Pine Ridge Elementary
4613 South Pine Ridge Road
Birdseye, IN 47513
Phone (812) 817-0900
Fax (812) 326-2016
Students had a great time celebrating Dr. Seuss’ birthday last week. Our volunteer readers
did an outstanding job, and our students enjoyed the fun activities and daily themes all week long.
Pine Ridge is hosting the 4th annual Wellness Week March 20-24. Students will get to meet
people in our community who will share healthy habits and lead them in exercise activities. We will
have the Air Evac team visit us one day that week. The week will end with our Spelling Bee Friday
morning and our Jump-A-Thon Friday afternoon.
ISTEP+ assessments began this week. Please make every effort to have your student
present these days. However, because we have experienced an increase in illness recently; please
follow the 24 hour fever and diarrhea free policy before sending your child to school. We have days
built in the following week to accommodate missed days. Here are some suggestions to help your
student during the ISTEP+ week:
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It is important for students to be well rested during testing week. Please have your child
to bed early during ISTEP+ testing so they can achieve at their highest level.
Students need a good dinner the night before and a good breakfast the morning of for
the added thinking power and energy needed to be successful. Eat healthy foods and
get some exercise the week of ISTEP+.
Encourage your child to do their personal best. Let them know you will be proud of
them whatever they score… as long as they do their personal best!
The IREAD-3 Assessment will be administered March 13-17. It is crucial that your third grade
student is present and ready to take the assessment during this window. Remember, the IREAD-3
assesses a third grade student’s reading ability and is a determining factor for your student to move
on to the fourth grade. More information can be found here. Below is the blueprint of the IREAD
assessment.
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Identify beginning, middle, and ending sounds, identify synonyms, antonyms, homographs,
suffixes, and use context clues to determine the meaning of unknown words in a text
Compare and respond to grade-level informational text by making connections and/or
predictions while reading, and identify important information within text (e.g., problem and
solution, cause and effect, main idea)
Compare and respond to grade-level literary text by recalling and/or describing story elements
(e.g., plot, character traits and development, problem and solution), and identify the theme and
narrator of different literary genres.
We are still accepting kindergarten and preschool registration. Please call the office for
more information.
Please remember to spring forward one hour Sunday, March 12th.
Remind your students to keep up with homework and to do their best at all times.
Spring pictures are scheduled for Thursday, March 9th. Information was recently sent home.
PSCI will soon send out the new phonebooks for our area. Please send in last year’s edition
when you receive the new ones. Each phone book is worth $.50 for our school.
Area students will come together this Saturday, March 4th, to participate in the IMEA Circle
the State with Song festival. The students will spend the day rehearsing with a guest director and
put on a wonderful concert that afternoon. Please consider attending to show your support of our
students and to hear some awesome choral music!
Pine Ridge students performing are: Emma Brzezinski, Aubrey Mullis, Sophia Denu, Daelyn
Lasher, Carly Schnell, Rose Kerkhoff, Ella Hopf, Corvin Hoffman
Thursday, April 13th Pine Ridge Elementary School will celebrate Grandparent’s Day from
8:00 a.m.-10:00 a.m. Grandparents are welcome to spend time with their grandchild in the
classroom, eat breakfast, read a book, take a look at our book fair, and tour our school. This is an
opportunity for our students to highlight what they are working on and learning about while at Pine
Ridge Elementary School.
Book Fair Week is April 10-13.
Our local Boy Scout troop is collecting can tabs to donate to Riley’s Hospital for Children.
You can turn them in to the office and we will get them to our Scouts.
We tallied approximately $1,900 in Box Tops this year. Good Job, Pine Ridge! We
appreciate your effort to raise additional funds for our school. Third grade earned the ice cream
party. Second grade will be heading to the bowling alley or the Skate Palace for being the top grade
level. Congratulations to Hallie Boehm, Liam Petry, Emma Schroering for winning the passes
to Sky Zone. Let’s all start collecting for next year.
Next year’s goal is 30,000 ($3,000) Box Tops. Please continue to collect and encourage
friends and family to do the same.
March is Youth Art Month. Select Pine Ridge students will have work displayed at the
Krempp Gallery from March 1st to March 13th. The public reception is March 5th (Sunday, 12-2 pm)
This is a county-wide art show.
Pine Ridge students participating:
K: Elliha Bayer, Adalee Hopf, Hallie Boehm, Aurora Stenftenagel, Kaden Boeglin, Anelle Warren
1st: Abby Wehr, Emilie Hasenour, Kaylee Opel, Emilee Voegerl, Lilly Andry, Colby Blount, Ava Mohr,
Bralyn Messmer
2nd: Eli Andry, Kennedy Boeglin, Claire Warren, Emma Schroering, Mollie Combs, Hannah Kuebler,
Quincy Verkamp
3rd: Jazzmyn Cummins, Olivia Wehr, Grace Hulsman, Areli Martinez, Amber Cunningham, Grace
Weigel,
4th: Mallory Crowley, Carly Schnell, Daelyn Lasher, Bianca Hopf, Samuel Martinez, Ella Hopf
March is National Disability Awareness month. Over the next few weeks, teachers will
engage our students in activities about disabilities and “target talk” about specific disabilities students
might encounter in our community and abroad. It is important that our students are aware of others
with unique characteristics and accept them for who they are.
ISTEP Window is February 27th- March10th
Wellness Week- March 20th-124th
IREAD-3 Window is March 13th-March 17th
Spring Break is March 25-31
No School- April 13th and 17th
Check out our Instagram page @ pineridgeelementary
Have a great March!
Adapted from Bright Solutions
HOMEWORK HELP: MAKING IT A POSITIVE EXPERIENCE FOR EVERYONE
Tips for how to do homework and offer homework help
Helping your child develop good homework habits is like teaching him to brush his teeth or go to bed on
time: it takes a structured routine, consistency, and patience. Of course, these are three things many of us
struggle to find at the end of a busy day.
Understand Expectations
Know the teacher’s homework policies and expectations. You may have to call the teacher at the
beginning of the year to learn her expectations. Some schools have online programs or voicemail systems that
allow parents to review new assignments daily. Your child should know her homework assignments as well.
Make Homework a Priority
Make homework a priority in your home. Tell your child how important it is to complete each
assignment and show your child your support by being physically near him while he is working. You can finish
your own work, clean the kitchen, or pay the bills. Check in occasionally and be available to offer homework
help, but try not to give the answers. Show your child how to do homework instead of doing the work yourself.
Check over the completed homework and sign it.
Establish a Workspace and Routine
Have the same homework routine each day. Ask your child to write down her assignments in a special
book or calendar. Your child’s teacher may have a special folder for homework assignments, especially in the
younger grades. Create a special homework space. It can be at the kitchen table or a spot in the den. Few
children work well independently in their bedrooms unless you accompany them, especially in the elementary
and middle school years. Help your child stay focused on homework by turning off the TV and removing other
distractions.
Prepare School Supplies
Have school supplies on hand ― paper, pencils and erasers. An electric pencil sharpener is a great
investment.
Allow Flexibility
Be flexible. Although your routine should remain the same, you may have to adjust the homework time
on certain days depending on other family activities. Allow for a break every 20 minutes if necessary and make
sure your child is fed. Hungry children work slower and have more difficulty staying focused on homework.
Organize Homework Assignments
Help your child organize his assignments. Have him complete the easier assignments first so he avoids
frustration and builds on success.
Balance Guidance and Learning through Consequences
Children are different, of course, and some will embrace parental attempts at organization while others
are much more likely to procrastinate or become distracted. Our job is to help them learn how to become
responsible students. Sometimes that means letting them face the consequences of putting homework off until
the last minute, and then working with them to avoid future problems.
Finding the Homework Answers
Let’s face it, some of the stuff we parents just won’t know. That’s okay. Be honest. Admit to your child
when you don’t know the answers to homework and try to find them together.
If your child seems frustrated or constantly resists completing homework assignments, speak with your
child’s teacher. Don’t wait for parent-teacher conferences or report cards if you have concerns about your
child’s academic performance. Most teachers make themselves available via email or phone, so don't hesitate
to contact them. You are your child’s best advocate. Take an active role in her education. By tackling issues as
they arise, your child will learn to tackle assignments successfully and develop good study skills as a result.
The teacher and school will be eager to give you ideas and suggestions.