In the Middle

Oct. 22nd - SIT Meeting - 2:30 pm in Library/Media Center

Oct. 22nd - Flu Clinic for Students and Staff

Oct. 23rd - PTO Meeting - 7:00 PM Library/Media Center

Oct. 25th - Scituate Schools' Pink Out Day

Oct. 25th - PTO's Spooky Costume Dance - SHS Gymnasium

Oct. 29th - Grade 7 Vision Screening

Oct. 31st - Quarter 1 Closes

The final results of the 2024 state assessments are now available to the public on RIDE’s Assessment Data Portal. Our next steps are outlined below.

Attention veteran parents, great-grandparents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, brothers, sisters, etc. We would like to invite you to participate in our Veterans Day Assembly scheduled for Friday, November 8th, at 1:30 in the auditorium. Our chorus will be performing the National Anthem, and then after introductions, veterans will serve as panelists for our students who have written questions to ask the veterans. Please click on the form below to register a veteran for the assembly.

Several parents have reached out to inquire about access to SmartPass to monitor how much time their child is out of class. SmartPass offers a parent account. Please email me for your child's unique access code.

We have shifted to a new alert system and you MUST register following the instructions below to continue receiving SMS text messages.

You can participate in this free service* just by sending a text message of “Y” or “Yes” to our school’s short code number, 67587.

You can also opt out of these messages at any time by simply replying to one of our messages with “Stop”.

*Terms and Conditions: Message frequency varies. Standard message and data rates may apply. Reply HELP for help. Text STOP to cancel. Mobile carriers are not liable for delayed or undelivered messages. See schoolmessenger.com/tm for more info.

Ms. Norton will be creating the middle school yearbook this year. If you have photos that you would like to see included in the yearbook, please email them to sms_yearbook@scituateschoolsri.net This includes photos from all of our SMS Athletic Teams.

Late buses are available Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. Buses typically arrive around 3:45-4:00, depending on when the elementary runs are complete. Parents and guardians picking up their children should wait in the high school's main parking lot. Students will exit those doors and not the middle school doors; they would usually get picked up at normal dismissal time.

Agriculture Club meets on Tuesdays and is open to middle and high school students interested in nature and the environment. Projects throughout this year include the creation of an on-campus butterfly garden, a "power of plants" great plant give-away, starting our first RI Envirothon team, and of course, filling our greenhouse throughout the early spring months with flowers and veggies to sell at our annual plant sale. Additionally, we connect with community members and programs to take part in tree planting field trips, water festivals, and RI Salmon in the Classroom experience. If you have any question please reach out to Ms. Travers. Her email is linked here.

The Technology Student Association is a national student organization with over 300,000 members. TSA projects and competitions include robotics, game design, engineering, and more. Through hands-on learning experiences, these projects aim to nurture innovative thinking. We hope to empower the next generation of inventors, storytellers, and problem-solvers. Join us as we use technology to unlock our students' creative potential! This club meets on Wednesdays after school. Reach out to Mr. Sheehan if you have any questions. His email is linked here.

Project Linus is a national organization that makes blankets for children in crisis. In past years, there have been students who were recipients of blankets while they were hospitalized. At one point in time, SMS was the only school-based club in the state.

This club is open to all grades and meets on Thursdays. During these first few weeks, Mrs. Battey teaches the 8th graders how to make the blankets. By the second meeting, these students are then tasked with preparing the fabric for others to finish off. As new students join the club (once the club is opened to 6th and 7th graders), these 8th grade student leaders are in charge of teaching these students how to make the blankets. This, then, becomes a student-led club where students are truly leaders as they teach and otherwise manage the club. If you have any questions about this club, please reach out to Mrs. Battey. Her email is linked here.

Thank you to everyone who has volunteered for the Spooky Dance, we are at capacity for chaperones. We cannot do these events without you and we are so grateful for you all. Please make sure you have a current BCI on file. If your BCI from elementary school is still valid, you can have it faxed over to SMS. BCI's are valid for 12 months.

t's that time of year again, we are teaming up with Confreda Farms for holiday pies. This year they are coming frozen so you can enjoy them anytime this holiday season!. Pies are $20 each and Apple Cider donuts are $8 for a half dozen. Deadline to buy is Friday, November 15 and pick up will be Friday, Nov 22 at SMS.

We would like to introduce ourselves, we are this year's 8th grade Vice Presidents, Jennifer Vangel and Tara Piecyk. We are so excited to provide our children with some really fun opportunities over the course of the year to acknowledge all they have accomplished. Our biggest event is our farewell to Middle School Dance in May of 2025. As of right now it is only the VPs working on this project. We know you all have special talents and connections that would help to make this event even better than last year. Let's work together to make this an event our children will never forget!

Any questions email at: scituatepto.piecyk2gmail.com or scituatepto.vangel@gmail.com

Our first meeting will be 11/4/2024 at 7 pm via google meets

https://meet.google.com/hnc-emsu-uqu

Ways to stay in touch and involved:

***Follow the PTO on social media***

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61552203942500&mibextid=kFxxJD

https://www.instagram.com/scituatemiddlepto?igsh=aHJjYnRwYWN5azYw

***Download our app***

https://groupme.com/join_group/103848132/QZdHjDUP

Looking forward to a great year and making something special for our kids and our community.

See you soon.

Tara Piecyk and Jenn Vangel

On October 29, 2024, the Scituate Lions Club will be using the Spot Vision Screener to perform vision screenings for our students. The Spot Screener, quickly screens both eyes at once from a 3-foot distance. If your child has been prescribed glasses for distance or reading please ensure that they are brought to school for testing.

If you would like to exempt your child from this screening, please complete this opt out form below prior to October 24th.

The Scituate School Department has partnered with Unite Us to streamline the process of applying for free and/or reduced lunches.

Please click the link which will take you to the meal benefit application on the State of Rhode Island Department of Education website.

https://ride.ri.gov/child-nutrition/unite-us-electronic-school-meal-benefit-application

Please fill in all fields. Be sure to select Scituate Public Schools in the field “Select the school district that your child will receive school meals from”.

If you have any questions, please call: Jennifer Carnevale, Executive Finance Assistant at 401-647-4100 option 2, then option 3

The meeting schedule for the 24/25SY are listed below. The meetings will take place at Ponaganset Middle School, Room 150 at 6:00 pm.

Dec 10, 2024

Feb 11, 2025

May 13, 2025

New England's favorite fall tradition unveils a brand-new twist this year at Roger Williams Park Zoo's Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular—Trivia Edition, presented by Citizens, from September 27th to November 2nd. The Roger Williams Park Zoo once again offers two sensory-friendly nights at our annual Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular.

Sensory-Friendly Nights are October 22 and 23, from 5-6 PM. Designed for individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and sensory processing differences, this special night features 5,000 illuminated pumpkins without music or special effects. Discounted tickets for sensory-friendly nights are available in person only at the Zoo’s admissions booth.

The Ocean State Scholastic Chess League registration for the 2024-2025 school year has started. Ocean State Chess Association (OSCA) is the Official Rhode Island Chess State Chapter Affiliate of the U.S. Chess Federation. OSCA, a non-profit organization, registered in the state of Rhode Island, has helped introduce chess programs into 60 RI schools. Its purpose is to help promote chess in R.I. and function as a facilitator in statewide team competitions for all schools from K-12 Grade. To learn about starting a school program or registering a school for the Scholastic Chess League, visit Scholastic Chess League – Ocean State Chess Association or contact the director, Frank DelBonis, frank@oceanstatechess.com.

Important Dates and Deadlines

• Spring 2025 semester: January 13 – May 16 with varied dates
• Pre-lottery registration runs through December 6, 2024.
• School approval deadline is December 9 at 12pm. Students with pending approvals after this deadline has passed will not be included in the course lotteries.
• Spring 2025 course lotteries run on December 10. Students are notified by email same day with a seat offer or waitlist number for each course they preregistered for.
• Seat offer deadline: Students have until January 2 at 11:59pm to accept or decline their seat offers before they expire. A course with an expired seat offer will not be available to them in their EnrollRI dashboards if they try to re-register post-lottery.
• Open enrollment runs from January 3 through the last day of the add drop period for each course. Courses with seat availability will be filled on a first come first serve basis as students register and move up the waitlist. Prompt approvals will help ensure a student secures a seat in a preregistered course during open enrollment.

Contact Us!

As always, please reach out to the ACN team with questions or requests for support. Emailing the following addresses will ensure a prompt response as all team members read and respond to these inboxes:

• Email acn@ride.ri.gov with general ACN questions
• Email helpenrollri@ride.ri.gov with account and login issues.

The Scituate School Department does not discriminate on the basis of age, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, race, religion, national origin, color, creed, political affiliation or disability in any of its educational programs and activities, and in employment and application for employment, as required by Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Title VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1965, the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, and other federal and state laws that prohibit discrimination. The following person has been designated to handle inquiries regarding the non-discrimination policies: Equal Employment Officer, P.O. Box 188, North Scituate, Rhode Island 02857, Telephone: (401) 647-4100; Email: EEO@ScituateSchoolsRI.net. You may also direct inquiries directly to: Office for Civil Rights (Boston Office), U.S. Department of Education, 8th Floor, 5 Post Office Square, Boston, MA 02109-3921, Telephone: (617) 289-0111; Facsimile: (617) 289-0150; Email: OCR.Boston@ed.gov. If you require an accommodation to attend a meeting or program at a school, call the Equal Employment Officer at least two business days in advance of the meeting or program.