SMS Weekly Update

Dear SMS Family,

We are excited to head into October and will begin “Student Talks” as a faculty here at SMS next week. Each Tuesday we bring teacher teams together to talk about students and what moves our staff can make to help support our middle school learners. It is a really amazing system we have here in Sherwood and I’m pleased to be part of this work.

In case parents are curious as to why we have early release days on Wednesdays, I wanted to share that our staff teams also come together in Professional Learning Community teams (PLCs) to talk about how their lesson plans align, what assessments need to be created, how we reteach or support our classes if a learning target was not sufficiently mastered and a plethora of other instructionally aligned agendas. I dropped in on multiple PLC teams over the past two weeks and have been really impressed with the depth and quality of conversations happening at SMS on behalf of our student learners. I know the shorter schedule can be challenging for parents, (my family included) but the positives of this process will take learning further and faster than not having this dedicated time for teachers to host these collaborative conversations.

Have a great week and welcome to October!

Andy

Oct. 2

• Early Release -- dismissal 2:26 pm

Oct. 3

• Builders Club 3:30 pm - 4:30 pm

Oct. 4

• PSO fundraiser begins
• Freaky Friday Assembly Schedule
  
• SHS Homecoming Parade 4:00 pm

Oct. 7

• PSO Meeting 2:30 pm - 3:30 pm

Oct. 9

• Early Release -- dismissal 2:26 pm

Oct. 11

• Statewide Inservice Day--No School

Oct. 14

• Board Meeting 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm

Oct. 16

• Early Release -- dismissal 2:26 pm

Oct. 18

• Picture Retakes
• Freaky Friday 5:00 pm - 8:00 pm
• Freaky Friday Dance 8:00 pm - 9:30 pm SMS Students Only

Additional events may be viewed on the SMS Calendar and the District Calendar.

Front Office 7:45 am - 3:45 pm

Student Hours 8:45 am - 3:26 pm (M/T/Th/F)

Student Hours 8:45 am - 2:26 pm (W-Early Release)

Doors Open to Students 8:30 am

The SHS Homecoming Parade is next Friday, October 4 at 4pm! The parade will start at Sherwood Charter School and end at Sherwood Middle School. Our Event Planning Leadership class will be creating a float that is sure to be a hit. Please show up and support the hard work of our students and this incredible tradition!

Recently it has come to our attention that, through an apparent TikTok challenge, students are removing and stealing zipper pull strings from Nike Elite backpacks. Some students appear to be involved in this challenge / game and are participating willfully, however a number of students have had these removed from their bags who are not interested in participating in this challenge. This trend is of concern to us as we respect student property and want to ensure a safe environment for all students and their items. Please talk with your students about the potential impacts of this activity, and the possible consequences, which could include detention or suspension if continued.

We have found a sweatshirt that has a tag on it that says it costs over $100 in our lost & found. If your student has lost it and you can identify it, please call Stacy at 503-825-5502. Please label your student's lunch boxes, water bottles and clothes. We make multiple attempts to get the items back to your student when we find labeled items!

"Find Your Stuff" happens every Friday in hopes that students are looking for their lost items. All remaining items at the end of the trimester are donated.

We are looking for a parent volunteer to help out with our Tabletop Gaming Club. It is held on Tuesdays from 3:30 p.m.-4:30 p.m. For more information, please call Kristi at 503-825-5510. You will need to have a background check for this year and can be done here.

Would you like to volunteer during our lunches to help in lunchroom, help check-out recess equipment or supervise the game room? We are looking for two parents to help every lunch period. Please review this sign-up and make sure you have a current background check.

We are looking for 20 parent volunteers for the SHS Homecoming Parade on Friday 10/4. You would need to arrive at 3:30pm to the Sherwood Charter School to receive your vest and location from Officer Wolfer.

You can email krarick@sherwood.k12.or.us directly or sign up here.

Builders Club is the largest service organization for middle school and junior high students, with more than 23,000 members worldwide. Members learn to work together and develop servant-leaders skills as they serve their school and community.

SMS Builders Club will meet on the 1st and 3rd Thursday of the month. There will be an activity bus that leaves SMS at 4:30. We will meet in Mrs. Christie's room, W-27, Our first meeting will be October 3. Anyone is invited to attend. Here is the permission slip that needs to be returned to Mrs. Christie.

The Sherwood Middle School Service Club engages in community service acts to support the Sherwood Community as well as the Portland Metropolitan area. This year, these community service acts would be in honor of a Sherwood community member, Isaac Schweitzer, a SSD student who passed away from Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP) and highlight Isaac’s mantra, “Prove them wrong” and the importance of prioritizing mental health as Isaac did. Any fundraising throughout the school year will be donated to the Isaac Schweitzer Scholarship Fund through the Sherwood Booster Club. Here is the permission slip that needs to be returned to Mrs. Scott.

We are looking for photos to use in the yearbook. Photos can be shared in Treering designated folders via the app or website. If you need help sharing, contact Alison.jedan@treering.com.

Monthly themes:

September: 1st day of school & fall sports and activities

Yearbooks are 10% off through October so purchase NOW and customize anytime throughout the year. Must be purchased by May 1st to get your book in time for the end of year signing events.

*ALL STUDENTS MUST SELECT YOUR 24-25 FLIGHT TIME TEACHER FROM THE DROP DOWN BOX WHEN ORDERING. This can be found in Student/Parent Vue.

Incoming SMS new students: Your school code is 101612219220699 which is different from your elementary school treering code. You can still login under the same treering account but will add your SMS code to purchase and customize your 2 FREE pages in your book. This code is also shown on the flyer. On Facebook: "Sherwood Middle School PSO" shares Yearbook info throughout the year as well as the SMS Newsletter.

If your student is interested in going on this trip to we will be having an informational meeting soon. We are working on finalizing details, in the meantime, please email smsgoeseast@gmail.com with any questions for this non-school sponsored trip.

Families,

This is a reminder that you can still join the Student Public Library Card Partnership program! Program sign-ups are open through the end of the month of September. Please see this link for program information and a chance to sign your students up: https://www.parentsquare.com/feeds/36420147

We would like to remind our families that if your meal application was approved in School Year 2023-2024, your student's eligibility will expire on October 8th, 2024 and a new application is required to continue receiving meals at no cost.

If your student qualified for meals at no cost automatically in School Year 2023-2024 and you have not received an email confirming your student’s eligibility for School Year 2024-2025, please reach out to nutrition@sherwood.k12.or.us to confirm eligibility for the current school year.

Please note that if your student’s eligibility expires, meals will be charged at the paid rate until a new qualifying meal application is processed.

If at any time you would like to confirm your eligibility for our meal program, please contact nutrition@sherwood.k12.or.us.

The current Meal Application for School Year 2024-2025 can be found here.

This institution is an equal opportunity provider.

“SHARE is a place for families to seek information, resources, and support services. The SHARE Center’s purpose is to strengthen community partnerships and decrease barriers related to student success, thereby improving the ability of all children and families to engage fully in a positive school experience”. - SHARE Center, Sherwood School District (please visit this page for more information)

If you need support obtaining school supplies, please reach out to the Share Center.