Middle School Matters

The Mission of Portsmouth Middle School is to create a strong and safe learning environment: promote social, emotional and physical well-being and to provide opportunities for each student, to the best of their ability, to meet high academic standards, develop responsibility, and achieve the positive social values and behaviors to become productive citizens.

Congratulations to the cast and crew of Legally Blonde Jr.! It was an amazing weekend to witness and experience. Thank you to Mr. Couto and Mrs. Woods for their time and dedication in leading our very talented students. We also would like to thank the SmArt group for creating the sets, the PHS theater department, the Tri-M Music Honor Society, SRO Officer Westly Lemar, Ms. Grace Finnegan, Ms. Mae Naron, Mrs. Donna Valente, Mrs. Dorene Phillips, Remi Woods, and Lly Ferreira. We expect the program to continue to grow and our students to continue to improve their craft and talents.

Quarter 4 has begun. Report cards for quarter 3 are scheduled to be published on Friday, April 12th. You will receive a notification.

During student assemblies on Thursday and Friday, we reviewed RICAS expectations with our students. We reviewed expectations to be prepared before taking RICAS, as well as expectations during testing.

Special edition “Check Your Tech” Patriot Pillars were distributed this week to students who were able to demonstrate any of the following:

• Power Surge - Students were asked to show a device that was charged more than 80%.

• Three Key Check - Students were asked to check their keyboards to be sure they could make capital letters, periods, and commas, as these are all expected on RICAS. If their device was damaged, they were asked to bring it for repair.

• Check OUT of Tech - Students were asked to hold up a silent reading book to show they are prepared for what to do after their RICAS test is submitted.

• Be on time
  
• Charge Chromebook to 100% minimum
  
• Have a silent reading book
  
• Use scratch paper
  
• ELA - Plan your essay
  
• Math - Check your work
  
• Work for a minimum of 60 minutes
  
• Work quietly
  
• Raise hand before submitting test
  
• Respect those around you when finished with your test

To support your child, please review the presentation as it includes the expectations for RICAS testing.

Please see the letter linked here from the PTO regarding donations requests for the annual Faculty/Staff Appreciation Week.

VBYG is now available to all students here at PMS. Immunizations will be offered at PMS on May 16th.

Parents must complete the online registration if interested and send it back to Mrs. Joncas. This provides the

opportunity to catch up on required vaccines.

What is Vaccinate Before You Graduate?
Vaccinate Before You Graduate (VBYG) is an immunization program in partnership with the Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH) that makes twelve (12) important vaccinations available to all Rhode Island middle and high school students at no out-of-pocket cost. These vaccines are given during the school day at clinics throughout the year. VBYG can bring your teen up-to-date on their shots and protect them from serious diseases.

Are your student’s vaccinations up-to-date?
Your teen is required to have certain immunizations to attend school. If immunizations are missing, the district can exclude your student from school. In addition, your son or daughter may need vaccinations against many of these diseases in order to get a job or attend a college. If you had to pay for all these vaccinations, it could cost as much as $1200 out of pocket!

Click here for RIDOH’s most up-to-date list of immunization school requirements

What vaccinations are offered through this program?

• Hepatitis A

• Hepatitis B

• Chickenpox (Varicella)

• COVID-19 – RECENTLY ADDED… Questions about the vaccine? Visit COVID-19 Information | RI COVID-19 Information Portal

• Human Papillomavirus – HPV (males & females)

• Influenza (Injectable)

• FluMist

• MMR (Measles, Mumps and Rubella)

• Meningococcal Serogroup B Vaccine (MenB)

• Meningococcal ACWY Vaccines (Meningitis) – MenACWY and MPSV4

• Polio

• Td (Tetanus and diphtheria)

• Tdap (Tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis/whooping cough)

For more information, parents can read the Vaccine Information Statement (VIS) available for each vaccine by clicking on the vaccine.

When is the next VBYG clinic at my teen’s school?
Click here for VBYG Calendar

No clinic date listed for your school? No problem!
Completing an online consent form will prompt your school to schedule a clinic.

Are there fees or insurance requirements?
No, there is no out-of-pocket charge for any student for any vaccine. Students are not required to have health insurance. The insurance of those students who have insurance, however, will be collected to offset the cost of vaccine administration.

No insurance? All children in Rhode Island are eligible for health insurance.
For more information, visit these sites for more information:

https://eohhs.ri.gov/consumer/families-children/health-care-programs

https://ripin.org/

How can I enroll myself or my teen in the program?
Click here to complete an online registration form

In accordance with RIGL 23-4, 6-1 students age 16 or older may consent to routine, emergency, medical or surgical care. A minor parent may consent to treatment of their child.

Portsmouth High School's Green Club is committed to promoting environmental conservation through the teaching of students with multiple events and projects within the school system and beyond. As part of this goal, the club is hosting a community-wide tree-planting event to offset the school's annual energy consumption. Our goal is to give out 350 saplings to the residents of Portsmouth and surrounding towns, which would offset the amount of carbon our school emitted from electricity and gas last year. Our event will be held on May 4th, 2024. Residents can support our mission by ordering saplings for $5 or donating to make saplings free for others. Residents can choose from Eastern Rebund, Red Maple, and Yellow Poplar saplings. All of these saplings will thrive in our New England climate. We look forward to making our community more sustainable! Please check out our website.

KADC Dance Team fundraiser

Please see the link here if you would like to support the KADC Dance Team fundraiser.

We would like to celebrate that our average daily attendance is 94%. If we learned one thing from the pandemic, it is how much our students learn better from being present in school. We have taken the last few weeks to highlight some reminders in our newsletter and this week we are resharing the school committee policies regarding attendance. As a reminder, anytime a student is absent unexcused for 5/10/15 days, a letter is auto generated and sent home. Families whose children reach 10 days of unexcused absence will receive a call from their school counselor to check in and see if there are any resources that families may need. Fifteen days of unexcused absences may trigger truancy proceedings. Linked is the attendance policy. Student Attendance and Truancy Policy

Patriot Pillars is built on a framework of creating a positive social culture for our students.

Our goal at PMS is to build a positive learning environment where all students feel safe and connected because we know this is how children learn best. As a staff we are focusing on making connections with our students.

Patriot Pillars is a system of reinforcing expected and positive behaviors, aligning student expectations to our school core values: Be Safe, Be Respectful, Be Responsible, Be Ready to Learn.

Ask your child if they have earned any "CHECK YOUR TECH" special edition Patriot Pillars this week!

We have (2) openings for RBT's/paraprofessional (registered behavior technician). The job ID is 4487130 for schoolspring.com.

Save and send in your Clement’s receipts in your child’s folder and sent to the main office. The PTO receives 1% of sales. There is no date too old. All Clements receipts will be taken as long as it shows Clements logo and pre-tax sales total.

If you would like to volunteer in school or help on a field trip, please use this form going forward to become VIS approved.

Dear PMS Parents/Guardians.

Per the PMS by-laws we are required to solicit nominations for the upcoming school year for all board positions. If you are interested in any of the board positions, please fill out the linked form and submit by April 3, 2024. Voting will be done at the May 1, 2024 meeting. Thank you. If you would like more information about the board's charter, please click here.

Please check out this flier for information regarding a tennis opportunity in the community.

Please see the link here to the PHS yard sale opportunity.

Please see the flier here for more information on the job opportunities within the district for our food service company, Chartwell