Your Ponce Weekly Guide | October 19 to 23rd, 2026
Happy Sunday, Ponce families! 🧭💙
The second quarter starts tomorrow, and this week is a busy one. Monday, October 19 is the Reflections deadline, and Friday, October 23 is our Harvest Festival 🎃. Next week, 8th grade families have the High School Magnet Fair on Thursday, October 29. Read on for everything you need, plus sign-ups for the Give Miami Day 5K and our first-ever Ponce Idol Talent Show. Save the dates, Explorers!
🗓️ Save the Dates
Mon, Oct 19 – Start of the 2nd Quarter + Reflections entries due
Tue, Oct 20 – Fri, Nov 13 – Magnet Tours: Ponce welcomes elementary schools
Fri, Oct 23 – Harvest Festival, 4:00–6:00 PM
Mon, Oct 26 – United Way Spirit Week begins
Thu, Oct 29 – High School Magnet Fair, 9:30 AM (8th grade families)
Fri, Oct 30 – Spooktacular Dance & Haunted House
Thu, Nov 5 – Ponce Magnet Fair, 6:00 PM
Sun, Nov 15 – Give Miami Day 5K
Thu, Nov 19 – Ponce Idol Talent Show, 6:30 PM
🎨 Last Call for Reflections! Due Monday, October 19
Reflections is a national arts program with more than 300,000 participants, and Ponce students can still take part! This year’s theme is “What My Culture Means to Me.” Culture can be anything that shapes who you are, such as family traditions, a language, your neighborhood, Sunday dinners, the music you love or the team you cheer for. Students can enter in any of the six arts categories.
Here is a collection of memories from our previous participations!
Every entry needs:
Brand-new, original artwork made by one student, created only for Reflections
An original title and an artist statement of 10–100 words
A completed Florida PTA Student Entry Form, signed by the student and a parent or guardian (e-signatures are OK)
Quick tips before you submit:
The artist statement counts for about 40% of the score. Parents, it should sound like your Explorer. Ask your child about their work and write down their own words.
AI may help enhance an entry but must never create it. The main idea and design have to be the student’s own.
For Literature entries, the student’s name must not appear anywhere on the piece.
For Visual Arts, submit a clear, well-lit photo and keep the original safe at home in case the entry advances.
Questions? Join the Ponce Reflections Chat
Full rules and category details: Reflections 2026–27: rules, requirements and tips
🎃 Harvest Festival | Friday, October 23, 4:00–6:00 PM
Get ready for an afternoon of fall fun with food, games and friends! This year the festival is also open to the community, so families and friends are welcome to join with a community ticket.
🎟️ Tickets
Student presale ends Wednesday evening, October 21. Presale tickets will be delivered to students’ homerooms on Friday morning.
Entrance tickets and concession tickets for food and drinks are available here.
Community tickets for family members and friends are available here.
🙋 Volunteer with us
Trunk or Treat: Decorate your trunk and hand out treats such as candy or school supplies. Sign up here.
Festival volunteers: Help us during the event. Sign up here.
Volunteer clearance required (Raptor approval). Register here.
🧺 Donate and earn
Ms. Campos is collecting donations for the festival:
Packs of bottled water
Packs of drinks (soda or juice)
Halloween candy
Pumpkins (any size!)
Students who donate may receive extra credit at their teacher’s discretion. 6th and 7th graders can also earn community service hours for their donations.
🎓 8th Graders: High School Magnet Fair | Thursday, October 29
This is an important one for 8th grade families. Students and parents will meet high school magnet programs and explore options for your Explorer's next chapter.
Ready to apply? M-DCPS magnet applications for the 2027–2028 school year are open now through January 15.
Families can explore programs, review eligibility requirements and find application instructions at miamimagnets.org. Applications are submitted online through the M-DCPS Parent Portal under Admissions Application. Families may rank up to five magnet programs at different schools, so please review each program’s requirements carefully before submitting.
🧭 Welcoming Future Explorers
From October 20 to November 13, hundreds of fifth graders from across our city will tour our campus, see our International Baccalaureate (IB) program in action and find out what it means to be an Explorer.
📣 Ponce Magnet Fair for 5th graders: Thursday, November 5, at 6:00 PM. Please tell prospective families about it and invite them to visit Ponce, meet our team and see what makes our school special!
🍩 Doughnut Challenge: Final Winners!
Thank you, Ponce families! Together we raised $2,935 for our students! 💙
Congratulations to our grade-level winners:
🏆 6th Grade: Coach Trujillo, 32% participation
🏆 7th Grade: Ms. Mesa, 13% participation
🏆 8th Grade: Mr. Rouzard, 26% participation
Ponce Idol Talent Show | Sign-ups Are Open!
Sing, dance, play an instrument, tell jokes or perform magic: if you have a talent, the stage is yours!
Our first-ever Ponce Idol Talent Show takes place Thursday, November 19, at 6:30 PM in the school auditorium.
Rehearsals on Monday, November 9 and Monday, November 16 are required, so families, please save those dates. Be part of Ponce history and sign up here!
🏃 Give Miami Day 5K | Sunday, November 15
Whether you run, jog or walk, the 5K is a fun way for our whole Ponce community to get moving and support our school.
100% of your registration fee goes directly back to Ponce through Give Miami Day.
This year we’re raising funds for new testing laptops for our students.
6th and 7th graders earn 10 community service hours for participating.
All ages and fitness levels are welcome.
How to sign up:
Create your account and enter your information.
On the next page, find “Select Issue Area/Nonprofit.”
Type Ponce de Leon Middle School PTSA.
Select our school.
Wear your Ponce pride and help us bring a HUGE Ponce turnout!
That’s a wrap for this week, Explorers! Thank you for reading, sharing and showing up for our school community. Have a question or want to help? Visit our Volunteer page or follow us on Instagram @ponceptsa.
See you around Ponce!
ONE VISION. ONE STANDARD. ONE PONCE. 💙
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