Dear Patuxent Valley Families and Community,
This week was a great week, from seeing our young people meeting old friends on Monday, students playing Gaga Ball at recess, to visiting classrooms, it's hard to pick just one highlight!  Suffice to say that I'm so glad that your young people are at our school, and that we have the amazing, skillful and caring educators that we do at Patuxent Valley.

All of this is both for our community and dependent on its support.  Thank you for your patience with all the new things this week, and especially for your support at arrival, dismissal and with buses.

See here for the slides that were shared in Home Room this week including information on Back to School Procedures, Code of Conduct, and Emergency Preparedness.  We took time each day to share important information with our young people and hope you'll take a moment to review yourself and check in with them to see if they have any questions about anything we talked about.

Next week we have Back to School Night on Thursday and we hope to see someone from each of our families.  The grade level doors open at 5:40pm and the first presentation will be in your student's period 1 class at 6:00pm.  You'll get to meet the staff who work with your There's more information posted on our website here.

We have upgraded our public calendar on our website to a Google Calendar that allows anyone to subscribe and add into your other calendar systems.  Check it out - we are adding events every month!

Patuxent Valley has been recognized by PBIS Maryland and has earned badges in multiple areas - Teamwork, Power of Teaching, Classroom/Community, Community Connections, Data and Tier 2. We are so proud of our students for how they show up for each other, and for our staff for all the ways they support and celebrate them.  Thank you to our families for joining us for our school celebrations and for the way you invest our communities values in your young people.

Check out the information below for items we’ve been sending out this week and some new things to help us all be prepared for the new school year!  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.

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

UPCOMING DATES:

9/2 - Labor Day, Schools and offices closed

9/5 - Back to School Night, 6pm to 8pm

9/5 & 9/6 - PTSA Papa Johns Pizza Fundraiser

9/12- Student Fall Picture Day

9/12 - PTSA Meeting @ PVMS - 7:00 pm

9/18- Schools close 3 hours early

PVMS Updates (Priority and New this week)

PVMS Attendance Procedures 24-25

If your student is absent or will be absent, please contact us at the following email address to explain the reason:pvmsabsence@hcpss.org.  In the email please Include the following information:

• Student First and Last Name

• Grade 

• Reason for absence (e.g., illness, bereavement, observance of a religious holiday, lack of transportation)

Late Arrivals Procedures

If your child is late to school, please either send in a note/email to pvmsabsence@hcpss.org explaining the reason for the lateness if you are unable to sign your child into school. 

Early Dismissals

Please email on the day of your student's early dismissal, pvmsabsence@hcpss.org, and indicate the time they will be picked up and by whom. Please bring your ID to show the main office.

With the collaborative effort of HCPSS parents, staff and students, we are confident that all students can have successful attendance. This will improve student success in school and in future life!

HCPSS participates in the Free and Reduced-price Meals (FARMs) program. Qualification is based on family size and income, and enrollment is confidential.
Participation in FARMs qualifies students for a wide range of opportunities and resources beyond breakfast and lunch, including free college applications, free or reduced JumpStart tuition, discounted internet through the Comcast Internet Essentials program, and more.

Families must submit a new application every school year by Oct. 31. During the first 30 school days, students with FARMs eligibility from the prior school year will continue to receive benefits. Any student whose family has not filled out an application by the 30th school day will have their status changed to full pay until a new application is received.

Parents/guardians are highly encouraged to fill out the applications as soon as possible. It is very important that applications are filled out accurately and completely. Families can:

• Apply online
• Apply by mail: Paper applications can be picked up in the Food and Nutrition Service Office (5451 Beaverkill Rd, Columbia, MD 21044). Applications can be returned to your child’s school or mailed to: HCPSS Food & Nutrition Service Office, 10910 Clarksville Pike, Ellicott City, MD 21042.

If you have questions regarding the program, please visit www.hcpss.org/FARMs or call Food and Nutrition Services at 410-313-6743.

Welcome back to school! Support the PVMS PTSA by participating in our first spirit night of the year with Papa Johns! 

You will have two chances this week to order and Papa Johns will donate 20% of the sale back to the PTSA to help fund all our amazing events this year! 

Where: Papa Johns @ 8851 Gorman Rd, Suite 300, Laurel, MD 
When: Thursday, September 5th and Friday, September 6th 

***Make sure to use code PAXVALLEY when checking out!

Opportunities for All Students to Get Involved in the School Community
Our students are encouraged to get involved in our school community, and one way students can do that is by joining a GT seminar. 

About GT Seminars:
GT Seminars are a great way to expand students’ knowledge and skills around a topic of interest in a non-graded environment and get to know other students!  Our seminars this year include book club, creative writing, debate, morning news/ television production, photography,  film, STEM and stock market game seminar. Participation in seminars is open to all students.

Each seminar offers a unique focus. However, all seminars have these components. They all (1) develop critical and creative thinking skills, (2) involve conducting research, (3) involve working collaboratively to produce an authentic product or creative production, and (4) utilize technology to create and communicate. Check out this document (Links to an external site). to learn more about each seminar.

How do students sign up?
Since students are pulled from classes once a week or once every two weeks, it is important that students make up missed work if they join a seminar.  Students that are interested can complete this Google Form (Links to an external site) to learn more and sign up!  Please message Mrs. Chelidona at mchelidona@hcpss.org with any questions.

Students New to HCPSS: 
Is your child new to HCPSS? If your child is new to HCPSS, and you would like them to be assessed for gifted and talented level classes, please message Mrs. Chelidona at mchelidona@hcpss.org

There will be more information about the Gifted and Talented Program and placement process at Back to School Night. 

Your Picture Day is:

El día de tu foto es
9/12/2024

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Don't forget to be dressed in your best and mark your calendars today!

¡No olvides vestirte con tus mejores galas y marcar tus calendarios hoy!

Click Here to Pre-Order

Online Code:  24pvms25

Pre-ordering expires 48 hours after picture day
El pedido anticipado caduca 48 horas después del día de la foto

LIGHTSPEED PARENT NOTIFICATIONS
Parents/guardians can monitor their child’s HCPSS Chromebook internet usage by signing up for Lightspeed Parent Notifications to receive a weekly email summary of their child’s usage.

Once parents have signed up for Lightspeed Parent Notifications, the email summary delivered each Sunday will contain a link with access to the Lightspeed Parent Portal, which provides near real-time information on their child’s internet activity.

The Lightspeed Parent Portal offers additional details about internet usage and the ability to control a child’s online activities when they are not on the HCPSS network at school by allowing parents to pause the internet for 1 hour, 3 hours or until 6 a.m. the next morning. Frequently asked questions about Lightspeed and the Parent Portal can be found online.

HCPSS teachers will access Lightspeed in the classroom to monitor student Chromebook usage.  Parents are encouraged to contact their child’s teacher if they notice their child is regularly on non-academic websites during the day.
Find instructions on signing up for Lightspeed Parent Notifications online.

Parents/guardians are encouraged to review HCPSS Student Mobile Technology Duties and Obligations, which outlines the responsible use of technology in accordance with HCPSS Board Policy 8080 Responsible Use of Technology, Digital Tools, and Social Media.

Strategic Plan Stakeholder Input Meetings: 

Community members are invited to attend one of these meetings to help inform the system’s new strategic plan by providing their input about stakeholder values during this virtual, hour-long opportunity facilitated by HCPSS staff. No registration is required. 

September 9, 2024 – 5:00–6:00 pm – Google Meet link

September 10, 2024 – 7:00–8:00 pm – Google Meet link

September 17, 2024 – 5:00–6:00 pm – Google Meet link

PVMS Updates (recurring from previous newsletters)

ARRIVAL AND DISMISSAL MESSAGE FOR PVMS/BBES CAMPUS
We are excited to return to the school buildings and have been working hard to prepare for a safe and efficient arrival and dismissal from Bollman Bridge and Patuxent Valley. The administrations at both Bollman Bridge and Patuxent Valley Middle Schools have been collaborating this summer on a joint traffic pattern and arrival and dismissal plan. Read more

HCPSS POLICIES, STUDENT HANDBOOK, CODE OF CONDUCT. HCPSS policies are regularly reviewed and updated. For the most current policy revision, or to view the policy in its entirety, along with supporting regulations and procedures, you may visit the HCPSS Policy Web Page: www.hcpss.org/board/policies.

Important information/links:

Student Handbook - https://www.hcpss.org/about-us/handbook/

Student Code of Conduct - https://www.hcpss.org/about-us/student-code-of-conduct/

LOCKERS and BACKPACKS.

Students are permitted to use backpacks during the day. Lockers will be assigned to students in September using the locker request form (which will be distributed in home room).  Students are permitted to access their locker before school, before and after lunch, and at the end of the school day.  Lockers are for individual use only – students are not permitted to share their combination or allow others to use their assigned locker. 

PVMS Theater Newsletter

Information about the Theater Program at PVMS from Ms. Clark!

Theater Newsletter

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.