SPARTAN SCOOP

November 5, 2023

From Mrs. Smith......

Good evening!

I hope you have had a wonderful weekend with family.

Please check out the PHM Excellence because our Schmucker Spell Bowl team is highlighted. We also have some amazing art work highlighted below. Congratulations to all.

The biggest news piece this week is the announcement of our all school fundraiser - Sparty Party. Each year we raise funds for necessary school-wide programs, like our PBIS Rewards platform. Please join in on the fun.

SPARTY UP!

PHM EXCELLENCE

#PHMExcellence

Spell Bowl teams at Penn High School and all three P-H-M three middle schools are headed to the State Championships! Schmucker's team placed 7th out of 39 teams, with 16 teams moving on. The Junior and Senior Area Competitions were held on Wed., Nov. 1, and now all our secondary teams will compete in the State Championships next Saturday, November 11. Congratulations to our Spartans and the other three teams for representing P-H-M well!

Schmucker: Coach Andrea Hoover; Students: Noman Bepary, Makenzie Hill, Sophie Hadian, Dylan Ahuja, Ayan Ahuja, Lucy Felde, Ethan Blest, Ian Zarembka, and Danny Roach
Discovery: Class 1 Junior Champions with the highest overall score in their class
Grissom: placed 7th out of 25 teams in the Junior Class 2 competition, with eight teams moving on
Penn: finished in 2nd place with five perfect spellers

Cultural Mask Project in Art

Students were asked to to chose a culture that they wanted to learn more about. They created a mask from that culture and wrote about the reason for the mask and its uses.

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Sparty Party - All School FUNdraiser

On Wednesday, students will bring home information about our Sparty Party, which is our all school fundraiser for the 2023-2024 school year. The cost is $30 and each student receives a Schmucker t-shirt and access to our grade-level Sparty Party on December 20, 2023. The party is during the school day and we will have staff members in a dunk tank, a DJ, photo booth, inflatable obstacle course with climbing wall, and more fun. There will also be a special $100 raffle drawing for any student whose family donates $50 or more. You will one raffle ticket for each $50 donated. Tickets will be on sale until November 21, 2023, so that we may order t-shirts and students will have them for the day of the party. We will sell tickets again the week before the party for $30, but students will not receive a t-shirt during that sale. The funds that we raise go directly to our students for programs and events that benefit all students. Please watch for the information coming home.

Ski Club

Parents, ski club sign-up will begin on Monday night, Nov. 6th. Space is limited. A parent information meeting will be on Nov. 6th at 5:30 in the Schmucker IMC. The link for sign-up and all required paperwork will be posted on the SMS website on Monday, Nov. 6th. Hard copies will be available in the SMS office beginning on Wednesday, Nov. 8th. All required documents and forms must be completed and turned in along with the payment to secure your spot. If you have any questions, please email Mrs. Ludwig at lludwig@phm.k12.in.us

Veterans Day Celebration

Once again, SMS is proud to host a Veterans Day celebration on Friday, November 10th. The program will start at 9:45. Each year we encourage 8th graders to invite a veteran to join them at the celebration. The link below is the invitation and your 8th grader needs to fill it out and return it by October 30 to Room 203, Mrs. Schuster.

We will have a reception afterwards in the LGI with drinks and desserts.

NOVEMBER CLUBS

November Clubs/Intramurals

Must have REGISTERED MY ATHLETE Filled out!!

Link: https://www.registermyathlete.com/login/

Gaming

Monday

When: 4:00 to 5:00 PM

Where: Mr. Black’s room (room 314)

Teacher: Karl Black

Dungeons and Dragons

Monday

When: 4:00 to 5:00 PM

Where: Mrs. Grover’s room (room 318)

Teacher: Melissa Grover

Rock Band

Tuesdays

When: 8:00 AM to 8:50 AM

Where: Stage (Will pick you up at the main office at 8:00 AM)

Teacher: Melissa Grover

Animation

Tuesdays

When: 4:00 to 5:00 PM

Where: Ms. Fratena’s (room 209)

Teacher: Monicah Fratena

P-7

Tuesdays

When: 8:00 AM to 8:50 AM

Where: Mr. Black’s room (Will pick you up at the main office at 8:00 AM)

Teacher: Karl Black

ART -CLOSED to Those already Signed up

Wednesday

When: 4:00 PM to 5:00 PM

Where: Art Room (room 244)

Teacher: Samantha Hammel

Debate

Thursdays

When: 4:00 to 6:00 PM

Where: IMC

Teacher: Karl Black

Novel

Fridays

When: 8:00 AM to 8:50 AM

Where: Room 208 (Will pick you up at the main office at 8:00 AM)

Teacher: Colleen Gish

Open Gym

Fridays

When: 7:30 AM to 8:50 AM

Where: Gym (Come in Door L by gym at 7:30 AM)

Teacher: Karl Black

Penn Volleyball Rec League

Register today for the Independent Feeder Program! Penn Volleyball for grades 3rd-8th will host rec league volleyball teams through NIVA, the local volleyball club.

Tryouts are Sunday, Nov. 19. Games will be held on Sundays at local schools and each team will practice once a week. Click here for more information. If you have any questions, please contact Coach Kaitlyn Hickey at khickey@phm.k12.in.us.

THE MORE YOU KNOW!

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Give Back with Amazon Smile

Please look for Schmucker Middle School in Amazon Smile. With all of our online shopping, it's an effective way to easily give back to our SMS PTO.

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Box Tops for SMS

Box Tops are going digital! Simply download the Box Tops app from the Apple app store or Google Play. Create an account for yourself & associate it with Schmucker Middle School!

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Approved PE Shirts

Please remember that shirts from last year and this year are acceptable for PE! You can buy a shirt at the Back to School Walk Around for $10 cash.

Commonly Used Links and Information

Continued Focus on the Indiana Academic Standards

Knowing there is dialog around the state about the Indiana Academic Standards, we continue to follow the direction of the Indiana Department of Education and Dr. Jenner as provided in this letter. If you have any concerns about your child's education, please work with your child's teacher for clarification or reach out to me at anytime!

Questions? Please see the assigned staff at each site to help answer your questions.

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Safety Update: How Can Parents Monitor On-Line Activity

Parents,

Families have the option of receiving weekly emails outlining your students online activity while using Chromebooks. This online service is free and it gives parents an opportunity to maintain a safe learning environment at school and at home. Please click on the attached links to learn more about how Securly can help you.

Click to read and download a copy of the parent letter that provides step-by-step instructions on how to set up your Securly Parent Portal.

SAFE SCHOOL HELPLINE

If you see something, hear something, say something! The Safe School Helpline is a convenient, confidential way for anyone to report information about situations that might affect safety at any P-H-M school or building. You can call the number any time of the day or night to report concerns about unsafe or potentially disruptive activities or situations including drug or alcohol abuse, weapons, harassment, bullying or threats. All calls are completely confidential.