Parent E-Newsletter

Vol. 1, Issue 11

April 30, 2007

Website Spotlight

8th Grade News 

The next few weeks will be very exciting for Pershing 8th graders. Our website now features a complete listing of upcoming 8th grade activities- http://www.sandi.net/pershing/8thactiv.htm. Please browse through this section as the faculty and staff have planned many wonderful activities for our 8th graders.

East Coast Trip News – May is a very busy time for our 8th graders who will be traveling to the east coast in just a few weeks. Please note that there will be a few mandatory student meetings in the month of May as well as a mandatory parent meeting on May 24, 2007. For complete details - http://www.sandi.net/pershing/8thtrip.htm  

Pershing News and Announcements

Attention 7th grade parents! Learn all about the 2008 8th Grade East Coast Trip (including sign-up procedures) on May 10, 2007. This parent meeting will be held at Pershing at 6:30 p.m.

We are pleased to announce that Pershing's partnership with San Diego State's Math Department is currently featured on SDSU's website. To read more, http://www.math.sdsu.edu/Pershing.doc

On Saturday, April 28, 2007, several of our 8th grade drama students participated in the San Diego County Middle School Theatre Festival. This event was hosted by the Coronado School of the Arts and was held at Coronado High School. The day's activities included monologue and scene presentations and original works/improv and dance/vocal workshops. Our students received high praise for the depth and professionalism of their scene and monologue performances. The works they chose to perform were incredibly difficult and everyone was impressed with our students acting abilities. Congratulations to Mrs. Miller and our amazing drama program!

More applause for the Drama Department! Congratulations to our students who participated in the San Diego City Schools' Improvfest at Clairemont High School on Saturday, April 14. Their performances were awesome!  One of our 8th graders received a special medal for her outstanding improvisation performance.  

The 2007 Greater San Diego Science and Engineering Fair (GSDSEF) was a wonderful experience for over 100 Pershing 7th and 8th grade students who were chosen to compete at this challenging event. The GSDSEF showcased the top middle and high school science fair projects in San Diego County. The highlight of the GSDSEF week was the Awards Ceremony where Pershing Middle School was honored over one hundred times throughout the evening. The ceremony, which was held at San Diego State’s Cox Arena, was an incredible experience. In front of a large and enthusiastic crowd, our students cheered and supported one another throughout the festive evening. It was a proud moment for the Pershing community. Click here for the 2007 GSDSEF award winners. 

Pershing's success at this year's GSDSEF is featured on the San Diego Unified School District website.  http://www.sandi.net/news/2007/0402_sciencefair.html

We send congratulations to a Pershing alumnus who was one of four sweepstakes winners in the high school division and will be competing at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair Sweepstakes.    

Eight Pershing students will be competing at the 56th Annual California State Science Fair, which will be held in Los Angeles on May 21-22, 2007. Three more of our students were chosen as alternates. It is very difficult to earn an invitation to this prestigious event as San Diego County schools received only 102 spaces at this year's CA State Science Fair. 

Six of our first place-winning students were also chosen by the GSDSEF judges to compete in the Discovery Channel Young Scientist Challenge. This is an amazing opportunity for the Pershing students nominated for this honor. The Discovery Channel Young Scientist Challenge brings together science fair winners from throughout the country. http://school.discovery.com/sciencefaircentral/dysc/accept/accept.html        

                                                       Online Portfolios 

Our 7th grade science teachers are in the process of creating an outstanding web resource for their students. Click here to check out their Online Portfolio

The Pershing Middle School Talent Show on April 13, 2007 was absolutely spectacular! This was such a popular community event that the show had to start 16 minutes late due to the enormous crowds still waiting outside the auditorium at the start of the show. Highlights of the evening included singing, dancing, and comedy performances by students and teachers (including an amazing duet by Mr. Carroll and Mr. Myrick). Due to its success and student demand, the Talent Show may become an annual event! Thank you to everyone who organized, supported and/or participated in the Talent Show.  Your time, energy, and dedication to this event helped raise $1,000 for our scholarship fund . You can purchase a DVD of the evening for $10.00 but hurry, they are selling fast!

The San Diego Unified School District’s GATE Department presents the final installment of their 2006-2007 “The Distinguished Lecture Series” on May 23, 2007 from 7:00 - 8:30 p.m. Dr. Vicki Kleinman will be discussing “Parenting the College-Bound Gifted Child: Advice from a Survivor--or It’s Never Too Early to Start”  http://www.sandi.net/pershing/gate.htm 

Parent Voices for Education San Diego (PVSD) - You are invited to the next Parent Voices for Education San Diego (PVSD) Parent Forum on May 9, 2007. This forum will be a multifaceted interactive discussion. Lionel “Skip” Meno, Dean of Education at SDSU and former Commissioner (Superintendent) of Education in Texas will join us to discuss the importance of an independent parent group in a large urban school district.  He will help us evaluate our progress, our goals, and our strategies in being an effective independent parent group within the San Diego Unified School District. Everyone is invited to this event. PVSD needs the input of parents, families, and community members. Please join us on May 9 from 6:30-8:30 PM at the Harold J. Ballard Parent Center.  Childcare and Spanish translation available. http://www.parentvoicesforeducationsd.org/may92007forum.htm

Five Pershing students (four 6th graders and one 8th grader) who along with their four teammates from Benchley-Weinberger, High Tech Middle/Media Arts, and Henry High competed at the World Festival for middle and high school robotics at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. Their team, If Rotation = 1, is the defending Southern California Regional Robotics Champions for the FIRST LEGO League. They competed in individual team competition and team alliance competition. Their team alliance (they were grouped with the robotics champions from Arkansas, Michigan, and Germany) finished in 5th place in the world! In February, the Union Tribune featured this team in their newspaper. To access this article - http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20070215/news_1m15robot.html

Band Parents – May and June are busy months for Pershing’s Music Department! A listing of all band events can be found in our website’s newest section – the Music Department’s Calendar of Events page. Two of May’s highlights include performances at the Allied Gardens SpringFest and at the Henry Cluster Concert. http://www.sandi.net/pershing/musiccalendar.htm

Friends of the Library Contest – On March 26, 2007, three Pershing 8th graders were honored at the San Carlos Branch Library’s Friends of the Library Contest’s reception and awards ceremony. One of Pershing's students was chosen as the 8th grade city winner for the San Carlos branch. She will join other city winners at the Grand Awards Ceremony on May 3, 2007. Congratulations to this contest’s 10th grade winner from Henry High. She was Pershing’s 8th grade city winner two years ago!

From Mr. Myrick and the ASB

• The last school wide dance of the year will be held on June 6, 2007 in the auditorium. It will start at 2:00 p.m. and will end at 3:40 p.m. A late bus will be provided. The cost of the event is $2.00. http://www.sandi.net/pershing/endoftheyearschooldance.htm

• Spirit Week is scheduled for May 21-25, 2007. There will be a different theme and lunchtime activity for each day. http://www.sandi.net/pershing/spiritweek.htm

• Magazine Drive Prize Update - Students who chose a free ticket for Soak City as a prize during the Magazine Drive will be receiving their ticket and additional information during the first week of May. The date for the Soak City event is Saturday, May 19 (please note that this is a separate event from the 8th grade Soak City trip in June). Lost tickets cannot be replaced.