Hello Pine Hollow Middle School community. This is your principal, Dr. Carrington, with the weekly family message for the week of July 30, 2023!

 

First Day of School (for Track 4)

We have thoroughly enjoyed welcoming students on Tracks 1 & 3 back to school the past few weeks and are just as excited to welcome our Track 4 students on Monday, July 31. Below are some important details that were previously shared when students on Tracks 1 & 3 started school.

 

Arrival Information for Track 4 Families

• General Arrival: During the first week of school, we will have various staff members all around—at carpool, at the bus loop, near both entrances, etc.—to make sure all students know exactly where to go upon arrival. Parents will not be able to escort students into the building; however, I assure you, we will take great care of your children.
  
  
• Carpool: This is a reminder that all carpool vehicles 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.. See the attachment in the weekly message for a visual of how this will work.
  
  
• Where to Report: Upon arriving at school, students will be directed towards their grade level team areas, which is where they will receive a printed copy of their schedule that they will follow. As such, there is no need for students to worry about accessing their schedule in PowerSchool or needing to print it beforehand.

Dismissal Information for Track 4 Families

• Afternoon Carpool: When picking up students via carpool in the afternoon, please pull forward as far as you can so that we can load as many students as possible. Students will be instructed to wait on the sidewalk until their car is along the curb. Students are not allowed to go out into the parking lot as it can be dangerous with so many vehicles entering/exiting campus.
  
  
• Walkers: Only students who live in our walk zone and who have been issued a “walker’s pass” are allowed to walk off campus. Students are not allowed to leave campus to catch their ride in the neighborhood beside the school.
  
  
• Early Dismissals/Check-Outs: If there is a need to check out your child for a medical appointment or another reason during the school day, we ask that you do this by 2:30 pm as has been the case in the past.

Chromebooks for 6-4 Students

Sixth graders on Track 4 will receive their WCPSS Chromebook on the first day of school. Their Chromebook and charger will be labeled with their name and should be fully charged overnight and brought to and from school each day.

 

Meet the Teacher for Track 4 on August 3

We are excited to welcome parents, guardians, and other home adults to our Meet the Teacher event for Track 4 families on Thursday, August 3, 2023. The event will take place from 5:30 - 7:00 pm. During this time, parents/guardians will have an opportunity to meet their child’s teachers and to purchase spirit wear from PTSA. See the schedule below for more details on the flow of the evening.

• 5:30 pm to 5:35 pm: Arrival and Transition to Cafeteria and Gym
• 5:35 pm to 6:15 pm: Meeting with Elective Teachers (Cafeteria) & Health/PE Teachers (Gym)
  • You can also purchase school spirit wear and PTSA memberships in the cafeteria during this time.
• 6:15 pm to 6:20 pm: Transition to Core Team Areas
• 6:20 pm to 7:00 pm: Meeting with Core Teachers (ELA, Math, Science, & Social Studies)

While this event is an opportunity to meet teachers and learn more about their classes, please remember it is not intended to be a time for individual parent-teacher conferences.

 

Volunteer Registration

Recently, the district launched a new registration process for school volunteers. Before being able to volunteer, all WCPSS parent and community volunteers are required to register through the MyVolunteer system. For additional information about the process for registering, please visit the WCPSS Volunteers Parent Registration page, which also includes a link to the actual MyVolunteer registration site (you can also access the registration form directly by clicking here.). As a reminder, all previous volunteers need to re-register MyVolunteer platform to be approved for 2023-24.

 

Parent Observer Accounts in Canvas

As of the 2023-24  school year, Canvas is the designated learning management system for all students in WCPSS. Parents/guardians who wish to view their student's course content and progress in these courses may do so by creating a Canvas Parent Observer Account. This handout provides step-by-step instructions on how to do this. If you have multiple students, this handout also walks you through linking multiple students to one parent account.

 

Join the PTSA

Throughout the year, the PHMS Parent Teacher Student Association (PTSA) supports our school in so many different ways, providing our students and staff with access to many things including but not limited to additional technology tools, field trip grants, teacher grants, staff appreciation lunches, and so much more.

If you are looking for a way to support our staff and students and you are able to do so, we invite you to join the Pine Hollow PTSA for as little as $10-$15. For additional information about our PTSA, please view their webpage on our school site.

 

Update from LLC: Over 2,000 Checkouts!

Pine Hollow students have checked out over 2,000 library books so far this school year! Our students are excited about their library and finding great books to explore. Talk to your students about their reading and find some shared time to read together this week!  -Ms. Ziller, school librarian

 

Athletic Updates

Welcome to a new year and season of Pine Hollow Athletics. To stay up to date please follow our Athletic Director (Mr. Adams) on Instagram (PineHollow16) or Twitter (@PineHollowAD).

Important Dates

• August 22: Paperwork must be in Dragonfly and approved by the Athletic Director. If there are issues, please let Mr. Adams know well in advance. 

• September 5: Tryouts Begin for Football, Girls Soccer, Girls Volleyball and Cheer

 

Eligibility Requirements:

As a reminder, to be eligible for fall sports, students must be in the 7th or 8th grade and…

• Have been promoted to this grade;

• Have passed 3 out of 4 core classes from the 2nd semester of the previous school year;

• Have attended 85% of their classes from the 2nd semester of the previous school year; and

• Not be 15 years old before August 31, 2023.

 

Link to Athletic Website - https://wakecountyathleticzone.com/pine-hollow/  - To get to Dragonfly, please visit this site and click on registration.

 

DragonFly Note - Parents, some of you have submitted incorrect forms, or forms in the wrong places. Please check your status to make sure you did not miss a form or have a form get rejected.  Dragonfly will close on Aug 22 for fall sports, so please get that in order well before the due date.  Waiting until the last minute may cause your child to miss tryouts.

 

Upcoming Conditioning /Skills Workouts will begin soon for football and cheer. Students must be academically eligible and approved by the AD in DragonFly to participate.

 

• Football (Aug 21-24 and Aug 28-31 from 3:15 - 5:15 pm):  Workouts will be in the gym so dress appropriately and bring a water bottle.  Rides can pick up students in the carpool loop behind the school at 5:00 pm. Coach Newby’s email is bnewby@wcpss.net.
  
  

• Cheer (Aug 21, 23, 28, 30 - from 3:30 - 5:00 pm): Workouts will be in the auditorium. Please dress accordingly and bring a water bottle.  Rides can pick up students in the carpool loop behind the school. Coach Sellers’ email is carliesellers15@gmail.com.
  
  

• Girls' Soccer (Aug 8 - 7^th grade only, 3:10-4:30)  (Aug 9 - 8^th grade only, 3:10-4:30) We will be in the gym, NO CLEATS, Rides will pick up in the carpool loop at 4:30