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Although the calendar may not officially say it, summer is technically over now that school has started. This summer definitely had its fair share of interesting moments, none of which were more surreal than the tornado touching down in our communities. That experience prompted us at PMHS to reevaluate our emergency plan as well as examine our own course of action during emergency and/or disaster situations.
Here is some important information for you and your child(ren) to know regarding the PMHS Emergency Plan. Please understand that I am purposely not going into the details of our Plan, but instead, simply want you to know that we have made preparations to respond swiftly and effectively in the event something should occur. Our detailed emergency plan has been formulated to respond to a large or small emergency and includes evacuation to an off-site location. This Plan was developed in conjunction with local emergency management teams as well as the fire and police departments.
Please be assured that your child’s safety is of the utmost importance to all of us at PMHS. Our staff is trained to respond to emergency situations in a calm, reassuring manner as we regularly practice necessary and appropriate drills. You can help us in an emergency situation by following the guidelines outlined below. I recognize some of these requests are difficult and may seem impractical for us to ask of you; however, I’ll try to explain the justification for such requests.
- Do NOT telephone the school. Keep in mind that our telephone lines may be needed for emergency communication with police, fire, and other emergency personnel.
- Do NOT come to the school until requested. During an emergency, access to the school must be kept clear for emergency vehicles. Coming to the school during an emergency situation may hinder our response effort and jeopardize peoples’ safety.
Do NOT call your child’s cell phone. Please realize that cell phone connections can create unsafe
electrical charges (in the case of a bomb threat). Plus, conflicting and unconfirmed information is better left to be sorted out by those in charge.
Please join our effort to impress upon your child the need for them to follow the directions of any school personnel in times of an emergency.
The decision to keep students at school or at an off-site location will be based upon recommendations from our local responders. In the event our students are evacuated to an off-site location and we have received permission to dismiss them, we will release students to parents or persons you have specified on the emergency form you filled out (or are in the process of) during the first week of school. In such a situation, you should expect our dismissal process to be tightened up to ensure student safety. Please be patient if staff members ask you to show some form of identification or if you have to wait a few extra minutes. Although we do not anticipate emergency situations, we do believe that planning ahead will help alleviate additional stresses and concerns, and as the saying goes: “We hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.”
Not to get too far ahead of myself, but I do want to make a plug for the October 2nd Back to School Night. (I’m not sure you’ll receive the October newsletter in time.) Back to School Night is an opportunity for you to explore the building and experience your child’s daily events. You will have the opportunity to meet the administration as well as all of your child’s teachers. When you arrive that evening, we will supply you with your child’s schedule and even provide you with some free entertainment courtesy of the PMHS music department. You’ll spend the rest of the evening traveling from classroom to classroom learning about your child’s courses. Back to School Night is a great opportunity for you to see what goes on here at PMHS and it is equally important that we have the opportunity to meet you.
And lastly, with the apparent threat of EEE (Eastern Equine Encephalitis) and West Nile Virus I want to let you know that we are taking certain precautions in order to protect our students against these diseases. Although the risk of mosquito bites is extremely low during normal school hours, all students participating in school events outside of the building will have bug spray (containing DEET) available to them. If you prefer that your child not use this product please provide him/her with their own bug spray. Along with using bug spray everyone is encouraged to wear long pants and long sleeves when participating in activities outside of the building especially at sporting events that take place at or close to dusk, which is when mosquitoes are most active. Though there is no guarantee that your child won’t get bitten by mosquitoes; however, reasonable precautions should be taken and discussed with your child. Thanks for your cooperation.
If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me. I can be reached at 875-8800 or at jfitzpatrick@pmhschool.com and don’t forget to check out the school’s Website at www.pmhschool.com for other important dates and notices.
PMHS received its 2008 Advanced Placement (AP) scores and is proud to announce that:
US History: 45% of students who took the exam received college credit.
Art – Drawing: 100% of students who took the exam received college credit with one student earning a perfect score.
English Lit/Composition: 62% of students who took the exam received college credit with one student earning a perfect score.
Chemistry: 100% of students who took the exam received college credit with three students earning a perfect score.
Calculus: 86% of students received college credit with two students earning a perfect score.
Congratulations on a job well done. Kudos to all students who work hard in AP courses. Your success in these challenging classes is a positive reflection on PMHS and we are proud of you!
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