PCMS Weekly Update
March 22, 2024
Good Afternoon PCMS Families!
Spring is finally upon us, bringing with it the promise of warmer weather, blooming flowers, and of course, the much-anticipated Spring Break (although the weather doesn’t look all that warm 🥶!)! We hope that you’re able to take this time to relax and reconnect as a family. Good luck to our Archery Team as they compete at their state tournament this weekend in Branson! When we return from break, the full-court press is on for the 4th quarter!
From all of us here, we wish you a safe, enjoyable, and memorable Spring Break! GO PIRATES!!
🔉 Check Out What We Did This Week
Congrats to the 7th Graders that were inducted into the NJHS on Thursday Night!
🏊 Pirates in Action
Here’s a quick recap of our Pirates in action from this past week.
- Track: Tuesday both girls and boys came in 2nd place with 77 and 71 points. Addison Stone brought home 1st place in the 400m dash and 200m dash. Addison set a NEW SCHOOL RECORD with a time of 26.68 in the 200m dash. Tyler Stambersky brought home first in the 800m run. Isabella Lino-Peterson won the Shot Put, and Katelyn Newberry won the Discuss.
For the boys, Tyler Bagwell won the 400m dash. Gunner Horn took 1st place in the Long Jump, and Max Shuey won the Shot Put. There was long list of 2nd and 3rd places for our team, and the coaches are so proud. The season is off to a great start! There was a track meet on Thursday as well - those results are still pending!
- Swimming: The middle school swim team is off to a great start and is showing so much potential this year. We have several returning swimmers, as well as several new swimmers that have been working very hard. Our first home meet went very well against Belton and KCMO. We had some tough competition against two great teams.
A few highlights from the meet:
Clare Hayter 1st in the 50 Breaststroke
Remi Wollard 1st place in the 100 free
Sarah Lanier 1st in the 50 Backstroke
Grace Shippee 3rd in the 50 Back
Beau Jonkman 1st in the 100 IM
Grisham Gutshall 2nd in the 100 Freestyle
and 2 amazing finishes for our 200 Freestyle Relay Girls (Clare Hayter, Sarah Lanier, Jayde Easly, and Addison McNally) and Boys FINISHING AT 1:59.97 (Grisham Gutshall, Josiah O'Rouke, TJ Bundy, and Beau Jonkman).
Great sportsmanship by all. Looking forward to our next swim meet at Gladstone Community Center on Wednesday, April 3rd against NKC and KCMO. Our next home meet will be Tuesday, April 9th. Hope you can come out and watch.
- Archery: Our Archers are participating at State this weekend...Good Luck!
- Spring Musical: Students have been working hard on Disney’s High School Musical and are excited for you to come to watch the show! Mark your calendars for April 19 at 7pm and April 20 at 3pm!
This Week's Pirates of Character 🧡 Focus
- 6th Grade learned more about perspective-taking. This was the 2nd of 2 sessions on perspective-taking. Perspective-taking is not just a passive process. In this session, we practiced improving our ability to understand someone else by applying our listening skills and asking thoughtful questions.
- 7th Grade focused on social connections. Friendships and good relationships with others are important throughout life but can be especially important in middle school. In this session, we all worked together to come up with as many ideas as we could for ways to be social and connect with others.
- 8th Grade discussed the value of asking for help. They asked themselves why is it so hard to ask for help sometimes, how they usually respond when someone asks for your help and thought about what they could do the next time they found themselves struggling to ask for help.
🧦 School Tips & Reminders - Lost & Found
We have been finding all sorts of hooded sweatshirts, water bottles, lunch boxes, and other miscellaneous items being left here and there. We would love to get these items back to their owners as quickly as possible. Please ask your students to check the Lost and Found table to see if anything might belong to them or parents are welcome to come in and check the table at any time! We also have jewelry items and Stanley mugs in the office.
During Spring Break, we will be donating any items left over to Hillcrest.
🦜 Pirates of the Month for March
💃 8th Grade Dance
8th grade students are invited to the annual Platte City Middle School and Platte Purchase Middle School 8th grade dance on April 12th. See flier for more details!
🌟 PTO APEX Fundraiser - Color Games
Our SPRING BREAK CHALLENGE IS: THE CLASS THAT HAS THE MOST ACTIVITY (SHARES, PLEDGES, and DONATIONS) WILL RECIEVE AN ICE CREAM PARTY WHEN WE RETURN ON MONDAY!
Be on the lookout for mini check ins from Apex over break on our school's social media! Maybe even a surprise flash challenge!! The most important thing that we can remember to do over break is SHARE! Think of 5-10 people that you love and love you and share our fundraiser with them! All sharing does is ask for the help of others; no money required in order to share!
💡 Project Daylight
During Social Studies classes, 6th Grade students will be participating in a production hosted by the Coterie called Project Daylight. Project Daylight supports mental wellness in pre-teens/teens. Pairing a trained actor/facilitator with a graduate student in social work, the classroom-sized session addresses mental health through an innovative, interactive theater workshop that introduces middle school students to mental wellness concepts. Project Daylight’s goals are to de-stigmatizing asking for help, opening dialogue, and providing resilience tools.
Captures students attention with dramatic presentation based on real stories of Kansas City teens dealing with anxiety and depression
Engages students with on-your-feet wellness activities moderated by UMKC Masters of Social Work students paired with a professional actor/facilitator
Introduces self-management skills to regulate emotions and to monitor/achieve behaviors related to school and life success
Aims to create early intervention and, as a result, prevent serious mental health crisis in later years
🎨 PACE (Pirate After Class Events) for 4th Quarter
We are excited to launch 4th quarter PACE (Pirate After Class Events). Here are a few details about the program:
Program to start for 4th Quarter on April 2 (6-week session) 3 pm - 4 pm (NO PACE during Spring Break). Students will need to re-sign up even if they were in 3rd quarter activities. Spots are filled on a first-come first-serve basis. PACE focuses on Lifestyle Activities - Depending on the strengths of our staff, activities will be offered that are outside of the realm of sport. Activities offered in the 4th Quarter will be Art Club, Intro to Debate, Board Games, and Sign Language.
Please take some time to review the slideshow. The slideshow will explain the details of the PACE activities.
Please click on the form below to sign your kids up to attend PACE. Students can sign up for one activity per day.
If you have any questions, please contact Tyler Crawford (PACE Coordinator) at crawfort@platteco.k12.mo.us.
🏖️K-8 Summer School Enrollment Now Open via Parent Portal
Parents of existing students currently in grades PreK-7 interested in K-8 Summer School: You can now enroll for 2024 Summer School via the Forms on PowerSchool Parent Portal (via a browser or the app). Please complete by May 10, 2024.
Summer School will be held May 31-June 28 at the following locations. Click here for more information about summer school.
- Barry Elementary: For all K-5th grade southern attendance area students (Pathfinder and Barry Elementaries)
- Siegrist Elementary: For all K-5th grade northern attendance area students (Compass and Siegrist Elementaries)
- PCHS: For all 6th-8th students, and 9th-12 grade students
*Incoming Kindergarten students can complete summer school enrollment after completing their regular school year enrollment (Kindergarten Kickoffs will be held April 22).
**Information about enrolling in the High School summer school program will be available in April.
😎 Solar Eclipse Activities Planned at PCR-3, April 8
You may have heard about the solar eclipse that will occur on April 8, 2024, visible across North America. While we are not in the path of totality, we'll have about 88% coverage in our area, with eclipse phenomena from approximately 1-3pm and peaking just before 2pm. Science teachers and other staff members in each of our buildings are organizing lessons and activities around the event and all students will receive specialized solar filter eclipse glasses and will have the opportunity to view the eclipse. Our Science classes will learn more about the eclipse on Friday, April 5th. Then on Monday during 7th Hour we will all take a trip outside to see the eclipse with our specialized solar filter eclipse glasses.
Click here for additional information about the 2024 Total Solar Eclipse.
⏰ Make Up Day Plans
With our inclement weather days in January, and no school on February 14 to celebrate the Chiefs Super Bowl parade, our make up day plans to date are as follows:
- January 9 Inclement Weather Day - Will be made up on Thursday, May 23
- January 10 Inclement Weather Day - Will be made up on Friday, May 24
- January 16, 19, and 23 Virtual Learning Days - Will not need to be made up
- February 14 No School Day - Because our attendance hours exceed the necessary hours set forth by the state, the Board has approved not making this day up
📆 Upcoming Events
March 25 - 29
- Spring Break
April 2
- 1st Day of 4th Quarter PACE
- Track Meet @ Home, 4 pm
April 3
- Swim Meet @ Gladstone Community Center, 4 pm
April 4
- Track Meet @ Heritage Middle School, 4 pm
April 5
- FCA Meeting, 7:10 am
- NJHS Meeting, 7:20 am
🏴 Pirates ROCK Character Trait for MARCH: Integrity
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.
February's #PiratesRock trait is Integrity: having a sincere, honest nature.
💼 Thank You to Our Pirates ROCK Star Business Partners!
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/