Welcome to Pleasant Valley School
Welcome to the Pleasant Valley School website. Our school provides learning opportunities for students founded on the belief that children learn best through interactive, personally relevant and rigorous learning experiences. We also believe children learn best in a caring, inclusive and respectful environment. Our school provides a rigorous curriculum in the arts, language arts, mathematics, science and social studies within an environment respecting all learners. We welcome and value students and families from all walks of life and embrace the diversity they bring to our school community.
In 2009 we celebrated our 50th anniversary, culminating in an end-of-year event in which members of the Pleasant Valley community from 1958 to the present came together to honor the school. Principals, faculty members, students and families from the last 50 years gathered to celebrate the past and look forward to the future on a day honored by Governor Rell as “Pleasant Valley School Day.”
This year we enter our 11th year as a Higher Order Thinking (H.O.T.) School, sponsored by the Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism, Arts Division. As a H.O.T. School, we are committed to arts integration, strong arts and democratic practice. Throughout the year, students have opportunities to work with master teaching artists from all over Connecticut in the areas of theater, music, visual arts and dance.
A significant part of developing democratic practice is our work with the Tribes Learning Communities (Tribes TLCÒ) developed by Jeanne Gibbs. The mission of the Tribes process is “to assure the healthy development of every child so that each has the knowledge, skills, and resiliency to be successful in a rapidly changing world.” This process explicitly teaches social and emotional skills and helps us develop a strong community.
Students also have opportunities to serve on our Editorial Board to review and share student writing, and on our Art Board to review and share student artwork. Students in 3rd, 4th and 5th grade also practice and demonstrate leadership skills by representing their peers on our Student Council. Music is an important part of our school as well. All our 4th and 5th grade students participate in a choral music program, and over 75 students take instrumental music lessons and participate in a band or orchestra. Our musicians demonstrate their learning in grand fashion twice a year at our Winter and Spring Concerts.
Our Parent Teacher Organization (P.T.O.) continues to be an active and vital part of our school community. Our P.T.O. organized many committees this year to raise money, support school initiatives, and build strong partnerships committed to student achievement. Our P.T.O. supports initiatives such as the Holiday Gift Wrap Drive, Pasta Dinner Night, Turkey Toy Bingo, the Read-at-Home Program and our student Literary Magazine. Please contact our P.T.O. President, Lynn Nochisaki at Lynnie7@cox.net to get involved!
Please check in to our website regularly for school information. We publish our newsletter, Panther Points, each week to the website to keep our community informed. The calendar that appears to the right shows upcoming events at the school.
Sincerely,
Michael Seal, Principal
