March is here, and at last, the spring time and warm weather that we have been looking for seems within reach. During the month of March our 6th graders will have just as much to look forward to!

In Social Studies, students will be studying the beginning and the spread of Christianity and Islamic religions, then will begin our study of the Middle Ages.

Language Arts classes will be reviewing fiction and nonfiction texts to get ready for IAR testing. To prepare for the IAR test, please make sure your child still has earbuds or headphones that work, as they will need them for portions of the test. The students will also be writing narrative essays.

Science classes are wrapping up learning about ecosystems and different ways organisms interact with each other. Students will participate in a March Mammal Madness bracket competition where they guess which animals, new and familiar, would win in an encounter. We will be exploring different biomes and then moving on to environmental concerns.

Math classes will be starting to work with both 2 and 3 dimensional shapes finding area, surface area and volume. IAR review will also be going on. Advanced classes will be working on the 7th grade workbook with integer operations (negative numbers). This new book has a lot of word problems so it will be challenging for them. If your child has lost or broken their calculator or if they need a replacement one, please help them get one to use for the rest of the year. We will also be celebrating Pi Day the week of March 14th and the math teachers will be sporting some great tshirts that week!

Students of the Month for 6th grade are Serenity Seaton and Zachary Thomas! Keep up the great work!

In Mrs. Kummer’s science class, we will be finishing up with the Astronomy Unit. Starting Tuesday, February 27- March 4th, the students will research a planet and create a presentation that they will present as a group. Presentations will be on March 5th and 6th. Then the students will use the information about the planet to do a fun alien project. This will lead us to final tests on measurement and graphing, which will be the last grades of the 3rd quarter. In the 4th quarter, we will be studying Biology. We will begin with the types of cells, cell organelles, and structures.

Mrs. Gudewicz’s science class will be wrapping up our Astronomy Unit with a planet research project. We will begin our biology unit on March 4.

ELA classes are just finishing up our novel unit on The Outsiders. Regular ELA classes are completing body biographies to show their understanding of the characters. AT ELA is participating in a mock trial related to the novel and showing off their skills as prosecutors, defense attorneys, jurors, media, and courtroom artists and reporters. All classes will enter the National Geographic March Madness unit where students will learn about endangered species and compete against each other via quiz scores and fundraising for their chosen species. This is an annual favorite, and last year’s students raised $667 for World Wildlife Foundation.

In Social Studies, we have spent the past few weeks navigating the Jacksonian Period in the early 1800s and exploring America’s westward expansion thanks to Manifest Destiny. Moving forward, we will be diving head first into the antebellum period of the 1850s, which set the stage for the American Civil War.

In the math classes, the students have started the first of several geometry units. We are currently working on angles and triangles. Students will be learning about the different classifications and relationships between several types of angles and triangles. Once we finish up this unit, we will move on to plane geometry and similarity. In the pre-algebra classes, we just started our unit on functions. During this unit, we will be talking about linear functions, rate of change, slope, direct variation, and solving systems of equations. These topics will be preparing all of our students for the upcoming state testing in April.

The 7th-grade teachers would like to recognize the students who go above and beyond. The Students of the Month are Cailen Russell and Brinley Lentz. Congratulations to both of you and keep up the great work.

We are slowly making our way towards spring and state testing time. We will take the Illinois Science Assessment and the Illinois Assessment for Readiness after spring break this year. Testing dates will be April 2 - 12th. We are working hard to get students ready! Please make sure your child has earbuds and gets plenty of rest and a nice breakfast during testing.

Please encourage your child to check Google Classroom everyday and complete the assigned work. Also, please ask your child to check Teacherease to stay on top of their academic progress.

History: History students will be finishing up their study of the causes and effects of the Cold War Era. This unit will include the Truman presidency, Post War conflicts, the Red Scare, and the Korean War. We will be studying America in the 1950s for our next unit in March.

Language Arts: After a brief review on how to write persuasively, the students will be reading The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis. While reading this novel, the students are also preparing for the IAR test (state test) by reviewing and practicing reading strategies and elements of literature.

Instructional Language Arts:

Instructional LA students just finished our novel study,Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus by Dusti Bowling. We just started our next novel The Cay by Theodore Taylor. Throughout our studies we will be focussed on summaries and connections. After Spring Break we will begin our next novel study, The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis and preparing for our IAR testing.

Math: In math class we will be finishing up with Chapter 6 Transformations and will be moving into Chapter 7 which is Congruence and Similarity. We’ve learned how to manipulate polygons by translating, reflecting, rotating and dilating them. Now we will be using ratios to see if polygons are similar. We will also explore scale factor and solving for a missing measure through proportions.

Instructional Math: In Instructional Math, we are reviewing the first 3 units of study (integers, the coordinate plane, and equations) before moving into a new unit: life skills math.During this unit, we will learn practical applications of math skills, including money (identification, making change), percents (tax, tips, discounts), budgeting (calculating, paying bills), and using a checking account. As always, we continue to work on our basic math skills through daily practice on iXL and weekly word problems.

Science: We are finishing up our unit on oceanography and marine biology. Students will be taking the Illinois Science Assessment (state testing) starting the week of April 1st. There will be three sections of the test this year and we are working hard to get ready. We will then move into our final topic; forces and motion.

Students of the Month: The 8th grade Students of the Month are Ashlyn Behringer and Joshua Kotalik. These two students are responsible individuals who take pride in their work. They are a joy to have in class!

Hello from the Phys Ed. department! Our classes have been quite busy and students have been making great progress. Our curricular units have been Olympics (great fun!), Basketball, Volleyball, and Fitness. Currently, our students are participating in a hockey and golf unit. This has been very amusing to see our students grow in each of these two sports.

We would also like to recognize one student who’s progress has gone above and beyond all of our expectations. Bailey Brummel has earned our Student of the Month here for Physical Education. She has performed at an utmost level of activity each and every day in class and has shown great leadership skills. We are proud to call her our Student of the Month. Great job and keep it up!

7th and 8th-grade students who made honor rolls in both the 1st and 2nd quarters this school year have met the academic standards required to be invited to apply for the SMS chapter of the National Junior Honor Society (NJHS). Students will receive application packets this week. If interested in joining the NJHS they are to return the application on or before Friday, March 15th to Mrs. Sgiers or the front office. The NJHS committee will consider applications. The induction ceremony will be held on Wednesday, April 17, 2024, at 6:30 pm in the SMS cafeteria.

Congratulations to those students eligible to apply!

Listen soon for announcements for the SMS Spring Play. It will be a part of the SMS Fine Arts Festival, along with artwork and the final band concert of the year taking place at Sandwich High School on Thursday, May 2nd. The play being performed is called, “And Hilarity Ensued (Pursued by a Bear)”

Registration for the 24-25 school year is now open. Returning families to the school district can complete the online application process in a few short minutes through their TeacherEase account. This will be a very similar process to last year. Please be sure that all information is entered correctly.

If you have an incoming kindergartener or a new student to the district you will follow a different process in which you verify your residency before registering on TeacherEase.

Student fees for the 24-25 school year are not due at this time. We ask that you complete the registration process by Friday, April 19. Please use the link below which will walk you through the process of registration.

• Registration 24-25 School Year

Sandwich Community School District #430 will soon begin the process of reviewing the

handbooks for each of the school buildings. This is an annual series of meetings to review the

policies and procedures in the handbooks to ensure that all users of the handbook have a clear

understanding of the contents. Please consider this great opportunity to become involved with the

district. The dates and the times of the meetings will be given out at a later date. All of the

meetings would be conducted at Sandwich High School and last approximately 60-90 minutes. If

you would like to serve on this committee, please contact your building principal.

Sincerely,

Michael S. Herzog

Michael S. Herzog

SHS Assistant Principal

The St. Jude Math-A-Thon is coming in March!

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is leading the way in helping treat and defeat childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases. Families with a child being treated by St. Jude never receive a bill for treatment, travel, housing, or food. The hospital and research facilities also freely share discoveries, so doctors and scientists worldwide can use that knowledge to help even more children. Math-A-Thon provides an accessible way for students to fundraise for St. Jude and help kids just like them. You will be able to help support our fundraisers in two ways. You can help by sponsoring middle school kids as they do math problems during the month of March. We also have the return of our St. Jude cookie fundraiser! We are pairing up with Kay’s Homemade Desserts in Sandwich who will be creating spring themed cookies. You can order at this link https://forms.gle/yRPnYii6YvEHceTS7 and submit payment by March 21st. Order forms are accessible through the link provided and extra copies can be found in the SMS main office. If payment is not received by March 11th, your order will be canceled. Cookie pick up will be on April 5th from 2:30-3:00 at the SMS main entrance. If you have questions, please contact Mrs. Sellers at ksellers@sandwich430.org or call 815-786-2138. Thank you for supporting the children and families of St. Jude.

Dear Students, Parents, or Guardians,

We are THRILLED to announce the 3rd Post-Covid Abraham Lincoln’s Springfield Trip! We will leave bright and early and watch a movie as we take a comfy chartered bus down to Springfield. We will return that same evening.

Date: Saturday, April 20, 2024

Cost: $195 plus optional $22 full cancellation insurance (FCI) for students. $213 plus optional $22 FCI for adults. We also ask that each person bring $5 cash on the day of the trip - a $2 tip for the driver and a $3 tip for our Springfield tour guide that we will collect and present to them at the end of the day. This $5 is not required but is highly appreciated.

What is included?

Transportation (in a comfy charter bus with a DVD player to watch movies) to and from SMS and the Springfield Sites. Report to SMS at approximately 5:45 am, exact times to be determined closer to the departure date.

Visits to:

Abraham Lincoln’s Presidential Museum

Dana-Thomas House (Designed by Frank Lloyd Wright)

Lunch (tentatively scheduled for) Godfather’s Pizza

Lincoln’s Home Tour led by Forest Rangers

Lincoln’s Tomb

World War II, Vietnam Veterans, & IL Korean War Veterans Memorials

Dinner (tentatively scheduled for) Red Robin

Arrive back at Sandwich Middle School at about 9:00 pm.

How do I sign up?

Go online to https://www.brightsparktravel.com/ and use Tour Web Code T63E2U3 to sign up. You can also call customer support at (877)545-0070 or email customersupport@brightsparktravel.com Always use the Tour Web Code T63E2U3 in all communications.

If you would like to mail in a check, get a registration form from Mrs. Sgiers. (One form per person, please.) Checks should be made out to WorldStrides and mailed to WorldStrides, 218 West Water Street, Suite 400, Charlottesville, VA 22902. There is NO need to send your registration information to Sandwich Middle School.

If you would rather pay by cash, send in the cash and a completed application form to Mrs. K Sgiers as SMS. She will arrange for the school to write a check to WorldStrides on your behalf.

Can parents come?

Yes! Parents, guardians, grandparents, or other adult family members can come along. Sadly, the budget for the trip does NOT allow parents to come free, but it is much appreciated having other adults there to help supervise. The group will stay together for the majority of the day, but we will split into smaller groups when we go through Abraham Lincoln’s home and as we walk around the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum.

Questions?

Please contact Mrs. Kat Sgiers by email at ksgiers@sandwich430.org or you may call 815-786-2138 x 23204 (calls only, no text).

Completed Proof of School Dental Exam forms are required for current 6th grade students by May 15th. If you are unable to obtain the required dental exam, please complete the Dental Exam Waiver Form.

Attention 8th Grade Families:

It’s not too early to start planning for next school year!

It might seem too early to think about, but your soon to be 9th graders will be required to have a physical exam and up-to-date immunizations completed before the first day of school next year. Scheduling physical exam appointments early can ease the stress that goes along with back to school and physicals done from this point moving forward will be valid for next school year.

These websites have fun recipes, games, and ideas to help your family celebrate National Nutrition Month by eating healthy!

https://www.choosemyplate.gov/

https://www.eatright.org/for-kids

https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/educational/wecan/index.htm

The St. Jude spring themed Kay's cookie fundraiser is underway. Choose from a kit to decorate, 1/2 dozen, or a full dozen (or more). Money raised will be donated to help St. Jude cover expenses for families who have a child receiving cancer treatment. Let's show the kids and families of St. Jude's that SMS supports them.

https://forms.gle/opPwAiHzw2VzbTB97

Since switching over to our new system, TeacherEase, we've been updating attendance codes, etc. needed for the state and we will soon begin sending out attendance letters again. Below you will find an abbreviated attendance policy to hopefully make things a little easier to understand, so if you receive a letter, it will hopefully make more sense. If you do have any questions, we will be happy to address them.

*Students are excused for 7 days per year regardless of why they miss. (This will not count if a student is marked truant from the previous year.) You will receive a letter at 5 excused and 7 excused, just as an update or reminder of your student’s attendance.

*Anything after 7 days needs a doctor note to be excused.

*Any time a doctor note is supplied, it is counted as an excused absence.

*After 3 unexcused absences, a letter will be sent home reminding the parents/guardians about the amount of unexcused absences.

*After 5 unexcused absences, school is required to notify truancy and truancy will usually set up a meeting to discuss needs and/or further actions.

*Parents/guardians must call the office to let school know their student will be absent that day.

Policy Found in the Middle School Handbook

"Students shall be permitted no more than seven (7) excused absences, including vacations, per school year based upon parental/legal guardian confirmation for the reasons of the absence. After the student has been excused seven times in one school year, additional excused absences for illnesses may only be verified through a written medical statement from a physician.

After seven (7) excused absences, the school office will notify the parents/legal guardians by mail. Other excused absences will be limited to death in the family, a family emergency requiring the absence of the student (this must be approved by the administrator at the building level), religious reasons that prohibit attendance for a given time and/or other reasons determined by the administration. The parent/legal guardian must verify the reasons for such absences. If a student is sent home due to illness documented by school personnel or if a student’s absence is verified by a doctor’s excuse before the student has reached the limit of seven days (or classes) of excused absences, that absence will not count towards the seven days permitted by this section. If the student was sent home from school with fever, vomiting, diarrhea or at the nurse/administrator discretion, they will not be penalized with an unexcused absence and will not count toward the seven parent/guardian excused absences. The following day may also be included in instances of fever, vomiting, or diarrhea. All doctor notes must be turned in to the office in a timely manner or the administration has the discretion not to accept the doctor’s note. For extended absences, the administration may ask for updated documentation of the absence.

When a student reaches three (3) unexcused absences, a letter will be sent to the parent/legal guardian warning of future consequences related to attendance. At five (5) unexcused absences, the student will be referred to the DeKalb County Truant Office for intervention.

When counting unexcused absences, the district will count back 180 school days (i.e. unexcused attendance days from the previous year will be counted towards the student’s current school year attendance records). When requested, the student will be required to provide a doctor’s note. Notes and letters will be placed in the student’s temporary file."

Our new Visitor Check-In System has been a welcome addition to our school. As you know, our number one priority is the safety of your students, and this impressive system is a great upgrade for our school. Using a visitor's ID (state ID or Driver's license), this system will complete a quick background check by searching the US sex offender databases & criminal databases. Now that we have a new visitor check-in system, we will no longer ask parents to fill out a volunteer packet.

The Sandwich School District needs your help! Please consider joining us as a substitute teacher. Did you know you can make $120 a day as a substitute teacher? You can create a work schedule that fits your availability through the use of our Frontline app. Earn $120 a day and work when you want to. Please click below for more information.

https://dekalbcounty.org/departments/regional-office-of-education/roe-services/educator-licensure/substitute-teachers/

Please feel free to follow our Sandwich Middle School Facebook Page at https://www.facebook.com/people/Sandwich-Middle-School/100044267353557/ This is a place where we share celebrations, community information and school reminders for various events. Please note that all important information and announcements will go home to you in our newsletter, classroom newsletters or in your student's backpack. The page is not intended to be your primary source for communication, but instead an extra one. Please avoid sending messages or posting school related questions as the page is only monitored intermittently. Instead, always contact our school office for school related questions or to communicate about your student. We appreciate it!

Last year our District Culture and Climate Committee created a set of district Core Values. These values are designed to be the cultural base of our learning community. We are using these core values as a set of expectations for staff and students. We want to ensure that our learning community not only supports academic growth, but that it embraces a high set of cultural expectations.

These District Core Values were presented to the District Leadership Team and the Board of Education for input. We continue to implement these Core Values with students on a monthly basis. Please take a few moments to familiarize yourself with our core values.

• District Core Values

5Essentials Survey

Please click here to complete the survey: 5Essentials Survey

Students, teachers, and families across Illinois will have an opportunity to participate in the eleventh annual statewide Illinois 5Essentials Survey. This survey is designed to generate a detailed picture of the inner workings of your child’s school. As a parent, this opportunity will allow you to share your thoughts on the important elements of school effectiveness in a survey about your child’s school.

On behalf of the Illinois State Board of Education, the Illinois 5Essentials Survey will be administered online by UChicago Impact at the University of Chicago. The survey gathers data related to five indicators that can predict important student outcomes, including improved attendance and larger test score gains. These five indicators that affect and predict school success are:

· Effective Leaders

· Collaborative Teachers

· Involved Families

· Supportive Environments

· Ambitious Instruction

Prior research in more than 400 schools has shown that schools that were strong on at least three of these “5Essential” indicators were 10 times more likely to improve student learning gains in math and reading than those that were weak on three or more Essentials.

Additionally, we have chosen to provide the optional parent survey supplement. If at least 20 percent of the parents at each school site complete this survey, a parent supplement report will also be generated. The parent data will not be reported on the State Report Card.

Current Parent Participation Rate

HED- 17%

LGH- 1%

WWW- 14%

PV- 15%

SMS- 3%

SHS- 4%

Your participation in the parent portion of the survey will help us understand the conditions at your child’s school and guide improvement. Your identity and survey responses will be kept completely confidential and will never be connected to you or your child.

The Illinois 5Essentials Survey for students and teachers will be conducted January through March. The Parent Survey Supplement will be conducted during that same timeframe. To take the survey please visit https://survey.5-essentials.org/Illinois/ and select the appropriate survey to begin.

For more information about the Illinois 5Essentials Survey, or to view previous years’ Reports, please visit https://www.5-essentials.org/illinois. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact UChicago Impact Client Services at 1-866-440-1874 or impact-surveys@uchicago.edu.

For those who would like to apply for free/reduced breakfast and lunch (fee waivers), please do so using the following link: https://www.freereducedlunch.com/sandwich430. Families who qualify for free/reduced breakfast and lunch (fee waiver) will also have their registration fees waived or reduced.

Please note that if you are applying for free and reduced breakfast lunch that this will be for the 23-24 school year only.

Applications for the 24-25 school year will not be available until July. We will post this information on our Facebook page and our website once the application process is open fro the 24-25 school year.

PLEASE NOTE: EVERYONE WILL NEED TO REAPPLY IN JULY WHEN THE NEW FORMS ARE RECEIVED FROM THE STATE OF ILLINOIS.

The district calendar for 2024-2025 has been adopted by the Board of Education and accepted by the state. The following link will take you to the district website link for the calendar.

• 24-25 District Calendar

Please make sure you have the following important dates marked on your calendar.

• March 8, 2024 11:10 AM Dismissial

• March 25, 2024 Spring Break-NO SCHOOL

• March 26, 2024 Spring Break-NO SCHOOL

• March 27, 2024 Spring Break-NO SCHOOL

• March 28, 2004 Spring Break-NO SCHOOL

• March 29, 2024 Spring Break-NO SCHOOL

• April 1, 2024 School is IN SESSION

• April, 19 2024 School Registration Due

• April 27, 2024 Casino Night (Sandwich Education Foundation)

• May 15, 2024 Senior Awards Night

• May 19, 2024 SHS Graduation

• May 27, 2024 NO SCHOOL

• May 28, 2024 School is IN SESSION

• May 29, 2004 School is IN SESSION

May 30, 2024 School is IN SESSION