Spartan Scoop

Good afternoon, everyone -

Whew! I don't know about you, but I feel like this year has flown by - and this last week passed in the blink of an eye because of all the student work and activities!

Academically, this past week we finished NWEA testing. We use this data as one way to check student progress at the (roughly) halfway point of the year. We also completed English Learner Progress Monitoring. During this time, we review the progress of all of our English Learners and all of our students who were reclassified as English proficient in the last 4 years. Our teaching staff uses this data to inform the supports provided in the classroom.

In school governance, our English Learner Advisory Committee met and had a presentation on immigrant rights. We also had a School Site Council meeting - agenda & notes are here.

School culture-wise, a lot happened! We started the week with Girls Soccer and Boys Volleyball tryouts. We also had two of our students represent us at wrestling Sectionals & County. Our Peer Connect lunch club took a field trip. Our cheer squad (see below) performed at the Project Cornerstone annual celebration. Our choir, orchestra, and band classes under the direction of Mr. Ancheta and Mr. Filice put on a great concert on Tuesday night. The Snoopy Snowball Dance organized by the Leadership class led by Mr. Huang was a great night of music, dancing, and activities on Friday night! And, finally, we had a Debate tournament on Saturday! (Thank you Fremont High School Debate!).

Sunnyvale Promise

Every student is known by name, strength, and need,

Ready to excel in high school and beyond,

and to lead a life of joy and purpose.

Three reminders:

1. Homework Center will be closed on Wednesday & Thursday this week.

2. Debate, Journalism, and Steel City Codes have finished for this calendar year! They will resume

in January (date coming).

3. Our last day of school for 2024 is Thursday, 12/19/24.

Let's finish our last four days of the 2024 Calendar here at Sunnyvale Middle School with great joy, peace, and community!

Vince Iwasaki, principal

on behalf of the Sunnyvale Middle School staff

Useful Links:

A/B Day Schedule

Bell Schedule

Cafeteria Menu

This week's features ...

Attendance Note

Community Questions

Construction & Traffic Updates

Lost & Found

Journalism Club - first edition!

High School Registration

Heart & Sole

Cheer Team @ Project Cornerstone conference

Sports

PTSA!

Pictures from the week

After School & Lunchtime Opportunities!

Upcoming Calendar

* Monday, 12/16 is a "B" Day

* Thursday, 12/19 - LAST DAY OF SCHOOL UNTIL January 6, 2025!!

* Monday, 1/6/25 is a "B" Day

> Signups for Lunch League Bocce Ball (play starts 1/13)

* Monday, 1/13/25 is an "A" Day

* Friday, 1/17/25, Fremont & Homestead High School visit our 8th graders!

* Monday, 1/20/25, *** NO SCHOOL *** Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

* Tuesday, 1/21/25, *** NO SCHOOL *** Teacher Learning Day

* Wednesday, 1/22/25 is a "B" Day

* Monday, 1/27/25 is an "A" Day

Report an absence:

email (preferred): sms.attendance@sesd.org

phone Julie Melville: call: 408.522.8288 x2105

Please include student's first & last name, grade, & reason for absence

Ask your Community Questions here! (Earlier answers to Community Questions are here).

Just checked the list - no questions - if you have them, ask them.

~ Vince

Construction Updates in Pictures 12/06/24

Please see the weekly Sunnyvale MS construction update below:

> Mechanical, electrical, and plumbing work for both buildings is ongoing.

> Framing for the windows (all the big open spots on the walls) has begun

> The elevators will be lowered into place by a giant crane on Monday, 12/16

This is an old picture. There are probably 40 sweatshirts and jackets in the Lost and Found area. All of these will be washed and donated over the break so please make sure you claim your stuff before Thursday!

The Fremont Journalism Club has been coaching a Journalism Club at Sunnyvale Middle School.

They have just published their first edition here!

If you are interested in joining Journalism after the break, please email:

zaynab.mohiuddeen@gmail.com & vince.iwasaki@sesd.org

8th grade families!

On Friday, January 17th, counselors from Fremont High School and Homestead High School will be on campus to talk with our 8th graders about their future high school. As part of this visit, students who are "English Learners" will also take a writing assessment for placement in the appropriate English class.

By January 10th, the high schools will share with us who is in the Homestead boundary and who is in the Fremont boundary and we will make sure that students attend the correct high school orientation meeting.

When the high schools ask us to share information, we will be sharing it with all 8th grade families because our system is not set up to distinguish between high schools. So ... if you are a Fremont family, pay attention to the Fremont information. If you are a Homestead family, pay attention to the Homestead information. Your student will know if they are Homestead or Fremont on Friday, 1/17.

High school registration opens on Monday, January 21st. District enrollment information is here:

Fremont Union High School District Enrollment Information (English)

Fremont Union High School District Enrollment Information (Spanish)

Fremont High School has also provided an information page for incoming 9th grade families:

Please visit the FHS website for more information: https://fhs.fuhsd.org/guidance-student-support/incoming-students

Thank you, all!

Join the Heart & Sole Team at Sunnyvale Middle School! Heart & Sole is a social-emotional program for girls in 6th-8th grade that creatively uses a fun curriculum and physical activity to teach critical life skills, such as developing healthy friendships, managing emotions, standing up for yourself and others, and how to set goals and make intentional decisions. Coaches will lead small groups of girls through discussions, fun games, and workouts to promote empowerment and healthy lifestyle choices, all while training them to run/walk a 5K (3.1 miles). The 10-week season starts the week of March 3 and ends with the celebratory Girls on the Run 5K on May 17. The team will meet on Fridays from 3:30-5:30 pm.

The cost is $295 per participant and financial assistance is available to all families during the registration process. Go to www.gotrsv.org for more information and to register your girl!

Contact Coach Mona Palanisamy - mohanask@hotmail.com for questions about the Sunnyvale Middle Heart & Sole team.

19 of our cheer team along with coach Sherinda Gonder performed at the Project Cornerstone conference this past week. 6 of our girls also spoke to the 100+ attendees about what this cheer team has meant to them. Congratulations to Coach Gonder, assistant coach Khiem, and the team!

From Coach Gonder to the school staff:

"I just wanted to share a pretty cool experience from yesterday. As y'all know, the cheerleaders went on a field trip yesterday.

They did an INCREDIBLE job. They put on a 10 minute show that included speeches, whole team performances, some small group performances and they taught the crowd a SMS cheer tradition "Beat". They are an eclectic group of kiddos and to see them come together was such a gift. They nailed their moves, performed with confidence and pride and just exuded spirit. I teared up but I'm a crier soooo

There were about 100 people at the event; they were crazy nervous. I had to take my own 'yoga' breaths (a skill I learned from Ms. Chan who has us do at the beginning of each class every day) as they took the stage.

Just wanted to share with y'all so you can congratulate a cheerleader."

SEASON THREE Games begin this week!

8th grade Boys Volleyball

Tues 12/17, 4pm, home vs. Graham Bears

Thurs 12/19, 4pm, away vs. Lawson Lightning

7th grade Boys Volleyball

Tues 12/17, 4pm, away vs. Graham Bears

Thurs 12/19, 4pm, home vs. Lawson Lightning

6th grade Boys Volleyball

Tues 12/17, 4pm, home vs. Graham Bears

Thurs 12/19, 4pm home vs. Lawson Lightning

7th/8th Girls Soccer

Tues 12/17, 4pm, home vs. Graham Bears

Thurs 12/19, 4pm, away vs. Lawson Lightning

6th/7th Girls Soccer

Tues 12/17, 4pm, away vs. Graham Bears

Thurs, 12/19, 4pm, home vs. Lawson Lightning

Valley Athletic League website with scores & schedules & gym locations

PTSA Updates:

PTSA membership - We're so close to our goal of 150 SMS PTSA members! Please join today!

PTSA Donation Updates - SMS PTSA has raised ~$30,000 so far this year. The target for SMS PTSA is to raise $45,000 this year. Thanks for all of your donations to help us raise this money!! Here is a link to the SMS donation portal if you would like to donate. If your companies match your donations, please donate through them.

Fundraiser Update: Thanks for all of your support at Armadillo Willys. The event totaled $2,971.16! 20% of the net sales amounting to $594.23 will be donated to SMS PTSA! We have scheduled a PTSA Fundraiser dinner at Chik-Fil-A on Dec 17. Hope to see all of you there at the fundraiser dinner! If you have a particular restaurant that you would like to have a fundraiser in, send an email to SMS PTSA President

Fall Celebration: Hope all of you had a great time meeting old and new friends at SMS’s Fall Celebrations. Thanks for supporting the PTSA’s auction, Pizza, cotton candy and popcorn sales. It was a huge success! If you would like to see more of these events, please reach out to SMS PTSA President with your feedback.

If you have any questions regarding PTSA, please contact:
president.sms.ptsa@gmail.com

New after school and lunch clubs!

If you are looking for something to do at lunch or after school, please check out these clubs!
After School & Lunch Clubs

We have everything from BlackPink to Gardening to 3D printing to K-Pop to Dungeons & Dragons to Robotics to ASL (American Sign Language) - there is a club for everyone. And if you have not found a club to fit you - please consider visiting:

Peer Connect Club: Wednesday, lunchtime, Rm E1 with Mr. Burnsed

Wellness Center: Open before school, brunch, and lunch in Rm B7 with Ms. Carina & Ms. Henry

We also have high school- and teacher- led clubs after school here:

List of After School clubs, descriptions, schedule, and signups.

If you would like to join a club, please go to the meeting!

Check out "The Guide" - everything a new student needs to know about navigating Sunnyvale Middle School! This work was put together by three Sunnyvale Middle School 8th graders in July, 2023. Significant portions of this work will show up in our PBIS Expectations assemblies and in our AST lessons. Credit to: Lauren Ishimatu, Claire Ishimatsu, and Maggie Ng for creating this for our community!

Previous Librarian's Corner articles

The school nurse shares reminders, notes health trends, and encourages healthy behaviors!

Previous Nurse's Corner articles.

Get to school no later than 8:20 am, except on late start Wednesdays!

On Wednesdays, get to school no later than 9:30 am.

Opt-in to Texts - Spanish

Opt-in to Texts - English

Report an absence:

Julie Melville ......... sms.attendance@sesd.org (preferred) OR

call: 408.522.8288 x2105

• Include student's first & last name, grade, and reason for absence

Principal Team:

Vince Iwasaki (vince.iwasaki@sesd.org), Principal

Allison Crawford (allison.crawford@sesd.org), 6th grade Assistant Principal

Giovanni Bui (giovanni.bui@sesd.org), 7th grade Assistant Principal

Angela Guzmán (angela.guzman@sesd.org), 8th grade Assistant Principal

Contact us:

1080 Mango Avenue

Sunnyvale, CA 94087

Phone: 408-522-8288

Office Hours: 7:30 am- 3:30 pm