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 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!” Especially after the pandemic, our staff wanted to encourage everyone to remember the power of connection. At Pleasant Knoll, our staff, students, and parents treat each other with respect and understanding. Our PKMS community values our similarities and differences, and we work together to make a positive change in our world.
Pleasant Knoll Middle School finished the 2021-2022 school year with many accomplishments. Our Seussical Jr. Musical performance was a success. We had 115 students participate in our Jr. Beta Club, 177 PKMS students took the PSAT, and 393 students made our “A” Honor Roll. In addition to our academic achievements, our athletic program won 3 conference championships which helped us earn the Fort Mill Athletic Cup.
Our community at Pleasant Knoll Middle School participated in many charity fundraisers. Our staff and students raised money and made donations for the Education=Hope, Ronald McDonald House, The Humane Society, The Heart Foundation, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Fort Mill Care Center, and the Special Olympics. 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 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 Discovery Education in helping our teachers provide engaging learning experiences in the classroom. Lastly, our school received three grants from the Foundation for Fort Mill Schools which will allow our teachers to increase student engagement.
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 also added a 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 participated in clubs where they got to socialize with students that shared similar interests as they do. By using student data to identify where our students needed support during this time was extremely beneficial to our school success.
The 2021 -2022 school year will be one that we will always remember. While we still had some COVID challenges early in the school year, we overcame them and found new ways to learn, developed meaningful relationships, and conquered a pandemic together. If the pandemic taught us anything, it is to appreciate the small moments and be grateful for the people in our lives. We are so thankful and proud of our Knighthawk students and teachers for how they came together, worked hard, and SOARed inside and outside of the classroom. Way to go Knighthawks!
We look forward to continuing to grow and learn at Pleasant Knoll Middle School.
Cori Hustedt, Principal 2021-2022
Kendra King, SIC Chair
