Helping your children grow is such a pleasure for all of us at Pershing. So many of the developments of your children are just as amazing as their first steps were - and as painful as their first tumbles and bumps. June is a month of reflection for us and we take great pride in your children’s accomplishments during this past year at middle school.

On behalf of our staff, we wish you all a restful summer. Please keep up the reading and mathematical practice - it will make the coming year even more productive!

Best wishes,

Sarah Sullivan
Principal

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YAY!

 Congratulations Pershing!

  Pershing's 
Class of 2009

On June 15, 2009, Pershing Middle School will celebrate the academic accomplishments of our 8th grade class at the 2009 Eighth Grade Promotion Ceremony. The procession begins at 8:00 a.m. on Pershing's front lawn.

Congratulations to our awesome 8th grade class. We are so proud of you and your many achievements. Your enthusiasm, community spirit, and leadership have made your time at Pershing a wonderful and memorable one for our entire school. We will miss you. Have a terrific time in high school!!!!!! 

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Important Information about 
8th Grade Promotion

Students should report to their first block teacher by 7:30 a.m. The procession begins at 8:00 a.m. and the ceremony will last approximately one hour.  

Guests

Please bring as many guests as you like. Seating is on a “first come, first seated” basis.  There will be a limited amount of seating available. When all the seats are taken, it will then be standing room only.  

Parking

Parking is limited (on the dirt lot or the south side of school). Please carpool if possible.

Promotion Dress Guidelines  

Young ladies are encouraged to wear dressy attire (no formal wear).  Dresses or skirts must be modest and not too short.  Clothing is not to be low cut, backless, strapless or transparent.  No midriffs may show.  

Young men are to wear either a long or short-sleeved shirt with a collar, and a tie is suggested.  Slacks or dress pants are also required, no shorts.  Chains, long belts and saggy/baggy pants are not permitted.  

Students who are inappropriately dressed will not participate in the ceremony!

Additional clothing or accessories, such as purses, coats, hats, sunglasses, cameras, flowers, and yearbooks, must be left with parents. Please no limos, balloons, or other items that distract from the Promotion ceremony.

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Eighth Grade 
Calendar of Events

Students with any U’s or F’s on the April progress report were placed on a preliminary list of students ineligible to participate in all eighth grade activities. Final decisions will be made by the Principal and teachers during the first week of June. 

Tuesday, June 9

8th Grade Awards Program - Auditorium - 7:00 p.m.

At our annual 8th Grade Awards Night, the Pershing Community celebrates the exemplary academic, athletic, and community achievements of our 8th grade students. This year, we have added a new award category, the Partnership Award, which will honor students in math, science, and technology in conjunction with our school "partners" - SDSU's Math Department, SPAWAR, and Qualcomm. The festivities begin at 7:00 p.m. in the school auditorium. Parents have been notified if their child is receiving an award. Students should arrive at 6:50 p.m. and be seated in a chair on the stage. Please remind your son/daughter to dress appropriately for the occasion.

Wednesday, June 10

Yearbook Distribution and Signing
Report to Block 4, after roll, your teacher will bring you to the cafeteria.

Thursday, June 11

8th Grade Promotion Rehearsal
Block 1 in the auditorium (Report to your Block 1 teacher)

8th Grade Soak City tickets will be on sale during lunch from May 26 through June 5. In order to buy your tickets, bring your signed permission slip and your school ID. Please note, students must meet all eligibility requirements. For specific details, please click here.

Friday, June 12

8th Grade Promotion Rehearsal
Block 1 in the auditorium (Report to your Block 1 teacher)

Monday, June 15

8th Grade Promotion - 8:00 a.m.
(Report to your Block 1 teacher no later than 7:30 a.m.)

8th Grade 
East Coast Trip

After many months of planning and lots of meetings, the 8th Grade East Coast Trip Team of teacher chaperones and students flew to Washington, DC on May 31st.  While visiting the East Coast, the students will tour such places as...

 Pershing's 6th Grade Orientation
Thursday, September 3, 2009
8:00 a.m. 
Pershing Auditorium

Welcome to the Pershing Community! All incoming 6th grade parents and students as well as new 7th and 8th grade students and their families are invited to attend our 6th Grade/New Student Orientation on September 3rd at 8:00 a.m. in the Pershing Auditorium.   

You will hear from various staff including Principal Sarah Sullivan, the Vice-Principal, the 6th grade teaching teams, the Wheel and Band teachers, the Physical Education department and more. Afterwards, PE locks and clothes will be sold in the Finance Office. Students will receive their 2009-10 class schedules on the first day of school, September 8th.   

Please note that throughout the summer, we will post important back to school information on our school website in order to help you and your child prepare for the transition into middle school. Some of the online content that will be added in July and August include:  

• Class Schedule Distribution Announcements
• Suggested Supplies
• PE Clothes Sales 
• Dates and Times for Back to School Events
• And More!

A letter announcing the Orientation will be mailed to the homes 
of incoming 6th graders during the summer.  

 From
Ms. Weintraub, 
Pershing's
6th Grade
Counselor

Ms. Brown and I visited your child's elective class last week to discuss
elective options for next year.  Your child was given a card to be completed
and signed by his or her parents and returned to his elective teacher no
later than Friday, June 5th.

Please discuss the elective options with your child and help him prioritize
his choices.  Each elective is for one full year and Band will be offered to
2nd year students only.  Your child has been instructed to prioritize his
choices on his card by marking #1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 beside each elective he is
interested in for next year.

If a card is not received by the end of Friday, June 5th, an elective will
be given to your child according to openings.

Janis Weintraub
(619) 465- 3234
jweintraub@sandi.net

A huge thank you to all of the Pershing families and friends who came out to help with our Spring Concert Series.  We appreciate the donations for the bake sale and the help with our Italian dinner fundraiser.  Thanks so much to all of the folks who cheerfully contributed and had nice comments for the band and the volunteers.  

Mr. Anderson has worked very hard over the past three years to expand this music program and it has become very popular and all-inclusive. He has started the 8th grade beginning band which is a very rare opportunity for students to take up an instrument in Middle School.  Most of the time beginning band is only offered at the elementary level.  Mr. Anderson has more students playing music and EXCITED about music than ever before. He had a record number of students who were accepted into Honor Band this year. Pershing was well represented at that level.  

Your generous contributions have helped to support all Pershing music students. All funds go straight back into the music program in the form of sheet music and buses to transport students to music events. This year, Mr. Anderson was able to hire sectional coaches to provide more intensive small group music lessons to students. The results have paid off as you can see by the students' performances at the Spring concerts.  

We have received tremendous support from the Pershing administration, Principal Sullivan and Vice Principal Martin, who show up to all performances, even on nights and weekends.  Their participation and help is vital to the success of the music program.  

We also appreciate the parents who respond to our Band Booster emails with positive comments and offers of support in the form of volunteer time and donations of goods and services.  If you would like to see changes made or have anything positive to contribute, please consider joining our Band Booster Group next year.

Thank you again for your support!

Pershing Band Boosters  

Congratulations to the cast, crew and band for the rockin' and rollin' production of HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL 2 (*presented by special arrangement with Music Theatre International)!  The show was enjoyed by students from Gage, Dailard, Benchley, and Sessions Elementary Schools, Kindercare,  the TRACE program, relatives, friends, and the community at large - eight performances in all.  Through participation in one of our Pershing theatrical experiences, the students involved had the opportunity to practically apply what they learn every day in class to a real live production experience.   

The Cast Party for all the actors, tech crew, and musicians will be on June 10th during lunch in Room 1001. Thank you to all the Pershing parents and staff for your contributions to make the show such a success!  If anyone has any photos or videos, Mrs. Miller would appreciate copies for the Drama archive.  

Mrs. Miller with her gift from the cast and crew of High School Musical 2*. 

We send big thank you’s to all our Drama families and friends who generously donated to the Drama program at the May 28th night performance. Your financial support is greatly appreciated especially as we prepare for the 2009-10 productions.  If you would like to support our program, you may drop off any donations at the school office or, if you attended the May 28th performance, you may send it in via the envelope that was attached to your program.

To Our Promoting 8th Grade Actors and Tech Crew – You are a talented bunch and it has been so rewarding to watch you develop your theatrical skills. We hope you come back and visit us. Also, helping Mrs. Miller at rehearsals is an enjoyable way to earn your 10 hours of mandatory high school volunteer service for your freshman year. If you are interested, please contact Mrs. Miller in the fall.  

2009-10 Drama News  

·        We encourage all students to consider auditioning for a part in our 2009 Winter Musical production. Being a member of our after school Drama Program gives students a really fun social outlet. The cast and crew bond throughout the months of rehearsals and by performance time, they have not only formed new friendships but they have also grown closer to old friends too.  The audition dates for our next musical will be posted on the school website in September.  

·        If your child is interested in taking Drama in 2009-10, please have him/her see Mrs. Miller in Room 1001 as soon as possible.  

Celebration Time!

 Pershing's Expressions Night and Reception 
June 10, 2009
At 7:00 p.m. 

Our annual Expressions Night and Reception showcases the outstanding literary works of our 6th through 8th grade students. The evening features student presentations as well as musical accompaniment. Also, all are encouraged to view our 7th grade Polyhedraville masterpiece, which will be proudly displayed in the library's classroom. 

7th Grade Math with 
Mr. Hogue, Mr. Myrick, and Ms. Wheeler

Seventh grade math students have just completed a two week geometry project entitled, “Polyhedraville”. The students put a lot of time, effort, and energy into this project.  

Overview of Polyhedraville: Polyhedraville is a math unit in which students apply their knowledge about polygons, geometric net construction, and budgeting. The polygons (2-D shapes) are used to learn how to make polyhedrons (3-D shapes). Students learned about the characteristics of prisms, polygons, and polyhedrons; worked with area and surface area; estimated costs and worked on a budget; and planned, organized, and produced a portion of a large city. Students had to plan and organize the layout and buildings for their section so that all the contents fit inside their budget, which was determined by the surface area of the buildings they constructed.

The Assignment: Each student had to design four buildings using polyhedrons. They had to compute the area of the buildings. They were given specific costs related to the area and had to keep the total cost of the buildings within a specific budget. After approval of their design, they had to build the buildings out of construction paper and mount them on a 12in by 18in. piece of construction paper. Each of these 'sections' of the Polyhedraville community will be placed together to form Polyhedraville. The completed project will be displayed in the library classroom during the evening of the Expressions Night and Reception.

More Math Highlights - After two weeks of review, many students will be taking the upcoming "Algebra Readiness" test.

7th Grade Fun! 7th grade students and their team teachers are very excited about the upcoming field trip to Knott's Berry Farm, which is scheduled for Friday June 5, 2009. This is an all day trip and students will not return to Pershing until 8:00 p.m. Parents are reminded that they must arrange transportation home for their child(ren) when the buses return to Pershing.

Team 6C: Ms. Ochs, Mrs. D. Jones, and Mrs Decker-Wells

6th grade Team C Happenings -  On May 13th, Team C had their final Star Students Party.  After a rousing game of rag ball, the Team C "All Stars" enjoyed ice cream floats. These Star Students have worked hard in and out of class, demonstrating excellence in behavior all year long.   Thank you, thank you, thank you, students!  You are why we enjoy teaching!  And thank you, parents, for raising such a great group of kids!

Please Return Your Textbooks and Library Books!

Yearbook Distribution - 8th Grade on June 10th during Block 4, 7th Grade on June 10th at 1:45 p.m., and 6th Grade on June 11th during Block 4.

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Pershing 
Parent Power!

Thank you to the hundreds of Pershing families who generously supported our school during 2008-09 through volunteering and donations of money and supplies! Your dedication has meant the world to everyone in the Pershing community.  You are the best! Thank you's are also sent to those parent leaders who will be leaving Pershing because their children are moving onto high school: Mrs. Masi and her amazing work with the Pershing Band Boosters, Mr. Fahey and his strong leadership skills as VP of the Foundation, Mrs. Brown, Mrs. Esterbrooks, Mrs. Haney, and Mrs. Walden, as well as the many exiting 8th grade parents whose devotion to Pershing makes this such an outstanding middle school. Everyone knows that Pershing Families ROCK!! Please contact us if we left out an exiting parent volunteer program leader's name! We appreciate all you do and want to acknowledge your service to Pershing.

Thank you to everyone who recently donated much needed printer paper! 

Dear Pershing Families,