Dear PVMS Families,
Happy New Year! I am excited to see what the new decade and the year 2020 has in store for our community and children. Being home over the holidays can be a nice way to spend time with your family and to recognize all of the work that your children are engaged in with school. I hope you and your children are rejuvenated for the new year as we have many great activities in store. We are eager to get back into routines, set goals, and work on our PVMS P.R.I.D.E.!
We continue to foster Tiger P.R.I.D.E. at PVMS. Through perseverance, responsibility, integrity, dedication, and empathy, we continue to grow as life long learners. In January, we’re looking for students who consistently demonstrate integrity to be our Students of the Month. How will our students show their PVMS P.R.I.D.E.?
Does your child have a special talent? The Student Council is hosting a Talent Show! Auditions will be on Thursday, January 9th in Room 182 after school. Students must complete a permission slip to audition. Permission slips can be picked up on the Student Council bulletin board on the second floor.
The Talent Show will be on Friday, January 24 at 5:00PM!
During the week of January 13th, our students will be taking their iReady Benchmark Assessments for math and reading. Please share with your children the importance of these assessments as we use them for placement and to direct instruction.
School will be closed on January 20th in recognition of Martin Luther King 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. Our 8th graders going to Washington D.C. will enjoy learning more about MLK.
No Name Calling Week will take place January 21 – 24. Our one book, one school book, The Misfits, by James Howe, inspired No Name Calling week. 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 clinical team works very hard in creating activities for students. Please expect more communication regarding the events taking place over the course of this week.
Quarter 3 begins Monday, 1/27/20 so please have a conversation with your children regarding any missing materials that need to be turned in before the end of the quarter. Please check PowerSchool weekly to ensure that your children are being successful and up to date on assignments. This is also a great time to clean out binders and keep all items in safe storage until the end of the year.
Please mark your calendar to check PowerSchool on Friday, 1/31/20 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 look out for these and let us know if you have any questions.
The 2020 school year will be a time where we will continue to foster perseverance, responsibility, integrity, dedication, and empathy, as we continue to grow as life long learners. The novel, Misfits helps us to reflect on how much words really mean. Think back to the saying, “Sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” This saying continues to be challenged to this day! In fact, for a child going through middle school, this could not be further from reality. Please be involved with what your children are doing with regard to social media. Monitor their screen time and speak with your children about the dangers of using inappropriate language, creating fake accounts, and creating videos through social media. It is through open lines of communication that you will help to guide your children in making good choices. A great theme of the book Misfits is, “Sticks and stones may break our bones, but names will break our spirit.” We want to continue to establish a spirit among our children and education is a powerful tool. 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