PRM School Rocker

Greetings PRM Families,

We are excited to demonstrate the love of our community as we celebrate the valuable contributions of African Americans this month! There will be various opportunities throughout the month to acknowledge the importance of African Americans in our history and everyday lives.

This week was the midterm of the 3rd quarter. Our staff and students continue to work diligently toward academic success. Our PRM team is committed and passionate about the success of our school community. We continue looking for ways to provide our students with the highest quality instructional experience.

We look forward to sharing progress updates in Wednesday folders on February 14th.

As we seek to increase the academic outcomes for our students, we are reviewing the iReady diagnostic results from the winter. The growth report shows the projected proficiency of students. Using this information, we have implemented intervention blocks to provide skill-based support to students to strengthen their knowledge and understanding. We want every student to be able to demonstrate their understanding of the learning standards. PRM is an amazing school. We want our assessment outcomes to reflect that. Please look for teacher communication about intervention blocks, tutoring, and test preparation.

Thank you for your partnership as we continue to grow our students. May you have a safe and healthy February!

Love,

Principal Simpson & Asst. Principal Brown

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

7:40am-2:10pm

All February~African American History Month

Tuesday, February 6 and Thursday, February 8~ Candy Grams for Sale for $2

Wednesday, February 7~LSDMC Meeting @ 3:00pm (virtual)

Wednesday, February 7~PTO/Equity Group Meeting @ 6:30pm at PRM

Thursday, February 8, 15, 22 and 29~ Coffee with PTO President at Coffee Cup Café 7:30am

Monday, February 12 ~ No School

Wednesday, February 14~ Candy Grams Delivered

Wednesday, February 14~ 3rd quarter midterm report cards go home

Thursday, February 15~Biography Writing Contest Deadline

Monday, February 19~No School, Presidents’ Day

Wednesday, February 21~ Foundation Meeting from 6:30-7:30pm at CHH

Thursday, February 22~ Parent/Teacher Conferences from 4:00-7:00pm

Wednesday, February 28~Clark Montessori Steel Drum Band Concert

Friday, February 29~Dress up as your favorite African American in your grade band category

Thursday, March 7-Wednesday, March 13~6th Annual Read-a-thon

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.

The Cincinnati Public Schools Magnet and High School lottery is now open for all high schools, magnet schools and programs, siblings, and out-of-neighborhood applications through March 1, 2024.

For the past two years, CPS placed and assigned students from PRM to Clark Montessori High School. CPS is no longer offering this option to families due to Clark Montessori High School's limited available seats, making sure the process and prioritization remains aligned to existing board policies. Returning to this process ensures the application submission remains equitable for all and follows the east-west designation based on the student's home address. Please note applications are not processed in a first-come-first-served order.

All rising 7th-grade students interested in Clark or any other high school must apply through the lottery. To register for the lottery, you must create an account in Focus - CPS' new student information system for the 2024-2025 school year. Instructions were sent home with students in Wednesday folders December 6th.

In addition, we will soon announce a parent meeting in partnership with district officials to discuss further, answer questions, and provide application assistance. Stay tuned for meeting dates and times.

For more information or to begin the lottery application process, please visit www.cps-k12.org/lottery or contact CPS Customer Care at 513-363-0123. If you have direct questions for PRM, please call us at 513-363-4400 during school hours. We appreciate your patience and understanding.

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:

The 3-6 team is excited to participate in school-wide events like African American History Month and the Candy Grams (Valentine) fundraiser. Of note, we have a scheduled visit with firefighters for preschoolers only on February 7th, a field trip to see the Tennessee Theatre Company for Kindergarteners on February 21st, and Bi-Okoto is coming to perform for our Kindergarteners on February 28th from 12:00-12:45pm

6-9 News:

Happy February PRM! The 6-9 Community is very excited about the warm weather coming and spending our recess outdoors. There are still some chilly days ahead, so please ensure your child is dressed appropriately for early morning time outside. This month, many classrooms are having lessons through our Outdoor Education Program focusing on composing and the life cycle of the plant - some classrooms are even getting their own composting bin! We are all so excited for our first Candy Gram experience here at PRM, and we feel so lucky for our PRM Community, ensuring every student will receive that small sign of appreciation and love. The 6-9 teachers will continue with our academic lessons and community building here in the building while we ask you at home to continue to be our partners in this educational journey!

9-12 News:

The 9-12 team is excited to roll out our new intervention block this month. Students will participate in targeted learning opportunities in Math and English during this time.

February is African-American History Month! PRM has some exciting and educational activities planned this month. Information was sent home in Wednesday Folders last week. Each classroom will decorate its door with information about a famous African American. The 9-12 team doors will focus on African-American activists and entrepreneurs. Each day, we will feature a slideshow in class along with a weekly read-aloud from a member of the neighborhood community. We will also have a free performance from the Clark Montessori Steel Band on Wednesday, Feb. 28th, and a “dress up as our favorite activist or entrepreneur day” on Thursday, Feb. 29th. Students are also encouraged to participate in the school-wide biography writing contest supported by Ms. Williams (willsan@cpsboe.k12.oh.us).

Lastly, students will experience a visit from the Cincinnati Observatory. A presentation on comets and asteroids will be provided to students at PRM. They will create visual models to help students understand the differences between the two. Check with your child’s homeroom teacher for details on their visit. Fourth graders are continuing their visits to the art museum. Many homerooms went in 2023, a continuation of those field trips.

News from the Specialist Team:

Art:

Kindergarten students are focusing on Symmetry and have made symmetrical creatures and will be making folded hearts using paper and chalk pastels for their next project.

In 6-9, students are looking at the artwork of southern artist Johnathan Green, and focusing on figure drawing and landscape art. Students will create a figurative self-portrait and paint a landscape background of their choice.

9-12 students are finishing up their graffiti-style artwork. We took a dive into color theory and the history of street art and applied what was learned to their designs. The next project will focus on product design. Students will be designing a shoe using the elements and principles of art.

Design club has been working hard creating costumes and props for The Beauty and the Beast Musical production this spring, in mid-March. Students have been using a wide variety of materials to create unconventional costumes.

Outdoor Education:

We are hard at work putting together an amazing spring for our Kindergarten and 6-9 students! This month, students will have the opportunity to start seeds in their classrooms that will get transplanted into the garden in the spring. We can't wait to be back in the garden with your students again soon.

Gifted & Enrichment with Ms. Bonfield:

Spelling Bee-

Congratulations to all PRM Spelling Bee participants. This year, we had 300 students participate in the annual competition open to PRM 1st through 6th-grade students.

In December, we held the classroom bees as part of Library specials. In January, each classroom winner and last year’s champion were invited to participate in the school bee to determine the PRM Spelling Champion.

Our school Spelling Bee Champion is sixth grader Ivy Syroney!

Ivy will compete at the next level, hoping to move on to regionals. She has over 4000 words to study as she prepares for the competition.

We wish her all the best! GO IVY!

Brain Bowl Team-

Our Brain Bowl team has started the season with an incredible winning streak. They won their first three matches, and they are amazing!! We have a great team and they represent all things wonderful about PRM! The following schools also participate in Brain Bowl: Fairview, Hyde Park, Covedale, Spencer, Dater Montessori, CANS, and Kilgour.

Gifted Referral Testing-

Gifted referral testing will take place from February 13 - 23. I have communicated with all parents of students I am testing using the Talking Points app, which the district provides.

Please note - Gifted Referral Testing is separate from the Walnut Hills testing, which is coordinated through each school's district and building test coordinators.

PTO:
Thank you to everyone who came out to the Annual Silent Auction Party! We appreciated connecting with you all. Are you passionate about Earth Day? We are looking for a new Co-Champion.

As we all look forward to warmer weather, save the date (April 26th from 6-8pm) for PRM's Spring Luau. More details to come. We are also looking for Staff Appreciation Champions for Staff Appreciation Week, May 6-10. If you would like to organize and lead the festivities on one of these days, please contact Eva Borho at prmptoprez@gmail.com. If you’d prefer behind-the-scenes work instead, we are also looking for volunteers who would work with Staff Appreciation Fundraising Champion Ashlee Tuke. Contact Ashlee with questions or for more details at ashleetuke@gmail.com.

Need help keeping all the events and dates straight? Don’t forget you can subscribe to receive emails from the PRM Rocks Website - https://prmrocks.org/emailupdates/ as well as the PRM calendar.

Equity Group:

Come celebrate Black History Month on Wednesday, February 7th, in the cafeteria at approximately 7:00pm, following the 6:30pm PTO Meeting. We will have activities for kids and great discussion topics for the adults.

Foundation:

The PRM Foundation would like to give a huge THANK YOU to the many volunteers, staff, families, and local businesses who made our Silent Auction fundraiser and 70’s dance party such a great success! We raised over $10,000, which will be instrumental in supporting classroom materials, staff appreciation, training, outdoor education, school initiatives, etc.

If you want to get involved with the PRM Foundation, please join us at our next meeting on Wednesday, February 21st, at 6:30pm at Community Happens Here.

Please email prsfpres@gmail.com with any questions.

Save the date for March 7th through 13th for the PRM Read-a-Thon, which is now in its 6th year!

ILT:

The Instructional Leadership Team typically meets on the first and third Monday of the month.

ILT continues to discuss and work on important issues that affect our students during their school day. PRM will reach out to the families of the students selected to participate in this after-school tutoring program on Tuesday – Thursday. More details will be shared if/when you are contacted.

LSDMC:

The LSDMC met virtually in January and will meet again (virtually) in February on Wednesday, February 14th @ 3:00p. Please check prmrocks.org for the Google meeting link if you’d like to attend. Everyone is welcome!

In January, we welcomed the return of Barbara Wallin to our LSDMC. A former PRM parent and former LSDMC parent rep, Barbara will now be serving as the Amberley Village neighborhood representative. During the meeting, the group discussed winter test results and their impact on the One Plan. (The LSDMC and other stakeholder groups within PRM approve the One Plan in October and continue to revisit it throughout the year.) In addition, Ms. Simpson gave an update on the construction project and magnet lottery process for high school, and Claire Miller (YMCA Representative) gave an update on the initiative to create a swimming program for students. It was also noted that a new intervention specialist was hired for the school and that she started in January.

Boosters:

Spring sports registration is now open at www.prmrocks.org/athletics

Register your athlete for any of our spring sports – SAY Soccer (K-5), Volleyball (3-6), Track & Field (K-6), Baseball (K-6) & Little Roadrunners Soccer (PreK). Registration for most sports will close on Thursday, February 15th but teams will most likely sell out before that day. *Volleyball is planning to host a 4-week clinic in the spring for 1st and 2nd graders who want to learn the sport. More details will be on the website soon.

Winter sports are wrapping up at the end of this month. All basketball teams (grades 3-6) will participate in an end-of-season tournament in late February. In the meantime, check the PRM Facebook page for dates, times, and locations of upcoming regular season games.

Please reach out to prmathletics@gmail.com with any questions about sports at PRM.

Special Community News:

13 years ago, Ruth Anne Wolfe faced a weighty choice.

After months of meetings and community conversations, CPS had announced their plans for the future of a then-struggling elementary school on Montgomery Road. They’d reinvest in that K-6 learning community by launching the area’s first public neighborhood Montessori elementary school. At that moment, the ultimate outcome of these efforts was unclear.

Ruth Anne was at a crossroads. She could join the parents who’d opted out of the transition by placing her daughter in private or charter school, or she could roll up her sleeves and invest in Pleasant Ridge Montessori’s future.

Today’s PRM community is so glad she chose to stay and to invest!

In the early days of PRM’s relaunch, Ruth Anne and her husband Andy used the funds they would have allocated to private school tuition to buying classroom supplies and theater equipment beyond the district’s budget. She also served as PTO CO-President and was the force behind the establishment of the Pleasant Ridge Montessori School Foundation, an organization that collects, stewards, and allocates funds to initiatives and projects that enrich the PRM community.

However, Ruth Anne’s most significant legacy – and her longest-serving volunteer role –at PRM is the “Coffee Cup Café”.

Coffee Cup began as a finance-focused extracurricular activity for PRM’s gifted students. Since then, it has expanded to a program that gives one hundred 4th through 6th-grade students unique, skills-based entrepreneurship education by introducing participants to basic business concepts and providing them with practical job skills.

Though her daughter is now nearing the end of her college education, Ruth Anne continues to run the Coffee Cup program at PRM, teaching its entrepreneurship classes on Wednesday afternoons and supervising the student-run Café on Thursday mornings. She also supports special events at the school – like Trunk or Treat, Grandparent’s Day, and our Handmade Holiday Market – by bringing Coffee Cup students (and their tasty hot cocoa and coffee) to greet, host, and serve students, parents, and community members who are connected to our school.

In a literal sense, Coffee Cup students learn how to brew coffee and operate a fully functioning coffee shop for teachers and parents inside the PRM lobby. Students draft budgets, design marketing assets, order supplies, and conduct basic accounting. They plan and evaluate business initiatives and process their decisions with peers and mentors. As students engage with concepts like profit and loss, budgeting, and basic bookkeeping, they develop vocabulary for and practice with money management, which ultimately increases their personal and professional financial literacy.

On a deeper level, participants find their voice, embrace responsibility, grow their critical thinking, and expand their confidence by participating in this immersive, real-world learning environment.

The program has operated successfully for over a decade. And it’s been primarily powered by Ruth Anne’s volunteer efforts that entire time.

Participants in Coffee Cup have noted that their experience in the program helped them find high school jobs and increased their confidence in communicating with adults. It’s allowed them to see their ability to acquire skills and has allowed them to work cooperatively as a team.

In order to ensure that Coffee Cup outlives her direct involvement at PRM, Ruth Anne launched a non-profit named Community Happens Here that is well-positioned to continue to sustain this in-demand program that’s come to shape the friendly and hospitable culture at PRM.

In light of her lengthy and significant volunteer investment in CPS, PRM PTO joyfully nominated Ruth Anne Wolfe for the John E. Pepper Award, and she won!

If you would like to attend the Cincinnatus Award presentation, here is the link to purchase tickets:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/greater-cincinnati-excellence-in-education-awards-tickets-794323181017

Learn more about Ruth Anne Wolfe:
https://www.womenofcincy.org/home/ruth-anne-wolfe

Learn more about Coffee Cup:
https://communityhappenshere.org/news/what-we-teachand-why

Learn more about Community Happens Here:

https://www.soapboxmedia.com/innovationnews/Community-Happens-Here.aspx

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

• Thank You! The CLC Office would like to thank everyone who donated laundry detergent. The donations are still coming in, and we are so grateful for the overflow that we have received.
• Black History Month- the committee is geared up and ready to celebrate BHM with our students and community. Daily facts will be shared during morning meetings, door decoration, a performance from the Clark Steel Band, BH Dress-up Day, and a Biography Writing Contest. Check out the flyer below for more information.
• CPS High School & Magnet Lottery is Open- click on the link to apply: https://www.cps-k12.org/Page/779
• Walnut Hills Entrance Exam Spring Testing- Is your child still interested in attending Walnut Hills? If so, they have some sprint testing dates available. Click on the link: https://www.cps-k12.org/whee to sign up and register for one of the testing dates.
• The Scholastic Book Fair will occur March 4th-8th in our Media Center from 8 am to 2 pm. We are currently looking for volunteers to work on this event. If you are interested, please click on the link to sign up through Signup Genius (https://www.signupgenius.com/go/409054EADA722A4FF2-47759241-book)
• PRMRocks.org We want to ensure everyone knows about our PRM Rocks page. You can find information about the school, meetings, sports, etc. Make sure you head on over and check them out. You genuinely don’t want to miss what PRM is doing.

• Financial Assistance Needed- United Way, St. Vincent De Paul, and the Freestore Food Bank are geared to help assist any needy family. Contact our Resource Coordinator- Monique Crosby (Johnson) for more information.
• Free Tax Preparation- Are you looking to either volunteer or need assistance 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

• If you are 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
• Daddy Daughter Dinner Dance is Saturday, February 24, 2024, from 6-9 pm at the Duke Energy Convention Center. This event is sponsored by the Cincinnati Herald, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, and First Financial Bank. You can purchase tickets at www.cincinnatiherald.com
• 5/3 Community Days @ The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center- This provides 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.
• Skating + Bumper Cars are Now Open- November 4- February 14- Click the link to reserve your skating time.

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

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