Pembroke Community Middle School

Picture Retake Day will be on Wednesday, October 28. Online orders for pictures can be placed at www.coffeepond.com.

Families can still order online with no handling fee until 09/16.

The student portrait packages will be mailed to the school within 3-5 weeks after picture day.

If families have questions regarding portraits, payments, or ordering, please direct them to our Custom Care department! They can contact them at Lifeguards@coffeepond.com or 508-907-6633 ext. 0.

Dear Parents/Guardians of 7th & 8th Grade Students,

Our annual health screenings will take place during the last week of October and first week of November.

As required by Massachusetts General Law, Chapter 71, these screenings are conducted each year to help identify concerns related to vision, hearing, and early signs of spinal issues. Screenings are conducted separately, and student privacy is always respected. Only unusual findings will be shared with parents/guardians.

If your child is already under the care of a physician for a spinal condition, please notify the school nurse.

Screenings by grade level:

• 7th Grade: Height, weight, vision, hearing, and postural

• 8th Grade: Postural

For more information, you may visit: Massachusetts School Health Screenings.

If you do not wish for your child to participate, please complete and return the Opt-Out Form no later than October 19th.

Thank you for your cooperation in helping us support your child’s health and well-being!

Sincerely,

Valerie Phillips, RN, BSN

We’re proud to introduce the Pembroke Public Schools Strategic Plan, a roadmap that will guide our priorities and work in the years ahead.

Created with input from our students, families, educators, staff, community partners, and School Committee, the plan reflects what matters most to our community—and where we see opportunities to grow.

Our focus is simple: helping every student thrive. We’ll continue working to strengthen academic outcomes while fostering curiosity, creativity, resilience, belonging, and meaningful support for every learner.

This plan is a living framework that will grow and evolve with our schools and community.

We’re excited for what’s ahead and grateful to everyone who helped shape this vision for the future of Pembroke Public Schools.

Explore the Strategic Plan: https://www.pembrokek12.org/district/strategic-planning/strategic-plan

PCMS is implementing a new program this year, called Raise the Standard, noting when students have made a positive difference in the lives of others or in our school culture.

Raise the Standard

This program shifts the focus from simply following rules to exceeding them. Instead of asking, "Did I do what was expected?" students are encouraged to ask, "How can I make today better for someone else?"

At PCMS, students don't just meet expectations—they raise the standard through kindness, leadership, responsibility, and service. Every positive action helps create a stronger school community.

At PCMS, we challenge ourselves to go beyond what is expected. We choose kindness, lead by example, take responsibility, and inspire others to raise the standard every day.

Students can earn a ticket from a staff member for a variety of ideas (see possible ideas from our core values). Staff would give students a ticket and then send an email home letting the parents know that their child had “Raised the Standard at PCMS” and explain what they got the ticket for.

Students bring the ticket to the office for a chance to win a $10 GC. Each week a student's name will be drawn from all the students who were recognized for exceeding the standard and the “winner” of the GC will be announced. All of the tickets/names will be saved from the whole term for another chance to win a $20 GC.

This week’s gift card winner was Fergus Rand, nominated by Ms. DeBellis. Well Done, Fergus!

Students can be recognized for demonstrating one or more of the following:

⭐ Lead

• Takes initiative

• Solves problems

• Sets a positive example

⭐ Serve

• Helps classmates

• Assists staff

• Volunteers without being asked

⭐ Respect

• Treats everyone with kindness

• Uses respectful language

• Includes others

⭐ Grow

• Shows perseverance

• Learns from mistakes

• Demonstrates a growth mindset

⭐ Inspire

• Encourages others

• Builds school pride

• Makes PCMS a better place

Mrs. Fitzwilliam and Ms. Liakos updating our “Raise the Standard” bulletin board which celebrates all the great things our students are doing this year. Only 30 days into the school year and we have already witnessed 161 examples of our students raising the standards and exceeding expectations!

Our first meeting of the year will be September 28 at 6pm in the library of the middle school.

All are welcome to attend and learn more about PCMS and how to help our staff and students have a great year!

We hope to see you there!

Here is a link where you will find PCMS course descriptions:

PCMS Program of Studies 2026-2027

Here is a link to the 2026-2027 PCMS Student Handbook.

Almost all of our school communications will be managed electronically. You should already be signed up to automatically receive our E-News through the registration process. We also recommend you ‘like’ our Facebook page (Pembroke Community Middle School News).

PowerSchool and Google Classroom are the two primary programs that are used at PCMS. Below are two brief descriptions of the differences between the two.

PowerSchool is our student information system. This program has increased functionality once a student enters 7th grade. Through this program, parents and students can access attendance information, schedule information, current grades and forecasted assignments. If you hit on the cumulative grade within a specific class, a different screen will open that will provide more detailed information on the grade breakdown. Parents can also set up their account preferences to receive automatic reports (e.g., daily/weekly/monthly) emailed to them. Here is the Parent PowerSchool login link & tutorial

Google Classroom: This software has more course-specific information. Assignments, instructions and other class-based announcements are posted here. There are no grades. Most parents are probably already very familiar with Google Classroom from the last few years. Most teachers will have already sent invites out to parents, using the primary email you have listed in PowerSchool. If you haven’t yet been invited to join your child’s classrooms, just send the teachers an email.

PCMS runs a 6-day, 7 period schedule. We start the year on a ‘Day 1’ and then the days move consecutively from there. Here is a link to the schedule of PCMS Days for the full year: 26.27 PCMS DAY SCHEDULE

PCMS FRONT OFFICE STAFF:

Mrs. Alicia Clancy is our front office secretary. She can be reached at alicia.clancy@pembrokek12.org

Mrs. Michelle Alfano is the front office clerical paraprofessional. She can be reached at michelle.alfano@pembrokek12.org

Email: donna.mcgarrigle@pembrokek12.org
Website: www.pembrokek12.org
Location: 559 School Street, Pembroke, MA, USA
Phone: 781-293-8627
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PembrokeCommunityMiddleSchool
Twitter: @PemSch_news