SHARK MAIL
Saturday, November 7th
Saturday Message:
Happy Saturday, Sharks!
Well, it was a short week of school, but we packed a lot in the three days we were in session. Friday marked the end of the quarter, so grades will be posted in the upcoming week to reflect our students' work over the past nine weeks. Please note that grades will be finalized on Wednesday morning at 9:00 AM. Here are some reminders about grades:
- If your student has an IG code for their grade, it means that they have not completed enough assignments for a grade to accurately represent what they know, understand and can do with regard to the course expectations.
- We are no longer issuing zeros for not turning in assignments. Students who do not complete an assignment will receive a code of MISSING and is calculated as a 50.
- If you have questions regarding your students' progress, please email the teacher directly.
On Monday, students will begin the second nine weeks. For many, this means a new elective class. You can find your quarter two class on ParentPortal and on Schoology. Monday also marks the beginning of phase three for Albemarle County Public Schools. For those who have students returning to school in phase three, we held an informational Zoom session on Thursday night. That meeting information can be found here.
Finally, for our 8th-grade families, the registration process will begin soon for selecting 9th-grade courses. There is an important post down below regarding several open house opportunities for Murray High School and the three Academies 9th graders can select. To learn more about the registration process, please see this website.
That's all for now, so have a great rest of your weekend.
Grade Level Newsletters
News from SMS:
TOY LIFT HELP NEEDED: The Toy Lift is a program here in Albemarle that helps families ensure that every child gets a present during the winter holidays. Due to our current climate with the COVID closure, Toy Lift is in need of help with donations for children's toys. Rather than doing drop boxes as they have in years' past, they have created an Amazon wish list. If you are able to help this holiday season, please think of taking a look at this list and seeing if there is a toy you might be able to purchase for a child on this list. Here is a link to the Amazon site with further instructions.
Our next PTO meeting is Wednesday, November 11th at 7:00 PM. The meeting information can be found here: PTO Link.
Every year the UVA Fralin Art Museum hosts the Writer’s Eye Contest where students write a story or poem based on an inspiring work of art of their choice. This year we will be taking a virtual tour of the museum where students will learn about the art pieces selected for the competition and complete their entries before the submission deadline on November 18th at 12 noon. Winning entries will be published in the yearly Writer’s Eye anthology.
The Fralin's Writer’s Eye virtual field trip will take place on Monday, November 9th (Matriccino and Tyson's 7th-grade students) and on November 10 (Harris' students) during their regular class times. Students should look for an email from their 7th English/Language Art's teacher, including the zoom link on November 4th. If your child loves creative writing, please encourage them to enter the contest. Teachers will have students write about the art piece of their choice for a class assignment, but entering the contest will be up to the student.During the October Parent Council (PC) meeting, Region Ten Community Services Board representatives presented tools for caregivers to monitor and support their own and their children’s mental health needs during this unprecedented time of virtual school and social distancing/isolation. The recording of this really worthwhile presentation can be found (here). The presentation provides very accessible and useful information and suggestions.
Region Ten is part of a statewide network of 40 Community Service Boards working to provide mental health, developmental disability, and substance use services in the local community.
https://www.k12albemarle.org/our-departments/special-education/prc/newsletters
8th Grade Academy Open House Information
Attention 8th-grade families: We will send you a mailing next week that will make more sense of the upcoming 8th to 9th-grade transition process. We wanted to get these dates out to you early as some of you have already started to ask about the academies. Here is a list of all the Open House events coming soon. These are all virtual, so there is a registration link you must click on to attend the meeting. Once registered, a Zoom link will be sent to your email. For those unfamiliar with this process, 8th-grade students have the option to attend an academy at any of the high schools in Albemarle County. You may learn more about this by watching this video. For more details about the programs, you can also start looking at this year's Program of Studies.
- Murray High School - November 16th from 5:30 – 6:30 PM Registration Link
- Environmental Studies Academy (ESA) - November 17 from 5:00 - 6:00 PM Registration Link
- Math, Engineering, and Science Academy (MESA) – November 18 from 6:00 - 7:00 PM Registration Link
- Health and Medical Sciences Academy (HMSA) - November 19 from 4:00 – 5:00 PM Registration Link
- Health and Medical Sciences Academy (HMSA) - December 1st from 6:00 – 7:00 PM Registration Link
- Environmental Studies Academy (ESA) - December 2nd from 5:00-6:00 PM Registration Link
- Math, Engineering, and Science Academy (MESA) - December 3 from 5:00 - 6:00 PM Registration Link
- Health and Medical Sciences Academy (HMSA) - December 9 from 2:00 – 3:00 PM Registration Link
- Murray High School – December 16, 2020, from 2:00 - 3:00 PM Registration Link
- Murray High School - January 15, 2021, from 10:00 - 11:00 PM Registration Link
Schoology Help
Here are two videos that should help families better understand how Schoology works.
1. This first video is a tour of what features Schoology offers. It is a great introduction to Schoology features and should help you navigate the different classes.
2. Ms. Percival has made an additional quick video for how both students and families can access work reports on Schoology. This is an excellent way to learn more about checking to see your student's grades, what work has not been turned in, and what work has been turned, but has not yet been graded. This is a great way to learn more about keeping up with student work.
Social Media
Email: cguy@k12albemarle.org
Website: https://sms.k12albemarle.org/
Location: 2801 Powell Creek Drive, Charlottesville, VA, USA
Phone: (434) 975-0599
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sutherlandpto
Twitter: @SMSSharks