Penderlea School

🚍 Help Us Prepare for 2025-26 Bus Routes! 🚍 The Pender County Schools Transportation Department is gearing up for the next school year, and we need YOUR help to ensure accurate bus assignments! 📢 Important Steps for Parents/Guardians: ✅ Check your child’s Parent Letter for their current bus stop details. ✅ If there are NO changes, return the form with all “YES”s circled by April 16, 2025. ✅ If changes are needed, update your info using the Student Ridership Survey (https://bit.ly/4lb0ZLF) by April 16, 2025. ⏳ Deadline Reminders: 🔹 Schools must update all transportation data in Infinite Campus by May 9, 2025. 🔹 The Google Form will NOT reopen during summer – all new student transportation requests will go through Infinite Campus. 📌 Let’s work together to ensure every PCS student has the right bus assignment on day one!

Congratulations, Ms. Gurganus! You are the 2024-2025 Teacher of the Year! All of your hard work is appreciated!

Congratulations to our top 4 nominees for Teacher of the Year! They are Ms. Aluise, Mr. Black, Ms. Finn, and Ms. Gurganus.

📣 March is Social Work Month! 🎉 Meet Ashanti Craine, one of our incredible school social workers! Ms. Craine has nearly a decade of experience in social work and has worked across multiple states in youth shelters, domestic violence shelters, and child protective services. For almost a year, she has been proudly serving as a School Social Worker in Pender County, focusing on prevention and mentoring students and families. ✨"One of my proudest accomplishments has been helping four students graduate when they were on the verge of quitting—an achievement that reaffirms my passion for this work every day." 🎉 Fun Fact: Ms. Craine once flew on an Army C-5 airplane to the small town of Battle, Alaska, where the sun doesn’t rise for months during the “dark season”! Join us in thanking Ms. Craine and all our amazing school social workers for their dedication! 💙👏

This Week's Word of the Week is CONTRIBUTE. Contribute means to help to cause or bring about. See how many times you can use the word at home with your students. #PenderleaIsThePlaceToBe #OnePender #WestsideRising #ExperienceTheExcellence

🗓️ Mark your calendars! 🗓️ ⚾️ 🏐 ⚾️ 🏐 We are gearing up for our spring sports games to begin! When we return on Monday, we will also host our first home volleyball game! See you in the stands, Hornet Nation! 🐝 #feelthesting #onepender #westsiderising

Join us for an informative session on the consequences and health effects of substance use, including its impact on adolescent brain development and the increased risk of addiction. This session, presented by the Poe Center, will cover: ✅ The latest research on youth substance use ✅ Risk factors & protective measures ✅ Strategies to empower youth in making healthy choices ✅ Tools & resources for ongoing conversations 📅 March 26 | 6:00-7:30 PM | Heide Trask High School 📅 March 27 | 6:00-7:30 PM | Topsail High School Let’s work together to educate and support our youth! 💙 Acompáñanos en una sesión informativa sobre las consecuencias y efectos del uso de sustancias, su impacto en el desarrollo del cerebro adolescente y el mayor riesgo de adicción. Presentado por el Poe Center, hablaremos sobre: ✅ Últimas investigaciones sobre el uso de sustancias en jóvenes ✅ Factores de riesgo y medidas de protección ✅ Estrategias para ayudar a los jóvenes a tomar decisiones saludables ✅ Herramientas y recursos para mantener conversaciones continuas 📅 26 de marzo | 6:00-7:30 PM | Heide Trask High School 📅 27 de marzo | 6:00-7:30 PM | Topsail High School ¡Juntos podemos educar y apoyar a nuestra juventud! 💙

✨ Feature Friday: Meghan Gallen✨ PLES Speech-Language Pathologist and valued member of the EC Play-Based Team, Meghan Gallen, is the definition of teamwork and dedication. She is always willing to go the extra mile in her work, always going out of her way to assist in any way possible. Whether it is conducting observations, supporting teachers, or creating student visuals, Meghan's commitment to students and staff is evident. Her ability to collaborate, appreciate a variety of thinking, and champion staff is irreplaceable. She not only brings value to student learning, but to staff as well by sharing best practice and promoting the use of therapy strategies in class. 💬 "She is always willing to help and never afraid to support students and staff in any way she can." Thanks, Meghan, for all your hard work and commitment! #OnePender

🚀🤖 Get ready for an electrifying showdown of innovation and technology! 🤖🚀 📅 Date: April 17, 2025 📍 Location: Heide Trask High School ⏰ Time: 4:00 - 7:00 PM Our talented students are gearing up to showcase their incredible robotics skills in the Pender County Schools Robotics Competition! 🏆💡 Watch as teams battle it out, putting their problem-solving, creativity, and teamwork to the test! Come support our future engineers and innovators as they bring their robotic creations to life! 🔧⚙️✨

⚾️🐝 Congratulations to our 2025 Hornet Baseball team! 🐝⚾️ #feelthesting #onepender #westsiderising

📢 Kindergarten Registration & Preschool Info Event! 🎉 📅 March 12 | 4:30 – 7:00 PM 📍 Heide Trask High School Join us for a fun & informative evening to help your child start school with confidence! ✨ What’s Happening? ✅ Meet PCS staff & community partners ✅ Fun games & entertainment for kids ✅ Kindergarten Readiness Bags for incoming students ✅ On-site Registration Station for easy enrollment ✅ Food trucks & more! 📌 Bring these to register: ✔ Birth Certificate ✔ Proof of Residence ✔ Health Assessment ✔ Immunization Records ✔ Parent ID 💻 Online registration opened March 1 - https://www.pender.k12.nc.us/page/enroll Don’t miss this exciting event—we can’t wait to welcome your family! 🎒✨ 📍 Escuela Secundaria Heide Trask ¡Acompáñanos para una tarde divertida e informativa y prepárate para el primer día de clases! ✨ ¿Qué habrá? ✅ Conoce al personal de PCS y socios comunitarios ✅ Juegos y entretenimiento para niños ✅ Bolsas de preparación para Kindergarten ✅ Estación de Registro para inscribirte fácilmente ✅ ¡Comida deliciosa de food trucks! 📌 Para registrar a tu hijo, trae: ✔ Acta de nacimiento ✔ Comprobante de domicilio ✔ Evaluación médica ✔ Vacunas ✔ Identificación del padre/madre 💻 ¡La inscripción en línea abre el 1 de marzo - https://www.pender.k12.nc.us/page/enroll ¡No te lo pierdas! ¡Esperamos darte la bienvenida a nuestra comunidad escolar! 🎒✨

If you weren't at Penderlea's first annual (yes, it will be happening yearly! 😉) Alumni Night in the old gym, you missed out! It was the best time! Not all of the sore muscles were from being back on the court... 😂 Everyone laughed, and hugged, and reminisced, and laughed some more! 🖤 👩🏽‍🎓👨🏿‍🎓👵🏼🧓🏽Alumni of all ages came together to defeat the current mighty Hornets....but those Hornets are already talking about revenge next year! 🐝 🔥 🏀 📅 We hope everyone will save the date for the last Friday in February from now on (Feb 27, 2026)! 🎥 Please click this link to enjoy a highlight video: https://youtu.be/qKRMt0C30gE #penderleaistheplacetobe #onepender #westsiderising #feelthesting

The master gardeners came to visit 3rd grade Monday to teach them about pollinating, bees and importance of pollinators in our food. They loved acting like bees finding pollen! They also got to eat cheese balls to demonstrate how pollen sticks to the bees. The 3rd grade loves our master gardeners!!

🏐🐝 Congratulations to the ladies of our 2025 Hornet volleyball team! 🐝🏐 #feelthesting #onepender #westsiderising

Damien Finn visited Mrs. Lanier’s class and Ms. Hedrick's class as a special guest reader yesterday!

Mr. Harris, Ms. Thompson, and Mrs. Finn welcomed students who are new this quarter to Penderlea School with a breakfast and school tour. This event will take place twice a year and give new students an opportunity to meet support staff and ask any questions they may have.

Penderlea is celebrating Read Across America this week. Mrs. Finn read "Hattie Harmony Worry Detective," by Elizabeth Olsen and Robbie Arnett to Ms. Woodcock's class this morning. Sayvilene Hawkins, a retired 1st grade teacher from Malpass Corner Elementary, came to read to Ms. Sapp’s 3rd grade class at Penderlea School. She enjoyed sharing her passion for teaching with the students as well as answering questions about her life as a teacher. Thank you Ms Hawkins! Mrs. Jennifer Hansen, PCS School Board, and Ms. Mara Biggs, former Penderlea Teacher, both read to Mrs. Giarrusso's 3rd graders today!

It's Read Across America Week! 📚 PCS Board of Education member Jennifer Hansen stopped by Penderlea School to read to kindergarteners Monday morning. #OnePender

TaKari Herring, 7th grader at Penderlea School spent the day shadowing her former teacher, Paula Finn. Ethan Laughter, 8th grader at Penderlea school spent the day shadowing his principal, Mr. Harris. Peyton Giarrusso, 9th grader at PHS spent the day at Penderlea School shadowing her mother, Kelly Giarrusso, who is a 3rd grade teacher at Penderlea. The front office staff also put Peyton to work while at Penderlea. Tyler Suggs helped load and unload truck tires, made deliveries to multiple customers (companies) and enjoyed learning how the boom truck operates while changing tires on logging equipment. Quoryiona Vines was at Wallace Elementary. Avani Finney shadowed Ms. Anderson, math teacher, at Penderlea.

Reserve your yearbook! Go to www.strawbridge.net, click on Order Pictures & Yearbooks Enter Code: YB31473 and then Find