Pacetti Bay Middle School Wildcat Weekly
Volume 64
Good evening Wildcat Families,

We can't believe it, but we are now only 7 days away from the winter break and the end of the first semester. There are a multitude of activities taking place, but related to grades, SJCSD mid-term and finals testing began last week and will continue this week. The schedule is below and we want to see our Wildcat students do their best. In addition, the semester ends on 12.21.2021, please make sure all assignments and make-up assessments are completed.

Parents, our lost and found area is busting at the seams. If your child has misplaced a lunchbox, water bottle or hoodie, please have your child look through if they are missing anything. We will be clearing out the lost and found next Wednesday, December 15th. Please make certain they look through the lost and found, located in the cafeteria before Wednesday.

This week is our winter break spirit week. Below are the themes for each day. PLease remind your child that, besides the hats, the attire must still align to SJCSD dress code. This includes pajama pants.

National Junior Honor Society is also in its last week of the Holiday Book Drive. All books collected will go to INK's, the SJCSD education foundation, early learning program.

We want to recognize all of the students who participated in our annual STEM Fair this past week. They all did a wonderful job and received a multitude of compliments from our judges. A special recognition goes out to MS. Reddy, our science and STEM teacher for coordinating the STEM Fair, job well done!

Here are some important pieces of information for this school year:

  • Doors will open for students starting at 7:10am. We are NOT able to monitor students before 7:00am. Our office hours are 7:00am- 3:00pm.
  • Parent drop-off and pick-up are the second entrance on Meadowlark lane from Pacetti Road. Please do not use the parking lot as a drop-off location as it is unsafe. When pulling up, please pull up all the way to the oak tree at the entrance of the school.
  • Please make sure to review the student COVID questionnaire, COVID 19 Health Screening Form, each day with your child. If you can answer yes, please keep your child at home. Masks and other PPE are recommended but optional for students.
  • Please remind your children that cell phones need to be put away and off once entering the building and can be be turned back on at the end of the school day.
  • Bottle refilling stations are located throughout the school for water bottles. Water fountains are currently disabled.
Vote for Pacetti Bay!
The Third Annual Holiday Tree Contest has officially begun!
Old Town Trolley Tours is proud to be partnering with the St. Johns County School District and INK, a non-profit support organization that works with the district, for their Holiday Tree Program. Trees will be provided to every school and brought to Old Town Trolley’s Headquarters in St. Augustine where they will be decorated by students. From December 10 to December 20, 2021, help to choose a winner by voting daily. The entry with the most votes wins $1,000 for their school! Second place wins $500 and third place wins $250. Winners will be announced December 21, 2021 at 12pm on INK’s Facebook live. So, vote your conscience and vote daily. Happy holidays!
1st Place: $1,000 • 2nd Place: $500 • 3rd Place: $250
Upcoming Events
Events for this Week and Beyond
  • December 13th: Star Power" Day (students may wear a hat)
  • December 14th: "Mad for Plaid" day; School Board Meeting
  • December 15th - " School Spirit Day"; District Spelling Bee
  • December 16th - "Beach Day"
  • December 17th - "Ugly Sweater Day"; Student Council Hat Day
  • December 21st - Early Release
Guidance Information
Attention Wildcat families
If you need assistance with your Holiday meal, please contact your child’s grade level guidance counselor. We will have a limited amount of available and we would be happy to connect them with families in need. The baskets include non-perishable food items to complete a full Holiday meal. The donations will be available at PBMS during school hours on 12/20 & 12/21. Happy Holidays!
Testing Information
Winter is coming! Winter exams, that is, at PBMS and we need your help! We are looking for proctors to help monitor testing at The Bay. For EVERY time slot that you sign up for, your name will be entered into a drawing for a $25 Amazon gift card and a PBMS shirt. EACH time slot equals 1 entry. Please use the Signup Genius Link to sign up and help! If you have any questions please reach out to Mrs. Savannah Sims at (904) 547-8760. Thanks in advance your support!
Cafeteria News
MIDDLE/HIGH
Paid: Breakfast $1.25 Lunch $2.95
Reduced: Breakfast $0.30 Lunch $0.40

Prepayments into student lunch accounts can be made by using PayPAMS. The link to this service is located at  https://www.stjohns.k12.fl.us/food/paypams/

Online and printable Free/Reduced lunch applications can be located at https://www.stjohns.k12.fl.us/food/free/
NJHS
2nd Annual Book Drive for the Holidays!
Attention PBMS Community: This is the last week to donate books to the NJHS/Student Council Holiday Book Drive! We’ve gotten lots of great children’s books, but would love some more. Now’s the perfect time to clean out the kiddos’ bookshelves of any books they no longer read. We’re collecting new and gently used children’s books for INK!’s Early Learning Program. Donation boxes are located in the Front Office, the Media Center, and your student’s First Period class. We’ll send the books to their new homes on Thursday, 12/16. Anything you can give before then will be greatly appreciated.  
PTSO News
Holiday Fun:
The holidays are quickly approaching and we want to honor our faculty and staff at the Bay! The PTSO along with the help of our Wildcat families are planning to spoil those who make each day happen for our Wildcats with some FUN & even a gift card to some of their favorite spots. We need YOUR help to make this happen. We are asking for our Wildcat families to make a donation of their choice (no amount is too small) towards the Holiday events we have planned for them. You can make any sized donation directly to our school’s Venmo account. When making the donation you can write in Holiday Fun so we know that your donation is going directly towards this event! 
 
We have set up a Venmo account to make things simple. You can find us  @PBMSPTSO(also listed as Pacetti Bay Middle School PTSO.) 
 
Thank you for all that you do! We cannot do it without your support!
PTSO Business Partners
 More than ever, we are relying on the support and assistance of our local business partners and community to navigate the uncharted waters of the year ahead and help make it amazing for our school. Please visit our website for information regarding our 2021-22 Business Partners Program , and please feel free to reach out with any questions. We hope to have you join our Wildcats Family and help support our teachers, staff, and students through this school year and the challenges ahead. https://www.pacettibayptso.org/become-a-business-partner.html
 
Wildcats Announcement Marquee: It's BACK!!! The  Wildcats Announcement Marquee is open for reservations! We hope you will join in the fun!
 
Your $25 donation provides a personal message on the Wildcats Announcement
Marquee outside The Bay. This is perfect for Happy Birthdays, Congratulations, or othersmall encouragements! https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090f48aeac2dabfe3-wildcats
 
To keep up with the latest information, please join our Pacetti Bay Middle School PTSO Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/PacettiBayMiddlePTSO)!
Required Instruction & Character Chats
St. Johns County School District is required by statute to provide instruction for mental and emotional health education, substance abuse prevention, child trafficking prevention, and healthy relationships/dating violence prevention. Beginning in September, each school will show all students a 45-minute Character Chats lesson. These lessons will focus on the related Pillar of Character and one or more components of the state required instruction. Each lesson was developed by a team of district and school staff. The lessons have been designed to be interactive and include a teacher facilitation guide.  A monthly overview, lesson, and guide will be posted in Schoology. Character Chats were designed to be delivered monthly through April.
Yearbook
Student Council
PBMS Clubs
Craft club registration is now open!
Weekly meetings Tuesday 2:00 – 2:50
In Room 520 with Mrs. Craig
Battle of the Books Club:
If you have been reading the Sunshine State books and are interested in being a part of our Battle of the Books team, please:
  • Join the Battle of the Books Schoology group using this access code: WBBW-H9S5-J57WD
  • Attend our meetings after school on Tuesdays 1:50-2:45 in the Media Center. You must have transportation home at 2:45 to attend.  
Attendance Information
Visit the PBMS webpage under attendance link or click on the button. You can complete and submit all in one easy form! Any questions, please contact our attendance office at 904-547-8780

Please remember a photo ID is required for student check-out. This is for the safety and security of all children and Pacetti Bay Middle School. There is no student check out after 1:30pm.
Deans' Office Updates
  • In accordance with statutory requirement F.S. 1006.07 (students are prohibited from wearing clothing that exposes underwear or that exposes body parts in an indecent or vulgar manner) enforcement will focus on positive guidance without embarrassment to the student and should not disrupt the educational process.
  • Clothing must cover the area from armpit to armpit, and down to mid-thigh
  • Tops must have shoulder straps and be long enough not to expose your midriff
  • See through clothing or rips in jeans must not expose your underwear or your body between the mid-thigh to your arm pit area
  • No drugs, alcohol, vape, tobacco references on your clothing
  • No inappropriate or profane text or images on clothing
  • Be safe, make sure your shoes have a back to them

If your son / daughter has misplaced their lunchbox or water container, please have them check the lost and found cart in the Café. The cart is located at the front of the main café room by the whiteboard, clearly sign posted.

Bike Riding / Skate Boarding / Scootering to School
 
Parents please remind your students that once they enter school property they must not ride their bicycles / skate boards / scooters, for safety reasons. 
COVID Information
COVID Information Webpage

The COVID information web page for SJCSD families is live at

This site includes the COVID Dashboard, Quarantine Help Guides, directions to access online textbooks and Schoology, and Health & Safety resources.

***REMINDER: Review the Health Questionnaire daily with your student. Students MUST stay home from school when they are ill, awaiting COVID-19 test results, or if anyone in the household is COVID-19 positive. Thank you for partnering with us to help protect the safety of all students and staff.
 
***PARENTS: To report a positive case of COVID-19, please first call the Department of Health at (904) 506-6081 for guidance on next steps. To report that your student will be absent due to COVID- related issues, 904.819.1101
District Reminders
SJCSD Microsoft Office 365 Offer

Families and employees of SJCSD are eligible for free Microsoft 365 Pro Plus. Please click the link for details: https://www.stjohns.k12.fl.us/advantage/

Daily Silent Reflection

State law now requires a one minute moment of silent reflection to take place at the beginning of each school day. During this minute, students may not interfere with other students’ participation and teachers may not make suggestions as to the nature of any student’s reflection. Parents are encouraged to discuss this moment of silence with their children and to make suggestions as to the best use of this time.

Dress Code
We will be following the SJCSD dress code policy that can be found here: https://www.stjohns.k12.fl.us/schoolservices/conduct/
Rising 7th Graders
IMPORTANT IMMUNIZATION INFORMATION
 
All rising 7th grade students are required to have a tetanus-diphtheria-pertussis (Tdap) booster prior to entering 7th grade. If your student needs or has already gotten this immunization, please bring, fax or email the updated Florida DH680 form to Pacetti Bay at your earliest convenience. The Health Department or your physician can update your DH680 form.
 
Florida Department of Health in St. Johns County
200 San Sebastian View
St. Augustine, FL 32084
(904) 506-6081
Call for hours of operation for immunization services.
 
If you have any questions, please call our Guidance Department at (904) 547-8760.
 
PBMS Fax: 904-547-8775
Email: kimber.ponce@stjohns.k12.fl.us
Media Center
Overdue Books
We are experiencing a high number of overdue books. There are books still owed from past school years, either to PBMS or your student’s previous school. Please return, or pay for those books if lost/damaged, to the Media Center as soon as possible. If you owe books and fines to other SJCSD schools, you can bring those books or payment (made out to the school the book belongs to) to the Media Center and we will be happy to mail it to the appropriate school to clear your account. Overdue notices are emailed home weekly on Mondays and show the title and cost of outstanding materials. Your student can also log into their Destiny account at home to show you what they have out. Our policy, as stated below, is that students need to take care of overdue books/fines before they can continue checking out new books. If your student has overdue materials, please help them locate those items and put them in their backpack so they are prepared to return them. Thank you!  
Scholastic Books:
Even though our Book Fair has ended, you can continue to shop the Scholastic Store online using this link and our school will earn 2% of every purchase all year long. This is a great way to shop for books for all ages while also supporting our school. If your student has leftover money in their eWallet account, you can apply that money towards your order at any time.  
 
Schoology Information:
  • Schoology is our online learning management system. Teachers will be posting announcements, calendar events, assignments, and materials in Schoology. 
  • Students should check their account regularly, at least once a week. It is strongly recommended that students check Schoology daily when absent.
  • Parents are able to set up their own Schoology accounts. Parents will need their child’s parent access code to set up a new account or add a child to an existing account. Parent access codes are available in HAC. Click on the Registration tab and look under Additional Information. If you don’t see your parent access code listed, please keep checking back, it could take up to a week to populate.
Visit the PBMS Schoology Information webpage and the SJCSD Schoology for Parents webpage for additional information and resources. 
Media Center Policy:
Our students are expected to check out books and read throughout the school year. Students are responsible for returning or renewing their library books and textbooks by the due dates given. Students will only be permitted to check out books if they do not already have an overdue book. Students, and their parents, are responsible for the replacement costs of any lost or damaged materials. If ordered, a yearbook will not be delivered to the student and the cost of the yearbook will be put towards the replacement cost of any lost or damaged materials. Students may be excluded from end-of-year activities with Media Center materials outstanding. If you have any questions or concerns regarding this policy, please contact our Media Specialist at Karin.gowens@stjohns.k12.fl.us
SJCSD Family App
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