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Middle school students present homecoming activities as staff outline PBIS tiers, rewards and house program
Summary
Students from the middle school described homecoming and spirit‑week activities; district staff described the Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) program, tiered supports and house system, and explained how the midday 'rock' homeroom meeting time is scheduled and used.
DERRY — Middle school student leaders described their homecoming parade entries and spirit week to the Derry Area School District board on Thursday, and district staff followed with a presentation explaining the district’s K–12 PBIS program and the middle school’s house and “Rock” homeroom structure.
Students Laken Key (student‑body president), Nala McMahon (vice president) and Claire Zierinski (secretary/treasurer) summarized recent activities including a homecoming parade where eighth graders decorated hay wagons by house, hallway art displays and spirit themes that included crown‑and‑hat day and “Friday Night Lights” blue‑and‑gold day.
The student remarks were followed by a PBIS presentation from district staff. Dr. Perry and Mr. Boring described PBIS as a tiered system intended to teach and reinforce expected behaviors across school settings. "it’s broken into tiers. So, all students are a part of tier 1, and you want to think about that as clear expectations," Dr. Perry said, explaining that Tier 1 covers schoolwide expectations such as hallway, cafeteria and bus rules.
At Grandview Elementary, Mr. Boring walked the board through building‑level implementations: teachers deliver PBIS lessons the first week of school, staff hand out “Grandview stars” to acknowledge positive behavior, and quarterly rewards include a dance, a winter movie, a snowball activity and extended recess. Boring also described a student‑of‑the‑month program with monthly traits (September’s trait was respect) and a small student store where students can spend “boring bucks” earned for positive classroom behaviors.
Staff explained the middle‑school structure that pairs a Rock homeroom (midday homeroom) with house team activities. Board members asked how Rock is scheduled and whether it interferes with instruction; staff said Rock meets for about 30 minutes on a rotating six‑day schedule (one Rock period every six school days) and that sixth‑grade Rock uses a set curriculum developed with Mr. Kelly based on the Energy Bus program, while seventh and eighth grades focus more on house meetings and larger activities such as the Farkleberry fundraiser.
The board and staff also discussed fundraising and service projects connected to PBIS: staff said two recent fundraisers raised about $10,000 for a children’s hospital and about $5,000 for an animal‑welfare partner in prior years. Teachers and staffstated that the PBIS work supports student connection, responsible citizenship and school spirit.
The presentation concluded with a short question‑and‑answer session; district staff said materials related to the PBIS kickoff and the middle‑school presentation are included in the superintendent’s packet and will be shared with parents via the district’s email network.
