Knighthawk Family News
Pleasant Knoll Middle School
Message from Mr. Young
I hope that all of our families had a wonderful summer! As many of you know, we completed our inaugural year as a school in the Fort Mill School District last year. We were so happy to have the opportunity to open this beautiful school. We are excited to welcome all of our students, parents, and teachers back for another great school year at PKMS.
I have seen first-hand the supportive parent and community base that helps serve the needs of our students and staff members. I am thrilled to continue that partnership with you throughout this school year. I believe that the partnership with parents and the community plays a large role in the success of our students.
We look forward to continuing to build on the culture that we have started at PKMS and we also look forward to meeting the emotional, social, and academic needs of all of our students. We will continue to support our vision at PKMS... "As a community of learners, our vision is to strive to create a safe environment focused on high achievement through a rigorous curriculum and student/teacher engagement. We work to instill a sense of community and positive citizenship while encouraging our students to SOAR in STEAM initiatives and college/career readiness."
Please take a moment to read through this newsletter for some important information about the upcoming school year. If you have any questions or concerns, please email me (youngg@fortmillschools.org) or call at 803-835-3770.
Again, I am excited for our second year at PKMS. Thank you for your support and I look forward to seeing all of our Knighthawks on August 20th.
Grey Young, Principal
New Staff to PKMS
Margaret Causey – School Counselor
Kellie Connor – 8th Grade Sci/SS
Alison Coyne – 7th Grade Science
Jodi Davenport – 6th Grade Math/Sci
Allison Davis – School Counselor
Patti Davis – School Psychologist
Shelby DeLellis – 8th Grade Math
Kelly Dusek – Mental Health Counselor
Patty Farrar – Behavior Int.
Abbi Griffin – 8th Grade ELA
Mason Gibbons - PE
Hannah Gordon – 7th Res./Inc.
Sarah Gullickson – Computers
Karen Homonai – 6th Grade ELA/SS
Lisa Pait – 6th Grade SS
Karen Vollmer – 6th Grade ELA
Student Administrator Assignments
Cori Hustedt - hustedtc@fortmillschools.org
- All 8th Grade students
- 7th Grade students (Last Names A-K)
Caryn Scroggs - scroggsc@fortmillschools.org
- All 6th Grade students
- 7th Grade students (Last Names L-Z)
School Counselor Assignments
- All Students (Last Names A-G)
Allison Davis - davisa@fortmillschools.org
- All Students (Last Names H-N)
Margaret Causey - causeym@fortmillschools.org
- All Students (Last Names O-Z)
Student Schedules
The parent portal will open at 9am on August 10th to view student schedules. Parents of new students that registered over the summer should have received an email on 8/2 with information needed to create an account.
6th Grade/New Student Open House
Wednesday, Aug 15, 2018, 06:00 PM
Pleasant Knoll Middle School, Pleasant Road, Fort Mill, SC, USA
7th Grade/8th Grade Open House
Thursday, Aug 23, 2018, 06:00 PM
Pleasant Knoll Middle School
Nurse News
ATTENTION: 7th GRADE STUDENTS AND PARENTS
Please make an appointment for your child to update their Tdap vaccination. ALL seventh graders will be REQIIRED to get the Tdap vaccine to protect them against whooping cough (pertussis). One (1) dose of Tdap vaccine (tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis) administered on or after the 7th birthday will be required for all seventh graders. It is strongly recommended that adolescents who have not yet received a dose of Tdap vaccine be immunized in advance of this requirement. Students who are not up to date with their Tdap vaccination may not be allowed to attend school. For more information, please visit www.scdhec.gov/scimmunize
Please send a copy of the immunization record to the school nurse once they receive the updated vaccination.
Registration Fees
Please make sure your child’s Registration Fee for the 2018-2019 school year has been paid. Please follow the directions below to pay the fee online:
INSTRUCTIONS FOR PAYMENT OF FEES ON-LINE
1. Parents, please go to the Fort Mill School District homepage at Home - Fort Mill School District
2. Scroll down to the “Quick Links” section and click on “Pay Fees”
3. Log in (if you used the online system last year) or create an account
4. If you create an account, you will need your child’s id number and date of birth xx/xx/xxxx
5. Click on the tab for your PKMS student
6. Your instructional fee has been automatically added to your account
7. Click on any optional fees you would like to add to your cart
8. View Cart and Checkout
Do you want a yearbook?
Back to School Yearbook Offer-Limited Time
There's nothing like getting your yearbook. It's the limited edition collection of our school's stories of the year. Let your student share and relive the big events that will make this year special.
Yearbooks are now on sale for the lowest price of the year, $35.00. ORDER NOW AND SAVE $5.00!! For a limited time add Personalization for $7.00 and get up to 4 FREE ICONS.
Hurry! This Back to School Offer only lasts until September 7, 2018.
Ordering Instructions: Click here to go to the PKMS Jostens Yearbook site. Please enter your student's legal first and last name and what grade they are in. Please email Mrs. Munn (munns@fortmillschools.org) if you have any questions.
Dress Code
Please review the dress code with your son/daughter so that students are dressed appropriately and successfully on the first day and throughout the school year.
The following regulations will be followed:
The Fort Mill School District’s Student Policy JICA Student Dress/Uniforms states “Although the responsibility for the dress and appearance of students rests with each student and his/her parent/guardian, students are expected to show pride in themselves and their schools by having their dress and appearance in accordance with good acceptable standards. The school administration and board discourage extreme styles of dress and grooming. Students will dress in appropriate attire. Students are expected to dress in clothing that abides by the district dress code policy. Logos or clothing that promotes alcohol, drugs, tobacco, racism, hate, gang affiliation, nudity, or profanity is not allowed. No clothing or accessories are allowed to disrupt the educational process. The administration reserves the right to determine what is appropriate for school.
Pleasant Knoll Middle School students are expected to adhere to these administrative dress guidelines:
- Proper shoes must be worn at all times for safety reasons. Shoes with cleats may not be worn. Bedroom shoes/slippers are not appropriate for school. Flip flops are permitted.
- Students may wear shorts, dresses, skirts, etc. whose length is no shorter than four inches above the knee.
- All tops/shirts must have sleeves that cover/conceal the underarm area.
- Tops/shirts must be long enough that they can be tucked into pants or shorts and shall cover the belt line when the arms are raised above the head.
- Tank tops, halter tops, crop tops, strapless tops, and see through garments are not appropriate/permitted for school.
- Sports jerseys must be worn with a sleeved shirt underneath that covers/conceals the underarm area.
- Underwear must not be visible.
- Pants or jeans with holes, tears or tattered to the extent that skin or underwear is visible above the knee are not appropriate for school.
- Pants are to be worn around the natural waist line (no sagging).
- No headwear (hats, bandanas, caps, hoods, etc.) or sunglasses may be worn in the building by students upon arrival until dismissal.
- Long chains and jewelry which could be deemed a safety hazard or a distraction to the learning environment should not be worn.
- Accessories that distract from the learning environment will not be allowed.
If there is a disagreement between students and/or parents/legal guardians and the staff regarding the appropriateness of clothing, the administration will use his/her discretion to make the final decision. Disciplinary action regarding the enforcement of this policy is listed below.
Violations will result in the following:
- First offense – change clothes/in-school suspension (ISS) until clothes are brought
- Second offense – parent conference/ISS remainder of day, regardless; change clothes
- Third offense – ISS and/or detention, regardless; change clothes
- Subsequent offenses – suspension
Cell Phone Policy
The FMSD Middle School Principals developed the following cell phone policy for middle school students across the district.
Cell phones must be turned off and not be visible in the building/school grounds from 7:40 A.M. – 3:20 P.M. Cell phones should be placed in each student’s secure locker when the homeroom bell rings. Cell phones are not permitted for use in the hall while students wait for the homeroom bell to ring. In addition, students may NOT use a cell phone to contact parents during the school day. There is a phone in the office and the nurses office for student phone calls.
Devices may only be used in the classroom for educational purposes while under the supervision and permission of a teacher.
Any visible sign of a cell phone is a violation of the cell phone rules.
- 1st violation – warning and confiscation of phone until the end of the day
- 2nd violation – ISS lunch detention and confiscation of phone until the end of the day
- 3rd violation – 1 day of ISS and confiscation of phone until the end of the day
- 4th violation – 1 day of ISS and confiscation of phone until the end of the day
- 5th violation and beyond - 1 day of ISS for each offense and conference with parent to develop a plan for future cell phone use at school
Violation and refusal to give school employee the electronic device will result in additional punishment and will result in no less than one day of in-school suspension.
Lockers and Bookbags
- Each student will receive a locker with a combination lock within the first week of school.
- The size of the lockers are 12 x 12 x 60.
- Students will not be allowed to take book bags into their classes. Students will have opportunities to go to their lockers between their core classes.
- Rolling book bags are NOT allowed.
- We do allow PE students to take a small draw string bag for gym clothes and shoes with them to PE class. However, it should be locked in their locker throughout the rest of the day.
Thoughts on Literacy
Thoughts about Literacy
As your child’s most important teacher, you can be a strong force in their efforts to become a skillful reader. Whether your child is already a proficient reader, or is a struggling or reluctant reader, your positive encouragement can help them make continuous strides toward growing as a reader and learner. Here are some suggestions on how you can support your child’s reading at home.
· Encourage “engagement strategies” such as highlighting, using post-it notes, underlining, and developing questions as they read. These strategies will help students through the process of making-meaning from text and to ensure that they are doing more than reading the words on the page. Although your child should never mark in a library or school textbook, cutting post-it notes into smaller “flags” can serve a similar purpose.
· If your child is struggling to complete an assigned reading, try taking turns listening to him/her read, and then reading aloud parts of the text with your child, checking frequently for understanding.
· Encourage your child to re-read material to get a deeper understanding of its contents. This is particularly true for non-fiction material (textbook content) and difficult text.
· Encourage your child to read for 20 minutes before going to sleep each night.
· Create a quiet place in your home for your child to read. Keep books and reading materials readily available.
· Help your child see that reading is important. Set a good example for your child by reading books, newspapers, and magazines. Talk about what you are reading.
· One last and most important thought… when children have interesting books and time to read them, they read more, and more matters. Emphasize the importance of reading as a life-long habit and encourage its frequent practice.
PKMS PTO
PKMS PTO welcomes our new and returning Knighthawk families to another great year on the knoll. Just a few quick notes from the PTO team prior to the start of school:
- Registration on the PTO website, www.pkmspto.com, begins on August 10th. All families are asked to register with the PTO website even if you did so last school year. Registration will give you access to the weekly PTO newsletter in your email to keep you up to date on all things PKMS and is your portal to purchase spirit wear, Hawk Pops and other PTO sponsored items.
- A successful PTO relies on parent volunteers. Please reach out to us if you can volunteer your time to help out with any of our PTO events/activities or if you have ideas/suggestions on what PTO can do to support our students, parents and staff.
- Please remember to re-link your Harris Teeter VIC card to PKMS PTO. As a special incentive, if we exceed the number of linked VIC cards from last year, Harris Teeter will give us an additional $100 bonus. Remember you can link up to 5 school groups to your VIC card.
Thank you for your continued support of our PKMS students and staff and we look forward to the coming school year.
Procedures for Car Riders
- All cars dropping off will need to stay in the far right lane the entire loop. The left lane will be used for staff parking and visitors that will be entering the building.
- We ask all cars to pull forward as far as possible to allow more students to exit their cars (shown in the picture as the yellow circle). This will also keep the drop-off and pick-up line moving as fast as possible.
- Please do not pass cars in the left lane.
- Please do not use cell phones while in the car rider line.
- Do not drop off any students until the car is at a sidewalk area (near the beginning of the covered walkway).
- Please follow the directions of the staff member(s) on duty at the time.
- Please follow the directions of the crossing guard at the entrance.
Parent Communication
We would like to keep all of our parents informed of upcoming events, classroom news, and school news. Please use the PKMS website, http://pkms.fortmillschools.org/. It should be a primary source of communication for our families and Mrs. Munn does an outstanding job of updating it on a regular basis. Please also use our Twitter and Facebook pages for information as well.
Twitter - @PK_Knighthawks
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/PKMSKnighthawks/
Pleasant Knoll Middle School
Email: zeppelink@fortmillschools.org
Website: http://pkms.fortmillschools.org/
Location: 2320 Pleasant Road, Fort Mill, SC, United States
Phone: 803-835-3770
Facebook: facebook.com/PKMSKnighthawks/
Twitter: @PK_Knighthawks