SPRING RIDGE WEEKLY

This week Harriers, we are going to focus on the A in Soar. A stands for being Accountable. Being accountable means being responsible for yourself and always doing the best you can. Being Accountable means you are submitting your work on time and you are always in your assigned areas. Do not forget there is a 2 hour early dismissal day on Thursday and no school for student on Friday. Enjoy the SMC Fair and keep SOARing SRMS!!!!

Monday, September 16th is a B day:

Our intramural sports programs will kick off on Monday, September 16th with Flag Football and Basketball hosted by Ms. Neal and Mr. Wilson, respectively. Both programs will meet on Mondays and Wednesdays running through October 28th. Permissions slips are available in the main office and need to be submitted as soon as possible, as space is limited.

Running Club (Cross Country) will begin on Thursday, September 26th, and meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays through November 5th. We will be running outdoors, including through wooded trails, training for the Middle School Cross Country Meet. Permission slips will be in the office beginning the week of September 16th, and must be submitted by Tuesday, September 24th. Space will be limited to 30 participants, so get your slip in as soon as possible.

If you are having trouble accessing Schoology to view your child's progress in school, well there is help. Please contact Ms. Swann @ answann@smcps.org for assistance.

The counseling department will be visiting science classrooms the week of 9/16 through 9/19. The counselors will be discussing "The Signs of Suicide" and will be utilizing the MindWise Platform. If you have questions or concerns please reach out to your child's grade level counselor.

We are so excited to have a new Counselor Ms. Bright who is focused on helping Military students (Military Family Life Counselor). Ms Bright can provide counseling support either individually or in group sessions. She can help with some topics like managing feelings during parent deployments, bullying, self-esteem, making new friends, family counseling, and other common middle school concerns. Attached to this is a permission form for Ms. Bright to be able to work with your student. There are two boxes that Ed Checked if you want your student to have individual counseling sessions and the second box is for group sessions. Ms. Bright can be reached by phone at 240-577-8056 or by email brightc@magellanfederal.com for any questions or concerns. Permission slips can be turned in during advisory or emailed to Ms. Bright.

This is a reminder that all cell phones must be turned off and kept out of sight at all times during the school day. Parents, we greatly appreciate your support and cooperation in helping us create a more focused learning environment for all.

Effective communication is critical to the success of St. Mary’s County Public Schools (SMCPS). This will be crucial not only for emergencies but for our ability to communicate with families in general. Online Emergency Information Update Forms are now available through the student’s Home Access Center (HAC). Once logged in, directions to access the online form can be found HERE. A video with instructions is available HERE. It is vital that all information is updated in eSchool. The deadline for the online submission of Emergency Information Update forms is October 31st, 2024. Please click here for the Blank Emergency Form.

Bus Schedules are available on the school system’s website.

If you are a car rider student please complete this online form to get a pass.

Drop Off and Pick-Up Instructions:

Drop off is at 7am. When you enter the south entrance to SRMS you will drive straight ahead (passing the ball fields and trailers) and follow around to the stop sign where you will have your student exit. You will exit straight ahead. Students will walk up the sidewalk to the building entrance.

Pick up takes place in the same location.

All afternoon car riders must complete the online registration. A placard will be made for

each student. Placards must be visible on car dashboard when picking student(s) up. Students

will be dismissed to the cafeteria at 1:57pm. Staff will radio names of students from placard to

cafeteria- student(s) will exit building and enter the vehicle. Exit straight ahead.

Note: If you do not have a placard you must pick your student up in the front office after

showing a valid photo ID after 2:00.

In recent weeks, phishing attempts have been targeted at SMCPS student accounts using methods outside of SMCPS managed services.

Phishing is a method where malicious individuals attempt to trick you into providing them with information about you and your online account information. These methods can take many forms, so staying vigilant for anything that seems out of the ordinary when online is important.

Additionally, please note that SMCPS IT support will never contact you on Discord, Steam, or any other application that is not managed by SMCPS and will never ask you for your account password. If you are contacted on any outside application stating to be SMCPS IT, please DO NOT respond, block/report the individual and inform your site administration so that it can be escalated. Contact your building-level tech or the Department of Information Technology Services (ITS) at your first leisure for more information.

Did you know that we have a School-Based Health Center (SBHC) that is open to all of our students? The Health Center provides many services, such as testing for illness (flu, strep, RSV, COVID-19, etc.), sports physicals, vaccines, well visits and more! Parents have to enroll for their student to receive these services - but do not have to be present for visits. Learn more online at smchd.org/sbhc or by calling (240) 434-6059.

Harriers S.O.A.R. is our theme at Spring Ridge. Our students and staff are Safe, On-Task, Accountable, and Respectful at all times, in all locations, and in all interactions throughout their school day. We teach our S.O.A.R. framework each day and model in all of our interactions in order to have a safe, fun, positive, and healthy school culture.

Students are responsible for the care and upkeep of all of their SMCPS assigned resources: print and technology. This document outlines all of the policies and procedures in addition to pricing for lost or damaged devices. Please bring your charged laptop on the first day of school!

Please note that Attendance at school is mandatory. If a child is absent, that means they are not here to learn, and that has a direct impact on grades and achievement. If a child is going to be absent for an excused purpose, it is essential to report the absence. The easiest way to do this is to go to the SRMS website and report the absence electronically. Failure to report an absence will automatically create an unexcused absence for the child. If a child has an unexcused absence, teachers are not required to provide make-up work, which will impact grades and achievement.

At Spring Ridge Middle School, us Harriers like to SOAR together and one way we do that is by helping each other out. That's why we have created "Everybody Eats".
It is our lunch donation fund that ensures all of our Harriers have access to a nutritious
lunch to make it through their day. Please consider making a donation to our lunch fund.

Donations can be made online, by visiting MySchoolBucks. Go to www.myschoolbucks.com. Go to your profile and make sure that your student is added as a student. Then click on the School Store link at the top of the page or the school store icon in the middle of the screen, and browse all items. At this point all items that are available for your student will show.

Always S.O.A.R. like a HARRIER!!

Website: https://schools.smcps.org/srms/
Location: 19856 Three Notch Road
Phone: 301-863-4031
Twitter: @SRMS_SMCPS