Pine Tree ISD Newsletter
Your Guide to News & Events
April 2008
In This Issue
Early Release
School Board
District News
Campus News
Important Dates
Join Our Mailing List
MONDAY, APRIL 28th!
 
Kindergarten Spring Registration:
April 28th
 
A N D
 
Early Release
for Parent Conferences on all campuses.
Texas Day

FINE ART PERFORMANCES!

PTHS CHOIR CONCERT
A Pop Concert by the HS Choir will take place on May 16th in the HS Theater at 7:00 PM.
 
PT PRIDE - HS BAND
PTHS Band will present a Spring Concert on Tuesday, May 20 at 7:00 p.m. The concert will be held at the PTHS theater.   Read more
 
VISUAL ARTS SHOW
Visit the Longview Museum of Fine Arts at 310 E. Tyler street to view PT student award winning art.

 
SPRING SPORT
Webpages:

Track & Field

Baseball

Boys Golf

Girls Golf

Softball

Swimming

 

View schedules, read updates and enjoy photos of students in grades 9th - 12th grade. Each page is maintained by the organized group.

golf

CHECK THE DATE
in the weekly schedule.
 
PT FOUNDATION
HONORS TEACHERS

On May 01, 2008, the Pine Tree Education Foundation will host the Fourth Annual Beacon Awards Banquet.

 

This remarkable event recognizes teachers not only for excellence in the classroom, but for making a special difference in the life of a child.  Honorees are selected by student essays submitted to the Foundation. This year's banquet will be held at Pinecrest Country Club.  Read more.  

Award
 

Foundation Awards Grants to Teachers!

 

Office:903-295-5021.

Welcome to Pine Tree ISD's electronic publication for parents and school patrons. If your email was included, and you do not wish to receive this newsletter, please unsubscribe below. Direct your comments and questions to the Pine Tree ISD Public Information Office, P.O. Box 5878, Longview, TX 75608 or e-mail [email protected].

Early Release: Monday, April 28
All campuses will release early from school on Monday for parent conferences.  See schedule. 
 
Testing April 28-May 2 

Plenty of Rest & A Good Breakfast Recommended

The Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) will be administered to most Pine Tree ISD students during the week of April 28 - May 2.  Grades 3,4,5,6,7,8, 10, 11 and 12 will be taking TAKS exams in one or more subject areas during the week. The mandatory TAKS exams are a major part of the accountability system for Texas public schools. April 28-May 2 - TAKS Testing - Click to view specific subjects and dates for each test.   Resources
PT School Board Elections
Early Voting Begins April 28th

The Pine Tree PTA Council will sponsor a Pine Tree School Board Candidates Forum which will be held on Wednesday, April 30, 2008 in the Pine Tree High School Library at 7:00pm.  All candidates have agreed to attend and participate in the forum designed to provide information to the voters in the Pine Tree School district about the candidates and the issues.

To submit questions:  email Carol Pope   [email protected]

Pine Tree ISD Trustee Election will be held on May 10, 2008 in the Pine Tree ISD Administration Building, 1001 W. Fairmont from 7:00 am to 7:00 pm for the following positions:

 

Place 6:  Frank Dykes

               Gil Gillam *

 

Place 7:  Patrick Noon *

                                                            * incumbent

Early voting will be held from Monday, April 28 through Tuesday, May 6, at the Pine Tree ISD Administration Building from 8:00am to 4:30pm.  Read more about the elections.

 
PT School Board Meeting Notes
 
ACTION ITEMS - April 14th  meeting
Board Action Summary
 
Bids for Primary School (click to read more)
+ Approved the base bid of $11,250,609 and six alternate bids ($293,100) for a total guaranteed maximum price of $11,543,709
 
+ Approved
 
  > Minutes - March 10, 2008 and April 7, 2008 meetings
  > Supplements and Deletions to the Tax Roll
  > Student Trip Over 350 Miles
 
+ Consider First Reading of DNA (LOCAL)
Approved changing the first and second classroom observation of teachers from a scheduled date and time to an unscheduled date and time
 
+ Approved Financial Report as Presented 

+ Approvied District Improvement Plan for 2008-09
+ Executive Session:
  >Resignation: Rogers Adams, HS; Beth Bills, Middle 5/6; Cathy Gilbert, Primary counselor; Don Johnson, HS; Sarah Langford, Jr. High; and Brenda Riley, Primary principal
 
  >Campus Changes:  Cindy Gabehart, HS principal and Cindy Martin, HS counselor  Read more
 
  >New Hire:  Kim Chatman, HS assistant principal; John Martin, HS assistant principal; Diana Dunn, HS counselor; and Craig Griffin, teacher/coach
 
  >Superintendent's Contract:  extended the contract by one year and to change the salary, stipends and evaluation criteria as presented in the new contract which will be posted on the ptisd.org web page.
 
  >Complete official minutes will be posted after approval at the next meeting.

 

Click here for more information from previous meetings.

 

District News
 
Pine Tree ISD, has implemented "Lunch Money Now", an addition to the point-of-sale software provided by Systems Design of Corpus Christi, Texas. Systems Design specializes in food service management systems for school nutrition programs. Lunch Money Now permits parents to access their student's cafeteria account via the Internet.  Read more.
 
HS To Receive Grant Money

Teamwork and individual performance are two factors that will affect how much of the grant-money pie Pine Tree High School teachers get next year. Pine Tree Independent School District trustees unanimously approved the district's application for the District Awards for Teacher Excellence grant, a non-competitive program administered through the Texas Education Agency. Under the grant application's guidelines, Pine Tree High School employees will be eligible to receive up to more than $3,000 as a merit-based bonus for performance during the 2008-09 school year.   Read More.

Students Take Fitness Test
During the 80th Legislative Session, Senate Bill 530 was passed, which requires a fitness assessment for all students in grades 3 to 12 starting in the 2007-2008 school year. After a thorough review, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) identified FITNESSGRAM as the assessment tool to be used by all districts throughout the state. There are over 1,2000 Texas school districts that will administer the fitness evaluation.  More news
Read All About it!
Campus News:
 
and
Earth Day

Earth Day at the Elementary School
IMPORTANT DATES

April 28 - PTHS ACE Academy Applications Due

April 28 - Early Release Day / Parent Conferences for K-12

April 28 - Report Cards Grades 3-12, Parent Viewer

April 28 - Kindergarten "Round Up" Early Reg.

April 28- May 3 HS Band Senior Trip

April 28- May 6 - Early Voting for School Board Election

April 28 - May 2 - TAKS Testing

 

May 1 - PT Education Foundation Beacon Awards

May 1 - HS Blood Drive

May 1 - Sixth Grade Field Day

May 1-2 Acadec National competition

May 1-7 National PE and Sports Week

May 4-8 Teacher Appreciation Week

May 5 - Cinco do Mayo

May 5-8 Open Tryouts for Soccer

May 5-15 - AP Exams

May 6 - National Teacher Day

May 7 - School Nurse Day

May 9 - 7th and 8th Grade Band visit Six Flags of Texas

May 9 - Middle 5/6 Talent Show

May 9 - Fifth Grade Field Day

May 10 - School Board Elections

May 11 - Mother's Day

May 12 - School Board meeting 6pm

May 12 - Senior Awards Night, 6:30pm, HS Theatre

May 14 -  Appreciation Lunch for Longview Police Dept.

May 15 - Middle 5/6 Read In

May 16 - Texas Day at the Intermediate Campus

May 16 - HS Choir - Pop Concert, HS Theatre, 7pm

May 16-23 Middle 5/6 Big Art

May 17 - PTHS Senior Prom, 7:30pm Maud Cobb

May 18-23 National Educational Boss' Week

May 19 - Blood Drive, PTHS

May 22 - JH UIL Celebration Day

May 23 - JH TAKS Fun Day

May 26 - Holiday: Memorial Day

May 30 - Kindergarten Graduation, Junior High Gym, 9am

 

MORE NEWS & DATES

Make a

Difference
If you are looking for a way to make a difference in the lives of PT students, visit the DonorsChoose page where teachers have written a description of what they need for their classroom.  Find out more about the exciting experiences waiting for our students and how you or your business can help.
 
View the PT Challenge Page