West Word
An Update from Perkiomen Valley Middle School West
A Welcome Back Word From Mr. Creeden
Quick Snapshot📸
- PV Middle Schools Handbook
- AM Drop-off/PM Pick-up
- Important Info to Know
- Mask/Face Covering Exemptions
- Immunization Reminder
- ParentVUE Online Verification
- Food Service
- 6th Grade Meet The Teacher Night
- 7th & 8th Grade Meet The Teacher Night
- PV West Attendance Information
- PVSD Health & Safety Plan
- PV West Athletic Update
- Middle School Supply List
- Helpful Resources from the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services
- Change Demographic Information in Synergy
- West Home & School Information
- PV West on Social Media
- West Weeks At-A Glance - Save The Dates
- CONTINUE TO HAVE GREAT SUMMER!😎⛱
PV Middle Schools Handbook
AM Drop-off/PM Pick-up
Parent drop-off can begin taking place at 7:30am each morning. Parent pick-up will occur at 2:30pm each afternoon.
When parents come to drop-off or pick-up their children from school please proceed past the first lot (bus lot) and to the second lot. This lot is our parent drop-off/pick-up lot as well as our staff parking lot. When dropping off or picking up your children please form a line along the curb as you pull into the lot. This is illustrated as the green line in the diagram below. Those arriving earlier can wrap around the curb past the entrance of the building to allow for more cars to pull into the lot.
Please refrain from bypassing the pick-up line and pulling into the parking lot to pick-up your children. This presents some significant safety concerns as it will require students to walk through the parent pick-up line into traffic. This can also be a safety concern for our staff leaving or driving to other buildings at the end of the school day.
Please refer to the diagram below for an illustration of the procedure. Thank you for your understanding.
Important Info to Know
Masks
Teachers will provide brief mask breaks during class that will not extend more than 5 minutes. While students participate in mask breaks, they should be seated at their desks and physically distanced 3’ or more from classmates in grades 7-12 and 6’ to the greatest extent feasible in kindergarten - grade 6 (the recommended distance is greater for this age group, when not wearing masks, due to their inability to be vaccinated).
When students are outside for physical education, learning activities, or recess, masks are optional.
Water Bottles
Cell Phones
Mask/Face Covering Exemptions
Mask exemption forms can be submitted electronically or in print to the school nurse. The email address of your child’s school nurse is available on the website, Staff Directory.
Students with an IEP or 504 requesting a mask/face covering exemption should reach out to their case manager. These requests will be reviewed by the IEP or 504 team, respectively.
Immunization Reminder
Dear Parents,
The Pennsylvania Department of Health mandates immunizations for school-aged students in order to be considered for enrollment in public schools. These requirements are intended to ensure that all children attending school in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania are adequately protected against potential outbreaks of vaccine preventable diseases. Please be advised of the following Pennsylvania School Immunization Requirements:
Children in ALL grades (K-12) need the following immunizations for attendance:
● 4 doses of tetanus, diphtheria, and acellular pertussis*
(1 dose on or after 4th birthday)
● 4 doses of polio (4th dose on or after 4th birthday and at least 6 months after
● previous dose given)
● 2 doses of measles, mumps, and rubella **
● 3 doses of hepatitis B
● 2 doses of varicella (chickenpox) or evidence of immunity
Seventh through 12th grade ADDITIONAL immunization requirements for attendance:
● 2 doses meningococcal conjugate vaccine (MCV)
o first dose is given 11-15 years of age; a second dose is required at age 16 or entry into 12th grade.
o If the dose was given at 16 years of age or older, only one dose is required
● 1 dose of tetanus, diphtheria, acellular pertussis (Tdap)
o Usually given as DTaP or DTP or DT or Td
o Usually given as MMR
Exemptions to the school laws for immunizations are:
● medical reasons;
● religious beliefs; and
● philosophical/strong moral or ethical conviction.
We are sending this reminder to assist families in fulfilling the mandated immunizations and to avoid the risk of excluding students from school. For more information on required school-aged vaccines, please visit www.montcopa.org/schoolvaccinelaw or talk to your child’s pediatrician.
Please submit immunization records to your school nurse. If immunization records are not received by Friday, September 17, 2021, then your child will be excluded from school as of Monday, September 20, 2021.
ParentVUE Online Verification
If you haven't done so already please take a moment to verify your child(ren)’s information. We ask that you complete verification prior to the first day of school, Monday, August 30.
To complete online verification:
Login to ParentVUE
At the prompt, choose the dropdown and select ANNUAL VERIFICATION (NOT new enrollment)
If you are not automatically prompted to complete the online verification process, choose Online Verification from the top menu items.
Follow the prompts on the screen to complete the verification process (the process will need to be completed for each child you have enrolled in the PV School District). For assistance, refer to the directions within each section.
When finished with all steps, select Submit
If you need assistance please reach out to helpdesk@pvsd.org.
Food Service
6th Grade Meet The Teacher Night
7th & 8th Grade Meet The Teacher Night
PV West Attendance Information
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 or written parent note 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 or 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 or you may call her at x3540.
PVSD Health & Safety Plan
The following information summarizes information within our current 2021-22 Health and Safety Plan:
when in our schools, all staff and students are required to wear masks indoors;
students are required to wear masks while riding on buses (in accordance with the CDC order);
physical/social distancing of 3’ is recommended;
while eating lunch, students in grades 1-6 will be situated 6’ apart to the greatest extent possible;
masks remain optional when students are outdoors (for example, during physical education classes, recess, learning activities, etc.)
97.5% of our students have opted to attend school onsite this fall. While our students are onsite, similar to last year, they will be required to wear a mask while indoors. In the event you believe your child qualifies for an exemption, you are asked to complete this form: Student Mask Exemption Form. Completed forms should be submitted to your child’s school nurse for review and approval/denial. Please feel free to submit electronically or in print. The email address of your child’s school nurse is available on the website, Health Services.
Three additional notes about masking:
Mask breaks will be provided on a regular basis at all levels
When students are identified through contract tracing as a close contact (within 3’ to a positive COVID individual), if both were wearing masks, the exposed student does NOT have to quarantine
If and when students are required to isolate (this happens when they are a confirmed positive) or quarantine (this happens when they are exposed to a confirmed positive without one or the other wearing masks), our teachers and/or paraprofessional staff will offer academic support
To learn more about PVSD's updated Health & Safety plan, along with other COVID information, please go to https://www.pvsd.org/covid-information/.
PV West Athletic Update
Fall Sports Sign-Ups
First day of Middle School Football will be August 23.
Soccer, Cross-Country, Volleyball and Field Hockey start Monday. The coaches should be contacting parents. Here's the link to the middle school sports page.
https://www.pvsd.org/athletics/middle-school-athletics/
Below are some highlights of procedures for athletes according to our recently approved health and safety plan. First, all of our student-athletes, coaches, and spectators will be required to wear masks when indoors. Our athletes and coaches will also have to wear masks when traveling in our school buses to and from our events. Masks will be optional for student-athletes and coaches when they are outside. Second, please self-monitor and do not attend practices or games if you are showing any symptoms. Third, a positive case will be isolated for 10 days. A close contact will have to quarantine for 7 days unless a negative test result is produced after 5 days. If both parties were wearing a mask, a quarantine is not mandated. If the close contact is vaccinated, a quarantine is also not mandated. Again, we ask for all of you to do your part to make sure we can have a safe and successful fall sports season.
For more information please see the most recent Athletic Newsletter below.
Middle School Supply List
Helpful Resources from the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services
Please join the upcoming events hosted by Montgomery County Health and Human Services!
Back to School Series, hosted by Montgomery County System of Care weekly from 6:30pm – 8pm (Flyer attached)
- September 8 – Question, Persuade, Refer (QPR) Suicide Prevention Training
- Presented by Anna Trout, Montgomery County Office of Mental Health and Jess Fenchel, ACCESS Services
- September 13 - Protective Power of Parents to Keep Young People Safe and Build Them to be their Best Selves
- Presented by Dr. Ken Ginsburg, Practitioner of Adolescent Medicine at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
- September 22 - Positive Parenting Strategies for Less Worrying and More Connection
- Presented by Dr. Katherine Dahlsgaard, Licensed Clinical Psychologist and Founder/Director of Brave is Better LLC
- September 29 – A Discussion to Support Family and Youth Wellness
- With Panelists from Access Services, FamilyWorx, NAMI, Office of Mental Health and Dr. Will LaValle of Quintessential Health
Session recordings will be available to registered participants for a limited time period afterwards!
Change Demographic Information in Synergy
West Home & School Information
Back-to-school Spirit Wear Sale!
Get ready for fall and check out our new 2021 logo below.
Order your PV West spirit wear online and help support PV West Home & School
Visit https://pvwest.itemorder.com/ to place your order and pay with your credit card
Sale ends September 19, 2021
Orders will be delivered to school 2-3 weeks after
Questions? Contact Jodi Lieb jodilieb@verizon.net
When you shop on Amazon, be sure to log on through AmazonSmile and designate PV Middle School West as your charity. We will receive .5% of all sales. https://smile.amazon.com/
Home and School page https://www.pvsd.org/west/home-school/
PV West on Social Media
We would love to have you join our social media accounts to stay updated on the latest West news and happenings. Please see below on where to find each of our accounts.
West Weeks At A Glance - Save the Dates
August
30th - First Day of School!
September
3rd - No School for Students (Labor Day Holiday)
6th - No School for Students (Labor Day Holiday)
7th - No School for Students (Rosh Hashanah)
13th - Home & School Meeting @ 7pm in the West Library
14th - 7th & 8th Grade Meet the Teacher Night from 7pm - 9pm
16th - No School for Students (Yom Kippur)
21st - Picture Day!