Pontiac School News

August 30, 2018

A Message from our school principal, Dr. Barber

Happy New Year! The beginning of the school year always marks a time of promise and possibility, and 2018-19 is no exception! With a talented staff and a supportive community, our students are poised to reap the benefits of this extraordinary partnership. All of our efforts with our Leader in Me implementation directly supports the positive leadership opportunities that are available to our students this year. Our goal is to provide an environment in which all Pontiac student leaders can flourish, achieving academic excellence, becoming emotionally and physically stronger, and growing their talents.

Our work, as always, will reflect our mission statement:

We will strive to create a community of joyful leaders and learners where everyone feels valued through meaningful collaboration, effective communication, and an appreciation of individual strengths.

Some highlights for this year include the implementation of Covey Clubs on each of our district half days, which we will infuse with rich experiences for our students. Another highlight of the school year is student-led conferences in which students will become the leader of their own parent conference! How affirming for our students to share their academic growth with their parents! Stay tuned for more information about these initiatives!

I welcome you to Pontiac and I am delighted that your child is a leader among us! Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you ever have needs or concerns, or simply to share a celebration with me! I am so grateful that you extend trust to us each day as we strive to enhance your child’s academic growth!

SEPTEMBER IS ATTENDANCE AWARENESS MONTH

Richland School District Two recognizes school attendance is essential to student success. Addressing and improving student attendance will ensure students are on-track to learn and succeed.

Encouraging regular school attendance is one of the most powerful ways we can prepare our students for success, both in school and in life. Attendance is related to a child’s ability to successful in all areas of school: academics, behavioral and social. Any time a child misses a day of school, it is a missed opportunity to learn. Regardless of the reason a child is out of school, they are missing instruction. When schools make attendance a priority it helps students to achieve better grades, develop health lift habits, avoid dangerous behaviors and have a better chance of graduating from high school.

Richland Two Attendance Policy

Richland Two Attendance Policy - Spanish

Richland School District Two Attendance Policy

State law requires students in kindergarten through 12th grade to attend school a minimum of 170 of the school year’s 180 days to receive credit for the academic year.

Student can be absent for no more than 10 days per school year.
A note from a parent/guardian or certified medical practitioner must be submitted to the school immediately or within 5 days upon the return of the student. Failure to provide notes within 5 day time frame may result in an absence being considered as unverified.
Student with 10 or more absences must be approved by the school principal.
Student with 10 or more absences may result in non-promotion or noncredit in each course or grade.

Verified Absence

Illness if attendance would endanger his/her health or the health of others.
- If student has an illness that causes to be absent 5 or more days, you may make a request to apply for homebound instruction. You must have the proper form submitted from a medical practitioner
Illness or death in the immediate family.
A recognized religious holiday of the student’s faith.
Medical or dental appointments; court appearances.
Student’s participation in approved school-related activity
Class suspensions.
An absence will only be counted as verified if a note (medical or parent) is turned in within 5 days of the absence.

Unverified Absence

Absent from school without the knowledge of parent/guardian.
Absent and do not meet the conditions listed above for verified absence.

Procedures & Consequences

Parent/guardian will be notified of an accumulation of absences.
Parent/guardian will be notified when an Attendance Intervention Plan needs to be completed to determine how to improve future attendance.
A student is considered truant when have 3 consecutive unverified absences or a total 5 unverified absences.
If truant, a petition may be sent to the Richland County Family Court where the parent and/or student may be placed on a court order.
- Parent may be fined up to $50.00 a day and /or jailed up to 30 days for each unverified absence.
- Student between the ages of 12 and 17 will be held personally responsible for their attendance and may be sent to the Department of Juvenile Justice up to 90 days.

Pontiac Early Bird Program

PTO News

Welcome back to a new school year!

My name is Sarah Venn and I am the new PTO president this year. I am the mother of three Pontiac Parrots and joined PTO when my oldest daughter (now in middle school) started at Pontiac in 2013. I have loved being involved with the school and am excited for the year to come. My hope is that we can increase our involvement and input from families this year. PTO has some exciting things planned for the 2018-2019 school!

Each year PTO plans a number of activities for the school and helps fund a number of events. In previous years, PTO has raised the funds to upgrade the playground (pirate ship and soccer goals) and purchase the digital sign. PTO helps offset the cost of field studies for the school so that all classes are able to attend at least one field study. We also sponsor a $1000 college scholarship to a Richland 2 senior that has graduated from Pontiac. We will be holding a Fall Fest on October 12th, Holiday Shop in December, and Winter Dance in February.

In order to fund the many events that PTO would like to implement this year, we need to raise money. And we are listening to your responses to the questionnaire sent out this summer! This year we will be doing a No Fundraiser- Fundraiser. Please see attached flyer for more information.

PTO meets at 630pm on the first Thursday of each month in the Media Center. Our first meeting will be held on September 6. This meeting will be focused on planning out Fall Fest. We would love to see you there!

2018-2019 Meetings: