Welcome to our Monthly Showcase. We are proud to share Activities & Happenings from around the district!
Thank you to our District News Coordinators for their contributions to PV’s Showcase: Kathy Malchitsky (EG), Wendy Ledford (SCH), Peggy Jacobson (SK), Jen Derstine (SO), Gina Kratz (MSE), Donna Muscatello (MSW), and Tom Komp (HS).
Middle School West: Bees – honey bees, bumble bees and solitary bees – are very important because they pollinate food crops. 7th grade science teacher Danielle Emers and the West Green Team helped our Little Vikings preschool students plant a "Bee Kind" pollinator garden in our beautiful courtyard! The bees will enjoy the marigolds, zinnias and salvia and appreciate the bee hotel the little gardeners installed!
Middle School East: Mrs. Fitzpatrick's 8th grade students learned about forensic science. The students had an opportunity to visit The Center for Forensic Science and Research and Education in Willow Grove, PA. CFSRE is dedicated to research, education and outreach in the forensic sciences. While visiting a state-of -the -art laboratory, students conducted four forensic labs, and learned about a variety of careers in forensic science.
Schwenksville Elementary: Throughout the year in art class, students studied artists that live or have lived in America. For example, the students learned about Jeff Koons’ dog sculptures, perspective drawings of the Brooklyn Bridge in the style of Joseph Stella, Wayne Thiebaud cake paintings and so much more! Student created artwork given the themes they studied. The artwork was proudly displayed throughout the school for families to enjoy during the art show. Pictured is kindergartener, Gage, with his interpretation of GC Myers’ tree.
Skippack Elementary: 1st graders enjoyed a beautiful day at Elmwood Park Zoo. They had a great day learning about the animals.
Evergreen Elementary: Students had a ton of fun, and got a little wet, during their annual Field Day! Festivities included a blowup obstacle course, field games, water games, and the always popular Tug-of-War. Thank you to Mr. Engler and our High School helpers for a great day!
Skippack Elementary: Students enjoyed field day! Students enjoyed many events including the parachute!
High School: Seniors enjoyed a favored tradition: Anything BUT Backpack Day. Students were very creative in their efforts to transport their supplies - with makeshift backpack alternatives!
South Elementary: 5th grade students planned and planted flower gardens as part of Wellness class. They continue to tend to the gardens, observing the growth and changes.
Evergreen Elementary: Students in first and fifth grades “Buddy Up” to work together several times a year. First graders look forward to visits from their Buddies and the older students enjoy it just as much!
Evergreen Elementary: Mr. Tomlinson’s 4th grade class has been studying different types of energy. They tested theories of solar energy by using a very long solar balloon. Students made predictions - then headed outside to determine if the heat from the sun would make the balloon float. The wind may have altered the results slightly, but it was a fun experiment!
Schwenksville Elementary: Congratulations to 4th grader Evan, selected to receive The 2022 Robert McNaughton Memorial Band Scholarship Award. The scholarship is in the amount of $130.00 and covers private trombone lessons in the summer months through the Community Music School in Trappe. Pictured with Evan is Mrs. Dawn Krown – band instrument teacher.
Schwenksville Elementary: String students are currently working towards joining the “Bow Hold Hall of Fame” for holding their bow with skill while also playing their instrument! Miss Hoffman is very proud of the students’ hard work and knows that many more students will be joining the Hall of Fame soon! Pictured are: Alexandria and Olakunmi
South Elementary: Second graders traveled to the Perkiomen Watershed to participate in a stream study. Students learned about different organisms and how they survive in their natural water habitats. The students also performed a play on the stream community showing how all the ecosystems worked together!
Middle School West: In 1988, successful inventor Robert Sun embarked on a journey to teach children the relationship between numbers through a game of 24, a unique mathematics teaching tool that has proven to successfully engage students. The Montgomery County Intermediate Unit hosted its annual Math 24 Tournament on May 26th at the Montgomery Intermediate Unit in Norristown. Sixth graders Addie, Jacob, Aidan, Shamiso, Colton and Luke made a strong showing for West this year! PV Proud!
Skippack Elementary: First grade students in Mrs. Groff's class read the book The Floating Field by Scott Riley. The students did a STEM activity to design and make a soccer field on Field Day at Skippack Elementary.
Middle School East: Students in Mr. Testa' s Social Studies class collected political mail from their home mailboxes and used it as part of a unit on State Government.
Middle School West: The West Chess Club members faced the East Chess Club in the first annual PV Middle School Chess Tournament on Thursday, May 26th. West was able to defeat East! Congrats to 8th grader Dillon on the Grand Champion title!
South Elementary: Students collected coins to raise money to purchase books from the book fair for their classroom libraries and school library. As a thank you for all their efforts, teachers and staff participated in a "All For Books Great Race!" Teachers and staff raced around the circle on "wheels" in front of the building as students cheered for their favorite team!
Middle School East: Mr Hughes’s 8th grade science classes had a guest teacher. Professor Ellison from Ursinus College came to demonstrate a few chemical reactions and to introduce students to chemistry.
Schwenksville Elementary: Fifth grade group, the Positive Pals, held a donation drive for pet supplies and food to benefit the SPCA. Kathy Nagy, from the SPCA, and her dog, Teddy, presented an assembly about understanding animal’s emotions.
Skippack Elementary: From our Bingo Family Night one of the prizes that 2 students won was to be Principal for the Day with Mrs. Nassoiy. Our First winner from the early session was Lucas Adams from Mrs. Heath’s 5th grade class. Congratulations Mr. Lucas!!
Middle School East: The VIP Crew, our PBIS student leadership team, organized and implemented its first PBIS Door Decorating contest for the month of March. The theme was March Into Spring : New Beginnings. One winner from each grade was awarded The Golden Torch for first place and the winning advisory class also received soft pretzels in celebration of their efforts.
Evergreen Elementary: We welcomed Elmwood Park Zoo's School on Wheels for an in person lesson on animals, their adaptations and habitats. 3rd graders were visited by several live animals and learned many interesting facts about those species.
Middle School West: Students in Mrs. Griffin and Mrs. Marston’s eighth grade ELA classes created a tableau (a group of models or motionless figures representing a scene from a story or from history) depicting the tone of Maya Angelou’s thought provoking poem, “Caged Bird.”
A free bird leaps
on the back of the wind
and floats downstream
till the current ends
and dips his wing
in the orange sun rays
and dares to claim the sky...
Middle School West: The Ursinus Mentoring Program pairs PV middle school students with student mentors from Ursinus College. Goals for the partnerships ranged from academic help, goal setting and advice on preparing for high school, college, and beyond, to simply staying connected during these challenging times....
PV High School: A high school "Drop Everything & Read" Read Aloud event! Students enjoyed book talks from staff. The themes of the selected texts are Autism Awareness or Poetry/Verse.
Evergreen Elementary: The 5th grade students have spent many weeks practicing songs for their Spring Concert. The concert, directed by Mrs. Myren, showcases the musical knowledge that the students have gained throughout their elementary years. Disney was the theme of the night with songs such as Under the Sea and The Circle of Life.
PV High School: Two teams of PVHS students participated in the Montgomery County Envirothon Competition! PVHS teams earned 2nd and 4th place!!!
Schwenksville Elementary: The cafeteria was transformed back to the traditional set up. This was new for some of our youngest students who had not experienced lunch in this way! Students enjoyed live music from Mr. Unger.
Skippack Elementary: We started a Bus of the Month program! Our first winner: BUS 325!
Schwenksville Elementary: Mrs. Jackie Davis’ first grade class recently enjoyed a glow day as classroom reward for following the Fab 5: *Be Safe *Be Responsible *Be Positive *Be Respectful *Be Involved
Middle School East: Students participated in the first ever ‘Mr Furman Valley Open Classic' Disc golf tournament. Congrats winners!!
South Elementary: "Art & Nature" Artists trekked through the seasons to explore landscapes, animals, insects, trees, plants, and much more led by art teacher, Ms.Bolc.
PV High School: Mr. Evan Boucher, Art First Friday guest speaker, spoke with our students via Zoom from California. Evan is a CG artist who has worked for DreamWorks on such movies as Penguins of Madagascar, Puss in Boots, Boss Baby, How to Train Your Dragon, The Croods, and The Bad Guys. Evan has recently left DreamWorks to focus on bigger and better goals and aspirations. He is also a PV grad, Class of 2005!
Middle School West: Our amazing Jazz Band culminated it's 2022 season with their 3rd straight Superior rated performance at Pennfield Middle School the evening of Friday, April 1st. Mia, James & Joseph took Best Trombone Section honors; Kaleigh won her third outstanding soloist award and Chris, Grayson, David, Matthew, Lindsay and Jaison won Outstanding Trumpet Section! Congratulations to Mrs. Krown and her jazz phenoms for another superior season!
Evergreen Elementary: Second graders got to be creative, while having fun, during Makerspaces in the Library. The pipe cleaner station was a hit! Students designed equipment for robots, including an antennae holder, robot mask, and robot "finger drills"!
Middle School East: Seventh grade students in Mrs. Anestad's FCS class participated in a food truck competition. Each group selected a muffin recipe to bake and created a food truck to go along with their muffin flavor. Staff came in and voted on their muffins and trucks for taste and creativity. The students did an excellent job and their muffins were delicious!
Schwenksville Elementary: Positive Pals are spreading kindness. The group of fifth graders, under the direction of school counselor Mrs. Cindy Strano, decorated rocks and hid them around the school. Visitors were asked to look for a rock and either keep it as a reminder to spread kindness or re-hide it for someone else to find.
Evergreen Elementary: Therapy Dogs International has returned to Evergreen! Over 90 students were able to visit with the dogs and their owners. Students and staff were excited to see the dogs and were hoping that they could come everyday! Maya enjoyed the story Can I be Your Dog?, written by Troy Cummings which was read to her by a student. We are looking forward to seeing the dogs, again, next month!
Middle School East: Three beautiful dogs from Therapy Dogs International came to East on March 23rd bringing smiles to our faces. Many students were able to visit with the dogs during their lunch period. Staff also got to enjoy time with the dogs.
Skippack Elementary: Our annual BASH (Book Fair, Art Show, Hoagie Sale) event was a success. Mrs. Fox turned the hallways into an art show of student’s work and creativity. Mrs. Petro and Mrs. Batka and many other staff members and volunteers turned the Library into our Book Fair. Attendees were given the opportunity to pre order Hoagies for the event. Everyone looks forward to the BASH every year.
South Elementary: Kindergarten students applied their coding skills to BeeBot robots! With the bots, students learn the importance of sequences of accurate instructions and begin to learn computational thinking skills.
Middle School West: As part of the unit on ancient Greece, students in Jennifer Moylan's sixth grade social studies classes learned about the hoplites. The hoplites were citizen-soldiers of Ancient Greek city-states who were primarily armed with swords, spears, shields. Armored hoplite soldiers used the phalanx formation to be effective in war with fewer soldiers. The young warriors were given the opportunity to demonstrate this military tactic for their fellow classmates!
Skippack Elementary: Celebrating Pi day with...you guessed it, PIE!
Schwenksville Elementary: The Reading Olympics, held virtually again this year is a countywide reading event that encourages students to increase the quality and quantity of books they read for enjoyment. The Reading Olympics Program is based upon the belief that good reading habits form the foundation for a productive and successful life. Our Reading Olympics team worked hard to prepare for the event. Special thanks to Mrs. Early, our Reading Olympics Coach, and volunteers, Mr. Basile, Mrs. Maharaj, Mrs. Jacobs, and Mr. Louis for their guidance and support of our students!
Middle School West: It is a common misconception that the phases of the Moon are caused by Earth’s shadow falling on the surface of the Moon blocking out some of the light. This is not true. On relatively rare occasions, Earth’s shadow does fall on the Moon, but that is what causes lunar eclipses not the phases of the Moon. Additionally, for this to be the case, the Moon would have to be positioned in its orbit so that the Earth’s shadow could fall on it. If you think about the Moon orbiting around and around the Earth, the opportunity for Earth’s shadow to fall on the Moon will only occur once per trip around the Earth. This would occur when the Sun, Earth, and Moon are all in a line with the Moon on the opposite side of the Earth. Students in Mrs. Corr's sixth grade science classes performed a simple experiment that demonstrated these concepts using a lamp and Styrofoam balls on sticks.
Schwenksville Elementary: Our new “Peace Place” buckets are almost ready for classrooms! You may have heard of “calm down corners” or “focus corners” which are designated areas in a classroom or school where students may go to use the tools provided to help regain focus or calm when they are feeling frustrated, upset, or unfocused. We want all students to feel comfortable utilizing these spaces and tools when needed.
Evergreen Elementary: Students at Evergreen are collecting coins leading up to the Scholastic Book Fair which will be held in the upcoming days. Scholastic will match all donations and distribute books to children through organizations such as Kids in Need Foundation and The National Center for Families Learning. Evergreen will also use the money collected to buy books for our school.
Middle School East: Ms. Eskin's 7th Grade ELA classes are “Getting Their Read On”, spending some time engaged in Independent Reading.
Evergreen Elementary: The theme for this year's Art Show is Off To See A World Of Art Students have been working hard all year to prepare for this big event. Mrs. Hockman has hung over 1500 pieces of art, which will be seen by hundreds of parents and visitors. Our third graders created Emus from Australia. Each emu has it's very own personality! A job well done, Evergreen!
South Elementary: Five students were honored for the second trimester by representatives from the Community Club of Collegeville. A student from each class was chosen by the team of fifth grade teachers for being respectful, responsible, safe and kind at school. Each student received an award and a gift card to the Town Book Center. Congrats!
Middle School West: Students in Mr. Barnette's seventh grade Technical Education classes completed a unit on robotics. After building Lego Mindstorm robots, the student teams used the EV3 Programmer App to animate the robots. Learning to code through Lego gave our novice engineers the opportunity to use a physical problem-solving tool in their coding exercises then see their code come to life in ways they could see, hear, touch and even chase across the room.
Middle School West: Sixth grade students are enrolled in Digital Literacy class with Mrs. Quintangeli. Included in the curriculum is an anchor activity called EverFi Ignition, a virtual world where students learn modern digital health concepts such as digital emotional intelligence, digital dependency, online privacy, and evaluating content for accuracy and perspective. Upon successful completion of all six EverFi Ignition modules, students participate in a "graduation" ceremony (complete with pomp and circumstance music). Personalized certificates are presented as part of a small celebration event.
South Elementary: Students celebrated the 100th day of school for the 21-22 School Year!
Evergreen Elementary: Students participated in DEAR _ Drop Everything And Read- for 22 minutes on 2/22 at 2:22pm. Students in the Library were given flashlights and explored the shelves, reading in the dark.
Skippack Elementary: First grade students in Mrs. Groff’s class learned about holidays and national symbols. The students engaged in a math activity to recreate the Washington Monument.
PV High School: PV welcomed '05 Alumni Ms. McCurdy. Ms. McCurdy offered a personalized workshop on portrait photography and shared her experience working with clients such as Nike, Clinique, Netflix, WNBA, Urban Outfitters, Ralph Lauren, American Eagle, and more! Thank you for sharing your time and experience with our students!
Middle School East: Mrs Flicker’s 6th grade English Language Arts (ELA) classes learned how to write an argumentative claim. Students determined if TikTok is a powerful learning tool or if it creates more problems within the school environment. They also had the opportunity to share their claim for who would be the winning Super Bowl team by stating their argument and supporting it with actual evidence and statistics.
Schwenksville Elementary: Woof woof! Our latest visitor, "man's best friend” was very well-behaved during his first visit with students. Cash, an almost 4-year old lab, is certified as a Therapy Dog. Special thanks to Mrs. Holly Ricks for arranging these visits.
Evergreen Elementary: Students celebrated the 100th day of school for the 21-22 School Year!
Skippack Elementary: Students celebrated the 100th day of school for the 21-22 School Year!
South Elementary: Second grade students continued with their tradition of celebrating the 101st day of school (inspired by a 101 Dalmatians theme)! Students participated in fun learning activities using the number 101. They practiced adding points to reach 101 in a cup toss, exchanged pennies and dimes to make $1.01, built 101 mosaics with pattern blocks, and more!
Middle School West: What is the best insulating material for a coffee cup? Students in Mr. Patterson's eighth grade physical science classes were posed this question during a unit on thermal energy. To find out, students tested the heat retention of cups made of glass, metal, plastic and Styrofoam by filling each with hot water and monitoring the temperature for fifteen minutes. The students found that Styrofoam was the best at retaining the water's thermal energy! BUT, they also explored the dangers of styrofoam...and learned that Styrofoam fills up 30 percent of landfills globally, is a dangerous air pollutant and poses a great threat to humans, the environment, and animals. Plus, it takes over 500 years to decompose.
Skippack Elementary: Students in Mr. Beddis' EXPLORATIONS classes (gr 3-5) created with Makey-Makey as part of a unit on Invention Literacy. Makey-Makey is an invention kit in which everyday objects are transformed into touchpads, empowering students to interact with computers as creative tools. The computer becomes an extension of their creativity, igniting curiosity, fostering imaginative play/discovery while challenging their problem-solving ability.
PV High School: This year marks the return of Art shows and competitions! There are several students representing PV High School. At each level, students have the chance to earn a certificate and monetary prize. Congrats to all submissions!
Middle School East: 6th grade Family Consumer Science (FCS) students learned all about yeast as they made dough during their soft pretzel lab.
Schwenksville Elementary: Students participated in DEAR _ Drop Everything And Read- for 22 minutes on 2/22 at 2:22pm.
Schwenksville Elementary: Congratulations to five of our fifth grade students for their winning writing submissions. The essay contest, held by Ursinus College, tasked students to write about how Martin Luther King could be an inspiration to their generation. Two staff members of Ursinus College visited to announce the winners! Way to Go! Congratulations G. DelConte, T. Brewington, G. Couch, K. Kurian, and P. Maguisha!
Middle School East & West: PV Middle Schools have partnered with Ursinus College to offer an after school mentoring program to middle schoolers. Groups of middle school students are assigned a mentor and get together to work on homework, study for upcoming assessments, play games, and talk about their experiences.
South Elementary: We celebrated Random Acts of Kindness (RAK) week with the theme, "Kindness Starts a Chain Reaction." One act of kindness can go a long way in creating more acts of kindness! Each class created its own "Kindness Chain" representing the acts of kindness this week and every week! The chains were combined to create one BIG South Chain of Kindness stretching along the hallways for all to see.
Middle School West: The Math Club participated in CALCUSOLVE, a free math competition run by the Montgomery County Intermediate Unit for students who have taken or are currently taking Algebra. During the competition, groups of up to four students worked both individually and as a team to solve problems that put their mathematical skills to the test!
Middle School East: Congratulations to sixth grade student Hananyaa on winning the 2021-2022 Spelling Bee. Her winning word was vomer in the twelfth round of competition.Way to go! Second Place winner was sixth grade student Anintha Arunkumar, she was eliminated in the twelfth round on the word auxiliary. Third place is shared between sixth grade student Ryan Kumar and eighth grade student Aadit Bontha who were both eliminated in the eleventh round. Big thank you to everyone who made this event a success!!
Middle School East: Good old-fashioned game play with words. 7th grade ELA classes ended the MP by stretching their brains learning how to play Scrabble. The wordplay game has been around since 1931 and originally called Criss Cross by its creator, architect, Alfred M. Butts.
Schwenksville Elementary: Students and staff celebrated the Great Kindness Challenge with a spirit week along with focusing on what it means to be kind and how to show kindness to others.
Skippack Elementary: Kindness Week - We have taken many initiatives this year to cultivate kindness in our school! Now we are gearing up to join thousands of other schools around the world in participating in the Great Kindness Challenge! During the week of January 24 – January 28, we are challenging our students to perform kind acts at home and at school.
PV High School:To former students visit Mme Yanez's Honors French IV class to discuss living and studying abroad after high school. Regan is studying art at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland and Tyler is pursuing a degree in International Studies at Leiden University in the Netherlands.
Evergreen Elementary: First grade students visit an “Instrument Petting Zoo”. In order for students to experience various instruments “hands-on” Mrs Myren set up a number of centers around her classroom. Students had time to visit each area and try playing each instrument.
Schwenksville Elementary: Fifth grade students in Ms. Smith’s class enjoyed a visit from two engineers! Mr. Andrew Bates and Mrs. Suzanne Bates spoke about their educational path and careers as engineers. This visit complimented the engineering unit in science.
South Elementary: The Principal's 200 Club board hit 10 in a row in early January. The lucky students whose numbers were in the winning row this month received a certificate and their choice of a "Mystery Motivator" reward. Rewards range from getting to use the principal's chair a day, a basketball game with the counselor, Ms. Moss, to challenging Mr. D'Andrea to a WII game. The board is then cleared and students once again earn 200 club tickets for being respectful, responsible, safe and kind and hope to be in the next ten in a row!
Middle School East: Mrs. Slomeana’s 8th grade science students learned how gravity affects projectiles and dropped objects. Their finding: both hit the ground at the same time!
Middle School West: Students in Dr. Weir's eighth grade Technical Education classes honed their woodworking skills by manufacturing a wooden passive speaker for their smartphones. Constructed from poplar boards, the novice woodworkers used hand saws, drill presses, band saws and drum sanders to create the initial components. After gluing the pieces together, they finished their speakers by hand sanding and applying a coat of wax. The results were impressive!
Skippack Elementary: The 3 top earners of our annual Walk-A-Thon, Colin, Adrianna and Barry were chosen to throw a pie in Mrs. Nassoiy’s face as their reward. Mrs. Nassoiy was a really good sport. Way to go ALL!
Skippack Elementary: Students from Mrs. MacMillan's first-grade class completed a mini-unit about candy canes and peppermints. Students read texts about the history of candy canes, conducted science experiments, and completed writing and math activities. In this photo, students had to predict and observe what would happen to a peppermint candy when placed in water. This was a fun, hands-on unit.
Middle School West: Students in seventh grade Social Studies classes participated in the annual Geography Challenge. After weeks of intense “training”, contestants representing the Titan and Crusader Teams vied for points by naming the U.S. state and its capital on white boards from a numbered map. This year’s Geography Challenge champion was once again the undefeated Crusader Team! Congratulations to all of the participants and thanks to Mr. Cook and Mrs. Glanski for organizing this exciting educational event.
Schwenksville Elementary: Third grade students in Mrs. Maxwell’s class enjoyed a visit from a scientist! Mr. Andrew Englehart spoke to the class about the different types of engineering jobs in our world. He also explained his work as a biomedical and chemical engineer. After reviewing science vocabulary, he challenged the students with a structural engineering build.
Evergreen Elementary: Sir Ernest Shackleton's ship, the Endurance, sank in the Weddell Sea, in Antarctica in 1915. A group of scientists have begun the search to locate and survey the remains of the ship. The students in Mr. Tomlinson's class had the opportunity to zoom with one of the members of the team. He explained what items he will be packing to survive the harsh weather once he travels to the site. Additional zooms will be held as the expedition continues. Students will learn about scientific method, oceanography, and geography.
PV High School: Graphic Design I student created an Augmented Reality (AR) snowman utilizing Adobe Aero and Dimension. His creation can be viewed by anyone who downloads Aero and scans the QR code to trigger the scene on their devices.
Skippack Elementary: During the week of December 6th, each student made a community service project coordinated by our Home and School. These projects were created and completed in each classroom under the direction of the classroom teacher. All projects will be shared with various locations and charities throughout our community
Middle School West: Students in Mrs. Griffin's eighth grade English classes were introduced to the first, newly installed Clear Touch Interactive Panel at West. If you aren't familiar with the Clear Touch Interactive Panel, it is a 75" TV mounted in classroom with its own operating system, so basically, a big, interactive computer on the wall. The district purchased 110 units for both of the middle schools and began installing them last week.
Middle School West: This week, Mrs, Lewis' eighth grade ELA classes took a deep dive into the facts and stories surrounding the sinking of the RMS Titanic. Students began the unit with an article about how the Titanic worked. Then they cycled through six stations that explored a wealth of information that included the class distinctions on the ship, artifacts from the vessel, and the Carpathia's eventual rescue of Titanic survivors. The unit will culminate with a viewing of the fascinating James Cameron documentary, Ghosts of the Abyss next week.
Schwenksville Elementary: Students learned about Three Kings Day in their Spanish class with Mrs. Julie Droluk. The first grade classes made paper shoes. In Spain, the children leave out their shoes on Three Kings Day Eve and they get presents in their shoes the next day. Kindergarten students made crowns after they learned about Three Kings Day.
Middle School East: The PVMSE Builder's Club Pajama Day fundraiser for CHOP raised over $4,000 for the families and the patients. Special kuddos go out to the 6th grade for highest number of students who participated, the entire 8th grade for contributing the most cash and the 7th grade for raising the most money overall.
Evergreen Elementary: Prior to winter break, Evergreen had a week full of fun! Each day, students and staff celebrated with a different theme, including Slipper Day, Winter Hat Day, Warm Wacky Sock Day. The first day of winter was celebrated by dressing like a snowman! Our annual Sing-a-long was held, via Zoom.
PV High School: Congratulations to seniors Tyler and Sarah! Students in grades 10-12 submitted conceptual posters designed to promote community. Their artwork was selected to be included in Cabrini University's 2021 Art + Effect High School Poster Exhibition. This exhibition is comprised of the top 15 poster designs. This year, 126 submissions were received from 12 high schools in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Illinois.
Middle School East: Mr. Bernholdt’s 8th grade art classes created artwork inspired by the art of Cam Rackam who uses colorful backgrounds of candy or flowers to contrast his main subject in this series which is always a human skull.
South Elementary: Fifth grade students were happy to welcome back a holiday tradition- making snow persons as gifts for their families for the holidays. It was a fun way for the students to show some creativity while celebrating the holidays with their classmates.
Middle School West: Students in Mrs. Moylan's sixth grade social studies classes explored the Mesopotamian Empires with the Nystrom Atlas of World History and activity maps. For thousands of years, control of Mesopotamian bounced back and forth between two empires. In this lesson, the students learned how the Assyrians and Babylonians dominated the region that lies between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers that now occupies most of present-day Iraq and Kuwait.
Schwenksville Elementary: Second students enjoy learning about winter holidays celebrated around the world. Originally a German tradition, the second graders enjoy making their own gingerbread houses. A beautiful house can be made with just graham crackers and a milk carton. Just add some icing and candies and you are all set for holiday fun.
South Elementary: A holiday tradition for second-grade students is to make gingerbread houses. Students used pint containers as a base and built original and tasty looking gingerbread houses.
Evergreen Elementary: During the summer, four Evergreen students were thinking about books for their school Library. They decided to hold a car wash to raise funds to purchase new titles for the school. In September, they presented Mrs. Lane with a check, and the process of selecting and ordering the books began. The girls, with Mrs. Lane's guidance, enjoyed helping to select titles for all of the Evergreen students to enjoy! Thank you, girls!!!
South Elementary: Five elementary students were honored by representatives from the Community Club of Collegeville. A student from each class was chosen by the team of fifth grade teachers for being respectful, responsible, safe and kind at school. Each student received an award and a gift card to the Town Book Center. The Community Club of Collegeville is a Greater Federated Women’s Club of America serving the Perkiomen Valley. The main focus of the club is to support education and community service projects in our area. The Education Committee of the club works to support academics and educational awards and projects in the Perkiomen Valley School District.
Skippack Elementary: Thank you to 4th grade teacher Mrs. Beddis for coordinating this annual community service project -a Skippack holiday tradition. The pajamas collected will be sent to needy families and children in our own community. The drive collected a total of 796 pairs of pajamas. Amazing!!!
Schwenksville Elementary: Thanks to the creativity of teachers and staff , kindergarteners were able to “visit” the “pumpkin patch” and pick their very own pumpkin to take home again this year.Staff staged a pumpkin patch in the field behind the school. There were many smiles behind those masks! After the pumpkin picking the students also enjoyed some tasty apple cider.
Middle School West: Students in Mrs. Lederman's eighth grade Geometry classes were up and grooving during a friendly dance competition that incorporated their knowledge of angle relationships. They had to successfully demonstrate corresponding angles, supplementary angles, adjacent angles, same-side interior and exterior angles, and vertical angles in their dance moves!
Middle School East & West: Olympian Maggie Malone visited students at both East and West Middle School. She shared an inspiring message focused on developing an ‘Olympic Mindset and how mindset applies to all aspects of your life. Her message was well received!! Students can’t wait to see her go for the gold in Paris ‘24.
PV High School: On Friday, November 12, students in the High School inNOVAtion Lab traveled to Fluxspace, an innovation in education accelerator and experience center associated with the interior design firm, Corbett, inc. Students had a full day experiencing what it is like to learn and work within the creative economy . In addition to learning with professors from Drexel University's Close School of Entrepreneurship, students also presented their designed solutions to the build.org
Middle School West: FORE! West students were introduced to disc golf by Mr. Weygand and Mrs. Burg in their physical education classes.
Skippack Elementary: Football Seniors had the opportunity to recognize a teacher, counselor, staff member, administrator or coach from across the district that has made a significantly positive impact on their respective lives. These honored faculty/staff members were presented with a jersey of the Senior. Skippack is proud to announce that Skippack’s former student and current PV Senior, Reed Overholser, came to school to present his jersey to Mr. Mungin for the positive impact he had on his life. Congratulations Andrew! We are proud to call you our own! Thank you for all you do for our students!
South Elementary: We were excited to welcome back an in-person book fair this fall! The South library hosted the, "It's a Jungle in Here" Scholastic Book Fair November 5-12.
Evergreen Elementary: A unique and special learning space for students and staff! The space, designed by several staff members, features beautiful mural work by art teacher Mrs Hockman. Main Street Evergreen will include a "general store" (housing Evergreen's school store), a "cafe" with 3 dining tables, and a "park" with table-top benches. The perfect space for learning and collaborating!
Middle School East: Mrs. Kratz's Digital Literacy classes learned about the history of Giving Tuesday by completing an online fact finding activity. Afterward, they created digital holiday cards using Google Drawing for those living in our local nursing homes.
Evergreen Elementary: After reading the story Balloons Over Broadway by Melissa Sweet, Mrs. Houser's 2nd graders organized a Thanksgiving parade of their own. Each student created a balloon depicting their favorite book characters. The class paraded through the Evergreen halls. Of course, the last balloon was the highly anticipated "Santa" balloon!
Middle School East: Students create challenge maps for the EV3 using poster paper and painters tape in Ms. McGowan’s Tech Ed Robotics and Automation class.
PV High School:November 19, 2021, Take Action, led by Mr. Craven held their annual fundraiser that benefits the Humane Society of the United States. The teachers with the most donations dressed in animal costumes were Mr. Lyons (pig), Mr. Overholtzer (frog), Mr. Pennebacker (turkey), and Sra Dotterer (flamingo). Not photographed: Dr. Gelman was the penguin. Take Action raised $1448 this year, the best yet!. This annual event has raised $4690 over 8 years!
South Elementary: Students and families were invited to shop at the Book Fair during each class's library time as well as during an evening event. The proceeds from the book fair will be used to purchase new books for the school library.
Schwenksville Elementary: Honoring our Veterans! First grade students had the opportunity to learn about Veteran’s Day and they decorated hats to wear at school.
PV High School: The high school art department welcomed, Mr. Mark Gama, PV Alumni, Class of 2012 for their monthly First Friday guest speaker series on October 1, 2021, in the auditorium. Mr. Mark Gama spoke about the importance of not being afraid to fail and how to become an entrepreneur in a creative field.
Middle School West: Seventh grade students in Mr. Sand's music classes were given the opportunity to channel their inner Hendrix by learning the basics of playing the guitar. The lesson included how to hold the instrument, how to strum and pick as well as some basic chords. Who knows? One of our novices could end up being the next Trey Anastasio or John Petrucci!
Evergreen Elementary: The Library offers lessons, book exchange, plus time to relax and recharge. Flexible seating, Creation Station, and "Ride and Read" are among some of the students' favorites.
Skippack Elementary: Our kindergarten classes enjoyed a visit FROM the pumpkin patch this year (instead of traveling TO the pumpkin patch) thanks to the efforts of our Home and School. The students had a blast picking out pumpkins. Along with the pumpkin patch, the kindergarten made ghost houses....Ghosts need a place to call home too. In second grade the students made character pumpkins. Hard work and creativity!
Schwenksville Elementary: Wednesdays are for Wellness! Mr. Bravo, Physical Education Teacher, sets up an after school circuit workout for staff. All staff are encouraged to wear comfortable clothing on Wednesdays and to take a walk during a break or take a walk with their students!
South Elementary: The Trappe Fire Company visited with kindergarten, first, and second grade students in honor of Fire Prevention Month. During the visit the students were able to see a firefighter in full gear, learn about the fire truck, and learn about what to do in case of an emergency at home.
South Elementary: Kindergarten students listen to a read-aloud story from the new Into Reading resource. The story is written in English and Spanish with one teacher reading the English words and another teacher reading the Spanish words.
Evergreen Elementary: Third graders at Evergreen are using a pentatonic scale to create improvisations on pitched percussion instruments. After working on their pieces, the students were able to play them for the class.
Skippack Elementary: Students and staff had a great time at the annual Trunk or Treat night. Our own Mrs. Batka and Ms. McConnell won for best trunk for staff. Lots of fun!
Middle School East: Seventh grade students in Mrs. Anestad's Family & Consumer Science class participated in a food truck competition. Each group selected a muffin recipe to bake and created a food truck to go along with their muffin flavor. Staff came in and voted on their muffins and trucks for taste and creativity. The students did an excellent job and their muffins were delicious!
PV High School: English classes visit the PVHS library for a Get to Know Your Library session with Mrs. Gehman. The students had a blast!
Middle School East: The Scholastic Book Fair has begun and will run through November 8th. Students visit the Book Fair with their ELA classes. This year’s fair has an amazing selection of books!
Middle School East: Mrs. Slomeana's eighth grade students attempted to solve the Mystery Tube by using the design engineering process and scientific method. Many we successful!
Skippack Elementary: Students and staff enjoyed a beautiful Walk-A-Thon day on October 15th. They not only met their goal, but highly exceeded it. Way to Go!
South Elementary: The students and staff participated in a Walk-A-Thon, sponsored by the South Home and School, to raise money for events and activities. Students collected pledges prior to the walk-a-thon and the classes competed to see which class at each grade level walked the furthest.
Middle School West: Students in Mrs. Corr and Mrs. McGuigan's 6th grade science classes explored tectonics plate boundaries this week as part of their Earth History unit. Plate tectonics is a theory in geology that the lithosphere of the earth is divided into a small number of plates which float on and travel independently over the mantle and much of the earth's seismic activity occurs at the boundaries of these plates They modeled each of the three types of boundaries using graham crackers, rice cakes, and icing! Through this exercise, they learned the differences between the boundaries as well as the features they form.
PV High School: Art happening this week at PVHS! Sarah Strausberg, GD 11, Graphic Design I, expanded upon her Cabrini University High School poster contest submission about Community on the exterior wall of our Auditorium.
Middle School West: Sixth grade students in Mr. Zacharias' coding classes explored the world of Ozobots! An Ozobot is a little robot that blends the physical and digital worlds. The system teaches very basic programming as the students code the robots to follow patterns on the surfaces that they roll over. Ozobot can identify lines, colors, motion and codes on both digital surfaces, such as a chromebook, and physical surfaces, such as paper.
Evergreen Elementary: In our engineering unit for science, we are learning about the engineering process. Students conducted trials with paper airplanes prior to researching. Then after a week of researching, watching videos from experts, reading how to articles, they redesigned and retested. By the end of the week, they chose their final paper airplane to fly down the hallway measuring distance in centimeters.
Schwenksville Elementary: Sensory Paths were recently installed and students were excited to try them out Sensory Paths are great for movement breaks as a class or even for an individual student who just needs a moment to refocus. An added bonus is that they are bright and cherry additions to the hallways.
Schwenksville Elementary: Who doesn’t love hands-on science? Mrs. Maxwell’s third graders enjoyed the opportunity to take a brief walk outside for part of their science lesson. They searched for leaves which had already changed colors. Once back in the classroom they learned about why this occurs this time every year.
Elementary: Every 5th grade and Kindergarten student received a new Chromebook as part of the district’s 1 to 1 initiative. The 5th graders were excited to try out their new devices and have been using them daily in their classrooms. Thank you PVSD for these awesome devices!
Schwenksville Elementary: Students in Ms. Marr's second grade class share their All-About-Me Butterflies during meet the teacher night.
Middle School West: Students in Ms. Emers seventh grade science classes took advantage of the beautiful weather today and worked on their lesson in our gorgeous blooming courtyard! The day's assignment was to post their favorite "ology" on the Padlet platform along with an explanation of their choice in a video.
South Elementary: Safety Patrol reporting for duty! Fifth grade students can apply to join the safety patrol. The safety patrol helps by escorting younger students during arrival and dismissal, helping students find their bus, and by modeling and reminding students how to stay safe on the bus. Pictured is the 2021-2022 Safety Patrol reciting the Safety Patrol Pledge during their training meeting.
Evergreen Elementary: Students in Mr. Moore’s 4th grade class enjoyed playing “24” during math time. The class divided into small groups and were challenged to make the number 24, using basic math operations and only the four numbers on each card. Students worked together toward success.
South Elementary: The Principal’s 200 Club is a Tier I school-wide, prevention-focused acknowledgement system. It applies to all students, staff, and settings in the building, and consists of several evidence-based behavior management practices and techniques. Specifically, the incentive program utilizes: 1) verbal praise; 2) public recognition; 3) the Mystery Motivator; 4) a variable reinforcement schedule; and 5) a group contingency.
Evergreen Elementary: Mrs. Robinson’s kindergarten class worked on tangrams, putting different shaped and colored pieces together to make designs or pictures.
Middle School East: Students in Mrs. Slomeana’s 8th grade science classes Saved Fred. Working with a partner, students successfully uprighted Fred's Boat, put on his life preserver, and got him back in the boat. Most were able to do this while not harming Fred and using only 1 paperclip. Some pairs needed 2 paperclips and that was okay. We all might need different tools to be successful. Teamwork, communication skills, and perseverance were the highlights of the day!
Skippack Elementary: Skippack shows support by wearing gold on Fridays throughout the month of September.
Schwenksville Elementary: Kind Kid of the Day! Teachers are on the lookout for students exhibiting kindness.
Skippack Elementary: Students in Mrs. Grisdale's first grade class learned about fall and apples. After reading Ten Apples Up On Top by Dr. Seuss, students were challenged to build an apple tree that could balance ten apples on top.
Middle School East: Seventh grade FCS students use their sewing skills to recreate and stitch mini emojis.
PV High School: Our Retro Robotics Team 7114, competes each year in the FIRST robotics competition. We get a new challenge each January and have six weeks to build a robot. This is last year's robot, Pacman, which has 10 motors, a pneumatic front intake, and two computers.
PV High School: Key Club participates in the Perkiomen Valley Watershed Conservancy's Ida Clean-Up Day.
Middle School West: Students in Ms. DiCicco's eighth grade art classes are working on a hand-built clay technique known as slab-construction. This is an additive sculptural method with many labor-intensive phases. Currently, they are in the first phase known as Greenware, where they are working with soft clay (plastic) and assembling a vase form. Designs will then be added, both three-dimensional and carved.