July, 2020

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.  As we continue to work out the details of our "Return to School," I will be providing updates as I receive more information.  Our first day of school is scheduled to begin on August 13, 2020.  

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. 

These practices include:

• Professional Learning Communities, where teachers plan and collaborate on behalf of student success
• 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade are using AVID strategies, which focus on putting systems in place to prepare our students with organizational skills as well as rigorous instructional strategies
• Positive Behavior Supports, which reinforce positive behavior practices, systems of support, and character education
• 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 and drama in the upcoming year. 

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 going to be a unique 2020-2021 school year but you are all an "Essential Part" of our team 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