Pleasant Knoll Middle School is helping all students develop the world class skills and life and career characteristics of the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate by providing all of our students, staff, parents, and community with an engaging, safe, and rigorous learning environment. Our school’s purpose is to strive to create a safe environment focused on high achievement through a rigorous curriculum and student/teacher engagement. We work to instill a sense of community and positive citizenship while encouraging our students to SOAR in STEAM initiatives and college/career readiness. Our staff is committed to implementing innovative, relevant, and engaging instruction to help all students reach their greatest potential.
Pleasant Knoll Middle School’s theme is “We are thoughtful. We are empowered. We are connected. We are PLEASANT KNOLL!” Every day, we wanted to encourage our Knighthawks to remember the power of connection. At Pleasant Knoll, we strive to treat each other with respect and understanding, and we work together to make a positive change in our world.
The 2024-2025 school year has been one of the best years at PKMS, and the reason is because of our students! This year, our students embraced all that Pleasant Knoll Middle School had to offer, discovered their passions, and positively impacted those around them. Our students’ hard work, determination, and positive attitudes did not go unnoticed. While there are many attributes that our students display throughout the year, there are two characteristics that make our Knighthawk students extra special: perseverance and integrity. Middle school can be tough, but they persevered through the academic and social challenges and worked hard to achieve many successes this year. In addition, whether in the classroom, hallways, the court, the field, or community, our students choose to be honest, respectful, and reliable, which is impressive. It is these two qualities that make PKMS a fantastic place to be.
Pleasant Knoll Middle School finished the 2024-2025 school year with many accomplishments. Our Descendants Musical, Symphonic Band, and Honors Chorus had many successful performances. We had 221 students participate in our Jr. Beta Club, 51 Junior Scholar recipients, and PKMS was named the #2 middle school in South Carolina according to Niche. In addition to our academic achievements, our athletic program won one conference championship with several other strong playoff runs.
Our community at Pleasant Knoll Middle School participated in many charity fundraisers. Our staff and students raised money and made donations for the Gordon-Owino Heart Foundation, The Children’s Cancer Partners of the Carolinas, and the Special Olympics. We also had the amazing opportunity to partner with Servants with a Heart to pack over 50,000 meals for families in Nicaragua and western North Carolina during our day of service! There is no doubt that our PKMS students have giving hearts, and it is their love for serving others that will help our Knighthawk students grow into leaders.
In addition, our faculty and staff participated in several professional development sessions focused on a positive mindset, quality instruction, and effective professional learning communities. Together we grew and were able to provide the best learning opportunities for our students. Our district staff also provided many professional development opportunities that focused on enhancing instruction through technology. We also continued to partner with our district's STEAM team in helping our teachers provide engaging learning experiences in the classroom. Lastly, we continue to improve and refine our Professional Learning Communities in order to provide the best instruction for all of our students.
Our SOAR program, which provides students with enrichment and intervention opportunities three days a week, was an excellent time for our school community to have opportunities to grow in areas of collaboration, critical thinking, creativity, and communication. We continued our day of FLEX where students could work on their executive functioning skills. During this time, students assessed their grades and worked on advocating to their teachers about where they needed assistance. In addition, on Fridays, students participate in clubs where they get to socialize with students that share similar interests as they do. This year, we became an official Unified School and started Club Unify to help create a stronger community between our special education and general education students. Using student data to identify where our students needed support during this time was extremely beneficial to our school’s success.
Another accomplishment of this school year was our first annual SOAR (Support, Optimism, Act with Kindness, Resilience) Week at PKMS! This included therapy dog visits, wellness popups, staff zumba, yoga at blacktop, and a motivational speaker. We also encouraged extra acts of kindness throughout the week! It was a great success and we are looking forward to growing this week in the future!
The 2024-2025 school year will be one that we will always remember. We are excited about the future at PKMS. We appreciate the collaboration and communication we have with all of our families, and we will continue to work together for our students and continue to build a tradition of excellence at Pleasant Knoll.
Dr. Ellen Borland, Principal
