PCMS Weekly Update

We are holding fast this week at 59 items in our Lost & Found! Please have your students stop by and look for their items or feel free to come up to look yourself.

Monday, Mrs. Robertson's Flight and Space students were treated to a presentation from Major Fattman. Major Fattman took them through a pilot briefing, answered all their questions, and showed an amazing video of his C-130 in action!

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

Archery:Last weekend at the NCS Last Chance Qualifier, our archers broke the school’s previous bullseye team score record. The old record, set on 2/12/2023 at the 6th Annual Warrior Shootout, was a strong 3273. But last weekend, they beat that score with a new record of 3276!!!

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: You Inspire Me (see below).

We will making an adjustment to our staggered dismissal procedure and going back to one dismissal at 2:50 instead of the current schedule of car riders/walkers being dismissed at 2:46 and bus riders being dismissed at 2:50.

Starting Monday, March 10 - Announcements will be held at 2:46 with dismissal for ALL at 2:50pm.

With warmer weather finally here, we are revisiting safe walking routes and expectations with our students as they leave school and head home or to popular destinations like Sonic, Price Chopper, the YMCA, and more.

Our main priorities are:

1. Student Safety – Ensuring all students travel safely.
2. Community Partnerships – Maintaining positive relationships with our local businesses.

For students walking toward the Price Chopper area, there are two designated routes (see map):

• Option 1: Use the sidewalk along the north side of the District Office building.
• Option 2: Take the walking trail that connects to Kentucky.

To stay safe, students must remain on sidewalks and avoid walking through parking lots, between cars, or through local businesses where vehicles are moving.

Additionally, students needing to cross Kentucky should always use the crosswalk at Platte Falls Road and Kentucky. Pressing the walk button will activate the traffic signal, allowing for a safe crossing.

We are also working closely with the Platte City Police Department and our PCR3 SROs to help ensure students are safe as they walk to their destinations. Their presence will support our efforts in reinforcing safe walking habits and maintaining positive interactions within our community.

Thank you for your support in helping us keep all students safe after school!

6th and 7th Grade students will be bringing home their course request forms for the 25-26 school year today. All students heard a presentation from Dr. Miller about the course request during Out to C today. Students also had the opportunity to ask questions about their course requests. We would like to have all forms completed by Wednesday, May 12. Please contact the office if you have any questions.

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.

Next Friday, March 14th 6th and 7th graders will attend a career fair at Platte Purchase Middle School. The fair will be held from 8:00 am -2:25 pm and students from PCMS will be bussed to Platte Purchase Middle School. Below are the times each 6th and 7th grade team will attend the career fair:

7th Grade Crossbones Team

Depart PCMS @ 8:45 am

Return to PCMS @ 10:05 am

7th Grade Skulls Team

Depart PCMS @ 9:30 am

Return to PCMS @ 10:45 am

6th Grade Swagger Team

Depart PCMS @ 12:05 PM

Return to PCMS @ 1:30 PM

6th Grade Navigator Team

Depart PCMS @ 12:55 PM

Return to PCMS @ 2:10 PM

We're excited to announce this year’s Trolley Run! This competitive 4-mile race will take place in Kansas City on Sunday, April 27th. The registration fee is $40, and all proceeds go to the Children’s Center for the Visually Impaired, which works to help young children who are blind or visually impaired reach their fullest potential in the sighted world.

This is a fantastic opportunity, and we encourage parents to consider joining in on the fun by running or walking as well!

Important Dates:

Our organization meeting will be next week during Advisory time, where students will receive paperwork and further details. Open to 6th-8th graders.

First Day of Training:

Monday, March 17th

Practices will be held approximately one hour long and will conclude around 4 PM.

Training Commitment:

Training for the Trolley Run is a commitment, and students will need to run at home over the weekends. Since 4 miles is a significant distance, it’s important that students take their training seriously. Please note the following:

• 100% participation is required; runners can miss no more than 1 unexcused training session

• Ensure your child has a good pair of running shoes and proper clothing for the varying weather

(March and April can be chilly!).

Should you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me at humburg.jeff@pcr3schools.org.

Looking forward to an exciting training season!

🏆 RUNNING DATES 🏆

- March 17 (M), 18 (T), 20 (TH)

- March 24-28:** Spring Break (Run on Your Own)

- March 31 (M), April 1 (T), 3 (TH)

- April 7 (M), 8 (T), 10 (TH)

- April 14 (M), 15 (T), 17 (TH)

- April 21 (M), 22 (T), 24 (TH)** — Hand-out Trolley Packets

- Trolley Run: April 27 (Sunday)

Let’s lace up those running shoes and hit the pavement!

Best,

Coach Humburg

Spring Pictures will be taken on March 17th. Please DO NOT send money on Portrait Day. Proofs will be sent home to you in a few weeks. An order form will be included with the proofs. (This is not a full-length posed image. Shoes will not show.) For more information contact Reed Portrait Group @ 816-436-5550.

Earlier today, we emailed families with 2025 MAP Grade Level Assessment Information. Below is an ”at-a-glance” testing schedule for this year. We ask that you make every attempt to ensure your child is present during these testing dates and that he/she is prepared for testing. (Please Note: Students will need to have plug-in earbuds for testing.)

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.

Parents of existing students currently in grades PreK-7 interested in K-8 Summer School: You can now enroll for 2025 Summer School via the Forms on PowerSchool Parent Portal (via a browser or the app). Please complete by May 9, 2025.

Summer School will be held May 30-June 27 at the following locations. Click here for more information about summer school.

• Barry Elementary: For all K-5th grade southern attendance area students (Pathfinder and Barry Elementaries)
• Compass Elementary: For all K-5th grade northern attendance area students (Compass and Siegrist Elementaries)
• PCMS: For all 6th-8th students, and 9th-12 grade students

*Incoming Kindergarten students can complete summer school enrollment after completing their regular school year enrollment (Kindergarten Kickoffs will be held April 15). New Student Enrollment for 2025-26 school year will be available soon.

**Information about enrolling in the High School summer school program will be available in April.

Platte County Health Department is offering the Safe Sitter course (March 27, June 11, July 7, and August 6), designed for young teens in grades 6-8, to equip students with essential skills for safety, childcare, first aid, and rescue, as well as life and business skills, preparing them to be safe and competent babysitters.

An order form is now 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.

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

This question will be placed on the April 8, 2025 ballot. If approved by voters, the approximately $62 million bond issue would fund the following projects identified in the District’s Long-Range Facility Plan:

• Completing Phase 2 of rebuilding Platte County High School, creating a consolidated high school building with all classrooms and programs under one roof
• Constructing site amenities at Platte Purchase Middle School activities complex
• Constructing playground facilities at Pathfinder Elementary
• Expanding parking and improving traffic flow and safety at Compass Elementary

For more information, click here, or attend an Informational Meeting:

• Monday, March 3, 2025, 6pm, Platte Purchase Middle School
• Tuesday, March 11, 2025, 6pm, Platte County High School

Mar 8

• 7/8th Gr Winter Guard Competition @ Oak Park High School
  

Mar 12

• 6 Gr Team Swagger Junior Achievement BizTown Field Trip
  
• 8th Grade Band Clinician Concert @ PCHS Wilson Auditorium, 6 pm
  

Mar 13

• 6 Gr Team Navigators Junior Achievement BizTown Field Trip

Mar 15

• Robotics Missouri State Championship
  

Mar 17

• Spring Picture Day

Mar 21

• FCA Meeting, 7:10 am

Mar 24 - 28

• Spring Break - No School

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/