Bear Bulletin

I hope everyone is as excited as we are to welcome our new and returning Bears back to school this Thursday, August 15th.

Doors open at 8:15. The first period beginning bell starts at 8:40am. The school day concludes at 4pm.

Please be mindful of traffic on the first couple days of school as everyone get familiar with how to drop off and pick up their child. Parent pick up is located in the front of the school or on Parent Drive on the Northside of the campus. Please refrain from using the bus drop for pick up and drop off. This location is only used for SBISD buses, thank you.

We hope to see most of you at Bear Camp this week and for the start of school on Thursday.

Dear SBMS Parents,

If you have not completed your back to school forms yet, we ask all parents to complete the Returning Student verification forms online prior to the begining of school. If you are currently a SBISD parent, then you must use your Skyward Family Access login ID and password to complete your back-to-school forms. If you do not have a Skyward Family Access account or have forgotten your login ID and password, please contact the school so we can assist you.

ACCESS FORMS HERE

Please do not print out the forms, as they can be signed and submitted electronically. Make sure all the forms are completed by clicking the complete step button at the bottom of each form, you will also see a check mark next to each form. Once all your forms are completed, please click on the Submit Student Verification button . More information can be found on the SBISD website at the following link:

1- Complete all required vaccinations and make sure Nurse Erdin has a copy (see more information below

2-Complete all back to School forms in Skyward

3-Purchase Chromebook Insurance (Needed to receive a SBISD Chromebook) MYSCHOOL BUCKS

4- Know your bus number or where pick up and drop off locations are.

5--Know first period room number and teacher.

6-Bring food or purchase a lunch (memorize your ID number) -no drop offs for the first week

More information below.

Students entering 7th grade need the following vaccines prior to the first day of school:

• Diphtheria/Tetanus/Pertussis (DTaP/DTP/DT/Td/Tdap) 1 dose of Tdap is required if at least 5 years have passed since the last dose of tetanus-containing vaccine.
• Meningococcal (MCV4) 1 dose of quadrivalent meningococcal conjugate vaccine is required on or after the student’s 11th birthday. NOTE: If a student received the vaccine at 10 years of age, this would satisfy the requirement.
• https://www.springbranchisd.com/about/departments/academic-performance/student-support-services/nurses/immunizations

Please email the updated vaccine record to the school nurse at lauren.erdin@springbranchisd.com or drop it off at the clinic as soon as possible.

It is requirement that your student has the state mandated vaccines before the first day of school. Students will be sent home during 1st period on the first day of school if these requirements are not met.

*If your child is exempt from immunizations, please provide a notarized affidavit from the DSHS State of Texas. The affidavit can take 3 weeks or more to receive in the mail once parent has requested.

• Medication forms for the 2024-2025 school year can be found by clicking the link below. **A new form is required each year. https://www.springbranchisd.com/about/departments/academic-performance/student-support-services/nurses/forms
• The clinic is open to accept medication for the new school year. Please make sure medication is in the original container with the appropriate label and not expired. A medication form is required before medication will be accepted.
• When completing the Returning Student Verification on Skyward, please make sure you have completed the section, Student Contact, Emergency and Health Information. It is imperative that we are aware of any changes to your child’s medical information and know how to contact you in case of an emergency.

Please do not hesitate to contact the school nurse if you have any questions or concerns.

Lauren Erdin, MSN, RN

School Nurse

Spring Branch Middle School

Clinic: 713-251-4425

lauren.erdin@springbranchisd.com

Bear Camp Express is a new option for families this year on August 13th from 5:30- 7 pm. Bear Camp Express is ideal for families who only need to pick up their student’s schedule and Chromebook before school starts on August 15th. In order to receive your Chromebook at Bear Camp Express, all of your Back to School Forms, which includes your Device Loaner Agreement, must be signed via Skyward Family Access and your Chromebook insurance must be paid by August 12th at 3 pm.

CIS (Communities In School) will be present beginning at 5:30 pm in the cafeteria for a Skyward Help session focused on completing your Back to School Forms. This session will be offered in English and Spanish.

Below are links and QR codes to Skyward Family Access to complete all Back to School forms, as well as to MySchoolBucks to pay the Insurance Fee.

Skyward Family Access

MySchoolBucks

All students must have an annual SBISD student device loan agreement on file for this current school year. If you have not already done so in Skyward (found in the back to school forms in family access), please complete and return to Catherine Pavone the attached document.

Insurance is only $25 a year. It must be purchased annually. We accept cash, check, or My School Bucks.

This is different than completing the Device Loaner Agreement Form (above or in family access). Both items must be complete to get a Chromeboook.

Students who do not purchase insurance will not recieve a Chromebook. Chromebooks will be distributed during Bear Camp and the first week of school.

Students who qualify for Reduced-Priced Breakfast and Lunch this upcoming school year will now receive meals at no cost. In order to recieve this service, please complete the School Meals Application. In addition to receiving daily meals, completing these school meal forms can provide additional benefits including, discounted internet services, reduced academic test fees, discounted college application fees, and potentially more.

This is just a reminder that ALL athletics paperwork is due as soon as possible. If you have already completed the Athletics paperwork, it is on file and there is no need to do anything else at this point. These forms are available on the SBISD Athletics website under Participation Documents. Athletes will NOT be allowed to participate in Athletics until ALL paperwork is complete. Here are a few important dates:

• Wednesday, August 14: Football Equipment Pickup (Optional)10:00am -12:00pm
• Saturday, August 17: SBISD/Memorial Hermann Physicals @ Northbrook Middle School 3030 Rosefield Houston, TX 77080. 8:00am – 11:00am
• Tuesday, August 20- Friday, August 23 Volleyball Tryouts:
• 7th Grade: 6:30am – 8:00am
• 8th Grade: 4:10pm – 5:40pm
• Monday, August 26 First Day of Volleyball Practice:
• 7th Grade: 7:30am through 1st period
• 8th grade: 8th period until 4:45pm
• 
  
• *All dates and times are tentative and subject to change.
  

• Best practice is for parents to call in 15 – 20 minutes prior to their arrival to sign – out a student. We will work diligently to have the student(s) out of class for dismissal.
• You do have to come to the front office to sign out your student, but you do not need to come to the front office to sign them back in.
• Parents MUST have their ID’s to sign –out the student.
• Last chance to sign your student out for the day is at 3:40 pm. After 3:40, you will need to wait until the bell rings at 4:00pm.
• Anyone other than the parents picking up a student(s) during school hours name needs to be listed in Skyward under “Emergency Contacts” Please make sure the designated person has an ID.
• On Early release days the cut off time to sign - out student(s) is at 12:00pm. After 12:00pm, you will need to wait until the bell rings at 12:30pm.

Need to contact the attendance office – email: sbmsattendance@springbranchisd.com

• When a student is absent, please send a doctor’s note for absence to be excused. If the student doesn’t have a doctor’s note, the parent can send a note.
• Doctor’s notes can be submitted in person or by email up to 2 days after the absence.
• Please make sure the student name, ID# and grade is listed on doctor’s or parent’s note.
• Please make sure your student is at school on time. If they are not in their 1st period seat by 8:40am, they will be considered tardy.

In conjunction with Community In School (CIS) and our wonderful PTA's "Bears for Bears" we are excited to be able to offer support where needed. For more information about these two wonderful resources please see the below.

Parents,

Application to apply to volunteer are open. If you are interesting in volunteering in our school or any other SBISD school, please APPLY HERE. This process can take several days and must be renewed each year. Please remember your application must be current to volunteer in any capacity.

Thanks for your continued support!