Tiger Tuesday News

October 11th, 2022







Meet the 2022 PVMS Team! 



Front Row - Admin & Office Team (LtoR): Lawrence Haynie, Nicole Wallace, Leslie Nelson, Melania Mota, Amelia Miller, Grace Bird, Allie, Schiavone, Jarred Razlaff, Shaunda Steffen, Kayla Felderman, and Araceli Mota

Row 2 - Electives (LtoR): Dan Hamilton, Mike Tracy, Yolanda Armas, Bradley Cooper, Tyler Johnston, Jen Crowley, Lyndie Mae, Derek Seifried, Heather Landon, and Kira Nolan

Row 3 - 6th Grade (LtoR): Corey Ferraro, Elaine Collins, Carl Elledge, Ashley Glasen, Taylor Schlegel, Catie Riessen, Alaina Pendleton, Allison Petty, Catherine Davies, and Annalise Dobbs

Row 4 - 7th Grade (LtoR): Robbi Makely, Nicoleta Klopp, Kim Johnston, Angela McGee, Eric Petty, Elizabeth Gouveia, Forrest Walker, Becca Brawner, Andrew Horwath, Eric Emeterio, and Vanesa Fumbarg

Row 5 - 8th Grade (LtoR): Heather Pevan, Gillie Bishop, Nikki Bertram, Brian Gianna, Maggie Sherry, Melissa Nelson, Kelly Gomez, Kimberly Warne, Kara Shea, Kate Morton, and Sam Snider



Teacher to Parent Connections TOMORROW! 

We hope that you enjoyed learning more about your student’s first quarter at PVMS by reviewing the portfolios that they brought home over the weekend. We will continue to celebrate our students at Top Tiger Awards Ceremonies (7th grade tomorrow and 8th grade Thursday). 

Please consider joining us for our Connections Open House TOMORROW, October 12th from 5-8 PM. Our doors will be open for you to come in with your students to check-in with teachers and ask questions that were not answered in your student’s portfolio reflection. We will have information and support in the lobby about IC parent portal and school fees. 

The Kona Ice Truck will be here to help our student's raise money for the Washington D.C. trip! 



Fall Parent Survey - Please Take! 

Each Semester, Parents in 27J are asked to complete a Climate survey to help us understand the strengths and areas of growth for the partnerships that each school seeks to build with its students, their families, and the community. With a new leadership team and a large amount of new teaching staff, we are extra excited for the data from this survey so that we can evaluate our work and continue our mission to get better for your students each day. Here is the survey link. Our goal is to have at least 50% participation from our PVMS families. We will be sending updates and text reminders about the survey over the coming weeks. 



Outstanding School Fees

As we discussed at parent meetings in August, all students are assessed basic fees each school year to cover the costs of software licensing, Chromebook repairs and student activities. Fees are $85 for the 2022-23 school year. At PVMS, we currently have $26,000 in outstanding student fees! If you are unsure about your student’s fees, please call out main office. If you are struggling to pay these fees, please connect with Assistant Principal Allie Schiavone at aschiavone@sd27j.net or Principal Grace Bird at gbird@sd27j.net 

The district Fee Schedule can be found here. 

Per district policy, students that participate in athletics are required to have all student fees, not just athletic fees.



Dean’s Corner

Several trends are starting to emerge as we get further into the year. When staff members notice trends at PVMS, learning behind the behavior typically happens in Advisory time directly with student’s teachers. This week, students are learning about the impact of actions and words toward one another and choosing positive friendships! One way you can assist us with this is by talking with your PVMS student about kind language on social media platforms, video games and all online communication. One specific trend we are seeing a rise in fake social media accounts to target fellow Tiger students. This is creating a disruption in the learning environment. Here is an article (Click Here)  to assist parents in monitoring their child’s social media! There are several ways to check with your child about online activity- from having a conversation about safe and regulated websites to choosing a monitoring app. We appreciate your support in this matter as we strive to keep your PVMS Tiger safe at school and online. 

As mentioned in previous Tiger Tuesdays, vaping and the possession of vape devices continues to be an issue here at PVMS. We are seeing a rise in disposable nicotine vapes, specifically the “Esco Bars- Pastel Cartel” brand. These are sold at vape shops and gas stations. 



School Hours & Supervision

As the temperature starts to drop, we want to remind you about the hours that our building is open and that we have supervision for students. 

Office Hours - 8:00 AM to 5:30 PM

Supervision Hours for Students - 8:15 AM to 4:47 PM

Breakfast - 8:10-8:25

Students are allowed to enter the building beginning at 8:25 AM. In severe weather, students will be permitted to enter the building earlier. Please make sure that if you drop student off prior to supervision hours, that they are dressed appropriately for the weather and are aware that they will remain outside without supervision.



Weekly Data Recap

Our priority is that students are in class learning and completing their work. We know that the following data  are some of the most basic, and yet most important, factors in their ability to grow their knowledge and skills. 

This week’s numbers:

Full Day Attendance Rate: 80.96%
SIS Reported Attendance Rate: 91.78%
Tardies Week of Oct. 4-7 (and up or down from last week)
6th Grade: 66 (+12)
7th Grade: 114 (-8)
8th Grade: 142 (+9)
F’s as of October 11th (and up or down from last week)
6th Grade: 166 (-9)
7th Grade: 218 (+18)
8th Grade: 266 (+7)


(Full Day Attendance Rate - The percentage of time students are present for the entire day (no absences or tardies reported). SIS Reported Attendance Rate - The percentage of time students are present for more than half of the school day. Tardies - The number of tardies in the last calendar week. Students with 3 or more tardies in one week will start earning detentions. Repeated weeks of 3 or more tardies will result in Monday School. F’s - The number of F’s currently listed in our gradebooks. A primary reason for F’s is students having missing assignments. Does your student have all of their work turned in? Have you checked Infinite Campus Parent Portal recently?)



School Accountability Committee (SAC) Feedback

We had our first SAC meeting and were joined by a few parents that represented students in all grade-levels. We focused on discussing Communication and Safety/Behavior. We are so excited for the start of this committee and would love for more families to join us (we are sorry about the conflict with the concert this time!) At our next meeting on Tuesday, November 1st at 6:00 PM, we will dig into the Fall Parent SurveyResults and Fundraising needs/ideas. 

Here are a few pieces of feedback from this time: 

Parents LOVE hearing from teachers for positive things! 
Parents want to hear directly from a teacher if their student is failing a class
Parents want the assignment trackers and homework folders to completed thoroughly so that they can support you and their student
Parents appreciate the redirect process and the chance for their student to be held accountable, but also be given a chance to improve. 
Parents want to hear directly from teachers if there are concerning behaviors trending with their students (before it starts getting to 4th redirects)
Parents LOVE the 6th and 7th grade newsletters (they especially like knowing about projects, deadlines, test dates, etc.)
Parents want to be part of school activities and are very motivated to come in and volunteer
Parents felt more aware of expectations because of our required parent meetings


World’s Finest Chocolate Fundraiser

Our World’s Finest Chocolate is underway!  In order to sell chocolate, permission slips must be signed by a parent or guardian.  Money can be turned in daily to his/her/their advisory teacher.  The last day of the fundraiser is Tuesday, 10/18.  All money must be turned in on this day.

Students selling chocolate are responsible for the supervision of their candy bars. Boxes are distributed in the morning for 6th and 7th graders and they put them in their lockers. 8th graders will now get boxes at the end of the day. We will not expend any adult time and energy on missing or stolen candy. 




Middle School Boundary Change Coming for 2023-24 School Year

As a growing school district, it is necessary for us to consider frequent school boundary area adjustments. These changes help create adequate enrollment balance between schools and ensure a high quality and safe learning environment for your student(s).

We want to make you aware that our district is currently considering a boundary change that could impact our school’s enrollment. This proposed change, which wouldn’t take effect until the start of the 2023-2024 school year, is designed to balance large enrollment increases we are seeing in some of our middle schools.

As part of this boundary adjustment process, the district has identified three potential options that the district’s Facility Planning Advisory Committee will consider next month. 

Your input in this process is important to us. We invite you to click here to learn more about these different boundary change options. Each of the options includes a map with the proposed attendance areas, school enrollment projections, and a general overview of the areas that would be included within the proposed attendance areas.

There is also a brief survey you can complete to offer input on your preferred boundary option.

Cómo distrito escolar en crecimiento, es necesario considerar ajustes frecuentes en el área de los límites escolares. Estos cambios ayudan a crear un equilibrio de inscripción adecuada entre las escuelas y garantizan un entorno de aprendizaje seguro y de alta calidad para su(s) estudiante(s). 

Queremos informarle que nuestro distrito actualmente está considerando un cambio de límites que podría afectar la inscripción en nuestra escuela. Este cambio propuesto, que no entraría en vigencia hasta el comienzo del ciclo escolar 2023-2024, está diseñado para equilibrar los grandes aumentos de inscripción que estamos viendo en unas escuelas secundarias. 

Como parte de este proceso de ajuste de límites, el distrito ha identificado tres potenciales cambios que el Comité Asesor de Planificación de Instalaciones considerara el próximo mes. 

Su opinión en este proceso es importante para nosotros. Lo invitamos a hacer clic aquí para aprender más sobre estas diferentes opciones de cambio de límites. Cada una de las opciones incluye un mapa con las áreas de asistencia propuestas, las proyecciones de inscripción escolar y una descripción general de las áreas que se incluiría dentro de las áreas de asistencia propuestas. 

También hay una breve encuesta que usted puede completar para ofrecer información sobre su opción de límite preferida. 




Assessment Calendar 

Every year, our students complete various assessments to help us understand their progress towards mastery of grade-level standards. 

As PVMS we pride ourselves on having a growth-mindset when it comes to assessment. We want this to be a safe place for students to demonstrate what they know and what they don't know so that we can be the best teachers possible for them! 

Please review this document to see the assessments your student will participate in. This schedule and guide is also posted on our website. 

Questions related to assessments should be referred to Assistant Principal and Assessment Coordinator Allie Schiavone at aschiavone@sd27j.net



Family Safety Night

Schools face a range of hazards and have unique challenges when it comes to safety and security. Improve your safety knowledge at our Family Safety Night on Thursday, October 13 at Prairie View High School at 5 PM. You'll meet 27J's Emergency Preparedness and safety teams, plus over 20 of our community safety partners, and participate in interactive learning opportunities.




Chromebooks

Chromebooks are 27J property in the care of students. Chromebooks, cases, and chargers have all been labeled with students' names. If a student has misplaced their Chromebook or suspect it was taken, they need to report it to their advisory teacher as soon as possible. Cases must stay on Chromebooks at all times.

Students that intentionally damage their Chromebooks will be responsible for the cost of the replacement or repairs:

Replacement Chromebook - $325
Screen Replacement/Repair - $50
Keyboard Replacement/Repair - $40
Also….Please DO NOT put stickers on chromebooks!



Student Pick-Up - ID’S ARE REQUIRED! 

A very important reminder that identification is REQUIRED in order to pick up a student from school. This is an essential safety protocol to ensure that your students are only released to a parent/guardian or approved contact whose identity we are able to verify. Please be kind and respectful to our front office team that upholds this important policy.




8th Grade Continuation Requirements Reminder

As discussed at our required back-to-school parent meetings, there are requirements for 8th graders to participate in end-of-year celebrations including, but not limited to the Continuation Ceremony & Elitches Field Trip

Students must:

Have passing grades in all classes
Have all school fees paid
Have NO drug, alcohol or weapons offenses for the 22-23 school year.


Important Documents for the 2022-23 School Year

Bell Schedule

Supply List

Student Handbook

Staff Contact List