PRM School Rocker

Greetings PRM Families,

December brings the signs of winter and all the celebrations and traditions associated with the season. We will also bring the 1st semester of the school year and 2022 to a close as we anticipate with great hope the positive changes of the new year. We have been working tirelessly to provide high-quality Montessori instruction and to equip students with the necessary tools to become productive citizens of the world. Your partnership means so much on our journey to success.

I invite you to participate in the learning process and build positive relationships with your child’s teachers by attending conferences, school events, and volunteering whenever you can. Your presence is always welcome. We hosted 2nd quarter parent conferences on Thursday, December 8th from 3:00pm-6:00pm. We hope that you were able to secure a preferred conference time to discuss your child's progress.

We need your help. We still have a large number of students coming to school late every day. Please do your best to make sure that your child is at school by 7:45am. We also need to make sure that students are not sent to school when they are ill. This is flu season, and several viruses have been going around, including Covid. Please help us keep our school as healthy and safe as possible by not sending your child to school when they are sick.

I sincerely hope you will have a safe and enjoyable holiday season with your family and friends. We are excited about the classroom celebrations and community events that we are preparing to showcase our students' talents and celebrate the spirit of the season. Be sure to view the dates for upcoming events included in this newsletter so that you can plan to attend as many events as possible.

Love,

Principal Simpson

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

Conferences – Thursday, December 8th from 3:00-6:00pm at PRM

PRM Holiday Market – Saturday, December 10th from 10:00am-3:00pm at PRM

LSDMC Meeting – Wednesday, December 14th @ 3:00pm Virtually via Google Meet

Winterfest – Wednesday, December 14th from 5:30-8:00pm at PRM

Panorama Survey Deadline - Friday, December 16th

Gingerbread House Party – Friday, December 16th from 6:15-8:15pm at PRM

No School: Winter Break – Monday, December 19th – Monday, January 2nd

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.

Our school is participating in the district-wide climate survey, starting December 1st and closing December 16th. There is a survey for staff, students, and parents/guardians. Students will take the survey in class, and parents can go to our website, www.cps-k12.org, to take the survey.

By participating in the survey, you are empowering CPS to make informed decisions that will impact the way the district educates and supports Cincinnati’s children. The survey is anonymous, only takes a few minutes, and is available in multiple languages, including English, Spanish, French, and Arabic. To take the survey, you just need access to a computer, tablet, or cell phone with an internet connection.

If you have any questions or concerns or would like help taking the survey, our front office staff can assist you during normal school hours.

Let’s work together to get a 100% response rate from our school community!

The 3-6 team is excited about December! Make note of these upcoming dates:

-December 5th - 9th - All Kindergarteners will be doing an individual assessment during this week.

-December 8th – Museum field trip for some Kindergarten classes, but not for all classrooms.

-December 13th – Cincinnati Fire Department visits the preschoolers to teach about fire safety.

-December 17th - January 2nd – NO SCHOOL - WINTER BREAK

Please be reminded that it is important that students get to school on time. It is important that they are well rested, and if your student is ill, please keep them home and call the main office at 513-363-4400 to let the school know. Please help students dress for the weather. Most classes go outside early in the morning. Children must remember to bring charged iPads to school every day, especially during testing times. And always, thank you for your continued support.

The 6-9 team is looking forward to conferences on December 8th from 3-6pm at PRM. Please reach out to your student’s teacher to schedule a conference. Some of our 6-9 communities will be attending field trips this month. All teachers are continuing to build on the Montessori scope and sequence and will work on beginning clock reading this month. Teachers are also building “i-Ready My Path” work into their schedule, which requires that all students bring their computers to school fully charged every day. And as a reminder, each community approaches the holiday season differently; reach out to your student’s teacher for details on their celebrations.

Hope you have a great December and a wonderful winter break!

Technology updates from Mr. David

Kindergarten students have been working hard and practicing logging into their computers. They are getting SO fast! We will finish this quarter with some lessons in navigation. This teaches them what icons to click on to connect to their weekly assignments.

The 6-9 classes are wrapping up their Computer Science unit with a focus on patterns, how to determine the rule for them, and then creating their own patterns based on specific rules. These are great fundamental skills that help set up the concept of coding.

The 4th and 5th graders are finishing up this quarter's focus, the Google Suite. The goal was to teach the ins and outs of Google Forms so they can then move into the concept of data collection and learn what they can do with it.

The 6th graders have been learning about the basics of video editing. Utilizing WeVideo, they have learned how to add images and videos and use transitions between them to create a fluid video. They learned how to put in text slides for introduction either individually or overlapping an image or video. Finally, they have learned how to add sound/music to their videos. On top of all this, they have learned how to edit individual images, video clips, and sound bites. Next quarter we look forward to learning about green screen and how to actually put OURSELVES in the action!

Enrichment updates from Mrs. Bonfield

SumDog Math December Contest

All 1st - 6th grade students have SumDog online math accounts and are entered in the US Winter Wonderland Math Contest from December 9th - 15th. Students should log into their SumDog accounts starting on Friday, Dec. 9th. To qualify for prizes, students need to answer at least 100 math contest questions. Students are ranked by the number of correct answers, so they need to focus on accuracy, not speed, when participating in this contest. Students can answer up to 1000 questions in the contest, and students that score above 900 will be recognized for their accomplishments. In addition, the top 10 students will be invited to participate as a member of the PRM Elite Mathletes Team for the February SumDog Cincinnati City Contest.

Brain Bowl

Congratulations to the following students who will represent PRM this year in the district Brain Bowl matches and tournament: Frances Chambless, Sawyer Gelehrter, Jay Miller-Graham, Audrey O’Brian, Ivy Syroney, Michael Lie, Zachary Kroner, Michael Kauffman, Simeon Kyrlach, Maguire Goodman, Nolan Grutz, Benjamin Durrenberger, Dorothy Haralson, Layla Rowley, Catherine Chambless, Charlotte Sorenson, and Aviva Abrahams.

Mr. Walter and I are looking forward to a great season.

PRM Spelling Bee

We have 77 students signed up to participate in the Scripps National Spelling Bee competition.

The Spelling Bee word lists will be sent home in Wednesday folders. Students will be expected to study the word lists for their classroom level (grades 1-3 or grades 4-6) but should be prepared to spell any word in the full list, including 450 words for grades 1-8.

Round 1 of our school Spelling Bee will take place the week of January 3rd – 6th to determine classroom/team and/or grade level winners. Round two will take place the following week and will include words from the original lists and, if necessary, additional words provided by The Scripps National Spelling Bee which are not included in the original lists.

One student will then be selected as the PRM School Champion. That student will receive a copy of the 2023 Scripps National Spelling Bee Words of the Champion, which includes 4,000 words to study as they prepare for the local competition in early February.

Design Lab 2023 Challenge: Gathering Spaces

Students in grades 4-6 that are identified as gifted in Creative Thinking Ability will participate in the regional Design Lab program. Students will work with our volunteer architect, Bo Hubbard, as they learn about the built environment and apply the design process steps to create a model and presentation for the challenge.

Gifted Rescreen & Referral Testing

The next round of gifted referral and rescreen testing will take place from January 17th - February 3rd. It is my understanding that the district sent letters to parents with Fall testing results. Permission forms will be sent home for any student requiring additional assessment outside their regular classroom. If you have questions about testing, please contact me at bonfiej@cpsboe.k12.oh.us.

Updates from our Parent Organizations:

There will be NO MEETINGS in December for PTO or Foundation. Both groups look forward to meeting again in January. A huge THANK YOU to everyone who helped bring back and make Grandparent’s Day a success! It was a morning filled with student performances, heartwarming stories, and lots of proud grandparents and their students. Thanks also to everyone who supported PRM through our annual Poinsettia and Wreath Sale in partnership with Benken.

Do you or someone you know want to partner with PRM in the future? We are looking for business sponsors for the 2023 calendar year and need help getting the word out to local businesses. Also, remember that the PRM Foundation is a parent-led non-profit organization that supports the staff and students at Pleasant Ridge Montessori year-round. Please consider us for your year-end giving at https://prmrocks.org/donate/ and be sure to check with your company for any matching donations they may make as well.

A reminder that the best way to stay connected is through the PRM Rocks website. Subscribe now to receive emails: https://prmrocks.org/emailupdates/

If you are interested in getting more involved in PTO or Foundation in the new year, please reach out to PTO President Antoinette Moore at grayac1012@gmail.com or Foundation President Sara Bourgeois at prsfpres@gmail.com

Boosters

PRM will host home basketball games on December 16th – 18th. All 11 of our basketball teams played their first games this past weekend. Watching our teams learn and grow as the season continues is always fun. Games will be played at home on various weekends through February. Our cheer team will also be at several home games throughout the season. Information about all booster opportunities can be found at www.prmrocks.org/athletics, and any questions can be directed to prmathletics@gmail.com.

ILT

The Instructional Leadership Team meets twice monthly at PRM on Monday afternoons. ILT will continue to discuss and work on important issues that affect our students during their school day. Some of the things ILT has been and will continue to work on include:

• School events: Approximately 85 Thanksgiving boxes were distributed across the community, hosting a successful Grandparents Day event.

• CPS One Plan: submitted on Oct. 31; Ongoing effort and tracking of one plan goals - specifically working to decrease student tardiness. 7:45am is the official school start time. After 7:45am children are considered late. Anything after 8:00am is recorded as tardy.

• i-Ready: this is district-adopted core instruction in math; discussions are happening regarding how to best integrate within Montessori instruction; each student uses My Path for 45 minutes/week for individualized instruction and to track individual growth; Teachers have additional training in January.

• Collaborative Team Planning: Strengthening efforts to hold collaborative discussions, dig deep into instruction, support student needs, increase teacher-para communication, and build cohesion and collaborative improvement across all areas of instruction.

• District Panorama Surveys should be completed by December 16th: All students in grades 3 through 6 will be completing one online at school. Parents are strongly encouraged to fill out the evaluation as well. The link can be found on CPS's website.

LSDMC

The Local School Decision Making Committee will be meeting virtually on Wednesday, December 14th, at 3:00pm at PRM. This will be the start of three months of virtual meetings to ensure we do not have any weather-related cancellations. Please reference the prmrocks.org calendar for the Google Meet code to join the meeting.

The LSDMC evaluates PRM's on-site after-school care provider annually (currently the Cincinnati Recreation Commission) and will begin gathering feedback from parents in the next month. If your child participates (or if they do not, but you have information on the program you'd like to share), please look for the survey and reach out to one of our parent reps with your additional comments.

An LSDMC sub-committee met last month to draft a letter to be sent to board members regarding enrollment at PRM. The group requested parents/caregivers of newly enrolled students have the option to continue their traditional path of study by attending one of the other schools in the neighborhoods that PRM serves. This would allow for choice during the online enrollment process and hopefully ease some of PRM's capacity issues on a voluntary basis.

Equity Group

There will be NO MEETING for the Equity Group in December. The next meeting will be on January 25th at 6:30pm at PRM.

PRM community, The CLC Center is here to provide you with various services that you may need. Feel free to contact our Resource Coordinator- Ms. Monique Johnson, at johnmon@cpsboe.k12.oh.us or our Asst. School Community Coordinator- Mrs. Jamie Donaldson at donalja@cpsboe.k12.oh.us.

• We have to send out a HUGE THANK YOU to all of our wonderful volunteers who participated in many of the activities that took place at PRM during the month of November. You all truly ROCK!

• PRM community I want to send a huge virtual hug to you all, we were able to provide 95 Thanksgiving Boxes to many of our families and community members here at PRM. If you helped in any way, I want to personally say thank you for your time, dedication, commitment, and service it has not gone unnoticed. I also want to thank our many partners who also assisted in making this happen, PRM Foundation, PRM PTO, Pleasant Ridge Presbyterian Church, Crossroad Church-Oakley, YMCA of Greater Cincinnati, Atlantic Foods, Kroger, Meijer’s, Aldi, and the tons of volunteers.

• Coat Drive- We have collected so many coats for our Annual Coat Drive. The committee has been working so hard to make sure that the coats are ready for distribution this week. If you would like a coat or know someone who needs a coat or winter accessories let us know. Our students are picking out their coats this week and our families can come shop on Thursday, December 8th during our 2nd Quarter Parent/Teacher Conferences from 3-6 pm.

• Classroom Holiday Parties and Events- Your child’s teachers will reach out to you about holiday parties and festivities that are being planned. Be on the lookout for upcoming activities and volunteer opportunities.

• Winterfest- We are excited about this year's program that will be held on Wednesday, December 14th from 5-7:30 pm. Our students have been preparing for weeks for this big performance and we would love for each and every one of you to join us in this holiday celebration.

• PRM Handmade Market- It's back Bigger and Better! The market is Saturday, December 10th from 8-4 pm. There will be over 40 or more vendors selling all types of items. Along with about 12 of our students selling their items as well. So stop by and grab some items!

• PRM Gingerbread House Making Party- Who is ready for this special annual holiday celebration? This event will take place on Friday, December 16, 2022. There are two-time slots to choose from 6:15 pm or 7:15 pm. The cost is $5.00 per family and you can register on our PRM Rocks webpage at www.prmrocks.org/gingerbread They are also looking for volunteers to help with this event.

• BE PRESENT! State of the Schools Meeting with Superintendent Wright- We would like for you to join us on Tuesday, December 13, 2022, from 6-7:30 pm at Woodward High School to hear an overview of key priorities to improve student outcomes with a focus on Academics, Behavior, and Culture. This discussion will include insight into the district’s processes, systems, and programs and the Ohio Department of Education Report Card. You can join in on this discussion in person or online.

-Preregistration for State of the School Meeting & Submit a Question in Advance: https://forms.gle/eEPvy2JQNwPcXjzVA

Join Online:

• Facebook Live - Stay Tuned for Link

• Bluejeans Live Stream

• Join via a Web Browser:

• Open this link: https://primetime.bluejeans.com/a2m/live-event/dytehcwq

• Enter event ID#: dytehcwq

• Kennedy Heights Art Center- is offering Winter Camp classes for students 5-12 years old! Tuition is $40.00 per day with financial assistance if needed. Check out the flyer below for more information.

• Help is Available for you!

If you need assistance with food, housing, health care, utilities, jobs, childcare, or other expenses or needs feel free to contact your child’s School Resource Coordinator. They are always available to assist you with your needs or answer any questions you may have.

• CPS Free Parent Ride Along- Parents with students in grades 7 & 8 are invited to participate in a free ride-along on Metro buses on Thursday, December 8, and Friday, December 9, 2022.

-Parents and Guardians of 7 & 8-grade students, unsure of whether they would like to make the switch from a Yellow Bus to a Metro are invited to participate in a special “CPS Ride Along” with Metro buses, to see how easy and safe it is for students.

-To ride, parents need to tell the bus driver that they are participating in the “free CPS parent ride along today” - a bus pass is not required to participate in the ride-along.

-To look up the route on a computer, parents can visit Metro’s Google Trip Planner (click here), enter the student’s address in “Start Address,” the school name in “Destination address,” select 12/8 or 12/9 and time you would like to leave, select “Fewer transfers” and click Get Directions.

• 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

• Skating + Bumper Cars are Now Open-November 1-February 22- Click on the link to reserve your skating time.

• Ice Rink Link: https://myfountainsquare.com/ice-rink/

• Coney Island’s Night of Lights- is a Holiday classic that your family will love. You will drive through the region’s largest synchronized holiday light spectacular show while experiencing more than two million lights synchronized to a mix of traditional and rocking holiday music. Visitors of all ages will be awed by the Christmas trees, snowflakes, dancing candy canes, and fantastic tunnels of lights, with so much more! You can check out the light show every day, rain or shine until January 2, 2023. For more information and tickets click on the link. https://coneyislandpark.com/event/holiday-light-show/?keyword=NightsOfLights

Festival of Lights- Cincinnati Zoo- The zoo has transformed into a Wild light show for all to enjoy. The show runs from November 18, 2022, through January 8, 2023. The activities start at 4 pm and end at 9 pm on the weekdays and at 10 pm on the weekends. Click on the link for tickets and more information. https://cincinnatizoo.org/events/festival-of-lights/

Cincinnati Public Schools:

513-363-0123

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

Website: https://pleasantridge.cps-k12.org/about
Location: 5945 Montgomery Road
Phone: 513-363-4400