Pettisville Schools -

REMINDER: School pictures are this week! PES: Preschool - 6th grade - Thursday, August 24 PJHHS: 7th-12th grade - Friday, August 25 Make-up photos will be Monday, August 28

Thank you to everyone that has volunteered shifts at the 2023 Pettisville Music Boosters Fair Booth. Parents and community members: we still need help, especially Sept 6-7. https://signup.com/go/ORJYdJy Thank you for supporting all of our Blackbird students!

Pettisville Schools is looking for a full-time teacher's aide. Please visit our Job Opportunities webpage for details, or to apply: https://www.pettisvilleschools.org/page/job-opportunities

Order a Blackbird yard sign to showcase your school spirit, honor your student-athlete, and support the PHS Cheer team. Order form and additional details on the Athletic Links webpage: https://www.pettisvilleschools.org/page/athletic-links #BlackbirdPride

The 2023-2024 school calendar has been amended to include a full-day teacher in-service on Wednesday, May 8, 2024. Students will NOT have school on May 8, 2024. https://www.pettisvilleschools.org/page/academic-cal

Student Chromebooks have been re-activated. Please remember to charge them so you have a functioning Chromebook for the first day of school! See you soon, Blackbirds!

⚽️Pettisville Soccer opens up the season tonight vs. Genoa starting at 5:30 pm at Pettisville. Ticket prices are $7 for adults and $5 for students. Good Luck Blackbirds!

The August lunch menu has been posted. https://www.pettisvilleschools.org/page/cafe The Blackbird Cafe staff can't wait to serve our students! What meal did you miss the most?

Thank you to all of our parents and community members who set up the booth for the Fulton Co. Fair. Thank you to JT Powerwashing for helping get the booth clean! Sign-up shifts are still available: https://signup.com/client/invitation2/secure/553695242084/false#/invitation

Pettisville Community, I hope this message finds you well as the calendar has flipped to August, and we once again look forward to all of our Blackbirds returning to school! Increased state aid for school safety measures has brought some cosmetic, structural, technological, and personnel changes to Pettisville Schools. You may have noticed the window decals that have been placed on district windows and doors. These serve to decrease, and, in many instances, eliminate, clear vision into the building, classrooms, and other high-traffic areas in the district. Additionally, over forty more floor locks have been installed, multiple security cameras have been purchased, external lighting is being evaluated, and a new electronic system to check-in and monitor who is in the building has been installed and implemented. Last school year, Governor DeWine allocated funds to Ohio school districts to be used to hire school resource officers, and Pettisville Schools, in partnership with the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office, is pleased to have Deputy Steve Schlosser on campus every day beginning this school year. With his expertise, Deputy Schlosser will be instrumental in helping to assess district safety vulnerabilities, and will have an important role in the drafting and certification of the district safety plan. These are just a few of the school safety measures that have been implemented, with more to come. As we evaluate the safety measures being implemented, and as the state continues to allocate funding to assist with such initiatives, it is imperative that we take a hard look at some of the district’s practices and procedures. And with any kind of introspection comes some things that we don’t necessarily want to change, but need to change for the safety of our students. One of these practices is our open lunch policy. Pettisville Schools is one of a handful of districts throughout the state that have continued to allow high school students to leave campus for lunch. Starting this school year, Pettisville Schools will no longer allow students to leave campus for lunch. This decision has not been an easy one, as I understand open lunch has been a Pettisville tradition. However, we unfortunately live in a society that is much different than when a lot of us grew up. This decision is not being made because our students did anything wrong, or because there was a student-related incident that led us to reevaluate the policy. I maintain that we have some of the best students in the state. Rather, the decision to close open lunches is one borne out of state school safety initiatives and from reevaluating our district safety plan. If we are truly making our district safer by making cosmetic, structural, technological, and personnel changes (student resource officer), we need to make sure we are doing them with the whole day in mind, with our lunches as part of the rule, not the exception. High school students will still be allowed to eat outside at picnic tables and in designated areas. In fact, we have recently purchased more picnic tables for students to enjoy the weather outside while they eat. Thank you for your understanding and for your continued support! I am looking forward to a great school year! Yours in education and community, Josh Clark Superintendent

Our Blackbird soccer team KICKS-off Friday, August 11th. Fall concession sign-up links: Volleyball: https://signup.com/go/mAuMKWu Soccer: https://signup.com/go/WweEGEy You do not need to have a student involved in these sports to sign up! Thanks for your support.

Please give a big Blackbird welcome to our new Student Resource Officer (SRO) Officer Steve Schlossler! Officer Schlossler comes to Pettisville through a partnership with the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office, and will be in the district each and every school day! Welcome to Pettisville Officer Schlossler

The PowerSchool portal will be opened on Wednesday, August 2, at 9:00 a.m. so students may view their schedules. Additionally, Ohio's tax-free weekend is August 4-6. See you soon, Blackbirds!

Concession sign-up for the fall sports season is live. https://www.pettisvilleschools.org/page/concessions It won't be long until we're cheering on the Blackbirds on the court/fields again! Thanks for your support.

The Pettisville Schools Board of Education will hold a special board meeting on Friday, July 21, 2023, at 7:00 a.m. in the main conference room. This meeting will be to approve personnel matters and other business the Board considers necessary to transact. Action will be taken.

Registration is open. Please consider signing up for a shift at the Music Boosters tent at the Fulton County Fair! 🎶 🎡 🌭 🍭 🥧 🍔 🐄 🐖 🐓 🐇 https://signup.com/go/ORJYdJy

GOOD LUCK to all of our Community Rec teams this week in tournament games! Let's go, Blackbirds!

Pettisville Schools is looking for two long-term substitute positions: K-6 Intervention Specialist and 7-12 Intervention Specialist. Please visit our Job Opportunities webpage for details, or to apply: https://www.pettisvilleschools.org/page/job-opportunities

The Board of Education will hold a special meeting on Monday, July 3rd at 7:00 AM. This meeting is open to the public.

A mentor can be described or defined as a counselor, advisor, coach, or even a role model. We are fortunate at PES to have many volunteers to fulfill the mentor role.  Our mentors take their role to the next level empowering our students, and understanding their fears and aspiration while acting as an advocate to support them on the road to success. They help with math, reading, science, and so forth, but the best thing they do for our kids is to build a trusting relationship that there is another person who cares for them to succeed. Thank you to our 2022-23 mentors for the positive influences you make in our students’ lives!