Hello SBMS Community!

It was wonderful to see so many of our students and families at our ice cream social! It was a really fun evening of connection and ice cream! I am glad that we brought it back for the first time since before the pandemic.

Happy Hispanic Heritage Month!

September 15th-October 15th marks this year's Hispanic Heritage Month! The Hispanic and Latinx community at SBMS is an incredibly important part of who we are as a school. We are excited to begin Hispanic Heritage Month and I wanted to share what this month is with all of you! Please see below for more information.

How to Stay Apprised of Events and Dates

There are a few key ways to stay aware of events and important dates at SBMS. I do add things to this newsletter (at the end of it) but for more long-term planning, you can check out the calendar on our website (a link button is also below)

Reminder- Cross Country Registration is Open!

Our season starts on Monday (9/16)! It's not too late to sign your child up! Registration information is below.

Volunteering at SBMS

We love to see our community partner with us to enhance offerings for students! If you're interested in learning more about volunteering in 4J at SBMS, I've added a section below. We are currently looking for helpers in our library and chaperones for our activity night on 10/18.

Open House-9/25 6:00-8:00

This evening is for parents/guardians to come to school and go through a simulated schedule to meet your child's teachers. Everyone will start in the gym and then go to each class for 10 minutes. You will also experience the 4 minute passing times that your child navigates here at the school.

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

National Hispanic Heritage Month begins on September 15 and ends on October 15 to recognize the achievements and contributions of Hispanic American champions who have inspired others to achieve success. It first started as Hispanic Heritage Week under President Lyndon Johnson and expanded to a full month by President Ronald Reagan in 1988. The dates were chosen because September 15 is the anniversary of independence for the Latin American countries of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. In addition, Mexico and Chile celebrate their independence days on September 16 and September 18, respectively. (Source)

Picture day takes place on 9/25. You can pre-order your pictures using the instructions on the image above or by clicking here. We haven't yet received picture day envelopes, but once we do we will send them home.

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.

We have multiple opportunities for library volunteers this year. We have some beginning of the year tasks that are of limited duration to start as soon as possible and we have regular weekly shifts.

Tasks may include unboxing and shelving books, shelf-reading, processing new magazines, and helping with displays. If you are interested or have questions about the duties, please email Jenn Kotlarek (kotlarek@4j.lane.edu) directly for more information. You may also see the 4J volunteer requirements here (https://4j.lane.edu/16733_3). Thank you for supporting our library.

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 would like to help with the activity night on 10/18, please click the button below, or contact Stephanie our school secretary at 541-790-8300 or at minter_s@4j.lane.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.