I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to each one of you for taking the time out of your busy schedules to join us for the Parent-Teacher Conferences earlier this week. Your presence and active involvement in your child's education demonstrate the strong partnership between our school and our valued families. These conferences are a vital opportunity for us to discuss your child's academic progress, strengths, and areas where they may need additional support. It's only through this collaborative effort that we can work together to ensure your child's success. Your dedication to their education is truly inspiring, and it reinforces the idea that we are a team committed to providing the best possible educational experience for your child.

In line with our commitment to supporting your child's academic journey, we have put together a range of tutoring resources to assist students who may need extra help. Whether your child is struggling with specific subjects or simply seeking additional enrichment, we encourage you to explore the tutoring resources available through the link below. These resources will help reinforce the learning that takes place in the classroom and provide the guidance your child may require. We believe that with your continued support and our collaborative efforts, we can nurture your child's educational growth and overall development.

Attention all 7th grade families. It is a State of Michigan requirement to have your child up to date on their vaccinations. I've included the required paperwork below. Please print, complete, and turn in to their first-hour teacher ASAP. Please have your child ask their first-hour teacher if you need a paper copy.

Unfortunately, students will be excluded from school if they are not immunization-compliant by October 14th.

Our behavior expectations that we teach here at Stevenson are referred to as our "RAPS", which is an acronym for Respect, Accountability & Pride, and Safety. Each month there is a focus that is one of those three, and each week within that month focuses on a certain area of the school where students are challenged to meet the expectations that we have at our school. Please take a look at the tasks we will be charging our students with for the month of October. If students are following these expectations, they will be rewarded with RAPS points in their account that they can use to purchase items of their choice in our school store.

This is awesome, isn't it!?! Parents, you can help to support our focus areas in our building by reinforcing these at home. Talk to them at dinner and ask them if they earned any RAPS points today and for what tasks. These are great conversation pieces and teachable moments that can be used at home in support of our school focus areas. Thanks team!

Our students have been banking their PBIS points for the last month of school and they now have the opportunity to spend them on fun items at our school store. Check out the catalog of items that students can buy with great behavior.

Earlier this week Ms. Littlefield took her Future Teacher class to PD Graham Elementary School to have them read to the Elementary students, demonstrating the leadership and teaching skills they have learned so far in their class.

Students in Mrs. Jacklin's classes tackled the paper table challenge today. They had to construct a table using only newspaper, masking tape and cardboard. It had to hold at least one dictionary for at least five seconds. So many creative solutions!

Our 7th and 8th grade girls ROX group had a great kick-off session this week! They used their teamwork and communication skills to untie a "human knot." This group will meet weekly for 20 weeks and cover many topics, including peer relationships, navigating social media, peer pressure, planning for future careers and more.

Today, students from the Ambassadors and College Bound Girls groups went on a nature hike and visited the Oakwoods Nature Center in Flat Rock. Students learned about vernal ponds, various trees including the Sycamore and Mighty Oak tree and saw Radar the owl and other rehabilitated birds that live at the park. Thank you to Ms. Reinink for planning this field trip for the students.

Mr. Wagner's Creative Writing class wrote spooky stories and shared them with the class while having donuts and cider.

Regular attendance is crucial for your child's academic success. Please make every effort to ensure your child attends school on time every day and stays throughout the whole day. Consistent attendance throughout the school day allows your child to engage in learning and maximize their educational opportunities fully.

Illness: If your child is not feeling well and cannot attend school, please notify us immediately. Students who are ill should not attend school to prevent the spread of illness to others.

Excused Absences: We understand that there may be instances when your child needs to be absent due to illness, medical appointments, family emergencies, or other legitimate reasons. Please notify the school in advance whenever possible to classify the absence as excused.

Unexcused Absences: Unexcused absences negatively impact your child's education. Absences without valid reasons will be considered unexcused, and appropriate actions may be taken per district policy.

Timely reporting of absences helps us maintain accurate attendance records and ensures that your child's absence is properly documented. Absences must be reported within 24 hours.

There are two convenient methods for reporting your child's absence to facilitate efficient communication and accurate attendance records.

• You can notify your child's school through the dedicated attendance line. Please leave a detailed message stating your child's name, grade, and reason for absence.

• You can report absences directly through MiStar, our secure online portal for student information. MiStar provides a user-friendly interface that allows you to submit absences.

Thank you for your ongoing support in creating a positive and productive learning environment for all our students.

This week during our Second Step time, we covered the second lesson in our Recognizing Bullying & Harassment Unit.

6th Grade - Recognizing Bullying

Summary: This week’s lesson helped your child understand the difference between bullying and joking around, and that joking can escalate and become bullying. Helping students understand when joking becomes bullying can reduce negative impacts on others.

Question: Tell your child about a time you witnessed or experienced bullying. Describe how this made you feel and ask your child what they might have felt.

7th Grade - What is Sexual Harassment?

Summary: In this week’s lesson, your child learned how to recognize the difference between sexual harassment and flirting so they can make informed decisions about how to respond.

Question: Remind your child that it's important that they tell you if they experience sexual harassment. If you feel comfortable doing so, share an example of sexual harassment you or another person has experienced and how you or the other person dealt with it.

8th Grade-Social Factors that Contribute to Bullying

Summary: In this week’s lesson, your child considered other people’s attitudes and beliefs about bullying and harassment, as well as their own.

Question: Share your thoughts and feelings around bullying and harassment with your child. Find out where you and your child agree and disagree and have a respectful discussion.

This month, we look at ways we can prevent bullying from occurring in our school. It can often be difficult to tell the difference between conflict, someone being mean, and actual bullying. See the attachment below to help determine the difference.

Please remind your students to talk to a trusted adult or submit a Student Statement form if they are experiencing any of these things at school.

Each week we meet with a small group of incredible students to discuss what they love about Stevenson, answer questions they have, and, of course, who their favorite teachers are. Check out this week's lunch group.

Get involved at Stevenson as a part of our Watch DOGS program (Dads of Great Students). We are having a kickoff meeting scheduled for Tuesday, October 24th. Please RSVP with the # in your family that will be in attendance as we plan to have pizza and pop for everyone that comes. Thanks!

Our SMS Lighthouse team is looking for donations, chaperones, and set up/clean up help for its upcoming Halloween events: the Halloween dance on October 25th and the haunted library on October 31st. These events are very popular and we appreciate all help and donations! Please note, if you would like to chaperone or help with set up/clean up, School Board policy requires all volunteers to complete a State of Michigan ICHAT background check. It is a name check only through the State of Michigan ICHAT system. You can get the form in the main office, or it can be emailed to you for completion. It takes about two weeks for processing.

For any students that are disqualified from the dance/RAPS party based on the criteria, they are able to submit an application to be considered for a Second Chance at earning entry into these events. I am attaching the application below this post. Any students that are interested in applying to be reconsidered needs to have their application submitted by Monday, 10/16 at 3pm.

If their application is approved, they will have a week of Check In Check Out with their teachers and a panel interview where they advocate for themselves as to what they have learned and their recommitment to our school rules and expectations. That panel discussion is scheduled for 10/24 during 5th and 6th hours.

If your child already knows that they are interested in joining a winter sport, please join (parent and student) the Google Classrooms below to not miss out on any of the upcoming announcements for those sports. Thank you!

Google Classroom Link for Boys' Basketball: xao2b3g

Google Classroom Link for Wrestling: zdlubuj

Click the link below to submit your interest and availability for getting involved at your child's school for this year. We have many options for involvement that will work with your work and responsibility schedule. The research shows that parents/guardians that are involved in their child's school helps to promote student engagement, belonging, and academic attainment for their student(s).

If you have questions about the roles or other ideas with getting involved at the school, please contact our Parent Coordinator, Paula Adamczak at adamczakp@wwcsd.net.

Thank you!

Our eighth grade students will be going on our annual tour of the William D. Ford Career Technical Center this year on Tuesday October 24th. Students will visit the center for approximately two hours through their History class.

The Career Technical Center offers over twenty programs, ranging from building trades to computer coding and game design! Our students will be taking a tour of this outstanding facility as part of our initiative to offer career awareness opportunities for all of our students. The students are always excited to visit Career Tech. and see first-hand how these trade and technical programs operate by trying out some hands-on activities.

If you do not want your child to attend this field trip, please contact your students counselor at (734) 419-2355. Otherwise, all of our eighth graders will be looking forward to this wonderful field trip.

If you have questions, please contact your child's counselor.

Our Ambassador students will be taking a field trip to Oakwoods Nature Center in Flat Rock on Thursday October 12th. The students will be going on a guided nature hike and exploring the natural fauna and animal habitat of the area including vernal ponds and critters of the forest. Students will also explore the Nature Center with all of its cool artifacts and displays. The guided hike will be approximately a three mile trek through the woods. We will be having lunch along the river. Our guides are always entertaining and the kids love asking them questions as they explore the area. If you would like more information on this trip or club at Stevenson, please contact Ms. Reinink at reininkk@wwcsd.net.

Prepare to soar high in WAIAM's second Michigan Girls Future Flight Challenge!

WAIAM's second annual Michigan Girls Future Flight Challenge is a virtual, state-wide aerospace competition for girls in 4th-8th grade with the mission to create a unique, sustainable way of flight to solve a problem of the team's choosing. See the link below!

Wayne-Westland Community Schools has a Family Resource Center (FRC), which provides services to any student/family enrolled in our District, free of cost. Some of the services they provide are: basic need assistance, access to over 700 local resources, Laundry Assistance Program and material items for those unable to afford them (emergency toiletries, socks/underwear, hats/gloves/scarves, etc.) They are also able to supply school supplies and backpacks year round for any WWCS student. Please contact our Family Resource Center at: 734-419-2709 or FRC@wwcsd.net. Our FRC also has a Digital Request for Services Form, which can be used to request assistance by filling out a simple form. Please contact the Family Resource Center directly with any additional questions regarding their services.

Care Solace is a complimentary and confidential service provided by Wayne-Westland Community Schools. This is a free service to students, families and staff. Care Solace helps connect individuals to mental health or substance abuse providers. They will call providers, verify insurance and help to make appointments. Contact Care Solace by calling 888-515-0595 or visiting caresolace.com/wwcsd and click “Book Appointment.” Support is available 24 hours a day 365 day a year in any language.

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If you ever have any questions or concerns, please reach out to one of us directly at domank@wwcsd.net (Student Last Names: A-Lei) or phillipsae@wwcsd.net (Student Last Names: Lel-Z).

Sincerely,

Mrs. Doman and Ms. Phillips

Website: https://www.wwcsd.net/schools/middle-schools/stevenson-middle-school/
Phone: 7344192350
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stevensonsaints/