Prinicpal's Message-September 28th, 2026

Posted Date: 09/27/26 (05:07 PM)

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September 28th, 2026

Parent-Teacher Conferences

Conferences will take place the week of October 5th, and students will be on a minimum day schedule all week.

Here is how conferences will be structured by grade level:

Grades TK–5th: Schedule an appointment time directly with your child's teacher.
6th Grade: Walk-in conferences will be held Tuesday through Thursday from 1:15 PM – 3:15 PM.
7th & 8th Grade: Walk-in conferences will be held on Wednesday, October 7th (1:15 PM – 3:15 PM) and Thursday, October 8th (5:00 PM – 7:00 PM).

Minimum Days all week, please see dismissal times below.

TK 12:00 pm
Kinder - 3rd 12:15 pm
4th - 6th 12:25 pm
7th & 8th 12:40

School Site Council

Thank you to everyone who participated in the School Site Council (SSC) election. We have our first SSC meeting this Wednesday at 2:45 PM. Anyone is welcome to attend; please find the link below.

SSC Agenda

Missoula Theater- The Tortoise and the Hare

A promotional graphic for a production of The Tortoise and the Hare by Missoula Children's Theatre, featuring a light blue and gold background.

Missoula is coming to Georgia Brown 11/9-11/13! This year our students will be presenting The Tortoise and the Hair. We have a unique opportunity this year for our guest directors to stay with a family for the week. We already have one family volunteer. We need one more home that is pet free to host our second director. Please contact Heidi Cooper hcooper@pasoschools.org to take advantage of this unique opportunity. We can't wait to see our Tigers shine on stage!

Elementary Athletics

We are excited to kick off our Elementary Athletics program soon! Please note that we will not be participating in the Cross Country season at this time, but we are more than ready to jump into our Basketball season starting on October 20th!

Here are the key details for the upcoming basketball season:

Who Can Participate: Open to all 5th and 6th grade students.
Start Date: October 20th.
Registration: To register your student, please complete the electronic registration form before the season starts.

The season goes from mid-October to the start of December. Thank you for your support, and we look forward to a fantastic season!

Link to Register

A flyer in Spanish and English calling for basketball coaches for 5th and 6th-grade students, featuring a tiger mascot and contact details.

AFTER PICTURE DAY QUESTIONS

Public Health Flu Vaccine Clinics

Protecting our school community and keeping our students healthy and in class is a top priority. To help reduce flu-related absences this season, we are offering two free flu vaccine clinics open to all PRJUSD families for anyone ages 3 and older:

Winifred Pifer Elementary: Thursday, October 8, 2026
Glen Speck Elementary: Wednesday, October 15, 2026

Both clinics are completely free of charge, regardless of which campus your child normally attends. We encourage all interested families to take advantage of these convenient opportunities!

Counseling Corner

Practicing Coping Skills at Home

This month, students learned about coping skills, tools to manage big feelings like frustration, anxiety, and anger. Just like sports or reading, these strategies take practice!

Here is how you can help your child practice at home:

Practice when calm: Deep breathing and grounding techniques are hard to learn during a meltdown. Practice them during storytime or before bed so they become second nature.
Model out loud: Let your child see you use coping tools. Say, "I’m feeling stressed, so I’m going to take three slow, deep breaths before I cook dinner."
Try the "5-4-3-2-1" Reset: If your child feels overwhelmed, ask them to name 5 things they see, 4 they can touch, 3 they hear, 2 they smell, and 1 deep breath.
Create a Calm Corner: Gather a few simple items (a stress ball, coloring book, or cozy pillow) in a quiet spot where your child can go to recharge.

A QR code with the text 'Scan to get started' beneath it.

Mental Health Resource Highlight

This year, PRJUSD is partnering with Daybreak Health. Daybreak offers family teletherapy for students ages 5-11 and individual teletherapy for students 12-19. Daybreak is available free of cost for most types of health insurances and is available in numerous languages. Appointments can be scheduled after school until 8 pm on weekdays and between 8 am and 8 pm on Saturdays. Daybreak provides caring, confidential mental health support designed to help teens feel better, focus more and thrive every day.

PTO NEWS 🐾

Office Information

Student Check-out Procedures

There are important changes to our early student check-out procedures effective this school year.

Verbal permission for early check-outs is no longer permitted. To authorize anyone to pick up your child early, you must provide one of the following:

A handwritten, signed letter from you, or
An email sent to gbattendance@pasoschools.org

Please note that this requirement applies to all individuals picking up your student, regardless of whether they are listed on your emergency contact form.

Additionally, we ask that all individuals picking up students bring a valid ID with them. There are no exceptions to this policy. If you have authorized someone to pick up your child, please inform them of this requirement in advance.

As a reminder, emergency contacts are designated for the school to contact only if parents or guardians cannot be reached. They serve a different purpose than early check-out authorization.

If you have any questions about these procedures, please contact Student Services at the district office at (805) 769-1000.

Thank you for your cooperation and attention to these important safety measures.

Volunteering

Thank you for your interest in volunteering in our classroom and on field trips! We truly appreciate your involvement in our school community.

To volunteer this school year, please submit a volunteer packet through Informed K-12. If you have already been fingerprinted, you will not need to be fingerprinted again. However, please note that fingerprinting is required for all field trip volunteers.

When submitting your packet, please include the following:

A valid driver's license
Your most current negative TB test results (valid for 4 years)
A Certificate of Completion from the "Mandated Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting - Training for Volunteers in California" test

This training is required for all volunteers this year and can be completed online, the link is included in the volunteer packet online. Please note that only the district certificate will be accepted.

On the day of any field trip, please remember to bring your ID and sign in at the front office before departure.

You can find the volunteer packet link below. If you have any questions about the volunteer process, please don't hesitate to reach out.

We look forward to having you join us!

Volunteer/Chaparone Packet

Important Update Regarding Classroom Celebrations and Treats

As we begin the new school year, we want to share an important update regarding classroom celebrations, including birthdays.

To ensure a safe, inclusive, and welcoming environment for all students, food items—including cupcakes, cakes, and other snacks—will no longer be permitted in the classroom for celebrations.

Many of our students have food allergies, specific dietary restrictions, or religious practices regarding food.

We still love recognizing our students on their special days! We encourage you to celebrate your child using non-food alternatives. Some great ideas include:

Reading a favorite book to the class
Gifting non-food treat bags (e.g., pencils, stickers, erasers)
Providing mini art or craft kits
Sharing individual containers of Play-Doh

Please contact your student's teacher in advance to coordinate.

Please note that if food items are brought to school for classroom distribution, they cannot be brought into the building and will need to be passed out off school grounds after school hours.

Thank you for your understanding, support, and partnership in keeping our classroom community safe and inclusive for every student.