West Word

An Update from Perkiomen Valley Middle School West

A Word From Mr. Creeden

We continue to get into the holiday spirit at West as everyone participated in Stuff-A-Bus spirit week this week. Students wore their PJ's or sweatpants on Monday, holiday gear on Tuesday, red, white, or blue on Wednesday, crazy socks or slippers on Thursday, and holiday hats or Stuff-A-Bus beanies on Friday. The week concluded with the holiday homeroom poster contest. Please see pictures of the 1st place grade level winners below. All holiday posters will be on display at our Stuff-A-Bus event this evening.


On Thursday evening of this week our amazing musicians performed in our West Band & Orchestra Winter Concert. Our West band members performed pieces such as Hanukkah Highlights and Christmas Patrol. Our West orchestra members performed pieces such as Holiday Hoedown and Adirondak Sleighride. The evening concluded with our 7th and 8th grade Orchestra performing a song choreographed to lights. It was the perfect ending to a wonderful concert. Thank you to all family and friends who were able to come and support our music program. Please see a link below to the program from the evening.

Quick Snapshot📸

  • What's Up @ West
  • November West Students of the Month
  • Middle School West Winter Concerts
  • Club & Activity Info @ West
  • Homework Club
  • After School Activity Transportation
  • Power Packs
  • Quick Reference Guide for Parents/Guardians
  • PV West Athletic Update
  • West Home & School Information
  • Guiding Good Choices
  • Be Part of the Conversation - Upcoming Programs
  • PV West Attendance Information
  • PVSD Food Service Updates
  • December Breakfast/Lunch Menus
  • Safe2Say
  • National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
  • PV West on Social Media
  • Community Bulletin Board
  • West Weeks At A Glance
  • HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!

What's Up @ West

Belonging Conversations

Mr. Steven Willis, our district Coordinator of Equity, Inclusion, and Community Engagement was invited to speak with our eighth grade students this week. He explained and promoted our district mission to empower our students to grow intellectually, socially, and emotionally. Mr. Willis discussed the importance of acceptance and inclusion in our school culture. He drove home the point that it can be hard to choose to do the right thing, but it is worth it. He encouraged the students to strive to belong as they are and not to change to fit in. His message was clear and well received by every student.

November West Students of the Month

This week we recognized our November WEST Students of the Month. Each of our SOTM receive an Amazon gift card and PV Strong sunglasses. They were chosen by their teaching teams as students who have consistently modeled the WEST Strong characteristics throughout the past month. Those characteristics are Welcoming, Empowered, Safe, and Trustworthy. We are very proud of our students of the month (Grace, Jack, Adriana, Drew, Josh, and Sarah. Congratulations!!!!!

Middle School West Winter Concerts

Our West musicians will be showing off their musical talents at our upcoming Winter Concerts. The West Winter Band & Orchestra Winter Concert will take place on Thursday December 8th at 7pm and the West Winter Choir Concert will take place on Tuesday December 13th at 7pm. Both concerts will take place in our West Auditorium.

Club & Activity Info @ West

Homework Club

Homework Club takes place on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons from 2:30 - 3:45pm in the West library. Homework Club will provide a quiet, comfortable, and supportive setting for students to complete school work and become better organized. Students will receive assistance and support when needed. School resources will also be provided for all students in attendance. There is no sign-up required. If students are attending they can report directly to the Library after school on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

After School Activity Transportation

After-school activity transportation is available at Middle School West. Transportation is available to any student participating in an after-school activity such as athletics, music practice, or student clubs.


  • 4:00pm Departure (outside main office) - Monday through Thursday
  • 5:00pm Departure (outside gym entrance) - Monday through Thursday


For each day students intend to take either the 4:00pm or 5:30pm activity bus, they are asked to inform the school district and bus company for routing purposes using the electronic form provided. The form links are below and also available to students via the PV LaunchPad - Classlink. Students must submit their information each morning by 10:00 am if they intend to ride the afternoon activity bus that day.


Power Packs

Registration for Power Packs will remain open until Monday, December 19th at noon.


PV Power Packs is a weekend food program for students experiencing food insecurity. Bags of food, including 2 breakfast items, 2 lunch items, 2 snacks, and 2 fruits, are sent home with students prior to every weekend. There is no financial information required to participate in this program and students pick up their bags from their counselor or designated person every week.

Sign up for your child(ren) to receive a Power Packs bag by filling out this form: 2022-23 Power Packs or by emailing PowerPacks@pvsd.org.


Please click the link below if you are interested in receiving a meal box with all the fixings for a family of 6 this winter holiday. The boxes will be available to pick up on Thursday December 22nd between 11AM and 1PM at the high school cafeteria loop. If families are not able to pick up their box, we can arrange to have it delivered.


Learn more about Power Packs at https://www.pvsd.org/families/pv-power-packs/ and follow us on Facebook @PVPowerPacks.

Quick Reference Guide for Parents/Guardians

PV West Athletic Update

Perkiomen Valley Sports Network

Welcome to the Perkiomen Valley Sports Network inaugural podcast featuring student-athletes and coaches from within the Perkiomen Valley School District. The production team is a collaboration of our Sports Marketing & Management classes, PVTV, and the Athletic Department here at PVHS. Our mission is to shine light and positive stories on impactful players, coaches, and teams within our school and discuss their experiences as student-athletes and coaches. This is the first of many podcasts that will be shared throughout the school year.


In this our first episode, our host Evan Kenny will be interviewing three PVHS Varsity golf team members: Ayush Patel, Abigail McCorkell, and Nadia Yackanicz. These golfers have all had very successful seasons and recently qualified for the PIAA District One Golf Championships. In the podcast they discuss their experiences and thoughts on being a part of the PV Golf Team this season.


We look forward to sharing more podcasts with you throughout the year.


https://drive.google.com/file/d/1C9DqaLOYJTMlKLvrtxTzafVvFeLd3QHK/view


Meet The Winter Sports Coaches


Middle School West Girls' Basketball Coach: Steve Faella

Steve Faella is entering his 3rd season as Head Coach of West Basketball; 2nd as the head of the girls program. He lives in the area with his wife of 19 years, Kristin (PV alum) and his daughter Sammie, a freshman PG at The Hill School. A fixture at PV West the past 2 years, he spends his days as a substitute teacher and paraprofessional, covering all grade levels. When asked his favorite part of coaching, Steve replied, “I love seeing the improvement in a player, whether an experienced player who takes their game to a level they didn’t know they could achieve, or a new player who falls in love with a game they only casually liked before. I love the game of basketball; more so, teaching the girls to play with Heart and Hustle. I love the look on someone’s face when they master a skill after working hard to develop it.”


Middle School West 8th Grade Boys' Basketball Coach: Rey Frederick

Coach Rey is going into his second year at Perkiomen Valley West. He graduated from Pottsgrove High School and always played and loved basketball. He is new to the PV community but hasn't felt out of place at all, everyone has been great. The staff, the students, and the parents have been very kind and welcoming. This past year was his first time having a coaching position and it was amazing. He learned a lot and he hopes to continue to grow as a coach and be a part of the community.


Middle School West 7th Grade Boys' Basketball Coach: Robert Hinson

Head Coach Rob Hinson is entering his 2nd year as the head coach of our middle school basketball program (East 7th grade last season). He graduated from Upper Perkiomen High School. He currently resides in East Greenville with his wife, Jesse. He has one son (Roman 4) & one daughter (Hazel 5 months). He is excited for this upcoming season and ready to get to work.


Middle School Wrestling Head Coach: Kyle Barnes

West Home & School Information

If you would like to volunteer at any events that Home and School may have in the Spring, please email pvmswesths@gmail.com

Guiding Good Choices

GGC is an evidence based 5-session virtual program for parents with children ages 9-14. The program is a multimedia family-competency training program specifically designed to strengthen parents' family management skills, parent-child bonding, and children's peer-resistance skills. Most sessions are parent-focused, though children attend one session, focused on peer pressure.


The group will meet Monday-Friday December 12-16 from 6:00pm- 7:00pm. . Parents meet each night without children, but the children join their parent during the 3rd session for a discussion about peer pressure. Dinner will also be sent to families every night and incentives (gift cards) will be provided to the kids for participation. If interested, please see the information in the flyer below.

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Be Part of the Conversation - Upcoming Programs

Be a Part of the Conversation equips families and communities in Pennsylvania with skills and resources to understand substance use, addiction, and related health issues. We provide community programs, foster supportive connections, highlight lived experiences, and challenge stigma.


We are a collaboration of community leaders, clinicians, students, school district representatives, and families who believe that having meaningful, inclusive conversations about substance use and addiction will support individuals and their families in their efforts to develop healthy coping skills and access support whenever there is a need. Learn more about us. See the link below for a number of programs that Be a Part of the Conversation offers.

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:


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. 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 Lori Tropea at ltropea@pvsd.org or you may call her at x3540.

PVSD Food Service Updates

Parents/Guardians put money in their student(s) accounts electronically in SchoolCafe or by sending cash or checks in with their students. For more information about SchoolCafe please go to https://www.pvsd.org/departments/food-service/school-cafe-information/. If you are sending funds in with your students, please note the students’ names and account number on the envelope and ask them to give the envelope to their cashier in the cafeteria.


Upon entering the serving area, students make their selections and enter their 6 digit Student ID number on the pin pad or scanner. Our staff will be happy to help them become more comfortable with the system.

December Breakfast/Lunch Menus

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Safe2Say

Our students can submit an anonymous tip through the Safe2Say Program. Tips are typically related to a variety of challenges our students experience or witness, such as bullying, harassment, disrespectful language, safety concerns, etc. When a tip is received, the State (who runs Safe2Say) immediately follows up with building administrators.

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline

988 has been designated as the new three-digit dialing code that will route callers to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (now known as the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline), and is now active across the United States.


When people call, text, or chat 988, they will be connected to trained counselors that are part of the existing Lifeline network. These trained counselors will listen, understand how their problems are affecting them, provide support, and connect them to resources if necessary. Please see below for more information.


The previous Lifeline phone number (1-800-273-8255) will always remain available to people in emotional distress or suicidal crisis.

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.

Community Bulletin Board

Want to find out what’s going on in the PV Community? Visit here for flyers about upcoming events in and around our area!

To submit an event for posting, please send a PDF version of your flyer to webmaster@pvsd.org for review.

Please note that Community Bulletin Board items may contain links to websites of organizations outside Perkiomen Valley School District. Items are posted to this bulletin board as a free service to the community, and should not be interpreted as being sponsored or endorsed by the district.

West Weeks At A Glance

Monday, December 12th - PVSD Board Business Meeting @ 7pm in PVHS Library


Tuesday, December 13th - Homework Club @ 2:30pm in West Library; MSW Winter Choir Concert @ 7pm in West Auditorium


Thursday, December 15th - Homework Club @ 2:30pm in West Library


For more details on the 22/23 school year go to the 22/23 Instructional Calendar

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!