Summer vacation is nearing its end, school will be starting up again in just a couple of short weeks, and while this is the time of year for family vacations and much needed downtime, a lot of PES staff members have been working hard to make the 2026 - 2027 school year one of the best years ever.
Many teachers use their time over the summer to continue their own education by taking courses to improve their own knowledge, earn certifications, and even their Masters degrees! Some staff members at Douglas Elementary, for example, attended a three day BIST training this summer. BIST, Behavior Intervention Support Team, is a proactive behavioral support system designed to help students develop social, emotional, and self-regulation skills. Also this summer, third grade teacher, Mrs. Sherri Jones, completed work to become an IXL ambassador! She's excited because IXL has become one of her go-to tools for really understanding where her students are.
School custodians and maintenance staff have been working overtime to clean classrooms, wax floors, make necessary repairs and make sure all the buildings and grounds are clean and safe spaces for students when they return to class on Wednesday, August 19th.
This is also the time of the year when many major building level projects like roof repairs, boiler maintenance, gym floors get refinished and the always needed painting gets done. John Matlick has been busy again this summer sprucing up various spaces at Logan with his own creative style. These storage cabinets in Pannebaker Gymnasium aren't quite finished yet, but are going to be a great addition to John's other murals already present throughout the building.
If you are traveling down East LaSalle street, you may notice some changes at our Douglas Elementary building where we had several large, unhealthy trees removed this summer. The trees were in severe decline and had a significant amount of dead limbs which posed a serious risk of damage and/or injury. Keeping our students, staff, and visitors safe on school property is always one of our maintenance staff's top priorities.
We hope everyone can enjoy these last few days of summer and look forward to the start of another great year at Princeton Elementary!