Switzerland Point Middle School

• September 23: Character Counts! Chats (adjusted bell schedule - see attached below)
• September 27: Neon Bash
• October 1: VB vs GRMS
• October 3: Chracter Counts! Chats (adjusted bell schedule - see below)
• October 4: Raider Store
• October 8: VB vs LMS
• October 10: VB vs SMS
• October 11: End of Q 1
• October 14: Teacher Planning - No School for Students
• October 15: Character Counts! Bell Schedule, VB vs PBMS (adjusted bell schedule - see below)
• October 17: VB vs FCMS
• October 18: Spelling Bee
• October 21: Picture Retakes
• October 22: PTSO Community Chat: School Safety
• October 24: RC Post
• October 25: Raider Store

Raiders, don't miss out on your Neon Bash ticket! PURCHASE HERE! This event is limited to 600 students, so don't delay. Get your ticket TODAY!

The PTSO invites you to come to the next community chat featuring your SJSO and SJCSD Safety Director to hear all about how safety is handled at your school.

Thank you for your support!

CLICK HERE TO RSVP

Click on the flier to order.

• At the end of the year, students can attend a field trip as a reward for their behavior.
• Students who earn ISS or OSS during 2nd semester, or commit a Level 4 offense during the entire school year, will NOT BE ELIGIBLE to participate in the grade-level reward trip. Please see Section 5, Levels of Discipline, on page 31 in our Student Code of Conduct for examples of Level 4 offenses.
• Students with 15 or more unexcused absences during the school year will NOT BE ELIGIBLE for the trip.
• For 8th grade students, these behavior requirements also apply to the 8th grade formal dance.
• Once a reward trip has been paid for, we will be unable to give refunds or transfer the reservation to another student’s name.

Research demonstrates that attendance is a critical aspect to student success.

• At SPMS, attendance is tracked by full day absences, tardies, early check outs, and class period.
• Attendance in each course, such as Period 3 ELA, will be monitored.
• We notice that, in middle school, students tend to miss more full and partial days than in elementary without it being necessary. Do we want your child to come sick? No! However, students sometimes claim small things, such as mild allergies, a headache that can be treated, or feeling slightly under the weather, for not attending. When deciding whether to send your child to school, consider:
• Do they have a true fever?
• Have they thrown up in the last twenty-four hours?
• Are they contagious?
• Please strongly consider scheduling vacations around the school calendar.
• If your student is asking to stay home due to school issues (peers, teachers, anxiety, etc.), please reach out to the counselors or a trusted teacher at the school so that we can develop a plan that makes your child feel confident and safe while attending.

Each month, our staff nominate students who display the pillar of Charcter for that month. Students will be celebrated the first week of the next month with lunch provided by the PTSO.

This month, we look for students who display the pillar of Fairness.

FAIRNESS

• Play by the rules.
• Take turns and share.
• Be open-minded. Listen to others.
• Don’t take advantage of others.

A PARENT’S GUIDE TO FAIRNESS

Play by the rules.

Take turns and share.

Be open-minded.

Listen to others.

Don’t take advantage of others.

Don’t blame others carelessly.

WHAT YOU CAN DO AT HOME

• When you hear, “It’s not fair!” ask your child to define what is unfair about the situation. Usually when you hear this, it means your child didn’t receive something he/she thinks was deserved or an expectation hasn’t been met--whether real or imagined.
• Discuss the question “Does fair mean equal?” with your child. Talk about situations in school, home, or the community where the answers may sometimes be “yes” and sometimes “no”.
• Set family goals. Have each member of the family complete the following sentence and post it where it will serve as a reminder: I will show fairness by: ______________________.

PARENTS CAN PROMOTE FAIRNESS

• Create a democratic family environment by providing opportunities for each family member to provide input on appropriate family topics and decisions.
• Embrace the uniqueness of each family member without making comparisons of specific areas of competence.
• Consistently apply pre-determined rules. Make expectations clear and predictable.
• Advocate and help others who are impacted by adversity.
• Involve children in developing rules they are to follow.

FOR YOU TO CONSIDER

The Key to Fairness: Pre-established rules, consistently applied.

TO HELP YOU TEACH THE SIX PILLARS

Focus Area: Music

Music, whether on the radio or CDs, can be a wonderful source of entertainment and education. As a parent, you need to be clear about your rules and expectations regarding what is appropriate music for your child. With upper elementary through high school youth, you need to listen to what they are listening to, review the lyrics, and discuss the character of the artists. Music videos can be highly suggestive and sometimes inappropriate for young viewers. Your role as a parent is to monitor what your child is viewing and listening to, and then determine if the lessons being taught through music are the ones that match the values you want your child to have. For resources on children’s music, visit www.childrensmusicweb.com .

Our Kindness and Character Counts! Challenge is underway! Here are the current standings:

7th Grade: 399 points

8th Grade: 376 points

6th Grade: 338 points

The class with the most points at the end of the quarter will get a free period!

In partnership with Resiliency Florida, we will explore specific characteristic(s) each month. Attached are the Parent Resources for Self-Awareness and Self-Management for September. We are aligning the Resiliency Florida Characteristics with our CHARACTER COUNTS!

Self-Awareness and Self-Management means to understand and govern our thoughts, actions, and impact on others.

https://www.buildresiliency.org/

The St. Johns County School District is partnering with the Len Mattiace Foundation for the fall semester of the "Stop the Bullying" Campaign Contest. His foundation promotes bullying awareness and creates a safe environment for our youth in NE Florida. Compassion, inclusion, and kindness are the pillars of his foundation. Former Nease High School graduate Len Mattiace plays the PGA TOUR as a golfer. It is our third year partnering with Len Mattiace's foundation.

The fall semester of the "Stop the Bullying" Campaign Contest BEGINS on 9/4 and ENDS on 11/7.

Below are key points for this contest:

• Open to all middle school students
• Contest dates: 9/4 – 11/7 by 5:00 PM
• Cash prizes and swag for students!
• All entries are submitted to Julie Haden (Student Support Services)

Here is the link to the rules for the contest: https://www.lenmattiace.com/st-johns-stop-the-bullying-campaign

SPMS National Junior Honor Society is sponsoring an opportunity to send a special birthday or congratulations message to your student via the marquee in the front of the school. Cost is $25. Complete the form here to submit your request (there's a separate link in the form to pay via Schoolpay upon submitting your request). Requests are due the Friday prior to the event and will display the following week (Tuesday through Monday). Example: If you turn in the request on Friday, September 17, then your message will be displayed on Tuesday, September 21.

NJHS is sponsoring a sock drive to assist the Homeless Coalition of St. Johns County.

• Participatation in this sock drive helps restock the supplies of socks for the homeless families that the SJC Homeless Coaltion supports. Both adult and children's socks are needed.
• SJC Homless Coalition has run out of socks completely! Socks are more than just socks....they contribute to feeling good, keeping you warm or cool, and promoting good foot hygiene and health.
• Send in new adult or children's socks to your student's first period class or contribute to the collection for us to purchase the socks at the link below.
• This drive ends October 31.
• Here is the link to donate: https://www.schoolpay.com/link/sockdrive2024

Battle of the Books is a competition team based around knowledge of the Sunshine State Young Reader Award Books (SSYRA). The goal of the SSYRA program is to promote the love of reading for students. The SSYRA list is composed of 15 books from a wide variety of genres and interests. Students can read the books and take a short quiz on them in the media center to earn prizes.

The team will be composed of 5 members and 2 alternates. Membership is based on scores during try outs. Information on try outs will come out in December. Try outs will be in January. Practice will be once a week after school until the competition in March.

Please email Madison.Gowin@stjohns.k12.fl.us if you have any questions about SSYRA or Battle of the Books!

SPMS Athletics consists of both boys and girls volleyball and basketball, as well as Winterguard. All other middle school sports are operated by SJMSAA.

The St. Johns Middle School Athletic Association (”SJMSAA”) middle school sports program is not operated or sponsored by the St. Johns County School District. SJMSAA is an independent, private non-profit corporation, which uses District middle school names and facilities under a license agreement with the District, and which is solely responsible for the operation of the SJMSAA middle school sports program and its individual teams.

Students need to register through the SJMSAA website prior to tryouts. Once a student(s) makes a team, he/she will be provided with more information on paying and filling out the required forms

https://www-raider.stjohns.k12.fl.us/

Come on out and support your 2025 SP Winterguard team at the Jacksonville Icemen Game! They will be performing during both breaks of the game. The team would appreciate lots of cheering as they take the ice. It's going to be a really fun night.

$5 of every ticket goes to the team, which will help pay for lots of team expenses. SEE YOU THERE!

The PTSO would love your help stocking the Raider Store! The Raider Store is where students can spend their hard earned Raider Bucks. Your student earns Raider Bucks from their teachers and staff for showing good character in the classroom and hallways. They can then spend them in the PTSO-sponsored Raider Store. We are always looking for new and fun things to stock the store with to keep the students coming back. Please put your student's name on the gift, and he/she will be credited Raider Bucks for your donation!

Thank you for your support!

CLICK HERE TO SHOP

Gold Level Partners

Silver Level Partners

Bronze Level Partners