PMMS Happenings - 4th Six Weeks

Celebrating Dr. Seuss's Birthday -March 2 was Dr. Seuss's birthday and we celebrated at PMMS!
We had Seuss-inspired dress-up days and guest readers sharing Dr. Seuss stories.
Tuesday was Crazy hats and socks in recognition of The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins and Fox in Socks
Wednesday was Future/Profession in recognition of Oh the Places You'll Go.
Thursday was Whoville Hairand Wear GREEN in recognition of The Lorax and
How the Grinch Stole Christmas and Horton Hears a Who.
Friday was Mayzie's TROPICAL vacation in recogniton of Horton Hatches the Egg.

Bag it Breakfast - Wow! What a difference! The statistics showed how a few of our students were eating breakfast each day (at home or at school). This week, we allowed and encouraged students to take advantage of the "boxed/ bagged" lunches from the cafeteria or to bring one from home and the number of students eating a school breakfast tripled and that is not counting the students who were "bagging" it from home.
Why the change? It may be words of encouragement to the students by teachers and family about the importance of a healthy breakfast, the posters students made and hung around the school, the lunch ladies who pre-packaged the meals, the custodians who did extra trash runs, the flexibility of allowing students to eat in the rooms during DEAR time, the teachers who made or paid for or brought in breakfast for their classes....THANK YOU for all the support of this important initiative for our kids' wellness and healthy habits.


In Memory of Mr. Ward - In November, the Peter Muhlenberg Middle School FFA department initiated a fundraiser to have Mr. Randy Ward’s name engraved on a brick at the National FFA Headquarters in Indianapolis, Indiana. They set a goal of a $1000 to contribute to the National FFA Foundation. In return a brick at the rotunda will be engraved with Mr. Ward’s name. This contribution will be used for FFA scholarships and sponsorships of FFA activities on the national level. Dexter Richman, eighth grade student and FFA member, stated, “I am pleased to announce that we have reached our goal of $1000 this morning (February 26, 2009). Mr. Ward, who passed away October 7, 2008, devoted most of his life to his students and the FFA. We miss him dearly and we will never forget him.” Richman continued, “FFA students had been selling chances on a picnic table to raise the funds. We would like to thank everyone who bought chances and made donations. Your contribution pays for Mr. Ward’s (scholarship fund) brick and supports the FFA.” The drawing winner was Pat Robinson, who happened to be the bus driver for Mr. Ward’s oldest grandchild. The Future Farmers of America began in 1928 with 33 members and now has more than 490,000 and membership is still growing. The FFA has become one of the most life-changing organizations for youth in the United States. The FFA’s mission is to make a positive difference in the lives of students by developing their potential for premier leadership, personal growth, and career success through agricultural education. “Thanks to your support and generosity, Mr. Ward’s brick will be proudly displayed in the courtyard at the National FFA Center.”

PMMS Honors Our School Board Members - In honor of School Board Appreciation month, Krista Heres, Peter Muhlenberg Middle School librarian, and Gina Stetter, PMMS principal, presented books dedicated to each of the Shenandoah County School Board members during the Board meeting on Thursday, February 19, 2009. In recognition of the time and effort that each Board member gives to improve educational opportunities for the students of Shenandoah County Public Schools, six books were purchased and each contains a personalized bookplate honoring the Board member.

Two of the books are 2009 Newbery honor award winners, My One Hundred Adventures (by Polly Horvath) dedicated to Ms. Evelyn Burner and Savvy (by Ingrid Law) dedicated to Dr. Kathryn Holsinger. Ms. Lisa Currie's book is bilingual and on a topic that many ESL students have recently requested, Autos deportivos/Sports Cars (Blazers Bilingual) Spanish Edition (By Matt Doedan). Tell the World (by Writerscorps) is a book of poetry written by teens dedicated to Ms. Sonya Williams-Giersch. Mr. Gary Rutz's book, Emperors of the Ice: A True Story of Disaster and Survival in the Antarctic, 1910-1913 (by Richard Farr), is a non-fiction book on the same topic as the school library's most popular Virginia Readers' Choice book. The 39 Clues: Maze of Bones—Library Edition (by Rick Riordan) is a newly released title by the same author as the Lightning Thief series which is very popular, especially with boys.

The books have become a permanent part of the book collection in the Peter Muhlenberg Middle School library and are available for checkout by the students.

Testing - The 8th graders at PMMS have been very busy since January taking 2 SOL tests and the NAEP assessment test. In January 100% of our 8th grade class took the Civics/Economics Standards of Learning test and earned a 96% pass percentage. In February the National Report Card Committee randomly selected 90 8th grade students to take the NAEP assessment. Those 90 students will help represent the public education system in Virginia for the 2009 National Report Card. Most recently, the 8th grade students took the English Writing standards of learning test. The writing test, given this past week, consisted of two parts, short essay and multiple choice, and was given over a two day time period. The students will receive their scores later in the school year. The rest of the students at PMMS will participate in a series of SOL tests from May 18th - June 9th. Tests will include mathematics, reading, and science (8th grade only).

Climbing Wall - The PMMS P.E. Department is proud to announce the installation of their rock climbing wall. The students were very excited to watch the progress of the installation which began February 23 and ended on February 27. The P.E. teachers will be trained on March 31 with climbing to begin shortly there after. Thank you to the Moore Grant for enabling our school to receive such an exciting activity. Let the sky be the limit!


Mrs. Wisman's 8th Grade Math Students - Mrs. Wisman received a Pavan grant which she used to incorporate Art into Math classes. Students created transformations that translate, rotate and reflect to produce tessellations on ceiling tiles. The ceiling tiles will be displayed in Mrs. Wisman's room and when the students graduate from high school they are invited to come back to PMMS and claim their tiles for possible display in their dorm rooms at college.

Civics Classes- Seventh grade students are studying the Judicial Branch of our government and in particular civil and criminal law. Mr. Wilson invited the resource officer, Mitch Ferrazza, to our school to illustrate and explain the arrest procedures and search and seizure.
The students listened and asked questions. A student volunteered to help the officer demonstrate the use of handcuffs.


Shentel Recycling Contest - As part of the PMMS Patriot Pride project and our recycling efforts our school collected 1,343 telephone books and 80 cell phones! Our school earned close to $340. Thanks Shentel!!

American Legion Post 199 Essay Contest - Once again this year, the American Legion Post 199 invited Peter Muhlenberg Middle School to participate in the “I Like Living in America Because” essay contest. With close to 100% participation, PMMS students in grades 6th-8th reflected on the opportunity available to them as Americans. In conjunction with the American Legion Post, PMMS proudly recognizes the top essays from each grade level.

8th Grade Competition
1st place—Kali Fravel
2nd place—Michaela Wakeman
3rd place—Kathryn Bennett
4th place—French Price
7th Grade Competition
1st place—Emily Fields
2nd place—Alondra Spinner
3rd place—Natalie Batlle
6th Grade Competition
1st place—Jessica Rodriguez
2nd place—Allyson Borden
3rd place—Sarah Rhodes
Eighth grader Kali Fravel’s essay was chosen as the best overall essay of the total American Legion Post competition. Her essay will now advance to the state level. Last year, Ms. Fravel was also the overall Post 199 winner and she went on to win at the Virginia State Level. This essay contest, coordinated by Ray Powell, the American Legion and Bob Wilson, a PMMS Civics teacher, is an example of community collaboration which extends outstanding opportunity to our local students.

Patriot Pride - At the beginning of this school year, Mr. Bob Wilson, a seventh grade Civics teacher, approached the Town Manager of Woodstock (Mr. Larry Bradford) to ask if seventh grade students could participate in the Adopt a Street (sometimes called the Adopt a Highway) program. We were assigned South Water St. from East Reservoir Rd. to Indian Spring Rd. and East Reservoir Rd from Hilltop to Broadview. Our students volunteer to pick up trash along these streets every other Monday during the school year. This volunteer program counts toward their Patriot Pride project but more importantly our students play an active role in improving our local community.

Moore Grant Recipients: Mrs. Eash-Boyden, Mrs. Parker, and the P.E. Department!



Peter Muhlenberg Honors No Name Calling Week as part of their on-going Bullying Prevention Program - Peter Muhlenberg Middle School honored this week, which took place this year from January 26 – 30, 2009. The school’s student leadership group, the Bullying Prevention Student Task Force, initiated and organized themes for each day throughout the week. For example, Thursday was “Crazy Hair Day” because “We believe that bullying and name-calling is hairy!” There was also a contest organized by the Bullying Prevention Student Task Force that day for the guy and girl in each grade who had the “craziest hair.” The winners of the contest were awarded a prize for supporting the idea that bullying is truly “hairy.” A different theme took place each day of the week.
In addition to the themes each day, all students were invited to participate in the No Name Calling Week Creative Arts contest that is posted on the www.nonamecallingweek.org website. Students who wished to participate could turn in their project to the school counselors by February 10, 2009. Prizes were listed on the organization’s website.
Also, students took a school-wide survey to help determine how PMMS is doing at bullying prevention. The students took the survey very seriously as most agree that they want PMMS to be a safe and bully-free school.
No Name Calling Week was in addition to other bullying prevention activities that take place at Peter Muhlenberg Middle School. During the week of November 17th, the school also recognized the international “Stand Up Against Bullying” week by decorating the school with “Stand Up Against Bullying” letters, and encouraging students to wear pink t-shirts that represent the week. The week was inspired by two young Canadian high school boys that decided to take a stand against bullying. See www.standupday.com. During this week, the students also learned about the www.bullyhelp.org resource that students can use as a safe way to report bullying to the PMMS administration and counselors. Any student that wants to report bullying can go to the website and it explains how to report bullying at PMMS.

PMMS Art - Art work created by PMMS 8th grade students was on display at the county library. This event is sponsored by VECCA.

Multiculturalism Contest - Ms. Fletcher’s 7th grade Multiculturalism Students recently participated in the national No Name Calling Week Creative Expression Contest. They created poems, posters, power points, t-shirts and more. They all put in a great deal of hard work and we wish them luck at the national contest level. PMMS had its contest and is proud to present the winners:
POETRY CATEGORY:
3rd place—Kendra Coffey
2nd place—Jackie Walsh
1st place—Wendy Mejia-Yanes
POSTER CATEGORY:
3rd place—Katelyn Poston
2nd place—Bradley Custer
1st place—Alondra Spinner
OTHER CATEGORY: (including tux paint, power point, t-shirts)
3rd place—Adam Wisman
2nd place—Thomas Peacemaker
1st place—Tyler Ferrero
Solar System - Distances in space are so vast that they are difficult to imagine. This is why our 6th grade science students constructed a scale model of the solar system using a roll of toilet paper. Students marked off distances to each of the planets and wrote the appropriate planet name on the toilet paper. By using this method the students gained an understanding of the distances between the inner and outer planets and the size of our solar system.


Health or Hoops - Heart disease is the #1 killer of men and women in America. This is the first generation born in history that is projected to NOT outlive their parents. On February 11 and 12 the PMMS P.E. department hosted a Hoops for Heart event to educate the students about heart disease, teach them healthy life long skills and give them the opportunity to be a part of a great community service project. During PE time students were given the option to watch or participate in a student vs faculty/parent basketball game. A $3 donation allowed the students to participate in the basketball game or a $1 donation allowed the students to come and watch the basketball game. Parents also played or watched the Hoops for Heart event. All monies collected (around $1600) will go directly to the American Heart Association. Thanks to all those who contributed and participated!

County Spelling Bees - Congratulations to the winners of the Shenandoah County Division Spelling Bee:
1st place: Kinsey W. grade 5, WWR
2nd place: Whitney B. grade 8, NFMS
3rd place: Katie R. grade 8, PMMS
4th place: French P. grade 8, PMMS
A great job done by all spellers.

PMMS Received the 2009 Board of Education Excellence Award - Peter Muhlenberg Middle School and Strasburg High School each received a 2009 Board of Education Excellence Award, which is the second tier honor of the Virginia Index of Performance (VIP) incentive program created in 2007. The schools and divisions receiving this award have met all state and federal accountability benchmarks for at least two consecutive years and have made significant progress toward goals for increased student achievement and expanded educational opportunities set by Governor Kaine and the board. These awards were first rewarded in January, 2008. At that time Shenandoah County did not have any schools receiving the Governor's Award for Educational Excellence (the first tier of honors) or the Board of Education Excellence Award. These two schools are the first in SCPS to earn the Board of Education Excellence Award. Click here for more information

District Band and District Chorus - Peter Muhlenberg Middle School would like to recognize Chelsea Crosser, Emily Taff, Hannah Richman, Zachary Atchison, David Snarr, John Trelawny, John Paul Schechtel, Galen Rohr and Colbey Ryman. These students participated in District Band on February 6th and 7th. Nine of the eleven students chosen for District Band are from PMMS and Galen Rohr is a 6th grade student.
We would also like to recognize the following students that participated in District Chorus on February 13th and 14th: Tori Funkhouser, Michaela Wakeman, Oakli Wright, Kyle Dill, Kate Layton, Kayleigh Rogers, Jeff Hoole, Richard Miller, Jake Shelor, Grant Sheridan and Isaac Silvious.