STEM Magnet Academy Newsletter

Welcome to Stafford STEM Magnet Academy (SSMA) Parent Newsletter! We will be using this newsletter to communicate biweekly. Here you will find the news of school updates, upcoming events, and curriculum highlights.

Dear Stafford STEM Magnet Academy Families,

I hope your week is off to a great start! I can’t believe that the end of this school year is approaching so quickly.

As we wrap up the 2022-2023 school year, we are proud to showcase our student’s learning in the events that celebrate their accomplishments. The End of Year Review for student performances, the End of Year Awards Ceremony, the STEM Challenges showcase, and the Karate Belt Ceremony. These are wonderful opportunities where we can applaud our scholars.

Our students continued to compete and bring pride to Stafford STEM Academy. Sherry Su (6th grade) and Jessica Qiao (5th grade) participated in the 2023 U.S. Youth Championship and 12 and Under Invitational, hosted by USA Artistic Swimming in Buffalo, NY. Sherry won second place in three events: Mixed Duet, Team Free Combination, and Team Free Routine. Jessica won third place in Team Free Combination. Congratulations to Sherry and Jessica!

Eric Xiong, Alaina Chacko, Ha-My Tran, Sarah Blakemore, Chizoma Ekechi, Toluwani Fatoki. and Jaeda Rodriguez demonstrated their writing talents at Rice University. Each read at Rice's Spring Reading, a piece of their writing from this year. Their teacher, Mrs. Amy Norris made this possible through her participation in Rice's Writing and the Arts, a monthly seminar.

We are so proud of all our students!

Thank you for your continued support.

Have a great week!

Principal Liang, M.Ed.

1. Should students attend both sessions? We recommend that students attend both sessions in order to receive the entire curriculum that will be offered during the summer sessions. Students that are in particular grades such as 6th grade should attend the entire session. Theses students will be taking a Pre-Algebra course.
2. What are the hours for all sessions? All sessions will be held from 8am-2pm daily.
3. What is the daily schedule for students in grades 6th and 7th ? Students will receive daily math (2 hours), science (2 hours), enrichment, and physical education. Additionally, all students will obtain firsthand knowledge away from the classroom by experiencing field trips. Students will participate in projects conducted by Rice and Baylor College of Medicine Universities.
4. What should I do if my child has to miss days during the summer session? Please contact the summer school principal, Karen Grant via email: kgrant@staffordmsd.org
5. What is the daily schedule for grades 3-5? Students will receive daily math (2 hours), science (2 hours), enrichment (dance and arts), and physical education. Additionally, students will benefit from extended learning through numerous field trips.
6. Links to Summer School

Elementary Link PK – 5: https://rb.gy/anszg Do not have to pay

Secondary 6-8: https://rb.gy/r4yod In District - $100, Out of District - $200

• StaffordMSD students have a wonderful opportunity to visit Panamá and Costa Rica during the Spring Break of 2024 (March 8-18). Enrollment for this exciting opportunity is open to 8th & 9th graders. If your child is interested, please contact Mr. Tim Woo, the Stafford Middle School Spanish Teacher and Stafford High School Head Tennis Coach, at his email address: twood@staffordmsd.org.

• Please see the following contact information for our administrators and support staff:
• Assistant Principal: Karen Grant-kgrant@staffordmsd.org
• Counselor: Regina Carrington- regina.carrington@staffordmsd.org
• Registrar: Schelitia Dixon- schelitia.dixon@staffordmsd.org
• Attendance/Receptionist: Ne’Kyla Williams- nekyla.williams@staffordmsd.org
• Nurse: Yesenia Rios- yrios@staffordmsd.org
• Nurse Assistant: Blanco Benavidez- bbenavidez@staffordmsd.org

5/15/2023

English: Resilience

Mandarin: 坚持 jiān chí

Spanish: resistencia (rreh-sees-tehn-syah)

5/22/2023

English: Promptness

Mandarin: 迅速 xùn sù

Spanish: Puntualidad (poon-twah-lee-dahd)

• 5/17- STEM End of Year Student Performance at Civic Center from 5:30-7:00 p.m.
• 5/19- Pool Party at Stafford Pool for 6th-9th grade students from 11:00 am -3:00 pm
• 5/23- 8th & 9th Grade Field Trip to Main Event
• 5/23- Karate Belt Ceremony from 5:00-6:00 @ STEM Cafeteria
• 5/24- Bowties & Pearls 2023: An Empowerment & Positive Esteem Event for Students
• 5/25- Award Ceremony in STEM Cafeteria: 8:00-9:00 elementary, 9:00-10:00 STEM Challenge Showcase in classrooms for grades 3-9, 10:00-11:00 secondary school
• 5/26-Early Dismissal @ 11:20 a.m.
• 5/30-6/2- Early dismissal for final exams @ 11:20 a.m.

The PTO would like to invite all of our students and families to the final spirit night of the school year on May 25th at Bounce Bounce

Thank you for all the families that donated to Teacher

Appreciation last week. We were able to serve our teachers and supplemental staff a meal or snack Monday through Thursday and present them all with gifts on Monday.

Also thank you to everyone that helped to make field day a huge success!!! Our students had a great time!! It was a well deserved day of playing games and having fun.

Also, thank you to all who joined our Family Tech Talk last Tuesday night. Hopefully everyone learned something about internet safety for kids.