Week of 8/31/21

Letter from the Principal

Below is a shortened version of this letter, sent on August 23 via email. If you did not receive it, please go to Aeries to update your email address and other information.

Thanks to COVID, the word “unprecedented” has become part of our everyday vocabulary, but it accurately describes the past 17 months, doesn’t it? As we move into the 2021-2022 school year, we look forward to returning to some of our favorite Mabel Paine traditions, collaborative educational practices, and--best of all--full time in-person instruction at the start of the year!

In response to a return from both remote and hybrid learning, our theme is Our Mindful Journey. We are not abandoning our ohana (family) theme, but rather expanding on it. We invite our Mustang ohana to embark on a new journey this year and we further that request by asking all stakeholders to be mindful, or aware, and intentional as they move through the 2021-2022 school year. As you might remember from our Positive Behavior Intervention and Support (PBIS) system: Mindful Mustangs do the RIGHT thing in the RIGHT place at the RIGHT time. You can read more about how we reward and recognize our Mindful Mustangs here.

While we gleefully anticipate returning to something closer to “normal,” we realize that our students, staff, and families have navigated so many difficulties through this pandemic. To that end, PYLUSD commits to creating a sense of belonging by assuring that students feel noticed, needed, and nurtured. In addition to this commitment, we will continue to foster a safe learning environment in which students treat each other kindly through anti-bullying lessons in the form of schoolwide assemblies and morning announcements. We hope families will continue these conversations at home through discussions at meals or bedtime.

Please see the information below for specifics as we start our new school year together. It also helps us tremendously when you have completed the online data confirmation on Aeries prior to school starting with updated contact information. We can’t wait to see you!