Due to the State of Emergency issued by our Governor and continued weather warnings, all Preston County Schools and County Offices will be closed tomorrow, Monday, January 6th. All employees, including 240 employees, do not report. Maintenance workers need to contact their supervisor, Mr. Murray, for further instructions. The faculty senate representative meeting will be rescheduled. All students do not report, and all scheduled extra-curricular activities, games and practices are postponed and/or cancelled. The Science Fair scheduled for Wednesday, January 8th has been rescheduled to Thursday the 9th. Project set up will be on Wednesday at the Kingwood Volunteer Fire Department Community Building from 5-7 pm. Judging will take place on Thursday during the school day, with project viewing from 5-7pm with the award presentation following at 7pm. Thank you. Stay safe and stay warm.
KES Staff and Families: PTA is scheduled to meet tomorrow, Monday, January 6th, at 6PM in the library. Hope to see you there!
Kingwood Elementary's Winter Break Reading Challenge: We’re TWO WEEKS in, and as of today, SECOND GRADE remains in the lead with 425 MINUTES LOGGED in Beanstack! They are on their way to earning a snowball celebration later this month!
All Saturday, January 4th extra-curricular activities have been cancelled due to inclement weather and continued warning in effect through tomorrow. This includes all games at PHS tomorrow, practices and wrestling. Again, all Preston County School events are cancelled tomorrow and games will try to be rescheduled.
Winter is HERE. With current conditions, more advisories and warnings to come, and just being in WV from January - March, be sure to know where to find 'Brain Freeze' and alternative bus routes information. All info can be found at the banners on the PCS homepage and the links below. School closings, delays and brain freeze (non-traditional) can all be found at https://wveis.k12.wv.us/closings/?text=1 or on our Facebook Page, App, or through calls, texts, and/or emails. If you're not receiving calls, please contact Justin Hough at jhough@k12.wv.us with your contact information.
Brain Freeze - https://core-docs.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/documents/asset/uploaded_file/1803968/What_is_a_Brain_Freeze_School_Day_24_25.pdf
Alternative Bus Routes - https://core-docs.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/documents/asset/uploaded_file/2073/PCS/5050384/2425_WINTER_ALTERNATIVE_STOP_SCHEDULES.pdf
The application for Virtual School for grades 6-12 is now open for the second semester, and will remain open until January 31st. PCS Virtual Option is only available for students in grades 6-12. If you have any questions, please reach out to Mrs. Dani Kelley at drkelley@k12.wv.us, or 304-329-0580 x228. The application can be found on the banner on the PCS homepage, or at https://www.prestoncountyschools.com/documents/parents%2Fstudents/virtual-school/221878
If staff or students completed the December Wellness Challenges, the links are now active again and listed below for you to certify your completion for the month. Please do so by Wednesday, January 8th, and winners will be announced on the 10th.
Staff - https://forms.office.com/r/zKVVrZZqPV
Student - https://forms.office.com/r/MfD3hzbR3s
Due to the pending weather and most recent weather alerts from FEMA and the National Weather Service, all practices and extracurricular activities including the high school away games at Keyser will be cancelled for tomorrow, Friday, January 3rd. Tonight's middle school contest at Aurora is still on. Decisions on Saturday's games will be made by 8 AM Saturday morning, with start times being adjusted for West versus Bruceton beginning no earlier than noon. Again, all activities tomorrow are cancelled and Saturday's are pending.
Preston County Schools will always view our community families and our students as part of the PCS family, and tragically, we lost an incredible young man and student athlete. The Preston Mat Club will be holding a candlelight vigil in honor of Lane's life, on and off the mat, and will be celebrating his life tomorrow, the 1st of January, from 3:30-4:15 for Mat Club members only, then anyone who wishes to pay their respects and grieve, remember and honor together from 4:15 on at the Mat Club Wrestling Barn by PHS. We don't have the words for this loss, but our love, thoughts and prayers go out to his family, friends, teammates, classmates, teachers and all who are affected by his passing. Again, please join us in remembering Lane at 4:15 tomorrow at the Mat Club.
Kingwood Elementary’s Winter Reading Challenge: We’re ONE WEEK in, and as of today, SECOND GRADE is in the lead with 175 MINUTES LOGGED in Beanstack and on their way to earning a snowball celebration in January! Keep on reading because PRE-K isn’t too far behind with 133 MINUTES! The challenge ends January 8th.
From all of us here at Preston County Schools and our family to yours, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Holidays, and a Happy New Year!!! Can't wait to see our students back in 2025!
Exciting Winter Break Reading Challenge: Battle of the Grades!
Attention all PreK-4 students! Get ready for an epic adventure as we kick off our Winter Break Reading Challenge! This is your chance to embark on a reading quest and compete against your fellow grades to see who can read the most minutes during the holiday season!
Challenge Details:
• Objective: Track your reading minutes from December 21st to January 8th, as each grade level (PreK, K, 1, 2, 3, and 4) battles it out for the title of Reading Champions!
• Who Can Participate: All students in PreK through 4th grade are invited to join the excitement!
• Tracking Minutes: Log into Clever and log minutes in Beanstack! See attached flier for directions on how to log reading in Beanstack! Whether it's a storybook, chapter book, audio book, or any reading material, every minute counts!
• Submission: Make sure all minutes are logged in Beanstack by January 8th.
• Competition: The grade level with the highest total reading minutes will emerge victorious and claim the title of Ultimate Reading Champions!
Prizes: The winning grade will be treated to a spectacular snowball party/celebration in January!
Get Ready to Read: So, gather your favorite books, cozy up in your reading nook, and let the reading marathon begin! Let’s turn Winter Break into a thrilling adventure filled with stories, excitement, and friendly competition. May the best grade win! Happy reading! 📚✨
From our Director of Attendance and Student Support Services, Mrs. Zofchak and her entire team:
Families, during the 2024-25 winter break from school, we are grateful to everyone for helping to restore a routine for showing up to school while supporting students and families. We hope everyone has a safe, healthy and Happy Holidays.
Good evening Preston County. Just a reminder that tomorrow, Friday the 20th is a 2 hour early out. This begins our holiday break, with students being off through January 3rd, returning Monday January 6th, and all non 240 day staff off through the 2nd, returning on the 3rd for a Professional Day. Happy Holidays.
Miss Barlow and all students at Kingwood Elementary put on a magical show this morning at the Craig Civic Center during our annual Christmas program! Kingwood Elementary would like to extend a warm “thank you” to all volunteers and community members who turned out to support our students and help us celebrate the holiday season!
This week, ALL Preston County Students will be bringing home a bag of 8-10 apples, courtesy of Kilmer's Farm Market, WV Harvest and the WV Dept. of Ag. as part of their 2024 Apple-achia Giveaway. This morning, 14 pallets loaded with WV Grown Apples were delivered to Central Preston to be distributed out to all schools this week. PCS appreciates the generous donation this holiday season from Kilmer's and WV Harvest, and we hope that an apple a day over the holidays keeps the doctor away for an enjoyable holiday break for all. Special thanks to all of our staff who have volunteered their time and efforts to get these apples distributed to our schools and students.
🌟 December Beanstack Update: We're thrilled to see more participation in our goal of reading across the county! 📖✨ Have you logged your reading into Beanstack yet? Let us know how many books you've read this month! # PCSREADS
Preston County Schools is now accepting applications for 2025-2026 Pre-K and Kindergarten programs.
Pre-K Registration will be held Friday, January 17, 2025, from 9:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m. at Aurora, Bruceton, Kingwood Elementary, South Preston, Terra Alta/East Preston, and West Preston Schools.
Kindergarten registration will be held Friday, January 17, 2025, from 9:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m. at Aurora, Bruceton, Kingwood Elementary, South Preston, Terra Alta/East Preston, and West Preston Schools.
Applications can be found on the Preston County Schools website (https://5il.co/13eqv) and dropped off at one of the schools listed above. If you need a paper copy, it is available at the schools to pick up, complete and return to the school. The following information will need to be provided:
· completed preschool application
· copy of the child’s birth certificate from the Office of Vital Statistics
· immunization records
· completed well-child visit form
· dental check form
To register for PreK you need to be 4 years old by July 1. (No Exceptions) To register for kindergarten you need to be 5 years old by July 1. If you are registering a Kindergarten student and they are already enrolled in a Preston County PreK then you DO NOT have to register them for kindergarten. The ONLY EXCEPTION is if you are transferring schools.
KES Families: We are experiencing technical difficulties with our phone system. If you cannot reach us by phone at 304-329-1034, please contact your child’s teacher through SeeSaw, Schoology, text message or email. Our secretary can be reached at kimberly.lansberry@k12.wv.us and our principal at speaslee@k12.wv.us.
Friday's lunch menu will be cook's choice: chicken alfredo, steamed carrots, garden salad, breadstick, fruit, milk.
