Hello SBMS Community!

Martin Luther King Jr. Week

Next week we will be celebrating Martin Luther King Junior's legacy!

• On Monday advisory classes will watch a short film about MLK Jr.
• Each morning on the announcements we will read a MLK Jr. quote.
• On Friday students will contribute to a schoolwide collage by selecting a MLK Jr. quote that resonates with them and then writing that onto a notecard that they will decorate.
• As a note, MLK Jr. Day (No School) is next Monday, 1/20/25.

Trivia Night

The 2025 SBMS trivia night is scheduled for Thursday 1/30/25 from 6:00-8:00 PM! We have some fantastic prizes to win! This is a completely free SBMS family event supported by community donations and our fall fundraiser. More information is below!

Teacher and Education Support Professionals of the Year

Nominations for Teacher of the Year and Education Support Professional of the Year are open. If there is a member of our staff that you feel you'd like to nominate, information about how to submit their name to the state is below.

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

Our fun Trivia Night begins with a free dinner at 6:00. Teams of up to 8 need to register by 6:45 and the game kicks off at 7:00. We will conclude the night at 8:00. There are questions for all ages, and SBMS staff will have a team. Last year was the first year they've ever lost (by 1 point!) and we are ready to try to win again!

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

School choice lottery season is upon us! If you or people you know are interested in school choice, there are a few ways to learn more about the process:

District School Choice Webpage: The 4J school choice webpage has a lot of information and frequently asked questions.

District Hosted General School Choice Information Sessions: Learn about the 4J school choice process by attending an information session. Each session will have a video presentation and a question and answer time at the end of each session.

• Virtual: Tuesday, Jan. 7 at noon | Link to session
• Virtual: Thursday, Jan. 9 at 6 p.m. | Link to session
• Reunión en persona en español: Thursday, Jan. 16 at 6 p.m. (4J Main Office, 200 N. Monroe St., Tower Room

School-Specific Sessions: Want to learn more about individual schools? Check out the schedule at this link. The SBMS sessions have already occurred, but if you would like to learn more about our school and the information that was presented, I have a video posted on our website.

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.