SPARTAN SCOOP
August 27, 2023
From Mrs. Smith......
Good evening!
I hope you had a relaxing weekend. I enjoyed seeing so many faces at the Community Tailgate on Friday Night. What a great way to celebrate being a Kingsman and Penn Pride.
Last week we met with each grade level for our quarterly Grade Level Meetings. It was great to talk about making a positive IMPACT on the school community. We talked about being a good citizen on the bus and what an important job bus drivers have as they are charged with getting your students to and from school. We also shared and want to share with you, the importance of keeping students in the cars until we can supervise them at 8:50 am. We want to have a safe learning environment and that means both inside and outside of the building. We appreciate your help with that.
As always, we at Schmucker want to make sure your student is having an engaging learning experience. We are here to help. Please reach out at anytime. Have a great week and I will see your students in the halls.
SPARTY UP! SPARTYON!
#PHMExcellence
#PHMExcellence
P-H-M is among Indiana’s top performing public school corporations with Spring 2023 ILEARN results. The district is in the Top 5% of Indiana public schools that passed both ELA and Math. Congratulations to our students, teachers, and families for all your hard work and dedication to continue to grow in academic excellence!
School Libraries
School Libraries
The Indiana General Assembly passed a bill (HEA 1001-2023) that eliminated textbook and curriculum costs at public schools, which includes school supplies like pencils, paper, and notebooks. Parents will no longer be asked to pay school fees. For more information on the specific details, click here.
We also wanted to share that legislation was passed (HB 1447) that all schools prepare a catalog of materials found in the school library and a response and appeal procedure for materials parents find questionable.
We have that process in place already and it is posted on all school websites (Instructional Material Feedback). In addition, secondary teachers will provide their syllabus to you with listed materials and classroom teachers have been asked to create a master list of titles in their classroom libraries. More information will be provided by your teacher in classroom newsletters. As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please contact your classroom teacher or myself.
8th Grade Washington D.C. Trip Parent Meeting.
Exciting news! Schmucker Middle School is again able to offer a Washington, D.C. field trip opportunity to 8th grade students from Monday, May 20 to Friday, May 24, 2024. There will be an informational meeting on Monday, August 28 at 6:00 pm in the cafeteria for parents/guardians of students interested in traveling with us this spring. Representatives from Hemisphere Travel will be present with sign up and payment information. Mr. Reininga and Mrs. DuBois will see you there!
PHMEF P-H-M Homecoming
PHM Community Connections Fair
PHM Community Connections Fair
The Penn-Harris-Madison School Corporation’s ENL Services’ is sponsoring the District’s Community Connections Fair October 7th from 10 am-1 pm at Schmucker Middle School
56405 Bittersweet Rd., Mishawaka. This event is FREE and open to all families.There will be community resources, activities for kids and families, and music and dance performances. Come check out what the Mishawaka, South Bend, and Elkhart communities have to offer to your families!
The fair will also include cultural performances from P-H-M students and families.
Attendance Requests
Attendance Requests
Novels Club
Novels Club
SMS Daily Schedule 2023-2024
SMS Daily Schedule 2023-2024
Car Rider Line Procedures & Expectations
Car Rider Line Procedures & Expectations
Schmucker Middle School - Car Rider Line Procedures & Expectations 2023-2024
Keeping our students safe is our top priority at Schmucker Middle School. Please review the following information about the car rider line procedures and expectations. It is important that everyone adheres to these guidelines, so we can maintain a safe environment for our Spartan families, follow traffic laws, and respect the surrounding residential neighbors.
Procedures
All vehicles must enter the property from Jefferson Blvd. onto Pershing St. and then onto Fillmore St. to assume a position in line as it wraps around the building towards Door F (south end of the building). All vehicles that have entered the SMS parking lot are permitted to allow students to disembark from the vehicle and enter the building through Doors E and F only. At that point, our staff will control the flow of traffic to allow for the maximum number of cars to wrap around the building to Door F before releasing students again. While we understand some students may have classrooms near certain doors, we ask for your cooperation with these procedures to make sure that all SMS students are in attendance at the start of our school day.
Student Expectations
Be prepared with your personal belongings nearby and easily accessible for prompt exiting and entering the vehicle.
Remember to get in and out of the vehicle quickly and safely.
At the end of the day, watch closely for your ride. You are responsible for locating your vehicle and walking to your vehicle.
Exit your vehicle from the passenger side of the car only, directly onto the sidewalk.
Always be aware of your surroundings. Pay attention to traffic and others.
Follow all directions of traffic supervisors and teachers.
Respect other’s personal space and keep your hands to yourself.
Stay on the sidewalks to avoid walking on the grass or in the pick up area.
Just a reminder: there will be no drinks allowed in the building, other than a sealed water bottle
Please model our SMS Motto - Show Respect, Make a Difference, Set the Bar High!
Parents and Guardians Expectations
Refrain from using cell phones when driving. For the safety of our students, please refrain from any distractions while moving in line.
Students cannot be released from vehicles prior to 8:50 a.m.
To be respectful to our neighbors, enter our property off of Jefferson Blvd. by turning North onto Pershing St. Please refrain from performing u-turns on private or school property.
Yield to P-H-M buses entering or exiting school property on Fillmore Road.
Please show respect by following all directions of traffic supervisors and teachers.
Be attentive to the traffic flow and pull forward with the flow of traffic.
To ensure the timely and safe arrival and departure of students, stay in one line and pull your car up as far as you can along the curb.
Remain in vehicles at all times during arrival and drop-off.
Do NOT park in the lot and direct your child to cross traffic.
Students are NOT allowed to cross traffic to be picked up at Pennway or Penn High School.
All P-H-M properties are non smoking facilities.
Please model our SMS Motto - Show Respect, Make a Difference, Set the Bar High!
It is important to remember that we have a high volume of car riders each day, and we strive to make our arrival and dismissal procedures as safe and efficient as possible. You are an important part of our community and your cooperation helps to keep our students safe.
Sarah Smith, Principal, Cam Brundage, Assistant Principal, Matt Garber, Assistant Principal
Parent Notification Letter of Dyslexia Screening
Parent Notification Letter of Dyslexia Screening
IMPORTANT- 2023-2024 SMS Back to School Consent Form - IMPORTANT
IMPORTANT- 2023-2024 SMS Back to School Consent Form - IMPORTANT
Please take a moment to help us by filling out the consent below. The consent forms we are asking for you to review are - The Handbook Certification, The Consent to publish student photographs, and The PHM Mandatory Curriculum.
Important Information for Student Transportation
Important Information for Student Transportation
THE MORE YOU KNOW!
Water Only
Cellphone
Dress Code
Give Back with Amazon Smile
Box Tops for SMS
Approved PE Shirts
Commonly Used Links and Information
Continued Focus on the Indiana Academic Standards
Safety Update: How Can Parents Monitor On-Line Activity
Parents,
Families have the option of receiving weekly emails outlining your students online activity while using Chromebooks. This online service is free and it gives parents an opportunity to maintain a safe learning environment at school and at home. Please click on the attached links to learn more about how Securly can help you.
Click to read and download a copy of the parent letter that provides step-by-step instructions on how to set up your Securly Parent Portal.
SAFE SCHOOL HELPLINE
If you see something, hear something, say something! The Safe School Helpline is a convenient, confidential way for anyone to report information about situations that might affect safety at any P-H-M school or building. You can call the number any time of the day or night to report concerns about unsafe or potentially disruptive activities or situations including drug or alcohol abuse, weapons, harassment, bullying or threats. All calls are completely confidential.
800-418-6423 (800-4-1-VOICE, ext. 359)
TEXT: 66746, TIPS
Helpful Contacts
Chromebooks- Sokun Kit (skit@phm.k12.in.us )
Attendance- Linda Brown (lbrown2@phm.k12.in.us)
Textbooks and Fees- Ashley Kirkpatrick (akirkpatrick@phm.k12.in.us)
Special Education Teachers
6th grade- Emily Morin (emorin1@phm.k12.in.us )
7th grade- Allison Steele (asteele2@phm.k12.in.us )
8th grade- Allie Chrise (achrise2@phm.k12.in.us )
Multiple Grades-
School Counselors
Allie Piatt (Last Names A-G) (apiatt@phm.k12.in.us)
Cara Watt (Last Names H-N) (cwatt@phm.k12.in.us)
Andrea Hoover (Last Names O-Z) (ahoover@phm.k12.in.us )
Athletics- Jim Modlin (jmodlin@phm.k12.in.us )
Enrollments/Withdrawals/Address Changes- Aly Abel (aabel@phm.k12.in.us)
PTO- (schmuckerpto@phm.k12.in.us)
Mrs. Sarah Smith
Email: spsmith@phm.k12.in.us
Website: http://schmucker.phmschools.org/
Location: Schmucker Middle School, Bittersweet Road, Mishawaka, IN, United States
Phone: 574-259-5661
Twitter: @SMSSpartanPride