Pelham Gardens Middle School

Not everyone celebrates Thanksgiving... however, everyone has something to be thankful for.  This is the purpose of our Giving Thanks Feast.  Parents (and sometimes staff) bring in food and dessert dishes of their choice to contribute to the feast. Our entire school (staff, teachers, students and parents) come together as one big PGMS Family and eat together.  We give thanks for all the wonderful things we have in our lives and then eat, drink and be merry. 

Love is grand and Valentine's Day is beautiful.  However, here at Pelham Gardens Middle School, we like to celebrate friendship (Core Value #4).  Instead of Valentine's Day, we celebrate Friendship Day.  A day to show your appreciation to your friends (or even a special someone).

Red, Blue, Yellow, Purple, Green, Orange, White and Black... These are all of the teams of our year end tradition of Color Wars.  Color Wars is a day long event where the entire school (students, staff, teachers and admin) is broken up into color teams.  The students partake in an academic bowl (which consists of ELA and Math questions) during the morning time to gain points for their color team,  and then the entire school goes outside (usually to a park) to compete in various physical games (e.g. potato sack race, tug-o-war, relay race).  At the end, the whole school travels back to announce the winning color team in the school's auditorium.  Win or lose, every student, staff member and teacher enjoys this interactive experience.

Pelham Gardens Middle School is big on getting behind a cause and showing our support.  Weather it is feeding the hungry with our positively competitive canned food drive contests or raising money to help fight Cancer or Lupus, PGMS always embodies the spirit of charity and compassion for the sick and less fortunate.

There is nothing like the transition from 5th grade in elementary school to the 6th grade in Middle/Junior High School.  Kids have to step their game up and become more independent and responsible.  No longer are they sitting in one class for most of the day.  Now they "Transition" from class to class on their own.  Our children face a lot of changes heading into middle school.   So, PGMS want to make sure that each incoming 6th grader walking through our doors on the first day of school is acclimated and somewhat prepared for life not just as a Middle Schooler, but also as a Pelham Gardens Middle School student.  Therefore, each summer in August, we offer students an opportunity to spend two incredible days with us in our annual "Introduction to Middle School" Summer Bootcamp.  It is a great experience for the new 6th graders to meet their teachers, make new friends, start building a team mindset and learn the rules and the ropes of PGMS.  We highly recommend all incoming 6th graders attend this wonderful event.

Pelham Gardens Middle School is a 100% uniform school.  Everyday each student is expected to adhere to the standard of the uniform.  However, there are times when students can earn a jeans day or a full dress down day.  To earns a jeans or dress down day, a student must participate in a special event such as  workshops, advocacy days, school contests and other events.  Usually the Principal will announce or sanction a jeans or full dress down day, however some type of communication is sent to make parents aware.

For those high academic achievers and those student who exemplify the PGMS Core Values, we hold quarterly awards assemblies.  We are always excited to celebrate students who go above and beyond to show their greatness in their academics and their behavior.  

Pelham Gardens Middle School  loves trips.  We take our students on a variety of trips such as John Jay College, the Museum of Science, Ice Skating in Queens, Bay Plaza Movie Theater, Bronx Zoo, Rye Playland and much more.  No matter what the trip entails, students always walk away with incredible memories that will last forever.

Who better to learn from than the people to came immediately before you and are currently experiencing what you will have to go through.  It is always good to go back and share your knowledge with those who are following in your footsteps.  These are two of the purposes of High School Day.  Since 2016, PGMS has invited select alumni to come back to the school and share their high school experience with our current students.  This is a priceless time where PGMS students get to see what waits for them in high school.  

Since 2016, the Sorority Delta Academy has mentored our young ladies to be the intelligent, ambitious advocates that meet with the PGMS standard.  Delta Academy has involved our young ladies in incredible community events that have seen everyone from the Fire Chiefs to Reality Celebrities come through and show their support.  These events have touched on fire safety, human trafficking and self-defense.  Every year, the goals of the community event is to make our students aware of the world they live in and equip them with the tools to stay safe.

Spirit Week is a time of the year in which the entire school gets to show off their style based on a specific theme for the day.  Students and staff are allowed to partake in the fun and show off their style.  Below are a list of Spirit Week themes:

• Sports Day - Dress up in a shirt, jersey and/ or hat representing your favorite sports team.
• Black & White Day - Dress up in a black and white outfit.
• Wacky Tacky (Mismatch) Day - Dress up in mismatched, ugly, wacky and tacky clothing and accessories.
• Wacky Socks Day - Dress up in and show off your crazy looking socks.
• Pajama Day - Dress up in your favorite school appropriate PJs.
• Twin Day - Dress up and look the same as someone else in the school.

This is one of the really fun times of the year, because it allow students to come to school out of uniform (within the guidelines) and feel a bit more relaxed, while showing off their own style.