PATRIOT PRESS
PLEASANT VALLEY MIDDLE SCHOOL * * * May 2, 2021
Welcome to another edition of our Patriot Press
Hello Patriot Families,
We have completed our first week back at full time. The students understand the expectations and the current routines and have been doing a good job. One area that you can help us with is reminding your child to to keep distance from others while at school as much as possible. Also, please do not send your child to school if they are ill. Thank you all for your continued support.
I am leaving some reminders down below from the previous newsletter to refer to.
- Breakfast and lunch will be provided, there will not be a snack break provided by Sodexo.
- Masks are required and must cover the nose and mouth.
- Students may take their mask off when they are outside if they are standing or sitting 6 feet or more from another person.
- Lunch will be served outside to students, additional seating areas have been added to accommodate this need. Students must maintain a 6 foot distance from others while eating.
- Breakfast will be served prior to the start of school and students will eat it outside prior to entering the building.
- Students will have a 20 minute lunch either preceding or following their 20 minute recess.
- Hand sanitizing/ hand washing and personal hygiene is critical to keeping students in school and the community healthy.
- Following adult directions and using assigned seating will also be critical.
Thank you for your support!
On another note we are looking for support staff to work in our Battle Ground Schools! If you have been pondering joining our Battle Ground team or know someone else who would enjoy a position working with and supervising students, please encourage them to apply. Current posting and application materials can be found on our district website under the jobs tab: https://www.battlegroundps.org/bgps-jobs/
Have an excellent week Patriots!
Mr. Maloney
Principal
Mrs. Leeper
Assistant Principal
Inside Scoop
- Parents and families please DO NOT send your child to school if they are ill. Someone from the building will follow up with you by email or phone for next steps. Thank you all for your efforts during this process.
- Teacher Appreciation Week May 3-7th
- Principal Appreciation Day May 1st
- May 17-21 PV Book Fair
- May 31st no school, Memorial Day
- All Wednesdays are 1 hour early release, NOT late start
- Breakfast and Lunches No Charge
- Bus drivers needed - sticareers.com
- Washington State History Day Results
- We Want Your Photos For The Yearbook!!!!
- Full time school schedule and info.
- Updating ethnicity/race Information in Skyward, please update now
- Out of District Boundary Exception Requests
- Playground Balls Wanted
- Notes From The Nurse
- Counselor's Corner
- Yearbooks on sale now
- Yearbook portrait submission deadline extended to May 14th!
- USDA Farmers to Families food boxes
- Family & Community Resource Center
- Attendance - absence reporting
- 20-21 District Calendars
- 20-21 District and PVM Student/Family Handbooks
Parents and families please DO NOT send your child to school if they are ill. Someone from the building will follow up with you by email or phone for next steps. Thank you all for your efforts during this process. ~ PV nurses and PVM administration
Teacher Appreciation Week May 3-7th
This past year has shown us, more than ever, what a dedicated, hard-working, caring, creative, amazing group of teachers we have here at PVM. Through the multitude of changes that have been thrown at them, sometimes many in one day, they have adapted and worked tirelessly, and sometimes tiredly, to find ways to not only connect with our students and engage them in learning, but make personal connections and let them know they matter and are part of our PVM family.
Last year really made teacher appreciation week difficult to celebrate, so this year let's be sure our teachers know how much their efforts are appreciated and how awesome we think they are. A note of appreciation, a kind email, a little treat or even just a word of thanks or appreciation for something they did that meant a lot to you would make our teachers feel great.
Our PTA is also working on some treats for this week. Below we have added the information sent out by the PTA last week.
"Next week is Teacher's Appreciation week and our PTA is hard at work! Please help us show your appreciation by donating supplies or sending thank you notes to our amazing teachers!
There will be a donation box outside the PVP and PVM offices all week for any supplies.
Some ideas are:
- copy paper
- dry erase markers
- fun pens to grade with like pilot G2 & flair
- pencils
- post-it notes in various colors and styles
- anything fun and jazzy to brighten our teacher's day!!
Our teachers and staff love receiving thank-you notes from their students! This year we are helping you send a contact-free note of appreciation to our teachers and staff! To send a note using the following link: https://forms.gle/KZKkkx93JsVZP9Ug8.
Use this link to send to as many teachers and staff as you'd like! We have all our staff and teachers listed by school, and a place to fill a name in case we missed someone. The PTA will print out and deliver your note at the end of the week!"
Principal Appreciation Day May 1st
Thank you Mr. Maloney and Mrs. Leeper!
PV Book Fair May 17-21
In order to have the book fair open, we need volunteers. Please consider volunteering just an hour of your time!! Sign up today!!
Wednesdays are 1 hour early release, NOT late start.
Students may bring a snack from home to eat during their morning break time, snacks will not be provided for the Wednesday break. Breakfast before school, and the grab-and-go lunch after school are provided free of charge for any student who wishes to take them.
Breakfast and Lunches No Charge
Download anticipated lunch menu below
Bus Drivers Needed
Washington State History day Results for PVM Participants
Judah Bullock, E Clampus Vitas outstanding local history award of $100 for his junior individual exhibit on the Nez Perce
Kira Wilson and Amelia DeMoss: 3rd place junior group performance on the Federalist Papers
Lilly Roman-Myers and Kaylie O'Lear: 3rd place junior group exhibit on Cesar Chavez
Kristina Goldinov, Abby Dubinskiy, Layla Segovia, Alissa Huynh: 4th place junior group exhibit on the March from Selma to Montgomery
Congratulations!
We Want Your Photos For The Yearbook!!!!
Have you taken some great photos this year of STEM projects, things you were working on in PE, band or art? Do you have fun photos of what you and friends did on our snowy days or other days during this past wacky year? How about photos that show what 5th-8th grade life was like this year? Who has some alien project photos to send in?
8th graders we need your baby pictures for the yearbook.
Please submit photos you would like considered for inclusion in our yearbook using this link:
We would love to have submissions from as many students as possible, so get looking at what images you captured this year and send them in! If you have questions about the submission process, please ask Ms. Cave or Miss Wilson.
Full-Time School Schedule
Full Time School information
Middle School Hours of Attendance
Wednesday 8:10 a.m.–1:10 p.m.
Students who are driven to school should be dropped off no earlier than 20 minutes before first period, 7:50am.
We changed to early release on Wednesdays (for teacher professional development) to keep mornings consistent for families and better accommodate building schedules.
You also may notice that the days are 30 minutes shorter than they have been in past years. We have set aside this time so that teachers can respond to and support students and families.
Middle school remote learning
- Remote middle school students are expected to follow the in-person bell schedule and participate in classes via Zoom. Some classes may be taught simultaneously to remote and in-person students. Attendance will be taken during class and in Zooms. Students should take care to adjust home schedules so that they are able to attend all of their classes on the new schedule:
- Middle school - 8:10 a.m.–2:10 p.m. (Wednesday 8:10 a.m.–1:10 p.m.)
- Remote middle school students will work in Google Classroom for specialist time. Teachers will have some time for office hours after school ends at 2:10, so they may answer student questions or work with students.
- Remote learning in middle and high schools might require more self-directed and independent work.
- Students will continue to complete work assigned in Google Classroom and on other platforms.
- There will be fewer opportunities for teacher interaction while educators are teaching students in the classroom (for those classes with both in-person and remote students). Teachers will have a brief window at the end of the day to answer questions from remote learners.
The Wednesday schedule will have a 1-hour early release instead of a late start. Schools will begin at regular time on Wednesday but get out one hour early. The start and end times for in-person learning will be
- Middle school - 8:10 a.m.–2:10 p.m. (Wednesday 8:10 a.m.–1:10 p.m.)
- Primary school - 9:40 a.m.–3:40 p.m. (Wednesday 9:40 a.m.–2:40 p.m.)
Transportation
Bus routes will be updated to accommodate the change to 5-day learning. New routes will be posted by April 22. We are still in need of bus drivers. If you know someone who might be interested in a part-time job, please let them know about the need for bus drivers. More information is online at sticareers.com.
Students who are driven to school should be dropped off no earlier than 20 minutes before first period, 7:50am.
Meals
Students will eat breakfast and lunch outdoors. Extra seating is being added to ease outdoor eating. If parents choose, students can get a free and nutritious breakfast and lunch provided through the USDA Meals Program. There will not be a snack period or snack provided by Sodexo.
Wednesdays we will not have a lunch period, students will be provided with breakfast and a grab and go lunch to take home. There will be a break time built into the schedule on Wednesdays, but snacks will not be provided.
Curbside meal pick up times and locations will change beginning April 26 to 10:00 –10:45 a.m. Monday–Friday at Amboy Middle, Captain Strong, Daybreak, Maple Grove, Pleasant Valley, and Yacolt.
Out of District Boundary Exception Requests
Students who wish to transfer out of the Battle Ground School District need to fill out the Choice Transfer Form and then return it electronically.
Students who live outside Battle Ground Public Schools boundaries and wish to transfer to a school within the district need to begin the process at their resident district.
Application forms for out-of-district student transfers will be accepted starting at 7 a.m. on May 3 for the following school year. Please email your completed and signed forms to boundaries@battlegroundps.org on or after 7 a.m. on May 3, 2021 and they will be processed in the order in which they are received. You may request that a transfer form be mailed to you by emailing the boundaries office.
Current Battle Ground students who live outside the district boundaries may submit a Letter of Intent to attend a Battle Ground school beginning Jan. 11, but must still submit a Choice Transfer form to the student’s home district on May 3.
Important - Updating Ethnicity/Race Information in Skyward. Please update this information in April.
The federal government recently expanded the categories for student ethnicity and race to more accurately reflect individuals' backgrounds, and is requiring school districts to update its reports. To comply with this requirement, we are asking families to log in to Skyward Family Access and update their child's race/ethnicity information. There are now 222 ethnicity/race categories for families to choose from, and parents can choose more than one race for their child.
Why do we need this information? New laws require school districts to report this information to the state and federal government. While every school district in Washington will be reporting this information, the data will NOT be reported with the names of individual students. The data is sent in numbers only, with no student names attached. The information will be used along with census information to determine funding for schools and educational programs and services for all students.
Please log in to Skyward Family Access at your convenience and update your child's information. (Instructions are available online.) If you have any questions, please contact your school for assistance.
If you are experiencing difficulties updating this information, please call the school office for assistance. We must update all student information in April.
Playground Balls Wanted
Thank you!
Notes from the Nurse
Hello PVM Families.
Parents and families please DO NOT send your child to school if they are ill. Someone from the building will follow up with you by email or phone for next steps. Thank you all for your efforts during this process.
Sincerely,
PV nurses and PVM administration
Counselor's Corner
Hello Pleasant Valley Middle School Families,
Social-Emotional Supports
There are great resources available for social-emotional support via the Battle Ground Public Schools website. On the district page there are links that lead you to more information for different topics. Here is the link to our school district's page: Social Emotional Supports
NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, is also a great resource: NAMI
SOS Supports information
During this challenging year, school staff are working to teach students about mental health and how to seek help if they are worried about themselves or a friend. We continue to use a program called SOS Signs of Suicide for 7th and 8th grade students. The program teaches students about this difficult topic and encourages them to seek help.
SOS has been used by thousands of schools over the past few decades. Studies have shown that it effectively teaches students about depression and suicide while reducing the number of students’ self-reported suicide attempts.
Read more by following the links below:
Mrs. McCann's Google Classroom.
I will be sharing topics weekly in my Google classroom. Please remind your students to join my Google classroom if they have not done so already. Links were emailed to them at the beginning of the school year to join.
Yearbooks On Sale Now
Yearbooks will cost $15 this year.
We order a limited number, so order early to be sure a copy is reserved for you while they are still available. Yearbooks are distributed in June to those who have purchased one. They will be available for sale until the number ordered have all been claimed.
WE WANT YOUR PHOTOS FOR THE YEARBOOK!!! ALL KINDS OF PHOTOS, SEE BELOW!
Want to submit your own photos for the yearbook? Well now you can. We need your help gathering photos for the yearbook, and with our Replay It option, it’s easy to submit your own photos from home https://images.jostens.com/416103989.
Got photos of:
PE
Band
STEM with the Genius Project
Art
Students with their pets
PVM siblings and/or friends
Remote Learning setup and/or silly faces
Snow day pictures
And more?
We would love for you to share them. Click on the link below to submit your photos. Be sure to include the student’s name(s), grade level(s) and description of picture.
Yearbook Photo Submissions
YEARBOOK ANNOUNCEMENTS
Documenting this unique year is more important than ever, and the Pleasant Valley Middle yearbook staff needs your help to do it...
Want your student’s picture in the yearbook? We have a solution! Since not all students were able to get student portraits this year, submit a portrait instead, following the specific guidelines that are posted below. Use our Replay It option, it’s easy to submit your own photos from home. (https://images.jostens.com/416103989) The deadline to submit a portrait for your student has been extended to May 14th.
ADDITIONAL SPECIFICATIONS:
We will accept HEAD AND SHOULDERS SHOTS ONLY (NO hands and or props permitted in the portrait)
Only COLOR portraits will be accepted
All portraits are to be VERTICAL in nature
USDA Farmers to Families food boxes
Battle Ground Public Schools has partnered with the Battle Ground Education Foundation to distribute USDA Farmers to Families Food Boxes at the Lewisville campus on Saturdays through the end of May. Families can come by the Lewisville campus to pick up a food box. A typical kit contains fresh produce, dairy products, fluid milk and meat products. Distribution will start at 10 a.m. and last until the boxes are gone. Limit one food kit per car. Please enter Lewisville via NW 5th Ave. (between the Post Office and Dick's Point S) off of West Main Street.
Please be aware that because the truck is coming from Walla Walla, winter weather could impact distribution. Updates will be posted at http://bgef.org/ and the BGEF Facebook page.
Volunteers needed: If you can volunteer to help distribute boxes, please sign up online.
Family and Community Resource Center
Battle Ground Public Schools’ Family and Community Resource Center (FCRC) helps meet the needs of families faced with housing instability and similar economic challenges.
While a main goal of the FCRC is to assist families experiencing housing instability, it can also help connect families with many other types of resources and is intended to respond to the changing needs of the community.
The FCRC is a continuation of the district’s joint efforts with the Battle Ground Education Foundation, an all-volunteer, nonprofit community organization whose purpose is to leverage community resources to help maintain quality education for all students in Battle Ground schools.
The Family Resource Guide is full of contacts to aid families in connecting with agencies who are able to help with a great variety of needs. Please click the link below to view this helpful guide.
(click below to be redirected to the FCRC page)
Family and Community Resource Center (FCRC)
Phone: (360) 885-5434
Email: fcrc@battlegroundps.org
Attendance - Absence Reporting
- State reporting codes require absences be excused by a parent or guardian within three days of the return of the student to school.
- We may not accept student excuses for their own absences.
- We understand that at times an absence may be unavoidable, such as for limited medical appointment times, illness, internet failures, or a family emergency. Consistent participation dramatically increases student success in school. We ask that if at all possible, appointments and vacation time be scheduled to avoid having students miss their direct instruction time in Zoom meetings.
- In addition to a parent/guardian reporting the absence to the office, if students are aware they will be missing several days of school (due to traveling etc) please have them email all of their teachers to arrange for make up work.
Absence reporting
Attendance line: 360-885-5512
PVM office: 360-885-5500
PVM email: info.pvm@battlegroundps.org
Thank you for helping us keep your child's attendance record current.
PLEASANT VALLEY MIDDLE SCHOOL MISSION
We believe ALL students can experience academic and personal growth.
PLEASANT VALLEY MIDDLE SCHOOL
Office: 360-885-5500
Fax: 360-885-5510
Student helpdesk: 360-885-5465
Student helpdesk email: studenthelp@battlegroundps.org
PVM Online: https://sites.google.com/battlegroundps.org/pvm-online/home
District office switchboard: 360-885-5300
Email: info.pvm@battlegroundps.org
Website: https://pvm.battlegroundps.org/
Location: 14320 NE 50th Avenue, Vancouver, WA 98686
Phone: 360-885-5500
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PVMiddle/
Battle Ground Student and Family Handbook
PVM Student and Family Handbook
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May 2, 2021
Issue #15