Bulldog Bulletin

• Message From the Principal
• Important Dates
• Springer Spirit Week
• Hop for Hope
• Springer Helps After Helene
• Fall Bulldog Bash
• September BARK Band Recipients
• High School Visitation Day
• Coffee With the Superintendent
• Veterans Day Performance
• Springer Musical Auditions
• Open Coaching Positions
• String O Ween
• Nursing Screenings
• SFA Joe Corbis Pizza Fundraiser
• SFA 8th Grade Dance Theme Feedback
• Fall Sports Updates
• Wrestling
• 4 or Less = Success
• SAFE-DE
• Transportation: WheresTheBus App
• Supplemental Accidental Insurance Policy
• Volunteering at Springer Middle School

Springer Families,

Our first spirit week of the year is coming up this week and we could not be more excited! These weeks are always a blast as students and staff participate in various themed days which help bring an added degree of levity and positivity to the culture and climate. What is extra special about this week is our drive to change the narrative around what spirit means. In our mission and vision we highlight the goal of empowering our students, preparing them to be respectful citizens, and hopefully leading them to make a positive impact on the world. Therefore, we have called this our Dogs Donate week which began with our collection of donations for Hurricane Helen relief. We will be hosting our Hops for Hope event on Wednesday, October 16 during our Pink Out day where students will get sponsors to donate a certain dollar amount for every minute they jump. All proceeds will go to Metavivor, which is the only breast cancer organization where 100% of every donation goes toward research to find a cure for metastatic, stage 4, breast cancer, which is the only form of breast cancer without a cure. We would like to get more students signed up so please either have your child click this link to sign up: Hops for Hope, go to their counselor corner on Schoology page, or email me (sterling.seemans@bsd.k12.de.us) directly. We will wrap up our Dogs Donate week with a Bulldog Bash dance taking place on Friday, October 18 from 6:30pm-8pm where all ticket sales will be donated to Faithful Friends, which was the charity our students voted to donate to.

Our hope is to show students that school spirit and community are a wonderful thing. More importantly we want to show them that collectively our village can do amazing acts of kindness and generosity. We hope that your child participates in all of our events next week!

Monday-Pajama Day

Tuesday-Twin Day

Wednesday-Pink Out

Thursday-Decades Day

Friday-Color Wars (6th grade-red, 7th grade-green, 8th grade-blue)

If you have any questions, concerns, or need additional information please do not hesitate to contact me or one of my administrators. We are eager to help.

All The Best,

Dr. Sterling H. Seemans

Principal

2024-2025 Middle School Daily Rotation Schedule

BSD School Calendar

• 10/14-10/18/24: Springer Spirit Week
• 10/18/24: Fall Dance 6:30pm-8:00pm
• 10/24/24: Schools Closed Pre-K through Grade 8-Parent/Teacher Conferences
• 10/25/24: Schools Closed Pre-K through Grade 12-Parent/Teacher Conferences
• 11/1/24: End of Marking Period 1
• 11/5/24: No School (Election Day)
• 11/8/24: No School Professional Day
• 11/11/24: No School (Veterans Day)
• 11/15/24: Picture Day Make Ups
• 11/25-11/29/24: No School Thanksgiving Break

As part of our Dogs Donate Spirit Week, we are encouraging students and staff to participate in our Hops for Hope challenge to help raise funds and support for breast cancer awareness. There are two ways for students and staff can participate. Students and staff will set a goal for how many minutes they can jump rope. Students and staff can either pay a $15 entry fee or participants can get sponsors to give them a dollar amount for every minute they can successfully jump(e.g., $2 for every minute. Student jumps rope for 5 minutes and would earn $10 from that sponsor). All proceeds will go towards breast cancer research. This will take place on our Pink Out theme day, which is on Wednesday, October 16. Students will be called out of their second period class of the day to participate. If interested, please complete the form below

Thank you to everyone who helped to donate to our Springer Hels After Helene drive. We were overcome with joy and pride as we collected an overwhelming amount of supplies which included baby formula, water, paper towels, toilet paper, diapers, and more! Springer cup/tumbler prizes will be drawn next week and those students will be notified.

Our Fall dance is scheduled for Friday, October 18 from 6:30pm-8:00pm. Students will be eligible for the dance if they have no more than 2 referrals from September 11 through October 18. The dance will cost $2 and we will be donating the proceeds of the dance to a charity that students voted! The dance will be the finale to our spirit week which will kick off on Monday, October 14. There will be snack and treats for sale. Students are being asked to bring small bills such as $1 and $5 bills. The SFA, who will be running the concessions table, will not accept larger bills.

📣 Our students are BARKing like a Bulldog! 📣

Earlier this week we recognized our second group of BARK Band students! A BARK Band Student’s are selected by all staff members for doing an outstanding job of displaying our BARK expectations! These are the rockstars who’ve gone above and beyond in showing what it means to 🐾Be Respectful🐾Act Safely🐾Reach for Excellence🐾and show Kind Action—our core BARK expectations.

These standout students won’t just be getting a pat on the back. They received a Bulldog BARK Band, a certificate, and a sweet treat! Additionally, they’re in for some serious perks, including invites to exclusive events both during and after school, plus surprise pop-up rewards all year long!

August may have only had a few school days, but our Bulldogs are so incredible that we just had to give them some early recognition. This is just the beginning! We’re pumped to celebrate over 500 BARK Band students throughout the year. Keep showing that BARKing Bulldog spirit, and you might be next!

Let’s keep the momentum going, Springer family! 💪

Come meet and chat with Dr. Lisa Lawson, the Superintendent of Schools! You will be allotted 15 minutes with Superintendent to address your concerns, discuss the future of BSD, and provide feedback on what needs improvement.

Springer Middle School is excited to invite any veteran family members to our annual Veterans Day program which has been scheduled for Tuesday, November 12th at 10 a.m. in our auditorium.

The program will include speeches/presentations by selected Social Studies students. Past topics have included the history of Veterans Day, our Armed Forces, and tributes to a family member.

Our music department will present the Star Spangled Banner (chorale), a selection by our orchestra, and The Battle Hymn of the Republic by Springer JAZZ. We hope that you join us for this wonderful celebration.

The Spring Musical is FINDING NEMO JUNIOR. Singing Auditions are on Monday, October 14th, and Acting Auditions are on Tuesday, October 15th from 3-5 pm. Audition materials will be posted in the Theatre Club Schoology page. Sign-up to audition on the Gray Auditorium Doors. Please see Mrs. Ferrara or Ms. Lee with any questions or concerns.

Springer Middle School is currently looking for a Girls' Basketball coach and Cheerleading coach for our Winter season, which begins in November. Any interested applicants are encouraged to reach out to Dr. Seemans at sterling.seemans@bsd.k12.de.us.

Hearing, vision, and postural/gait screenings will be conducted by school nurses to students, as required by Delaware state regulations.

Why is screening important?

Hearing - The ability to communicate effectively impacts the well-being of a child, in terms of education, physical and social development. Early identification and intervention of hearing loss is critical in supporting speech/language development and full participation in the learning process. Even mild hearing losses may be educationally and medically significant. Students in 7th grade will be screened for hearing loss.

Vision - Vision problems are common amongst school aged children and adolescents. If vision problems are not detected and treated early, they can lead to permanent vision loss and learning difficulties. When a child has an undiagnosed vision problem, it makes it much harder for them to succeed in school, sports, social situations, and in life. Students in grade 7 will be screening for vision.

Postural & Gait- For more than 30 years, Delaware students in grades 5 through 9 have been screened annually to detect orthopedic problems such as scoliosis. Scoliosis is a curvature of the spine. This thirty-second screening may result in early detection and treatment, consequently avoiding surgical correction. Student in grades 6,7 & 8 will participate in postural screening.

How will the results be shared?

· If your child passes the screening, you will not be notified by your school nurse. You are welcome to contact the nurse to learn the screening findings.

· If your child does not pass the screening, the school nurse will contact you to share the results and may make a recommendation for further evaluation by a specialist.

School screening provides only a snapshot of how your child performs on the day the screening was administered and is not a substitute for a complete exam.

If you have any questions about the school screening programs, please contact the school nurse.

The Springer Family Association is running their annual Joe Corbis pizza fundraiser! Packets went home with students earlier this week and there will be gift card prizes for the top sellers! We hope you consider helping out the SFA by participating in this annual fundraiser. The fundraiser goes on now through November 6. Orders will need to be picked up at Springer on 12/4/24. Please email president@springerfamily.org

Our SFA is planning our annual 8th grade formal, which takes place on Saturday May 17, 2025. This is a huge event which brings a lot of excitement to Springer as we wrap up the school year for our 8th graders. The SFA is seeking opinions for themes for the dance. If you would like to vote and/or provide feedback, please complete the brief survey below. The theme that is selected will be a secret and will be revealed to the students the night of the dance.

Boys Soccer

The varsity boys soccer team defeated Gunning Bedford yesterday 4-1. Colin Reed, Tyler Overly, Mason Waters, Shane Savage and Peter Ng moved the ball really well to generate scoring opportunities. Mason, Renato, Philip O’Brien each scored a goal. The best goal of the game came from fullback turned striker, Cooper Richardson!

The fellas look forward to playing Talley at home on Wednesday.

The boys JV Soccer team improved their record to 4-0 with a 7-0 win against Gunning Bedford. Matthew Stoklosa and Nathan Hunt both scored two goals while Emilio Mammi, Zack Wheeler, and Jeremy Jones each scored once. The midfield was controlled by Landon Williams and Will Stewart recorded the shutout in goal.

The boys varsity soccer team improved to 3-1 with a 3-1 win over a good McCullough team on Wednesday. Mason waters was just brilliant with all around great play and a great first goal for the bulldogs. Niko Vasko was selected for the second game in a row by the opposing team/coach to earn the Springer Sportsmanship Award, and he scored our second goal. Top Goal Scorer Renato Paredes was able to score another goal as well! Peter Ng and Shane Savage played well. Defensively, Collin Reed, Steven Ng, Cooper Richardson, Jackson Madrid and Charlie Freidrich came up Huge. Phillip Obrien played a great game in goal!

The varsity boys soccer team defeated Talley yesterday 2-0. Strong play by captains mason waters, Collin reed, Niko vasko and Tyler overly ensured the game was never close. Shane Savage scored our first goal and then Mason Waters hit a beautiful strike for the second goal.

Huge shout out to Nikolas Vasko for earning his 3rd springer sportsmanship award. after being chosen by talleys team and coach post game. Niko plays the game with class and respect for his opponents! Great job Niko!

The boys JV Soccer team tied Talley 2-2 in a tough game that Springer led until the final seconds. Zack Wheeler scored the first goal and Landon Williams buried a 35 yard free kick for the second goal. Cullen Northey and Matt Keller played outstanding to lead the defense. Big shout out to Kenny Everett who was chosen to receive the Springer Sportsmanship Award. The coaches were proud of the way the entire team competed in such a tough, physical game. The team looks forward to another tough game against district rival PS DuPont on Monday.

Field Hockey

Field Hockey had another great win over Gunning Bedford yesterday 4-2. Scarlet Walther had 2 goals, Emma Burkhurt scored with an assist from Katie Sheidel and Emma Young scored with an assist from Jenna Grimes. The girls played hard throughout the entire game with Hailey Mullinex and Morgan O’Hanlon holding down the midfield and Clare Williams taking the leadership role in the back.

Springer Field hockey had a big 3-0 win against district rivals Talley yesterday. Goals were scored by Emma Young, Emma Burkhurt and Scarlett Walther with another assist by Jenna Grimes. Brynn Costenbauer, Marley Richardson and Claire Williams were walls in the back. Brynnley Waters had some big saves in goal to keep Talley scoreless. Congratulations to Hailey Mullinex for earning the Sportsmanship award!! The JV team lost a hard fought game 3-1. The lone goal was scored by Leah Halladay. Lexi Burris created a constant offensive push with the support of Brooke Vargo. Lexi Burris also earned the sportsmanship award! Great job all around ladies!

Cross Country

Our cross country team took on Talley Middle School yesterday. The Springer Girls were represented by 6th Graders Corrine Dorman and Anajah Hickman. They both placed respectively 6th and 7th place with times of 19:40 (Dorman) and 20:39 (Hickman). The Springer Boys, the unofficial winners of the Talley Meet were led by 7th Grader Ryan Caswell (13:18), 8th grader Ethan Isabella (13:20), 8th Grader Dylan Williams (14:04), 8th Grader Ben Merlo (14:05), and 7th Grader Aidyn Golson (14:19). Go Bulldogs!!!

The Springer Girls were once again represented by 6th Graders Corrine Dorman and Anajah Hickman. They really poured it on, and placed 3rd (Dorman) and 4th (Hickman) with times of 18:01(Dorman) and 18:35 (Hickman). The Springer Boys, the "Winners" of the Brandywine High School Meet were once again led by 7th Grader Ryan Caswell (13:37), 8th grader Ethan Isabella (13:50), 8th Grader Dylan Williams (14:03), 8th Grader Ben Merlo (14:10), 7th Grader Aidyn Golson (14:33) and 7th Grader Jaxson Kohr (14:33). Go Bulldogs!!!

Volleyball

The jv volleyball team lost a tough game to Talley yesterday 2-1. Julia Baxter led the Bulldogs with some fantastic serves while Sienna Schott helped the team with some great defensive plays.

The varsity volleyball team came back from being down 6-0 in the first game to win 25- 17 but ended up losing to the powerful serving team from Talley 2-1. Emmie Haley led the Bulldogs on offense while the defense was anchored by Quinn Miracle.

Any student interested in trying out for the Springer wrestling team should complete the signup form located on the Counselor Corner Schoology page and turn in a completed DIAA physical form to the school nurse. Wrestling begins October 15th. Any questions should be directed to Coach Salvatore or Mr. Oberholzer.

Welcome to the new school year--it's an exciting time for everyone! We're excited for a great year of learning and growth for all of our students!

This school year, the Brandywine School District is adopting the 4 Or Less = Success school attendance campaign to promote good student attendance. Good attendance means coming to school on time and staying all day, every day, which is key to every child’s success. After all, students must be present to learn!

All absences, whether excused or not, add up. Chronically absent students are more likely to read below grade level, have lower math and reading test scores, repeat a grade, and drop out of high school.

What you can do:

• Talk to your child about how going to school every day will help them do well in school and achieve their hopes and dreams.
• Keep an attendance chart at home to track absences.
• Recognize your child for attending school every day.
• Find a relative, friend, or neighbor who can take your child to and from school if you can’t.
• Set up medical appointments for weekdays after school.
• Make attending school every day a priority unless your child is truly sick

For more information and resources, visit www.brandywineschools.org/4orLess

The Brandywine School District wants all children to attend school each day so they can be successful in the future! We will be sending more information, materials, and tips about attendance throughout this school year. Please join us in making school attendance a priority so that we can help all of our children learn, achieve, and succeed.

Families, you are encouraged to visit the following link on the BSD website to find out more information about Transportation. For your convenience, we have Where is the Bus app and a brand new bus scanner to help you see when your child(ren) are boarding the bus. Students will either enter their school IDs or lunch numbers. You will receive information in the upcoming weeks on when students will receive their school IDs. Happy Riding!! https://www.brandywineschools.org/families/transportation/bus-scanners

If you are interested in supplemental insurance should your child get hurt in after school sports or PE class, please check out the available policy information below.

Springer Middle School relies on the generosity of time from our great families within the community. We welcome those who want to help be apart of our village and have a plethora of opportunities for volunteers to engage with our students and staff to better the middle school experience of our youth.

Parents who are interested in volunteering at Springer Middle School will need to follow the Brandywine School District's policy for background checks. Please follow this link: Volunteering at BSD to be properly cleared to work with our students. If you have questions, do not hesitate to contact the main office.

Background checks are good for 1 calendar year