December/January

• December 2: School Board Meeting @ Soldotna Assembly Chambers 6pm.
• December 4: School dance 2:30-4:00pm.
• December 9: FFA Meeting @ 2:30pm.
• December 10: Upward Bound/T3 Meeting @ 2:30pm.
• December 13: Early Release @ 12:45pm.
• December 14: Basketball borough tournament @ Homer 11am.
• December 23-January 3: No School Winter Break!
• January 6: No School - In-Service day for staff. End of the 2nd quarter.
• January 7: School in session. Upward Bound/T3 Meeting @ 2:30pm. Volleyball/Wrestling/Ski practice begins this week.
• January 17: Early Release @ 12:45pm.

Dear Parents/Guardians,

If you are calling to excuse your student for their absence, please remember to leave a message. We will make sure your student is marked as excused.

Please be aware that the busiest times in the office are at the beginning and end of the school day. During these times, we may not always be able to answer the phone immediately.

To ensure your message is received in a timely manner, we kindly ask that you leave a voicemail or call earlier in the day, especially if you need to relay information to your student right after school.

Thank you for your understanding!

The school dance will be on December 4 from 2:30-4:00.

It's winter themed, and there will be some snacks.

Students can bring clothes to change into after school if they want. It's free!

We want to emphasize the importance of arriving on time. Please plan to have your student at school by 7:40 AM. We’ve noticed a significant increase in tardiness, and when students arrive late, they miss valuable morning instruction and can disrupt their classmates.

Our front doors will be closed and locked at 7:50 AM, so please ensure your child is here on time.

Please review the chart below for the district's policy on tardies and absences, as outlined in the Parent & Student Handbook (page 13).

https://kpbsd.org/students-parents/parent-student-handbook/

*Students 15 minutes late to their first period class will be counted absent for that class.

*Students more than 5 minutes late to all other classes during the day will be counted absent for that class.

• Tardiness: Students who accumulate 3 or more tardies within a week will be required to serve lunch detention.

• Tardies/Absences: If you have any questions regarding your student's tardiness or absence, please contact the teacher of the respective class for clarification.

Thank you for your cooperation in helping us create a focused learning environment for all students!

*Students tardy 3 times or more within the week will serve a lunch detention for these tardies, please make sure your child is to school on time.

Mr. Josh and Mrs. Barhaug's classes participated in Seward's Safe Harbor Sticker Design Contest!

Theme: Healthy Relationships

Today the contest winners were announced at school and given their prizes!

The winners are:

Gabriella Bond

Brooke Sweatt

Freja Bardarson

Charlotte Dermish

Evie Norman

Riley Hinton

Edna Paperman

Congratulations to 6th grader, Lee Bawtinhimer, for winning the 2024-2025 yearbook cover contest! Lee’s cover was chosen by his peers in a school-wide vote.

Yearbooks are now available for pre-order for $20. Cash or check (made out to Seward Middle School) can be brought to the front office or you can order online using the code below. Contact Myla Satterlund with questions. msatterlund@kpbsd.org

The $60 participation fee and paperwork are due on the first day of practice for each sport. Your child is not allowed to practice if they have not turned in their paperwork.

Participation paperwork is required for each sport.

Sports fees can be paid online: https://kpbsd.revtrak.net/ms/seward-ms/

Fee waivers are available at the office.

Basketball Ends December 14.

Boys Coach: Coty Beck Email: CBeck2@KPBSD.k12.ak.us

Girls Coach: Breanna Dodson Email: dodson99664@gmail.com

Volleyball Begins January 7, Ends January 27.

Head Coach: Maggie Fleming

Assistant Coach:

Practice starts Monday, January 7th @ 2:30pm.

Sports Participation Paperwork

Pay sports fee here

Sports Blog

Wrestling Begins January 7, Ends March 2.

Coach Nate Smith: free_spool101@hotmail.com

Sports Participation Paperwork

Pay sports fee here

Sports Blog

Nordic Ski Begins January 7, Ends March 1.

Coach: WE NEED A SKI COACH apply here if interested: https://www.applitrack.com/kpbsd/onlineapp/default.aspx?Category=Co-Curricular&subcategory=Coach

Sports Participation Paperwork

Pay sports fee here

Sports Blog

https://kpbsd.org/departments/assistant-superintendent/instructional-support/planning-and-operations/student-nutrition-and-wellness-services/#menus

Hello from the library!

‘Tis the season for new books! Check out this slideshow to see what’s been added to our collection recently, and stop by the library to take one home for the holidays!

Happy Reading!

Jessica Bamford

Library Aide

Seward Middle School (907) 224-9013

Seward Elementary School (907) 224-7573

Upward Bound/T3: We will be meeting December 10th at the middle school at 2:30 Pm for our holiday party and December 17th for grade check. We're excited to be 'wrapping up' our Secret Santa box to mail off with all the cool 3D things we've been making! We will meet Jan. 7th again to start the new year off.

Iron Mountain FFA: The fruit will be in December 9th to prep for delivery, so we will have our monthly meeting then at the middle school at 4:00 PM. A big thank you goes out to everyone who supported the FFA by buying fruit. We will meet again Jan. 13th to start getting ready for District FFA competitions in February.

Kimberly 'Kim' Barhaug

Iron Mountain FFA Advisor

Seward Upward Bound/T3 Coordinator

kimberly.barhaug@g.kpbsd.org

MS: 907.224.9032, room 110

FREE Winter Youth Archery is BACK- Now Hosted at Seward Middle School!

Open to Ages 8+

Every Tuesday Dec 10- April 1 (No Archery on Dec 24)

*Lessons 5:30-6:15

Open Shoot 6:15-7:00pm

*Beginner Lessons available through registration only :

https://seward.recdesk.com/Community/Program/Detail...

Canvas/PowerSchool/Facebook

Families if your student needs to stay home for any reason please have them check their classes on Canvas.

They should be able to complete work online and submit on Canvas. Students can email their teachers easily from Canvas or Gmail with questions. Here is a basic tutorial to help with navigating Canvas. Remember we are here to help!! Canvas Tutorial

Seward Middle School makes every effort to communicate with students and their families about what is happening at our school. A great source of information is our online PowerSchool program. Students and parents can access a wealth of information including class schedules, grades, attendance. Parents and students must have their own access code to use PowerSchool.

Facebook School Page: https://www.facebook.com/SewardMiddleSchool

Be sure to take an active role in finding out what is happening at the middle school!

Nordic Ski Coach: Salary $1939.32

Nurse: $34.37hr or $41.20hr - 7hr/day

Special Education Teacher: Salary DOE

Special Education Aide: $22.22/hr.—7hr/day

Instructional Tutor: $23.86/hr. - 3.5hr/day

Interested in any of the above positions apply here:

https://kpbsd.org/departments/assistant-superintendent/instructional-services/hr/employment/

We are always hiring substitutes: For information check out the KPBSD Substitute Information page. https://kpbsd.org/.../instruct.../hr./substitute-information/

We are in search of parent/community volunteers to be an adult presence and friendly face during the two lunch periods at Seward Middle School that span from: 11:35-12:40pm each day.

This is a great opportunity to bring parents and caring community members into the building to connect with kids, which is a goal of Youth360, our Parent Collaboratives, and the Icelandic Prevention Model.

Sign up here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0944A5AB2FA1F4C61-50898621-seward?fbclid=IwY2xjawGPTWBleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHRnk9RNXahw5P2dWlb385J7A4UHONqCa_-192ePSpiwX-duVC9JAQBkfQA_aem_fWuWxQBwgCFpC8Q7AQa1lQ#/

Also, if you aren't already an approved volunteer in KPBSD schools, please fill out the volunteer paperwork and checkboxes for ALL three of our Seward Schools to take advantage of opportunities, like this one, to support our schools and youth.

https://kpbsd.org/departments/assistant-superintendent/instructional-services/hr/volunteer/