PCMS Weekly Update

Our friends from PCHS spread a little Holiday Cheer this morning with their annual Winter Choir Tour. We enjoyed several performances from their Concert Choir and Sound Express - if you haven’t heard them before, you are missing out! It was great to see so many of our former students performing. However, the best part was watching our 8th-grade choir take the floor and sing a tune with them! There are only 2 ½ weeks left until the end of the semester so keep working with your kiddos on their grades and making good choices!

Have a wonderful weekend and GO PIRATES!!

Our Pirate Time classes are cheering loudly for their favorite teams as they continue to follow the World Cup!

Here’s a quick recap of what we talked about this week in our CharacterStrong sessions - some good stuff right here!

• 6 Grade practiced Listening. This was the 2nd of 2 sessions focused on listening. Listening is a valuable skill that improves peer relationships and is important for perspective-taking, conflict resolution, and group work. In this session, we practiced identifying good versus bad listening.

• 7 Grade discussed Stress Strategies. This was the 2nd of 2 sessions on stress and coping. In this session, we focused on coming up with and sharing ways to improve our well-being to help us cope with stress.

• 8 Grade learned about How Emotions Work. This is the 2nd of 2 sessions on understanding emotions. In this session, we continue learning about how our emotions are natural and happen automatically. Understanding some of the science of emotions can help us improve how we view ourselves and others when strong emotions arise and help lay the foundation for learning emotion regulation skills.

Here’s a quick recap of our Pirates in action from this past week.

• Boys Basketball: On Tuesday, our teams traveled to Bingham Middle School to take on the Bears. We went 2-1 on the night, with the B and C teams coming away with big wins! Thursday night, our teams headed out to Osage Trail Middle School to challenge the Indians. Both A and B Teams lost in close, hard-fought games, while C team came away with a victory!

• Girls Basketball: Monday night, we hosted the Bingham Middle Bears. The A and B teams both won their games, and the C team won by forfeit as the Bears were hit with the flu bug. Thursday, C-Team battled hard against Plaza Middle school but ultimately ended the game with their first loss of the season. While A and B Teams played against Osage Trail Middle School, where they dominated the Indians, and both came away with wins!

• Wrestling: Wednesday night, we competed at Nowlin Middle School, where we ran into some hammers and came away with a 27-25 record on the night.

• Honor Choir: On Wednesday, our Honor Choir traveled to Crown Center to perform for shoppers there. They sounded amazing as they brought the holiday cheer!

This week, we recognized our Pirates of the Month for November at our Pirates ROCK assembly. These students were nominated by their teachers for doing it the Pirate Way by showing great character! Our Pirates of the Month were David Royer, Jasmea Sanders, Jade Jones, Maddon Britz (not pictured), Delanee Richardson, and Riley Woodruff. These students receive a certificate, a gift bag with a water bottle, candy, and a DQ gift card. They also get a pizza lunch with a friend and enjoy some time in the game room with the PCHS Got Character Students. Congratulations - we’re super proud of them!

7th Grade Parents: Please review the letter below regarding upcoming training provided by the Metropolitan Organization to Counter Sexual Assault (MOCSA). If you do NOT want your child to attend this presentation, please complete THIS FORM by Monday, December 5th.

MOCSA’s healthy relationships presentation is a developmentally appropriate conversation that explores characteristics of both healthy and unhealthy relations. Relationships can be dating, yes, but also friendships, and all have to be healthy. We discuss why we have boundaries, how to express and read others' boundaries, and where to go/what to do if someone is in an unhealthy relationship.

On Friday, December 9th, from 6-8 pm, the NJHS will be showing the movie ELF. Students can purchase tickets during lunch shifts for $5. The tickets will get you popcorn and a drink. We hope to see you there!

6th Grade Parents: Please review the letter below regarding upcoming training provided by the Metropolitan Organization to Counter Sexual Assault (MOCSA). If you do NOT want your child to attend this presentation, please complete THIS FORM by Monday, December 12th.

MOCSA’s bystander engagement presentation is a developmentally appropriate conversation that explores the types of bystanders that exist. Bystander engagement discusses ways to be an active bystander in a situation in which someone is being hurt. We explore different ways to help that can be used no matter what a person’s comfort level is. Bystander engagement encourages students to support their peers and understand ways to help in different daily situations.

Platte County School District is conducting its annual parent survey to gather feedback on the strengths of the district, as well as areas to consider for growth. Your input is important and will be considered when making future decisions.

If you have not already completed the survey, we ask that you complete the survey by clicking on the link below by December 4. If you have more than one student, please be sure to answer those questions for each building. The survey should take approximately fifteen minutes to complete. Thank you in advance for your feedback!

Along with Newkirk Novak Construction Partners and Incite Design Studio, the District will be hosting a ribbon cutting and open house of the Platte County High School Phase I Rebuild project on Thursday, December 8 from 5:30-7:30 pm. This event is open to the community and tours and refreshments will be provided following the ribbon cutting at 5:30 pm. Come tour our new space which will be open for the second semester!

Pirates R.O.C.K. (Raising Outstanding Character Kids) is a program designed to surround our families with examples of strong character traits through school experiences, at home, and reinforced in their community. Each month our community focuses on a specific character trait and students are recognized for exhibiting these traits: Self Confidence, Pride, Responsibility, Citizenship, Compassion, Individuality, Self Control, Integrity, Perseverance, Respect, Honesty, and Cooperation.

December’s #PiratesRock trait is Compassion: Showing concern through words and actions.

December 2

• Archery Family Tournament @ Barry Middle, 5 - 9 pm

December 3

• Archery Family Tournament @ Barry Middle, 7 am - 6 pm

• Robotics Tournament @ Home, 8 am - 4 pm

December 5

• Wrestling @ Maple Park MS, 4 pm

December 6

• Boys Basketball A/B/C Teams @ Northgate Middle, 4 pm

• Girls Basketball A/B/C Teams vs Northgate Middle @ Home, 4 pm

December 7

• Wrestling vs Liberty Middle & Nowlin Middle @ Home, 4 pm

• Winter Choir Concert, 7:30 pm

December 8

• Boys Basketball A/B Teams vs Grain Valley Middle @ Home, 4 pm

• Girls Basketball A/B Teams vs Grain Valley Middle @ Grain Valley High School, 4 pm

• Boys Basketball C Team vs New Mark Middle @ Home, 6 pm

• Girls Basketball C Team @ New Mark Middle, 6 pm

• PCHS Phase I Project Ribbon Cutting/Open House, 5:30 - 7:30 pm

December 9

• NJHS Movie Night Fundraiser, 6 - 8 pm

December 10

• 8 Grade LEAP First Lego League Competition @ Lawrence HS, TBD

• All-District Band Clinic/Concert @ Home

December 12

• Boys B Team Basketball Tournament @ Kearney, 4 pm

• Girls A Team Basketball Tournament @ Northgate, 4 pm

• Wrestling vs New Mark Middle & Osage Trail Middle @ Home, 4 pm

December 13

• Girls A Team Basketball Tournament @ Northgate, 4 pm

• Girls B Team Basketball Tournament @ Home, 3:30 pm

• Boys B Team Basketball Tournament @ Kearney, 4 pm

December 14

• Girls A Team Basketball Tournament @ Northgate, 4 pm

• Girls B Team Basketball Tournament @ Home, 3:30 pm

• Boys B Team Basketball Tournament @ Kearney, 4 pm

• Wrestling vs Kearney, Excelsior Springs & Smithville @ Kearney, 4 pm

December 15

• Girls B Team Basketball Tournament @ Home, 3:30 pm

• Winter Band Concert, 6 pm

December 16

• Archery 6th Annual Anchor Down Tournament @ Barry Middle, 5 - 9 pm

December 17

• Archery 6th Annual Anchor Down Tournament @ Barry Middle, 7 am - 6 pm

• Wrestling Tournament @ Smithville Middle, 9 am

• 7 Grade LEAP Lego League Competition @ North Kansas City High School, TBD

December 21

• Early Dismissal @11:50 am

December 22 - January 2

• No School - Winter Break

January 3

• School Resumes

Email: tomlinsk@platteco.k12.mo.us
Website: http://www.pcms.plattecountyschooldistrict.com
Location: 900 Pirate Drive, Platte City, MO, 64079
Phone: (816)858-2036
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/plattecitymiddleschool/