Dear PVES Families,
Welcome to the first Weekly Word of the 2021-2022 school year! I hope that you are all enjoying this long weekend. After a quick and successful start to school for our staff and students, schools are closed on Monday, September 6th in honor of Labor Day, and on Tuesday and Wednesday in honor of Rosh Hashanah. We look forward to welcoming everyone back to school on this Thursday, September 9th!
I am so very proud of our amazing students who helped us start the school year off with big smiles and wonderful days! With all health and safety regulations in place, our PVES students began the school year in their bright and clean classrooms, meeting their wonderful teachers, and beginning to make new friends. All people in our schools are wearing masks at all times, except during brief mask breaks, distanced snack times, socially distanced lunch periods, or when outside. After the heavy rains, our students were able to have their first outdoor recess on Friday, where we are keeping class cohorts separate for now. Our playground equipment is back in use, and our Physical Education classes will be held outside whenever possible. I thank our custodial staff for their amazing efforts over the summer, setting up school furniture, moving classroom locations, and creating a “second cafeteria” in our auditorium for distanced eating outside of the classroom. We make a great team at PVES, and we appreciate all of your support!
Thank you for contacting Mrs. Sillery in our main office with any questions about dismissal procedures. Mrs. Sillery’s email is dsillery@pvcsd.org. As you know, our school day begins at 9:05, with students marked tardy after 9:12, and dismissal begins at 3:20 each afternoon. We ask that you do not write notes for your child to ride a different bus to visit a friend on any afternoon. This helps with our contact tracing procedures if those needs should arise. As we move forward, the afternoon buses will begin to arrive at your homes earlier than they did this past week. Please make sure that there is an adult at the bus stop to meet your children each day.
We are looking forward to our upcoming in-person Back to School Nights for parents. It would be wonderful to have one adult from each household attend the event for each child. These Back to School Nights are NOT for children. Parents of children in Grades 3 and 4 are invited to our PVES Back to School Night on Monday, September 13th from 6:30 to 8:00 PM. Parents of children in Grades 1 and 2 are invited to our PVES Back to School Night on Tuesday, September 14th from 6:30 to 8:00 PM. Please mark your calendars, as these are important curriculum nights where a great amount of important information will be shared. Masks must be worn by all attendees.
Our Assistant Principal search is underway, and we will continue to keep you posted on this hiring process. In the meantime, you know that you can reach out to me with any of your questions. My email is mpodesta@pvcsd.org. If you would like me to call you, just email me the best times to reach you. I look forward to working together throughout the year.
As we begin this exciting school year, thank you for talking positively to your child about this year’s teachers, classroom, school, and learning. Establish good homework and bedtime routines from the start, as this will make such a difference throughout the year. Our students benefit from this positive communication, support, and encouragement. We want all our PVES students to reach great learning and growth goals this year. Let’s work together!
We look forward to seeing many of you at our outdoor PVES/PTA Picnic on Friday, September 17th, from 5:00 to 7:00 PM. This is NOT a drop-off event, as you will supervise your own children throughout the picnic hours. We welcome you to bring lawn chairs or a picnic blanket, and a packed dinner and dessert for your own family. This will be a great opportunity to meet and enjoy our wonderful school community. We look forward to seeing you there!
As I begin my 9th year as Principal of this wonderful school, I thank you sincerely for all of your support, your positive communication, and for sharing your amazing children with us each and every day. I absolutely love my leadership role, and even with the many challenges that have come our way recently, PVES continues to shine. Thank you for helping to make that happen!
Looking forward to a fantastic year ahead!
Sincerely,
Dr. Margaret Podesta
Principal