FINISHING STRONG, CELEBRATING BIG! 🎉🎓
What a wonderful time of year it is across Pender County Schools! 🌟 As we move through these final days of the school year, our campuses are filled with celebration, reflection, and pride. From student achievements and schoolwide recognitions to creative classroom projects and end-of-year traditions, this week’s newsletter captures the energy and heart of our PCS community. We are especially proud to share the recognition of Dr. Brad Breedlove as Regional Superintendent of the Year, an honor that reflects the dedication of our entire district—students, families, staff, and Board of Education alike. 👏💙 As a reminder, the final day of classes for our traditional calendar schools is Thursday, May 21, and it will be a half day for students. 📅 Next week also marks the beginning of graduation season for our high schools, a special time to celebrate the Class of 2026 and all they have accomplished. 🎓✨ To our students, families, teachers, and staff: thank you for helping us finish the year strong with joy, focus, and a continued commitment to excellence. We look forward to celebrating these important milestones together in the days ahead! 🎉
DR. BREEDLOVE NAMED REGIONAL SUPERINTENDENT OF THE YEAR
Pender County Schools Superintendent Dr. Brad Breedlove has been named Regional Superintendent of the Year, an honor recognizing his leadership, service, and commitment to students, staff, families, and public education across southeastern North Carolina. While the recognition honors Dr. Breedlove’s leadership, he said the award reflects the work of the entire Pender County Schools community.
“I am grateful to be recognized for this honor, but no superintendent earns an award like this alone,” Dr. Breedlove said. “This is really a district honor, highlighting the high quality of our employees across Pender County Schools and the steady leadership, guidance, and support provided by our Board of Education.”
Please find the full story HERE
MAY 12 BOARD OF EDUCATION MEETING SUMMARY
The Pender County Schools Board of Education met on May 12, 2026, to review and approve a variety of items related to district operations, instructional resources, facilities, transportation, and long-range planning. The meeting began with recognitions celebrating outstanding students, staff, and school initiatives across the district. Honorees included educators recognized by NCCAT, Battle of the Books participants, student mental health awareness leaders, and Special Olympics volunteers. Superintendent Dr. Brad Breedlove shared updates on the close of the school year, upcoming graduation ceremonies, and the district’s recently presented local budget request. He highlighted the district’s continued focus on teacher recruitment and retention, competitive compensation, and capital improvements. The full summary may be found HERE
PCS 2026–2027 BUDGET PRESENTATION
Pender County Schools has made available the 2026–2027 budget presentation shared with the Pender County Board of Commissioners, along with a brief video highlighting facility improvements supported by county funding. The budget proposal focuses on investing in staff, students, facilities, and long-term sustainability. It reflects input gathered through the district’s budget process, including feedback from students, families, staff, school leaders, advisory councils, and district departments. The presentation outlines several key areas of need, including staff recruitment and retention, local supplement increases, school-based leadership, instructional support, student support services, transportation, technology, maintenance, HVAC needs, facility repairs, and long-term capital planning. The facilities video highlights examples of work completed or underway through county support. These improvements demonstrate the impact of local investment in Pender County Schools while also showing that continued facility, maintenance, transportation, technology, and capital needs remain across the district. Families, staff, and community members are encouraged to review the presentation and video to better understand how school funding decisions impact students, classrooms, schools, and daily operations. View the 2026–2027 Budget Presentation: https://canva.link/pcs-budget-presentation-2026-27
C.F. Pope PTO Lights the Way: $15,000 Donation to Fund New Outdoor LED Sign
C.F. Pope Elementary School is excited to announce a generous $15,000 donation from the C.F. Pope Elementary PTO toward the purchase of a new outdoor LED sign, a major investment in school communication, campus beautification, and community engagement. This impactful contribution reflects the PTO’s unwavering dedication to supporting students, staff, and families while enhancing the overall experience at C.F. Pope Elementary. The new LED sign will serve as a dynamic communication tool, allowing the school to share important announcements, celebrate student and staff accomplishments, promote school events, and provide timely updates to families and community members. Please find the full story HERE
2026 GRADUATION SCHEDULE
Pender County Public Schools is proud to honor our graduating seniors. Find all the details you need for commencement ceremonies, including dates, times, and locations for each high school.
🍎SCHOOL LUNCH MENUS🍕
You can find school lunch menus for each grade level by following THIS LINK
Weekly Schedule
Girls Soccer - (Third Round) Monday, May 18
7A - Topsail @ Heritage, 6pm 3A - Trask @ Wake Prep, 6pm
Lacrosse (7A Third Round) - Tuesday, May 19
Girls - Holly Springs at Topsail, 5pm Boys - Clayton at Topsail, 7pm
Softball - 3 A East Finals (Best of three series)
Tuesday May 19, Heide Trask at McMichael - 6pm Thursday May 21, McMichael at Heide Trask - 6pm Saturday May 23 (if needed) Heide Trask at McMichael - 2pm
From Pender Early College - PECHS Students volunteered today at the Town of Burgaw’s Tea Party in the Park.
From Cape Fear Middle - ✨ A DEDICATION WORTHY OF A LEGEND ✨ Today at Cape Fear Middle School, the Grizzlies unveiled this year's yearbook — and it was dedicated to someone who has truly earned it: Mrs. Radcliff. 🐻 39 years in education. Countless lives touched. A legacy that will never be forgotten. As she prepares to retire at the end of this year, we wanted her to know just how deeply she has meant to this school, these students, and this community. There are no words big enough — but this dedication is our best attempt. Thank you, Mrs. Radcliff. You are one of the most worthy of people. 💙
AND...🐾 What an incredible day at Cape Fear Middle School! 🐾 Our amazing BETA Club had the honor of presenting a check to the Pender County Sheriff's Office K-9 Unit this past Friday — and the whole school got a front-row seat to an awesome K-9 demonstration! 🚔🦮Through hard work, dedication, and a series of fundraisers throughout the school year, these students raised funds and made sure they went right back into the community. Seeing our young leaders put their efforts toward supporting local law enforcement is something truly special. Thank you to the Pender County Sheriff's Office for the incredible demonstration and for all that you do to keep our community safe. And a HUGE shoutout to the Cape Fear Middle School BETA Club — you all should be so proud! 👏
From West Pender Middle - Shoutout to our 8th grade April Warrior of the Month nominees! Maria, Jackson, and Noah
AND...💥 Big congratulations to our 7th grade April Warrior of the Month nominees! 💥Emma, Carson, and Enzo
AND...Celebrating our 6th grade April Warrior of the Month! Addisyn!
From Pender High - 🎉🎉🎉TODAY is Sr Decision Day at PHS! One more way to celebrate our seniors and their plans for the future:) We have enjoyed celebrating with our students and community over the past few weeks....with ONE more event to take place next week! 👀Seniors - watch your emails for more details about the Sr Sunset taking place next Wednesday😊
From Surf City Middle - Our newest mural is complete at Surf City Middle School! 🎨🦈 Each year, our 8th grade art students participate in a special legacy mural project by submitting original designs for consideration. All entries are reviewed and judged by administration, and students help determine both the location and imagery of the mural. The winning artists then collaborate with administration to make adjustments and refinements that best fit our school community. This year’s mural transforms our Lost and Found area into an underwater treasure scene featuring a treasure chest overflowing with lost items surrounded by coral, sea life, and a frenzy of shark silhouettes swimming above. The vibrant colors and creative details make this space both fun and functional for students. Congratulations to the students who helped bring this mural to life: 🦈 Kalyn Barker 🦈 Makayla Parmentier 🦈 Lily Schwarz 🦈 Rebecca Schweitzer 🦈 Caroline Shepard 🦈 Maddie Siemon 🦈 Ethan Wagner (Not Pictured) We are so proud of the creativity, teamwork, and school pride these students demonstrated throughout this project. This 8th grade legacy mural allows students to leave a lasting mark on our school for years to come! We can not wait to see what these artists produce at the high school.
From Topsail Annandale Elementary - Celebrating a year of hard work, growth, and so many accomplishments! 🍦☀️ Our fourth graders enjoyed an ice cream party to celebrate all they achieved this year. We are so proud of these students and the way they supported one another all year long. A huge thank you to our wonderful parents for your encouragement, generosity, and support throughout the year — we couldn’t do it without you! 💙
AND...Today in 1st grade, creativity + problem solving rolled into one magical STEM challenge ✨👑 After continuing our learning about Cinderella, students put their engineering skills to work by designing and building their own carriages using play-dough! From brainstorming ideas to testing their creations, these young learners showed incredible imagination, teamwork, and perseverance. 🚠💙 Who knew fairy tales could inspire future engineers? ✨
From South Topsail Elementary - Testing days mean Media moves outside into the sunshine! ☀️ 📚
From Cape Fear Elementary - First grader reading and growing their love for books every day. 📚❤️
AND...Totally unplanned... but we nailed it. Twinning makes the workday more fun!
From Penderlea School - Ms.Robinson’s 7th grade math students are actively reviewing for their EOG through Integer War! ✨Who will be have the highest score?? ✖️➗➕➖
From North Topsail Elementary - First grade students wrapped up Wit and Wisdom by stepping into their favorite characters’ shoes. Students were asked to pick their favorite character of the year and write a personal narrative telling the story as if they were the character! To bring their stories to life, students created character puppets and scenes to use while presenting their narratives to fellow first grade friends. This engaging project combined reading comprehension, writing, creativity, speaking, listening, and collaboration in a meaningful and memorable way! We are so proud of these fabulous firsties!
From Malpass Corner Elementary - 🎉🦅 Teacher Appreciation Week is still going strong at Malpass Corner Elementary! Today we continued celebrating our amazing staff with a fun raffle and the always exciting Woot Woot Cart! 🚨🎁Our teachers work tirelessly each day to support, encourage, and inspire our Eagles, and we are so thankful for all they do. Seeing the smiles, laughter, and excitement today was a reminder of just how special our MCE family truly is. 💙💛Thank you to our incredible teachers for the love, dedication, and hard work you pour into our students every single day. We appreciate you more than words can say!
From Topsail High - Topsail High School's Student Council celebrated their graduating seniors by hosting The Last Recess. After the seniors completed walking the halls of their schools and enjoyed their breakfast and yearbook signing, they came to their high school stadium for the last time to enjoy their final recess as the Class of 2026. Seniors enjoyed playing kickball, dodgeball, ultimate frisbee, and tug of war, in addition to showing off their hula hoop skills and reminiscing about their school days with the parachute. On behalf of Topsail High School's Student Council, congratulations to our Senior Pirate - Class of 2026!
From Surf City Elementary - Ms. Stewart’s 4th grade class has officially filled (and overfilled!) our class jar from surf points , earning a well-deserved Glow Day! ✨ They turned their EOG review into a day full of engaging activities. Students practiced highlighting evidence from the text in ELA and used invisible ink pens to answer questions! They also worked through math EOG review with a competitive game and even completed an escape room together as a class! 🧠🔍 It was a great day of reviewing and preparing for the EOG—their learning was definitely glowing!
Pender-Topsail Post - Front Page
Credits:
Created with images by Angelov - "Little girl standing by a big school bus door with her pink backpack." • Vitalii Vodolazskyi - "Speech bubble with the phrase What is new.,Curiosity and communication." • mnirat - "Close-up photos of black graduates hats" • Uuganbayar - "What else word written under torn paper concept." • manit - "Hand of young business using smartphone, Social media concept."