Gearing Up For the First Week

* Know your 1st period class and upon arrival to South Middle students should report to their 1st period class. In 1st period all students will be given a copy of their schedule to keep with them.

* After day one of school, breakfast at South Middle is done through a pre-order. This link is on our website and student portal. Students will be taught how to pre-order. Breakfast is then delivered to the classroom and the student's account is charged. On day one students will purchase their breakfast in the cafeteria and take it with them to their classroom.

* Teachers will walk 6th grade students to class for the first two weeks of school. Teachers will also be walking 7th grade students to class for the first week of school.

* At the middle school level, cell phones and AirPods should be turned off and put away from the time students enter the building until they leave the building after school ends. If a parent needs to get in touch with their child or pass a message on to them, please call the SMS office at 636-327-3928.

* We update our website frequently and encourage you to use that as a resource to find answers to questions you may have.

* Our teachers do a wonderful job transitioning students to the middle school. We look forward to helping your child through this process in order to have happy, successful days.

* Ensure your child is aware of how they are getting home prior to the start of the school day. As a reminder the SMS office does not need to know how your child is getting home. However, if plans change during the day we can relay that information to your child.

* Students should know their bus number. SMS staff will display the bus lineup for all students to view so students know where their bus will be parked at the end of the day. Our staff will also help students find their bus in the parking lot.

* Traffic on the South campus is typically pretty heavy. Please be patient with SMS, THS, and Boone Trail as our traffic typically impacts each school. Our traffic flow for drop off and pick up is on the picture below.

* We do ask that parents picking up and dropping off students do so only at the front of the building.

Parents please keep in mind that South Middle officially opens at 7:15 a.m. when our staff is contracted to be at work. Any student arriving at SMS before that time is unsupervised.

All 6th grade students and new to SMS 7th and 8th graders will get their Chromebooks from their core teachers during the first week of school. Please know that middle school students are expected to keep their Chromebooks in the protective case we give them. Students will also receive a charger for their Chromebook. The Chromebook your child is receiving will be the one they have through their time in our middle school and into high school.

For returning students please bring your Chromebook with you fully charged everyday, including the first day of school.

In an effort to help library staff more effectively meet each student's individual interests and needs, we are making a slight change to how we handle permissions for YA (Young Adult) books in the middle school library.

It is the goal of the WSD librarians to collaboratively help each student find books that best meet their individual needs to develop them as a reader and learner. Just as teachers and librarians help guide students, it is important for parents to provide this guidance to their children as well. Therefore, if you do NOT wish for your child to check out YA books from the middle school library, please fill out the form linked below.

South Middle is a large middle school and we continue to have students enrolling. Due to some large class sizes, there are some students who will have a change in their schedule. Our Guidance Department has been reaching out to these students and will continue to talk to students impacted with a schedule change.

Over the summer our main gym had to have the wood floor replaced. Unfortunately due to high humidity the floor did not acclimate to the environment very quickly. The humidity is finally down and the installers are continuing their work. Due to this our main gym will remain closed for roughly two more weeks. In the meantime, all PE classes will meet in our small gym.

As we have students that are walkers and bike riders, please know door 10 would be your entrance to SMS. It will be staffed by SMS employees. We currently have one bike rack and another on the way.

At South Middle School we enjoy showing support for Timberland High School athletic events each year. Since the Timberland Varsity Football season is coming soon, we wanted to remind SMS families about the admissions practice for football games in the Wentzville School District. As high school football games are events planned and staffed for high school students, please know that any middle school student who attends needs to have a parent or guardian with them at the game.

Your student will be reminded of the admissions policy through the morning announcements. We appreciate all of your support and help in this matter.

Go Wolves!

Thank you,

Kyle Lindquist Principal Timberland High School

Scott Swift Principal South Middle School

ABSENCES: If your child is going to miss school, please call the attendance line prior to 9:30 am and leave a message with the reason your child is absent each day they are out. If your child is going to be absent for several days, leave a message with dates and reason why they are not in attendance. That can be communicated to attendance.sms@wsdr4.org. *When your child is out of school for any reason, they can email their teachers for missed work or simply check the Canvas page for their classes to stay caught up.*

LATE ARRIVAL: In the event your child is arriving to school late, a middle school student does not need to be walked in by their parent. They can enter the building on their own through the main entrance and sign in with us in the office. If your child was at the doctor and has a note, please have them give the note to the main office. Students will use their student ID to check in this year. It is easiest to locate through the Focus app by taking a screenshot of the student ID.

EARLY CHECKOUT: You do not need to call or email the office to have your child checked out early. However, we check your ID each time prior to us calling your child out of class, so please bring your ID inside with you when you come into South Middle to check your child out.

END OF DAY DISMISSAL: At the middle school level, the office and teachers do not need to know how a student is getting home at the end of the day. However, if plans change between a parent and their child during the day, we can relay the message to the student letting them know about the change. (Ex. The student was told by their parents they would be picked up in the car rider line. The parent now wants them to ride the bus. We can pass that message on to the student.)

ITEM DROP OFF: To drop off an item for a student, please enter the main office and utilize the kiosk and cubbies to complete the Google Form and leave the necessary items. We will get the items to them as soon as possible.

REMINDER: We encourage every family to check the Focus Parent Portal and make sure that you have updated all of your contact information and the emergency contact information with names of who can check your child out early from school in the event of an emergency or family need.

FOOD DELIVERY: Please know at the middle school level we do not accept food deliveries for students from restaurants or services such as Grubhub, Uber Eats, etc.