Dear Patuxent Valley Families and Community,
Thank you to all of our Teachers and Staff for their amazing contributions to our community.  This week we took lots of opportunities to celebrate our educators, including lots of food and games!  Thank you to PTA for your support of our staff and all the goodies!  

At the faculty meeting on Monday we shared this TED Talk by Rita Pierson, titled “Every Kid Needs a Champion.”  This message is a challenge to us to show up in ways that uplift and encourage our young people to bring their best and show their academic and social growth in school.  I celebrate every time our faculty members show up as Champions for our students as this is the best of what we can bring.  I feel lucky to work with our faculty and staff.

This week our 8th graders went on their Field Trip to see a production of Romeo and Juliet at the Chesapeake Theater Company, and our GT Film students went to the GT Film Fest at APL.    Thank you to the 8th grade team and all the parent Chaperones for their support of our young people, and to Ms. Chelidona and Ms. Petry for taking our students to the Film Fest.  I love this time of year for all the opportunities that our students have at Patuxent Valley and in HCPSS.

A huge congratulations to Saanvi V, Emily K, and Christy P who placed 2nd out of 16 total entries in the National History Day Maryland state competition last Saturday.  They have qualified to move on to the NATIONAL competition in June! This is a five-day contest where 3,000 students from all over the country will be there to present their projects.  We are so proud of each of you.

I was also thrilled to meet yesterday with Carmen T, Lilah D and Chloe M who have earned their Silver Girl Scout Award for completing a tremendous project on keeping Exotic Animals.  They are a part of Troop 1214, and should be commended for their hard work and contributions to our community.

This Saturday, Our Voice Literary Magazine published writers will have the opportunity to share their creative writing. Please stop by the Books in Bloom event at Merriweather Color Burst Park to see them from 1:45pm to 2:45pm. Congratulations to student authors: Kris G., Sean L., and Jessica P. 

Last Night I attended the AFCEA Awards Night at Turf Valley and was able to see four of our amazing students, Pari, P, David O, Bram S, and Alina T demonstrate their Kickstarter Project to a full room.  They did an amazing job and showed their skills at coding and communication.  This is the second year that we have won this grant and another example of the amazing STEM opportunities here at Patuxent Valley.

Don’t forget to check out information below on our STEAM Night on May 15.  We have presenters coming from across the state and within our school community.  It will be a great night of learning and playing including food at the beginning.

Finally, for the next two weeks it's time for us to share our thoughts on the quotes that were submitted last month for Bulldog Boulevard,  as a part of our continued efforts in Building Beautification.

We'd like to put up quotes that are motivational and representative of the diversity of our school community.  We'd love for there to be quotes from individuals who represent different genders, races, communities, languages, abilities and cultures.

Please check off the quotes in this form that you like and resonate with the purpose described above.  All of these quotes were submitted by students, staff and community members in the month of April and reviewed by administration and the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Team.

Check out the information below for items we’ve been sending out this week, and a number of new items. Let us know if you have any questions or if there is something you’d like to see in the newsletter.  All of this information is also posted on our website at http://pvms.hcpss.org/ .

There is nothing too big or too small for us to work on together, so don’t hesitate to reach out.https://forms.gle/8uE8SgtLhULBDEZH8

Regards,
Richard Smart, Principal (richard_smart@hcpss.org)

UPCOMING DATES:

5/13 - PVMS PTA Spirit Night at Main Event

5/14 - Schools Closed for Primary Election Day

5/15 - STEAM Night 5:30pm to 8:00pm

5/17 - 3-Hour Early Dismissal

5/17 - Music Dept Trip - Music in the Parks

5/20-5/24 - 8th Grade Chesapeake Shakespeare Company Acting Residency

5/21-5/24 - MCAP Math

5/23 - Orchestra Spring Concert at Hammond HS, 7pm

5/24 - Grade 6 Horse Farm Field Trip

5/28 - Choir Concert at Hammond HS

5/29 - Quarter 3 Honor Roll Celebration (G8 9am, G7, 9:55am, G6, 1pm).

5/29 - ES Orchestra Feeder Concert at PVMS, 7pm

6/4 - Band Concert at Hammond HS, 6:30pm

6/4 - High School Visits

6/7 - 8th grade dance

6/11 - 8th Grade Promotion from 6-8 at GPHS

PVMS Updates (Priority and New this week)

 

Information on 8th Grade Activities
8th graders are being sent home today with permission slips for the class trip to the Baltimore Zoo and high school visits to Hammond HS and Guilford Park HS. This is such a busy time of year for 8th graders and there are so many details to keep track of. To help answer any questions and organize everything our students (and families!) need in one place, I’ve put together a class link tree: https://linktr.ee/pvms8thgrade 

STEAM Night, May 15 - Fill out the interest form!

Steam Night Interest Form

PVMS PTA Spirit Night!
Monday, May 13th, 4:00pm - 7:00pm
Main Event in Columbia

School is out on Tuesday so bring a friend and the family and join us at The Main Event in Columbia, Monday night after 4pm for $13 all you can play activities or games!
Come socialize, eat, play and enjoy a good time with your friends and family!
Hope to see you there!

IMPORTANT BUS REGISTRATION INFORMATION
Parents/guardians whose children are eligible for bus transportation are asked to register to receive bus service each year to help the school system plan for student transportation needs. The transportation registration process will open at 9 a.m. Monday, April 8 through May 31, and will be completed online via HCPSS Connect Synergy. Registration must be done for each eligible child. 

To be eligible for bus service, your child’s home address must be outside of a school’s walk zones. You can verify address eligibility in the HCPSS School Attendance Area Locator. After inputting your address, a window will appear that will indicate either bus or walk for each school level. Please note, the attendance area locator also includes a link for the bus stop locator, which is set for the current school year. Bus stop information for the 2024-2025 school year will be available in August.

You do not need to take any action if:

• Your child is not eligible for bus transportation
• Your child receives transportation as part of their Individualized Education Program (IEP) or 504 Plan, or
• Your child is a graduating senior

Details on bus transportation registration, including a guide to register and scenarios families may see when registering, can be found online.

PVMS Testing Newsletter Spring 2024

Dear Families, 

We are in our state testing season which began in March.  Our students have been working hard all year and this is their opportunity to show what they know in regards to the standards they have been taught.  Please see the testing dates below for grades 6-8.

 

ELA	4 sessions	70 minutes each
Math	4 sessions	40 minutes each
Social Studies 8th grade ONLY	4 sessions	40 minutes each

 

Testing Dates	Test being taken
4/16 & 4/23	MCAP ELA   *Starting @ 7:55 am
5/7-5/10	MCAP Social Studies In SS Classes
5/21-5/24	MCAP Math In Math Classes

*In the event that testing dates need to be changed,  we will communicate that information to families.  

Just a few reminders:

• Please try to have students here and on time on testing days so they do not need to be pulled out of class instruction for make-up sessions.  

• Please avoid coming to sign students out early during testing sessions.  Once a student leaves, they are not able to restart that test session. 

• Personal electronic devices (cell phones, ipads, smart watches, etc.) are not permitted in the testing areas. 

• Headphones may be needed for grades 7 and 8.  Please allow your child to bring their plug-in headphones (Bluetooth headphones are not permitted). 

• Routine is important when calming any nerves when it comes to testing.  Keeping to normal routines both at home and at school will help students to do their best.  

• Students need plenty of sleep in order to maintain the stamina needed to do their best. 

If you have any questions, please reach out to your child’s homeroom teacher or Ms. Porter (Testing Coordinator).

 

PVMS Updates (recurring from previous newsletters)

 

GPHS Boosters and our coaches are proud to introduce our first edition of summer boosters camps for rising 4th-9th graders.   

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1td-B0-17CINm-PfC0rsWOsDbirz7be4M/view?usp=sharing

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1YTsOFoK3c_f0Tu0Cx52r0VcHFizXYSIfip-zMPJCzvA/edit?usp=sharing

LAST DAY OF SCHOOL SCHEDULED
HCPSS used three inclement weather days this school year, and as such, the last day of school for students in full-day Pre-K through grade 11 is now scheduled to be Friday, June 14, with June 12-14 being three-hour early dismissals. The last day for half-day Pre-K/RECC students is currently Tuesday, June 11.

Recognizing and Reporting Bullying

As we approach the second half of the school year, we wanted to remind you that HCPSS is dedicated to providing a safe and supportive environment that focuses on student well-being. We are taking this time to uplift the importance of reporting any type of bullying that has occurred. We will be reviewing this with our students and staff as we start the second half of the school year, and we hope that you, too, can uplift this at home. 

For children facing the emotional toll of bullying, a supportive individual can make all the difference. Please encourage your children to reach out to a trusted staff member at school should they need to report anything. As parents and guardians, you will use the same reporting form as students by following the steps outlined below. 

How do I report bullying?

1. When you believe bullying has taken place, you should report it through the Bullying, Cyberbullying, Harassment, and Intimidation (BCHI) reporting form.  Reporting can take place in one of three ways:
   1. Complete a BCHI online reporting form
   2. BCHI paper reporting form (available in the main office, staff workroom, school counseling office, media center, and health services office
   3. An oral report to a staff member 
2. It is important to note that the policy states “In the event the reporting party does not complete a BCHI Reporting Form, school administrators/supervisors will take the appropriate steps to address and document the incident.”  Therefore, if you or someone else makes an oral report, it then must be documented (i.e. through a BCHI reporting form) by the administrator.

Thank you for your partnership and attention to this important topic.

CELL PHONES - MIDDLE SCHOOL
This is a friendly reminder to our community that per HCPSS Policy 8080, middle school students “will not use personal technology devices during non-instructional time, to include but not limited to transition between classes, lunch, recess, or in bathrooms.”  Please remind your students that their cell phones should be off and away during the school day. Students are always welcome to use an office phone to reach out to a parent during the school day. If you need to contact your child at school, please call 410-880-5840.

PVMS Attendance Procedures 23-24

Please review for comprehensive attendance procedures.Read more

FAMILY FILE UPDATES

HCPSS utilizes Family File for parents/guardians to complete emergency information. All parents/guardians must verify and/or update information for each child each school year.  Parents/guardians can access their student's Family File by logging into HCPSS Connect, selecting the “More Options” tab on the left and then selecting “Family File” in the center column.

Please be sure to read each section carefully and answer all of the questions.  You can contact us here at school if you have any questions or concerns.

SAFETY PROTOCOLS FOR VISITORS

Please be aware of the following procedures for any visitor to a school/office:

• The front door is the only entrance point for all visitors.

• Please ring the bell and look into the camera.

• Be prepared to state your name and purpose for visiting.

• All visitors must walk directly into the front office with a valid photo I.D. and sign in using our LobbyGuard system.

• A visitor’s sticker will be given to visitors following the above procedures and must be worn and prominently visible.

• Any visitor in the school without a visitor sticker will be escorted directly to the front office by a staff member.

SCHOOL MEALS AND PAYMENT INFO

HCPSS no longer will use Nutrislice for school menus or MySchoolBucks for meal payments. LINQ Connect is a secure, online portal that allows families to view breakfast and lunch menus, make online meal payments, monitor their child’s account, schedule automatic recurring payments, set up low balance alerts, submit a Free and Reduced Meals program application, and more. Details and information. are available online.

WELLNESS CENTER AT PVMS

The Patuxent Valley Middle School-Based Wellness Center is a partnership between Howard County Health Department and Howard County Public School System. School Wellness Centers do not replace students' regular health care providers in the community. By providing some health care at school we can help parents stay at work and help students stay at school or more quickly return to school. There is no co-pay or fee for visits at the Wellness Center. Read more

COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENTS
Please visit the Community News and Programs page on the HCPSS website for announcements of upcoming events and programs sponsored by non-profit organizations.