South MS Friday Blast

The temperatures took a dip this week as we got a taste of fall with some cold mornings.

School safety is a top priority at South MS, so as part of our ongoing A.L.I.C.E training, our entire school took a brisk early morning walk Wednesday morning to our A.L.I.C.E. drill rally points so our students and staff are familiar with the locations.

Field hockey and soccer concluded their seasons this week and football has one last game next week to wrap up their season.

Students and staff are pondering and prepping their fall festival costumes. Rumor has it that we have some fun themes this year and we can't wait to see everyone show off their creativity (please see guidelines below).

• Oct 22 - SCN Dine n Donate at J.T. Bankers - 5:00PM-9:00PM (details below)
• Oct 23 - "Biker vs. Surfer" Spirit Day
• Oct 23 - Student Picture Re-Take Day - 8:15AM-10:00AM (auditorium)
• Oct 29 - Phantoms vs Bears ticket order due
• Oct 30 - "Orange & Black" Spirit Day
• Oct 30 - Music Dept Trip to NYC (8th Grade Students) - 9:00AM - 7:30PM
• Oct 31 - End of 1st Marking Period
• Oct 31 - Happy Halloween! - Fall Festival Parade
• Nov 3 - Eastern Standard Time Begins (fall back 1 hour)
• Nov 4 - 8th Grade field trip to UBCTS
• Nov 5 - Student Holiday/Staff In-Service - Election Day
• Nov 6 - SCN Mtg. in the South MS Library, 7:00PM
• Nov 8 - Urban Air Event
  
• Nov 11 - Veteran's Day
• Nov 26 - K-12 student early dismissal/staff in-service
• Nov 27-29 - Thanksgiving Holiday
• Nov 29 - Phantoms vs Bears (Oct 29th ticket order due)

The combined middle school ice hockey team plays their first game of the season this Sunday, October 20th at 5:30PM at Bucks County Ice in Warminster. If you are looking for something fun to do this Sunday, come out and cheer on the team as they go up against the team from Bensalem. We have 3 South MS students on the team - Owen Trainer, RJ Dando, and Patrick Ryan. Good luck with your season opener!

Are you looking for something to get your special ghost or ghoul? Well then Scare Mail is for you! Scare Mail is a small treat bag that you can buy for your South student to be delivered on Halloween to their PM homeroom. Scare Mail will be on sale at the South Street Store during 11th period today through the 26th for 1/$3.00 or 3/$6.00. You can also order from home by filling out the flyer and returning it in a "Scare Mail" marked envelope along with your cash payment to the office. Please make sure to fill out the FIRST AND LAST NAME of who it is getting delivered to. Thank you!

South MS will celebrate our Fall Festival on Thursday, October 31st. We will be communicating the following costume guidelines to students but appreciate parent/guardian oversight as well. We are hopeful that the day will be enjoyable for students while at the same time maintaining the academic setting throughout the day. We encourage students to seek out fun costumes as opposed to scary costumes. Students should NOT wear costumes that contain:

• Face masks
• Intense horror/blood/gore
• Weapons of any type
• Political themes
• Drugs or alcohol
• Outfits that won't fit through a classroom door

Attention 7th & 8th grade students: Do you have a cool design that you would love to make into a sticker? Would you like to have your name printed on a vinyl sticker that can go on your notebook or water bottle? 7th & 8th grade students are invited to sign up to stay after school and make custom stickers in the STEM lab. Sessions will be offered Wednesday, October 23rd and Tuesday, October 29th. Pick up a permission slip in the office or outside room #107. Space is limited to 10 students per session, so sign up right away! Permission slips are due Tuesday, October 22nd.

Students and staff who would like to pre-order a soft pretzel can sign-up with the PM homeroom teachers.

Parents/guardians are invited to check out our new homework snapshot quick links. Click on your student's grade level to see a summary of weekly homework assignments:

• 6th Grade
• 7th Grade
• 8th Grade

We are less than 2 weeks away from the end of the first marking period. Students who are feeling a bit overwhelmed or just need a little help with their homework are encouraged to come to Homework Club from 3:00 - 4:15PM on Tuesdays and Thursdays. A teacher and/or teaching assistant will be available to help get students back on track with their school work so they aren't trying to play catch-up at the end of the marking period. Students do not need to sign-up ahead of time and are invited to attend as needed. Parents/guardians can pick-up their child after Homework Club or students can take the 4:15PM bus home. Keep in mind that the 4:15PM bus sometimes covers a large territory so it may take additional time to get all the students home. As always, we are here to help.

Attention Pennridge Community!

We're very excited to coordinate this worthwhile effort with you as we turn October into "SOCK-TOBER." You will see a box in all of our schools as we are asking you to consider donating new socks to fill these boxes. Throughout October, all Pennridge Schools will be collecting as many socks as we can for two organizations that help the homeless in our region. "Socks for the Streets" is based in Bucks County and we are also helping the "Giving Tree" organization which is also the group that our staff and students at North Middle School help annually. Please consider printing out or sharing the flyer (see above image) wherever you wish to help get the word and then, help us by filling these boxes! Let's work together and make our 1st-ever "Sock-Tober" as successful as it can be! All our best and thanks, in advance, for your help and support!

Join us for an exciting evening at Urban Air in East Norriton, being sponsored by CCN for CCN, SCN, and NCN families on Friday, November 8th from 6:30-9:00PM. The price per person is $20.00. Venmo transactions can be made to: #PennridgeCCN2425. We will be accepting Venmo prior to the day of event. Each child participating must complete the signup and waiver.

Hope to see all of our South, Central, and North MS families there!

If you want to make a donation to Rachel's Closet, you can drop off donations at South's main office lobby or purchase items from our Amazon Wish List. To learn more about ways you can help our students, please see our flyer here. Thanks for your ongoing support of this much-needed service to our South community.

RamPacks is a CONFIDENTIAL program for families who need assistance with food over weekends. This is a FREE program, without cost to participating students but you must sign up to receive RamPacks. Please fill out this form or contact your child's guidance counselor (lrusso@pennridge.org or mdeflavis@pennridge.org) to sign-up for this program.

1. Please remind students to charge their laptops every night.
2. Please remind students of the importance of listening carefully to AM and PM announcements for up-to-the-minute information that might affect their school day schedule.
3. If your child is going to be absent from school, please call the school office at 215-257-0467 to inform us of the absence, or e-mail us at SMSattendance@pennridge.org with your child's name, grade, and reason for absence (illness, family trip, etc.).
4. If your child is being dismissed early for any reason (dentist appt, doctor appt, family trip, etc.) please call the school office at 215-257-0467 or e-mail us at SMSattendance@pennridge.org with your child's name, grade, and reason for early dismissal.
5. If your child is going to be arriving late to school, please call the school office at 215-257-0467 or e-mail us at SMSattendance@pennridge.org with your child's name, grade, and reason for tardiness (overslept, not feeling well, etc.) to inform us of the late arrival.
6. Notification of absence, early dismissal, or late arrival will help us notify your child's teachers why the student is not in class. Thank you!

Website: https://www.pennridge.org/Domain/11
Location: 610 South 5th Street, Perkasie, PA, USA
Phone: 215-257-0467