Jag-E News

Sartartia Middle School 9.13.20

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Dear Jag Families,

Although it was a short week, it was another busy week filled with collaboration and learning. We had moments to rest on Labor Day, and moments to reflect on Patriot Day as we took time to remember the lives that were lost 19 years ago on September 11, 2001. We will continue to focus on building strong character in our students as we provide opportunities for students to grow as compassionate citizens and exhibit care and concern for others.

As a staff, we are busy planning for the safe and successful transition to face-to-face instruction and continued online instruction as we ReLaunch the 2020-2021 school year. We hope that you will continue to engage and volunteer in the many events and opportunities we have going on at Sartartia. We appreciate your continued support, grace, time and effort as we navigate changes as a school and as a district.

In this newsletter you will find information regarding the following new topics:

PTO September Meeting
Spirit Night at Torchy's Tacos
Parent U: Balancing Home & Work
Turn It Gold: Childhood Cancer Awareness Month
Community Planning Advisory Council (CPAC)
Course Level Changes
SMS Girls Who Code Club
Nominate a Teacher/Staff Member of the Month

With Jag Pride,

Cholly Oglesby

Principal

Sartartia Middle School

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Torchy's Spirit Day 9.15.20

You're invited to a Spirit Night at Torchy's Tacos benefiting the Sartartia Middle School PTO. All you have to do is show up, bring the attached flier, and order food. All proceeds benefit the SMS PTO.

WHEN: Tuesday, September 15, 2020 (10 AM - 9 PM)

WHERE: Torchy's Tacos (15810 Southwest Frwy, Sugar Land, TX 77478)

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Parent University 9.15.20

Parent U: Balancing Home & Work During COVID-19

If you need some tips and advice on how to balance work and home during COVID – 19, you should join us for our first Parent U. Please see the flyer for more information and join us on Tuesday, September 15th at 6pm. We would also like your input on what type of sessions you would be interested in throughout the year. Please click this link to complete a brief survey.

Parent U: September 15, 2020 @ 6:00pm

Join Microsoft Teams Meeting

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PTO Zoom Meeting 9.16.20

Topic: SMS PTO September Meeting

Time: Wednesday, September 16, 2020 at 6:00pm

Join Zoom Meeting

Meeting ID: 550 754 1323

Passcode: HOORAY

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Crime Stoppers Cyber Safety Outreach Day 9.24.20

Crime Stoppers of Houston is hosting their Cyber Safety Outreach Day on September 24th at 6:00 p.m. The purpose of this virtual event is to empower parents to stay on top of their families' safety through education on important safety precautions and potential online dangers kids are exposed to in today’s society.

Click the link to access a short video and flyer with more detailed information about how to register for this event. .

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Turn It Gold 9.25.20

September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month and GOLD is the official awareness ribbon color. GOLD is a precious metal and a reminder that our children are more precious than GOLD. This is our time to honor children and families affected by the disease by showing our support for ground-breaking research that can save our kids' lives. Friday, September 25, is the districtwide Turn It Gold Day. We are asking everyone to wear GOLD to support the brave individuals battling childhood cancer and to raise awareness for the cause.

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Turn It Gold Parent Letter

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Nominate a Teacher/Staff Member of the Month

Do you want to recognize an SMS staff member for their hard work and continued commitment to students and the Sartartia community? Use this link to nominate a staff member and give them a shout out for their character and commitment throughout the school year.

SMS Spirit Wear

It's time to order your jag gear and support our PTO. You can purchase a hoodie, masks, yard signs and decals. There are currently two methods set up for you to order and pay.

Method 1: Complete the online Google Form to place your order & then use Zelle to pay for the purchase. Use treasurerSMSPTO@gmail.com as the payee email AND note the students name(s) in the notes/comments.

Method 2: Print out the form and mail it in with payment to the school:

SMS PTO Spirit Wear

8125 Homeward Way

Sugar Land, TX 77479

Order your Jag Gear Here

Community Planning Advisory Council

Sartartia Middle School is excited to begin another school year! In an effort to continue the momentum for a successful year, I would like to invite you to submit your name for our Campus Planning Advisory Council - CPAC (formerly CBLT). The CPAC serves in an advisory role to assist the principal and meets on the dates listed below at 4:30 p.m. for the purpose of implementing planning processes and site-based decision making in accordance with Board policy and administrative procedures. For the 2020-2021 school year, CPAC meetings will be held face to face with an online option.

November 4, 2020

December 9, 2020

January 20, 2021

March 24, 2021

May 19, 2021

If you are interested in serving on the CPAC, please complete the form by September 18, 2020. We will conduct a random drawing to determine the council members and will notify you if you are selected to serve on this team.

We are also looking for business representatives and community members. Please let us know if you know of anyone who may be interested in serving on our CPAC in this capacity.

Qualifications for Parent Members:

He/she must be a parent of a currently enrolled FBISD student

He/she cannot be an FBISD employee

Qualifications for Business Representatives:

He/she must own or work for a business

Qualifications for Community Member:

He/she must reside in FBISD

Complete CPAC Interest Survey

We are excited for our first Parent U this week! One of our main goals for the 2020-2021 school year is to let students and parents know that we are here to help. We hope that you will join us on Tuesday and that you will continue to reach out to us to support you and your students. As always, if you have any questions, you can email your student’s counselor directly and we will set up a time to talk to you. Additionally, should your student need to speak with their counselor they can use the request to see the counselor form here:

8TH GRADE - REQUEST FORM

7TH GRADE - REQUEST FORM

6TH GRADE - REQUEST FORM

Thank you so much for everything you are doing for your child. Stay safe and healthy!

We wish you all well during this time.

Sincerely,

The SMS Counseling Team

COURSE LEVEL CHANGES

Below are the steps to follow when requesting a level change (i.e. moving from an academic to Pre-AP course, Pre-AP to academic course or moving out of a high school level course):

Student/parent will download the "SMS Level Change Form 2020-21" and fill out their portion of the form.
Ensure all parts of the form are completed (i.e. a meeting/conversation between the teacher and parent must have occurred before the form can be submitted).
Students will then save the document “Level Change – student name” so that the information filled out in the form saves, and then student will email the form to their teacher (if any portion of the level change form has not been completed, teachers may send the form back to the student to complete).
Teachers will fill out their portion, save and send the form to the counselor to review and process.
Upon approval or denial of your request, you will receive an email from your grade level counselor with information on the change.

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SMS Level Change Form 2020-21

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SMS Library Events & Updates

Each week we will have optional virtual library activities available through the Schoology Library Course and students will have opportunities to be entered in a weekly drawing for a free book. You can access the weekly library programming from the image below. Be sure to follow us on Twitter and please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

Thanks,

Melannie Boullion

Librarian

Schoology Access Code: WP6Q-TM7S-8D848

Follow us on Twitter @smsjaglibrary

E-Books

SMS Curbside Checkout

SMS Girls Who Code Club

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FBISD Girls Who Code Info Flyer

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Technology Resources

Campus-Based Device Distribution

We will continue to issue laptops as needed throughout the school year by appointment only. Please call the by calling our main school number, (281) 634-6310, to schedule an appointment.

Technology Resource Help

The Technology Resource page on https://www.fortbendisd.com/Page/124794 is available for parents/students to obtain help related to technology. There are helpful information on hot topics like password, 1Link, Microsoft Teams etc. You will also find the “Technology Status” section where we post the latest status of technology issues we are aware of.

Password Help

6th Grade: Passwords for all incoming 6th graders or brand-new students in any secondary grade 6-12th their passwords are FORTBENDSCHOOL+Last 4 of StudentID#. Example: FORTBENDSCHOOL0852.

7th – 12th Grade: All returning 7th and 8th students should continue to use their password they used last year. If they have don’t remember it the will need to reset it in Rapid Identity portal, https://my.fortbendisd.com/. They will need to login with network credentials.

FBISD Tech Support Depots

FBISD has tech support depots available Monday-Friday from 8am - 3pm at the sites listed below. In order to serve the ongoing needs of FBISD students and staff, they will provide service for hardware related issues with district-issued devices.

FBISD Technology Resources Page

Click here for the latest updates regarding Technology Resources

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FBISD Meal Benefits

FBISD encourages all families to complete the Free & Reduced Meals application, at SchoolCafe. Families who qualified in the 2019-20 school year will need to reapply.