November 4...Daylight Savings | Turn your clocks back an hour!

November 8...MMS Fall Glow Event 3:50-5:45pm

November 9...Holiday Market Vendor Fair 9:00am-2:00pm in the MS GYM

November 11...NO SCHOOL | Veterans' Day Observance

November 18...Butter Braid Pick-up after school

November 19...8th Grade Junior Achievement INSPIRE Field Trip

November 22...MMS Skate Night @ Skate City 8-10pm

November 24...Slice of the Pie Day at Godfather's Pizza 11am-9pm | MMS Fundraiser

November 27-29...No School | Thanksgiving Break

Follow us on social media and keep up on all of the amazing things that happen in our school!

FACEBOOK: MemorialMSSF https://www.facebook.com/MemorialMSSF

INSTAGRAM: memorialmssf https://www.instagram.com/memorialmssf/

TWITTER: @memorialmssf https://twitter.com/memorialmssf

Memorial Families:

November has arrived, offering the perfect chance to reflect on all there is to be thankful for! At Memorial Middle School, we’re grateful for our wonderful parents, students, and staff. Thank you, parents, for supporting your child’s fall conferences and for helping make our Butter Braid fundraiser a success. The funds raised will bring fantastic opportunities for our students and teachers in and out of the classroom. Just a reminder: you can pick up your Butter Braids in the Memorial cafeteria on Monday, November 18th, from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m.

In October, we celebrated our dedicated custodians and recognized School Bus Safety Week. Now, November gives us a chance to honor veterans, express gratitude, and celebrate some special members of our Mustang family: our school psychologist, education support staff, and substitutes. We’ll also be shifting our Mustang Core Values focus to Respect as we head into the holiday season—a great time to reflect on how we show respect to others and ourselves in our school and community.

Finally, we’re so appreciative of the hard work and dedication from our teachers, staff, and students! The feedback from last night’s Treat the Halls event has been incredible. Close to 1500 people came out to enjoy our spooky school hallways and leave with plenty of loot. We were thrilled to share this fun night with the west-side Sioux Falls community. It was the perfect way to wrap up our first-quarter focus on community. We’re looking forward to carrying that spirit of respect and gratitude into the coming months!

Always grateful,

Dr. Demi Moon, Principal

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!!

Sign up HERE.

Learn about PBL Academy at Jefferson High School on 11/13 from 4:00-5:30pm.

Delivery Date to School: November 18

Pickup will begin at 2:30 pm and run until 5 pm.

Parent Portal only allows you to request full day absences now. (Easy access through "Shortcuts" at the bottom of your home page.)

You may still request the full day and leave a note in the comments section if your child is arriving late or being picked up early. We will adjust attendance accordingly.

*** PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU ARE SELECTING THE CORRECT DATE!! ***

You may also contact the school directly.

First choice: SFSDMemorialOffice@k12.sd.us

Second choice: 605-362-2785

Some of the times on student schedules for certain periods in Infinite Campus/Parent Portal are not 100% accurate. Please always refer to the bell schedules below for the times of each period.

*Note: DCM is District Collaboration. We follow that alternate schedule four times a year or once per quarter. Dates: September 27, December 13, February 7, and March 21.

Students in grades K-12 use Canvas as their learning platform. You have the ability, as a parent/guardian, to create your own account and observe your child(ren)'s activity on this platform.

If you created an account last year and paired your account with your child's, there is nothing new/more to do. When school starts, will be able to see your child(ren)'s 24-25 courses.

If you need to create a Canvas parent account and pair your account with your child's Canvas account, please see these DIRECTIONS.

You will need a pairing code for your child...please see this LINK for how your CHILD can generate this code from THEIR canvas account.

Social media, when used positively, can connect and inform. When used to instill fear and spread misinformation, it can be as dangerous as a weapon. Report, Don’t Repost!

It is getting darker and darker outside in the mornings and after practices at night. Please have a conversation with your student(s) about being extra cautious when going to/from school. Whether they walk, ride a bike or scooter, they need to pay more attention to drivers around them. It may be hard to see! Consider buying a reflective keychain or two for their backpack and/or coat. You can purchase a reflector light for their bike or scooter. Another idea is to stick some neon reflective tape on their backpack or bike. Safety first!

• Use infofinderi to see if your address is bus eligible. You can also see your bus information if eligible.
• Click HERE for SFSD busing and boundary information.
• If you are eligible for busing, and have questions on the Stopfinder app, please contact our transportation department. Stopfinder is only for those with an eligible bus route. Again - ONLY contact transportation (Allie) 605.367.7276 for Stopfinder help. For all other bus route information, contact MMS @ 605.362.2785.
• You can always contact School Bus Inc. (SBI) with bus questions or concerns @ 605.334.6644.

If you have questions, please ask Grace Muxen or Mrs. Pierson.

Counseling Assignments

Kerri Andela: 6th Grade

Renee Halde: 7th Grade

Alex Dobbs: 8th Grade

Counseling Office Phone #: 362-2789 | Website: http://memorialcounseling.weebly.com

Our Mission: As professional school counselors we help provide an environment in which students can achieve academic, career, and personal/social success. It is our goal and challenge to help students “Become the Best Version of Themselves.”

Holiday Assistance - Family Needs

As we prepare for the colder months and the holiday season, there are different needs that arise for families. We are very fortunate to have many resources available in our community to help with providing coats, clothing, food, and gifts for families in need.

Here is a list of local holiday assistance resources on the 211 Helpline Website.

*If there are concerns about bullying behaviors at school, please contact an administrator or counselor about the concern. Students can also submit a report on our school’s Memorial Middle School Student-Parent Canvas Page. Once on the page, students click on the “Student Report Form.”

Second Step (Social Emotional Learning) Program

Here is a summary of the September/October Second Step Lessons being taught in PRO Time (1st period) & parent/guardian follow-up questions to go with each lesson:

6th Grade Lessons

7th Grade Lessons

8th Grade Lessons

8th Grade Counselor Lesson - Career Exploration (SDMyLife/Xello Program)

Alex Dobbs (8th Grade Counselor) has gone into all 8th grade social studies classes recently to introduce students to the SDMyLife/Xello Program. This program introduces students to a variety of careers and resources at their fingertips. Students have taken a career interest inventory, which suggests careers matched with their interests. We encourage you to have your son or daughter login to their account and discuss the careers that match their interests. Students can easily login to their account by:

Logging into Canvas

Going to Mr. Dobbs’ Canvas Page “Counseling: TMN9-01 8 Counseling - P10 - S1”

Clicking on “Modules.”

Opening the following link: “Xello Login - SDMyLife Career Resources Website”

8th Gr. Junior Achievement (JA) Inspire Event - Nov. 19th

JA Inspire is a collaboration between educators and industry leaders, led by Junior Achievement of South Dakota. Our 8th grade students will be bussed to and from the Sioux Falls Convention on the afternoon of Nov. 19th.

This will be a great opportunity, which will include:

• Hands-on career exploration 8th grade students in-person
• 75+ South Dakota companies representing high-demand careers who will share career advice and engage students with interactive exhibits
• Virtual Career Stations enhancing impact to students across the state of South Dakota

Importance of Family Dinners - Connecting Time

A stack of studies link regular family dinner with lowering a host of high risk teenage behaviors parents fear: smoking, binge drinking, marijuana use, violence, school problems, eating disorders, and sexual activity. In one study of more than 5,000 Minnesota teens, researchers concluded that regular family dinners were associated with lower rates of depression and suicidal thoughts. In a very recent study, kids who had been victims of cyberbullying bounced back more readily if they had regular family dinners.

Additional Information about the benefits of family dinners

Conversation Starters (Print, cut out, and place in a jar to use during meals)

Drug & Alcohol Prevention - Talk Early & Often

Research shows that parents are the #1 reason young people decide not to drink or do drugs. So, start talking to your children about alcohol before they start drinking—as early as 9 years old. Even if it doesn’t seem like it, they really do hear you.

Here are some additional resources:

Conversation Goals - Drug & Alcohol Prevention Talk

Parents Make a Difference - Having the Talk Video (5 mins.)

How Tobacco Products (Vapes, Cigarettes) Affect Brain Development (1 mins. video)

Family Commitment Form - Parent/Guardian & Child Sign

Talk. They Hear You (App.) - Conversation Starters & Videos

Dear Memorial 7th and 8th Parents/Guardians,

A reminder that registration for our winter sports are open (Girls Basketball, Boys/Girls Wrestling, Boys Basketball and Performance Dance). If your child is interested in any of these activities and haven't done so already, please register them on our Memorial Bound website. https://www.gobound.com/sd/schools/sfmemorialms. Your child is NOT signed up for a sport unless they have registered through the BOUND site/app.

**All athletes must have BOTH a physical and participation packet on file to participate in athletic activities. The physical is required ONCE throughout their time in middle school. The participation packet is required every year and should have been part of the annual student update you completed on Infinite Campus at the beginning of the year.

Note on Physicals:

• If your child has already completed their middle school physical and it has been submitted, you do not need to upload their physical again.

• If your child has completed a physical but it has not been submitted, you can upload it directly through your registration OR you may send it to the MMS office with your child to turn in there.

• Already have the required documents filled out or completed? Need to bypass the upload document sections? Bound REQUIRES that a document or image be uploaded. If completed, you can simply upload any photo to submit (literally can be a blank photo) to bypass that section to submit the registration.

**Practice for girls' basketball begins Nov 4th. Wrestling begins Nov 12th.

Please see our Bound page for practice and game information.

We've received several calls from parents with questions about our athletics programs. Please do not call the MMS office to inquire about Bound or athletic registration as they are not able to answer those questions.

To ensure your inquiries are addressed promptly, please direct any further questions to our Athletic Director, Eric Hettinger, at eric.hettinger@k12.sd.us.

Bound Activity Registration Help - Please open the PDF below.

* When sending lunch money to school with your student, please tell them to bring it to the office (or lunch money mailbox) first thing in the morning so it can get put in their account by lunch time.

* Please call the SFSD Nutrition Office with any questions or concerns regarding your student's breakfast/lunch account. Unfortunately, MMS does not have access to food accounts.

Log into Infinite Campus as a campus parent to pay online.

CLICK HERE

1. Click the “Fees” tab

2. Click Optional Payments

3. Find the “Club Level” you would like to donate to and click “Add to Cart”

4. Submit payment and checkout

Scan the QR code to make a payment through PayPal.

1. Scan Code

2. Must leave a note in PayPal on what level of membership you’d like.

Check out the new SAM On Demand that started August 12th that spans across the entire city of Sioux Falls. You can get yourself, your family, or even just your kids to any destination (even school) by requesting a ride.

Kids under 18 are FREE. Adults ride for $1.50!

Download the SAM Transit app, call customer service @ 605.367.7151, or visit the online booking portal.

After booking your ride, the app will let you know the following information: pickup location at the nearest corner, estimated time of arrival, vehicle model, and license plate. You can follow the vehicle's progress in real-time. You can also share your ride details with someone.

SAM On Demand

SAM Busing

[Not related to the Sioux Falls School District.] Please contact the City of Sioux Falls | Sioux Area Metro with questions.

Office Hours are 7:30 am to 4:30 pm (Monday - Friday)

After Hours: (605) 362-2792

• Press 1 for attendance
• Press 2 to leave a message

Website: http://www.sf.k12.sd.us/memorial/home
Location: Memorial Middle School, 1401 S Sertoma Ave, Sioux Falls, SD 57106, USA
Phone: (605) 362-2785
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MemorialMSSF/
Twitter: @MemorialMSSF