Welcome
Parent and Student
Handbook
Welcome to
Phone:
Fax:
Attendance:
School closure:
Website:
Address:
970-679-9500
970-679-9520
970-679-9590
970-613-6788
www.ponderosapandas.com
4550 Florence Avenue
Loveland CO 80538
What Global Learning Means to us:




Investigate the World around us
Recognize Various Perspectives
Communicate Ideas to Diverse Groups
Take Action
Our Mission
Ponderosa will foster happy and healthy
students who meet their highest level of
education potential by:
 Thinking critically and creatively
 Using technology intuitively
 Caring for self and others
 Exhibiting leadership through collaboration
 Having a social sense of responsibility
 And living with a global understanding
Our Vision
GO Global
Care
Create
Communicate
Innovate
School Hours
School Grounds Open
All Grades
M- F
8:33 am—3:50 pm
Hours
K-full through 5th grade
M-F
8:48 am—3:50 pm
AM Kindergarten
M-F
8:48 am—11:50 am
PM Kindergarten
M-F
12:48 am—3:50 pm
K am—5th grade
K pm
Tardy Bell
8:53 am
12:53 pm
M T W Th F
Breakfast Served
8:25 am—8:48 am
M T W Th F
M T W Th F
B.A.S.E. Camp 970-266-1734
6:30 am—8:33 am
3:50 pm—6:00 pm
Grade
Kinder (all)
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
Lunch
11:40-12:00
12:05-12:25
11:50-12:10
12:15-12:35
12:40-1:00
12:30-12:50
Lunch Schedule
Recess
12:00-12:20pm
12:25-12:45pm
12:10-12:30pm
12:35-12:55pm
1:00-1:20pm
12:50-1:10pm
Contact Information
Ponderosa Elementary School
4550 Florence Drive
Loveland CO 80538
Main
Fax
Attendance Line
School Closures
Website
970-679-9500
970-679-9520
970-679-9590
970-613-6788
www.ponderosapandas.com
Mrs. Ambrozevitch (Library)
Ms. Betty (EC)
Mrs. Bilstad (3rd)
Mrs. Bonawitz (1st)
Mrs. Bratten (3rd)
Mrs. Bray (Faculty assistant)
Mrs. Brinkman (1st)
Mrs. Brockway (4th)
Mr. Burch (Counselor)
Mr. Busch (5th)
Mrs. Carmen (K all day)
Mr. Curt (RN)
Mrs. Day (3rd)
Mrs. DeGrande (2nd)
Mr. Diaczun (Psychologist)
Mrs. Fender (Secretary)
Ms. Herder (PT Spanish)
Mrs. Kreiling (ILC)
Mrs. Guffey (4th)
Mrs. Gupton (5th)
Mr. King (Computer)
Ms. Kristen (EC)
Mrs. Laugel (K ½ day)
Ms. Martin (3rd)
Mrs. Massey (Music)
Mrs. McNeil (Art)
Mrs. Midgett (2nd)
Ms. Monchak (Spanish)
Mrs. Nypaver (PE)
Mr. O’Brien (5th)
Mrs. Pett (2nd)
Mrs. Saya (1st)
Mrs. Shana (Health aide)
Ms. Smith (Principal)
Mrs. Stegner (K all day)
Mrs. Workman (4th)
970-679-9507
970-679-9541
970-679-9530
970-679-9537
970-679-9529
970-679-9566
970-679-9546
970-679-9563
970-679-9512
970-679-9560
970-679-9539
970-613-5471
970-679-9528
970-679-9526
970-679-9511
970-679-9501
970-679-9536
970-679-9524
970-679-9550
970-679-9557
970-679-9534
970-679-9542
970-679-9532
970-679-9531
970-679-9547
970-679-9535
970-679-9525
970-679-9555
970-679-9509
970-679-9561
970-679-9533
970-679-9544
970-679-9504
970-679-9516
970-679-9540
970-679-9549
Contact Information
Ponderosa
‘s our volunteers!
So many ways to get involved:
PTA/SAC
Classroom help
Class parties and field trips
Vision and hearing screenings
Picture day
Fundraising Champion (PTA)
School Events
Teacher Appreciation Meals
ALL volunteers (including field trip and class parties—even if just one time)
must register at www.thompsonschools.org per district policy. Select
“Parent”, “Volunteer”, “Parents/Guardians” and follow the prompts. This
is only necessary one time per school. Thank you for all you do to make PES
a great place to learn!
Contacts:
Volunteer Coordinator - Meghan Roberts [email protected] or 970-397-5052
PTA – Chris Archie [email protected] or 970-593-0846
SAC – Gil Barela at [email protected] or 719-564-3283
Volunteer Information
Investigate the World around us
Recognize Various Perspectives
Communicate Ideas to Diverse Groups
Take Action
The following are on-going fundraisers that help
support technology, curriculum, classrooms and
more at our school:
 Box tops
 Campbell’s Soup Labels
 Morning Fresh Caps
Our PTA sponsors the following fundraisers:
 Panda Prowl (in the Fall)
 Read-a-thon (in the Spring)
 Sweetheart Supper (near Valentine’s Day)
n Going Fund Raisers
CAUTION
Children
Learning
Student Safety is VERY important at PES
Some Important Safety Notes
 Always ensure we have the most recent and accurate phone
numbers to reach parents/guardians. Changes to your
information/authorized transporters for your student should be
made in person.
 Please be prepared to show photo ID to pick up your student(s)
early from school/outside normal school hours.
 Please use the front doors only to enter the school, sign in and
use a badge. Wearing a badge lets all staff know you’ve signed in
the front office.
 Please refrain from cell phone usage when driving inside of
school zones.
 Encourage your student to dismount all wheeled items (bikes,
rollerblades, scooters, skateboards, etc) at the crosswalk to our
school grounds.
 Please bring only animals that have prior approval onto school
grounds.
 Please encourage your child(ren) to dress appropriately, as we
will go outside for recess when the temperature is above 15◦
(including wind chill).
 We have staff on duty prior to school beginning at 8:33 am.
Students should not be on the playground prior to this time due
to no supervision.
Parking
 Thank you for driving one way as the arrows indicate and using only
the north exit to leave the parking lot.
 Thank you for not parking in the drop off (emergency) lane, the bus
lanes in front of the early childhood classrooms/exits or any of the
areas marked on the below map with multiple diagonal lines.
 Please do not drive in, or park in, the bus loop (by the back
playground).
 Please reserve the disabled parking spaces for our guests that display
the placards or the identifying plates.
Notes from the Health Office
Please keep students home that have a 101◦ temperature or higher
until they are fever free for 24 hours without analgesics
(Tylenol/Ibuprofen).
Please keep students home with upper GI (vomiting) for 24 hours
after the last episode.
If students have been diagnosed with Strep (or something
contagious) they can return after being on the medication for 24
hours.
We are happy to administer cough drops or other over the counter
medications with a doctor’s completed (and parent signed)
“Medication Permission Form”. Please don’t send these items in
backpacks/pockets in case they should fall out and into the hands
of younger students.
We gladly accept new and gently used sweat pants (both boys and
girls) sizes 5-12. New underpants for both boys and girls sizes
5-9 are very much appreciated as well.
If your student has more significant health needs (asthma,
diabetes, anaphylaxis, seizures, etc.), please contact our health
office staff. Mrs. Shana (Health Aide), or Mr. Curt (School RN)
are happy to help prepare care plans and obtain health care plans
for school support/medication administration.
To download care plans or medication administration forms,
please go to www.ponderosapandas.com, choose “Our School” tab,
“Health Office”, and “Forms”.
Please call Mrs. Shana at 970-679-9500 with any questions.
To start, please locate your student’s ID number on parent portal or call the school
for this number.
Then log onto www.myschoolbucks.com to deposit money in their lunch account.
To apply for the meal assistance, go to www.applyforlunch.com or pick up a paper
application at your school or the Nutrition Services office located at 2890 North
Monroe Avenue, Loveland, CO 80538. Nutrition offices can be reached at
970-613-5143.
Menus, log on to www.thompsonschools.org, click the “apple” icon. Paper copies
are no longer sent home.
Please note: Due to safety reasons, if a student forgets their lunch in the classroom,
they will not be permitted to return to the classroom to retrieve it. School lunch will be
offered as an alternative.
Activities
Breakfast:
Cost $1.50
8:25 -8:48 am daily
Lunch:
Cost $2.75
K (all)
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
11:40-12:00 pm
12:05-12:25 pm
11:50-12:10 pm
12:15-12:35 pm
12:40-1:00 pm
12:30-12:50 pm
20 minute recess follows lunch daily
PBIS, the Positive Behavior Intervention and Support program, is a vital component of
our school-wide approach to nurturing the whole child. Through this proactive
approach, students learn appropriate behaviors to help them succeed at school through
explicit teaching and positive reinforcement. Positive reinforcement gives students the
attention they need while also reinforcing the appropriate behaviors for different
situations.
Students can earn “Golden Globes”
Pink Boa Incredible Staff (PBIS) Award
Just as the students can receive Golden Globes, staff can be nominated for
the PBIS Award otherwise known as the Pink Boa Incredible Staff Award
that’s announced every Friday. The PBIS winner wears the pink boa all day
to be honored for their awesome efforts. Think a member of our staff is
doing an outstanding job? Ask for a Pink Boa nomination form in the front
office. See previous winners at www.ponderosapandas.com, “News”,
“Pink Boa”.eh
Health and Wellness Guidelines
For Celebrations at School
The staff of PES invites you to partner with us to support health and wellness… Healthy Pandas
are good learners
Classroom Celebrations/Rewards
We request non-food related celebrations, rewards and parties due to the health and
wellness focus of Ponderosa, as well as increased number of food allergies and special dietary
needs. Non-food ideas: Extra recess, pencils, extra computer time, educational video, lunch in
the classroom, special show and tell, etc.
Birthdays
We request a “non-food” focus when celebrating a child’s birthday at school (please refer to
individual classroom Birthday Menus). Here are some celebration ideas: extra recess, free
time, lunch in the classroom with a friend/teacher, make a simple craft (supplies by parents),
bring a treat – stickers, pencils, bookmark, etc (not food based), watch a short educational
video, donate a book to our class, bring in a special show and tell
Individual Snack
Ponderosa Elementary requests low caloric and low sugar snack choices as part of our
Health and Wellness initiative (fruits, vegetables, pretzels, granola, yogurt, cheese).
Classroom Snack/Holiday Parties
If food products are brought to school for group consumption, all snacks must be
prepackaged with food labels detailing ingredients (per District Nutritious Foods Policy). Fresh
fruits and vegetables are welcome and encouraged, but must be prepared on site (classroom
sink).
Physical Activity
All PES teachers are incorporating physical activity into the daily curriculum to meet the
needs of all students. This is in addition to daily recess and bi-weekly PE classes. We stress
the importance of a partnership between teachers, parents and community in order to meet the
national recommendation of 60 minutes of physical activity daily.
Before or After School Clubs
BStrong BFit Running Club for 4th/5th Girls
Student Leadership/Art Club
Lego Robotics
Battle of the Books
Choir
Spelling Bee
Odyssey of the Mind
Movie Critics Club
B.A.S.E. Camp
(Before and After School Enrichment)
Contact:
970-266-1734 or www.mybasecampkids.org
Hours:
Before:
After:
M T W Th F
M T W Th F
6:30 am—8:33 am
3:50 pm—6:00 pm
School Year Calendar
School Closures
For
information
regarding
school
closures,
please
go
to
www.thompsonschools.org or call the School Closure line at 970-613-6788.
If Thompson School District (TSD) cancels school after it has already begun,
Ponderosa /TSD will make several phone calls to get this information to
families. Bus students will be bussed home at the time designated by the
district. Walking students will be released after a parent has been notified.
All others will be released with a Photo ID to a parent or their designee
listed in our computer system. Any questions, please call the office at
970-679-9500.
Emergency Drills
Monthly emergency drills will be done
throughout the school year, by staff
and students. These will include:




Evacuation (fire drills)
Shelter in Place (severe weather)
Secure the Perimeter (notified of
threat in the vicinity of the school)
Lock Down (threat within the building)
Any questions, please contact
Ms. Smith at 970-679-9500.
Dress Code
Attendance
Attendance is a very important part of academic success. The Thompson School
District in an effort to align with the TSD board policy is standardizing attendance
policies and procedures across all elementary schools. Therefore, families should
be aware there will now be automated attendance letters generated and sent home
at four, seven and eleven absences (see district attendance policy at
www.ponderosapandas.com “Our School”, “Office”, “Forms”).
Students that are ill and have seen their medical provider should provide a note
from their provider to excuse an absence due to illness. Absences with a note
from their medical provider excusing a student due to illness or medical
emergency, will not count toward the absence limits.
If families know they will have a pre-arranged absence, the district has provided a
new form that should be completed and turned into the school as soon as possible,
with a minimum of 48 hours notice. According to policy, please note that
absences that are pre-arranged, will count toward the absence limits. A
blank Pre-Arranged Absence form is available in the office or on the Ponderosa
website at www.ponderosapandas.com ("Our School", "Front Office", "Forms").
Ponderosa and Thompson School district are proud to partner with our families to
provide the best education possible.
Automated attendance letters will be sent out for the following:
 1st letter sent at 4 absences
 2nd letter sent at 7 absences
 Medical excuse letter required 11 absences/district truancy notified
Please note: Tardy (over 30 minutes) or leaving early more than 30 minutes in
the school day, equals a half day absence.
If your student is unable to attend, please call the
Attendance Line at 970-679-9590.
Communication is very important to PES!
We offer several ways to stay
connected. 1. Our website at www.ponderosapandas.com is the most current and
up to date place to find information. 2. A weekly email through Parent Link is sent
with upcoming information. 3. Parent Portal access codes will be sent home at the
beginning of the school year. Attendance can be monitored here, instructional fees
and kindergarten tuition can be paid online now via the Parent Portal/Revtrack. If
you do not receive the activation code, please contact Mrs. Fender at 970-679-9501
for the replacement code.
School Mascot: Bamboo the Panda
School Colors: Kelly Green, Black and White
School Motto:
Be Respectful
Be Responsible
Be Fair Minded
Dress Code
A safe and disciplined learning environment is essential to a quality education program.
District-wide standards on student attire are intended to help students concentrate on
schoolwork, reduce discipline problems, and improve school order and safety. The Board of
Education recognizes that students have a right to express themselves through dress and
personal appearance; however, students shall not wear apparel that is deemed disruptive or
potentially disruptive to the classroom environment or to the maintenance of a safe and orderly
school.
Any student deemed in violation of the dress code shall be required to change into appropriate
clothing or make arrangements to have appropriate clothing brought to school immediately. In
this case, there shall be no further penalty.
Unacceptable Items
The following items are deemed disruptive to the classroom environment or to the maintenance
of a safe and orderly school and are not acceptable in school buildings, on school grounds, or at
school activities:
1. shorts, dresses, skirts, or other similar clothing that is inappropriately sheer, short, tight
or low-cut (e.g. midriffs, halter tops, backless clothing, tube tops, garments made of
fishnet, mesh or similar material, muscle tops, etc.) that bare or expose traditionally
private parts of the body including, but not limited to, the stomach, buttocks, back and
breasts
2. tank tops or other similar clothing with narrow straps
3. sunglasses, bandanas and/or hats worn inside the building
4. any clothing, paraphernalia, grooming, jewelry, hair coloring, accessories, or body
adornments that are or contain any advertisements, symbols, words, slogans, patches, or
pictures that:
a. refer to drugs, tobacco, alcohol, or weapons
b. are of a sexual nature
c. by virtue of color, arrangement, trademark, or other attribute denote
membership in gangs which advocate drug use, violence, or disruptive
behavior
d. are obscene, profane, vulgar, lewd, or legally libelous
e. threaten the safety or welfare of any person
f. promote any activity prohibited by the student code of conduct
g. otherwise disrupt the teaching-learning process
h. are racist in nature or include derogatory comments or slurs against groups of
people
Thompson School District, R2-J
Reviewed September 5, 2012
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