What a wonderful start to the school year! While many discussions are happening in and around our district that have a tendency to be polarizing, I believe that the work inside our schools with students has been incredible. Thank you for sharing your kiddos with us every day. It is especially rewarding to see our students in action in the school environment. Our teachers have jumped right in to the work of providing engaging lessons for our students by beginning labs in science, discussing theory in English, competing in badminton in PE, and working to gain their "license" in Beginning Band- just to name a few. While learning is taking place, competition and practice is underway, too. Our coaches do an incredible job of equipping our young athletes to learn to work together as a team and strive for excellence in all that they do. Our SGA and Ambassadors are meeting regularly to find ways to support their fellow classmates, too. 

This good work would not happen without the unparalleled community support provided by our parents and families. Thank you, PTO, for supporting our teachers and staff through service. Whether by providing lunch and snacks or coming to the school to sort PE uniforms, your support is extremely beneficial to the operation of our school, and we are thankful!  As the new principal of this fine school, I am honored to join our PTO in the good work of supporting our teachers and staff.

Thank you for a wonderful "back to school" experience. As always, let me know if there are additional ways our school can partner with our parents and families to ensure your child has a wonderful middle school experience. 

Go Pirates!

Alicia

Thank you, thank you, thank you! As we have transitioned back to school over the past few weeks, I'm so thankful for our parent volunteers who have worked so hard over the summer and the past month...from supply sale (Ana Moore, Anna Louy, Lena Martinez) to Membership Toolkit registration (Allison Youngblood) to Partners in Education fundraising (Marchelle Falkner) to Spirit Shop (Alyce Manown and Lisa Snowden)...thank you to all of these volunteers and MANY others who stepped in to help us start the year at Pizitz.

I'm also thankful to all of our families who so generously supported our PTO during the registration process in July. We know one of the most important functions of our PTO organization is supporting our teachers and staff in creative ways. Thanks to your generosity, we will be able to continue the faculty appreciation efforts we introduced last year. Also, for the first time ever, we were able to offer classroom start-up grants to new teachers at Pizitz in addition to our annual grants program that's currently open for requests from faculty and staff. We look forward to funding special programs and educational tools for the upcoming school year, and we'll have more to share with you in October.

Lastly, if you haven't already confirmed your family information in Membership Toolkit and paid your PTO dues ($10/family), please log in to do that soon! We ask families to confirm contact information annually, and we will only send emails to families who have confirmed details after October 1.

Please email us if you have questions or ideas or would like to get involved: pizitzpto@gmail.com

Hollye Stigler

PTO President

It has been a joy to welcome our students, and we are ready for an amazing year! We are already seeing such tangible evidence of Character, Excellence and Family in our hallways as students pursue learning, persevere and build new relationships here at school.  As the year progresses, please know that our goal is to get to know each and every one of our students and support you all in any way we can. Please feel free to reach out to your grade level counselor with any questions or concerns you may have. 

6th Grade - Becca Poe - poerj@vestavia.k12.al.us

7th Grade - Whitney Hall Evans - hallw@vestavia.k12.al.us

8th Grade - Amber Payne - payneac@vestavia.k12.al.us

Learn more about your teachers be checking out the 2021-2022 Teacher Feature!  You can also view it by visiting the Pizitz Middle School website and following the link for "About Us," then "Meet Our Faculty." 

Yearbook ads are available for sale.  Email Mrs. Wade if you are interested in purchasing an ad in this year's yearbook.

wadelb@vestavia.k12.al.us

Thank you for all that supported the Supply and Book Sale this year! We had great success and sold out of almost everything. We raised over $18,000 for our PTO!  

Thank you again for your support! 

Ana Moore, Anna Louy and Lena Martinez 

The Vestavia Hills Rotary Club has a 30 year history of supporting VHCS and it has partnered with the PTO once again to promote the Hike the Hill Community Challenge.  

Hike the Hill participants have until September 30 to complete the course of their choice at their own pace and convenience. In addition to the original "hike' from last year that began at the Little Shades Creek Bridge on Morgan Road next to Publix, there are additional "hikes" in Cahaba Heights, Liberty Park, Byrd Park, and the Vestavia City Center.  

Hikers will select their school team during individual ($35) or family ($75) registration that includes a t-shirt, face mask, and other items. Please choose to hike for Pizitz!!

Please register at www.vestaviarotary.orgtoday!

Help the Hills Coalition is a community partnership among stakeholders in Vestavia Hills. Its mission is to reduce the use and abuse of harmful substances among youth in Vestavia Hills and to promote healthy living.

Parent Awareness meetings are held monthly at noon at Vestavia Hills City Hall in the Council Chamber.  All VHCS parents are invited. Parents may also attend the September meeting via Zoom, which will be limited to 100 participants.  Click here to register to attend the October meeting.

October 13- Bullying in Elementary School – Amanda Keller and Lauren Jacobs – Magic City Acceptance Center Co-Directors

November 10- Pornography Addiction and Brain Development – Jason McNaughton

December- No Meeting

January 12- Anxiety when Transitioning to New Schools

February 9- Preparing for College - Oliver Aaron, VHHS Counselor

March 9- Self Image – Connie Hill, Girls Inc.

April 13- Social Media Parent/Child Workshop

The Vestavia Hills City Schools Foundation is a non-profit organization created to  provide ongoing and dependable funding for Vestavia Hills City Schools. Our school  system is among the best in the country; the Foundation provides grants to help keep  our school system at its best. These grants benefit every grade level, every academic  subject area and every student in every Vestavia school. Making an investment in the  Foundation helps fill in funding gaps that can make the difference between a good  school system and a great one. 

Today, the Foundation funds grants with the investment proceeds from its $3.5 million  endowment. Our goal is to increase the endowment to the 5-million mark, which will  increase the amount of grants the Foundation can contribute to Vestavia Hills schools. 

We hope that every family in Vestavia Hills will make a pledge to the Foundation.  Your pledge can be paid over a period of five years and is 100% tax deductible. 

Please help us fund our schools TODAY, to ensure a better TOMORROW. 

You may visit our website www.vestaviafoundation.org for more information about  pledges and donations.