SMS

1) Build Positive Relationships

2) Celebrate Diversity

3) Strive for Academic Excellence Every day

4) Equity for All students

• Link to our Link Tree Account
• Link to Homework Calendars
• Booster Club Interest Form
• Car Wash Sell

• Principal's Note
• Important Dates Coming Up
• Dates for End of Year Testing and 8th Grade Recognition

Continued Information for New Families

• Link to Student School Pictures

• Celebrating Student's Accomplishments

• What is a Grade?
• Yearbook Purchases

• Car Rider Line
• Check out Procedures
• Cell Phones
• School Supplies

How to find the weekly homework calendars!

1. To see the calendars, go to our school website: https://sfms.fortmillschools.org/
2. Click on "For Students"
3. On the right side you will see a link for each grade level's Calendar. Click on the link for your grade level and make sure you are on the correct week.

I want to begin by thanking Mrs. Lee for all of her hard work this year making sure that our athletes continue to have the opportunities others have had in the past. The past couple of years, we have had some hard working moms running Booster Club on their own along with a team of volunteers to support with concessions and other areas.

We would love to build our Booster Club back to a group of individuals working together as a Booster Club Board with a list of volunteers available to help in a variety of ways. Please click the link below to see a variety of ways you can sign up to help. Mrs. Lee would like to begin training a couple of people during Spring sports so you will know what to expect next year.

Many hands make light work! Click Here to See Form

We are still selling car wash cards! I just had mine washed this weekend. I know in a few short weeks, it will start turning yellow. Grab a car wash card and support our 8th graders.

Everyone will need a car wash soon!! https://wlink.live/2024_springfield

This week is a big one for 8th graders! Every eighth grader has an IGP appointment scheduled for Wednesday, February 21st. Parents should sign in at the front office and then report to the media center. Your child will meet you there for your appointment. Congratulations on the first step of beginning your high school journey!

Sixth and seventh graders will begin signing up for related arts on March 4th. This year we will send home a registration form where students will indicate their first choice and second choice for related arts. The form should be returned with a signature from parents and students to your child's homeroom teacher. As soon as the form is returned, students will enter their choices into the computer. Please begin looking for the registration form on March 4th.

This past Friday was "Bus Driver Appreciation" day! I apologize for missing it. Please have your child thank their bus driver for making sure they arrive to school and back home safely everyday. It can be a stressful job that receives very little appreciation. However, it is one of the most important jobs in our district.

We have officially arrived at what I call "the slump" days of the school year. We have five weeks until Spring Break, and the last long break we had seems like it was so far away. Everyone is a little tired. However, we need everyone to dig in and still give all they have; both students and staff.

Our ECU lists are a little longer than normal. If we reach out to help your child complete missing assignments, please work with us. We do it from a place of caring and wanting to help. Tuesdays and Thursdays after school are a great time for students to complete late assignments. These weeks leading up to Spring Break, we will be running Saturday School weekly. If you receive a notification that your child needs to attend, we will work with you to help them get there and back home. The last thing we want is for students to miss class for not showing up for ECU lunches or after school. We are trying our best to keep students in class and learning. Thank you in advance for your help and support.

Together, we can make sure all of our students are successful and learning the skills they need to! Please let us know if you need anything.

Have a wonderful week!

• February 21st - IGP Day for 8th Graders and their parents
• February 23rd- African American Heritage Assembly
• March 1st - Early Release Day
• March 4th - Registration Forms for current 6th and 7th graders will go home
• March 8th - Seventh Grade Social Event from 3:30 - 5:30 (Information will be out soon about paying for the Social Event)
• March 13th - Washington DC Parent Information Night
• March 22nd - Teacher Workday

Testing Dates: Please take note of these very important testing dates. It is extremely important that your child is present on these days.

April 17 and 18-- STAR Testing

April 30 -- TDA Writing Field Test

May 7th - SCREADY Reading Test

May 9th - SCREADY Writing Test

May 14th - SCREADY Math Test

May 23rd - Algebra EOC (8th Grade Algebra 1 students only)

End of Year Dates:

May 24th - Field Day

May 30th - 8th Grade Recognition Practice and Breakfast (During the day, no parents)

May 31st - 8th Grade Recognition beginning at 9:00 AM in the Gym

If you have not seen your child's school pictures, you can follow the links below:

• www.jostenspix.com
• Event code: FE85123

2023-2024 yearbooks are still on sale!

https://www.jostens.com/apps/store/productBrowse/2679852/Springfield-Middle-School/2024-Yearbook/2023071604153675766/CATALOG_SHOP/

If you are dropping your child off in the morning, students may exit their cars at 7:40 AM. You will hear the bell for students to begin entering the building. We will be doing a zipper merge like last year. The zipper merge occurs at the location where the sign is located. Once you are past the merge sign, you should be in the right hand lane of the car rider line. Students are to be dropped off from the right hand lane only (lane closest to the sidewalk). The car rider line typically has to zipper merge until about 7:50. Around 7:50 the line is typically short enough that parents can pull up and let their child out. The first couple of days may take longer, but please be patient with us and we will soon be flowing quickly.

This year, at 8:05 the sign in the front of the school will be turned around asking parents to come in and sign their child in. All students should be in the building by 8:05. They should be sitting in their homeroom by 8:10. If you arrive after the sign has been turned around, please come in and sign your child in. A student cannot sign themselves in. We do ask that you pay attention to the 8:05 time this year. Plan your morning routine and commute so that tardies do not become an issue. If it may be a problem for your family, students can always ride the school bus.

Car Rider Line procedures are the same in the afternoons. Please make sure you pull forward as much as possible before allowing your child to either exit or enter the car. It helps our car rider line go much quicker. You may need to pull up past where your child is standing. If so he/she will walk to you.

If you have not ready this policy, please pay close attention to the information below. We have given grace and reminders the first two weeks of school. We will be following this policy moving forward. Thank you!

Class time is valued, and we strive to interrupt class periods as little as possible. Early dismissal procedure: When you know in advance that your child must be dismissed early, SEND A NOTE to the school with your child, including the date and dismissal time. When your child arrives, he/she should bring the note to Ms. K, and your child’s agenda will be marked with the dismissal time. (We will make sure your child knows where to turn their note in. If you are new, they can come to the front office and we will direct them on where to go).

Your child will meet you in our front office at the scheduled dismissal time and sign out at the front office computer. If your child must leave early and has not brought in a note, you will be asked to wait in the front office until the change of class periods. Please speak with an administrator in case of an emergency. There will be no early dismissals after 2:40 PM.

SMS is an "Away for the Day" school, meaning no access to phones, wireless earbuds, and smartwatches during our school day. Electronic devices, including cell phones, may be brought to school and used before 7:40 or after 3:10 to communicate with parents.

Cell phones must be turned off and left in the student’s locker from 7:40 AM until 3:10 PM. Sick students should visit the nurse, not call home. (The nurse will call home if necessary).

This year we will be asking students to put their smartwatches away as well. That was in our policy last year, and we will be making sure that is enforced consistently this year across the school.

Students with medical situations that require the use of an app will be allowed to have phones for the purpose of monitoring their medical needs.

The student handbook is online and will be in your child's agenda coming home the first day. You can read more about this policy in their handbook.

All students will use a three ring zipper binder this year to use for all of their classes.

Please check out our website for the supply lists. Click the link below and you will see a blue button to click on for the supply list. https://sites.google.com/fmsdmail.org/parents/home

If your family needs help with school supplies, we have several business donors that have generously donated supplies. Reach out to our guidance department if your child needs help with supplies for the year. We want to make sure everyone is ready to go on day one. We will help them set up their binders during our homeroom time and teach them how to keep their papers organized so they can find them when they need to.