West Word
A Weekly Update from Perkiomen Valley Middle School West
A Word from Mr. Creeden
Quick Snapshot
- Permission to be Virtual and/or Hybrid
- Zoom Authentication Information
- Club and Activity Opportunities
- Bully Prevention Week @ West
- Counselor Corner
- Nurse Notes
- Drop-Off Table at West
- PV West on Social Media
- First Day Packet Info
- Weeks At-A Glance
- Enjoy The Rest of Your Weekend!
No School on Monday October 12th
Permission to be Virtual and/or Hybrid
If you have chosen to have your child participate in the hybrid model we strongly encourage your child to participate in in-person learning on their designated group days. If your child is unable to participate in-person or even virtually due to illness or other circumstances please send an email to our attendance secretary, Brend Continelli, at MSWattendance@pvsd.org.
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.
Any request for a student participating in the hybrid model to stay at home and participate virtually for a day or longer should also contact Brenda at MSWattendance@pvsd.org at least 24 hours in advance for accountability purposes. The 24 hour notice will allow our teachers to be well informed of any learning mode changes.
Attendance will indicate that the student was present in class but not in the building. We need to know who is physically in the building at all times for safety reasons. Thank You!
Zoom Authentication Information
Club and Activity Opportunities
East/West First Lego League
Tasty Tuesday Cooking Club
Join West FCS teacher Mrs. Foulke and East FCS teacher Mrs. Anestad for some cooking fun on Tuesday afternoons! This virtual club will meet via Zoom on Tuesdays from 4:00 to 5:00 beginning October 20th. Cook along with Mrs. Foulke and Mrs. Anestad from your home and prepare some tasty dishes. Some weeks we’ll make dinner and some weeks we'll make baked items. Materials will be the student's responsibility and are not provided for this club. Ingredient lists will be shared the week before so that you have time to go shopping for the supplies that you will need. Of course, you can always join in and watch the demonstration and try the recipes later. Come have some fun and make your family happy by preparing them tasty treats! Join the fun in Google Classroom using code " r227s7t " or see Mrs. Foulke in room 145 for more information!
West eSports Club
Bully Prevention Week @ West
As a school will be recognizing bully prevention month this month in a few different ways:
- Discussing bully prevention with all students in advisory period during the week of October 19th.
- Celebrating Unity Day on Wednesday October 21st by wearing Orange. For more information about Unity Day 2020 visit https://www.pacer.org/bullying/nbpm/unity-day.asp.
- Each student signing a pledge when students are in-person during the week of October 19th or when they return in person at a later date.
Counselor Corner
Substance abuse is often one of those taboo topics no one likes to talk about. Unfortunately, it impacts many students as well as adults. Substance abuse is emphasized in schools because the earlier an individual starts smoking, drinking or using other drugs, the greater the likelihood of developing addiction.
9 out of 10 people who abuse or are addicted to nicotine, alcohol or other drugs began using these substances before they were 18. People who began using addictive substances before age 15 are nearly 7 times likelier to develop a substance problem than those who delay first use until age 21 or older. Every year that substance use is delayed during the period of adolescent brain development, the risk of addiction and substance abuse decrease.
This month Red Ribbon Week (October 26th - October 30th) is celebrated at the elementary and middle school levels. This week is intended to help students understand the impact of substance abuse. In more recent years the focus of drug prevention has turned from “don’t do drugs” to “think about the impact and postpone drug activity.” The efforts are not encouraging students to do drugs but rather encouraging students to wait for when they are older to make such decisions. As alluded to before, it has been found that when students wait until they are older they have less of a chance of trying or becoming addicted.
One great resource available to our families related to drug use is “Be a Part of the Conversation.” Though their main focus is on marijuana abuse, their message applies to all parents who are concerned about substance use in students. They give weekly zoom presentations on several topics that assist parents in talking to their children about substance use. To find out more go to https://conversation.zone/
This month please make every effort to have conversations about substance use with your child. Remember the more they are aware of the dangers of substance use, the less likely they will be users in the future. If you need help starting that conversation please reach out to any of the counselors.
West Home & School Update
PV West Home and School News
1. Please support us with Amazon Smile and Box Tops for Education.
(can we link Amazon to https://smile.amazon.com/gp/chpf/homepage/ref=smi_chpf_redirect/145-0985912-5386012?ie=UTF8&ein=73-1727330&ref_=smi_ext_ch_73-1727330_cl
and link Box Tops to https://www.boxtops4education.com/referred)
Please visit our Home and School page for further details at
http://mswest.pvsd.org/home/home-school
2. Next Home & School meeting is October 20 at 7pm via Zoom. All parents are welcome to attend. Please email PVMSWestHS@gmail.com if interested in attending.
Nurse Notes
A reminder to parents of 7th grade students, please provide proof of your child's Tdap (Pertussis) and Meningitis vaccinations to Mrs. Lind no later than November 9th, or your child will risk exclusion for school This is per the Pennsylvania mandate for vaccinations.
Also, Mrs. Lind is accepting 6th grade physicals, and 7th grade dental exams. These forms can be turned in to the office, or scanned and emailed to Mrs. Lind at clind@pvsd.org. If you have any questions or concerns regarding this, please don't hesitate to contact Mrs. Lind by calling 484-977-7210 extension 4. Please stay healthy and well.
Drop-Off Table at West
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.
First Day Packet Info
This year’s First Day Packet materials are being shared online. You can get to First Day Packets by going to PVSD website, select Parents and then select First Day Packets. Click on the folder that is for your child’s level. There are several forms that must be completed and returned to school. Those forms are:
- Limerick letter/authorization form
- Health Emergency Information from
- Symptom Monitoring Acknowledgement form
You may return theses forms in any of the following ways:
- Download, print, fill out the form and mail it to your child’s school
- Download, print and fill out the form, take a picture of it, and email it to your child’s building secretary (see emails below)
- Download, print and fill out the form, scan it, and email it to your child’s building secretary (see emails below)
Evergreen: dharp@pvsd.org
Schwenksville: wledford@pvsd.org
Skippack: pjacobson@pvsd.org
South: kajones@pvsd.org
PVMS East: dimelville@pvsd.org
PVMS West: csitron@pvsd.org
PVHS: nvenezia@pvsd.org
There is an optional publicity refusal form to complete - this only needs to be submitted if you do not want your child’s image used for publicity purposes in the coming school year. A student accident insurance form is also available and optional.
Weeks At A Glance
Monday 10/12 - No School (In-Service)
Monday 10/19 - First day of hybrid model for 8th grade students (A-K)
Wednesday 10/21 - Half-Day for students
Wednesday 10/21 - First day of hybrid model for 8th grade students (L-Z)
Wednesday 10/21 - Unity Day!!!
Monday 10/26 - Friday 10/30 - Red Ribbon Week