PCM Newsletter
December - Happy Holidays!
Organizational School Board Meeting
The PCM School Board held its organizational meeting on Monday, November 11, 2019. Steve Nearmyer was nominated and approved to be the president and Mitchell Chipps was nominated and approved to be the vice president. The board members also decided who would be on standing committees. The committee assignments are as follows.
- Board Facilities and Transportation Committee - Mitchell Chipps and Leslie Duinink
- Board Finance Committee - Greg Ingle and Ryan Van Der Kamp
- Board District Improvement - Mindy McCarthy and Nicole Stafford
- Board Technology Committee - Mitchell Chipps and Leslie Duinink
- Board Human Resources Committee - Steve Nearmyer and Mitchell Chipps
The PCM Board and School District would also like to thank Mike Streeter for his service and dedication this past year for serving on the school board.
District Protects Students with CrisisGo Alerting and Emergency Communication Network
The PCM School District's first priority is the safety of our students. We are launching a new safety app called CrisisGo that will empower our staff to react more quickly and effectively to any emergency situation. Parents and students will also have access to the app, allowing them to stay informed of safety risks, securely and anonymously report bullying or harassment, and do their part in improving safety within our district’s community.
We’re living in a world where danger isn’t just physical — our students also face cyber and emotional threats. The CrisisGo app has a complete suite of safety tools which cover the range of safety challenges our students may face. Accessible from any smartphone, mobile device, or computer, these features include:
· Distinct emergency warnings with audible alerts
· Anonymous, mobile incident reporting
· Dependable, two-way crisis communications
· Personal panic button with GPS for teachers and staff
· Safety Awareness Messaging
· And much more!
Our new safety app will transform the way we protect our students and staff. We encourage all staff, parents, and students to download the CrisisGo app on their mobile devices when we launch on January 1, 2020.
What other districts say about the value of the CrisisGo app:
“There's everything that you can think of in a crisis is at your fingertips.” – Walter O’Neil, Security Manager at Long Branch Public Schools
About CrisisGo: CrisisGo is a comprehensive safety solution that keeps the people you're responsible for protected at school, home, work, or on the go. CrisisGo’s advanced technology transforms any smartphone, mobile device, or computer into a personal safety assistant, combining safety awareness, emergency instructions, and crisis response tools. CrisisGo’s mobile safety tools have been chosen by over 14,000 schools and organizations. You can find more information at www.crisisgo.com.
Tip Reporting System
As stated earlier, safety is one of our district's top priorities, that's why besides Crisis Go, we are now also using Safe Schools Alert, a tip reporting system that allows students, staff, and parents to submit safety concerns to our administration four different ways:
1. Phone: 844.695.7289
2. Text: Text your tip to 844.695.7289
3. Email: 1692@alert1.us
4. Web: http://1692.alert1.us
Easily report tips on bullying, harassment, drugs, vandalism or any safety issue you're concerned about. You can submit a tip anonymously online or by telephone. More information, including the SafeSchools Alert Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, is available online at http://1692.alert1.us. Thanks in advance for helping to make our school community a safer place to work and learn! We appreciate your support.
ATTENDANCE/ABSENCES (501.9)
Classroom attendance policies are established to encourage regular daily school attendance. When a student is absent, the educational benefit of regular classroom instruction is lost and cannot be entirely regained even by extra out-of-school instruction and work. Frequent absences from school are detrimental to students achieving the maximum regular continuity of instruction, classroom participation, learning experiences, and study to reach the maximum educational benefits for each individual student.
Student illness, death or serious illness of immediate family, authorized religious holidays, school-sponsored activities, or approved activities are considered excused absences. Please try to make doctor and dental appointments after school hours. If school is to be missed, work should be made-up before the student leaves if at all possible. Please call the school office between 7:30 and 8:20 am if your child is ill or absent for the day. If you haven't notified us, we will make an effort to contact you as we have time. Students who wish to participate in school-sponsored activities must attend the 2nd half of school the day of the activity, unless permission has been given by the principal for the student to attend the activity.
Excessive absences (excused or unexcused), in those cases where a student has been absent from a class or classes on four (4) occasions, within a given semester, parents will receive written notification. Absences beyond four (4) days in a given semester, under certain circumstances, may be excused for illness, family emergencies, or educational trips arranged in advance. If evidence cannot be presented after each absence for example: medical note from doctor, verification of a death, or visit to the office by the parent, for days of the absence, it will be recorded as unexcused. Under certain conditions student attendance for the remainder of the semester may be established in writing and noncompliance with these conditions could result in the student being dropped from the class or classes.
Weather Closings/Delays
With winter approaching here is a reminder on how school closings/delays will be sent out.
Emergency Closings/Inclement Weather/Other Interruptions
When the superintendent decides the weather or other event threatens the safety of students and employees, he/she, and/or his/her designee, will contact the following sources to broadcast a school closing announcement:
PCM School Alerts – Text Message/Email
WHO-TV (13)
KCCI (8)
WOI-TV (5)
KCOB (95.9 FM)
District Website and/or Social Media accounts
**If you have not signed up for school alerts, please do so at the link below.
https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/IAEDU5160/subscriber/new?qsp=CODE_RED
Please keep in mind if your student drives from Prairie City to Monroe and you do not feel comfortable with them driving, they are always welcome to park at the Middle School and ride the shuttle bus to the high school.
Dates to Remember
Remember all Monday's have a 90 minute late start.
December 23 - January 2, 2020 - Winter Break
For the most up-to-date information on all school activities click the link below for the school calendar.
https://www.pcmschools.org/apps/events/?id=0