Spartan Weekly Update
Friday, November 11
Thank You to Our Veterans
A very special and heartfelt thank you to all of our Veterans. We were lucky enough to have some of the Veterans from our 109 Community in to share their time, wisdom and stories with our 8th graders. We are humbled by your service and sacrifice, and grateful for the work you have done to ensure our freedom.
Thankful...
"Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others." -Marcus Cicero
Happy Weekend Spartan Families:
While we may have reached the end of the line for the beautiful November weather we have been relishing, we are hoping you find some warm and cozy ways to relax and enjoy the weekend.
Jumping into next week, and just in time for the Thanksgiving holiday, our building focus will be on gratitude and taking time to appreciate all that we have and all we have accomplished in 2022. Over the next 6 school days our Spartan students and staff will have a number of opportunities to participate in activities that help foster an "attitude of gratitude." To help get things kicked off, we are inviting our family community to share some of the things you are grateful for this Thanksgiving...
Click here to share what you are thankful for this holiday season. Posts can be personal, family (or D109 family) related, a special shout out to a teacher or staff member or whatever else you are grateful for this year. No limit on how many you can leave on our Padlet.
Stay warm this weekend!
Chris Cybulski, Principal
Marie Zlotnikov, Associate Principal
Ginger Logemann, Coordinator for Student Services
Extracurricular Activities Calendar
Click Here for Access to Our Extracurricular Calendar (Note: This calendar is live, so changes and updates will be made throughout the school year).
Upcoming Dates
November 16 - SPIRIT DAY (Pajama Day)
November 21 - Conferences (Evening)
November 22 - No School/Conferences (8am-3pm)
November 23-25 - Thanksgiving Break
November 28 - School Resumes (Special Assembly for Students)
Lunch Updates (Reminder)
Special Lunch orders for December 5th--March 3rd can be placed. Click Here to visit the Lunch Solutions Site.
DoorDash & Other Food Deliveries
We have noticed an uptick in lunch delivery orders for students. While we understand that circumstances occasionally necessitate a last minute lunch delivery, we kindly ask that you make every effort to avoid scheduling lunch delivers to Shepard. In the event you do need to use a service to deliver a lunch, we ask that you contact our office to alert us to the delivery. Out of an abundance of caution, for safety reasons, we do not want students meeting drivers at the main entrance to collect their food.
It's About the Experience
SMS News Update
Virtual Author Visit
Thanks to the generosity of our amazing PTSO, the Shepard Learning Commons is excited to announce our upcoming virtual author visit with Dusti Bowling on Monday, November 21. The visit will take place in the Learning Commons (LC) with all 7th grade students in attendance. Our 6th and 8th grade students are also cordially invited to attend; interested students should fill out this form by November 17 to secure a seat.
Ms. Bowling is a very popular author here at Shepard with her book, Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus, holding the spot as the top-most checked out book last year. To purchase a copy of this book or other wonderful titles she has written, please visit this customized website the Book Stall made for us. (Her books also make great holiday gifts!) All book orders are due by November 17 and will be delivered directly to students here at Shepard on the day of the author visit. Books purchased from the Book Stall will also include autographed bookplates from the author that will be distributed in the week following the visit.
If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to me. We look forward to hosting this dynamic author in our library in just a couple weeks!
Sincerely,
Counselors' Corner
Welcome to the 2022-2023 school year! Our names are Mrs. Wilmot, Ms. Seiden and Mrs. O’Brien and we are the counselors/social worker at Shepard Middle School. We are here to: listen to student’s concerns about academic, social or emotional issues, help students process their feelings/problems, teach/practice skills involving coping, executive functioning (time management, organization, study skills, etc.), anxiety management, and social skills, deliver classroom lessons on social emotional topics, and refer students to outside mental health resources for additional support. Students are free to stop by our office (room 101) or email us if they would like to set up a time to connect. We also run a weekly lunch bunch for every grade level on Thursdays.
Meghan Wilmot, Counselor
847-948-0620 x 5104
Erica O’Brien, Counselor
847-948-0620 x513
Tara Seiden, Social Worker
DISTRICT COMMUNICATION
Is your child symptomatic for COVID?
As a reminder; if your child is presenting with COVID-19 symptoms, we will be continuing to accept home test results via our website. Here is the link to submit your child’s home test results (please select your child’s school from the drop down menu). If you have any questions or concerns about your ability to access home tests during the school year please reach out to Joanna Ford at jford@dps109.org.