GLOBAL EDUCATION – LOCAL COMMUNITY
March 2017
WEBSITE: PGA.PSDschools.org
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IN EVERY EDITION:
 Important Dates
 Celebrations & Student Highlights
 A Note from Mrs. F
 PTO Update
 School News & Announcements
SECTION 1: Important Dates
Date
Event
3-1-17
High School Advisory 1:00pm
3-2-17
Middle School Field Trip
3-2-17
Learning Coach Academy 2:00pm
3-13 / 3-17
No School Spring Break
3-21-17
PTO meeting in the Gym 3:30pm
3-30-17
Skate Night - Look for more info in the Monday Memo
Please check with your teacher and/or the school website calendar for grade or class specific
announcements and calendar changes!
http://pga.psdcshools.org
SECTION 2: A Note From Mrs. F
Happy March!
As we move into 4th quarter, I'm amazed at how quickly this year has passed. Time flies when
you are having fun!
I just returned from the Colorado Conference on Blended and Online Learning and it's always
refreshing to meet and learn from peers who are "pioneering" blended and personalized
learning across Colorado. A few years ago, PGA was lonelier in the world or hybrid education.
Now we have many others to learn from, including traditional schools that have realized the
benefits of blended learning and are adjusting their instruction and schedules to personalize
for their students and numerous online schools that are looking to add a hybrid component so
they can meet their kids needs even better. We took a large PGA team; some of them
presented at the conference as well. I'm always proud of the impact PGA has had on not only
our own kids, but students in other areas of the state, nation, and world. If you're interested in
seeing our impact globally, check out http://tablabeducation.org/. This is the international
organization that our founding principal, Heather Hiebsch now leads. She uses her experiences
as PGA's leader to inform the teacher training for this organization. So, PGA truly has a global
impact!
When I have the opportunity to present or just talk on-on-one to others about PGA, I always
highlight the importance of relationships. Folks who don't understand blended learning believe
that it is primarily about integrating technology into the classroom. However, those in the
trenches understand that it's about personal relationships. We recently had the opportunity to
take part in a study of hybrid schools by Evergreen Education Group. I was asked to identify a
theme for the study so that the author could focus on something which had contributed to the
academic success our students see at PGA. Both the author (who has completed previous PGA
studies)and I quickly landed on "relationships" as a clear theme for the study. It was exciting
that someone from outside of our PGA community so quickly identified that theme as well. The
way we "do school" at PGA has an impact on all of the relationships here. I challenge you to
stop and think about how each of these types of relationships is affected and strengthened by
our unique educational model:
 Teacher to student
 Student to student
 Parent to student
 Teacher to teacher
 Teacher to parent
 Parent to parents
Though there will always be ways to strengthen our partnerships, the importance of
relationships should be evident in every interaction at PGA. When we are all communicating,
sharing the decision-making process, and keeping the same goal in mind (what's best for our
kids), great things can and do happen.
Thanks for being part of strengthening each relationship you are a part of; the work we do
together makes me proud to be a Pioneer!
Mrs. F.
SECTION 3: School News & Announcements
CMAS Testing Dates
 April 4th, 5th & 6th
 April 11th, 12th & 13th
Please plan to adjust your instruction to accommodate for testing on these days. A more
detailed schedule will be communicated soon. Contact Mr. Avery with any questions.
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
The Cinderella Project!
It’s Prom Season…Need a dress?
This is the opportunity for any PSD student attending prom to purchase a gently used or new
prom dress.
Dress prices range from $5-20.
Light refreshmints will be served
You could win prom related prizes
Located at Dora Grace Bridal
Wednesday, March 8th 3:30-7:30pm
SECTION 4: Celebrations & Student Highlights
Congratulations to Miranda McCasland, Downtown Rotary Club Outstanding student of the
month for March! She will be honored at the Rotary Lunch meeting on March 8 th. Way to go,
Miranda!
Elementary
Aaron Rimar 3rd Grade
Aaron Rimar has been a PGA student since Kindergarten. On campus, Aaron’s favorite subjects
are Math and Science. In his free time, Aaron enjoys building with his Legos and his Marble
Run. Aaron has a great sense of humor, a contagious smile, and is a great friend to everyone in
his class. We are so glad to have you at PGA Aaron!
Middle School
Abigail Snyder 8th Grade
This month's PGA middle school student of the month is Abigail Snyder. Abigail is an 8th grader
at PGA, and her positive attitude and thoughtful approach to assignments and school work
makes her a delight to have in class. She is kind to her peers, always has something nice to say,
and adds so much to class culture. You rock, Abby!
High School
Bethany Heady 10th Grade
Congratulations to Bethany Heady! Bethany is recognized as the High School Student Highlight
for the month of March. This is Bethany's first year at PGA and she has been a rock star! Her
work online and in live class is detailed and completed with full effort. Bethany contributes to
live class discussions and facilitates conversations with other students. We as so lucky to have
Bethany at PGA! You rock!
SECTION 5: PTO Update
Parents Facebook Page
Please visit the parent Facebook page at www.facebook.com/groups/PGALearningCoaches/
PTO will meet March 21st 2017 at 3:30pm in the Gym. Please join us or contact Sydney Dean is
you are interested in volunteering to support the Healthy Kids Walk this year.
High school students, look for important announcements about the PTO Scholarship in your
advisory class.
SECTION 6: DAB Update
This month DAB brought Dwayne Schmitz, PSD Director of Research and Evaluation, to speak
about Poudre School District’s commitment to connecting students academically and socially in
their school community. In October 2016, all 4th-12th grade students were given the
opportunity to complete a survey measuring their connectedness to teachers and staff, to
peers, and to their interests. The student’s ID number was attached to their survey allowing
Mr. Schmitz to cross reference their answers with a variety of other markers including
attendance, free and reduced lunch, and receiving special education services, among others.
While connectivity scores were overall high, a trend emerged showing that those who felt less
connected in all three areas are generally those who are performing at lower achievement
levels. It is believed that increased connectivity could have great benefit on all students, and
may be correlated to higher academic achievement for those who are struggling as well.
Principals have been provided with this data at each school and SAC committees are
encouraged to work with their principals to use the data to inform interventions. PGA's 6 th 12th grade students completed this survey. Results around connections to peers were positive
and PGA average was slightly higher than district average in this area. Results regarding
connections to staff were overwhelmingly positive with 95 - 100% of students (depending on
the grade level) reporting that they had a connection with at least one teacher at PGA. This was
much higher than district average. Students indicating that their work at PGA was connected to
their interests was a little lower than district average. When this information was presented to
our PGA SAC (School Accountability Committee), we determined it would be important to move
forward with addressing the results around student connections with interests. As a result, SAC
is currently having discussions about how to include this as a goal in school improvement
planning and, more importantly, how to practically provide opportunities (now and moving
forward) for our students to connect with their interests both on campus and at home.