Hello SBMS Community!

The last week of school! This year has flown by and I can't believe we are in session for just a few more days!

Congratulations to Ms. Toni Hansen and the SBMS bands for their stellar concert last week! Thank you for all of your hard work Ms. Hansen and students!

Tonight (6/10) we have our school play at 6:00! We hope to see you there!

On Thursday we have 8th grade recognition with some fantastic 8th grade student speeches and performances. The event starts at 6:15 and 8th graders need to be in the small gym by 5:45.

As a reminder, the last day of school is Friday the 14th and is a full day (our day ends of 3:40). We will have yearbook distribution for 6th and 7th graders (8th graders get theirs on the 13th), shorter class periods, our annual advisory tug-of-war assembly competition, and then some fun activities in the afternoon.

We still have hundreds of library books that need to be returned. If you could help remind your child to check the list to see if they need to return a book, that would be very helpful. Also, our lost and found is overflowing. If your child lost something this year, now is the last chance to check the rack and boxes to see if they can find that jacket, hoodie, lunch box, water bottle, etc...

Thank you for your time in reading this week's Spartan Update. If there is anything that I can do for you, please feel free to contact me at nolan_p@4j.lane.edu, 541-790-8300, or by clicking the Contact Paula button at the bottom of this newsletter.

Have a nice day,

Paula

Paula Nolan

Principal

Spencer Butte Middle School

If your student has medication at school, it will need to be picked up by 4pm on Friday, June 14th, 2024, the last day of school.

Prescription and over the counter medications must be picked up by a parent or authorized adult.

EPI-pens and inhalers may be sent home with student only with your permission. If you authorize us to send your students EPI-pen/inhaler with them, please email downes_j@4j.lane.edu.

Any medication left past this time and date will be disposed of. Medications cannot be left at the school over the summer.

Thanks!

Nurse Jenny

We would appreciate you helping students search for any overdue library books that may be at home. An overdue, as well as lost book list (from the 2022-2023 school year) is posted outside of the library and updated weekly.

If your student knows that a book is lost, it would be helpful if you communicate that to us so we may provide you a bill and clear the account before the end of the school year. Please email Jenn Kotlarek with any questions (kotlarek@4j.lane.edu).

To order a 2023-2024 SBMS Yearbook please use the link below.

We do order a set number of books each year based on enrollment, so we recommend placing an order as soon as you can to ensure order fulfillment. Thanks for supporting our yearbook.

Each week you receive the Spartan Update message in your inbox and via text. Next year the district is switching our mass messaging platform to ParentSquare. The biggest difference you will see is that we will no longer have the ability to automatically push text messages to your phones next year. However, if you download the ParentSquare app from your app store of choice and create an account, our messages can be sent as notifications and if you still want texts you can also go into your settings and enable text messages. You will start seeing some messages from SBMS coming via ParentSquare, and we will use text messaging for the Spartan Update for this week (week of 4/15) and the week of 4/22. After the Spartan Update for the Week of 4/22, we will no longer push this info out via text.

By going to this site or downloading the app you can get registered in a few minutes. Setup is pretty easy (I recently did it for my own parent account). Basically, you'll create your account and then you'll be asked to link your children to your account. The site or app will walk you through the process. If you need any help with it, please call us at 541-790-8300.

This platform is being used at all schools and I encourage our community to download it so you get the instant notifications in addition to emails.

We are here as a part of your child's team. Whenever I have the opportunity to speak with a parent about something involving a class I always ask if they've had a chance to connect with the teacher. I ask that question because involving the teacher is the most powerful thing that we can do to help your child in class.

Our teachers love to hear from parents. Whether there is information about something happening in the student's life, a fun story about when your child spoke about the class at home, concerns about academic progress, or questions about the class, connecting with staff is the first and most important step in helping your student to succeed.

There are many ways to connect with staff. Sending an email or message in Canvas is the most direct way of reaching teachers. You can also call the school at 541-790-8300 and leave a message for a teacher to return.

Contacting Teachers Via Email

To find a teacher's email address, please access our directory below.

[Link to SBMS Staff Email List: https://spencerbutte.4j.lane.edu/staff-e-mail-list/ ]

Contacting Teachers Via the Canvas Parent App*

You may find the Canvas Parent app the easiest way to send a message. When in the app you can send a message by tapping on a course name and then the speech bubble emoji in the bottom right corner. Alternatively, you can also navigate to the inbox, tap on the speech bubble emoji, and then select the teacher/course you are intending to send the message to.

Canvas on Desktop*

If you are accessing Canvas via desktop you are able to send a message through the Inbox feature. To use that, follow the directions below:

1. Click on the Inbox logo/name on the left hand side of the screen.
2. Once you are in the Inbox, look at the top of the webpage and then click the pictogram that looks like a pencil writing on paper.
3. After you do that, you can select the course/teacher you are attempting to contact.

*Information about how to access Canvas is below.

This newsletter is produced by Spencer Butte Middle School for the benefit of our school community. Please feel free to contact us directly.

In addition to contacting teachers, Canvas is also the tool that you can use to keep apprised of your child's grades in class.

How can I access Canvas?

You can access Canvas via the Canvas Parent app (available in the Google and Apple app stores) or by going to https://4j.instructure.com/login/canvas

How do I connect my account to my child's?

In Canvas, parents are called Observers. From the 4J Canvas webpage we learn that "As an Observer you will be able to check grades, monitor assignments and due dates, as well as communicate directly with your student’s teachers."

The key part of becoming an Observer is to pair your parent account with your child's account. To do that, you need a pairing code from your child. There are two ways to get your child's pairing code.

Student Supplied Pairing Code

If you would like to get the pairing code directly from your student, please click on the link below with your child to learn how to get the code:

Link to Creating a Pairing Code for an Observer Video: https://www.loom.com/share/33d85e2c1c7d4b6087ae0a708d63afac

Paula Provides the Pairing Code

Another way to get a pairing code is to contact me directly (nolan_p@4j.lane.edu, 541-790-8300, or click the Contact Paula button at the bottom of the page). Once I receive your request, I will generate the code and email it to you.