SMS Weekly Update
September 23, 2022
Dear Archers,
As we settle into the school year we would like to remind you how grateful we are to have each and every one of you as a member of our community. Our big goal is that every student knows they belong here. We recognize that not only SMS Staff play a role in supporting this mission, but that parents and guardians contribute greatly. Each individual within our community has an important impact on our school; please know that you are valued.
Thank you again, for your help maintaining a smooth traffic flow during droff-off and pick-up times, and for all you do to support our efforts here at SMS!
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Thank you OnPoint!
Upcoming Events
September 27
Standards-Based Grading Community Information Night, 6:00pm - 7:00pm (District Office, Multipurpose Room)
September 28
Early Release, dismissal at 2:20pm
October 3
PSO Meeting, 6:00pm - 7:00pm
October 5
Early Release, dismissal at 2:20pm
October 12
Early Release, dismissal at 2:20pm
October 13
Professional Development Day, NO SCHOOL
October 14
Statewide Inservice Day, NO SCHOOL
October 19
Early Release, dismissal at 2:20pm
October 21
Picture Retakes
Freaky Friday Carnival & Dance, 5:00pm - 9:00pm
October 26
Early Release, dismissal at 2:20pm
October 27
Conferences, 4:30pm - 8:00pm
October 28
Conferences, 8:00am - 12:00pm
Additional events may be viewed on the Sherwood Middle School Calendar.
Standards-Based Grading Community Information Night
Sherwood School District Office, Multipurpose Room
*Parking available in the south parking lot, near tennis courts.*
Tuesday, Sep 27, 2022, 06:00 PM
Sherwood School District, Southwest Sherwood Boulevard, Sherwood, OR, USA
FlashAlert Reminder
If you have not already done so, please sign up for FlashAlert to receive the most timely alerts for events such as school closures or delayed starts.
FlashAlert is a free subscription service that alerts users via text or app notifications. Sign up at www.flashalert.net/signup or by downloading the FlashAlert app on your smartphone. If you have signed up for FlashAlert previously, please sign in to make sure your subscription is current. If you are not subscribed to our channel, you can search for "Sherwood Sch. Dist." to sign up for our district's alerts.
Chromebooks
Students will need their Chromebooks to access curriculum during the school day. Please make sure that Chromebooks are charged overnight and that chargers are labeled with the student name and brought to school each day. Thank you!
SMS Phone Policy
School Meals: Free & Reduced and Expanded Income Eligibility Programs
We recognize the impact that returning to paid school meals this year can have on family budgets, and encourage parents/guardians to complete an eligibility application to determine if your family qualifies for free or reduced meals -- even if your family may not have been eligible under federal guidelines in past years. The Oregon Expanded Income Eligibility Group (EIG) supports families who do not qualify for meal benefits using federal income guidelines. It provides meal benefits to households with incomes above 185%, but not exceeding 300%, of the federal poverty guidelines.
To apply for either Federal or EIG free/reduced meal eligibility, please complete the Online Free and Reduced Meal Application. For more details on income-based eligibility, please click the image below to access the Federal and Oregon Expanded Income Eligibility charts for the 2022-23 school year.
Covid-19 Update
COVID-19 is still present in our community. Thankfully, the testing and reporting process within our school district is not as invasive as last year, but we still need your help as we continue to navigate this virus. This is just a reminder to keep your child home from school if they are exhibiting any COVID-like symptoms (fever, persistent cough, congestion, sore throat, unusual prolonged headache). Please let us know if your child has tested positive by reporting a positive test result to your child’s school, or by contacting our Health Services Department at 503-825-5093. The required isolation after testing positive with Covid-19 is still 5 full days. Per the Oregon Department of Education and Washington County, we are obligated to continue to notify parents/guardians when their child has been exposed to the virus. We realize this may involve multiple emails and we apologize for any inconvenience. Please let us know if you have any questions and/or concerns surrounding COVID-19 and we will do our best to support you. Thank you.
COVID-19 Testing program
We are partnering with OHSU again this year to offer free, weekly COVID-19 testing for students. Participation in this program is completely optional and offered regardless of vaccination status. Participating students will drop off spit samples in pre-labeled tubes at school each week, whether they have symptoms or not, and those samples will be sent to OHSU for testing. Many aspects of the screening program will remain the same as last year, with a few changes to make it easier for parents and students.
What’s new?
Starting today, you can enroll your child(ren) through a convenient online portal at www.labfinder.com/ohsu. If you have trouble with the enrollment portal for any reason, please call OHSU support at (503) 418-8500. All students wishing to participate must re-enroll, even if they participated in last year's program
Test samples can be collected either the night before or the morning of their school’s testing day
When the test results are available you will receive an email prompting you to log into the online portal at www.labfinder.com/ohsu to view the results
If you miss your weekly testing drop-off day at school, OHSU has added 3 drop-off sites around the Portland metro area
New, pre-labeled test tubes with a scannable barcode will be mailed directly to your mailing address and should arrive within a week of enrollment. Kits from last year cannot be used, so please throw them away.
What stays the same?
No cost to families
Highly accurate molecular testing, known as PCR
Students will continue to bring their samples to school for drop off on the designated day (for all SSD schools, drop off day will be on Thursday mornings)
OHSU nurses will call the family of any student whose test was detected or found inconclusive for the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19
Program Information
LabFinder enrollment and results portal: www.labfinder.com/ohsu
Website with supporting documents, FAQs, and instructional videos: www.ohsu.edu/k12testing
Program overview
Saliva test instructions
LabFinder instructions
Community drop off locations
If you have any questions or need additional information, please contact the OHSU support team at k12covidtesting@ohsu.edu or (503) 418-8500.
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Attendance Procedures
If your student will be absent, please call the attendance line at 503-825-5510 or email SherwoodMiddle_Notification@sherwood.k12.or.us by 8:30am. Please leave your name, your student’s name and the reason for the absence. This is a 24-hour line. Parents of students who are absent each day will be called if the school has not been notified.
We are not currently able to receive absences through ParentVue, we are working to resolve this matter as soon as possible.
Tardies
Being on time is an essential skill that SMS believes students must master by the time they matriculate. It is also disruptive to the classroom community when a student is late. If a student is late to school, they should connect with the front office to receive a hall pass prior to attending their class.
Being on time to class is equally as important as being on time to school. When students are on time, it shows that they are engaged and feel a sense of responsibility about their own learning. This also demonstrates respect for their teacher, and the classroom community.
Being on time to class means:
Students are in the correct classroom when the bell rings.
- If students are in the hall when class starts, they will be marked tardy or absent by their classroom teacher (more than 15 minutes late to class = skipping). Seven tardies in a week, across all classes, will result in a consequence. Tardies were officially marked in Synergy this week.
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Don’t wait to order your 2022-2023 SMS Yearbook!
Order your 2022-2023 SMS Yearbook now. You can begin personalizing your yearbook right away with back to school photos, fall sports/activities, summer vacation memories etc. Please click here for or more information.
Picture Retakes
October 21st
If you missed picture day or want to retake your picture, here’s your opportunity!
You can find order information on mydorian.com by searching for your school. A student wishing to have their picture retaken should bring their original package back to school and return it to the photographer on retake picture day.
PE Dress Down Policy Update
We wanted to let you know of a change to our PE dress down policy this year. Although students should wear or bring shoes and clothing that will allow them to participate in PE activities, going forward we will not require students to change into PE-specific clothing. In both locker rooms, students who want to change into PE-specific clothing will have the opportunity to use private stalls in which to change, should they choose to do so.
School Administered Medication
Oregon law and Oregon Administrative Rules require that all prescription and nonprescription medicine be administered to students by trained school personnel.
Parents must complete and sign a Medications Form authorizing school staff to administer any prescription or non-prescription medications. This form is required for all medications, even cough drops! (click here for medication forms)
Parents must deliver and pick up all medication. Medication must be in its original container (pharmacies will issue a transport bottle if requested when having the prescription filled.)
Written physician instructions (prescription label) are required for all requests to administer prescription medication. Instructions must include: name of student, name of medication, dosage, route, frequency of administration and any special instructions.
SSD Parents - We want your feedback!
The Sherwood School District is conducting a community engagement process as we assess how to best meet the needs of our students and families. At last week’s Back to School Night, we shared a short presentation about this process, as well as an opportunity to complete a parent/guardian feedback survey.
If you were unable to attend the Back to School Night presentation, the information can be found here.
To complete our parent/guardian survey, please visit bit.ly/3DmQiCh or scan the QR code to the right to access our online survey. To complete the survey in Spanish, please visit bit.ly/3Su2OUC.