Pacetti Bay Middle School Wildcat Weekly
Volume 21
|
|
Happy New Year Wildcat Nation! |
|
We hope everyone has had a wonderful winter break and safe and happy New Year. It is one of my favorite holidays of the year because its a new beginning, a fresh year. 2020 presented all of us with a myriad of challenges. Here's hoping to those challenges relaxing a bit for the coming year.
There is a ton of information below. As we come back, our 8th grade students will be starting their planning for high school with an academy video this week. our 6th and 7th grade students will be reviewing expectations and planning for the second semester. In addition, all students are in the final stages of the second quarter. Please make sure to review the assessment information below.
Please be diligent to go over the COVID health screening and check your child's temperature before they attend school each morning.
Parents, as a reminder, please reiterate with your kids about proper PPE usage which includes students wearing masks over the nose and while on campus and school buses. We have noticed a considerable uptick in the number of reminders given daily. Your assistance is greatly appreciated.
In addition, as a reminder, a photo ID is required for student check-out. This is for the safety and security of all children and Pacetti Bay Middle School.
The faculty and administration wants to make sure that you have all of the information you need for your children to have great success and we believe this format will aid in the process. Please take a moment and register to receive the Wildcat Weekly at https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/IWZG0wo
Have a great week, Go Wildcats!
Respectfully,
Ted Banton, Principal
|
|
Events for this Week and Beyond
- January 4: Classes resume for students
- January 5: 8th grade High School Blitz presentation (Modified schedule- will be sent out on Monday)
- January 8th - February 5th - High School Academy Application Window
- January 11-15 Final exams for selected course (an email will be forthcoming.)
|
|
PPE Expectations
Students are to have their face masks or face shields on when arriving to campus and leaving campus. Please remind students to be diligent in keeping masks on and over both the mouth and nose. We have seen an increase in students placing the mask below the nose.
COVID Safety Procedures
Parents, please remember to check your child’s temperature before they depart for school. Remember that a student with a temperature of 100.4 will need to be picked up at school. In addition, please remember to ensure you go over the checklist below with your child each day.
Students are to have their face masks or face shields on when arriving to campus and will be directed by their teacher after their temperature is checked at homeroom.
SJCSD Microsoft Office 365 Offer
|
|
High School and Academy Information |
|
Links to the High Schools
Below are the links to the high schools that Pacetti Bay students typically attend. Please visit each of these school websites for more information.
|
|
Academy Information
It is getting to the time of the year that our current 8th grade families need to start discussions regarding high school options. The academy information and scheduling will be coming right after the winter break. Lick on each image below to learn more.
|
|
The 2020 PBMS Winter Exam Schedule is released! Our finals will be held on during January 11th-14th. To access the bell schedule please visit the "testing" page of our website.
Please note there are two types of exams your students may take over the course of the exam week:
- A SJCSD created paper based final exam- 10% of your student’s grade. (These are the only exams administered on campus for Distance learners)
- The following course will take the final exam:
- Exploratory Spanish
- Fitness Grade 6
- Exploring 2-D Art
- Comprehensive PE 6/7
- Introduction to Technology
- Comprehensive PE 7/8
- Learning Strategies
- Distance Learners:
- Will need to report to campus to take those paper-based district assessment test on Wed. January 13th at 12:30.
- Students will enter via the gymnasium doors and will need to submit to a temperature check and answer appropriate safety questions. This session is for Distance Learners only!
- Brick and Mortar students will take their exams on campus during the day. They are not permitted to make up exams with the Distance Learners on Wednesday.
- A PBMS teacher created exam will be given in the classroom setting. Distance Learners will take this assessment at home, Brick and Mortar will take in the classroom.
Students are required to take all their appropriate exams by January 22nd. Make-ups will end on January 22nd. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact our Assistant Principal and Testing Coordinator, Ms. Wenona Arline at: Wenona.arline@stjohns.k12.fl.us.
|
|
|
|
The new link for attendance notes is now up and running! 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.
|
|
From the Media Center
Overdue Books:
We are experiencing a high number of overdue books. There are many books are still owed from last school year, 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. 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 use the time over break to help them locate those items and put them in their backpack so they are prepared to return them January 4th. Thank you!
Zoom Conferences:
Having trouble conferencing with Zoom? We have added two Zoom troubleshooting guides to the PBMS Schoology Information webpage. Please check here first for Schoology related information and support. Also see Schoology sections below for previously posted information.
Welcome Wildcats!
We are so excited to be welcoming many of our Distance Learners to campus. Please bring the following items to school with you:
- Textbooks- You will need to return your black, hardcover Language Arts “Collections” textbook. You will hold onto your other textbooks to use in class or as directed by your teachers.
- Library books- Any outstanding library books need to be turned in to the Media Center. If you have lost or damaged books, please bring payment for those items. Checks must have two phone numbers written on them. If you owe books or payments to another SJCSD school, you may turn them in to us and we will forward them to the appropriate school for you. Please be sure to make checks out to the school owed.
- Technology- Borrowed laptops (including power cord) and hot spots are to be turned in when coming on campus.
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 .
eBooks:
Did you know we have eBooks? We have 1000’s of eBooks, including all of this year’s Sunshine State titles. You can access our eBooks by going to the Media Center website and clicking on the eBooks section or using this link: https://www-pbm.stjohns.k12.fl.us/media/ebooks/ . On the eBooks webpage, you will find all the information you need to access and navigate our eBook platforms as well as information about eBooks/eResources available on the St Johns County Public Library website. This information has also been posted in each grade’s Schoology Media group under Resources. There is so much there to discover. Enjoy exploring and reading these digital resources!
Book Holds:
We encourage our students to place a hold in Destiny (our online library management system) on a book they want to check out when it is not immediately available for them to check out while they are in the Media Center. Students place a hold by logging into Destiny using their student number and district password. Directions on how to do this have been placed in each grade’s Schoology Media group under Resources. When the book becomes available, we send the student a message on Schoology. They have 3 school days to come pick it up in the Media Center, before we check it back in from them and make it available to the next student.
Distance Learners are welcome to utilize this hold system to check out books from our school library as well. Once they get the Schoology message that their book is available for them to pick up, they will have 3 school days to come pick it up in the front office between the hours of 8:00 am – 12:00 pm. Books are due 3 weeks from their checkout date. The due date is stamped in the back of the book. Distance Learners are still responsible for returning their books on time to the return bin outside the front office Monday-Friday 7:30-2:30 pm.
Schoology for Students:
-
Click here for the “2020-21 Student Getting Started with Schoology Guide”. This shows students how to login, join their grade Media and Counselor groups, navigate the platform, and access the Schoology app if desired.
- Students can find a pink “Student Schoology Help Videos” folder in each of their Schoology courses under Materials to reference for additional support.
-
Go to the PBMS Schoology Information webpage for more Schoology information and support resources, including Zoom troubleshooting guides.
Schoology for Parents:
- Parents may set up their own Schoology account if they choose. Parent letters, including your parent access code needed to set up and link your account to your student, went home the second week of school. Students who register mid-year will receive their Schoology parent letter when they come to pick up their textbooks in the Media Center. If you already have a Schoology parent account for another student, you can use this access code to add this student to your existing account.
-
Visit the PBMS Schoology Information webpage for additional information and resources.
-
Visit the SJCSD Schoology for Parents webpage for additional information and resources.
|
|
Parents: How can you help ensure your student keeps up with their learning over the winter holiday break? The answer is simple… Watch them read for at least 20 minutes a day, every day!
All of our PBMS students are expected to carry a book of their choice with them every day. This means that your child has a book in their backpack for reading at a moment’s notice. Please ask to see this book, then set the expectation that it be read 20 minutes a day for every day of the break! It’s that easy 😊!
Thank you for helping your child’s reading skills stay sharp over the holiday!
|
|
Athletics and Physical Education |
|
2020-2021 Pacetti Bay Basketball tryouts
All students are invited to tryout for this year’s Wildcat basketball teams. There will be a open tryout for girls on Monday, December 14th, followed by a first cut and an invite-only tryout on Tuesday, December 15th. Both tryouts will run from 2:00-3:30. Open tryout for boys will take place on Wednesday, December 16th, followed by a first cut and an invite-only tryout on Thursday, December 17th. Wednesdays tryout will run from 12:00- 1:30. Thursday will run from 2:00-3:30
All prospective players must submit a permission slip BEFORE the first day of tryouts. Tryout rosters and tryout numbers must be created beforehand, so permission slips WILL NOT be accepted the day of tryouts. Permission slips can be picked up from Coach Cofield, Coach Felton, or the P.E. teachers.
Quarantined students who are unable to attend the basketball tryouts during the week of Dec 14-17 are invited to attend a tryout on Monday, January 4th from 2:00-3:15. Students who intend to participate in this tryout should email a signed permission slip to the respective coach.
Prospective players should come to tryouts in athletic clothing and shoes and should provide their own water bottle.
**Physicals are not required for tryouts, but physicals are required for all students chosen for the team**
Go Wildcat Nation!
|
|
Spelling Bee
Students competed in the school wide spelling bee the last week before winter break. We had 64 students that made it to the school level competition. Students competed in over 12 rounds to determine the winner and runner up. Congratulations to Pacetti Bay Middle School’s Scripps Spelling Bee winner, Keegan Miller, 8th grade. Keegan will now move on to compete in the first round of the district level spelling bee, which will be on January 5th. If for any reason Keegan can not compete, Ellie Lale will represent PBMS. Ellie is in 7th grade and was the runner up. Good luck Keegan!
|
|
Science Fair
Hailey Fezza has won the 2020 Science Fair for Pacetti Bay Middle School. She will be representing the Wildcats at the regional competition in February. Hailey studied the conductivity of electrolyte solutions and determined whether or not certain beverages live up to their claims. Congratulations Hailey!
|
|
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: KFNW-CGG5-GNVHH
- Plan to attend our Battle of the Books club meetings after school Tuesdays 1:50-2:45 in the Media Center. You must have transportation home at 2:45 to attend in person. I will also have a live Zoom conference for those who wish to attend virtually.
|
|
Catan Club
When: Monday afternoons 2:00-3:30
Where: Room 495/6th grade pod
Sponsor: Mr. Cofield (Room 495)
All students are invited to come check out Catan Club. Settlers of Catan is a popular board that involves strategy, persuasion, skill, and quite a bit of luck. Don’t worry if you’ve never played, we will be happy to teach you! Come learn a new game while having fun with your classmates. Students can contact Mr. Cofield using Schoology; parents can reach him at brent.cofield@stjohns.k12.fl.us
|
|
Applications to join National Junior Honor Society will be available after break. Current 7 th and 8 th graders are eligible to apply. Pick up applications from Mrs. Jones in room 260 or Mrs. Hicks in room 235. They will be due by January 29 th. Distance learners can access digital applications on the Pacetti Bay website or by emailing Ms. Jones at Emily.k.jones@stjohns.k12.fl.us starting on January 4 th. |
|
Needle Craft Club
All Wildcats are welcome to join our Craft Club!
We will meet on Tuesdays in the Cafe Bump Out room from 2:00 to 3:00.
Our first session will run from November 10 - January 19
The cost of $20 includes all materials.
https://qrgo.page.link/ZYnDP
|
|
Minecraft Club
Minecraft club is a drop-in after-school club that meets every Friday from 1:50-2:30 in computer lab 311 in the 8th grade house. Student play Minecraft education cooperatively or on creative mode.
|
|
On behalf of the PBMS PTSO, we hope you had a safe and happy winter break, and a Happy New Year! Welcome to 2021!
Sam’s Club Fundraiser: We've got a special promotion for you! PBMS is working with Sam's Club to help support our school when your order online or for pickup!
Use this unique tracking link to sign up for your Sam's Club membership! https://kb.cash/8PAErV You'll get a $45 credit to use online!
PBMS gets 10% of all new memberships purchased and 1% back on all online pickup orders! Visit us at https://www.pacettibayptso.org for flyer and more details!
Monthly Donations: The PTSO has begun monthly donation drives that will coincide with event specific expenses. Over the course of the school year we receive requests from the school to provide snacks, prizes, or other goods. We also want to make sure our teachers and staff feel appreciated and want to do an extra little something each month for them. By opening up these donation opportunities, it will enable you and your family to play a part in helping to meet these needs. You can donate anytime throughout the year!
We have set up a Venmo account to make things simple. You can find us at PBMSPTSO (also listed as Pacetti Bay Middle School PTSO.)
Any help that you can provide would be greatly appreciated. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or if you would like additional information. As always, we are grateful for 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 2020-21 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: This year, we are thrilled to share that 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 other
|
|
|
|
Pacetti Bay Middle School
245 Meadowlark Lane
St. Augustine, FL 32092
Main: (904) 547-8760
Fax: (904) 547-8775
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
