Panther News and Updates - Back to School Addition (2024)

Greetings Panther Community,

We are excited to get school started on August 13th! Our panther staff came back Friday and was in great spirits with a very positive mindset, despite some of the challenges with our building. Thankfully, we are in a good place and ready for our 6th grade students and families on Tuesday evening at 5 pm for 6th grade camp. Here are a few updates for this week and our first week of school. Parents, please ensure you complete the annual parent form that is linked in the blog below. Thanks!!

6th Grade Camp - Tuesday, August 6th from 5pm to 7pm:

This camp will allow our 6th grade students time to learn more about programs, organizations, clubs, expectations and understand the layout of the building in order to alleviate any stress or anxiety about the first day of school. We will have student leaders supporting our efforts as well.

We will be offering a parent meeting for questions and a presentation on "Tips for Middle School Parents" starting in the band hall at 5:30 pm.

Back to School Night at Pflugerville Middle School - August 9th from 5 to 7 pm:

This will be an opportunity for students and families to tour the building, get more information on student organizations, clubs, PTO and meet our staff members.

Panther Football Parent Meeting and Camp:

• 7th/8th Panther Football Parent Zoom Meeting (meet the coaches)-August 5th @ 7pm
  • Zoom link is below
  • https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86372022542?pwd=6bJMBIxMDzdb1bVz7LAmVgBZ0Yjcwx.1
  • Email: charles.gaston@pfisd.net directly for remind 101 instructions

• Panther Football Equipment Pick-Up

  7th Grade

  Thursday, August 8 @ PMS

  5:00-6:30 PM

  8th Grade

  Friday, August 9 @ PMS

  5:00-6:30 PM

• 7th/8th Grade Panther Football Camp:August 10th from 8:00 am to 10:00 am @ Pflugerville MS(MUST HAVE PHYSICAL TO PARTICIPATE)

• Physical Information

  Express MD- Urgent Care

  1616 FM 685 #106

  Pflugerville, TX 78660

  See Also

  PHS Panther Blog 8/2/2024

  (512) 252-9094

  Link to online forms

  https://pflugervilleisd.rankone.com/New/NewInstructionsPage.aspx

  Athletes must turn in a completed Physical and bring a lock to receive equipment.

First Day of School - August 13th:

Walkers, Bikers, Car Riders: As students arrive to campus on the first day of school, we will have designated grade level lines in the front of the building indicating 6th, 7th or 8th grade. All students will be assigned a first period class (NOT THEIR FIRST PERIOD IN SKYWARD) where they will go upon entering the building.

Students will start their day in that first period class and receive their schedule in that class period. They will follow their regular schedule for the remaining 2nd through 8th period that day.

BUS RIDERS:

As students arrive to campus on Tuesday, August 13th. They will exit the buses and enter in the back doors. Students will find their name alphabetically and get assistance from panther staff to find the first period classroom to go to. Students will get their schedule in that classroom and follow their schedule the rest of the day. This 1st period class will be different from their first period class in skyward.

Parents, you are welcome to stay outside with your child and walk them to the front door as they head in to school for their first day.

Cheer Camp Rescheduled for incoming 7th and 8th Graders - August 15th from 4:30-6:30 pm:

Any 7th/8th grade students interested in trying out to be on our Panther Cheer this year, this is an important event for you to attend if you are able to. This is not a mandatory camp in order to try out. Here are the details from our last update:

When: August 15th

Time: 4:30pm-6:30pm

Student Audience:All incoming 7th and 8th grade students interested in cheer

Attire:shorts, t-shirt, tennis shoes and hair in a pony tails/pulled back from face

Objective:clinic held by PHS Cheer Squad to learn fundamentals, jumps, stunts and tumbling to prepare students for 24-25 cheer tryouts.

Cheer Coach Contact: Mrs. Griffin -obrianna.fillmoregriffin@pfisd.net

Lady Panther Athletics Update:

Physicals Due before Tryouts!

Lady Panther Volleyball Tryouts -Aug 14th & 15th:

7th grade: 7:00am-1st period (doors open @ 645am)

8th grade: 8th period - 445pm

Volleyball Parent Meeting: Aug 19th @ 6pm PMS Cafeteria

Cross Country - 7th/8th Boys & Girls Tryouts: Aug 19th & 20th from 345pm-430pm:

PfISD Parent Annual Forms (Parents, please complete asap when you can):

To ensure we are ready to return to school on August 13, please complete your PfISD Annual Forms as soon as possible. These forms are required for every student each year.

You can complete the two forms through yourSkyward Parent Portal. To access the portal, click “here” at the link below.

Click to complete Annual Forms:www.pfisd.net/skyward

If you have not completed the forms but don’t see them in Skyward, please check with other parents/guardians to see if they have them waiting in their account. If you have additional questions, email Skyward support atparentportal@pfisd.net and include your name, your student's name, and your student's school.

National Junior Honors Society Information - information from our sponsors (Mrs. Magnon and Ms. Johnson):

Welcome back 24/25 NJHS. We are looking forward to a great year. Thank you to those that have been flexible with volunteering for Panther Camp and the reschedule. We will still need volunteers from 4:30-7PM on Aug 6th. If you can make it, please let Mrs. M know. There will be plenty of volunteer opportunities this year and we look forward to helping you with them all.

Incoming 7th and 8th graders: GPAs have been pulled and eligible students will be notified the week of Aug. 26th via invitation. Our Fall Induction is scheduled for Oct 23 at 6 PM.

Incoming 6th graders: One semester in our school is required for induction. Please be mindful of your grades and keep an overall GPA of 90 to be eligible. Our Spring induction will be in February/March. Any questions you have can be directed to Mrs. Magnon in B109.

We have not settled on a meeting day or time yet, but will in the coming days. Mrs. M (Magnon) will let members know as soon as possible.

PTO Information - NEW BAND LINK Below:

Parents, we had some issues with the first Band App link, so please use this link below to join our app for volunteer opportunities through PTO.

Join our ‘PMS PTO 24-25’ group
on the BAND app.
Get updates and stay connected!
https://band.us/n/aca2A9d2Udz9q

First PTO Meeting - Aug. 22nd @ 5:45 pm @ Pflugerville Middle School in room A 103

No Place for Hate®-Welcome to the 2024-2025 school year!

We are excited to continue with our No Place for Hate® student coalition on our campus. Last year we had the opportunity to take a few of our student leaders to the No Place for Hate® Youth Summit at the Capitol building in Austin, and we organized and carried out an amazing Multicultural Fair on campus in April 2024. We continue to need student leaders and are looking forward to additional student, staff, and community involvement in the coalition this year. Everyone is invited to participate and be an ally and advocate for No Place for Hate®. If you have questions about the program, please visithttps://www.noplaceforhate.org/the-program, or email Mrs. Salcido and Mr. Oz at valorie.salcido@pfisd.net and chukwuma.ozowalu@pfisd.net. We will send home additional information after the first day of school. We look forward to seeing everyone soon and can’t wait to grow this wonderful program on our campus.

Here are a few updates from two weeks ago regarding "need to know" information for the upcoming school year:

Chromebook Changes for 24-25 School Year:

Student chromebooks will remain on campus this year in each core content (Math/ELA/Science/Social Studies) classroom. Students will not be issued chromebooks to take home each day. We are expecting these carts close to the start of school. Due to this change, organization will be a high priority for student support this school year. Our advisory classes will have a strong emphasis on organization, student assignments, managing their calendar/due dates and preparing for additional homework and projects throughout the year. All students will be provided a student binder for organization of all class assignments and will be provided specific documents to support learning, time management and organization. Students may also bring their own binder to start the year and will be provided additional support documents (calendar, etc)

Physical Education Needs for 24-25:

For P.E. and Pre-Athletics, students will need the following items:

• Black Athletic Shorts
• Grey T-Shirt
• Tennis Shoes
• Combination Lock for Gym Lockers

School Supply List:

Our communications department has worked to develop the link below on our website to provide vendors for school supply purchases. Here is the link to access our Pflugerville MS school supplies needed for this year.

https://www.pfisd.net/Page/9953

Any additional school supplies brought from the list will be provided to each advisory teacher. They will appreciate the extra supplies for usage during the school year.

PMS Rules and Regulations for the 24-25 School Year:

Parents, linked you will find some guidance on procedures, rules and campus regulations to help navigate middle school this school year.This includes information on arrival, dismissal, lunch rules/procedures and more. We will also post this on the campus website in the coming days. Returning parents, there are very few changes to any of our procedures for arrival, dismissal and lunches.

PMS Secondary Rules and Regulations

Pflugerville ISD Dress Code:

Here is a link to the student ID dress code for this year. Dress Code -https://www.pfisd.net/dresscodeParents, the top violations the administration has to address from time to time are typically the following:

• Pajama pants
• Sagging pants below the waistline
• Shirts not touching the waistband exposing the midriff

Student ID's:

We will taking pictures of students for their new student ID during the first two weeks of school during advisory. It is district policy for students to have their ID at all times on campus and it is an important safety measure to identify students. It is our goal for this to become a habit for students and to create systems to remember this each day, much like we as adults, have a plan for our ID each day. Students will be required to have their ID at all PfiSD events and there will be no exceptions to this rule as well. Student ID's will also be required to purchase any items from our new school store this school year.

Free Breakfast Again This Year!!

Students will be provided a free breakfast again this school year. Cafeteria doors open at 7:50 am and breakfast ends at 8:15 am, unless we have students late due to bus/transportation delays.

Free and Reduced Lunch Applications:

We are encouraging every family to complete this application. We had many families complete this form and be accepted as either free or reduced, who did not feel they would qualify. Here are two links for information and the application:

• Apply for free and/or reduced lunch -click link

• Free and Reduced Application:

  • English:Apply Now

  • Español:Aplique Hoy

  • Vietnamese:Tiến Trình Làm Đơn Bắt Đầu

Parent Communication Systems:

I will communicate via email and this blog weekly, regarding important news and information. I will typically send an email with the blog link as a reminder that it has been updated. I will be sending text messages to parents and families when necessary, but text communication will be less frequent, as to not overcommunicate to your text messages.

Teachers and Assistant Principals will be using school status, which allows for text and email in any language to eliminate any barriers about student progress or general information. If your primary language is not English, your messages will be translated to English for staff who prefer to communicate that way.

Parents and Students, please reach out with questions this week as we continue to prepare for our first day back to school!

Sincerely,

Mr. Clayton