Hello SBMS Community!

It was nice to see many of our families at student-led conferences. In every issue of the Spartan Update I include information about how to contact your child's teachers. If you ever have wonderings about how they are doing academically or about how things are going in class, please feel free to reach out to the school or to your child's teacher directly.

Friday 12/6- School Activity Night

We are excited to host our next student activity night on Friday 12/6 from 6:00-8:00. These are great opportunities for students to connect in a safe and fun environment. To help make this event a success, we are in need of 12 parent volunteers. Can you help us? There are many different ways of helping- from the large gym for supervising the dance, our game room, the movie room, and open gym. One note for this dance- we aren't sure if we will have pizza. We will do an announcement to students when we finalize that decision.

Repeat- SBMS Food Drive- SBMS Food for SBMS Families

The Sources of Strength program is also coordinating this year's canned food drive that the students will learn about on Monday in advisory. Much like the strength of gratitude, practicing generosity is another area of strength that can have a positive impact on mental health. Each year SBMS creates food boxes that are distributed in December to SBMS families. Our goal is to collect enough food to provide 20 food boxes. If your family is able to help, please see below for more information about what we are looking for. Our first collection day is Tuesday. Thank you for Sources of Strength and to the SBMS registrar Heather for helping to coordinate this campaign. If you are in need of a food box, please contact the office and speak with Heather (541-790-8300) or acharya_h@4j.lane.edu.

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

The International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPD) is observed annually on December 3rd. The theme for this year is "Amplifying the leadership of persons with disabilities for an inclusive and sustainable future." This theme recognizes the important role that persons with disabilities play in creating a more inclusive and sustainable world for all. It also emphasizes the importance of the participation of persons with disabilities in decision-making processes that affect their lives. (Source)

As I wrote above, each year SBMS collects food that is distributed to SBMS families in December. We appreciate if your family is able to help us help our school community.

What We are Looking For- Overview

• Canned produce
• Baking mixes/sweets
• Condiments
• Beverages
• Gift cards for grocery stores
• Snack food
• Dried carbs
• Pasta sauce
• Non-perishable proteins
• Gift cards to grocery stores
• Reusable or heavy-duty bags are highly appreciated.

Examples

Shelf Stable Protein

• Spam and other Canned Meats
• Tuna
• Beans
• Nuts
• Jerky
• Protein Bars

• Pasta
• Ramen
• Noodles
• Rice

Soups

• Canned soup
• Soup mix
• Veggie Broth
• Chicken Broth and Beef Broth

Canned Produce

• Canned Fruits
• Canned Veggies
• Applesauce
• Fruit Cups
• Baby Food

Breakfast

• Cereal
• Pop Tarts/Toaster Strudel
• Oatmeal
• Pancake Mix
• Breakfast Bars

Snacks

• Chips
• Popcorn
• Crackers
• Granola Bars

Gift Cards (Bring to office)

• Safeway/Albertsons
• Winco
• Market of Choice
• Fred Meyer’s

Volunteers are incredible forces in the lives of our students. We have many volunteer opportunities at SBMS- activity nights, field trips, and in-school events are a few examples. To be a volunteer, there's a two-step process:

1. Volunteer Application
2. Background Check

If you've been a volunteer in the past, your background check is good for 2 years.

We will share our volunteer opportunities through the Spartan Update and emails to families. To get the process started, please click the button below.

Spencer Butte is looking for a volunteer to be the Spencer Butte Mentor Coordinator. Our Middle School Lunchtime Mentoring Program supports at risk youth by partnering them with a Mentor for lunch once a week. Last spring we had 112 middle school student being Mentored in 4J. The Spencer Butte Mentor Coordinator volunteers one day a week, on Mondays from 12-1pm, and does up to 30 minutes of other communications during the week. The volunteer Mentor Coordinator is fully trained and supported by the 4J staff Mentor Coordinator. This is a fantastic way to get involved at in our community, and make a difference in the lives of young people, come join us! Please contact Kate Becker for more information: becker_k@4j.lane.edu 541-517-0394

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 Directory: https://spencerbutte.4j.lane.edu/41178_2 ]

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.

Canvas is the online learning platform that parents can use to track grades and what is happening in classes (announcements, due dates, etc...). It is a very important tool to use and I recommend that every parent/guardian uses their Canvas Observer account (accessed via the web or the Canvas Parent app on your phone).

The information below will tell new and returning users how to activate their Canvas Observer account for this school year.

All new and returning users must activate their account before you can start using Canvas Observer (even if you had an account last year). To activate your account , complete the following steps:

1. Visit 4J’s Canvas for Families webpage and click on “Forgot Password?”

2. Enter the email you provided your child’s school and then click the “Request Password” box

3. Enter a password after clicking the reset link you receive in your email

4. Return to the Canvas for Families webpage to log in with your username and new password

One account per email- Canvas Observer will not allow you to activate more than one account if parents/guardians have the same email address on file for their student. In this case, contact your school and provide a unique email address for each parent or guardian associated with your student.

Please contact us at 541-790-8300 or email me at nolan_p@4j.lane.edu if you run into any problems with activating your account.

Having the ParentSquare app will allow you to receive instant notifications from the school (in addition to emails). By going to this site or downloading the app you can get registered in a few minutes. Setup is pretty easy (I did it last year 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.