Hello PES families, 

Happy 2026! I hope each of you had a remarkable holiday season and are feeling confident about your personal goals for the year ahead. 

The second nine-weeks report cards were available on January 15th. Have you had an opportunity to review your child’s grades with him/her yet? Entering the third nine-week period of the school year is special and enjoyable, because teachers and students are now established and comfortable within their “class families”. The students know this year’s teacher(s) expectations, they know that their teachers care, and they feel prideful when they reflect on how they’ve grown academically since August. (Psst – Parents, if you have not done so already, be sure to point this growth and achievement out to your little one as you review report cards together.) This all sets the stage for the final two “acts” , if you will, of the school year. This is a critically important time of the school year. Increasingly difficult academic standards are introduced, and previously taught academic standards are solidified. This is also the time of year I ask teachers to identify any student who may be in jeopardy of being retained for the 26-27 school year. If, in the weeks ahead, your student is identified, the teacher will contact you directly for a conference. There is still time for school and home to work together to develop a plan to remediate deficiencies during the remaining four months of this school year. 

That said, January is historically referred to as “cold and flu season”. Please continue to remind your children about the importance of handwashing, eating nutritious foods, and getting a good night’s sleep. As a school, we have increased cleaning protocols and are sensitive to the fact that student illness ends up meaning missed days of school. Be sure to connect with your child’s teacher to ensure there is a plan for make up work and make up testing. Your student’s success and being caught up is important to us!

While we are talking about school absences, I respectfully ask that every effort be made to plan family vacations during school holidays to avoid students missing school. Each day of school is significant, and it is simply not possible to replicate in-person instruction from one of our teachers, through a worksheet packet sent home. (Did you know there is a 4-day weekend in February and spring break week is only a month behind that? Yay!)

There is a lot happening at PES. Keep reading! 

Together in Education,
Catherine Goodrich
Principal
Palencia Elementary School
(904) 547-4010