Piñon Unified School District

PUSD #4 will be holding a sale for our used Chromebooks. Please see flyer for times and location. We will also be collecting enrollment packets during the drive through to purchase a Chromebook. Purchase of a Chromebook is NOT required for enrollment or distance learning at PUSD.

Greetings Pinon Unified Community! You can join us this evening for the live stream of our Public Hearing on the 2020-2021 budget at 4:30pm and our July Board special meeting at 5:00pm by clicking the link below. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCykbR6HBy6TU0Hw0hyeuGCAhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UCykbR6HBy6TU0Hw0hyeuGCA

Greetings Pinon Unified Community! Frequently asked question: When does school start? The 1st day of school for students, and the reporting back date for staff, has not changed. We are still following the SY 20-21 calendar. Governor Ducey’s order does not allow students to return to campus until mid August. PUSD had already decided to do distance learning for the 1st quarter so we do not need to adjust the calendar. The first day for students is still Monday, July 27. There will be more updates in the next few days. Have a great day!

Greetings Pinon Unified Community! The Governing Board unanimously accepted my recommendation to open the new school year with online-distance learning for the 1st quarter instead of our traditional instructional program with students on campus. It was also approved to cancel the fall athletic seasons. They were difficult recommendations to make but heath and safety considerations must come first. COVID-19 is still very much a health emergency in our community. There is still much work to be done and many more decisions to be made. Please be on the lookout for additional information and updates in the upcoming weeks. I hope you are all enjoying your summer break but please remember to wear a mask when in public, follow the curfew orders, practice social distancing and stay home as much as possible. Thank you, Superintendent Ostgaard

Join us today to view the Special Governing Board Meeting. It begins at 1:00pm. You can view the meeting on YouTube live at the link below. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCykbR6HBy6TU0Hw0hyeuGCA Prior Governing Board meetings are also available here for viewing.

Greetings Pinon Unified Community! Please use the link below to take our survey about the reopening of schools at the end of July. Your feedback is IMPORTANT as we make our plans! The survey is open until Monday at 9:00pm. https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/6TQM2CP

Good afternoon PHS Students & Parents! We are excited to announce that next 𝗧𝘂𝗲𝘀𝗱𝗮𝘆, 𝗝𝘂𝗻𝗲 𝟮, 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟬, 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝟭𝟭:𝟬𝟬 𝗮𝗺 𝘁𝗼 𝟭:𝟬𝟬 𝗽𝗺, Pinon High School will commence a "Drive Thru Graduation" for the Graduating Seniors. Graduating Seniors will stop by the High School Auditorium in their cap and gown to receive their diplomas with a picture with Mr. Nelson, HS Principal, and Superintendent Chris Ostgaard. Graduating Seniors and their parents will enter campus in one vehicle, entering by the Security Office, stopping by the HS Auditorium for their diploma, and exiting campus through the Transportation entrance. Students will exit the vehicle for their diploma and photo opt. **We asked that you please wear a mask during this time.** Only the student will exit the vehicle for Diploma pickup. Parents, please remain in the vehicle. Thank you.

SY 19-20 End of the Year Virtual Awards. Use the following link to listen to the Awards at https://youtu.be/4ufOi_Owp2w.

Good Afternoon PES Parents/Guardians, You have the opportunity to pick-up your student(s) belongings at PES. Someone will be available at the elementary school to bring you your students belongings. To promote social distancing, pick-up will be in Alphabetical Order by day. The schedule is as follows: Students with the Last Names A-M: Monday, May 11, 2020 from 8:00-10:00am AND 2:00-4:00pm Students with the Last Names N-Z Tuesday, May 12, 2020 from 8:00-10:00am AND 2:00-4:00pm Any Remaining Students Wednesday, May 13, 2020 from 8:00-10:00am AND 2:00-4:00pm All belongings will have sat untouched for at least three days to self-sanitize before pick-up. On the scheduled days and times, parents will come to the PES Front Entrance and give a PES staff member the name of their student(s). The PES staff member will pick-up the student(s) bag of belongings in the Art room, carry it to the parent/guardian waiting outside the PES main entrance door and hand it to the parent/guardian. Nobody will enter the school. The parent/guardian will be given their student(s) belongings, then leave. This is to promote social distancing.

Greetings Pinon Unified Community, You can use the public link below to access the live stream of the Public Budget Hearing at 4:00pm and the May Board Meeting at 5:00pm this evening. The meeting from April 15 is also available for viewing on the this page. The meetings tonight will show up as soon as I launch the meeting at the scheduled start time. The recordings of the meetings will be available after the meeting ends so if you can't join live you can watch it later. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCykbR6HBy6TU0Hw0hyeuGCA Thank you, Superintendent Ostgaard

Happy Arizona Teacher Appreciation Day and National Teacher Appreciation Week to our of our wonderful and dedicated educators at Pinon Unified! We thank you for everything you do!

Greetings Pinon Unified Community! Starting today, Tuesday, April 21, our children's meal service program will move to being on Tuesday and Thursday only. We are still providing seven days of breakfasts and seven days of lunches (this includes Saturday and Sunday) but all will be provided in two deliveries. This will reduce travel for families and reduce contact risks for our families and our staff. Reminder that meals are provided for all children age 18 and under and you do not have to be a Pinon Unified student to participate. Children no longer need to be there at the food delivery so we ask that only one person per family come to pick up food items. We also have St. Mary's Food Bank items at this time. Thank you and have a great day!

Greetings PUSD #4 Community The link below should allow you to connect to the Governing Board Meeting at 5:00pm today. This is our first attempt at a live streamed meeting so there may be technical difficulties. You can also access the link via our BoardDocs page on tonight's agenda. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCykbR6HBy6TU0Hw0hyeuGCA?view_as=subscriber

A Public Health Service announcement from IHS: “To assist with stopping the spread of the coronavirus. If you must leave your home for essential errands such as shopping for food please follow recommendations from the CDC: · Stay at least 6 feet away from others while shopping and in lines. Cover your mouth and nose with a cloth face covering when you have to go out in public. When you do have to visit in person, go during hours when fewer people will be there (for example, early morning or late night). If you are at higher risk for severe illness, find out if the store has special hours for people at higher risk. If they do, try to shop during those hours. People at higher risk for severe illness include adults 65 or older and people of any age who have serious underlying medical conditions. Disinfect the shopping cart, use disinfecting wipes if available. Do not touch your eyes, nose, or mouth. If possible, use touchless payment (pay without touching money, a card, or a keypad). If you must handle money, a card, or use a keypad, use hand sanitizer right after paying. After leaving the store, use hand sanitizer. When you get home, wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. At home, follow food safety guidelines: clean, separate, cook, chill. There is no evidence that food or food packaging has been linked to getting sick from COVID-19. The CDC also continues to recommend social distancing, by limiting close contact with individuals outside your household in indoor and outdoor spaces. Since people can spread the virus before they know they are sick, it is important to stay away from others when possible, even if you have no symptoms. If you or someone you know has questions about COVID-19, or is sick please call the Nurse Call line 1-800-242-9271.”

PUSD #4 Announces New Grading Policy For The Remainder Of The School Year Schools in the Pinon Unified School District are closed for the rest of the school year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but students continue to learn online or by printed packets. The district is making adjustments to the school calendar related to the current situation. Student grades for the second semester of the 2019-2020 school year will be calculated based on third-quarter grades, and the completion of new assignments for the rest of the semester. Final semester grades will not be lowered from the posted third-quarter grade, they can only be improved. Students that had a failing grade for third-quarter will have to work very closely with their teachers to improve that for the final semester grade. For high school students, these grades will be used to issue full credits for the second semester of the school year, meet graduation requirements and award diplomas to senior students. We are encouraging all classwork to be done online to the extent possible. We have been and will continue to mail student packets out for those without online access. These packets WILL NOT be collected due to health and safety reasons. Please work with your teachers to see how completed assignments can be reviewed. One possibility is to email or text a picture of the completed work to the teacher. Statewide assessments for students are canceled for the 2019-2020 school year, which includes AzM2 (AZ MERIT), AIMS Science, MSAA and AZELLA. ACT testing is postponed and rescheduled for June 13th. The Oral Navajo Language Culture-Test-Standards Based Assessment (ONLC-T-SBA) is canceled for this year. Career and Technical Education (CTE) assessments are also canceled. The Pinon High School Graduation ceremony is postponed, but NOT canceled, at this time. All other student activities are canceled for the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year. The 8th Grade Promotion Ceremony is canceled. All students will still receive the awards, honors, and recognition that they would have received but we will not be able to have the banquets, assemblies, and ceremonies that we would normally have had to end the school year. Thank you, Superintendent Ostgaard

A public health message from Pinon Health Center: “To assist with stopping the spread of the coronavirus. The Centers for Disease Control as of April 4th, 2020 recommends wearing cloth face coverings in public settings. The CDC also continues to recommend social distancing, by limiting close contact with individuals outside your household in indoor and outdoor spaces. Since people can spread the virus before they know they are sick, it is important to stay away from others when possible, even if you have no symptoms. Here is the CDC link for more information, and instructions on how to make your own face mask. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/diy-cloth-face-coverings.html”

Good Afternoon Pinon Unified Community, We will begin student meal service again starting Monday on the same schedule we used before. The guidelines have changed so children DO NOT need to be there when picking up meals. Please, only ONE PERSON per family should be at the bus stop or come to the drive-up service at the Elementary. We will not be dropping off or picking up student homework packets tomorrow, only meals. Any child 18 or under is eligible, even if they are not a PUSD student. All meal prep facilities and the buses have been thoroughly cleaned. We ask that you practice social distancing when picking up the student meals. Thank you, Superintendent Ostgaard

Greetings Pinon Unified Community! If you have questions or need to contact teachers or other district staff, please use my new email account. [email protected] I will be monitoring every day and I will respond or forward your message to the appropriate staff member. Also, a reminder to be sure your contact email and phone/text numbers are up to date. Our teachers are reaching out but many numbers are out of service or they are not getting a response. If you are not getting calls or emails, you can email me your name, student's name, number and email and I can get it updated for you. A reminder to practice social distancing, stay home and be safe! Thank you, Superintendent Ostgaard

Greetings Pinon Unified Community, A public service message from Pinon Clinic. Assist in stopping the spread of the Coronavirus. Wash your hands frequently for at least 20 seconds. Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth. Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash. Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces with EPA registered products. Stay home if you are sick. You should only leave home to get medical care, get prescription medication, shop for food/basic needs, you should go alone or send one person. Please call the Nurse Call line before going to get seen at Pinon Clinic. 1-800-242-9271 Stay Home! Stay Safe! Stay Healthy! Thank you!

Pinon Unified Community, We will be stopping student meal service for the rest of this week and keeping the campus closed through Friday. One of our staff has a close family member that has tested positive for COVID-19. No one on staff has symptoms or has tested positive but we need to be cautious. Our first priority is always the health and safety of our students and our staff. Please practice social distancing and remain at home as much as you can. All staff should check in daily with their supervisors for assignments or instructions. Teachers please continue to work with your students as much as possible. Thank you, Superintendent Ostgaard