Welcome to South Middle School

Dear SMS Students, Parents and Guardians,

We are excited for the 2024-2025 school year and have been preparing for the return of our students and staff. This newsletter contains details regarding schedules, Walk About Day, the start of school, and other South Middle School information. Please take time to read through this information. Also please know we keep our webpage up to date and it too contains good information including our bell schedules.

We will send another newsletter the week before school starts with information regarding pick up and drop off, absences, students leaving early or arriving late, and tips to help your child with the first week of school at SMS.

Thank you,

Scott Swift

On Friday, August 2, at 4:00 p.m., our new data system, Focus, will go live. Before students can view their schedules, parents will need to complete the assigned parent documents. Once these documents are reviewed and completed students will have access to their schedules.

Please understand that we have spent many months building students' schedules, balancing class sizes, and learning our new data system. Due to this, we will not be making changes and/or honoring schedule requests. When schedules are live and available, if a student has a conflict with their schedule the student should email their counselor explaining the problem. This will allow our counselors time to work on any problem.

Kat Lammering 6th grade counselor: katherinelammering@wsdr4.org

Becky James 7th grade counselor: rebeccajames@wsdr4.org

Renee Klautzer 8th grade counselor: reneeklautzer@wsdr4.org

We are excited to be able to open South Middle to our students and their parents and guardians on August 8 for Walk About Day! Students can walk the building during this time, giving them an opportunity to locate their classes and discover the different areas of SMS. We will not have copies of student schedules so be sure to take a screenshot or print a copy of your student's schedule prior to coming to Walk About Day. Walk About Day runs from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. You can choose from either time.

Nurse Natalie will also be available during Walk About Day if families would like to drop off medications, doctor orders, etc.

At Walk About Day, we will have SMS backdrops set up in the building for pictures and selfies.

It is also a good time to visit the SMS PTO tables and sign up to become a member and purchase SMS Spirit Wear. The Kona Ice truck will be on site throughout the entire day. Tom's Coffee truck will be on site and available from 3-6 p.m.

The supply list has been updated and posted on the South Middle website. The only items that need to be brought to Walk About Day would be the facial tissues, wipes, and paper towels. We will have tables in each grade level hallway where the items can be left. All other items can be kept at home and your child's teacher will inform them on what they need to bring. For the first few days of school students only need to bring a notebook, folder, and writing utensils in their backpacks.

All 6th, and new to SMS 7th and 8th graders will get their Chromebooks from their core teachers during the first week of school. Please know that middle school students are expected to keep their Chromebooks in the protective case provided to them. Students will also receive a charger for their Chromebook. The Chromebook your child is receiving will be the one they have through their time in our middle school and into high school.

We do recommend that families purchase the $20 Chromebook insurance as it gives two free fixes for screens or keyboards which are the most commonly damaged items. The easiest way to get this taken care of is on our SMS website. Please use THIS LINK to access online Chromebook insurance payments.

Students returning to SMS can start bringing their charged Chromebook with them on the first day of school.

At the middle school level, one of our goals is to give students opportunities to try new classes. Our elective class offerings at South Middle, which we call Academic Arts, hopefully provides that opportunity to our students. All of our students take core classes which are math, science, english, and social studies. Our students also have Academic Arts classes that rotate on an A day and B day schedule with health and physical education and Team Time. During Team Time, students get time with their core class teachers for extra assistance, time to read, time to catch up on work, and time to participate in enrichment activities. New this year, on Tuesdays middle school students will have a 45 minute class called "Flex Time". Early in the year during Flex Time they will review school expectations, start Leader in Me lessons, Xello lessons, and work towards moving into student interest groups for this time. Overall, our middle school schedule allows us to give good focused time for our core classes and allows for exploration in our Academic Arts classes.

As we get closer to the start of the school year, we anticipate families and students will have questions. Please know that our staff does not return until Monday, August 12 which means we may be delayed in answering emails and phone calls. We appreciate your patience as we focus on preparation for the new school year.

Please bring cash or check if you are interested in purchasing Spirit Wear during the Walk About Day at SMS on August 8, 2024.

Get your school shopping done with a click of a button! Yubbler makes it super easy & convenient for you to get all of your shopping done. Yubbler will donate a portion of the proceeds back to SMS!

Attached below is the PTO Save The Date flyer for the 2024-2025 school year. This has all of the events going on at SMS, as well as outside of school, that PTO will be supporting or sponsoring. Check it out!

The WSD plans to host the 14th Annual Back to School Fair for District families on Saturday, August 10, from 8-11 a.m. at Liberty High School. The event is intended to get school supplies in the hands of WSD students who need them the most.

The event is free for District families and will feature dozens of vendors, free school supplies, games and fun activities for children. At last year's event, we distributed over $10,000 worth of school supplies to WSD students. In addition, MOChip will be on hand to provide free child identification kits.

While the event is free, families are encouraged to bring a non-perishable food item to donate to Operation Food Search, which serves local families in need. For more information, visit the WSD website:https://bit.ly/WSDBTSFair24.