SWM Monday Memo

November:

27 = Odd Day

28 = Even Day

29 = 8 Period Day

- South High counselors will meet 8th graders during their Science classes to draft a 4 year HS plan / During Science Classes / House Commons

- n'L84 - District PATH program for 8th graders / Health Rooms 303 & 305 / 8am - 3pm

- 8th Annual Southwest Middle Blood Drive / House Commons / 3:30pm - 7pm

30 = Odd Day

- Board of Education Workshop / Parkway Welcome Center - 760 Woods Mill Rd / 5pm

December

1 = Even Day

Upcoming Events:

4 = NWEA Testing - ELA / 8:30am - 3pm

5 = NWEA Testing - Math / 8:30am - 3pm

- SWM 6th, 7th & 8th Grade Choir Concert / Main Commons / 6:30pm

6 = Hearing & Vision Screening / House Commons & Library Classroom / 8am - 3:pm

- Board of Education Regular Meeting / Parkway Welcome Center / 7pm

7 = NWEA Testing - Science / 8:30am - 3pm

- SWM Orchestra Concert / Main Commons / Performance Time for 6th grade = 6:30pm & 8pm for 7th & 8th Grade / Orchestra Students must be at school a half hour earlier than Performance Time.

8 - 20 = Fresh Food Drive

13 = Early 8 Period Day / Lunch Served / Dismissed at 1:15pm

21 = Half Day / NO LUNCH / Student Dismissed at 12:20pm

22 - January 2 = No School / Winter Break

Thank you for supporting the SWM Drama Department and the students who worked on and performed in Marvelous Squad!! ~ Angie H.

Parents & Students - Please remember that SWM doors do not open until 8:00am on school days.

Students should not arrive before this time.

Also, please dress accordingly for the outdoor temperatures.

Please remember to have your photo ID with you when you arrive to check out a student. Also, if you're not the parent/guardian or listed in the emergency contact section, please have the parent/guardian email sdillane1@parkwayschools.net or kkurtz1@parkwayschools.net.

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation ~ SWM Staff

During the week of November 20th, I will visit students in their ELA classes. They will learn about their personalities and strengths, which will match a particular "Career Cluster" or group of occupations that match who they are as individuals. In addition, they will learn about high school graduation requirements, credits, types of courses, and GPAs. Students can access all registration planning information through the Google Classroom that they joined titled "South High Class of 2028."

On November 29th, the South High counselors will meet 8th graders during their Science classes to help them in creating a draft of a high school 4 year plan, which is a fluid document that will help students map out the courses that they wish to enroll during high school. More information will be coming about the ICAP (Individual Career & Academic Plan).

If you have any questions, please reach out to the 8th grade counselor, Mr. Caltagirone at ccaltagirone1@parkwayschools.net or 314-415-7317.

It has been an amazing month of November for our students in HPE classes. This month, students learned and participated in a variety of small game activities including peteca and badminton. Students also participated in team building and group activities such as matball and kickball. We also concluded our rhythms/ dance unit with a variety of dances, jump rope activities, and tinikling too. In health classes, Dr. Ribeiro’s students are finishing up with their nutrition unit and started working on their top 10 fresh foods projects for the fresh food drive. In December, students will learn about lacrosse, pickleball, 9 square, and gaga ball. Please continue reminding your children to wear tennis shoes for PE classes. Thank you all!

SWM plans to hold our annual hearing and vision screenings on December 6th. We hope to screen all students who are currently in 7th grade, as well as students who are new to the district, have plans that require annual screenings, and students who missed or failed their last screenings. If you do not want your student to be screened please notify Nurse Jacobs by December 1st. You can email me at sjacobs2@parkwayschools.net or call 314-415-7329.

We are beginning to see a number of respiratory illnesses here at SWM including our 1st cases of Influenza A. Please keep your student home whenever they have a fever or cough. Contact Nurse Jacobs if you have any questions or need to report your student has a contagious illness such as Influenza, Coivd, or Strep. Thank you for helping to keep our school community safe!

You will see the schedule for the events happening this week. Students were shown how to sign up through our ASA Hub on the School Website. The most important thing is the students know where they live so we can figure out what bus they need to ride home if that is their transportation home.

All activities are subject to change. Make sure to check the daily schedule to see which days are for each grade. Students should listen to daily announcements for updates on the activities.

Students can only sign up for activities the day the activity is happening. If a student signs up for a bus ride and the student decides to use a different form of transportation they need to email Ms. Modaff or come to the office before going to their activity.

Contact Ms. Modaff-- amodaff@parkwayschools.net with any questions.

Sponsored by Mr. Larson's Advisory

November 29th, 3:30-7pm in the House Commons

Use this link to schedule your appointment for a quicker experience

https://www.redcrossblood.org/give.html/drive-results?zipSponsor=PSMS

SWM annual Fresh Food Drive will be

December 8th through December 20th.

Service Learning Project

Circle of Concern is a food pantry run by volunteers in West-County for people who are struggling to provide food for their families. We would like to help the Circle of Concern by donating foods to these families. We are encouraging people to donate fresh fruits and vegetables because non-perishable foods are not as healthy compared to fresh fruits and veggies. Some of the items you can donate are potatoes, oranges, apples, bananas, broccoli, celery, garlic, melon, and etc.

We will be collecting these fresh foods during passing time from December 8th to the 20th. You can find more information about our local food pantry at https://www.circleofconcern.org/

Please help us support these families in need before the holidays.

THANK YOU! Written by Marielle McGirr (7th grade student)

If you are in the market for gift ideas, especially for your 8th graders that will be going to South High next year, why not shop here:

https://stores.inksoft.com/psh_fall_spiritstore/shop/home

Week of November 27:

Concluding our sessions on exploring values, 6 th grade students will reflect

on how we want to feel in different situations and the relation to helping

understand personal values. During our reflecting, we will ponder what we

value and who we want to be. During Sentinel Time, our 7 th grade Sentinels

will wrap up emotional understanding and regulation. Students learn tools

most effective in regulating emotional challenges in various scenarios.

Eighth grade will transition into the topic of emotional understanding and

regulation. Managing strong emotions is vital for coping with maintenance

of our well-being, building peer relationships, handling conflict with our

peers, and meeting expectations in the classroom. Our upcoming

graduating class of 2024 will investigate common myths about happiness

making it harder to handle difficult emotions.

Our Southwest Middle School pupils will focus on core values of:

compassion and perseverance.

Family Dare:

Dear Southwest Families,

Each year, our Southwest Middle School staff and community have supported many SWM families during the holiday season. Our counseling department is currently planning around this program and building a list of families to support. If your family would benefit from support through our holiday giving program, please reach out to your student's grade level counselor. This conversation is confidential and will not be shared beyond the counseling department.

6th Grade-Lexi Hummert, ahummert3@parkwayschools.net

7th Grade-Courtney Shaw, cshaw2@parkwayschools.net

8th Grade-Charles Caltagirone, ccaltagirone1@parkwayschools.net

If you would like to contribute to our holiday giving fund, you can do so in the following ways....

1. Venmo @SWMPTO

2. Bring a gas and/or walmart gift card to SWM Welcome Center

3. Write a check (payable to Southwest Middle PTO) and bring to SWM Welcome Center.

We will collect funds until December 15th. We cannot thank you enough for your generosity. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to your grade level counselor.

Thank you!

HELP! I'm lost - please come get me and take me home.

Our November “Stock the Lounge” for SWM Teachers and Staff will be Wednesday November 29th, and the SWM PTO needs YOUR help! We are in need of non-perishable snack and beverage donations!

Please use the following link to sign up for the item(s) you would like to donate for our November event. You or your student can drop off your item(s) to the SWM Welcome Center any time before Wednesday November 29th!

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30E0E45ABAF2AA1F58-44712935-stock#/

(“Stock the Lounge” is a teacher and staff appreciation day where SWM families provide non-perishable snacks and drinks once a month to stock the teacher’s lounge with brain fuel! This is a great way to give back to your school community, especially if the volunteering opportunities don’t work with your schedule).