Connect Ed

Good afternoon Piedmont families, 

This is Principal Eley with this week’s updates. Our student council is having a March Madness door decorating contest. Tune into our social media pages to see all the neat door ideas that teachers and students have come up with. 

 We need your help in reminding our students that cell phones are to be kept away between the hours of 8:15 and 3:15. Since we no longer are using lockers due to keeping social distancing in the hallways, we are seeing students on their phones in transitions and at lunch. Please help us in talking to them about this school expectation. 

 We are in full swing with Rising 9th grade and 6th grade transition. If you have or know of a rising 9th or 6th grader, please reach out to us to learn about several information opportunities to help answer questions and prepare students and families for these special transitions. 

 As a reminder, Thursday, March 4th is a remote learning day for all students. Please encourage your child to check in with his/her teachers while learning at home. Friday, March 5th is an optional teacher workday, so there is no school for students. 

 I hope you all have had a wonderful weekend, and I look forward to a wonderful week ahead!

9th Grade Registration

Hello 8^th grade!  Beginning Sunday, February 28^th you will be able to go into PowerSchool to choose your classes for next year.  Class registration will remain open through Sunday, March 7^th.  Before it closes it is very important that you go in and choose 3 electives and 3 alternate electives for next school  year.  I have attached the instructions.  Don’t forget to hit Submit on the last screen or it will not save.  You will meet with a high school counselor sometime during 1^st period the following week to look over your course selections.  Virtual students should be receiving an email from Piedmont High that will allow them to set up a virtual meeting with a counselor to do this.

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1N1jQXCa2G_buso1DhHrBV_dFpy3KN7QJU7hybLBxRa0/edit?usp=sharing 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/11CiRxt4NXHYi85stWfp9qmV1KfFidLAII7gfYVZBxOE/edit?usp=sharing

Want to play volleyball? Tryouts begin March 1.

Student Council Members Talk to 5th Graders

Several PdMS Student Council members will answer questions in a virtual meeting with rising 6th graders from our feeder schools. The group met with Porter Ridge Elementary on 2/16. New Salem is scheduled for 1:00 on 3/8. Unionville will meet at 8:00 at 3/22.  Fairview's date will be announced soon. 

High School Registration Information

The Week of February 22^nd

Ms. Bimson will go into ELA classes (at school and virtually) to help students complete the 9^th grade planning worksheet and to discuss registration and some general high school information.  Instructions will be shared with students and parents explaining how 8^th graders can choose their elective classes for next school year.

February 28^th-March 7^th

Students should go into their Power School and choose elective classes for next year.  They will be given time during Homeroom to do this with assistance from teachers.  However, they will be able to access this from home so that parents can look over and help as needed.  Core/required classes will be entered by the high school based on teacher recommendations, test scores, etc.

The week of March 8^th

During 1^st period, students at school will meet face-to-face with high school counselors to review their course selections for next year.  Virtual students will be able to set up an appointment for a virtual meeting.

Additional information from Piedmont High School or about registration will be shared via email to students and parents and on social media sites.

Ms. Bimson is available on Teams for students to ask questions Monday and Wednesdays during Panther Recovery from 2:45PM-3:15PM.  Parents should feel free to email Stephanie.bimson@ucps.k12.nc.us or call the school with questions. 

Baseball

Voluntary workouts/conditioning training will begin February 16th for all 6th, 7th, and 8th grade players interested in playing baseball this season. The times for all grade levels will be from 6:00-8:00 pm. There will be a junior varsity and varsity team to represent Piedmont Middle this season. The training will be held inside the hitting facility located at Noel Williams Park (3504 Zebulon Williams Road).

Union County Public Schools values the feedback of our students, parents and staff.  In an effort to continue high quality, rigorous learning experiences and social-emotional support for students, the school district has partnered with Panorama Education to administer a survey to 3rd – 12th graders. The survey window is February 24 – March 10 and will take approximately 20 minutes to complete. The link will be sent via Canvas and students will need their Student ID for access. Panorama safeguards student privacy and all responses will be kept confidential.

The survey results will be used to improve support and resources at the school and district level.

Click HERE to review survey questions.

HIGH SCHOOL REGISTRATION

Questions about high school registration should be directed to stephanie.bimson@ucps.k12.nc.us

On January 7th all 8th grade parents should have received the following email:

UCPS Middle School Parents,

The transition to high school is an exciting and important time for families. Union County Public Schools offers many high school options for students to explore their interests, passions, and postsecondary aspirations.

Through various academies, pathways and courses, students have access to a number of rigorous programs that will prepare them for college and/or the workforce.

In the coming days, you will receive additional information from your middle school principal about parent meetings, the registration process, courses, electives, etc.

UCPS has developed a webpage (Links to an external site.) to guide families and inform them about virtual information sessions, key dates and links to important resources. Use the translation feature at the top of the website to translate the text into another language.

High School Program Options webpage:

• Bookmark this page and refer to it often as you explore high school program options. http://bit.ly/HSprogramoptions (Links to an external site.)

Career and Technical Education webpage:

• Explore career academies and pathways—Examples include: Aviation Academy, Culinary Arts Academy, Pharmacy Technician Academy, Public Safety/Law and Justice Academy, Interior Design Pathway, Robotics Engineering Pathway, Entrepreneurship Pathway and Apparel and Fashion Design Pathway.
• http://bit.ly/Expo_CTE (Links to an external site.)

Key dates:

• Jan. 4 - Feb. 15 - Application period for Central Academy of Technology and Arts (CATA) (Links to an external site.), the Health Sciences Academy at Monroe High (Links to an external site.), International Baccalaureate (IB) Program at Marvin Ridge High (Links to an external site.) and Union County Early College (Links to an external site.). Apply via Scribbles. (Links to an external site.)
• Jan. 21, 6 - 8 p.m. - Virtual parent information sessions for CATA, the Health Sciences Academy at Monroe High, IB Program at Marvin Ridge High and Union County Early College. Register via this link (Links to an external site.).
• Jan. 25 - 30, beginning at 4 p.m. - Virtual Career and Technical Education information sessions - View schedule and pathway options (Links to an external site.).
• Feb. 1 - 11, beginning at 6 p.m. - Virtual academic and elective information sessions - View schedule and webinar links (Links to an external site.).
• Feb. 15 - March 26 - High school course registration. Rising ninth-grade students will be registered after all current high school students have completed the registration process. High school counselors will provide further registration information to rising freshmen.

Point of contact: If you have questions, please contact the eighth-grade counselor at your school.

Resources:

• High school webpages – ucps.k12.nc.us – click on schools
• Secondary Education - https://www.ucps.k12.nc.us/Page/3084 (Links to an external site.)
• Career and Technical Education/Career Readiness - https://ucpscte.org/ (Links to an external site.)
• College Readiness - https://www.ucps.k12.nc.us/Domain/2916 (Links to an external site.)
• Social Media - @UCPSNC @UCPSCollegePrep @UCPSCareerReady

COVID HELPLINE FLYER

School Lotteries

Student assignment application periods and lotteries for the 2021-2022 academic year are now posted.

Please click here.

Watch the REMOTE LEARNING ACADEMY

Need in-person help as you and your child navigate Canvas, Teams, and Power School? Watch the recorded session.
https://web.microsoftstream.com/video/391755fe-493f-457f-b643-b4344ea47d77  

Piedmont Spiritwear

It’s that’s time of year to join the PTO!

Click on the link to join PTO for this school year. You will receive emails about upcoming events and information about how you can help the school. Your $10 fee will help us to give back to the school, staff, and students this school year! Thank you for your continued support Piedmont Middle School Families!!!

Piedmont Cluster Student Support

Student Support Services

Peachjar Digital Flyers

We have launched a new electronic flyer communication tool called Peachjar. To view school-approved digital flyers, simply click the Peachjar button on our website.

School Fundraiser - Amazon Smile 

Please order through Amazon Smile.

We get a percentage of their purchases. Such an easy fundraiser!!

Please link your Harris Teeter VIC card to earn $ for Piedmont.

Click HERE, fill in the form and use code 1167 for PDMS.