South MS Friday Blast

What a great way to celebrate the arrival of spring, with our SouthFest event. Thank you to all our families from the community who came out to show their support of our students, meet with staff and share food and fun activities at our school during Thursday afternoon's SouthFest. Many thanks go out to everyone who worked to provide food and drink, set up, serve, and host this annual event. It was our highest attendance ever, with over 480 registered to attend. We'll look forward to seeing you again next year!

• Mar 21 - Jazz Competition at Pennfield MS, 6:00PM
• Mar 23 - District Art Show at PHS, 1:00-3:00PM
• Mar 25 - Reading Olympics competition at Strayer MS, 6:00PM
• Mar 31 - End of 3rd marking period
• Mar 31 - Student Council applications open
• April 4 - Spring Dance 3:00-5:00PM
• April 5 - Community Hour (see info below)

Our goal at SouthFest is to showcase the true nature and spirit of South Middle School. This event provides an opportunity to open our doors to families and highlight not only how much we enjoy our work but also the genuine personal satisfaction it brings us as we strive every day to be our best for their children. This evening goes beyond academics—it’s a celebration of the vibrant community we’ve built together with our students and their families.

Our annual festival, SouthFest, is a celebration of collaboration between our staff and school, school families and community, supporting our students' learning process. This year, the event's spirit was captured with some unique t-shirt artwork created specifically for SouthFest, thanks to an imaginative project led by an energetic teacher.

It all began with a simple request from our French teacher, Mr. Shorb when he invited the South Middle School staff to submit a personal doodle on a 3 x 5 card, encouraging everyone to unleash their inner artist. Mr. Shorb stated, "What better way to represent South than a collection of our many small, unique, creative contributions?"

Teachers and staff throughout the building happily contributed their imaginative sketches: doodles that were a charming mix of fun, abstract, and detailed designs, reflecting the personality and artistic style of the creator. Individual drawings were carefully compiled to create a cohesive and playful graphic collage of doodles for the SouthFest staff t-shirts design. The design not only represents the creativity of our staff but also symbolizes the unity and collective spirit of our school community, illustrating the power of collaboration, a reminder of what we can achieve when we come together.

So, thank you again Mr. Shorb for your efforts to create this truly special project! Our SouthFest t-shirts are a proud celebration of our talents, our community, and the joy of creating something beautiful together.

On Thursday and Friday Alex DiPasquo, Stephen Marshall, Natalie Montolvan, and Alexa Yiengst participated in the BCMEA Music Festival. These accomplished student musicians collaborated with students from schools all across Bucks County to learn challenging and fun music together. What an amazing opportunity to grow and learn as musicians! We are proud of their hard work and dedication, and wish them all the best for their performances on Friday night and Saturday afternoon at Bensalem High School.

If you would like your child to receive a spring basket, please fill out this google form by 4/4/2025. The basket will include candy and some small trinkets. You may either have your child take the basket home, or if you would like it as a surprise, you may pick it up in the main office. Baskets will be ready for pick-up/distribution the week of 4/14. All requests for baskets will be kept confidential.

Spring is right around the corner and the autistic support classroom (room 109) is getting excited about our Autism Walk!

Remember - if a student has purchased a t-shirt, it will be their ticket for the Autism Walk on Friday, April 11th, 11th period. For students who have not purchased a shirt, they may still join the walk by making a $1 donation.

Parents/guardians are invited to check out our new homework snapshot quick links. Click on your student's grade level to see a summary of weekly homework assignments:

• 6th Grade
• 7th Grade
• 8th Grade

Parents/guardians who are interested in volunteering for school events must have current clearances on file with our district office. If you are new to volunteering in our schools, click here and scroll down to Volunteer Clearances for all the information you need to obtain the required clearances. For your convenience, the district office is offering extended hours for volunteers to drop off their paperwork from 3:30-5:30PM at the district office on the following dates:

• March 24th
• April 28th
• May 12th
• June 16th

If you want to make a donation to Rachel's Closet, you can drop off donations at South's main office lobby or purchase items from our Amazon Wish List. To learn more about ways you can help our students, please see our flyer here. Thanks for your ongoing support of this much-needed service to our South community.

1. Please remind students to charge their laptops every night.
2. Please remind students of the importance of listening carefully to AM and PM announcements for up-to-the-minute information that might affect their school day schedule.
3. If your child is going to be absent from school, please call the school office at 215-257-0467 to inform us of the absence, or e-mail us at SMSattendance@pennridge.org with your child's name, grade, and reason for absence (illness, family trip, etc.).
4. If your child is being dismissed early for any reason (dentist appt, doctor appt, family trip, etc.) please call the school office at 215-257-0467 or e-mail us at SMSattendance@pennridge.org with your child's name, grade, and reason for early dismissal.
5. If your child is going to be arriving late to school, please call the school office at 215-257-0467 or e-mail us at SMSattendance@pennridge.org with your child's name, grade, and reason for tardiness (overslept, not feeling well, etc.) to inform us of the late arrival.
6. Notification of absence, early dismissal, or late arrival will help us notify your child's teachers why the student is not in class. Thank you!

Website: https://southms.pennridge.org/
Location: 610 South 5th Street, Perkasie, PA, USA
Phone: 215-257-0467