SLMS Titan News
Week #35 - May 2, 2022
Greetings SLMS Parents, Guardians, Students, and Staff,
Thank you to everyone who has taken time to review the five key support areas we have shared with you over the last few weeks. If you have not read them yet, here is a link to them. We were proud this past week to celebrate a group of awesome 8th grade Titans who, for their entire three-year middle school journey, received straight A's the entire time. They are pictured here. Congratulations to them and to their parents. We are also proud of our beginning band and beginning orchestra students who performed at their first Fine Arts Festival last week at Dulles High School. They received awards and many compliments from the adjudicators who listened to their performances. This week, we celebrate our 8th grade class in general with our annual 8th Grade Awards Night. This week, we will also induct many 7th grade students into our chapter of the National Junior Honor Society. The month of May is shaping up to be a month of celebrations, performances, and fun, for sure!
The month of May is also Asian American/Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month. Did you know that that 29% of our student body identifies as AAPI? This month, SLMS will join in paying tribute to the generations of Asian and Pacific Islanders who have enriched America's history and are instrumental in its future success.
We are excited that our Peer-to-Peer Mentoring program, which involves many of our NJHS members who mentor many of their Titan peers, is set to be recognized at an upcoming FBISD Board of Trustees meeting on Monday, May 16. Our peer mentoring program has been recognized as a strong program for meeting students' needs and is an exemplar. Therefore, the FBISD Board of Trustees is recognizing them at this board meeting!
Please take a moment to review the items in this week's Titan News regarding the following items:
- Greetings from Dr. Latoya Garrett - New SLMS Principal
- STAAR Testing Schedule 2022
- Spring Book Fair May 2 through 6
- Club Excel Update (AM and PM Extended Day Opportunity in 2022-23)
- Kempner High School Cross Country (XC) Information Meeting - May 3 During Advisory
- Summer Youth Running Camp Opportunity
- End of Semester Expectations/Schedule
- PTO Elections - Wednesday, May 18 at 6:30 PM
- Yearbook Delivery Information
- Ordering School Supplies Online for 2022-23 School Year (Current 5th-7th graders)
- Immunizations for Current Sixth Graders and Readiness for Seventh Grade
- Safety Reminders for Vehicle Traffic at Arrival and Dismissal
- Birthday Messages on the SLMS Electronic Marquee
- Important Contact Information
Enjoy your week, and remember there are only 19 more school days for your child to shine and do his/her best. They will go by very quickly! Thank you in advance for your ongoing support of our school.
Sincerely,
Keith Fickel, Principal
#TitansOwnIt
Greetings from Dr. Latoya Garrett - New SLMS Principal
Greetings Sugar Land Middle School Titan Parents and Students,
I am excited and honored to officially be named as the principal for Sugar Land Middle School for the upcoming school year! SLMS has a strong tradition of excellence and a close community that is committed to growing and learning together. I look forward to joining the SLMS family and meeting everyone.
I want to share a little about myself with you. I joined FBISD in 2013 as an assistant principal at Sartartia Middle School and later became an assistant principal at Dulles High School. Previously, I worked in the Dallas/Fort Worth area as an elementary school teacher, counselor, and assistant principal. I attended Texas A&M University (Whoop!) where I met my husband and later earned my doctorate from the University of Houston (Go Coogs!). My husband and I have two daughters, ages 5 and 2 years old.
I am looking forward to working alongside the SLMS family to build lifelong learners and students who exemplify our Fort Bend ISD Profile of a Graduate.
I hope to see you soon. Thank you for welcoming me into the Titan family.
Sincerely,
Dr. Latoya Garrett
The Week At A Glance
Upcoming and Important Dates
- FBISD Board of Trustees Recognition of SLMS NJHS Peer-to-Peer Mentors - May 16
- May 19 - 8th Grade Exit Event at "Main Event" – in the afternoon
STAAR Testing Schedule
- May 5 - Grade 8 Science
- May 6 - Grade 8 Social Studies
- May 10 - Grade 8 Mathematics/Algebra EOC
- May 11 - Grade 8 Reading
- May 12 - Grade 7 Mathematics
- May 13 - Grade 7 Reading
- May 16 - Grade 6 Mathematics
- May 17 - Grade 6 Reading
Spring Book Fair May 2 through 6
Just in time for the imminent summer, the SLMS Spring Book Fair will be this coming Monday to Friday, May 2 - 6! This is a great opportunity to get some exciting, student-centered reading materials for when school lets out. The fair will be open from 8:20 – 4:00 all week long. Students and their families can visit the SLMS Book Fair Website to either shop online (make sure to create an account so our school gets credit for purchases) or create “e-wallets” with preloaded money for cashless shopping on campus. Cash, credit card, and checks (made out to “Sugar Land Middle School”) are all accepted methods of payment. Thank you for supporting our school library and investing in our students’ love of reading! For any questions, email Librarian Sinclair at david.sinclair@fortbendisd.com or call him at (281) 634-3096.
Club Excel Update (AM and PM Extended Day Opportunity in 2022-23)
Thank you to all who responded to the survey that was out for a few weeks regarding interest for having before and/or after school care for your SLMS child(ren) starting in 2022-23. We are meeting this week with the district's Extended Learning department staffers look at the building and where to house a potential Club Excel before and after school. Pricing has been been finalized, but has not been shared with us yet. We hope to have the registration link, plus additional details in our next newsletter (May 9). The good news is that if everyone who responded saying they were interested would officially sign up, it will be easy for us to offer, as we will have plenty of interest to justify SLMS having the program. More details to come, but when we do share them, the turnaround time to complete registration will be short. Thank you for your patience. We hope to have additional information next week.
Kempner High School Cross Country (XC) Information Meeting - May 3 During Advisory
*** Attention 8th Graders ***
If you are interested in running Cross Country (XC) at Kempner High School, Coach Pierce, the KHS XC coach, will be on campus this Tuesday, May 3, during Advisory, to discuss the opportunity with you. Ahead of Tuesday's visit, please complete this brief Microsoft Form that she has created for interested athletes. Take a look at the infographic below, as well.
Summer Youth Running Camp Opportunity - Premier Running Camp 2022
Premier XC Running Camp - July 6 - July 22
The challenging and fun workouts will improve your child's running, get them into their best shape, and prepare them for the upcoming cross country season. Workout sessions will be held on Mondays-Wednesdays-Fridays with an optional long run on Saturdays.
Three levels for campers of all abilities: Advanced (current mile time of 5:59 or faster - mostly MS & HS runners), Intermediate (current mile time between 6:00-8:00 - mostly HS, MS & elementary runners) and Intro (ages 6-12). Each camp will have sub-groups of about 10 runners each so each camper will work out with others of similar abilities. This allows them to make new friends, run with kids about the same speed and share the workload of each effort. These sub-groups will be constantly evaluated and adjustments (moving runners from one group to another) will be done as needed.
For Additional Information and Registration Information, please visit: https://thedriven.net/event-registration/site.race_reg/eid/41458123459?
Premier Running Camp 2022
Imperial Park
7752 US-90 Alt
Sugar Land, TX 77478
End of Semester Expectations/Schedule
We have posted our End of Semester Schedule on a special page of our campus website dedicated to the end of the year. This schedule will is for the final week of the school year, which is May 23 through May 26. We will soon post additional information regarding what to bring, how lunches will work, and more. It will also be sent to you via email and included in a future edition of Titan News.
PTO Elections - Wednesday, May 18 at 6:30 PM
Please note that the location has changed from SLMS to Kempner HS for this election.
Yearbook Delivery Information
We are working on a yearbook distribution plan that most likely will take place in the second half of May (likely after STAAR). Stay tuned for details. There will be a limited number of yearbooks available for purchase, as well.
Ordering School Supplies Online for 2022-23 School Year (Current 5th-7th graders)
The SLMS PTO wants to make it easy for you to get your child's school supplies for the 2022-23 school year, and they have partnered with Teacher Tailored / SchoolKidz to provide a convenient, cost-effective way to purchase supplies for next year. All of the supplies for your child's grade level are included, based off of the SLMS school supply list, which was created by the teachers. The only items not included are things like PE uniforms and specialty items needed for certain elective classes. PE uniform sales will begin in late July in a separate process. A list of items needed for specialty electives classes will be shared by your child's teacher once school starts.
Here are some of the reasons to consider ordering your supplies through this program:
- No hassle, no lines to get in
- Check one more thing off of your back-to-school to-do list
- You get everything on the school supply list in the correct quantities
- Supplies are delivered directly to school in a box labeled with your child's name (one less thing to have to bring to school)
- Most items are guaranteed by the company to last the entire school year and will be replaced if that doesn't happen
- Cost-effective (kits range from $55-60), and you won't even be charged sales tax!)
- You help the PTO, which in turn helps the students and teachers!
Here is how to order:
Online
- Visit http://www.shopttkits.com, and enter our school's program code, which is 93458
- Orders are taken online through May 20, 2022
Paper Order Form
- If you need to order via a paper order form, please download and print one here, and turn it in to Sugar Land MS, along with payment to the SLMS PTO, by May 13, 2022
Orders will be delivered to the school and distributed to students at a date to be determined. If you have questions, please contact Jennifer Khorchani at jkhorchani@gmail.com.
Immunizations for Current Sixth Graders and Readiness for Seventh Grade
Your sixth-grade child did or will receive the TDAP and the Meningitis vaccines at their 11-year-old check-up. If they have had these vaccines, please provide proof of this to the clinic when your child gets them. These are the required shots for seventh grade and providing them as soon as you get them will keep your child compliant. and be one less thing for you to do in preparation for seventh grade. You may email it to Nurse Patel at Shetal.Patel@fortbendisd.com or fax it to (281) 327-8745.
Our experience has been that some parents wait until the last possible minute to be in compliance with these immunization requirements. Please help us help your child be ready for next year, as it will approach faster than you think!
Safety Reminders for Vehicle Traffic During Arrival and Dismissal
Safety is important during arrival and dismissal each day. Some things we continue to notice that we want to bring to your attention include:
- Drivers on cell phones/devices while in the car rider line
- Students entering/exiting vehicles along Seventh Street instead of in the circle drive
- Students entering/exiting vehicles in parking lots on either side of the building instead of in the circle drive
- Students entering/exiting vehicles on the drivers' side rather than the passenger side
- Drivers turning left out of the circle drive (it's a posted no left turn during school zone hours)
- Speeding in the school zone and driving too fast in the car rider line
- Parents and students crossing Seventh Street in places other than the crosswalk monitored by our crossing guard
Please help us help you and your children (and our staff) to remain safe by being mindful of these concerns during arrival and dismissal.
Birthday Messages on SLMS Marquee
Does your SLMS child have an upcoming birthday? Would you like to wish them a happy birthday on our new digital campus marquee? The PTO is coordinating birthday messages to go on our marquee as a means of raising funds to help meet needs of students and teachers. Publicizing your child's birthday is only $15.00. Please follow these simple steps to get your child's birthday announced on the marquee:
- Visit https://my.cheddarup.com/c/slmspto
- Scroll down to the "Happy Birthday Marquee" item
- Click "Add to Cart"; you are redirected to another screen where you will
- Enter information about your child and select the style of announcement you wish to see on the marquee
- Click "Add to Cart ($15.00)"
- Review your order
- Click "Continue to Forms"
- Enter your child's name and grade level
- Click "Continue to Payment" and finish your purchase
Note that submissions must be received at least two weeks ahead of the desired date to be posted on our campus marquee. Please contact Heather Martin of the SLMS PTO at heathermartincpa@gmail.com with questions. And feel free to order SLMS swag like hoodies, t-shirts, and more while you are ordering your child's birthday message!
Important Contact Information
- Associate Principal - Monika Martin (monika.martin@fortbendisd.com)
- Counselor - Nafecia Brinson (nafecia.brinson@fortbendisd.com)
- Assistant Principal - Dr. Dawn Rogers (dawn.rogers@fortbendisd.com)
- Counselor - Eleni Smith (eleni.smith@fortbendisd.com)
Eighth Grade
- Assistant Principal - Luster Goodwin (luster.goodwin@fortbendisd.com)
- Counselor - Kim Seright (kimberly.seright@fortbendisd.com)
Counselor Clerk - Carmen Brantley (carmen.brantley@fortbendisd.com)
Assistant Principal Secretaries
- 7th and 8th Grade - Tina Garcia (diamantina.ibarragar@fortbendisd.com)
- 6th Grade - Sherri Woodcock (sherri.woodcock@fortbendisd.com)
Attendance - Mary Beth LaVergne (mary.lavergne@fortbendisd.com)
Registrar - Tandi Phillips (tandi.phillips@fortbendisd.com)
Nurse - Shetal Patel (shetal.patel@fortbendisd.com)
Clinic Aide - Cassandra Rodarte (cassandra.rodarte@fortbendisd.com)
Campus Assessment Coordinator - Becky White (becky.white@fortbendisd.com)
Executive Assistant to Principal Fickel - Mary Connealy (mary.connealy@fortbendisd.com)
Sugar Land Middle School
46 Years
1975-2021
Inspiring and equipping the young men and women of our community for futures beyond what they can imagine since 1975.
SLMS Campus Mission Statement
Working collaboratively, the Sugar Land Middle School Professional Learning Community will commit to creating a safe environment with high expectations leading to physical, social, emotional, and academic success for all Titans.
#TitansOwnIt
#NewBeginnings
#Resilience
Office Hours
8:20-4:20 PM
Email: keith.fickel@fortbendisd.com
Website: www.fortbendisd.com/slms
Location: 321 7th Street, Sugar Land, TX, USA
Phone: (281) 634-3080
Twitter: @SLMSTitans