Falcon Flyer for Families!

Hello Falcons!

It was a great week to be a Falcon! We had our awesome PTO who held a "Taco Tuesday" event for our teachers and our World Language Department held our annual Hispanic Heritage Festival. We are sorry the week was cut short due to "Helene," and we certainly hope that you stayed safe during the storm. Please don't hesitate to reach out to our staff if you have any resource needs or if you have any questions. ELearning assignments will be due by Friday, October 4, in order to count students as "present" for Friday, September 27.

Next week, on Thursday, October 3, our PTO will hold our Falcon Challenge Fundraiser in our PE classes! We can't wait to see who wins our Dodgeball Tournament and fundrasing challenge. It's going to be a great time!

An additional upcoming event includes Family Night on October 17. Save the date! The event begins at 6:00 and will include presentations from our Instructional Coordinator, Ms. Chauvez, on understanding MAP scores. Ms. Williams, our Mental Health counselor, will share about mental health in adolescents. The York County Sheriff's Office will be there, too, to share some tips. We look forward to gathering these resources, and many more, to help build our community bridge!

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The grading period will end soon. Final grades will be on Monday and Tuesday, October 7th and 8th, and they will be Benchmark tests for English and Math. Students, please make sure to stay up to date in your classes, as the benchmarks count as a final major grade this quarter and they cannot be retaken. Tutoring is available every week, so please stay after school on tutoring days if you need assistance!

We hope you had an enjoyable weekend, and we look forward to welcoming you to school Monday!

Dr. Persinski

Families, please review this letter from Athletics regarding sportsmanship and the Athletic Essential agreement. We appreciate your support in following our code of conduct and expectations in order to create and uphold a safe, inclusive, and welcoming environment for all. Be on the lookout for the new district Parent/Student Athletic Handbook that will come out during Winter Athletics Season.

Sullivan plans to place a few "No standing" reminders in order to allow for all spectators to see, and security will be asked to sweep the areas in order to keep it clear.

The image above is a link that takes you to an August 2022 memo from Commissioner Singleton of the SCHSL regarding Sportsmanship.

This is a friendly school safety reminder that students should not arrive at Sullivan Middle School until 7:45 or later since supervision does not occur until this time. Members of our community have shared that students are arriving on, and around, campus prior to supervision, and they are not making good choices regarding traffic. If your child is a walker or car rider, please encourage your student to use crosswalks and to not challenge cars/traffic. We than you!

Sullivan PTO will be holding the Falcon Challenge Thursday during grade level PE classes! Read about the tournament HERE, and save the date for October 3, 2024!

Volunteers, please SIGN UP HERE!

Please read our Related Arts Newsletter HERE.

Thursday is Spirit Night at Penn Station from 4:00-9:00 pm! 10% of all sales, including delivery through GrubHub, DoorDash, and Uber Eats, will be donated back to Sullivan!

Help support our students who have displayed positive behavior! Contribute to our Falcon Store where students can use their hard-earned Falcon dollars for various snacks and other items. The most requested items are:

Walmart Wish list: https://www.walmart.com/lists/shared/WL/9255b584-b4af-4240-ba3f-3b2b4b875d32

Amazon Wish list: https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/28KJCRMKVATGL?ref_=wl_share

Home Depot Wish List: https://www.homedepot.com/list/view/details/shared/b1751560-7601-11ef-80f3-f96e8524e63a

• Cotton Candy (found at Sam's for 9.98/box) 6 boxes

Show your Sullivan pride by purchasing a Sullivan sweatshirt! Only $15!!

You can purchase in the front office starting October 1.

Grade level Ts are available, as well, for $10.

Come out and support the Falcons at Volleyball and Football!

This week at HOME: Sept 30--VB vs. CHMS @ 5:00 pm
Oct 2--FB vs. CHMS @ 5:15

Calendars are below!

Volleyball Schedule

7th Football Schedule

8th Football Schedule

Eighth grade will travel to Washington, DC for the grade level field trip in Spring 2025! For more information, click HERE and reach out to Coach E at CEspich@rhmail.org today.

Sullivan is looking for volunteers to assist with math tutoring in our after school tutoring program Tuesdays through Wednesdays 3:45 - 5:00. If you are interested, please make sure that you have a current volunteer card with Rock Hill Schools and notify Dr. Persinski or another administrator.

Thank you!

The next SIC and PTO meeting will be held Tuesday, October 15, at 5:30 and 6:30 in the Media Center!

SIC--If you would like to join our SIC meetings, or if you have any questions, please reach out to Kati McFadden, Parent and Chair. More information can be found HERE.

PTO-If you would like to assist PTO, please reach out to one of the officers.

President: Erica Smith
Vice President: Ashley Lang

Secretary: Melissa Maynard

Treasurer: Amanda Winters

sullivanmspto@gmail.com

Students enjoyed exploring Hispanic culture through their Social Studies classes Thursday!

Family and Community Engagement Night
October 17-Auditorium doors open at 5:30; Presentation starts at 6:00

• Learn about the importance of MAPs testing is about and what it means for your student!
• Get study tips and how to help your student be successful.
• Learn about community resources such as NAMI, RHPD, and the York County Sheriffs Office.
• Learn about Mental Health and lives of adolescents.

After School Tutoring will begin Tuesday, September 3 for core classes from 3:45 - 5:00.

Oct 1-3; 8-10; 15-16; 18-21; 22-24; 29-30
Nov 6-7; Nov 12-14; Nov 19-21
Dec 3-5

The ST-ARTS program is a 3-week summer institute where identified GT artistic middle school students pursue a "major" and "minor" study with world class experts in music, theatre, dance, and art. This program is competitive and does act as our GT identification process for artistic giftedness. It is vital that ALL middle school students are afforded the opportunity to audition. There is an online application that is linked in the flyer. Read HERE.

COVID and flu can cause mild to severe respiratory illness in children and adults. The symptoms include fever, chills, cough, fatigue, body aches, headache, sore throat, congestion/runny nose, nausea, or diarrhea. Children typically experience nasal congestion, sore throat, and headache with COVID. They experience cough, sore throat, and fever with flu.

If you suspect your child is getting sick, please do not send them to school. Students who are experiencing any of the symptoms listed above should complete the following steps:

1. Stay home from school

2. Call the school to report your child’s symptoms

3. Utilize the district COVID/Flu testing sites if you would like your child tested. This testing is free for all students and staff.

4. Notification of illness and testing will ensure your child’s absences are coded correctly for COVID or flu. High school students will not have to make up seat time related to an absence if they have a positive COVID or flu test. Home tests are not accepted.

5. Return to School Criteria: Students and staff must be fever free for 24 hours without medication and symptoms significantly improving without medication

Here are a few things parents can do to help our schools reduce the spread of illness:

• Teach your children to wash their hands often with soap and water.

• Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue or upper sleeve when you cough or sneeze.

• Take time to get a flu and/or COVID vaccine. Vaccination is the best way to prevent the flu and COVID. SC Department of Public Health strongly recommends all South Carolina residents older than 6 months old get the flu vaccine as soon as possible to prevent the flu, unless they have a medical reason not to be vaccinated.

• Teach your children not to share personal items like drinks, food, or unwashed utensils.

• Know the signs and symptoms of the flu and COVID.

• Please don’t send children to school if they are sick. Any child that comes to school sick will be sent home. Staying home when sick will allow your children to rest and prevents the spread of illness in our school.

Please register for Parent Portal. This hub includes our Transportation Forms, Technology Agreement forms. surveys, and updated attendance and grades.

Parent Portal access is available on the PowerSchool website: https://rock-hill.powerschool.com/public

For PowerSchool questions, email askpowerschool@rhmail.org

Want to follow your student's Canvas to view assignments? See directions HERE.

October 3: Falcon Challenge; Penn Station Spirit Night

October 11: No School

October 14: No School (Teacher PD Day)

October 15: SIC/PTO Meeting

October 17: Community Nightctober 17: Community Night

October 22: Kevin Atlas "Believe in YOU" Presentation to Students (Day event)

October 25: Kona Ice

October 28: Rock Hill Symphony Orchestra--Performance for Students (Day event)

October 31: No Tricks, All Treats for Teachers (PTO)

November 1: Early Release Day--Leader in Me

Through the 24-25 school year, SMS will host family academic & community nights. Study tips, IB and World Language information, adolescent social-emotional support, and other safety information will be shared! Save the dates!

October 17

January 23

March 27 *Also IB Showcase Night!

Here is a link to our calendar of activities for 2024-2025. *This does not include athletics or clubs.

September 23, 2024: https://secure.smore.com/n/nhsdr-falcon-flyer-for-familie

September 16, 2024: https://secure.smore.com/n/ejca1-falcon-flyer-for-families

September 9, 2024: https://secure.smore.com/n/sg487-falcon-flyer-for-families

August 30, 2024:https://secure.smore.com/n/h2c9r7

August 23, 2024: https://secure.smore.com/n/ev4fu

August 19, 2024: https://secure.smore.com/n/n9hkw-falcon-flyer-for-families

August 12, 2024: https://secure.smore.com/n/d4ce3

August 5, 2024: https://secure.smore.com/n/29zbu-falcon-flyer-for-families

July 22, 2024: https://secure.smore.com/n/6vpyk-falcon-flyer-for-families

July 12, 2024: https://secure.smore.com/n/qjr5b-falcon-flyer-for-families

Summer 2024: https://secure.smore.com/n/c67gt-falcon-flyer