Principal's Newsletter Patton Middle School - March 7, 2022

I also want to thank our students for the smooth transition of moving all students to the cafeteria for lunches when we closed the auxiliary gym on Tuesday. We also added five additional minutes to recess and eliminated backpacks in the cafeteria. Our students did not miss a beat, and I am happy to announce that most of our students are taking advantage of the opportunity to go outside for recess. We are seeing the numbers increase significantly with the onset of warmer temperatures. There is one more change coming. Starting today, students will no longer be permitted to carry backpacks during the day. This change will help decongest our hallways and stairwells and make our transitions smoother and safer. Following are a few reminders about course selection for our current 6th and 7th-grade students for the next school year. These dates do not apply to our current 8th-grade students.

• Monday, March 7th - Course Selection Presentation for students during Hawk Time
• Wednesday, March 9th - Course Selection Night Webinar for parents at 7 pm (see info below to register)
• Thursday, March 10th - Thursday, March 24th - Course selection screens open on PowerSchool for students to select courses
• Week of April 25th - Course verifications will be emailed to parents

Please click on this link to register if you would like to attend our course selection webinar for parents on Wednesday, March 9th at 7 pm . We will record the webinar and post it on the Patton website for parents who cannot attend. Please let our Assistant Principal, Ms. Jess Knier, know if you have any questions.

At the Chester County Middle School Wrestling Tournament on February 5, 12 wrestlers on the Patton Middle School Wrestling Team scored at least one win. For 10 of those wrestlers, it was the finale of their first season of competitive wrestling. One wrestler, seventh-grader Finley Lombardo, won four matches to place third. Five wrestlers had winning records for the season, four of whom were first-time wrestlers.

We handed out this attached letter during a meeting for all 6th-grade athletes interested in our 6th-grade Sports and Conditioning Program. If you have any questions regarding physicals or FamilyID registration, please email Mrs. Walsh-Shell at kwalshshell@ucfsd.net.

Have a great week! GO HAWKS!

Steve Dissinger, CFPMS Principal

Weekly News

Yearbook: Pictures, Please!!

We need pictures for this year’s Patton yearbook! If you have attended or are going to attend your child’s sports games or events and take pictures we could use in our yearbook, please send them to Mrs. Malone at cmalone@ucfsd.net to have them featured in this year’s yearbook. We are specifically looking for pictures from: ice hockey, wrestling, field hockey, academic competitions, orchestra, and chorus. Thanks!

The Patton MS yearbook is a one of a kind publication. It’s a limited edition collection of pictures and events from the school year. Make sure your student doesn’t miss out on remembering and sharing this special time in their lives with their classmates for years to come. The 2022 Yearbook will be delivered in June. The cost of the yearbook is $40.00. You can place an order in one of the following ways: Order online at www.sscyearbooks.com OR print out and fill out the attached order form and mail your completed order form directly to Student Services Company (address on order form) OR fax it directly to Student Services Company at 610.539.6530 OR call your order in by dialing Student Services directly at 610.539.1330. The yearbook staff is working hard to put together a great book- so don’t delay, and purchase your yearbook today!!

Helping Hawks Service Club

Do you like to help others? Are you looking for a fun new after school activity? Want a chance to hang out with friends or meet some new ones while also helping the Unionville community? Join the new "Helping Hawks" Service Club! This fun new club is open to all Patton students and will meet after school in the cafeteria every Monday and Wednesday (this way you can still go to Hawk's Nest on Tuesdays and Thursdays!). Our first interest meeting will be on Monday March 14th from 3-4:15. Make sure you have a ride home afterward, and come check out this awesome new opportunity!

Fly Over to Hawks Nest!

You haven’t been to Hawk’s Nest yet! What are you waiting for? Hawk’s Nest is a flexible learning center designed as an area where you can get your homework done, study with friends, work on projects, or get help from a tutor. Speaking of tutors! If you are looking for help, High School National Honor Society members are available for tutoring - fill out the form on the Hawk’s Nest webpage to be paired with a tutor. Additionally, if you have a strength in one or more subjects, you could be a Patton Peer Tutor! Do you help you friends with their homework, are you always helping with Get More Math? Your skills are important and needed! All 6th, 7th, and 8th graders are eligible to be tutors. Complete the Peer Tutoring Application on the Hawk’s Nest Website, or get a paper copy from Mrs. Palic or your Team Leader, and return it to Mrs. Palic (room 227).

Patton is thrilled to be welcoming a third visiting author, Linda Sue Park, to our school on April 4th. In preparation for Ms. Park's visit, Patton's library recently purchased many new copies of Linda Sue Park books for our students to check out and read prior to the author visit. In addition, there are ebook and audiobook copies of Ms. Park's books available on MackinVia. Please encourage your child to read at least one Linda Sue Park book prior to April 4th. Doing so will help your student to get the most of Ms. Park's visit.

Coffee Wednesday is back!!!

This past Wednesday, our Patton life skills class enjoyed brewing, blending and stirring up coffee drinks for our amazing Patton staff #PattonProud

Counselors Corner

National School Social Worker Week

This week is National School Social Worker Week. We would like to take the time to recognize our wonderful School Social worker, Regina Gaffney. Ms. Gaffney joined Patton’s Behavioral Health Team this year and has been an outstanding addition to our team. We are so lucky to have her at our school. Thank you, Ms. Gaffney for all that you do!

Self-Care Drawing Contest - EXTENDED!

The Behavioral Health Team has received several beautiful submissions for the "Self-Care Drawing Contest," but we would like even more. The deadline to submit your artwork to the counseling suite has been extended until Friday, March 11. The winner will receive a self-care gift basket, but all entries will be displayed on the bulletin board outside of the counseling suite.

Resources

National Eating Disorders Awareness Week was recognized last month. To help raise awareness about this issue, we are sharing the following article with you: What is an Eating Disorder and When to Worry, from the Child Mind Institute.

In addition, as we continue to support social-emotional learning (SEL) for our students with our weekly SEL lessons, we recognize that most SEL happens at home. This article, How Parents Can Support Emotional Regulation for Kids and Teens, is a good refresher for parents on how to help kids recognize and deal with their own emotions.

PTO News

The Patton Carnival is Back!

Save the date for Friday, May 6th for the Patton Spring Carnival!

We are thrilled to be able to bring back this long standing tradition after having to put the event on hold the past two years due to Covid. There is fun for all ages, and it's also our largest fund raiser of the year, allowing us to support exciting enrichment initiatives at the school.

If you're interested in getting involved, reach out to us at cfpmspto@ucfsd.net as we're putting together our list of volunteer positions and would be delighted to hear from you. We need lots of help to make this the best Carnival yet!

HERSHEY PARK Ticket Sales

Get Hersheypark Happy at a huge discount & support your school! The Patton PTO is selling discounted tickets now through April 8th. Save on parking, meals, and snacks too! Get more information and purchase tickets here.

Spirit Wear!

New item! Corral your stuff and show your #PattonPride with a Patton Hawks drawstring bag. Now available in the Spirit Wear store & just $10!