Welcome Back Orientation | 2021-2022 - Ms. Lynn Zaldua Principal

Ms. Lynn Zaldua
                                           Principal

Welcome Back Orientation | 2021-2022

The ONLY “A” School since the Inception of the State’s School Grading System!

  Accolades from 2020-2021:
   • Gold STEAM School Designation
   • Fairchild Challenge Recognitions
   • Dream in Green Recognitions
   • Numerous Art Awards and Exhibitions
   • Individual students and group performances selected for
     Superintendent’s Chorus
   • Social Studies Essay Contest Winners
   • Spelling Bee District Participant

Staying Informed

• Parent Portal (for student grades push notification)
    • Contact Main Office to obtain PIN to set
      up account
• Dadeschools Mobile App
• Pinecrest PTA Mobile App
• School Website https://pinecrestelem.net/
• Join the PTA https://pinecrestpta.com/
• Social Media
    • Pinecrest Twitter @PESParrots
    • Pinecrest Facebook search for
      “Pinecrest Elementary School Official”

President, Jen Sturges

Meet the    1st VP Administrative Affairs, Jessica Lissauer
            2nd VP Fundraising, Aleesa Adams
Pinecrest   3rd VP Programming & Events, Sara Dajer
  PTA!      4th VP Communication, Christine Jenkins
            Treasurer, Maritza Shapiro
            Corresponding Secretary, Carli Hoppe
            Recording Secretary, Maritza Shapiro
            Parliamentarian, Christine Jurado

How does PTA support our school?

Did you know our PTA assists with …                   Additional PTA school sponsored activities:
 • School upgrades: recess area, PE shelter,              •   Carnival / Fun Fest
   playground, landscaping, technology, etc.              •   Boosterthon Dance Party
                                                          •   Memory Book
 • School programs: AR, Reading Plus, Wordly              •   After-School Clubs
   Wise, IXL, Science Fusion, Brain Pop, DARE, etc.       •   Primary Art Class Support
                                                          •   Family
                                                               th    Paint Night
 • Teacher/Staff Support: room parent program,            •   5 Grade Promotion Events
   art appreciation program, safety committee,            •   Field Day
   teacher appreciation week, etc.                        •   Teacher Appreciation
                                                          •   Scholastic Book Fair
 • School Marketing/Recruitment: secure                   •   Volunteer Program
   corporate sponsors, Dream in Green & Fairchild         •   Teacher Mini-Grants
   Community Challenges, new marquee coming               •   Technology Initiative
   this year, and more!

Meet the Pinecrest PTO / PEP Fund!

President, Christine Jurado (Parent)

VP, Lisa Gomez (Library Media Specialist)

Stakeholder, Marilyn Morrison (5th Grade Teacher)

Stakeholder, Crystal Tejera (1st Grade Teacher)

Stakeholder, Jennifer McCafferty (Parent)

How does PTO/PEP
     Fund assist?
• Our PTO is also known as the PEP (Pinecrest Enrichment
  Programs) Fund.
• Our goal is to raise funds to hire classroom aides (ACT),
  support our school clubs (Robotics, Chorus, History &
  Geography) and address the students’ needs.
• Benefits of ACT Aides include:
    • Assist teacher during classroom learning
    • Provide temporary coverage for teachers during
       emergencies & staffings/meetings
    • Help to reduce student/teacher ratio when beneficial
    • Assist children in the cafeteria during lunch time.
• Goal is to hire six (6) ACT Aides each school year.
• Fundraising Events include:
    • Movie Night
    • Direct Capital Campaign
    • Other exciting events

Important Dates
• Wednesday, August 18th, 2:30 PM: PreK in person tour of the school
• Thursday, August 19th, between 4:00-5:30 PM: PTA school store drive-by to collect
  online purchases on 57th avenue circular driveway.
• Friday, August 20th
    •   9:00 AM: Kindergarten (last names A-L) in person tour of the school
    •   10:00 AM: Kindergarten (last names M-Z) in person tour of the school
    •   11:00 AM: PreK class orientation via ZOOM
    •   11:30 AM: Kindergarten class orientation via ZOOM
    •   12:00 PM: 1st grade class orientation via ZOOM
    •   12:30 PM: 2nd grade class orientation via ZOOM
    •   1:00 PM: 3rd grade class orientation via ZOOM
    •   1:30 PM: 4TH grade class orientation via ZOOM
    •   2:00 PM: 5TH grade class orientation via ZOOM
    zoom link will be sent to registering parent’s email
• Friday, August 20th, between 4:00-5:30 PM: PTA school store
  drive by to collect online purchases on 57th avenue circular driveway.

Week of Welcome

                  Links will be available
                  on registering parent’s
                   email on the day of
                   the zoom meeting.
                     -see flyer for more details-

school safety is a
SAFETY   shared responsibility

Covid-19: Parent Responsibility for Safety

• Daily health screening:
   • Temperature check
   • Look for signs & symptoms:
      • i.e: persistent cough, difficulty breathing, chills, sore throat, loss of taste or
        smell, muscle pain, fever (100.4 or higher), runny nose, diarrhea, nauseous,
        vomiting, feeling tired, headache, and/or poor appetite.
   • Awaiting direction regarding face coverings from District.

   ** If a student presents any of the above symptoms and will be absent, please
   email 4421attendance@dadeschools.net and copy your child’s HR teacher.**

Classroom Layout & Usage
• Classroom space will be organized so that students
  are seated at 3ft apart from each other.
• Each classroom will have a disinfecting station to
  include hand sanitizer and/or soap, and paper
  towel.
• Non-essential furniture has been removed to
  accommodate spacing for social distancing.
• Wiping down of desks and high traffic areas will
  take place throughout the day, daily.
• Frequent hand washing is encouraged, and
  students are encouraged to utilize the hand
  sanitizers located in key areas throughout the
  building.
• Electrostatic sprayers will be used to disinfect the
  building.

Classroom Assignments

• Classrooms will be departmentalized this year
  in grades 2 through 5.
• Students will have assigned seating to reduce
  contamination, including in special area
  classes.
• Student seating charts will be kept to identify
  students in a possible quarantine.
• Each cohort will be kept together to minimize
  movement.

Health Screening Area

• Staff will be vigilant of students with signs of illness
  throughout the day.
• A sick child will be escorted to the Health Screening
  Area to be assessed by medical staff.
• School staff will contact the parent of any student
  visiting the Health Screening Area. Sick students
  will require early student sign-out. Please keep
  contact information current and have someone
  available in the event your child needs to be picked up
  early from school.
• Students will be need to wear a facial covering while
  in the Health Screening area.

On Campus Activities                        Off Campus Activities

                                            • In-person, off-campus field trips are
• At this time, in-person assemblies will
                                              only permitted if approved by the
  not be taking place.
                                              Region Office.
• Open-house events will be
                                            • Student participation in academic
  forthcoming.
                                              contests (STEM events, science fair,
• Until further notice, parent
                                              etc.) will only be attended if the
  conferences are to be held remotely.
                                              organizing entity provides clear
• After-school care and activities will
                                              guidance regarding health and
  continue implementing the same
                                              safety measures aligned with
  protocols as during the school day.
                                              District guidance and protocols with
                                              the approval of the Principal.
                                            • Virtual field trips remain an option.

Restrooms

• Only two students will be allowed in the group restrooms at a time.
• Students in the lower grades, as well as ESE students, have been
  prioritized for having restrooms inside the classrooms.
• Students without restrooms inside the classrooms will use the group
  restrooms by obtaining a sticky note from their teacher to be used
  as a hall pass and posting the sticky note on the bathroom door to
  advise that the bathroom is in use.
• If there are already two sticky notes posted, the student is to wait
  until the restroom has become unoccupied by a student, who will
  take their sticky note from the door and throw it away in front of
  the teacher upon returning to class.

Cafeteria

• Indoor/outdoor seating will be available to
  accommodate the social distancing needed.
• Classes that are assigned to eat inside the
  cafeteria will keep a social distance of 3ft
  within each cohort, and 6ft between cohorts.
• In outdoor eating situations, there is not a
  minimum social distancing
  requirement, however we will only allow 3
  students per picnic table to maintain an
  acceptable distance in an abundance of
  caution.

School Safety
Measures
• Raptor machine
• All gates and points of entry
  remain locked during school
  hours
• Emergency Drills
   • Code Yellow Lock Down
   • Code Red Lock Down
   • Fire Drill Evacuations

Attendance
• Daily school attendance will be taken every scheduled
  school day.
    • PK – 1st grade: 8:20 AM
    • 2nd – 5th grade: 8:35 AM

• A student is considered tardy to school if the student
  arrives after these times. At 8:35 AM gates on 102
  street and 104 street will close and all tardy students
  after this time must enter through 57th avenue.
  Parents must sign-in tardy students at the welcome
  center after this time.

• Detailed information on our attendance policy is
  included in the Parent Handbook.

Arrival & Dismissal
        Grade:             School Hours:                 School Days:
Pre-K through 1st Grade    8:20 – 1:50 PM                 Daily (M-F)
                          8:35 AM – 3:05 PM   Mondays, Tuesday, Thursdays, Fridays
 2nd through 5th Grade
                          8:35 AM – 1:50 PM            Wednesdays only

Transportation
• Buses will arrive on SW 104 Street & school
  personnel will be available to receive students
  at arrival and assist with dismissal.

• Transportation is eligible for students who
  reside outside of the 2-mile radius of the
  school but live within the boundaries assigned
  to Pinecrest Elementary.

• Students riding a M-DCPS school bus are
  required to wear a mask.

                   safety is a collaborative effort

SW 102 Street (North Side)   SW 104 Street (South Side)   SW 57 Avenue (East Side)

Pinecrest School
    Programs

•    Prep Start - PK, K
•    Global Tech
•    Challenge
•    EFL (Extended Foreign Language)
•    ELL (English Language Learners)
•    ESE (Exceptional Student Education)

Parental Involvement
•   Monitor student engagement and grades on Parent Portal
•   Attend PTA Meetings
•   Become involved in PTA Committees
•   Support school events
•   Reinforcing the Core Values, from the Superintendent’s Values Matter Initiative
       • Citizenship
       • Cooperation
       • Fairness
       • Honesty
       • Integrity
       • Kindness
       • Pursuit of Excellence
       • Respect
       • Responsibility
•   Support our environmental conservation efforts. Go Green at home!

Student Awards and Recognitions

• Principal’s Honor Roll Breakfast
    • Quarterly recognition for students earning all A’s in all academic areas as
      well as 1’s in effort and conduct.
• Parrot Club
    • Recognizes one student that exemplifies the core value of each month,
      celebrating SEL (Social Emotional Learning).
• Birthday Book Club
    • Students are highlighted on WPEN with a small
      donation to the Media Center through the PTA
• End of the Year Promotion Ceremony

Supporting our
Families
• For information on textbooks,
  devices, etc., contact M-DCPS at
  305-995-HELP
• M-DCPS Mental Health
  Assistance Line 305-995-7100
  (M-F, 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM)
• Contact your child’s teacher or
  the school’s counselor if you are
  in need of academic or
  social-emotional support

SEL (Social Emotional Learning)
• Through our Social Emotional Program, students will
acquire knowledge, attitudes and skills they need to:

    •   Recognize and manage their emotions
    •   Demonstrate caring and concern for others
    •   Establish positive relationships
    •   Make responsible decisions

• Opportunities for Social Emotional Learning and
Mindfulness Practices will be supported through WPEN
morning announcements.

Communication System
• Teacher
• Ms. Terri Vega, Counselor
   • Terrific@dadeschools.net
• Ms. Maria Mayo, Assistant Principal (PreK-2nd grade)
   • MariaLMayo@dadeschools.net
• Ms. Yamberli Cruz, Assistant Principal (3rd - 5th grade)
   • MrsCruz@dadeschools.net
• Ms. Lynn Zaldua, Principal
   • LynnZaldua@dadeschools.net
Please allow 48 hours for school personnel to reply to
your request

“Where        things
  happen every day!”

  Should you require additional
  information, you can contact:
pinecrestptacommunication@gmail.com

   Questions will be compiled
   and addressed during the
  Principal’s Report at the first
    PTA General Meeting on
         September 1st
     at 6:00 PM via Zoom.

Thank you for joining us today.
We look forward to a stellar year!