March, 2021

Dear La Pluma Families,

Welcome to the La Pluma Family, Home of the Panthers!  I am thrilled and honored to be leading and serving the staff, students, and the La Pluma community!  I look forward to working alongside of you and our wonderful staff to support the academic and social-emotional learning for our students.  We are excited to announce our Hybrid return for those families choosing to return to campus in person.  This transition will begin on March 29th and March 30th, and then again on April 12th and April 15th.  Thank you for entrusting us with your children.  

At La Pluma, our school-wide goal is focused on teaching the whole child by collaborating to develop 21^st Century thinkers and problem solvers as well as kids of character.  We are committed to laying the foundation for college and career readiness by teaching our students how to think critically, communicate effectively through writing and speaking, collaborate in teams, and empower our students to be innovative with their ideas (think outside the box).  We are proud of our educational practices as well as our systems of support that will prepare our students for secondary level and beyond as well as the becoming positive and productive citizens. 

Through our Distance Learning Model, as well as our Hybrid Model, these practices may include: 

• Professional Learning Communities, where teachers plan and collaborate on behalf of student success
• 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade are using AVID strategies, which may focus on organizational skills as well as rigorous instructional strategies with reading and writing.  We've also been working on community building, relationship building, and classroom celebrations as well.  
• Positive Behavior Supports, which reinforce positive behavior practices, systems of support, and character education have been apart of our practices all year.  We continue to practice our Big 3; Be Safe, Be Respectful, and Be Responsible, whether in Zoom or in person.  
• MTSS- Multi-Tiered Systems of Support, which provides academic, social-emotional, and behavioral prevention and intervention support for our students.
  
• The Arts is also an important part of our mission.  With the support of our amazing P.T.A. as well as our District, we will be providing the opportunity for our students to experience art through weekly virtual art lessons.  Mrs. Rousse, our Art Teacher, is proud to be back offering this art opportunity for our students.

The La Pluma community is a great place to learn!  Please join me on this journey by getting involved and being a part of our team.  We know it's been a unique 2020-2021 school year.  You are all an "Essential Part" of our team as we work together to instill the  "Teamwork" that all of our students will need to succeed.  Together WE Will Achieve More! 

Sincerely, 

Terry Pace, M. Ed.

Principal – tpace@nlmusd.org