Bulldog Bulletin

• Message From the Principal
• Important Dates
• Springer Spirit Week
• Hop for Hope
• Springer Helps After Helene
• Fall Bulldog Bash
• Big Dog School Store
• School Choice Information Night
• September BARK Band Recipients
• High School Visitation Day
• Coffee With the Superintendent
• Fall Performance: The Internet Is A Distract-Oh Look A Kitten!
• Veterans Day Performance
• SFA Dine Out Night
• Open Coaching Positions
• String O Ween
• SFA Joe Corbis Pizza Fundraiser
• SFA 8th Grade Dance Theme Feedback
• Fall Sports Updates
• 4 or Less = Success
• SAFE-DE
• Transportation: WheresTheBus App
• Supplemental Accidental Insurance Policy
• Volunteering at Springer Middle School

Springer Families,

This past week we were able to do a couple of wonderful things at Springer Middle School. The first was to hold an absolutely amazing spirit week! A huge part of middle school is the experience and connectedness we try to cultivate with our student body. We want our students to be proud of being Springer Bulldogs and our students showed up this week demonstrating just how proud they are. Whether they were comfy in their pjs, dressed like twins, covered in pink, representing specific decades (the early 2000’s hip hop stars and 90’s grunge were my personal favorite), or our color wars our students shined in their positivity and support. The smiles and energy all week were contagious.

The second wonderful thing we did as a school community was come together to make this spirit week a way to empower our students to give back. This started with our donations to help hurricane victims in North Carolina where we loaded an entire U-Haul truck with supplies to be delivered. Our Hops for Hope raised hundreds of dollars for breast cancer awareness. Finally, our Bulldog Bash Fall dance raised hundreds of dollars for Faithful Friends animal shelter. We could not be prouder of our school community for all that they have done for this community and abroad!

A friendly reminder that we have Parent-Teacher conferences next week which will take place on Thursday and Friday. There will be no school on those days.

If you have any questions, concerns, or need additional information please do not hesitate to contact me or one of my administrators. We are eager to help.

All The Best,

Dr. Sterling H. Seemans

Principal

2024-2025 Middle School Daily Rotation Schedule

BSD School Calendar

• 10/24/24: Schools Closed Pre-K through Grade 8-Parent/Teacher Conferences
• 10/25/24: Schools Closed Pre-K through Grade 12-Parent/Teacher Conferences
• 11/1/24: End of Marking Period 1. Middle School District Championships at CHS
• 11/5/24: No School (Election Day)
• 11/8/24: No School Professional Day
• 11/11/24: No School (Veterans Day)
• 11/15/24: Picture Day Make Ups
• 11/25-11/29/24: No School Thanksgiving Break

On Wednesday, October 16 we held our Hops for Hope event. Through the hard efforts of our students and the generosity of our community, we were able to raise hundreds of dollars for breast cancer research. The donation will be made to Metavivor which is the only breast cancer organization where 100% of every donation goes toward research to find a cure for metastatic, stage 4, breast cancer, which is the only form of breast cancer without a cure. We love to extend a huge thanks to the following students for their participation in this event! Our students jumped a combined 4 hours total!

Henry Zimmerman

Donovan Demosthene

Vamsi Krishna Gumma

Abigail carney

Damien Grawl

Ava Harrison

Jamisyn Cook

Daniel McLarthy

Makayla Deloatch

Edwin Lucus

Isabella Diaz

Leah DiMauro

Ryan Caswell

Patrick Coffey

Adam Solomon

Colin Mummert

Thank you to everyone who helped to donate to our Springer Hels After Helene drive. We were overcome with joy and pride as we collected an overwhelming amount of supplies which included baby formula, water, paper towels, toilet paper, diapers, and more! Springer cup/tumbler prizes will be drawn next week and those students will be notified.

To end our spirit week we held our first dance of the school year! Our students voted and chose to donate the ticket sales to Faithful Friends. The dance was for students with 2 or less referrals and it helped encourage students to follow our BARK expectations. Thanks to our students, were able to donate more than $400 to Faithful Friends animal shelter. This was a wonderful way to end our Dogs Donate Spirt Week! Go Bulldogs!

📢🐾 Exciting News, Bulldogs! The Big Dog Springer School Store is NOW OPEN! 🐾📢

Available ONLY on the PBIS Rewards app, students can “purchase” a variety of items using their BARK Points!

What can you get?

👕Springer gear 🧢

🍿Snack line “cash” 🍫

📒School supplies ✏️

And much more!

Remember, no cash purchases are accepted – it's all about using those hard earned BARK Points for demonstrating the BARK expectations!

🕒 Items will be delivered within one week of your purchase date, so plan accordingly!

🔄 New items will be added to the store regularly throughout the year – make sure to check back often!

Start spending those points, Bulldogs! 🎉🐾

Brandywine School District invites you to our upcoming School Choice Information Night! This event is designed to help you learn more about the choices, programs, and opportunities throughout BSD.

• Learn about the schools and programs in BSD.
• Speak with program coordinators and educators.
• Get detailed information on how to navigate the school choice process.

October 21, 2024

5:00 pm

Mount Pleasant Elementary School Multipurpose Room

500 Duncan Road

Wilmington, DE 19809

📣 Our students are BARKing like a Bulldog! 📣

Earlier this week we recognized our second group of BARK Band students! A BARK Band Student’s are selected by all staff members for doing an outstanding job of displaying our BARK expectations! These are the rockstars who’ve gone above and beyond in showing what it means to 🐾Be Respectful🐾Act Safely🐾Reach for Excellence🐾and show Kind Action—our core BARK expectations.

These standout students won’t just be getting a pat on the back. They received a Bulldog BARK Band, a certificate, and a sweet treat! Additionally, they’re in for some serious perks, including invites to exclusive events both during and after school, plus surprise pop-up rewards all year long!

August may have only had a few school days, but our Bulldogs are so incredible that we just had to give them some early recognition. This is just the beginning! We’re pumped to celebrate over 500 BARK Band students throughout the year. Keep showing that BARKing Bulldog spirit, and you might be next!

Let’s keep the momentum going, Springer family! 💪

Come meet and chat with Dr. Lisa Lawson, the Superintendent of Schools! You will be allotted 15 minutes with Superintendent to address your concerns, discuss the future of BSD, and provide feedback on what needs improvement.

Springer Middle School is excited to invite any veteran family members to our annual Veterans Day program which has been scheduled for Tuesday, November 12th at 10 a.m. in our auditorium.

The program will include speeches/presentations by selected Social Studies students. Past topics have included the history of Veterans Day, our Armed Forces, and tributes to a family member.

Our music department will present the Star Spangled Banner (chorale), a selection by our orchestra, and The Battle Hymn of the Republic by Springer JAZZ. We hope that you join us for this wonderful celebration.

Please join us at MOD Pizza on Thursday, November 14 for a dine out night to support the SFA!

Springer Middle School is currently looking for a Boys' Basketball coach for our Winter season, which begins in November. Any interested applicants are encouraged to reach out to Dr. Seemans at sterling.seemans@bsd.k12.de.us.

The Springer Family Association is running their annual Joe Corbis pizza fundraiser! Packets went home with students earlier this week and there will be gift card prizes for the top sellers! We hope you consider helping out the SFA by participating in this annual fundraiser. The fundraiser goes on now through November 6. Orders will need to be picked up at Springer on 12/4/24. Please email president@springerfamily.org

Our SFA is planning our annual 8th grade formal, which takes place on Saturday May 17, 2025. This is a huge event which brings a lot of excitement to Springer as we wrap up the school year for our 8th graders. The SFA is seeking opinions for themes for the dance. If you would like to vote and/or provide feedback, please complete the brief survey below. The theme that is selected will be a secret and will be revealed to the students the night of the dance.

Boys Soccer

The varsity soccer team defeated PS yesterday 5-0. Colin Reed led the bulldogs with great play and he was also selected by the opposing coaches to receive the springer sportsmanship award! Niko Vasko and Mason Waters played well and controlled the game for us. Avery Townsend got his first goal of the season! Renato Paredes scored two goals. Shane Savage and Will Mulvena each scored great goals as well. Tyler Overly, Jackson Madrid, Steven Ng all played well.

The boys JV Soccer team remained undefeated with a 3-1 win against P.S. DuPont. Zack Wheeler got the scoring started and Nathan Hunt scored the other two goals. Landon Williams controlled the midfield while Cullen Northey and Kenny Everett anchored the defense. Will Stewart made a crucial save in the final minutes to preserve the victory. Congratulations to Matthew Stoklosa for being selected for the Springer Sportsmanship Award. Matthew has been a consistent leader on and off the field all season and it was great to see him recognized.

Field Hockey

Field hockey had another decisive victory against HB DuPont yesterday winning 5-1! Goals were scored by Scarlett Walther, Jenna Grimes, Emma Young, Emma Burkhart and Katie Sheidel with assists by Jenna Grimes, Scarlett Walther and Emma Burkhart. It was a truly a team effort all over the field as our 8th graders, Scarlett Walther, Jenna Grimes, Marley Richardson, Morgan O’Hanlon, Brynn Costenbader, Corinne Hall and Lucy Whitfield played their last game on Springer home turf!

Springer field hockey had another decisive 6-0 victory against P.S DuPont yesterday. Emma Young had two goals with goals also being scored by Clare Williams, Hailey Mullinex who also had an assist, Emma Burkhurt who also had an assist and Scarlett Walther. It was an impressive team victory with beautiful passing and teamwork all over the field! Delaney Williams had a big save in the 2nd half to keep PS scoreless. Congratulations to Hailey Mullinex for earning the sportsmanship award!

The JV team also had an impressive victory winning 2-0. Goals were scored by Lexie Burris and Brooke Vargo with an assist from Leah Halladay. The defense held it down with impressive play from Corrine Hall and a big save in the second half in goal by Lucia Catrona. Congratulations

to Maya Dzwilewski for earning the sportsmanship award!

Cross Country

Our cross country team took on Talley Middle School yesterday. The Springer Girls were represented by 6th Graders Corrine Dorman and Anajah Hickman. They both placed respectively 6th and 7th place with times of 19:40 (Dorman) and 20:39 (Hickman). The Springer Boys, the unofficial winners of the Talley Meet were led by 7th Grader Ryan Caswell (13:18), 8th grader Ethan Isabella (13:20), 8th Grader Dylan Williams (14:04), 8th Grader Ben Merlo (14:05), and 7th Grader Aidyn Golson (14:19). Go Bulldogs!!!

The Springer Girls were once again represented by 6th Graders Corrine Dorman and Anajah Hickman. They really poured it on, and placed 3rd (Dorman) and 4th (Hickman) with times of 18:01(Dorman) and 18:35 (Hickman). The Springer Boys, the "Winners" of the Brandywine High School Meet were once again led by 7th Grader Ryan Caswell (13:37), 8th grader Ethan Isabella (13:50), 8th Grader Dylan Williams (14:03), 8th Grader Ben Merlo (14:10), 7th Grader Aidyn Golson (14:33) and 7th Grader Jaxson Kohr (14:33). Go Bulldogs!!!

Volleyball

The varsity volleyball team played a HB DuPont team that hasn’t lost in over 5 years yesterday. Despite playing their best game of the season, they lost 25-20 and 25-22. Maggie Bosma led the offense with 4 aces, 4 kills, and 2 blocks. The defense was anchored by the outstanding play of Maya Goldstein, Emma Berger, and Mae Heggan. Great effort ladies. There is NO volleyball practice today.

The varsity volleyball team lost to PS yesterday 2-0, but not for lack of effort, especially from Emmie Haley and Isabel Oberly.

The jv volleyball destroyed PS yesterday 2-0 behind the fantastic serving of Allyson Cleghorn and Jaylene Medina-Torres. Also helping the offense out was the aggressive play of Ava Harrison, who received the Sportsmanship award. Great job ladies.

Welcome to the new school year--it's an exciting time for everyone! We're excited for a great year of learning and growth for all of our students!

This school year, the Brandywine School District is adopting the 4 Or Less = Success school attendance campaign to promote good student attendance. Good attendance means coming to school on time and staying all day, every day, which is key to every child’s success. After all, students must be present to learn!

All absences, whether excused or not, add up. Chronically absent students are more likely to read below grade level, have lower math and reading test scores, repeat a grade, and drop out of high school.

What you can do:

• Talk to your child about how going to school every day will help them do well in school and achieve their hopes and dreams.
• Keep an attendance chart at home to track absences.
• Recognize your child for attending school every day.
• Find a relative, friend, or neighbor who can take your child to and from school if you can’t.
• Set up medical appointments for weekdays after school.
• Make attending school every day a priority unless your child is truly sick

For more information and resources, visit www.brandywineschools.org/4orLess

The Brandywine School District wants all children to attend school each day so they can be successful in the future! We will be sending more information, materials, and tips about attendance throughout this school year. Please join us in making school attendance a priority so that we can help all of our children learn, achieve, and succeed.

Families, you are encouraged to visit the following link on the BSD website to find out more information about Transportation. For your convenience, we have Where is the Bus app and a brand new bus scanner to help you see when your child(ren) are boarding the bus. Students will either enter their school IDs or lunch numbers. You will receive information in the upcoming weeks on when students will receive their school IDs. Happy Riding!! https://www.brandywineschools.org/families/transportation/bus-scanners

If you are interested in supplemental insurance should your child get hurt in after school sports or PE class, please check out the available policy information below.

Springer Middle School relies on the generosity of time from our great families within the community. We welcome those who want to help be apart of our village and have a plethora of opportunities for volunteers to engage with our students and staff to better the middle school experience of our youth.

Parents who are interested in volunteering at Springer Middle School will need to follow the Brandywine School District's policy for background checks. Please follow this link: Volunteering at BSD to be properly cleared to work with our students. If you have questions, do not hesitate to contact the main office.

Background checks are good for 1 calendar year