Dear PVMS Families,
I hope you have been enjoying your summer! August is upon us and although there are many days of summer left, I wanted to update you on some plans for our 2021-2022 school year.
We are hopeful that our upcoming school year brings back some sense of normalcy. New York State is working with the Health Department and they have yet to provide updated guidance so we anxiously await with you. We will share information when it becomes available. You will notice that we have a few updates to our website and we will be posting daily announcements there. You will no longer receive a daily email. Club offerings and dates will be posted in September. Please visit our website to see important updates, images of our school year, and our monthly newsletter.
The first day of our upcoming school year will be Thursday, September 2nd, 2021 for our 5th and 6th graders. Our 7th and 8th graders will be welcomed back on Friday, September 3rd along with our 5th and 6th graders. All students will be in school on Friday, September 3rd.. This staggered start will enable our 5th and 6th graders to get settled in with an orientation and fewer students in the building to start their first day with activities.
Our 7th graders and new students will have the opportunity to come to a locker opening session between 12:30-2:30 PM on Thursday, September 2nd. Please watch the following video that will help assist your child with opening their locker. Our 7th and 8th grade teachers will assist with locker opening during this time as well. Parents must drop off their children and wait in our parking lot and pick up children when they are finished getting acclimated to the locker opening process.
School will be in session daily from 7:45 AM until 2:36 PM. Our first two days of school, September 2nd and 3rd will be A days. This will enable all students to start consistently.
| Monday 8/30/21 | Tuesday 8/31/21 Superintendent’s Conference Day No Students |
Wednesday 9/1/21 Superintendent’s Conference Day No Students |
Thursday 9/2/21 A Day Opening Day for 5th & 6th Grade – Orientation |
Friday 9/3/21 A Day All students welcomed back |
If you are dropping off your child during the school year, as opposed to using bus transportation, please use the crosswalk area as the drop off point. This is a monitored area where students can safely cross the driveway and avoid moving bus traffic. Please do not drop your child off prior to 7:30 AM unless they are attending a before school club that starts at 7:00 AM. We will have more information regarding clubs in September.
Encore Classes:
5th – Art, Creative Writing, Social and Emotional Learning (SEL), Technology, Textiles and Design
6th – Art, Creative Writing, Health, Technology, Textiles and Design
7th – Art, Technology
8th – Art, Health, (Capstone Research or Technology)
Key Details
Students will return to using their lockers this year. We ask that students not share their lockers. Personal belongings should not be shared among students. Please be sure to visit our PVMS Back To School Supply List page. This will help to prepare your children for the upcoming year.
Summer Reading – A reminder that we have a number of suggestions for summer reading. Please take a look at our website if you have not had the opportunity to do so. Reading helps bring the world alive and this is a great opportunity to gain knowledge. It is never too late to read a great book!
Regarding Schedules
Your PowerSchool account will be available for you to view your new class schedule on Tuesday, August 24th at 9:00AM. A few simple clicks on our website will give you access to everything you need to know about the opening of the 2021-2022 school year.
Please take a moment to read the information below…many of your questions may be answered.
1) If you have questions regarding logging into PowerSchool, or creating a parent account, please visit https://sites.google.com/pvcsd.org/pvcsd-parent. If you still have questions, please email Mrs. Sherwood at lsherwood@pvcsd.org.
2) IE stands for Intervention/Enrichment. This period is when students will receive additional academic support and enhancement. Students may receive AIS services, band lessons, and/or speech or OT/PT services during this time.
3) If you have other questions regarding your schedule, please email our School Counselor, Ms. Coleman at kcoleman@pvcsd.org.
Now let’s get to your student information:
1) First, go to the Putnam Valley Central School District website at http://www.pvcsd.org. Click on the Middle School tab at the top of the page. Please click on the Student/Parent Resources tab to find all things necessary for the school year including the tab, Code of Conduct/Student Handbook/Laptop Agreement. Please read the three documents titled, Code of Conduct, Student Handbook, and Laptop and Mobile Device Agreement in their entirety and when completed, please fill out and electronically submit the Online Middle School Agreement Permission Form. We will not issue a laptop unless this form is completed in full and returned electronically.
Laptop distribution will take place during school hours.
2) The link to PowerSchool Parent Access will provide you with your child(s) class schedule as well as transportation information. Please enter your account username and password. For directions to create an account and to link your child or children to your account, please click on the following link: https://sites.google.com/pvcsd.org/pvcsd-parent. PLEASE NOTE: Many families have already set up an account when they were in elementary school. For those of you who have not or those of you new to the district, an email will be sent with your access code information. For help, please email lsherwood@pvcsd.org.
Once you have logged into the parent portal of PowerSchool, you will see a number of tabs along the left sidebar. We ask that you focus on four tabs that will have all the information you need.
Grades & Attendance: This tab provides the area where you will see the student’s grades and attendance throughout the year. You will also see your locker number and locker combination here.
Transportation information is located under the tab that looks like a small bus. This will provide you with your bus number and any additional transportation needs. The link to the bus schedule is on top of this information. If you would like to contact the transportation department, please call 845-528-8900.
The Demographic Change tab needs to be reviewed and updated. The center column of this form is the information we currently have on file. If changes need to be made, please enter the new information in the right hand column. Once all changes have been made, please click on the “submit” button located in the lower right hand corner of the page. We will then confirm and update your Demographic Information. We need this information to be current and correct. We use this information in case of an emergency.
My Schedule: This tab will provide a printable copy of your child’s schedule. Please note, our schedules run on a six-day rotation cycle. A, B, C, D, E, F days will appear on your schedule.
Once you finish, please click on the sign out tab in the upper right hand corner. Please DO NOT share your User Name or Password with anyone. Each student will have his or her own login.
As the year progresses we will continue to provide you information in a paperless fashion. Please keep in mind that we continue to be in a very uncertain time and our practices may change over the course of the school year or prior to the beginning of the school year based on guidance updates. Thank you for your flexibility!
If you have questions, please feel free to contact the Main Office at 845-528-8101.
Enjoy the remainder of the month of August and spend time together with your family. We look forward to seeing you soon.
Sincerely,
Travis W. McCarty
Principal