Dear PVMS Families,
Happy New Year! I hope 2023 affords us opportunities to set attainable goals and to challenge ourselves to the fullest extent possible. Most of all, I hope you and your families remain healthy! Our middle school students continue to persevere through this “tridemic” and amaze us with their resilience.
Our winter band and chorus concerts were very successful. Thank you to our music department and all of the preparation it took to get the entire band and chorus groups together to perform. It’s always nice to see our talented young performers on stage playing and singing their hearts out. Thank you to those that attended as it’s always a very busy time of year but a nice way to close out 2022.
Our modified winter sports are in full swing. Please note that should a student want to attend a game or match, they must have adult supervision. Many events start after 4:00PM so students should go home and come back to the event.
School will be closed on January 16th in recognition of Martin Luther King Jr. day. This is a nice time to discuss the sacrifice that Martin Luther King Jr. made regarding equality and a vision of hope for all humanity.
No Name Calling Week will take place January 17th – 20th. The middle school years are a time where we work hard to remind students of making good choices and to be thoughtful of the words that they use. This week is a nice reminder as our student support team works very hard in creating activities for students. Please expect more communication regarding the events taking place over the course of this week.
The end of our second quarter is quickly approaching and will be Friday, January 20th. Please review PowerSchool and partner with us to contact teachers should your child have difficulty in a subject area. There are opportunities such as after school study hall and our H.W. Booster Lab to help support students in getting them back on track academically, should they fall behind.
Quarter 3 and the second semester of the school year begins Monday, January 23rd. This is a great time to clean out binders and keep all items in safe storage until the end of the year.
During the week of January 23rd, our students will be taking their winter iReady Benchmark Assessments for math and reading. Our 7th and 8th grade students have been engaged in iReady instruction since the beginning of the school year in order to help give them more support in addressing areas for growth. We are hopeful that this will have a positive impact on their results. Please share with your children the importance of these assessments as we use them as part of a multiple measure in placement and to inform instruction.
Please mark your calendar to check PowerSchool on Friday, January 27th for Quarter 2 Report Card Grades and Comments. Please be sure to reach out to teachers regarding any academic, behavioral, or social concerns. You will receive paper copies of these report cards in the mail so please be on the lookout for these and let us know if you have any questions.
The 2023 school year will be a time where we will continue to foster perseverance, responsibility, integrity, dedication, and empathy, as we continue to grow as lifelong learners. Open up lines of communication with your children, be involved and aware with what your children are doing with regard to technology and social media. Monitor their screen time and speak with your children about the dangers of using inappropriate language, creating fake accounts, and creating videos and sending images through social media. Children should never type something that they wouldn’t say to someone in person. These “digital footprints” are forever linked to the choices that we all make. It is through open lines of communication that you will help to guide your children in making good choices. Please join with us in teaching that words matter and we should all be thoughtful of the impact that they have on others. We all work together to help guide our children and to let them know that they are supported and cared for and that this is a time for growth and reflection. This is our mission as educators!
May this year be one full of good health, happiness, opportunities and good choices!
Sincerely,
Travis W. McCarty
Principal