compassion, Kindness and Safety, Safety, Safety!

Below are the three school-wide expectations that we expect students to follow throughout all parts of our learning community. Please support us by reinforcing these at home.

• Be Respectful
• Be Responsible
• Be a Problem Solver

Email: simpsoa@cpsboe.k12.oh.us
Website: www.prmrocks.org
Location: 5945 Montgomery Road
Phone: 513-363-4400