Bulldog Bulletin

• Message From the Principal
• Important Dates
• Door Decorating Contest
• The Middle School Brain
• Limited Time Springer Apparel for Sale
• BARK Builders Need Food Donations for Thanksgiving Baskets
• Art Club
• Donate Left Over Candy to Springer
• NCC Transition Team Parent Night Series
• Big Dog School Store
• Coffee With the Superintendent
• SFA Dine Out Night
• Open Coaching Position
• SFA Joe Corbis Pizza Fundraiser
• Schoology Access for Parents
• SFA 8th Grade Dance Theme Feedback
• Fall Sports Updates
• 4 or Less = Success
• SAFE-DE
• Transportation: WheresTheBus App
• Volunteering at Springer Middle School

Springer Families,

The message on our sign out front will state this week “when the leaves turn, the students will learn”. Ultimately the goal of any school is to teach our students the necessary skills and information so they can be successful students and citizens moving forward. However, one thing that can’t be found in a curriculum or textbook is the experience students have when they are at Springer Middle School. If you haven’t noticed, we have had several events and opportunities for students to have an awesome experience at Springer. This has included a spirit week, Halloween and door decorating events, open gyms, clubs, etc. While these aren’t necessarily going to directly strengthen reading, writing, and math they do help students feel more connected to the school and help bring students and staff closer together in fun ways that help us make meaningful connections that build a wonderful school culture. We will remain committed to both a strong educational experience at Springer, as well as a supportive and fun environment that will help students develop socially and emotionally. That is the beauty of being a community school. Creating memories, experiences, and skills that will last our students and community a lifetime.

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

• 11/5/24: No School (Election Day)
• 11/7/24: End of Marking Period 1
• 11/8/24: No School Professional Day
• 11/11/24: No School (Veterans Day)
• 11/12/24: Veterans Day Performance at Springer
• 11/15/24: Picture Day Make Ups
• 11/25-11/29/24: No School Thanksgiving Break
• 12/5/24: Springer Family Association Meeting w/ Presentations From All Three BSD Principals
• 12/6/24: Family Fun Night
• 12/15/24: Middle School Visitation Day 1pm-3pm

This week brought us the opportunity to hold our second annual Halloween door decorating contest. Willing teachers and students participated in creating Halloween door decorations that incorporated our BARK expectations. The results were AMAZING! Check them out below. Congratulations to following teachers and their students for winning these various awards:

Best Door Decoration: Mrs. Dooley

Most Creative: Ms. Levenson

Most School Spirit: Mrs. Heckman & Mrs. Camfield

P.S. DuPont Middle School us offering a parent workshop to all parents. Dr. Chenkin and Dr. Baylin will offer insights into the ever changing middle school brain to help families better understand how students in middle school think, process information, and make decisions based on research. If interested, please register using the information provided on the flier below.

Please consider purchasing some awesome Springer Middle School gear! A portion of all sales will go towards Springer Middle School. These are limited items and make great gifts for a birthday or upcoming holiday! Items will ship for free to Springer Middle School and will be individually packed and labeled. This gear store will be open for the next 3 weeks, with items arriving in early December. Please use the link below and purchase some awesome Springer apparel.

https://springerms.itemorder.com/shop/home/

Springer Bark Builders are collecting non-perishable food donations for our Thanksgiving food drive. The food drive will take place from November 1 - 19, 2024. Collection boxes will be set up in the main office, lobby and by the bus port. The winning grade level will receive an incentive.

Our Springer students involved in art club designed their own trading cards. Students had the opportunity to create and trade their cards with one another. Thanks to Mrs. Dooley for this wonderful experience!

📢🐾 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! 🎉🐾

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.

Performance

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 Girls' Assistant Basketball coach for our Winter season, which begins in November after Thanksgiving break. 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

If you need help access Schoology as a parent to help support your child, please click the following link to access a document that will provide you step-by-step directions:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ZjlNYAoqfGxHO3dciOvXU5JOb11Zj7-E69a7-lPn4w4/edit?usp=sharing

Boys Soccer

The varsity soccer team defeated George Read yesterday 3-0. Avery Townsend played great and scored the bulldogs first goal. Will Mulvena scored the second goal on a beautiful volley into the net from a Vasko cross pass. Tyler Overly scored our third goal on a short post goalie beater on a break away!

Cooper Richardson was the games captain and played well. A huge moment in the game came when Colin Reed saved a sure goal for George Read. Jackson Madrid, Trey Morely and Phillip Obrien played well. Mason Waters controlled the game and the Ng brothers payed great!

The boys JV Soccer team capped off an undefeated season with a dominating 4-0 victory against George Reed. Springer's goals were scored by Nathan Hunt, Declan Lehane, Matthew Stoklosa, and Rick Welch. The defense was led by Cullen Northey and Evan Wang who played a huge role in keeping the ball on Springer's offensive side of the field. Congratulations to the entire team on an outstanding season!!

Field Hockey

Varsity field hockey lost a hard fought game against Talley last Wednesday 2-0. Though the team worked hard the entire game they were unable to put any goals away against the strong Talley defense. The team is lucky enough to have another shot at Talley this Friday in the District Championship game and is looking forward to taking it to them! Good luck to the team as they take on George Read today in their final regular season game. The JV tied a hard fought game 1-1 with the lone goal being scored by Tayla Milionis as her aunt (the Talley field hockey coach) looked on!

Field Hockey had a big win in their final regular season game against George Read 8-0! Scarlett Walther had a hat trick and Hailey Mullinex notched 2 goals. Jenna Grimes, Emma Burkhart and Katie Sheidel also had goals. Emma Young and Scarlet Walther had multiple assists. A special shout out to Leah Halladay, Ciara Lindenberg and Eizabella Hernandez for their hard work and incredible sportsmanship in the game as well!

Cross Country

The XC results from the White Clay Creek XC Invitational indicate that out of 10 teams, the Springer XC Boys Team placed 3rd out of the 10 teams that participated. All of the races were arranged according to grade level. Following are a few highlights from the Meet.

• 8th Graders Ethan Isabella and Ben Merlo placed 9th and 11th respectively out of a field of 67 runners on the 2-mile course.

• 7th Graders Ryan Caswell, Aidyn Golson, Jackson Kohr, Owen Muse, and Chase Salvatore all placed in the top 10 positions (3rd, 4th, 8th, 9th, 10th) out of 50 runners.

Go Bulldogs!!!

Volleyball

The varsity volleyball team lost a close game to unbeaten PS yesterday 2-0, but not without a fight. Down 24-13 in the second game the girls rallied behind the serving of Emma Berger but just fell short, losing 25-23.

The JV volleyball team destroyed PS yesterday winning 2-0 behind the fantastic serving of Sophia Bundy, Caitlyn Smith, Jackie Schatz, and Jaime Cook. The defense was anchored by the aggressive play of Quinn Reed, Ashtin Aslton-Barnes, and Allyson Cleghorn. Great job ladies.

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.

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

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