Hello Pine Hollow Middle School community. This is your principal, Andrew Livengood, with the weekly message for December 4.

• This Week: Monday is Early Release (school will dismiss at 1:00) and students on Track 1 track-out on Monday.   
• Change in Carpool and Buses: When we return from Winter Break in January, we will “flip” buses and carpool. Buses will pick-up/drop-off in front of the school where carpool is now. Carpool will switch to the back of the school where the buses currently go. All cars will need to go to the very end of Leesville Church Road and make a u-turn in front of the softball field parking lot and then take a right into the loop between the school and the football field. This will add an additional quarter mile of room for cars compared to snaking through the parking lot as we’ve done in the past. This change is being made to try to reduce the congestion on Leesville Church Road. See the attachment in the weekly message for a visual of how this will work.
• School Assignment for 2023-24: Parents who have Parent Portal access can now see their student’s assigned school for next year if you click on the “next year assignment” tab. If you do not have a Parent Portal account, your child was given a letter on Friday that provides this information. It is an orange piece of paper. Please make sure you check your student’s assignment for the upcoming school year.
• Yearbooks:

• • Are now on sale and would make a great holiday gift! From now until the end of 2022, you can go to yearbookordercenter.com to reserve your yearbook for only $40. The price will go up in 2023, so buy now! 
  • The school code is 21759.
  • Personalized name stamps can be added to your yearbook for only $6.
  • 8th grade ads AND Business ads are available starting at $25! (Order deadline for all ads is 4/25.) 
  • Questions? Email Ms. Buford (mbuford@wcpss.net).

• Holiday Assistance: 'Tis the season for our PHMS community. The student services department is sponsoring a gift card drive this holiday season. We are looking for donated gift cards to assist families that could benefit from some holiday assistance.
• If you'd like to donate one or more gift cards, then we ask the following:
• Please provide gift cards to one of the local grocery stores (Walmart, Harris Teeter, Publix, Food Lion, etc.) and/or department stores (Walmart, Target, etc.). This allows us to meet specific -or- multiple needs for our families, i.e. food and/or gifts.
• Though multiple gift card donations are welcome, we respectfully ask that each card doesn't exceed $25. This helps with evenly distributing the gift cards to our families.
• If you are interested in donating a gift card, then please do so by Wednesday, December 15th. Donation gift cards can be dropped off at the front receptionist desk in the main office.

• • Families that can benefit from some holiday assistance, we ask that you reach out to your child's grade level counselor so we can add you to our confidential list of recipients. Gift card distribution amounts to recipient families will be determined by how many gift cards we are able to collect during this drive.
  • As December 15^th approaches, the counselors will reach out to the recipient families to coordinate a pickup date/time. Never hesitate to reach out to your grade level counselor if you have questions on "giving" or "receiving".
    • 6^th Grade Counselor (Mr. Martin): Jwmartin@wcpss.net
    • 7^th Grade Counselor (Mr. Febres): Pfebres@wcpss.net
    • 8^th Grade Counselor (Ms. Haunsperger): Lhaunsperger@wcpss.net

• Spring Musical: Pine Hollow Theatre is excited to announce our 2023 Spring Musical: Legally Blonde Jr.! Auditions are being held after school on Tuesday and Wednesday, with callbacks on Thursday. Any students that are interested in auditioning should visit bit.ly/PHMSAuditions to access the google form to sign-up as well as their audition materials. Hard copies of the audition music are available in the front office. If you have any questions about auditions, please email our choral director Ms. Cain at ewcain@wcpss.net.
• Second Step: There is no Second Step lesson this week due to Early Release tomorrow.
• From Our Counselors: If you were unable to attend one of our in-person sessions “My Child, Your Child & Social Media” but would like to learn more on how to keep your student safe online, please visit this website. It can also be reached by going to our school website, then clicking “Our School” followed by “Student Services Department” then “Social Media Information”. You will find a digital presentation along with a wealth of information and helpful resources. Questions? Contact your student’s counselor.
• School Tours: If you know a family who might be interested in sending their child(ren) to Pine Hollow next year, please encourage them to sign up for a tour using this link: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30e0c4ea9a62da13-phms.
• Attention 8^th Grade Families: There are many high school options in Wake County. Please click here for the school names & visit dates to PHMS. Please visit wcpss.net/magnet for more information. Application Window: Early College Oct 14-Dec 14, Magnet Schools Oct 14-Jan 25
• Teacher Recognition Program:  Is there a teacher or staff member you would like to celebrate for doing a terrific job? Has someone been consistently outstanding or maybe gone above-and-beyond recently for your student/family? If so, I encourage you to nominate that person for our Top Gun Staff Member of the Month award. There aren’t any firm rules or requirements to nominate someone for recognition. The point of this is to recognize a teacher or two each month who was nominated by a student or parent. The teacher(s) would be recognized in front of their peers at the next staff meeting. In order to nominate someone, just fill out this form and make sure to clearly explain why you think they are deserving of this recognition.
• From the PTSA:
• The PTSA supports PHMS in so many ways--from teacher grants to support of athletics and the arts. But we can't do all of this (and so much more!) without parent support. Please join the PTSA and donate to our annual no-fuss fundraiser, Invest in Your Child, so we can continue to assist our students, teachers, and administration! https://pinehollow.memberhub.com/store?limit=21&live=true. Students will be bringing home a 1-page flyer tomorrow.
• Our teachers need snacks! Help us restock the teachers lounge with snacks and drinks. It's easy--order from this Amazon wish list, and items will be shipped directly to us. https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/102Q2ZACU3U1?ref_=wl_share&fbclid=IwAR1XB56SOfOR8Yn22Q7nNwt4SUgalJ6od2TJ3RfoIDU4kVEGeVm5nQ2Q3mg
• If you have any questions about the PTSA, please reach us at phmsptsa16@gmail.com. Follow us on FaceBook, Instagram, and Twitter for frequent updates!

• Have a great week and remember, at Pine Hollow Middle School the sky is the limit!!