M 'n M

Dear SMS Parents and Staff:

I wanted to inform you that on Monday, October 4th, all 6th grade students and any staff member working with 6th grade students will be required to wear a facial covering/mask at school unless an approved face covering exemption is on file. Once again, this is for 6th grade only. Masking is still recommended for all other grade-levels, but it is not required.

The reason for the mask mandate for 6th graders at SMS is due to the number of cases and quarantines that we have seen this week in 6th grade. By mandating masks, we can reduce the number of potential quarantines and keep students in school. Sixth graders will be required to wear facial coverings at all times at school excluding lunch or for outdoor classes.

I will re-evaluate this requirement based on SMS data next week and communicate with our SMS families no later than Friday, October 8th on the status of this requirement moving forward.

Sincerely,

Dr. Cameron M. Ryba

Superintendent

Our cafeteria monitors have been hard at work rewarding students at lunch who are following directions and keep the time and space safe and clean. Students are given cafe PRIDE tickets when they demonstrate expected behavior. Each Friday, the monitors pull winning tickets with the students and they get to choose a reward from a choice board! Nice job Cafe monitors and students!

The Book Fair is coming to Strongsville Middle School October 4-7! Parents and guardians can shop during conferences Tuesday evening.

Great job Mariah Murphy (pencil pouch) and Lily Arndt (shirt)! They worked hard on their Makerspace creations this week.

Encourage your student to participate in the October Reading Challenge. Students can turn in their Bingo cards and be entered into a drawing to win a VIP IE in the Media Center with a select group of friends.

Congratulations to the CAPTAINS TEAM! The team recognized 159 PRIDE behaviors on their team this week! Great job showing PRIDE Captains team!

Parents, please take time to read through this and use this information as you see appropriate for your family.

Please click HERE to find an article from Kid Matters Counseling

Also, The Ohio Department of Education sent out a notification to school leaders informing them of recent information regarding TikTok:

Situational Awareness Bulletin: October TikTok Challenge

The Ohio School Safety Center (OSSC) has learned of a new October social media challenge that impacts Ohio schools and, specifically, staff and educators.

Some TikTok users have devised a monthly list that includes various pranks or “challenges” to take place at school. For example, in recent weeks, there have been incidents of school vandalism as part of the "devious lick" challenge.

The published challenge for the month of October asks students to “Slap a Teacher."

The challenge encourages students to slap a teacher or staff member and run before being caught committing the assault. The incident must be also be filmed or the challenge does not “count.”

Some open-source media states that TikTok is addressing these trends by deleting and blocking the names of users associated with the challenges. It is being reported that TikTok is now directing associated hashtags to its Community Guidelines page. However, these videos can still be found on this platform by using variations of these terms or misspellings.

Several school administrators are working to inform parents of this new and upcoming trend and are speaking with students about the potential repercussions that could result if they participate. We recommend sharing this information and a copy of your school’s code of conduct with your staff, students, and parents.

Please note that Strongsville City Schools will not tolerate these actions and will result in an immediate disciplinary action of suspension and recommendation for expulsion.

Ask your student if they received a PQR this week!

We are looking forward to celebrating and rewarding our students!

This week's PQR Weekly Winners Are:

• Avery Hansen
• Levi Lezar
• Bryce Pasko
• Marko Stepanovich
• Grace Craven
• Julia Ivanova
• Ava Lucas
• Dominic Zarife
• Grace Svaboda
• Adam Mcgaha
• Alexander Topor
• Rami Halabi
• Natalie Johnson

Feel free to watch this video HERE for more information on PRIDE QR Codes!

Did you know that Strongsville City Schools is a Google for Education Reference District? Districts with this distinction demonstrate excellence and thought leadership through the innovative use of technology to drive impact and positive learning outcomes. Over the past year, our District has continued to integrate new software and technology tools into the classroom to address the challenges of the pandemic. Issue 68 - the renewal levy for Strongsville City Schools on the November ballot - helps continue to provide our students with up-to-date technology and learning opportunities for all students.

SMS Band/Orchestra Department Fundraiser Now thru Oct. 12th!

Please help support the Strongsville Middle School Band & Orchestra programs!

There are many wonderful food, snack, candy, kitchen and holiday items to choose from!

Ordering is easy! Speak with a band or orchestra student and they can tell you how to place an order online or via their paper form.

Delivery will be sometime during the week of November 7th.

Thank you for your support!

Conferences are on October 5 (In-Person) or October 6 (Virtual). Please reach out to your team of teachers to set up a meeting if you did not get a chance to sign up. We look forward to seeing our parents this week!

The SMS PTA is excited to launch our 2021 Fundraising Campaign! Please click on the link below to contribute. All funds will benefit student and staff initiatives in our goal to restore our budget which was drastically reduced in 2020. Students receive entry to a prize raffle with each donation!

https://app.memberhub.gives/smspta2021

Students who are out due to a quarantine may be provided a Google Meet link for their classrooms (if not a link, instructional videos and materials on Google Classroom). Please note that just because a student is sick or absent from school, the teachers are not required to provide live stream instruction. However, absent students can always check their Google Classroom for assignments and any additional information and reach out to their teachers for additional questions.

Follow Mrs. Boytim and School News @MrsBoytim and @TheSMSMustangs on Twitter!

Administration:

Mrs. Boytim: jboytim@scsmustangs.org

Mrs. Peters: jpeters@scsmustangs.org

Mrs. Bailey: jbailey@scsmustangs.org

Counselors:

Mrs. Ray (6): eray@scsmustangs.org

Mrs. Gerber (7): kgerber@scsmustangs.org

Mrs. Pietrocini (8): spietrocini@scsmustangs.org

Website: https://www.strongnet.org/Domain/411
Location: 13200 Pearl Road, Strongsville, OH, USA
Phone: 440-572-7090
Twitter: @mrsboytim