Dear PVMS Families,
I hope you have had a relaxing summer and have found time to make memories with your children. It has been extremely warm lately with little to no rainfall and poor air quality due to Canadian wildfires. Although August is already here and there are many days of summer break left, we wanted to update you on some plans for our 2025-2026 school year.
We have been authorized as an International Baccalaureate World School with a focus on the Middle Years Programme. This is exciting news as our teachers and staff will continue to grow their IB Units, develop assessments, and integrate a community project in eighth grade. This journey takes hard work and dedication and all of our students are the benefactors of these collaborative efforts.
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.
Important news for incoming 5th grade families and new transfer families to our middle school – We will have our 5th grade and new student parent/guardian orientation at 5:00 PM on Wednesday, August 27th. 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 grade and new students will not be a part of the parent/guardian orientation.
The first day of our upcoming school year will be Tuesday, September 2nd, 2025 for our 5th and 6th graders. All students (5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th) will be welcomed back on Wednesday, September 3rd. This staggered start will enable our 5th and 6th graders to get settled in with 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 2nd. 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.
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 2nd and 3rd will be A days. This will enable all students to start consistently.
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Monday 9/1/25 Labor Day |
Tuesday 9/2/25A DayOpening Day for 5th & 6th Grade |
Wednesday 9/3/25A DayAll students back in session(5th, 6th, 7th, 8th) – Opening Day for 7th & 8th Grade |
Thursday 9/4/25B Day |
Friday 9/5/25C Day |
Families should check PowerSchool for locker updates. This will provide you with locker numbers and combinations. (6th, 7th, and 8th grade only)
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, Innovation & Exploration, Technology, Textiles and 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 25th 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 2025-2026 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 or Mr. Poust 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 Counselors, Ms. Ortiz at mortiz@pvcsd.org (Grades 5 & 7) or Ms. Malagiero at kmalagiero@pvcsd.org
(Grades 6 & 8).
*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, our school district has adopted a policy with regard to internet enabled devices.
COMMUNICATIONS DEVICES/ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT
This policy has been established to ensure compliance with Section 2803 of the New York State Education Law and to promote fewer distractions in the learning environment for all students. Except as otherwise specified in this policy, the use of internet enabled devices by students is strictly prohibited during the school day on school grounds.
As defined by Section 2803 of the Education Law:
- Internet-Enabled Devices shall mean and include any smartphone, tablet, smartwatch, or other device capable of connecting to the internet and enabling the user to access content online when the device is not supplied by the District for an educational purpose. The law specifically excludes from the definition of “internet-enabled devices” devices supplied by the district for an educational purpose.
- School Day shall mean the entirety of every instructional day as required by subdivision seven of Section 3604 of the Education Law. This includes all instructional and non-instructional time, such as homeroom periods, lunch, recess, study halls, and time between classes.
- School Grounds shall mean in or on, or within any building, structure, athletic field, playground, or land contained within the real property boundary line of any school in the District.
At the Middle School, students who use these on the bus to and from school are required to turn them off and leave them in their lockers during school hours unless approved by administration.
Enforcement, Consequences and Reporting
For students out of compliance with this policy, the device may be securely locked, confiscated for the day, and/or stored until a parent/guardian is able to pick it up.
Students found in possession of an Internet enabled device, covered by this policy should expect the following:
Device will be securely locked away for the duration of the school day
Device will be securely locked in a pouch for the duration of the school day
Device will be confiscated and held in main office for the duration of the school day
Device will be confiscated and held until a parent or guardian is able to pick it up
At PVMS we have not typically had major issues with cell phones but please keep in mind that we must enforce this policy with regard to smartwatches as well and with fidelity. Families may get in touch with their children on a daily basis by calling our school at 845-528-8101.
In addition, 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