Dear Parents, Caregivers, and PCMS Students:

We hope everyone had a fun and restful summer. In this mailing, you will find your child’s schedule and other important information. 

Schedules: Schedules were mailed home. One side lists all the classes the students  have been assigned for the year.  The other side has the courses laid out in our 6-day, 7-period rotating schedule.  In each grade, there are two teachers for each daily content area (ELA, Math, Science and Social Studies).  In G7, the ELA and math teachers were paired (7.1- Kerry Leonard & Megan Jeffers; 7.2- Carrie Murphy & Rachel Dresser).  In G8, the ELA and math teachers were not paired, so your child may have been scheduled with either one. 

 Electives were assigned based on student choice. Some students were scheduled with their first choice and others were scheduled with their second choice elective, based on the other courses requested (e.g. world language selection, accelerated or standard paced classes) or over enrollment in their first choice. 

 Some students may see Math Foundations and/or Literacy listed on the schedule.  These are our Title One courses.  These additional classes build in extra practice in a smaller setting to support math and literacy skills.  Students were assigned to these courses based on G6 teacher recommendation and the previous year’s student assessment scores and/or grades.  

Lunches are structured by grade level. Seventh grade students will have lunch from 10:46-11:11.  Eighth grade students will have lunch from 11:18-11:43.  

Students have a daily Titan Study.  Seventh graders have Titan Study after lunch (11:11-11:43).  Eighth graders have Titan Study before their lunch (10:46-11:18). 

School Tours: Students, families, and friends are encouraged to drop by for a tour of the school.  Tours will be held Wednesday, August 20, Thursday, August 21 or Tuesday, August 26: 10am or 1pm.  Students should bring their schedules (and any questions they may have). They will be able to see where their classes are located and other important areas of the building.  

 First Day Plan: Students’ first day is Wednesday, August 27.  School starts at 7:20. Students will spend the first hour of their day with their Titan Time/Homeroom Teacher (7:20-8:20 am) for orientation. There will be lots of people in the hallways to help students find their Titan homerooms that first day. Students will also have a block of time near their lunch block when they will be in their Titan Study.  During these two blocks, Titan Teachers will review procedures, get students set up in Google Classroom, and help familiarize students with the middle school’s routines. On that first day, students will rotate through all seven periods although classes will be slightly shorter than normal.  Here is a link to that first day schedule: PCMS First Day Schedule: 8.27.25.

Helpful reminders:  (1) Please have your child charge their Chromebook every evening before school.  The battery charge will last for the day and students can keep their chargers at home. (2) Please send your child to school with a water bottle, so that they can stay hydrated throughout the day.  There are water filling stations on both levels. 

Lockers: Students will be assigned a Titan Time (home-based) locker.  Students can lease combination locks from the school.  Only locks leased from the school may be used.  Combination locks can be leased for $5/year. The leasing money will be returned when students return the locks at the end of the year.  Students should not use any tape on their lockers.  If they would like to hang their schedule or pictures, they should use magnets.  Any drinks stored in lockers must have a twist top, to reduce the danger of spillage. 

 Updating Medical and Emergency Information: 

Please remember to complete all of the online registration forms before the start of school. Registration snapcodes were emailed to the address on file on July 15th. It is important to update contact information on file. If you need any assistance creating a new account for online registration or need help logging into an existing account, please call the Parent Support Hotline at 916-302-4359 option 1151. 

 Transportation: Students who are planning on riding the bus, must complete the online registration to receive a bus pass. There is a bus fee for middle and high school students. Free or reduced rates are available.   For additional information regarding buses, please visit the  transportation department website. If you have already purchased a bus pass, you should receive it before the start of school.  If you have not purchased a pass yet, please contact Lori Jacobs, the Transportation Coordinator (lori.jacobs@pembrokek12.org; 781-829-0832).  

Parents who drive their 7th-grade children to school should use the circular driveway or loop around the staff parking lot for drop off/pick up.  Seventh-grade students can wait in the cafeteria or outside the main doors until the start of school.  

Parents who are dropping off eighth-grade students should drive around the back of the school and drop their children off near the outdoor basketball courts (next to the gym).  G8 students can wait in the gym until the start of school.  Students should be dropped off close to the school’s start time to reduce waiting.  

Families dropping off both 7th and 8th graders can drop them off at the main doors.  These eighth-grade students should then proceed to the gym to wait for the start of school.  We will use the same traffic patterns for afternoon dismissal and pick-ups at 2:10pm.

If students do not have time to eat before leaving for school, they can get a grab & go breakfast in the cafeteria. Breakfast (and lunches) are free again this year. 

Keeping Updated:  Almost all of our school communications will be managed electronically.  You should already be signed up to automatically receive our E-News through the registration process.  We also recommend you ‘like’ our Facebook page (Pembroke Community Middle School News). 

PowerSchool: PowerSchool is our online schedule and grading system. Students have been using this system and should be familiar with logging in. Parent login information is included in this mailing for our 7th-grade families who have not already created a parent account. Parents can log in to review grades and/or upcoming assignments.  Parents can also sign up to have grading updates emailed to them automatically.

New PCMS Staff: We are excited to welcome Mrs. Taryn Souza (Physical Education), Mr. Hunter Nichols (Physical Education) and Mrs. Bertha Purtell  (G8 Spanish) to the PCMS faculty.  We are also happy to have Ms. Maria Pestilli join our staff this year. She has previously worked at Pembroke High School as an educational support personnel. 

PTO news: We have a small group of committed parents who are a great support to our school.  This year’s PTO board is: Karen Laffey (President), Stephanie Zdenek (VP), Tracy Marino (Secretary), Helen McElroy (Treasurer), and Melissa Archambault (Hospitality).  The first PTO meeting will be on Monday, September 8 at 6pm in the school library.  All are welcome.

The primary fundraiser of the PTO begins in September.  Students are asked to sell 10 lottery calendars ($10/apiece).  Winning names are pulled for each day in November.  There are also prizes for students and the highest selling homerooms.  The lottery calendars will be sent home in student backpacks on the first day of school. 

We are looking forward to a great year!  Please call the school if you have any questions.

 

Respectfully,

 

Donna McGarrigle, Ed.D. 

Principal

Erica Swift, M.Ed.

Assistant Principal/Team Chair