SAFETY IS OUR #1 PRIORITY...Please know that providing a safe and secure environment at PGMS for our students and staff is our #1 priority each and every day. We know that if students do not feel safe, then learning cannot take place for our students. The Forsyth County School System and Piney Grove Middle School have many practices and procedures in place to help safeguard your child every minute of every day to, from and on campus. Detailed safety plans for all kinds of emergencies have been written and put in place, and will be practiced quite frequently with our staff and students during the first few weeks of school. We will continue to practice these drills throughout the school year. Piney Grove has access to a resource officer based at South Forsyth High School, Deputy Honn, whom we share with several other schools in the South part of the county. He will visit our campus throughout the year, talking to our students and getting to know them. Part of Piney Grove's standard operating procedures is to have our head custodian check the entire facility and campus early each morning to look for any unusual objects. Phones are in every classroom, and administrators are in constant communication with each other and the front office, as well as the county office, through the use of two-way radios and cell phones. Every phone comes equipped with sophisticated technology that allows for tracing phone calls in the event of a bomb threat or other threatening phone calls. Our Code of Conduct prohibits students from wearing over-length, oversized, and baggy clothing, including coats, so that weapons and other contraband are less likely to be hidden on students. And the Forsyth County Schools dress code will be enforced at PGMS. Strict and technologically sophisticated sign-in procedures for visitors on campus are in place, and a driver's license is required to check out a student. All Forsyth County school buses are equipped with two-way radios so that they can be in constant communication with the transportation department and the school. Diligent supervision of students by our entire staff, from the moment they step foot on campus until they leave, is a daily practice. Talking to our students about safety being a top priority, and letting them know that it is their responsibility to let an adult know if they hear or see something that could jeopardize this safety, is a practice we began this first week and will continue to preach throughout the school year. Rest assured any information of this nature that is shared with an administrator or counselor is held in the strictest confidence. These are just some of the practices and procedures we have in place. We hope that you will spend some time with your child at the beginning of the school year discussing the importance of all these safety procedures, and let him/her know that it is also your expectation that he/she take personal responsibility in reporting anything he/she sees or hears that could jeopardize the safety of any or all of our students and staff. Parents, we encourage that any time you have concerns about the safety or well-being of your child, you do not hesitate to call an administrator to discuss these concerns. We want Piney Grove Middle School to be a place where all students, staff and parents feel safe and comfortable. We believe it is. But we need everyone's help to keep it that way throughout the school year. Thanking you in advance for your help and support!