Principal’s Message
Hello, Pacific Crest Middle School community! I’m excited to be reaching out to you all for the first time. My name is Sean Keating, and I am the new principal here at PCMS. I’m thrilled to be joining an amazing school, a strong district, and a warm and welcoming community here in Bend!
My two kids will be attending Miller Elementary, right across the road, in the hopes they’ll want to be Pacific Crest Golden Eagles some day. My wife is a mental health therapist, serving clients here in Oregon. We are so happy to be here! The last couple years we’ve spent in San Francisco, reclaiming some California sunshine and family time during the pandemic. I worked in the Silicon Valley as a middle school dean of students at a private school. Before that, we were in Portland for five years, where I was a middle school principal and high school assistant principal. I started my career as a high school English teacher in Napa, California, where I met my wife. This will be my seventeenth year in education and my tenth year as an administrator.
I feel honored to work in education, as the yearly rhythms of the school year, the sound of kids laughing, and the excitement of learning all bring me deep joy. I am especially grateful to work with the faculty and staff here at Pacific Crest. I’ve already had many meetings with our front office team, our custodial staff, our instructional coaches, our counselors, and our administrators. These folks all care about doing great work for our school. They hold high standards for themselves, and the level of teamwork here is high.
As a school, our mission is to foster the student learning experience so we are graduating creative thinkers, responsible decision-makers, and engaged citizens. I will be centering this mission in our work as a staff and our collaboration as a community. We are also committed as a school and district to hear directly from all stakeholders–students, staff, and families–to ensure we’re serving the entire community with an informed, data-driven, equity lens.
I look forward to meeting you all soon! Thank you for entrusting us to work with you, side-by-side, in the sacred task of educating our children. We’re in this together.
Warmly,
Sean Keating
Weekly Communications
It is a goal of PCMS to keep families and students up-to-date and well informed. The district office recently sent “Key things to know Before the First Day” to BLS families, (see below Spanish & English versions) which we feel is important to include in this communication just in case you may have missed it and are wondering!
PCMS will continue to update you each Friday via this weekly blog. We highly encourage you take time to read it. Our next News from the Nest blog will be sent out on Friday, August 26 and will include important information specific to Pacific Crest Middle School, so please stay tuned!
Key Things to Know Before the First Day
First Day
The first day of school varies by grade level. Grades 1-6 and grade 9 start Wednesday, September 7. Grades 7-8 and 10-12 start Thursday, September 8. (Note: This is a change in practice for middle school start days, in order to give sixth-graders a full day of orientation.) Families of kindergartners should watch for a communication from their schools about their start date, which will be September 8 or September 9.
Next Friday, August 26 we’ll release our bell schedules for both the first day of school (Wednesday, September 7 – 6th grade only) as well as the first day of school for all students (Thursday, September 8 – All Grades).
Start and End Times
- Elementary: 7:45 a.m. to 2:15 p.m.
- Middle school: 8:45 a.m. to 3:45 p.m.
- High school: 8:45 a.m. to 3:45 p.m.
- Three Rivers School: 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Schools release 90 minutes early on Wednesdays (starting September 14) for staff professional development time. Start and end times for our choice option schools are slightly modified and will be communicated directly to families.
Meal Changes
Thanks to pandemic-related funding, Bend-La Pine Schools was able to serve millions of free meals to students during the past two years. In the fall of 2022, Nutrition Services will return to more typical meal practices and meals will not automatically be free to all. Students attending one of the following community eligibility provision schools automatically qualify for free meals: Bear Creek Elementary, Ensworth Elementary, Pilot Butte Middle, Bend Tech Academy at Marshall, Three Rivers School, La Pine Elementary, La Pine Middle, La Pine High and Rosland Elementary. Families at other schools may still access free meals by filling out a free and reduced application with new income guidelines at bls.fyi/meals. Income guidelines have expanded, so all families are encouraged to apply.
Student Class Schedules
Student schedules will soon be accessible via ParentVue and StudentVue. Please note that the counseling department is still making substantial changes to them and will continue to tweak schedules until September 6th. Please wait until that time for accurate viewing.
Building a master schedule is an intricate process that takes 100’s of hours of work. Even seemingly minor changes can have a dramatic effect. Due to its complexity, we are not accepting any schedule changes. Thank you in advance for your understanding.
Math Bypass
Our district provides a rigorous math curriculum that prepares students for Algebra 1 as a freshman in high school. Students who take 6th, 7th, and 8th grade math will be better prepared for high school math. A few students may choose to accelerate, based on their aptitude and interest in mathematics. These students may accelerate through Bend-La Pine Online mathematics courses, or they may demonstrate proficiency on a grade-level bypass challenge test. Students who advance on the challenge test would take Algebra 1 as 8th graders, this may be with Bend La Pine Online or in person at Pacific Crest depending on student enrollment.
Some things to consider for your child:
- This is not a placement test; your child will be placed in an appropriate grade level math automatically.
- Students who have an interest in mathematics and a desire to work hard will do better in the long run with advancement.
- Students who advance will be placed in a grade level above their current grade, mostly with students of that grade (e.g., 6th graders in 7th grade math, 7th graders in 8th grade math).
The bypass is a two-part test. The first part will be a multiple-choice test, those students who score at or above the 97th percentile are then invited to take the written test. Please be prepared for the tests to take approximately 90 minutes, but could be shorter if they do not score at or above the 97th percentile on the first test.
We will be providing an opportunity for students to take the bypass challenge test at Pacific Crest on the following date on Friday, August 26th from 9:00 – 11:00 AM.
If you would like your student to take the assessment prior to school starting, please email Anne-Marie Schmidt [email protected] and ask her to add your student to the list.
We will offer only one session of this assessment prior to school starting; if it does not work with your student’s schedule, they will take the assessment with their scheduled math class.
School Supplies
Schools will provide all necessary basic supplies for students. Families are welcome to provide personal items for students (backpacks, water bottles, headphones, lunch boxes, etc.). If your family needs help securing a personal item, reach out to your school’s FAN advocate for support (advocates are available at the end of August). For specific questions, reach out to your school’s main offices. School offices are now open.
COVID-19 Mitigation
The school year will start the way we ended, continuing our layered mitigation strategies, which include recommended one-way masking. Additional layered COVID mitigation strategies will be added as necessary if outbreaks occur.
Visitors
Reminder for families that during regular school hours, all visitors to schools must report directly to the school office of the school to obtain permission to visit. All visitors must report to the school office and sign in and out through the visitor management system. Learn more about visitor policy.
Volunteers
Schools will invite families when they have need of volunteers; each classroom is permitted one volunteer at a time and additional daily volunteers are permitted in high school Future Centers/career centers. Watch for details from your school about opportunities.
Transportation Registration
Does your student plan to ride the bus this fall? If so, make sure to register them for transportation as soon as possible. This year, only students who are registered will be able to ride the bus (this includes current bus riders as well as new riders). Please log into your ParentVUE account and use the Online Registration tool to walk you through the registration process. If you have questions about accessing your ParentVUE account, please refer to our Online Enrollment Information webpage for detailed information. For more information on transportation eligibility, please refer to the School Buses website for information and links to Bend-La Pine Schools policies.
School Year Calendar
Check out our at-a-glance calendar for the 2022-23 school year. Our annual Family Handbook & Calendars will also be mailed home to families, so watch for those in your mailbox.
Wishing you and your family a wonderful remainder of the summer and watch for more back to school communication from your school in weeks ahead!
Cosas clave que debe saber antes del primer día
Todavía faltan muchas semanas para la escuela, pero ahora es el momento perfecto para comenzar a prepararse. Aquí están nuestras cosas principales que debe saber antes del comienzo de la escuela:
Primer día
El primer día de clases varía según el nivel de grado. Los grados 1-6 y grado 9 comienzan el miércoles 7 de septiembre. Los grados 7-8 y 10-12 comienzan el jueves 8 de septiembre. (Nota: Este es un cambio en la práctica para los días de inicio de la escuela intermedia, con el fin de brindarles a los estudiantes de sexto grado un día completo de orientación.) Las familias de kínder deben estar atentos a una comunicación de sus escuelas sobre su fecha de inicio, que será el 8 o el 9 de septiembre.
Horas de inicio y finalización
- Primaria: 7:45 a.m. a 2:15 p.m.
- Escuela secundaria: 8:45 a.m. a 3:45 p.m.
- Escuela Preparatoria: 8:45 a.m. a 3:45 p.m.
- Escuela Three Rivers: 8 a.m. a 2:30 p.m.
Las escuelas liberan 90 minutos antes los miércoles (a partir del 14 de septiembre) para el tiempo de desarrollo profesional del personal. Los horarios de inicio y finalización de nuestras escuelas de opción de elección se modifican ligeramente y se comunicarán directamente a las familias.
Cambios en las comidas
Gracias a los fondos relacionados con la pandemia, las Escuelas de Bend-La Pine pudieron servir millones de comidas gratis a los estudiantes durante los últimos dos años. En el otoño de 2022, los Servicios de Nutrición volverán a las prácticas de comidas más típicas y las comidas no serán automáticamente gratuitas para todos. Los estudiantes que asisten a una de las siguientes escuelas de provisión de elegibilidad de la comunidad califican automáticamente para comidas gratis: Primaria Bear Creek, Primaria Ensworth, Escuela Secundaria Pilot Butte, Academia Bend Tech en Marshall, Escuela Three Rivers, Primaria La Pine, Escuela Secundaria La Pine, Escuela Preparatoria La Pine High y Rosland Elemental. Las familias en otras escuelas aún pueden acceder a comidas gratis completando una solicitud gratuita y reducida con nuevas pautas de ingresos en bls.fyi/meals.Las pautas de ingresos se han ampliado, por lo que se anima a todas las familias a presentar su solicitud.
Suministros escolares
Las escuelas proporcionarán todos los suministros básicos necesarios para los estudiantes. Las familias pueden proporcionar artículos personales para los estudiantes (mochilas, botellas de agua, auriculares, loncheras, etc.). Si su familia necesita ayuda para asegurar un artículo personal, comuníquese con el defensor de FAN de su escuela para obtener apoyo (los defensores están disponibles a fines de agosto). Para preguntas específicas, comuníquese con las oficinas principales de su escuela. Las oficinas escolares estarán abiertas el 8 de agosto.
Mitigación de COVID-19
El año escolar comenzará de la manera en que terminamos, continuando con nuestras estrategias de mitigación en capas, que incluyen el uso de máscaras unidireccionales recomendadas. Se agregarán estrategias de mitigación de COVID en capas adicionales según sea necesario si ocurren brotes.
Visitantes
Recordatorio para las familias que durante el horario escolar regular, todos los visitantes a las escuelas deben reportarse directamente a la oficina de la escuela para obtener permiso para visitar. Todos los visitantes deben presentarse en la oficina de la escuela y registrarse al entrar y salir a través del sistema de gestión de visitantes. Obtenga más información sobre la política de visitantes.
Registro de transporte
¿Su estudiante planea viajar en el autobús este otoño? Si es así, asegúrese de registrarlos para el transporte lo antes posible. Este año, solo los estudiantes registrados podrán viajar en el autobús (esto incluye a los pasajeros actuales del autobús así como a los pasajeros nuevos). Inicie sesión en su cuenta de ParentVUE y use la herramienta de registro en línea para guiarlo a través del proceso de registro. Si tiene preguntas sobre cómo acceder a su cuenta de ParentVUE, consulte nuestra Información de inscripción en línea para obtener información detallada.Para obtener más información sobre la elegibilidad de transporte, consulte el sitio web de Sitio web de autobuses escolares para obtener información y enlaces a las políticas de las Escuelas de Bend-La Pine.
Calendario del año escolar
Consulte nuestro Calendario de un vistazo para el año escolar 2022-23. Nuestro manual y calendarios familiares anuales también se enviarán por correo a las familias, así que esté atento a los que están en su buzón.
¡Les deseo a usted y a su familia un maravilloso resto del verano y esté atento a más comunicaciones de su escuela sobre el regreso a la escuela en las próximas semanas!