PCMS Weekly Update

We hope everyone had a wonderful week! We had an exciting week here at the Pirate Ship, with Halloween costumes and our 8th Grade Pastries with Pirates event yesterday (be sure to check out the pictures below), and Parent-Teacher Conferences today. Our young Pirates and teachers had some fantastic costumes yesterday and had a lot of fun throughout the day—it was all treats and no tricks, and we appreciate your help with that!

Thank you to everyone who attended the Parent-Teacher Conferences over the past two weeks. Today’s conference was our first daytime session, and we hope that between last week's evening session and today’s all-day event, you were able to attend whichever worked best for you. If you couldn’t schedule a conference during our available times, please reach out to your child’s teacher to arrange another time.

Finally, we would like to extend a huge thank you to our PTO for providing breakfast for our teachers this morning, for organizing all the wonderful snacks that parents contributed and bringing in a surprise lunch today. We truly appreciate everything they do to support our Pirates!

There is no school tomorrow, but our calendar will become quite busy as we head into November. Just a reminder: there are only 28 days left until Thanksgiving and 55 days until Christmas🤫!

Don’t forget to set those clocks back Saturday night and enjoy the extra hour of sleep! GO PIRATES!!

Score of the Lost & Found: 89 after Week 11 !! If you see anything below that belongs to your student, please have your student come get it off the rack or feel free to come to the school at anytime yourself to check out our Lost & Found!

The CharacterDare is a heart workout, inviting students and adults to practice kindness, patience, and respect with themselves and others. These school-wide challenges encourage staff and students to put character into action, fostering personal growth and positively impacting school culture.

This Week's CharacterDare is: Shake It Off (see below).

We invite families to join us in these challenges and look forward to the positive impact they will have on everyone.

This week we began our winter sports seasons with boys and girls basketball, wrestling, and archery teams all getting started with practice and tryouts. We can’t wait to watch them compete!

It was another exciting month getting into the classrooms and working with our middle schoolers. We’ve had a lot of great opportunities and discussions this month. Our October lessons focused on the following for each grade level:

6th grade: This month we focused on Emotional Regulation. Students were able to name their emotions and identify healthy coping strategies to help them manage difficult emotions. They learned about the Circle of Control. With this we discussed stressors we can and cannot control and how that can impact your emotions. Each class brainstormed healthy coping strategies and came up with at least one strategy to try when they are feeling stressed. Ask your student about their healthy coping strategy!

7th grade: 7th Graders learned about conflict resolution. We acknowledged that there will be times throughout our life we have conflict with someone and conflict is a normal part of life. However, it’s how we handle the conflict that can make the situation better or worse. We discussed the three types of communication styles: Aggressive, Assertive, and Passive. Through our discussions we encouraged students to strive and communicate “Assertively”, which means we focus on both people’s needs. To finish the lesson, students were given different scenarios involving a conflict and they worked through using the “CALM” method.

8th grade: MOCSA (Metropolitan Organization to Counter Sexual Assault) visited PCMS and presented to 8th graders on the topic “Sexual Harassment”. The program is conversation based and discusses that each person gets to decide if something is “wanted’ or “unwanted” for themselves. Students learned the types of sexual harassment (physical, verbal, non-verbal, and internet) and what to do if someone is being sexually harassed. Finally, students identified safe peers and adults that they could talk to if they or someone they know needs help.

8th graders also toured Northland Career Center to learn about the programs and opportunities available to them when they are in high school. In the next couple of months students will begin selecting classes for 9th grade. Touring NCC is one step in assisting students in developing their college and career plans.

New this year: we will be using a program called “School Links” which will help us develop a student’s college and/or career goals. This program will be used 6-8 grade and throughout their high school years as well. Look for more information in the next couple of months on how to set up a guardian account.

Across the District we will be honoring our military service members in various ways for Veterans Day.

This year, 6th and 7th graders from Platte Purchase Middle School and Platte City Middle School will be participating in a Career Fair on Friday, March 14, 2025. The event will take place at Platte Purchase Middle School from 8:00 a.m. to 2:25 p.m.

We would love to partner with parents from both schools to make this a successful and enriching experience for our students. If you’re interested in participating, please complete the 2025 Career Fair Presenter Sign-Up Form.

For any questions about the Career Fair, feel free to reach out to Amanda Griffin, counselor at Platte Purchase Middle School, or Kim Schank, counselor at Platte City Middle School.

Picture retakes are scheduled for November 15th. If students have already had their Fall Picture taken, please bring your original picture packages back to get a retake replacement. Any student who did not get their picture taken on the original picture day can order with cash or check on or before picture day in the office using the form below. All checks MUST be made out to Reed Portrait Group. Orders may also be placed with a credit card by calling RPG @ 816-436-5550.

The 10th annual Yuletide Market is scheduled for 9am to 3pm on Saturday, November 9 at Platte City Middle School to benefit the PCHS Music Parents Association. The Yuletide Market features local crafters, artisans, and direct sales consultants.

If you haven’t registered for Chromebook Insurance yet, the deadline has been extended to November 22, 2024. For more information click here, and to register your Chromebook, click here. The cost for insurance is $30. If your student qualifies for free/reduced lunch, the $30 fee is waived, but you still need to register. Check out this video for a step-by-step guide, or call your school with any questions.

Platte County School District is conducting its family survey to gather feedback on strengths of the District, as well as areas to consider for growth. Your input is valued and will be considered when making future decisions.

During Parent/Teacher conferences, we will encourage families to take this survey. You can complete the survey by clicking on the link below or using the QR code. Thank you in advance for your feedback!

*If you have multiple children in the District, and want to complete a separate survey with feedback for each child, click submit and then complete a new survey.

School Messenger is our automated phone calling and text notification system. We use this system to notify parents quickly for sudden changes in schedules due to emergencies, school cancellations, or just important school announcements.

If you aren't receiving the District's text reminders and notifications and would like to opt in to receive these, simply text "YES" to 67587. Standard text messaging rates apply.

Click here for information on school cancellations/modifications due to inclement weather, how the District will notify parents, as well as information on recess, Y Club, and Inclement Weather Virtual Learning Days. For the 2024-25 school year, PCR-3 will implement Inclement Weather Virtual Learning Days for the first five canceled school days. These days will not need to be made up. Any additional canceled school days may be waived, or may need to be made up (added to the academic calendar).

Nov 1

• No School

Nov 2

• All-District 7/8 Gr Band Auditions @ Central High School, 7 am
  

Nov 5

• First day of PACE

Nov 7

• Jazz Band Rehearsal, 7 am

Nov 8

• FCA Meeting, 7:10 am

Nov 11

• Veteran's Day Assembly, Coffee Served at 7:15 am, Assembly at 7:45 am
  
• 7/8 Gr Band-Meyer Music Step-Up Night, 5:30 pm
  

Nov 14

• Jazz Band Rehearsal, 7 am

Nov 15

• Fall Picture Retakes

Pirates R.O.C.K. (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.

November's #PiratesROCK trait is CITIZENSHIP: providing service and duty to your community.

Leader in Me connections to CITIZENSHIP:

• Habit 1: Be Proactive - You are in charge of you.
• Habit 4: Think Win-Win - Find ways where everyone can win.
• Habit 6: Synergize - Work together to do better.

Character Strong connections to CITIZENSHIP:

• Social Awareness
• Commitment
• Selflessness

Email: tomlinson.kristie@pcr3schools.org
Website: http://www.pcms.plattecountyschooldistrict.com
Location: 900 Pirate Drive, Platte City, MO, 64079
Phone: (816)858-2036
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/plattecitymiddleschool/