2023-24 is the year to Level Up at PHS

Level Up, Chiefs! The Pelahatchie High School leadership team chose “Level Up” as our theme for the 2023-2024 school year. We challenged our faculty, staff, and student body to give their best efforts to help our school “Level Up” in every possible way. As expected, our school community has embraced this theme.

So what does Level Up mean to the Pelahatchie Tribe? It means an intense focus on leveling up academically. This focus shows up when we walk the halls and notice the deep conversations happening in every classroom. It shows up when students are tossing with the “Root Word Soccer Ball” to enhance vocabulary skills, or when students are working in the hallways in small groups to create posters about the American Revolution. It shows up while students are conducting research in a science lab in their biology class or participating in a Socratic discussion in history class or grappling with word problems in math or marching through the science of reading framework. Our teachers are leveling up by employing strategies and discovering new resources to engage students in reading, writing, and thinking.  

The idea of leveling up also appears in our athletic competitions. Our athletes are challenged to level up their skills so that they can compete and represent their Tribe at the highest level. They want to perform a little better today than they did yesterday.  They want to get one step closer to a state championship than they did the previous year.  
Level up is a mindset that goes into any testing room to remind our students to do their best. Students consider how leveling up applies to their personal goals.  If they have a 21 on the ACT, they can level up by increasing their overall score by one or more points. If they were proficient on the MAAP assessment, they can level up to advanced. Ultimately, our school and community benefit when we all level up.   

As we enter the last month of the first semester and begin to approach benchmark and semester exams, we want our students to remember the goals they have set. They may need to sacrifice video game or social media scrolling time to study for their exams, to read a little more, or to spend time completing ACT practice tests. Doing so can yield the results they hope to attain.

“Level Up” has embedded itself into the climate and culture of PHS. So when you see “Level Up” on the back of a basketball shirt or a baseball cap, just know that this phrase means more to PHS than a game. It signifies a culture of giving our best efforts for the success of our teams, our classes, and our school. Join us in Leveling Up, Pelahatchie! Go Chiefs!