Hello SBMS Community!

This last week was a busy one at SBMS! Students worked to put together their binders for student-led conferences and our Sources of Strength student program has been working on two important mental health campaigns. More information about conferences and what Sources of Strength has been working on is below.

Student Gratitude Campaign- The Duck Hunt

Our Sources of Strength student-led wellness program is running a fun campaign this week with our students to help build resilience. It is a "Duck Hunt" where they have hidden tiny ducks throughout the school for students to find. During lunch, students trade their found ducks for a paper duck. They then take those paper ducks, write something that they are grateful for on it, and then stick that to their advisory class's duck pond. While this seems like just a fun activity, the meaning goes much deeper. Practicing thankfulness and gratitude trains our brains to look for the good things going on around us and has a profound beneficial impact on mental and emotional health. I want to thank our Sources of Strength students and our Sources co-leads Mr. Levi Smucker and Ms. Margaret Albright for organizing this campaign. Thank you also to our community because the SBMS Kindness fundraiser helped to fund this effort to support student mental health.

SBMS Food Drive- SBMS Food for SBMS Families

The Sources of Strength program is also coordinating this year's canned food drive that the students will learn about on Monday in advisory. Much like the strength of gratitude, practicing generosity is another area of strength that can have a positive impact on mental health. Each year SBMS creates food boxes that are distributed in December to SBMS families. Our goal is to collect enough food to provide 20 food boxes. If your family is able to help, please see below for more information about what we are looking for. Our first collection day is Tuesday. Thank you for Sources of Strength and to the SBMS registrar Heather for helping to coordinate this campaign.

Repeat- Student-Led Conference Sign-Ups Available

For the last few weeks I have shared the link to sign-up for student-led conferences that will be held on the 25th and 26th. More information about how student-led conferences work and how to sign up is below. We hope you can attend to learn about your child's progress so far this year!

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

As I wrote above, each year SBMS collects food that is distributed to SBMS families in December. We appreciate if your family is able to help us help our school community.

What We are Looking For- Overview

• Canned produce
• Baking mixes/sweets
• Condiments
• Beverages
• Gift cards for grocery stores
• Snack food
• Dried carbs
• Pasta sauce
• Non-perishable proteins
• Gift cards to grocery stores
• Reusable or heavy-duty bags are highly appreciated.

Examples

Shelf Stable Protein

• Spam and other Canned Meats
• Tuna
• Beans
• Nuts
• Jerky
• Protein Bars

• Pasta
• Ramen
• Noodles
• Rice

Soups

• Canned soup
• Soup mix
• Veggie Broth
• Chicken Broth and Beef Broth

Canned Produce

• Canned Fruits
• Canned Veggies
• Applesauce
• Fruit Cups
• Baby Food

Breakfast

• Cereal
• Pop Tarts/Toaster Strudel
• Oatmeal
• Pancake Mix
• Breakfast Bars

Snacks

• Chips
• Popcorn
• Crackers
• Granola Bars

Gift Cards (Bring to office)

• Safeway/Albertsons
• Winco
• Market of Choice
• Fred Meyer’s

SBMS will be holding student-led conferences in our large gym on November 25th and 26th. Conferences typically take 20 minutes and a sign-up link will be sent later this week. Time slots will be available between 8:15 AM and 7:45 PM on the 25th and 9:15 AM and 12:45 PM on the 26th.

Student-led conferences are meetings where students take the lead in discussing their academic progress, goals, and personal reflections with their parents or guardians. At SBMS, student-led conferences take place in the large gym. Parents sign-up online for a 20 minute spot and when the family arrives at their designated time, students meet with their parents and use a portfolio of work and personal reflections to talk about their progress. If a teacher for a particular subject is needed, the teachers are in the gym and able to come over for a conversation. Unlike traditional parent-teacher conferences, where the teacher primarily communicates the student's performance, student-led conferences empower students to actively reflect on and articulate their learning experiences.

Please click here or the button below to sign up for a student-led conference time.

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.

Spencer Butte is looking for a volunteer to be the Spencer Butte Mentor Coordinator. Our

Middle School Lunchtime Mentoring Program supports at risk youth by partnering them with a Mentor for lunch once a week. Last spring we had 112 middle school student being Mentored in 4J. The Spencer Butte Mentor Coordinator volunteers one day a week, on Mondays from 12-1pm, and does up to 30 minutes of other communications during the week. The volunteer Mentor Coordinator is fully trained and supported by the 4J staff Mentor Coordinator. This is a fantastic way to get involved at in our community, and make a difference in the lives of young people, come join us! Please contact Kate Becker for more information: becker_k@4j.lane.edu 541-517-0394

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.