All Things Back to School!

Welcome to the 2024-2025 school year! This letter is FULL of helpful information so please take the time to read through it all. I hope you had a wonderful summer and are as excited as I am about this upcoming school year. This summer has brought a few new faces to our middle school, please join me in welcoming:

Ashlee Huyck- English

Kimberly Sterzick- English

Riley Ballinger- English

David LaBurn- Math

Miranda Leach- Special Education

Holly James- Science

Mindy Mikel- Office

While we may have some new faces, our mission remains the same: To maximize the success and potential of all students. The staff at the middle school clearly live by this mission and I look forward to continuing to foster relationships with parents, students, and staff to provide a world-class educational experience for each child.

All of us here at the middle school are eager and excited to begin what promises to be an amazing year as we continue to provide academic experiences for our students that are rigorous, relevant, and builds relationships. As your principal, it is important to me that everyone who steps through our doors — teachers, students, and families — are excited to be here! This attitude enables us to meet the challenges of academic excellence in a positive, fun, and nurturing environment. My door is always open and I welcome your input. Please feel free to stop in, call, or email me to discuss any concerns, suggestions, or ideas to help make this the best year yet!

If you have driven by the middle school this summer, you have probably noticed all of the construction happening! Our classrooms that were not updated last summer, are being updated with new windows, ceiling tiles, lights, and air conditioning! Come check it out at our Open House that is scheduled for August 21st from 5:30-7:00!

~Allison Dygert

The first day of school is Monday, August 26th. Students are able to enter the building at the 7:22 am bell to get breakfast in the cafeteria and to wait in their designated spaces until the 7:32 am bell. At that time, students may head to their lockers and their classes with the tardy bell ringing at 7:39 am.

6th Grade Students:

• should plan to wait outside the building by the exterior door that is closest to the portable prior to 7:22 am. When looking at the middle school from the staff parking lot, this is the exterior door that is farthest to the right.

• should plan to report to the cafeteria with their belongings once the 7:32 am bell rings

7th Grade Students:

• should plan to wait outside the building by the gym entrance doors prior to 7:22 am. When looking at the middle school from the staff parking lot, this is the exterior door that is farthest to the left.

• should plan to report to the gym with their belongings once the 7:32 am bell rings

8th Grade Students:

• should plan to wait outside the main entrance of the building prior to 7:22 am. Students should wait on the sidewalk leading out to Prairie Street or the sidewalk leading out to the playground.

• should plan to report to the library with their belongings once the 7:32 am bell rings

Please follow THIS LINK for specific instructions.

Parents will enter the middle school staff parking lot past the Vicksburg Administration Building. After proceeding through the stop sign, you will take an immediate right as you enter onto the middle school grounds, keeping the maintenance garage on your left, and drive along the sidewalk adjacent to the school building. Please pull as far forward (all the way up to the gate) as possible before having your child exit or enter the car on the passenger side. You may then pull out of the staff parking lot by again going past the Vicksburg Administration Building. For safety reasons, we are asking that you do not park in the staff parking lot to drop-off or pick-up your child as we do not want students walking through the parking lot and having to walk in front of vehicles in the drop-off/pick-up line. Follow THIS LINK for a detailed map.

Please be sure you know how to access your Skyward account. Verify and update your email addresses, phone numbers, and other related items. Your Skyward account lets you see your child’s schedule, grades, unofficial transcript, attendance, emergency contacts, demographic data, and health information. If you have any questions or need support with Skyward, please contact Jen Brush, VMS Technology Aide, at jbrush@vicksburgschools.org or at 321-1321.

Skyward Instructions

Schedules are available on Skyward Family Access. Hard copies will be given to students on the first day of school. Please follow this link for directions on how to see your students schedule in Skyward.

If you need to make a schedule change, please fill out the form below. The form will close on August 29th at 3:30pm. It will open back up in January for the 2nd semester. Please know we won't be able to honor all requests, it will depend on class size and composition as well. Thank you!

24-25 Schedule Change Request From

Numbers correspond to classrooms on your students schedule

Your child’s locker number and combination will be on his or her schedule. Students will have time to practice locating and opening their locker during the first two weeks of school. Students will be expected to use their locker as backpacks will not be allowed in the classrooms. Students may have a binder/trapper keeper to carry their items and we will also talk to the students about organization so they won't have to go to their locker between every hour if they don't want/need to.

Where to access your student’s locker number and combination.

Using a browser Once you are logged in to your Skyward account, you will need to choose your student at the top of the page if you have multiple students in the district. You will then click on Student Info located in the Family Access Menu. Your student’s locker number and combination will be located under their assigned building, if it has 0's as the combination, that means there is no lock and you can purchase one if you would like or you can ask the office to put one on for you.

Using the Skyward App Once you are logged in to your Skyward account, you will need to choose your student at the top of the page if you have multiple students in the district.You will then click on the Menu icon in the upper right corner of the screen. Then click on the Full Menu icon in the upper right. Then Student Information at the bottom of your Family Access Menu options to see their locker number and combination.

For safety and space reasons, we will not be allowing students to have their backpacks in class. Students will need to use their lockers to organize their belongings. We will spend some time in the beginning of the year helping students to organize themselves and to learn their locker combination. They are more than welcome to get a binder/trapper keeper to help in their organization.

As a reminder, students should not be using their phones at school (please refer to page 25 of the student handbook). If they need to use their phone to call/text home, they may only do that from the office. If they are seen using their phone elsewhere, they will be asked to turn it into the office for the day and it will be returned at the end of the day with a warning. The second time they are seen, it is a 30 minute after school detention. Please refrain from texting your child at school so they don't get a consequence, if you need to reach them, please call the office. Thank you for your support!

Please follow THIS LINK and click the appropriate tabs at the bottom, to see class schedules for each grade as well as the schedules for days when we have a 2 hour delay, half day of school, or an assembly in the afternoon.

Tutorial will be 28 minutes and is the first part of 7th hour. The purpose of tutorial is for students to receive additional support for different assignments that they may need help with, time to work on homework, or to be reading a book.

Community Circles is the last 15 minutes of 7th hour and a time each day that teachers and students will have to foster a community within our broader school community. During this time, teachers will utilize "The Positivity Project" which focuses on character strengths that everyone possesses. This will enhance students self-awareness and self-confidence, understanding and appreciation of others, and interpersonal relationships.

School pictures will be taken on 8/27 flyers will come home the first day of school but you can also order online with the information below. Retakes will be on 10/8

mylifetouch.com Use Picture Day ID: EVT6FS47W

Just a reminder, physicals must be uploaded online to planeths.com.

To upload the documents, an account must first be created with the student's login info. Students login with their school email address and the password is: bigteams. Then parents/guardians must create a separate account using their own information and link the two. Parents click 'Sign up' and follow the directions. Parents then select ‘link account’ from their menu options. If your student's email is not working or says it is invalid, try a phone number and the password bigteams.

Note: The program works best from a computer, rather than a tablet or a phone. As of now only the high school is listed. Middle school students should select high school to complete their sign up process. Each student has to create their own individual account.

Click this link for additional directions.

Athletes can not participate in MHSAA sports unless their digital forms are complete.

To assist your child with organizational skills and study habits, we require every student to have and use an agenda book. VMS will provide your child 1 free agenda book to start the school year. Your child should bring it home from school every day. Please look for the agenda book every day after school in order to help your child be more successful. Your child should be writing homework assignments, due dates for projects and dates of assessments in their agenda book. The agenda book also serves as your child’s hall pass, so they must have their agenda book with them during school at all times, with the exception of lunch :-). If your child happens to lose their agenda book, a replacement can be purchased for $3 in the middle school office. Staff will pass out agenda books during the 1st week of school.

Please take some time to review the Middle School Handbook with your child. This will be printed inside the front of your child’s agenda book. Your child will need to understand and abide by the rules and policies set forth in the handbook. Part of the orientation time with your child at the beginning of the year will be spent on reviewing the handbook and answering student questions.

All medication should be brought in and the necessary paperwork filled out for the dispensing of all medications. Please know that all medications should be in the original bottle and not in plastic bags or other kinds of containers. Both prescription and over-the-counter medications require parental approval for dispensing at school and must be delivered to the school by an adult. The school does NOT provide Tylenol and other common non-prescription pain relievers, so please bring any necessary medication for your student.

We want to be sure all students are safe and accounted for each day! If your child will be absent from school, please call the attendance line at (269) 321-1300 and press 2 to leave a message before 7:00am. After 7:00 am, you may dial (269) 321-1362 to report your child’s absence. If we have not heard from you the morning of your child’s absence, we will attempt to call you to confirm the absence.

Incoming 6th graders will receive their Chromebooks at Open House on 8/21. Your child will receive their computer password on the first day of school.

6th Grade Students

• English – 1 - 70 page Spiral Notebooks, 1 Two Pocket Folder, Highlighters

• Math – 1 ½” Red 3-Ring Binder and a set of Divider Tabs (5 tabs)

• Science – 1” (any color) 3-Ring Binder, Set of Divider Tabs (5 tabs), colored pencils

• Social Studies – 1” (any color) 3-Ring Binder and a set of Divider Tabs (5 tabs)

• Design/Modeling – Two pocket folder, Non-Wood ruler that measures inches and centimeters

• Extra folders with pockets (hole-punched to fit within the binder); Pencil pouch designed to fit the binder (invaluable for keeping lunch money, pens, pencils, erasers, refill lead, notes from home, etc,); A box of Kleenex

• Other items that we might suggest that are not crucial include loose leaf paper, markers, dry-erase markers, crayons, glue stick, highlighters and a basic calculator.

7th Grade Students

• English – 1” (any color) 3-Ring Binder, Set of Divider Tabs (5 tabs), Loose Leaf Paper

• Math – 1 ½” Blue 3-Ring Binder and a Set of Divider Tabs (5 tabs)

• Science – 1” (any color) 3-Ring Binder, Set of Divider Tabs (5 tabs), colored pencils

• Social Studies – 1” (any color) 3-Ring Binder and a set of Divider Tabs (5 tabs)

• Automation/Robotics – Two pocket folder

• Extra folders with pockets (hole-punched to fit within the binder); Pencil pouch designed to fit the binder (invaluable for keeping lunch money, pens, pencils, erasers, refill lead, notes from home, etc,); A box of Kleenex

• Other items that we might suggest that are not crucial include loose leaf paper, markers, dry-erase markers, crayons, glue stick, highlighters and a basic calculator.

8th Grade Students

• English – 1” (any color) 3-Ring Binder, Set of Divider Tabs (5 tabs), Loose Leaf Paper

• Math – 1 ½” Green 3-Ring Binder and a Set of Divider Tabs (5 tabs)

• Science – Two pocket folder, colored pencils

• Social Studies – 1” (any color) 3-Ring Binder, a set of Divider Tabs (5 tabs) and 2 Spiral Notebooks

• Spanish (ONLY if your student requested this course) – 2” (any color) 3-Ring Binder, a set of Divider Tabs (5 tabs) and 1 Spiral Notebook or Loose Leaf Paper

• Computer Science (ONLY if your student requested this course) - 1" Binder (any color), 5 dividers, and a 1-subject spiral notebook

• Extra folders with pockets (hole-punched to fit within the binder); Pencil pouch designed to fit the binder (invaluable for keeping lunch money, pens, pencils, erasers, refill lead, notes from home, etc,); A box of Kleenex

• Other items that we might suggest that are not crucial include loose leaf paper, markers, dry-erase markers, crayons, glue stick, highlighters and a basic calculator.

Vicksburg Middle School will be hosting our annual Walkin’ the Dawgs school fundraiser on Friday, October 11th, 2024. This fun, one-day walk-a-thon event gets our students moving outside in the fresh air and raises money for our middle school. We are extremely excited to again provide only ONE middle school fundraiser for the ENTIRE year and to have 100% of the funds received going directly to Vicksburg Middle School and to the benefit of our students for things like band, choir, student council, student incentives for academics and positive behaviors, building improvements, and more. Donation forms will be coming home on August 30th. You can also donate at the following link!

https://vicksburgschools.revtrak.net/ms/walkin-the-dawgs/

8/12- Board Meeting 7:00

8/15- Bus Safety Carnival 5:30

8/21- Open House 5:30-7:00

8/26- First Day of School!

8/27- VMS Pictures

8/30- No School

9/2- No School Labor Day

9/9- Board Meeting 7:00

Every week this form will be embedded into our Weekly Newsletter that will be sent out every Friday. Please feel free to offer feedback as this is how we grow and become better for our students! Thank you in advance for providing your honest feedback!