Dear PVMS Families,
I hope you have been able to get away and relax this summer! It has been extremely warm lately with pop up storms weekly. August is already here and although there are many days of summer break left, we wanted to update you on some plans for our 2024-2025 school year.
Our upcoming year will be filled with International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme work on behalf of our administrators and teachers as we look to become authorized midyear. This is a framework for learning that all students will be immersed in over time. Our professional development is integral and we will continue to be focussed on this work that will positively impact our students. Student of the Month nominations have focussed around our IB Learner Profile attributes in addition to other criteria. Our work is woven into instruction and the profile aims to develop learners who are:
- Inquirers
- Knowledgeable
- Thinkers
- Communicators
- Principled
- Open-minded
- Caring
- Risk-takers
- Balanced
- Reflective
Please visit our PVMS Website to see important updates, images of our school year, and our monthly newsletter.
If you want to know what’s happening at PVMS each day, check our Daily Announcements Website to get up to date information on upcoming events, club and sports schedules and cancellations. Sports cancellations will be updated but please remember that this could happen late in the day so check often. Please bookmark this site on your devices.
Before school and after school club offerings and dates will be posted in September. You can find this information on our club page on our PVMS Website.
The first day of our upcoming school year will be Tuesday, September 3rd, 2024 for our 5th and 6th graders. All students will be welcomed back on Wednesday, September 4th. This staggered start will enable our 5th and 6th graders to get settled in with an orientation and fewer students in the building to start their first day with activities.
New students in 7th and 8th grade will have the opportunity to come to a locker opening session between 12:30 – 2:30 PM on Tuesday, September 3rd. Please watch the following video that will help assist your child with opening their locker. Our 7th and 8th grade teachers will assist with locker opening during this time as well. Parents must drop off their children and wait in our parking lot and pick up their children when they are finished getting acclimated to the locker opening process. A friendly reminder that students should not share lockers, combinations, or tamper with locker mechanisms. Personal belongings should not be shared amongst students.
Important news for incoming 5th grade and new parents – We will have our 5th grade and new student(s) parent/guardian orientation at 8:00 AM on Tuesday, September 3rd. Parents and guardians will be welcomed into our dining hall where we will speak about becoming acclimated to our school. Please take note that 5th and 6th grade students will come in at regular time on this day and will not be a part of the parent/guardian orientation.
School will be in session daily from 7:48 AM until 2:36 PM. We open our doors at 7:30 AM unless students come in early for 7:00 AM clubs. Our first two days of school, September 3rd and 4th will be A days. This will enable all students to start consistently.
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Monday 9/2/24 Labor Day School Closed |
Tuesday 9/3/24 A Day Opening Day for 5th & 6th Grade 5th Grade & New Student – Parent/Guardian Orientation – 8:00AM |
Wednesday 9/4/24 A Day All students back in session (5th, 6th, 7th, 8th) – Opening Day for 7th & 8th Grade |
Thursday 9/5/24 B Day |
Friday 9/6/24 C Day |
Students in grades 6 and 7 will notice that they have new lockers this year. We took this opportunity to place a large majority of 6th graders upstairs closest to their core classes. Our 7th graders will be together in one hallway while our 8th graders will be together in another hallway thus creating a sense of community amongst their grade level. These changes will be reflected in PowerSchool. Please note that most 8th graders will have the same lockers as they had last year unless we found the opportunity to spread them out for increased space or there was a request for changes.
If you are dropping off your child during the school year, as opposed to using bus transportation, please use the crosswalk area as the drop off point. This is a monitored area where students can safely cross the driveway and avoid moving bus traffic. Those adults dropping off students must use the traffic lane closest to our high school and middle school. Dropping off students by driving through the middle of our parking lots creates dangerous conditions. If getting here is a challenge then please leave a few minutes earlier. We want to ensure everyone is safe and on time. Please do not drop your child off prior to 7:30 AM unless they are attending a before school club that starts at 7:00 AM. We will have more information regarding clubs in September.
Encore Classes
5th – Art, Creative Writing, General Music, Social & Emotional Learning (SEL), Technology, Textiles and Design
6th – Art, Creative Writing, Health, Social & Emotional Learning (SEL), Technology, Textilesand Design
7th – Art and Technology
8th – Art and Health
Key Details
Please be sure to visit our PVMS Back To School Supply List page. This will help to prepare your children for the upcoming year.
Summer Reading – We have a number of suggestions for summer reading. Please take a look at our Summer Reading Website if you have not had the opportunity to do so. Reading helps bring the world alive and this is a great opportunity to gain knowledge. It is never too late to read a great book!
Regarding Schedules
Your PowerSchool account will be available for you to view your new class schedule on Monday, August 26th at 9:00AM. A few simple clicks on our website will give you access to everything you need to know about the opening of the 2024-2025 school year.
Please take a moment to read the information below… many of your questions may be answered.
1) If you have questions regarding logging into PowerSchool, or creating a parent account, please visit https://sites.google.com/pvcsd.org/pvcsd-parent/powerschool. If you still have questions, please email Mrs. Sherwood at lsherwood@pvcsd.org. Students have their own login to Powerschool. New students will receive this information at school from their teachers or they can reach out to Mrs. Sherwood in the Technology Office.
2) Academic Study is a period when students will receive additional academic support and enrichment. Students may receive AIS services, band lessons, Research Lab, and/or speech or OT/PT services during this time.
3) If you have other questions regarding your schedule, please email our School Counselor, Ms. Ortiz at mortiz@pvcsd.org.
*Please take a moment this summer to log into the Parent Portal of PowerSchool.
Please review the 4 tabs listed below with emphasis on the Demographic Change tab.
- Grades & Attendance: This tab provides you with the student’s grades and attendance throughout the year. You will also see your locker number and locker combination here.
- Transportation Info: This tab provides you with your bus number and any additional transportation needs. A link to the bus route schedule is also provided on this page. You can reach the transportation department at 845-528-8900 with any bus concerns.
- Demographic Change: PLEASE review for outdated contact information. We need this information to be current and correct for parental correspondences and in case of an emergency. At the bottom Demographics Change page, click the checkbox next to the name of the student to confirm you want to make the changes and then click SUBMIT. Your submission will be reviewed and then updated.
- Schedule List: This tab will provide a printable copy of your child’s schedule. Please note, our schedules run on a six-day rotation cycle. A, B, C, D, E, F days will appear on your schedule.
On a final note, to comply with NYSED Regulations, this school year our building will be performing a number of state mandated fire drills as well as lockdown drills. These drills help to ensure that our students and staff know how to respond in the event of an emergency.
Enjoy the month of August and the time you have together with your family. We look forward to seeing you soon. If you have questions, please feel free to contact the Main Office at 845-528-8101.
Sincerely,
Travis W. McCarty
Principal