Finish

To finish means to bring something to an end or a completion. I like an alternate definition, however. Finishing can also mean to use completely. We are at that point in the year where we can talk about finishing the school year. It's one thing to complete something; anything. It's a different ballgame entirely when we can finish strong. We must consider our effort and attitude into this equation. I know we are all tired and stressed. The weight and pressure of end-of-year tasks and standardized testing is felt by all. Let us pause now to consider the alternate meaning of finish mentioned above. Shouldn't we take it upon ourselves to use this school year completely up? Make the most of every opportunity we have to impart care and knowledge upon our special PVES students. Your homework after reading this blog is to simply ask yourself, "How will I finish this school year?" 

Testing Update:

First of all, thank you to Mrs. Lee for making this very stressful time very productive and organized. Teachers, you have done a phenomenal job making testing smooth and successful. Think about this. We have completed 43 whole group sessions already and countless more small group and individual sessions. We have now reached a portion of our testing schedule where we will have students testing in the afternoons. Keep in mind this means a more crowded than usual cafeteria around 10:55 A.M. Also, this means hallways will need to remain quiet (as is expected regardless of when testing occurs). If you are testing during a morning session, Mrs. Lee will combine labs with students who are still testing when feasible. Thanks for your patience. You can refer to the testing calendar if needed. 

Senior Signing Day and Parade:

5th graders were invited to PVHS this Friday to witness senior signing day and parade from 9:30-11:00 A.M. I have emailed instructions to those impacted so please take time to read carefully. This is a great opportunity for our 5th graders to watch (and be motivated by) our seniors announcing publicly their plans after graduation. I love events like this and our homecoming parade as they create a community feel among all of our campuses. 

Dollars for Dough:

Pizza anyone? Please consider participating in our #PVES Papa Johns "Dollars for Dough" program scheduled for 5/15 and 5/16. Buy pizza from any Papa Johns location during those two days and send your receipt to school. Our PTSO will receive a portion of the funds. Feel free to share with parents and students through email blasts. 

Faculty Meeting:

Thanks to our grade levels for your time and attention during our grade level meetings this week. We received invaluable feedback from you, and I am excited about some changes/improvements for next year. Our final faculty meeting of the year will be held on Tuesday, May 16th in the PD Room at 3:10 P.M. We will discuss end-of-year checklists, SLO sign-ups, teacher warehouse orders, awards days, iPad collection and more. Please plan to attend. 

Miscellaneous: 

Our Aladdin Kids performance is next week on Thursday, May 18th at 6:30 P.M. in the PVHS auditorium. Tickets are $5.00. Please encourage your parents and students to come and support our PVES students who are participating and Mrs. Turner. They have worked hard to make this production a success! Additionally, Friday, May 19th is the day all library books and iPads are due to be turned in. Get this information out to parents ASAP. 

Let's take a look around PVES...

Ms. Marino's class visited the Georgia Aquarium recently and had a blast. They even remembered to show their appreciation for our special education department at the DO with a thank you sign. I'd say this is a great way to finish out the year! 

We finished Teacher Appreciation Week with breakfast for teachers and a great video on last week's blog for our teachers (thanks, Mrs. Tollison). We were also pleased to announce our end-of-year luncheon and retirement celebration on June 6th at Brick Street Cafe! 

4th grade students received a visit from Clemson basketball players prior to testing. These players encouraged them to do their best and finish strong! 

It's been great to listen to our teachers read The Lemonade War in the MP Room each morning. We have hundreds of students who look forward to finishing the book soon! One School, One Book is a wonderful literacy initiative. 

You never know what you might be called on to do before the finish of each day. Mrs. Tollison is pictured above assisting our nurse with a minor issue that may have involved some blood. This is what makes our school so wonderful ... anyone is willing to step in and get the job done! 

As we work hard to finish the school year, I really try to make the most of my time with our students before they leave for the summer. In the top picture, a students shows me a game that he has created by computer coding. We really need to find more opportunities for our students in this area! In the bottom picture, I present a letter from a soldier in Afghanistan and a flag flown on a chopper during battle to one of our students who took  time to write the soldiers last year. How cool?

Mrs. Nix stopped by this week and brought some additional precious cargo with her. As we finish this school year, it is wonderful to reflect on the little ones that made their arrivals and joined our PVES family this school year! 

Moore's Musings:

Several parents have bragged on our afternoon dismissal process lately. One mom, who lived in Florida  for a while, called it the best dismissal process she has ever seen at a school. I'm not so sure about that, but I do want to thank you all for making duty successful. Our job is to be vigilant and safely get our students home each and every day. If you are reading this carefully, then you will be pleased to know that next Monday and Tuesday are blue jean days! 

Mark Your Calendar (MYC):

I have added several events to our shared calendar. As always, please visit this often so you are up-to-date. Let us know if we need to add anything. 

Video of the Week: