PCHS Pirate News

September 13, 2023

Pirate Families,

Thank you to all of the parents that attended our Back-to-School Night on August 30. It was great to speak with many of you that night and I hope that it was a great experience for you. I know you are very busy, but it means the world to us that you carved out time to spend with us. This night is always a great night to establish a personal connection with your student’s teachers.

As the beginning of the year starts to calm down, we continue to have opportunities to come to the school and experience everything that PCHS has to offer. From extracurricular activities to informational settings, we will strive to offer relevant opportunities to our families, so check the upcoming dates below. Some of these opportunities are based on feedback from our community, so please reach out if you need anything.

Thank you,

Mr. Kiel Giese

Interim Principal, Platte County High School

September 21: School Board of Education Meeting, 6:30 pm, DEC Boardroom

October 5: Senior Parent Night, 6:00 pm

October 8: Homecoming Hallway Decorations 1:00-6:00pm

October 9-13: Homecoming 2023 Spirit Week

October 13: Early Dismissal, 11:40 am

October 13: Homecoming Parade & Game

October 14: Homecoming Dance, 8:00 pm-11:00 pm

October 19: School Board of Education Meeting, 6:30 pm, DEC Boardroom

October 20: Professional Learning Day, NO SCHOOL

October 20: End of 1st Quarter

October 27: Reports Cards go home

November 1 & 2: Parent/Teacher Conferences

November 1: PCHS College Fair, 3:00 pm-7:00 pm

Click here to view the full calendar on our website.

This is a reminder of our regular Modified Block Schedule since next week is our first full week with the block.

Monday - 7-Period Day

Tuesday - 7-Period Day

Wednesday - Periods 1, 3, 5, 7

Thursday - Periods 2, PLT AM, 4, PLT PM, 6

Friday - 7-Period Day

This year our Homecoming theme is "Enjoy the Ride: ROAD TRIP to Homecoming"

Spirit Week will be October 9-13

Parade and Football Game are on Friday October 13.

Homecoming Dance will be Saturday, October 14.

You should be receiving an email from your student regarding access to become a Canvas Observer on Friday, September 15. Canvas is the learning management system for all 6th-12th grade courses starting this year. Please be on the lookout for this email from your student. This will allow you to gain access to Canvas and the Dashboard of what is happening in all of their courses. The District will have more information by the end of the week.

Senior Parent Night will be October 5, from 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm in the new PCHS Cafeteria. This information session will cover topics such as important senior dates, graduation policies and procedures, as well as information about college and career planning.

There will also be a reception following the information session where senior parents can visit the school store, connect with school and local partners such as the PTSA, the Senior Class Sponsor, and more!

This year during our first night of Parent Teacher Conferences, we are excited to host the first PCHS College Fair! We have invited 40 of our local colleges to our campus to share information with students and families. Join us on November 1, from 4:00 pm -7:00 pm in the PCHS Cafeteria!

Students - Check the local & regional scholarships page often to see what you can apply for.

This document will be added to periodically, so bookmark this page and keep checking!

Platte County School District recognizes the importance of community input to help set the future direction of our schools. We will be kicking off another year of the PCR-3 Community Advisory by gathering volunteers who will have an ongoing role to review the District’s progress toward its Comprehensive Strategic Improvement Plan goals, as well as to provide input regarding the District's general operation and specific issues impacting education activities and programs. Any District resident, employee, or student may participate in the ongoing work of this group.

We have reached out to existing members about continuing their participation and are now opening membership up to new members. If interested in serving on this advisory, please complete the application linked here by September 25. The first General Membership meeting will be held October 3.

• Click HERE to see how our Athletics/Activities performed this week.
• Click HERE to see our Athletics/Activities Calendar.
• Click HERE to visit our online Pirate Store.

Please review the important information regarding Student Attendance for the 2023-24 School Year. What to do if my student is absent, who to contact if I need to report an absence, and how to properly check my student out of school.

PCHS Attendance 2023-2024

You may have heard your students talking about taking a screening assessment in English Language Arts or Math starting this week or last week. These screeners provide information related to skill acquisition in those areas. The assessments, known as FastBridge and DnA, are nationally-normed screeners and are skills-aligned assessments that will inform instruction to best meet student learning needs. These assessments will be administered three times this school year: Fall, Winter, and Spring. Students do not need to prepare for this assessment, and the results are used for informational purposes only.

English Language Arts:

• Fastbridge - September 4-8
• DnA - September 18-22

Math:

• Fastbridge - September 10-15
• DnA - September 25-29

Parent/Student Handbook 2023-24

YEARBOOKS are available for purchase now at yearbookforever.com and are $65 until October 27. New this year is that books will be delivered in May before graduation! This means ALL orders must be made by January 25, which is 3 months earlier than we are used to.

SENIOR ADS are also available to order online at the same website (yearbookforever.com) and will have a firm purchase deadline of October 19. When ordering your ad, be sure to have the two pictures you want ready as well as your brief message. No copyrighted material allowed (poems, song lyrics, movie quotes, etc.).

Parents can use Parent Portal (www.plattecountyschooldistrict.com/parents/parent_portal) to keep up to date on grades and assignments (for students in grades 6-12), attendance, and we will soon have active links to meal payments and fees. Parents who did not receive their new PowerSchool Access ID and Password at registration days can either pick theirs up at back-to-school night (PCHS - Aug. 30th)) or email Chelsa Detrick.

• Click here to create an account and login. Students will be able to login to Student Portal using their school email address and password.
• Click here for an Initial Guide to Parent Portal.

Please consider joining PTSA!

Thank you

PCHS PTSA Membership Form

Hi Booster Club Members and Parents,

We have had growing crowds for our Friday night home football games! The community support is amazing but it requires the need for more volunteers to help in the concession stands to make it more efficient. We will also have the Softball/Baseball concession stand open on Friday nights to help and to serve the Band during the 3rd quarter. The next home game is this Friday the 15th. We play Grain Valley and they typically travel well so it will be busy. It's a lot of work but it is fun and you will definitely get your steps in for the night! Here is the link if you are able to help: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/805084BACA92EA1FB6-booster4

If you are not able to help Friday night we still have lots of other opportunities to help throughout the week and even a few Saturdays. We know everyone is extremely busy with work and families so we really do appreciate any time you can dedicate to help! If everyone chips in then we can make sure we have the concessions stands open for all of our home events! https://www.signupgenius.com/go/805084BACA92EA1FB6-booster4

Feel free to reach out to us if you have any questions or concerns. Personal emails are below or you can respond to this email directly.

The Board of the Platte County High School Booster Club

President: Krista Wimberly kwimberly12@gmail.com

Vice President: Kim Macias-Lewis kimmacias@hotmail.com

Treasurer: Kate Harmon and Robin Herron harmons42@yahoo.com and herronr@platteco.k12.mo.us

Secretary: Jennifer McClure mcclurej@platteco.k12.mo.us

References:

Website: http://www.pchsboosterclub.com/ (Links to everything there!)

Twitter: @PirateBoosterPC

Signup Genius: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/805084BACA92EA1FB6-booster4

Email: pcpirateboosterclub@gmail.com

Pirates ROCK (Raising Outstanding Character Kids) is a program designed to surround our families with examples of strong character traits through school experiences, at home, and reinforced in their community. Each month our community focuses on a specific character trait and students are recognized for exhibiting these traits: Self Confidence, Pride, Responsibility, Citizenship, Compassion, Individuality, Self Control, Integrity, Perseverance, Respect, Honesty, and Cooperation.

September's #PiratesROCK trait is PRIDE: a feeling of self respect & worth.