West Word
A Weekly Update from Perkiomen Valley Middle School West
A Word from Mr. Creeden
Quick Snapshot
- Important Hybrid Model Information
- Important Schedule Changes
- Students Remaining Virtual
- Remaining Chromebook Distribution
- Middle School Sports
- First Day Packet Info
- Attendance Info
- Weeks at a Glance
Important Hybrid Model Information
Health & Safety
Please review the ‘Symptom Monitoring Acknowledge’ form. It is important to ensure that your student is symptom free each day that you send your child to school. You may always keep your child home and have them attend school virtually. Your child will still be marked ‘present’. If you are doing so please contact our attendance secretary, Brenda Continelli, at bcontinelli@pvsd.org so we are aware for accountability purposes.
Symptom Monitoring Acknowledgement Form
Wearing Masks
All students must wear a face covering for most of the time and uphold our protocol which you can find here. There are some times when masks may be removed. Those include when students/staff are:
Eating or drinking when spaced at least six feet apart; or
At least 6 feet apart during “face-covering breaks” to last no longer than 10 minutes; or
When wearing a face covering creates an unsafe condition in which to operate equipment or execute a task.
Transportation
Student bus schedules are available in ParentVue. Each day the school bus will be going to every stop regardless of whether it is a Group 1 or 2 day, so it is important that your student knows if it is their particular day to ride the bus. Students will need to return home if they arrive on the wrong day. All students must wear a mask at all times on the bus. When boarding the bus, students should go directly to the rear and fill in the seats. Siblings are asked to sit together. Two at most to a seat.
Student Drop-Off/Pick-Up
If you are planning on dropping off or picking up your child please follow the signs upon entry into the building to the student drop off or pick up lot. This lot will be your second left as the first left is our bus drop off or pick up only.
Cafeteria
All students will receive a student ID card with a barcode, a clear plastic ID sleeve, and a lanyard. When purchasing food in the cafeteria they will be given complete breakfast and lunch meals free of charge and we will have a limited snack menu including beverages, bagged snacks and desserts that students may purchase. Students may bring cash to purchase snacks, as our staff will be wearing gloves, but we will not be permitted to give them change. The balance of any cash given will be applied to their Food Service Account for future purchases. Parents/Guardians may also put money for snacks on their accounts online at www.schoolcafe.com or send a check to the District Office. For more information about Food Service please see the link below.
Upon entering the cafeteria for lunch, students will be required to sit and wait to be dismissed to get their food. This will allow those monitoring the cafeteria to regulate the traffic flow in the serving area. Students will sit in desks throughout the cafeteria and our large group instruction rooms adjacent to the cafeteria. When the weather permits, and students have finished eating their lunch, they will be permitted to go outside until the conclusion of the lunch period. When outside students are still required to keep their masks on, but may take mask breaks.
Lockers, Backpacks, and Water Bottles
All students will not be permitted to use lockers. All items must be carried by the student in a backpack. Water fountains have been disabled, but our water bottle filling stations will be available for students to use in order to fill up their water bottles. Gym locker rooms will also not be available to students. Students will not be changing clothes for Physical Education class. Students should come dressed in sneakers and appropriate clothes on the days that they have Physical Education class.
Chromebooks
Students are expected to charge their Chromebooks at home before coming into school. Knowing that students will be using their Chromebooks more now than in a traditional setting there will be powerstrips available in classrooms for students to charge their Chromebooks during the day. Students must bring their own Chromebook chargers to school to charge their own devices. Students are not permitted to charge other students' Chromebooks, and chargers cannot be provided to charge Chromebooks.
Bathrooms
All grade level bathrooms will be available for student use throughout the day. Bathrooms will be cleaned regularly by our custodial staff throughout the day. Students are reminded to keep masks on while in the bathroom and use available sanitizing wipes, hand sanitizer, and/or wash hands to stay clean and safe.
Hallways (see image below)
There are arrows on the floor designating the direction that traffic flows. Stairwells throughout the building are also designated as one direction only stairwells. Students are encouraged to maintain social distancing and not stop in the hallways in-between classes.
Important Schedule Changes
No Homeroom
Starting on 9/29 students will no longer report to their homeroom teacher at 7:50am. On 9/29 and continuing throughout the school year all students (virtual and hybrid) will report immediately to first period at 7:50am. Morning announcements and PVTV will continue to be shared at 7:50am while students are in first period.
First Day Schedule for each 6th grade Hybrid Group
To accommodate the need for teachers to orient their in-person students on the first day for each hybrid group next week the following schedule will take place. Virtual students on each of these days will receive asynchronous work and will still join their first period class at 8:30am. On Tuesday 9/29 for Group 1 (A-K) and Thursday 10/1 for Group 2 (L-Z) all students will follow the schedule below:Wilderness Team
7:50 - 8:10 - HR teachers take homerooms on in-person tours of building
8:10 - 8:30 - Introduce/Orient in-person students to classroom, in-school procedures
8:30 - 8:50 - Have virtual students join the class for instruction
8:50 - 8:52 - Transition time
Element Team
7:50 - 8:10 - Introduce/Orient in-person students to classroom, in-school procedures
8:10 - 8:30 - HR teachers take homerooms on in-person tours of building
8:30 - 8:50 - Have virtual students join the class for instruction
8:50 - 8:52 - Transition time
Students Remaining Virtual
Bus information was provided for all students, including virtual students. If your child is remaining virtual you can ignore this information for now. If you choose to switch your child to the in-person mode of learning at any time please email our attendance secretary, Brenda Continelli, at bcontinelli@pvsd.org informing her of the switch. You can then use the bus information provided for your child at that time.
Remaining Chromebook/Computer Device Distribution
Middle School Sports
Seventh- and eighth-graders will begin athletic practices on Tuesday, Sept. 29th, with both middle schools combining students to form teams for football, cross country, soccer, field hockey and volleyball. Practices will be held from 3 to 5 p.m. and parents must provide transportation to and from the East facilities. All games will also be held at East.
Parents will be contacted by coaches between now and Tuesday with more information on where to meet and what students need to be aware of prior to attending the first practice.
First Day Packet Info
This year’s First Day Packet materials are being shared online. You can get to First Day Packets by going to PVSD website, select Parents and then select First Day Packets. Click on the folder that is for your child’s level. There are several forms that must be completed and returned to school. Those forms are:
- Limerick letter/authorization form
- Health Emergency Information from
- Symptom Monitoring Acknowledgement form
You may return theses forms in any of the following ways:
- Download, print, fill out the form and mail it to your child’s school
- Download, print and fill out the form, take a picture of it, and email it to your child’s building secretary (see emails below)
- Download, print and fill out the form, scan it, and email it to your child’s building secretary (see emails below)
Evergreen: dharp@pvsd.org
Schwenksville: wledford@pvsd.org
Skippack: pjacobson@pvsd.org
South: kajones@pvsd.org
PVMS East: dimelville@pvsd.org
PVMS West: csitron@pvsd.org
PVHS: nvenezia@pvsd.org
There is an optional publicity refusal form to complete - this only needs to be submitted if you do not want your child’s image used for publicity purposes in the coming school year. A student accident insurance form is also available and optional.
Attendance Info
If your child will be absent or missing any class time, please send an email (from the email you have listed in our new SIS system) to:
This will count as your call-out AND parent excuse. Please indicate in your email the date of absence, student’s grade and the reason for the absence. An absence is considered unexcused when the child’s school has not received an email providing an acceptable reason for the absence within a 3-day period.
You may also call our attendance line at: 1 (484) 977-7210, option 1. If you do this, you would still need to submit an email with the above information in order for it to be excused.
Any medical notes should be scanned in. When back to school (in person), any Dr.’s notes should be placed in the Attendance Box, right outside the Guidance Department.
If you have any questions at all, please contact Brenda Continelli at bcontinelli@pvsd.org.
Weeks at a Glance
Monday 9/28 - No School (Yom Kippur)
Tuesday 9/29 - First day of hybrid model for 6th grade students in Group 1 (A-K)
Thursday 10/1 - First day of hybrid model for 6th grade students in Group 2 (L-Z)
Wednesday 10/7 - Half-Day for students
Monday 10/12 - No School (In-Service)
Monday 10/19 - First day of hybrid model for 8th grade students (A-K)
Wednesday 10/21 - Half-Day for students
Wednesday 10/21 - First day of hybrid model for 8th grade students (L-Z)