PCMS Weekly Update

Today marks the end of the 1st Quarter of school already! Report cards will be emailed home next Friday, so be on the lookout for those, and Parent-Teacher Conferences are just around the corner. Below is information on how to sign up for conferences as they are all by appointment (both in-person or virtual). And with Parent-Teacher Conferences approaching, we are encouraging you to send a quick note of appreciation letting your child’s teachers know how grateful we are for them. Nothing makes them feel better about what they do than hearing positive things from their students or their student’s families. So we would love for you to Call Out a Teacher by clicking here and sharing something that you or your child are grateful for about them. It doesn’t need to be lengthy or fancy - just a few words of appreciation can go a long way! You can submit a specific teacher’s name or you can leave it blank with a more general comment about the teaching staff here at PCMS. Either way, we’d love to be able to share some of the ways that they’ve made a positive influence on your child!

Have a beautiful summer-like weekend and GO PIRATES!!

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

• 6 Grade talked about Building Relationships. The theme of this year is "Belonging" and this was the 1st of 2 sessions with the goal of helping us make connections with each other. In this session’s activity, students made plans to get to know 4 adults in the school.

• 7 Grade started learning how to Understand Emotions. This was the 1st of 5 sessions focused on understanding and regulating emotions. Across this session and the next we learn some basic brain science to help us understand where our emotions come from. We learn that our brains all create emotions quickly and automatically, which means people don't have strong emotions on purpose. This can help us to gain a helpful perspective on both our own and others' strong emotions.

• 8 Grade is thinking about High School Hopes and Dreams. This is the final session where we looked ahead and planned for our futures. In this session we continued thinking about high school, what we hope for, obstacles we might face to achieve those wishes, and ways we might overcome those obstacles.

Last week for our fall sports action! Next week we begin our Winter Sports with both boys and girls basketball and wresting kicking off! Here’s a quick recap this week's Volleyball and Football action.

• Volleyball: The season ended with a volleyball tournament Saturday. The B-Team played tough and persevered through a lot of obstacles. The A-Team finished their season by bringing home the second-place trophy in their tournament. They played amazingly well all day long and finished the season on a high!

• Football: The A-Team won their season finale with a tough-fought battle against an undefeated Antioch team 7-6. The B-Team handled business well with a dominating 20-8 victory. Both A and B teams finished the season with a 5-1 record while C-Team ended the season 4-2.

It was another exciting month getting into the classrooms and working with our middle schoolers. We’ve had a lot of great opportunities and discussions this month. Our October lessons focused on the following for each grade level:

• 6th Grade: This month we had High School Character Council Students come to PCMS and work with our students on character building. It’s always a great time learning from our high school students and our middle school students love engaging with them during their lessons.
• 7th Grade: 7th Graders learned about choosing optimism. They learned what it means to show optimism, how choosing optimism can have positive impacts on our health, and how choosing optimism helps us learn better and use our prefrontal cortex (the thinking part of our brain) and relaxes our amygdala (the emotional part of our brain). Students had fun reviewing examples and nonexamples of optimism by playing a fun game of trashketball!
• 8th Grade: This month 8th graders are touring Northland Career Center. On October 25, students' last names A-K will tour NCC and on Thursday, October 27, students' last names L-Z will tour. This provides students an opportunity to see firsthand the programs available to them during high school and will help them in selecting classes for high school.

We’re excited to announce the 2022 National Red Ribbon Week Theme, “Celebrate Life and Be Drug-Free”. Help our school support a healthy life free of drugs by participating in our Red Ribbon spirit week October 24-28.

• Monday: Be Bright and Drug-Free! Wear Neon
• Tuesday: Caps off to a life drug-free! Wear Hats
• Wednesday: Be chill- don't do drugs! Wear PJs
• Thursday: Celebrate life- don't be crazy on drugs! Crazy Hair Day
• Friday: Be a team player- don't do drugs! Wear a Jersey

The Pirate Time with the most participation in each grade level will receive an award!

On Tuesday, October 25 and Thursday, October 27, the 8th-grade class will tour Northland Career Center (NCC) to learn about the variety of programs offered. During our tour, students will have the opportunity to see every program NCC offers and talk to current students and teachers. Students with the last name A-K will tour on Tuesday, October 25, while students with the last name L-Z will tour on Thursday, October 27. We will walk from the middle school and will be at NCC from approximately 8:15-9:45 am. For more information about NCC, please visit https://northland.plattecountyschooldistrict.com/.

If you have any questions regarding the tour, please do not hesitate to reach out to Kim Schank, school counselor, at schankk@platteco.k12.mo.us.

Parent/Teacher conferences are scheduled for Wednesday, November 2, 3:30-7:30 pm and Thursday, November 3, 3:30-7 pm. You will have the option to schedule a virtual or in-person conference - all conferences will be scheduled in 10-15 minutes sessions so please do not plan on stopping by for an unscheduled conference as all times will likely be taken. Please sign up with the teachers you would like to meet with by clicking on the document below. If you have any questions regarding conference sign-ups, please contact your child’s teacher(s) or call our office.

It's time for Parent/Teacher Conferences and your PCMS PTO is organizing snacks for the teachers and staff! If you are able to donate, please sign up for a slot by clicking below and send in your items to the office on Monday, October 31st, and Tuesday, November 1st.

During Parent Teacher conferences STUCO will be selling raffle tickets to win themed baskets. STUCO will use the money raised in this fundraiser to give back to our school to pay for upcoming leadership opportunities for our STUCO members.

What: We will be raffling off four baskets.

• Gift Card Basket
• Sports Themed Basket
• Pirate Themed Basket
• Book Basket

When: November 2 (3:30-7:30) and November 3 (3:30-7) During Parent Teacher Conferences

Where: Platte City Middle School by the front office

Cost:

• 1 raffle ticket for $3
• 3 raffle tickets for $5
• 5 raffle tickets for $12

Last week to sign up for our 2nd Quarter PACE (Pirate After Class Events) Program offerings. Here are the details for the 2nd Quarter:

• Starts on November 1 for the 7-week session.
• Activities offered 2nd Quarter will be SPARK (Students Promoting Acts of Respect and Kindness), Board/Digital Games, Cooking 101, Art Club, Card Collectors, and Pirate Improv Club.

• Students will need to re-sign up even if they were in 1st quarter activities. Spots are filled on a first come first serve basis - spots are filling up fast so hurry! Cooking 101, Art Club, and Board/Digital Games are already FULL for 2nd Quarter.

• Every Tuesday and Thursday from 3pm-4pm.

Tyler Crawford is our PACE Coordinator and can answer any questions you may have about the program. Please review the PACE Slideshow for additional details about our 2nd quarter offerings. To sign your student up for PACE, click on the form below. Students can sign up for one activity per day. If you need to make any changes, please contact Tyler (crawfort@platteco.k12.mo.us).

Each year PCMS partners with The Day of Hope to collect items used for their annual event that supports families in need. This year grade levels will be competing against each other during the week of October 31-November 3 to bring in the most items. We would love to fill the tables and send a large donation to support The Day of Hope this year! Please help us support this cause by bringing in any of the following items:

• Shampoo
• Conditioner
• Deodorant
• Bar Soap
• Liquid Hand Soap
• Toothbrushes
• Toothpaste

We can't wait to see who the winning grade level is and to see them compete against our PCMS teachers!

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.

October’s #PiratesRock trait is Responsibility: being accountable for your actions without blame

October 24

• Boy’s Basketball 1st Practice/Tryouts @ PCMS, 3-5 pm

• Girl’s Basketball 1st Practice/Tryouts @ Barry Middle School, 3-5 pm

• Wrestling 1st Practice @ PCMS, 3:15-5:15 pm

October 25

• 8th Grade NCC Tours

October 27

• 8th Grade NCC Tours

October 28

• Report Cards Go Home

November 2

• Parent/Teacher Conferences, 3:30-7:30 pm

• Archery Parent Meeting, 6-7 pm

November 3

• Parent/Teacher Conferences, 3:30-7:30 pm

• NJHS Meeting, 7:20-7:40 am

November 4

• NO SCHOOL

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/