PCMS Weekly Update

Congratulations to all of the newly inducted NJHS members!

Here’s a quick recap of our Pirates in action from this past week.

Robotics: At the Missouri state championship this past weekend, 24 teams met to compete for a limited number of Worlds spots. All 4 PCMS teams made it through alliance selection and into the finals round quarter-finals. 8778Z advanced to the semi-finals, losing by only 1 point. 8778Z did win the Build award and 8778W won the Think award. 8778Z has earned a spot at the World championship in May.

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: The Stroll (see below).

These students were nominated by their teachers for doing it the Pirate Way by showing great character! These students were recognized at our Assembly yesterday where they received a certificate and a gift bag with goodies. Today, they were able to have a pizza lunch with a friend and play in the game room with a friend during Advisory. Congratulations - we’re super proud of them!

Sign-ups for 4th Quarter PACE will be closed on Sunday, March 23rd.

We are excited to launch 4th quarter PACE (Pirate After Class Events). Here are a few details about the program:

Program to start for 4th Quarter on April 1 (6-week session) 3 pm - 4 pm (NO PACE during Spring Break). Students will need to re-sign up even if they were in 3rd quarter activities. Spots are filled on a first-come first-serve basis. PACE focuses on Lifestyle Activities - Depending on the strengths of our staff, activities will be offered that are outside of the realm of sport. Activities offered in the 4th Quarter will be Art Club, Intro to Debate, Acts of Kindness and Board Games.

Please take some time to review the slideshow. The slideshow will explain the details of the PACE activities.

Enrollment for PCHS 2025 Summer School will be open via the Forms tab on PowerSchool Parent Portal starting April 14 until May 16. PowerSchool forms are available on web browsers and through the PowerSchool app (not via a browser on your smartphone). See images below on where to find these forms on your Parent Portal browser or app.

Summer School Traditional Courses (Available for incoming 9th-12th graders): All traditional courses will be taken off campus, virtually. Students will only be allowed to earn a ½ credit (one class) of traditional courses in the summer.

Summer School Credit Recovery (Available for current 9th-12 graders): Students have the potential to complete more than one class based upon student need, individual determination, and an appropriate amount of time to finish before June 30. Students must attend in person and take one course at a time before moving on to a potential second course. Students will be allowed to finish early if they complete their course(s) before the last day of summer school.

Driver's Education (Available for students who possess a learner's permit before June 2): Driver's Education instruction will be held June 2-30, 2025. The Driver's Education Interest Form will be open from April 14 until April 28. Due to the high demand of this course, students will complete the interest form and a random lottery process will take place on May 1. Up to 50 students will be placed in the course, and parents and students will be notified of next steps.

PLEASE NOTE:

• At least 5 students must enroll in a course in order for the class to be offered. Courses will also be capped when full. If this should happen, students will go on a waitlist.
• If a student enrolls in any course and misses TWO FULL DAYS of attendance, they will be dropped from the course and no credit will be received. This is a state of Missouri expectation.
• The deadline to register for PCHS summer school courses is Friday, May 16, 2025, by 4pm.

Starting April 14, parents (and students) can follow the steps below to complete the online summer school enrollment.

• Log on to Parent Portal via a web browser or PowerSchool app. If you need assistance logging in, please contact your child's school.
• Find and click on the "Forms" tab via the left-hand navigation on a web browser or via the "More" tab at the bottom of your app. (See screenshots).
• Under General Forms, complete the PCHS Summer School Enrollment Form(s) for each eligible student.

We hope that you are enjoying the beautiful Spring weather that is slowly, but surely, coming back to MIssouri. Due to the recent snow days and weather-related disruptions, the Platte County High School NAVIGATE Elective is extending its deadline for those who are interested in applying. The new application deadline is Friday, April 4th at 11:59 pm.

We understand these challenging weather conditions may have affected your ability to submit applications on time, and we want to ensure all students have the opportunity to apply to and participate in this elective. Please make sure to follow the three-step process by the new deadline!

If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to tessmer.victoria@pcr3schools.org!

An order form is available to fill out on the PowerSchool Parent Portal. If you are using the app on your phone, please select the "More" icon at the bottom of your Dashboard screen. Then you will select the "Forms" icon to find the "2024-2025 Yearbook Platte City Middle" Form. If you are on a desktop, you will just need to select the "Forms" tab from the Home screen.

While you are filling out the order form online, you will be able to pay the $20 for the yearbook via debit/credit card. You may also choose the cash/check option, but then will need to send the money with your student to the front office. IF YOU ALREADY DID AN ORDER AND CHOSE THE CASH/CHECK OPTION, please remember to send in the money by APRIL 11th.

Yearbooks will be on sale now through April 11th. If you have any questions, please contact the office.

With the Flu and Cold Season hitting our school in full force, we find ourselves running low on tissues. Having tissues in our classrooms will help to slow down the spread of these viruses. If anyone would be willing to send in donations of tissue boxes, we will gladly accept them.

We are happy to announce that we are again partnering with Miles of Smiles to host in school dental services for students in the Platte County R-3 School District.

Miles of Smiles is a full service dental program that provides FREE comprehensive dental care to those who qualify. Whether you have insurance or not, qualifying children receive comprehensive dental services at no cost. You might be surprised at how flexible the income guidelines actually are. For example, if your annual family income is below $62,000 for a family of 4, your child will qualify for services.

If your child participates in the program, their dental care will be provided on site, in the school, by a Missouri licensed dentist and dental team. These services include, but are not limited to, cleanings, x-rays, fillings, crowns, pulpotomies, and extractions. Miles of Smiles also offers follow-up appointments year-round at their office, Monday through Friday.

The dental clinic will be in our district from May 5th to May 20th. Your student could be seen at any time during that time frame.

For more information about Miles of Smiles and to take advantage of this opportunity, please complete the online registration form below.

The deadline to sign up is May 2, 2025!

If you need a paper copy sent home with your student, please call or email me, and I will be happy to do that for you.

The Board approved the following make up day plan to address our 10 inclement weather days to date this school year:

• January 7, 8, 9, and 10, and February 5, 2025 - Inclement Weather Virtual Learning Days (do not need to be made up)
• February 12, 2025 - To be made up on Monday, April 14, 2025 (previously a no school day)
• February 13, 2025 - To be made up on Tuesday, May 27, 2025
• February 18, 2025 - To be made up on Wednesday, May 28, 2025
• February 19, 2025 - To be made up on Thursday, May 29, 2025, a 3-hour early release
• February 20, 2025 - The Board has waived this day. With this waived day, PCR-3 would still be at the 169-day calendar required to receive full salary funding from the state.

Please note, with this plan, May 23 will now be a full school day. With this make up plan, we are also shifting Summer School Dates to June 2-30, 2025.

Mar 24 - 26

• Robotics US Open National Championship
  

Mar 24 - 28

• Spring Break - No School

Apr 2

• Swim Meet vs North Kansas City, 4 pm
  

Apr 3

• Track Meet @Lakeview Middle School, 4 pm
  

Apr 4

• NJHS Meeting, 7:20 am

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.

March's #PiratesROCK trait is INTEGRITY: having a sincere, honest nature.

Leader in Me connections to INTEGRITY:

• Habit 1: Be Proactive - You are in charge of you.
• Habit 3: Put First Things First - Do the important things first.

Character Strong connections to INTEGRITY:

• Responsible Decision Making, Honesty, Kindness, Respect, Selflessness, Commitment

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/