Pence Press
December 14-18th, 2020
Importance Of Doing Asynchronous Work At Home
As we have gotten into the rhythm and routine of the second phase of this unique school year under COVID restrictions, I want to take a moment to address one particular area of school that needs some extra attention and effort from many of our students, which are the asynchronous days. While students only receive "live" instruction twice weekly, the other 3 days are still designated school days for students to participate in learning activities, lessons, and structured practice to reinforce skills.
Again, let me stress, these 3 days should be viewed as school days for students. Please help us by encouraging your students to develop a routine on these days where they are on their computers and logged into schoology conistently. We recommend that you help them establish set times desginated for school in a good learning space for them in the home. We know that this may be a challenge for some families due to various circumstances. In these cases, we still encourage you to be in communication with your student(s), checking on their progress in Schoology and PowerSchool, and trying to encourage engagement when you can find the time.
Sincerely-
John Childs
Athletics Update
Pence Families-
I hope that this message finds you well. I wanted to take a moment to provide you with the latest plans for middle school athletics. We are currently under restrictions from state and local officials as it applies to athletics. It is still our desire to do the best we can to offer opportunities for our students, but this will mean that things may look very different than in the past. There are extensive health and safety guidelines and protocols set by the VHSL and the state, as well as limits to the number of spectators allowed to attend events. The guidelines are ever changing and are reflective of the number of state and local cases of COVID in the community. The current plans for winter sports are listed as follows:
8th Grade Girls and Boys Basketball
-Tryouts and practice will begin on Monday, January 4th.
-The coaches plan on meeting with students interested in trying out at the end of this week.
-There will be a 6 game schedule and games will be played on Mondays & Wednesdays.
-The first contest will be on Wednesday, January 13th.
-There is currently a spectator limit of 25 per contest.
8th Grade Cheer
-By state guidelines, cheerleaders are considered "spectators."
-WSPMS and the Massanutten Middle School District values our cheerleaders as participants and wishes to have a season for them where they can learn and grow in the sport.
-Our middle school athletic directors and cheer coaches are working together to determine the best possible opportunity for them to do so in a manner that is rewarding for the participants. More information will be released on cheer as decisions are finalized regarding a start date, etc. It is our desire to provide them with a season, but it may not be in the traditional sense that we have had in the past.
(For both cheer and basketball, the "spectator" limit does factor into our decision making as we do want parents to have the opportunity to watch their child compete, even if we have to limit that number.)
Wrestling
-The current guidelines and restrictions placed on wrestling are (extremely) restrictive and limiting to the point where the Massanutten District does not feel like we have the ability to provide our students with a proper or adequate season in the winter.
-It is our hope to be able to be able to possibly have a wrestling season later in the year if restrictions are lightened for the sport. We will provide updates as these decisions are finalized.
(JV Tryouts for Basketball at TAHS began on Monday, Dec. 7th for interested 8th graders. A shuttle bus will be made available for students needing to get over to the high school after school. Please contact TAHS if you need information regarding JV athletics.)
I want to reiterate, these decisions are subject to change along with the status of the virus, and are not made lightly. We fully understand the important role that extracurriculars play in the development of the student-athlete. The calendar currently calls for traditional fall sports (cross country and volleyball) to follow the winter season, then 7th grade basketball and cheer, and ending with track and field. I know many of you are also wondering about the status of holding our middle school musical production. This also is being considered as we are monitoring all restrictions and guidelines. If you are interested in reviewing the VHSL guidelines, they can be found on their website: vhsl.org
Chromebook Home Support information
The county has updated the at home support links on our RCPS webpage which now point directly to the Help Desk. Moving forward parents/students will login to the Help Desk with student Google credentials and should be submitting tickets with the *Student Ticket* help topic.
Students/parents will provide the exact same information as before and the only other information they will need is their child's password. (They should have this on the beginning of the year student account information sheet.).This change should help our staff more efficiently manage at home support requests will allow for two way communication between our staff and families that can be referenced even after tickets are closed.
SURVEY for PE
This needs to be completed before returning from Holiday Break
Rockingham Harrisonburg Bike Walk Summit Committee survey
If you haven't yet sent out the Rockingham Harrisonburg Bike Walk Summit Committee survey about how your travel habits may have changed during the pandemic, there is still time. Survey respondents will be entered to win $25 Visa gift cards. Thank you for sharing the survey with your parent email lists.
Survey link (English): https://jmu.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3Oz6Hpy5ISk4IGV
Survey link (Spanish): http://jmu.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_5jWpzkeQApihHwh
STEM Opportunities
Our Instructional Technology staff is excited to provide your students some optional STEM enrichment opportunities that can be done at home, now or during the holiday break (or later!) Our plans are to add more courses for students throughout the year. There are three currently aimed at grades 4+ using Chromebooks that we would encourage for your middle school students.
Would you help us please by sharing this opportunity with your students?
This document provides all the necessary details: https://bit.ly/stemenrichment
Thanks so much!
Holiday Sweater Days
Interim Grade Reports: December 17, 2020
School Pictures - Feb 11-12 More info coming soon!
Curbside Meal Pick-Ups And The Weather
Parents should be encouraged to visit take-home meal sites if their children "normally" receive ISTH meals, but didn't because of inclement weather. It is expected that ISTH meals would be sent home as usual on days following closure to provide food for the days students are not in school. Individual closure circumstances may present unique challenges and these "general" guidelines would need to be changed.
Meals
Drive up meal pick-up times have been adjusted. They will still be on Mondays and Thursdays, but will only run from 3:45 PM until 5:30 PM.
Thank you!
Share your pictures for the yearbook.
Share your photos of you and your pet during our "bring your pet to school" day or take one after the fact. You can upload your photos directly to the yearbook site: http://www.hjeshare.com/eShare/?code=pencems ! (If it asks your for a code, it's pencems)
Also, be sure to preorder your copy today! https://www.yearbookordercenter.com/general/homepage?portal=true (if it asks you for a code- it's 13754)
Grab Some New Pence Gear!
About Us
Wilbur Pence Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/p/B1j84fxh9NC/?igshid=1ugnqkq1hn27l
WSPMS WEBSITE including "Parent Resources" & "Student Resources"
http://wspms.rockingham.k12.va.us/
Email: jchilds@rockingham.k12.va.us
Website: http://wspms.rockingham.k12.va.us/
Location: 375 Bowman Road, Dayton, VA, USA
Phone: 540-879-2535
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/penceknights/