Hello SBMS Community!

This has been a good week at SBMS! We hope you and your family have a nice weekend.

1. February is Black History Month.
2. District Calendar Change- 4/11/25 is a no-school day and 4/18/25 is now a school day.
3. There are guidelines for food in classrooms.
4. Track Season - Tentative start 3/3/25. Sports Physicals are needed and we are hiring a head coach and 2 assistant coaches.
5. Paula out for heart surgery February 24th through April 4th

Thank you for your time in reading this week's Spartan Update. If there is anything that I can do for you, please feel free to contact me at nolan_p@4j.lane.edu, 541-790-8300, or by clicking the Contact Paula button at the bottom of this newsletter.

Have a nice day,

Paula

Paula Nolan

Principal

Spencer Butte Middle School

The school board has made a change to the district calendar. Previously, 4/18/25 was a mid-term grading no-school day. 4/18/25 is now a school day and 4/11/25 is now the mid-term grading day (no school day). The board took this action to even up the length of the quarters in semester 2.

There may be times you feel inclined to bring food items to share with your student and their classmates. Please know your generosity is so appreciated. As a reminder, there may be students in the classroom that have food allergies and special dietary needs. Please be mindful of the following when considering sharing treats with your student's class:

• All items brought in must be commercially purchased and nutrition/ingredient labels available, per 4J Nutrition Services.
• Please notify teacher's in advance (minimum 5 days) of your request to bring something in. This allows time to explore the possibility of alternative options to be made available for students with food allergies and special dietary needs. Alternatively, check with classroom teachers for dietary restrictions and bring an item safe for everyone. Please be aware, not all requests to bring food items to the classroom may be approved.
• For further information, please see 4J Wellness Policy Overview https://4j.lane.edu/4795_4 and the Healthy Snacks and Party Guidelines https://4j.lane.edu/4797_4 or contact the main office at 541-790-8300.

SBMS is waiting for more formal information from the district, but we wanted to share with you that we anticipate track practices starting on 3/3/25. When we get registration information we will send it to families.

• One of the biggest barriers and headaches for families is the requirement for a current physical to be on file with SBMS for any track athlete. Physicals are good for 2 years. You can start working on getting these complete before registration information is sent out by the school.
• If you have questions about physicals or if you are unsure if your child's physical that SBMS has is still current, please contact Heather at 541-790-8300 or acharya_h@4j.lane.edu.

We are also looking for a head coach and two assistant coaches. If you are interested in applying for those positions, the head coach position is here and assistant coach positions are here. We are also happy to have volunteer coaches. If you have questions about those positions (paid or volunteer) please contact Carlos Sequeira at 541-790-8300 or sequeira_c@4j.lane.edu.

I will be out from February 24th through April 4th for open heart surgery that unfortunately cannot be put off until summer break. Our SBMS team has been preparing for my absence and Mike Riplinger will be our substitute principal while I am out. Mike was an elementary principal at Awbrey Park and Camas Ridge in the Eugene 4J School District. He was also a middle school administrator for 20 years in the Springfield School District. His goal is to support students, parents, and staff to have the most enriching experience possible. SBMS is a great team of staff members and I am sure that things will go well in my absence. I look forward to returning in the spring.

Repeat- Black History Month

February marks Black History Month, a month where special recognition is paid to the contributions of African Americans. Although Black history is not limited to being taught and celebrated just in February, recognition months are important because they "provide us with an opportunity to delve into the rich historical, cultural, and social dimensions of various identities, while amplifying voices that have often been marginalized." (Source). Black History Month was the brainchild of Dr. Carter Woodson (the second Black American to earn a PhD from Harvard University). His work started in 1926 and 50 years later the government of the United States began to recognize February as Black History Month. If you are interested, you can learn more about Dr. Woodson here and more about Black History Month 2025 here (last accessed by me on 2/2/25 at 1:30 PM).

Every year, each of the 50 states, U.S. territories, DC, and the Department of Defense Education Activity names a teacher of the year. The Oregon Teacher of the Year Program recognizes and honors teacher excellence, with the Teacher of the Year serving as the face and voice of exemplary educators across the state. Candidates for Oregon Teacher of the Year are exceptionally dedicated, knowledgeable, and skilled licensed public school educators in grades preK-12. Thanks to the Oregon Department of Education’s partnership with the Oregon Lottery, the Oregon Teacher of the Year receives a gift of $10,000 as well as a special fund to cover all travel costs for the year.

Read more about the program

About the Oregon Education Support Professional of the Year Program

Every school community in Oregon is comprised of dedicated professionals who spend their day in support of students and educators, performing a variety of jobs promoting quality education, fostering positive learning environments, offering nutritious meals, providing reliable transportation and maintaining safe and clean schools for all students.

Beginning in 2020, the Oregon Department of Education, in partnership with the Oregon Lottery, is privileged to facilitate the Oregon Education Support Professional of the Year award. The winner will receive a $5,000 gift, as well as a plaque and banner to commemorate this significant achievement.

Read more about the program

Volunteers are incredible forces in the lives of our students. We have many volunteer opportunities at SBMS- activity nights, field trips, and in-school events are a few examples. To be a volunteer, there's a two-step process:

1. Volunteer Application
2. Background Check

If you've been a volunteer in the past, your background check is good for 2 years.

We will share our volunteer opportunities through the Spartan Update and emails to families. To get the process started, please click the button below.

SBMS activity nights are a fantastic way for students to connect with one another in a fun way! We host a game room, open gym, movie room, dance hall, snack bar, and lobby hang-out. Giving students a variety of supervised choices takes help and we would love to have you join us. There is no set-up and no clean-up on your part! Chaperones come a little bit early to get signed in and assigned to a station, and leave right after the dance!

If you are interested in helping at our upcoming activity nights on February 7th (click here) or on April 11th (click here) or contact Stephanie our school secretary at 541-790-8300 or at minter_s@4j.lane.edu

Questions about this may be directed to Greg Fortner at (347) 236-9088 or

gfortner@umich.edu

We are here as a part of your child's team. Whenever I have the opportunity to speak with a parent about something involving a class I always ask if they've had a chance to connect with the teacher. I ask that question because involving the teacher is the most powerful thing that we can do to help your child in class.

Our teachers love to hear from parents. Whether there is information about something happening in the student's life, a fun story about when your child spoke about the class at home, concerns about academic progress, or questions about the class, connecting with staff is the first and most important step in helping your student to succeed.

There are many ways to connect with staff. Sending an email or message in Canvas is the most direct way of reaching teachers. You can also call the school at 541-790-8300 and leave a message for a teacher to return.

Contacting Teachers Via Email

To find a teacher's email address, please access our directory below.

[Link to SBMS Staff Directory: https://spencerbutte.4j.lane.edu/41178_2 ]

Contacting Teachers Via the Canvas Parent App*

You may find the Canvas Parent app the easiest way to send a message. When in the app you can send a message by tapping on a course name and then the speech bubble emoji in the bottom right corner. Alternatively, you can also navigate to the inbox, tap on the speech bubble emoji, and then select the teacher/course you are intending to send the message to.

Canvas on Desktop*

If you are accessing Canvas via desktop you are able to send a message through the Inbox feature. To use that, follow the directions below:

1. Click on the Inbox logo/name on the left hand side of the screen.
2. Once you are in the Inbox, look at the top of the webpage and then click the pictogram that looks like a pencil writing on paper.
3. After you do that, you can select the course/teacher you are attempting to contact.

*Information about how to access Canvas is below.

Canvas is the online learning platform that parents can use to track grades and what is happening in classes (announcements, due dates, etc...). It is a very important tool to use and I recommend that every parent/guardian uses their Canvas Observer account (accessed via the web or the Canvas Parent app on your phone).

The information below will tell new and returning users how to activate their Canvas Observer account for this school year.

All new and returning users must activate their account before you can start using Canvas Observer (even if you had an account last year). To activate your account , complete the following steps:

1. Visit 4J’s Canvas for Families webpage and click on “Forgot Password?”

2. Enter the email you provided your child’s school and then click the “Request Password” box

3. Enter a password after clicking the reset link you receive in your email

4. Return to the Canvas for Families webpage to log in with your username and new password

One account per email- Canvas Observer will not allow you to activate more than one account if parents/guardians have the same email address on file for their student. In this case, contact your school and provide a unique email address for each parent or guardian associated with your student.

Please contact us at 541-790-8300 or email me at nolan_p@4j.lane.edu if you run into any problems with activating your account.

Having the ParentSquare app will allow you to receive instant notifications from the school (in addition to emails). By going to this site or downloading the app you can get registered in a few minutes. Setup is pretty easy (I did it last year for my own parent account). Basically, you'll create your account and then you'll be asked to link your children to your account. The site or app will walk you through the process. If you need any help with it, please call us at 541-790-8300.

This platform is being used at all schools and I encourage our community to download it so you get the instant notifications in addition to emails.