Beginning this Thursday, students and staff will have the opportunity to participate in a a variety of festive dress up days here on campus. Please refer to the 12 Days of Cheer Holiday Dress Up Calendar for all of the details.
If you have questions, please feel free to let me know.
I have had a number of parents who have asked if there is a Schim Staff favorites list available. The answer is yes! If you have times throughout the year when you would like to show appreciation or recognize a staff member in a special way, please feel free to reference the staff favorites list for ideas.
If you have any questions, please let me know.
If your student has misplaced any items here at school, please encourage them to visit our lost and found located to the side of the cafeteria. Currently, we have over 30 water bottles, 10 lunch bags, and an assortment of hoodies and jackets within this collection. All unclaimed items will be donated on Thursday, December 19th, so please have your student check lost and found for their missing items prior to this date.
Is your child interested in the Social Studies PACE Gifted and Talented program?
PACE referral information and applications are now available and can be found online at:
https://www.pisd.edu/giftededucation.
*Please see the Referral Information (Grades 6-8) section or access the links below to apply.
Secondary Forms (Grades 6-8): (English) (Spanish)
The Spring Testing Referral Deadline is Friday, January 10th @ 5pm.
Good luck and we hope you will apply for this fun and challenging academic program!
Simply complete this form to share your thoughts and feedback! This is just another way to keep the line of communication open while we partner with you to make the educational experience for your students the very best that it can be. QR codes will soon be available on our campus website and in the front office for you to use as well.
Please let me know if you have any questions about this process.
Our annual Lunchapalooza event has been moved to Friday, December 20th. Ticket sales will be held from Monday, December 2nd, through Friday, December 13th. Please see additional details below.
Lunchapalooza is a 2 hour National Junior Honor Society sponsored block lunch during which students have the opportunity to eat and take part in some fun, engaging activities with their grade level peers.
Ticket sales for this special event will now begin on Monday, December 2nd. For the purchase of a meal ticket, students will receive 2 slices of cheese pizza, a bag of chips, and a soda or water for only $8. These tickets can be purchased with cash only in the cafeteria during all lunches. Students can even buy multiple meals if they want more pizza! The deadline for meal purchases will be Friday, December 13th, and students will NOT be able to purchase meals after this date. Lunch lines in the cafeteria will still be open that day for students who prefer this option.
If you have any questions or need additional information about Lunchapalooza, please do not hesitate to reach out to David Taylor, our NJHS sponsor, at david.taylor@pisd.edu.
Like last year, our Panther family will be participating in a campus wide community service project on the last day of the semester. We have chosen to partner with Children's Hospital in providing one of their greatest needs, blankets for their patients. December 20th will be a half day for our students, and, that morning, our students and staff will make no-sew blankets to donate to this worthy cause.
Our goal as a campus is to make 300 blankets, but, in order to make this happen, we will need fleece...LOTS of fleece, 1200 yards to be exact, as it requires 4 yards of fleece to make one blanket.If you know of any businesses who would like to make a corporate donation to get us started, please send them my way. Only blizzard and anti-pill fleece can be used, and, if possible, please donate in increments of two yards. We would love to be able to show our Schim spirit by using our school colors in solids, plaids, and prints, but we are happy to accept any other colors donated.
Please click on the link to sign up to make a fleece donation. With your help, our Panther Family will be able to make a positive impact within our community this holiday season.
Thank you in advance for your donation.
NJHS needs parent volunteers to help with Lunch-A-Palooza pre-sales. We are looking for 2 parents each day to man the pre-sale table in the cafeteria during lunches between Monday, December 2nd, and Friday, December 13th. Volunteers will also be needed on the day of Lunch-A-Palooza for candy sales. If you are willing to help, please sign up using the links below.
Pre-sale Volunteer Signup:
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0E45A9AA2AA7FCC16-52838654-fall
Candy Sales at Lunchapalooza:
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0E45A9AA2AA7FCC16-52851900-lunchapalooza
The SMS PTA is currently taking donations for gift cards that will be used on campus for student recognition and staff incentives. If you would like to make a contribution, please sign up here.
Thank you in advance for your generosity!
For the last week of the semester, we will run a schedule that looks very different from our normal one. We will have one block of time scheduled for each of the class periods, beginning on Monday, December 16th, and running through Thursday, December 19th. During these blocks, teachers will give MAP tests for their own content areas, and high school course exams will be administered. If your student has a class without a MAP test or an exam to give, the teacher will have alternate activities for students to do during this block of time.
Please take a look at the bell schedule and, if you have any questions, please let me know.
The end of the semester will be here before we know it! In order to ensure a smooth and successful closeout, we want to provide you with some important information. As stated above, we will be using time the last week of school for both MAP testing and semester exams in high school credit courses. Please note that exams may NOT be given earlier than exam week. If your student will be absent during that week, he or she will need to schedule a time in January with their teacher to make up the exam. This practice ensures fidelity with all exams. Classes administering exams include Algebra I and II, Geometry, Spanish, French, Health, and Gateway to Technology classes. MAP testing will also be completed in January for anyone who is absent and misses this testing window the last week of the semester.
The yearbook staff is hard at work on the 2024-2025 SMS yearbook! Currently, the cost for a yearbook is $45 before any customization. Be sure to order by January 31st to avoid a price increase! Orders can be placed at www.jostens.com or by calling 1-877-767-5217.
If you have any questions, please contact our yearbook advisor, Shawnee Bautista, at Shawneedawn.bautist@pisd.edu.
This information will be shared with students during lunches and on morning announcements after Labor Day. If you or your student needs additional information, please do not hesitate to let me know.
Our wonderful PTA does so much for our campus from teacher breakfasts and lunches to donations to enhance learning within our classrooms as well as student social events and so much more. You can join PTA by visiting their website. Please consider being a part of this worthwhile cause.
Like last year, students were issued chromebooks and chargers during the first week of school. If damage is incurred on the device assigned to them or if your student's electronic device is lost or stolen at any point throughout the year, students will be held financially responsible. While it is our hope that we will not see any of these concerns this year, we want to still make you aware of the charges, so there are no surprises if a situation requiring payment arises. Please reach out to our campus technology specialist, William Brannon, should you have any questions.
Chromebook: $410
Chromebook Charger: $27.50
It is an expectation that your student's chromebook comes to school every day fully charged. In addition, chargers should be brought to campus daily, as there are no extra chargers in the classroom. This is a school-issued device and should be treated as such. Stickers and writing should not be placed on the device.
- Please adhere to the signs posted in the circular drive and on the streets.
- Students should always use the crosswalks when crossing the street.
- When exiting the carpool lane in front of the school in the morning, please turn right only.
- Please refrain from dropping off your student along Maumelle. When you stop, it hinders the flow of traffic and, more importantly, it could put your student's safety at risk if they need to cross the street.
- While in the carpool lane, please make sure to pull all the way forward along the curb before dropping off your student.
- Dropping off or picking up your student from the outside lane of the carpool is prohibited. This is a major safety issue, as students must cross in front of other cars to get to the sidewalk.
- Please refrain from using the parking lot next to the tennis courts as a drop off or pick up location. This parking lot is designated for special education students needing extra time and assistance.
- Please remember that our school zone is a phone-free zone, so please adhere to this.
Thank you for your continued partnership on this!
All students are required to wear their student ID badge at all times. This is a district policy for all secondary schools to ensure the safety and security of our campus. Following several serious incidents in the state of Texas over the last few years, Plano ISD and Schimelpfenig Middle School increased and improved badge and safety measures to ensure all students are easily identified. Students wearing their badges allow staff members to quickly and easily identify people that should not be on campus.
The district policy states that badges must be visible on a lanyard around the student's neck. Initially, a lanyard was issued to each student, but students may wear an alternate lanyard of their choosing if they prefer. Badges should not be cut, bent, or covered with stickers. Damage to the badge will result in a needed replacement.
The initial badge AND temporary badge are both issued for free. Replacement badges are $5. Replacement badges are issued from Ms. Allen in the front office. If a student forgets his or her badge, then the student should report to the front office, and Ms. Allen will issue a temporary sticker badge good for that day only. Each time a student forgets their ID and receives a temporary one constitutes a badge violation.
During the first couple of weeks, we gave our students grace and consistently reminded them that we would be assigning discipline for students who violate the badge expectation. If a student receives two or more badge violations in a five-day period, they receive Friday After Hours for that week. Friday After Hours takes place the last day of the week, usually on a Friday, from 3:50pm-5:50pm. Friday After Hours will begin after Labor Day.
If you have questions regarding badges or the badge procedures, please let us know.
Cell phones and personal devices are not allowed anywhere on campus during the school day. This includes but is not limited to the classrooms, hallways, cafeteria, locker rooms, and bathrooms. If a student is caught using their cell phone during the school day, it will be taken up. Cell phones and personal devices are only allowed before school until 8:20 am and should then be powered off and put away until 3:45pm.
If you need to contact your student, you can call the front office at 469-752-6402, and we will get a message to them.
PHONE CONSEQUENCES:
1st offense: Teacher collects and returns at the end of the class period.
2nd offense: Teacher collects and returns at the end of the school day.
3rd offense: Teacher collects and turns into the front office. Your parent must come to the school to collect your phone.
4+ offenses: Teacher collects and turns into the front office. Administration handles from there.
Please let us know if you have any questions regarding the campus cell phone procedures.
Shorts, including athletic shorts, must extend beyond the buttocks.
No pajamas, houseshoes, or slippers may be worn to school.
Excessively loose or tight garments are not acceptable.
Underwear-type sleeveless shirts, spaghetti straps, tank tops and tube tops are not permitted.
Hard-soled shoes must be worn at all times.
Sunglasses, caps, hats, raised hoods, etc are not permitted.
Students in violation of the student dress and grooming code will be expected to change to appropriate attire or will be subject to other disciplinary action.
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?
Crop Tops - If your student raises their hand and you can see their stomach, the shirt is too short and will be asked to change.
Shorts and Skirts - Bottoms must cover the entire buttocks area.
Hoodies - Students can wear a jacket with a hood, but the hood must remain off their head during the school day or the student will have to take off the jacket.
Hats - Any item that covers the head is not allowed. This includes baseball caps, beanies, etc. Religious coverings are allowed.
Matt Mitchell is the Campus Title IX Coordinator for the 2024-2025 school year. Mr. Mitchell will address employee and student concerns or inquiries regarding discrimination based on sex, including sexual harassment. Reports can be made at any time and by any person, including during non-business hours, by mail, email or phone. During district business hours, reports may also be made in person.
Contact Information:
Matt Mitchell
469-752-6411
Mrs. Kristen Kinnard
Schimelpfenig Middle School
Email: kristen.kinnard@pisd.edu
Website: pisd.edu/schimelpfenig
Location: 2400 Maumelle Drive, Plano, TX, USA
Phone: 469-752-6410