SMS Weekly Update
2.2.24
RAPS Party Was Today!
Every quarter we celebrate with our students for making good choices regularly. Any student who has met the criteria each quarter is invited to attend the RAPS party! Check out some of the pics from today's celebration. We had a Silent Disco and Igloo Photobooth! They had a blast!!
*eligible students have no suspensions, less than 5 tardies, and passing all of their classes*
Our next party will be after this current quarter concludes in April.
Another Great Week at Stevenson!
We had a great week with our students and wanted to send out a few reminders as we get further in to our second semester of this school year.
Our school is a "phones off" zone during the school day. Students can have their cell phones and devices at school with them, but they need to be turned off or in their locker. This is a strict policy that we have put into place to ensure that our students' focus in the classroom is learning and that our teachers do not have to compete for their attention. If you need to get in touch with your child, please contact the main office and we will relay that message to them. If students are found breaking this rule, we confiscate their phone and a parent/guardian needs to pick it up. Please review this expectation with your child. Also, students are not allowed to have bluetooth headphones on (airpods, etc). Please ensure your child does not bring these to school.
Another area that we want to review is our bag/purse policy. Just like in arenas and show venues, we have guidance for what kind of bag/purse is acceptable to carry during the school day. Students will need to adhere to this policy. I am attaching guidance below this post so you know exactly what is allowed in classes. Any bag bigger than the standard size will need to be stored in their locker. Thank you for your understanding.
Course Selection for Next School Year
It is that time of year where our students will be selecting courses for next school year. I am including the Course Description Guide (Middle School and High School) in the link below to help you decide with your child, which classes they are interested in taking next school year.
Current eighth-grade students are on their way to do great things in high school. Join the high schools for their Freshman Open House from 5- 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, February 14, 2024, at both:
Wayne Memorial High School
3001 Fourth Street, Wayne, MI 48184
John Glenn High School
36105 Marquette, Westland, MI 48186
RAPS Weekly Focus for February
Pizza with the Principal Group
National History Day
Congratulations to our Michigan National History Day Regional Finalists!!!!
Accelerated SMS NHD Advancing to District Competition March 2, 2024 at the Detroit Historical Museum in Detroit, Michigan
2024 Theme: Turning Points in History
Second Step Update - 1/31/24
This week during our Second Step time, we did the first lesson in our Thoughts, Feelings & Emotions Unit.
6th Grade - What Emotions Tell You
Summary: In this week’s lesson, your child learned how to recognize the kind of information their emotions can give them in different situations and how that information can be useful.
Question: Ask your child what type of emotions they felt today. Tell them the emotions you felt. What information did they get from those emotions? What did your emotions tell you?
7th Grade - Emotions Matter
Summary: In this week’s lesson, your child learned how their brain handles strong emotions and brainstormed positive and negative decisions they might make when they feel a strong emotion.
Question: Ask your child about a negative decision they recently made because they were feeling a strong emotion. Help them think about how they can turn that negative decision into a positive one if they feel that emotion again.
8th Grade - Understanding Stress and Anxiety
Summary: In this week’s lesson, your child examined how they feel, what thoughts they have, and how their body responds when they’re stressed.
Question: Ask your child what they do or feel when they’re stressed. These signs will help you notice when your child is stressed, so you can ask them how to help or support them.
Cold Weather Reminders
We have been experiencing quite a bit of cold weather here in Michigan. We know that winter weather can take a toll on school attendance. Snow, ice and rain can make it hard to get children to school. So can illnesses such as colds, flu, fevers, earaches, etc. Here is some information to help keep your children healthy and in school this winter.
Develop backup plans for getting your children to school. Can someone give them a ride to school if your child usually walks or stands at a bus stop?
Dress for the weather. Even a short walk in frigid weather can be dangerous. Ensure your child has a warm coat, gloves, hats and boots. Elementary students will also go out for recess if the temperatures, with wind chill, are above 20°. Remind older children that a hoodie is not an outdoor coat.
Resources are available. If you need help with winter clothing, please contact your child's school for assistance.
Sick children should stay home. School attendance is important, but sick children should not be at school. Also, if your child becomes ill during the school day, have a backup plan for who can pick them up if you are unavailable.
If your children need to stay home for a prolonged period due to illness, talk to your child's teacher to find out about resources and class assignments they can do at home to keep learning once they feel well enough.
What about snow days? Information about our inclement weather procedures can be found on our website.
School of Choice Application
The 2024-2025 In-District School of Choice window is January 23, 2024 through March 1, 2024, for current students residing within the Wayne-Westland Community Schools boundaries wanting to attend a different home school.
In-District School of Choice Application (link will open on January 23, 2024 at 7:30 a.m. and will close on March 1, 2024 at 4 p.m.)
*If your child is currently approved for School of Choice, you do not need to apply. Only apply if your current School of Choice student is moving to a different building.
World Read Aloud Day- 2/7/24
For 13 years, World Read Aloud Day has called attention to the importance of sharing stories by inviting folks to grab a book, find an audience, and read aloud. This event is celebrated annually in over 173 countries and is all about bringing people together through the shared connection of reading aloud in all of our communities. Join the Stevenson community in celebrating this day! Whether it is your favorite poem, song lyrics, Tweet of the day, picture book, or excerpt from your favorite book, taking a moment to discuss your positive experiences when reading will help model for your child that reading can be fun! Happy reading!
Student Space Experiment Program (SSEP) Unboxing!
Today our SSEP students from Mrs. Evanko's class unboxed their project that just returned from space! The experiment to find out if mushrooms grow in microgravity was successfully performed by scientists on the International Space Station. Mushrooms do indeed grow in space!
Thank you and congratulations to Brayden Albright, Michaela DeVries, and Kinnidy Jones for their discovery and their hard work on this project!
NWEA Testing
Our NWEA testing for the Winter session is starting soon. Please be sure that you talk to your child(ren) about the importance of doing their absolute best on these assessments as this helps us to place students in classes, shows us where we are instructionally as a building and district, and shows us how our students are doing each testing session compared to the last time that they tested. We are not looking for perfection, rather positive growth per individual student.
NWEA- WWCS MIDDLE SCHOOLS COMPETITION
For the past few years the middle schools of Wayne Westland (Franklin, Adams, and Stevenson) competed to see which school's students had the highest percentage of students meeting their growth goals across the content areas assessed on the NWEA test.
Stevenson Middle School currently houses the massive trophy from winning this competition last year. Students that meet their growth goals will get rewards individually, and if we have the highest percentage of students meeting their growth goals, we will get to keep the trophy and get another year engraved on it. We love a competition! Bring it on Adams and Franklin!
Spirit Week and Pep Rally is Coming Up!
Week of February 12th-16th
Mobile Dentist is Coming in February
February 13, 2024
Great news! Our school has partnered with Smile Programs, these mobile dentists offer dental care at school. Best of all, in most cases there is no cost to you if your child is insured with Medicaid/CHIP! Private insurance and affordable self-pay options are also available.
All interested families must sign their child up and reserve their spot. You can do so at the link below.
All students were given a paper copy of the information needed to register. Have your child turn it in to their 1st hour teacher.
Early College
Wayne-Westland Early College provides students an opportunity to simultaneously complete the high school diploma and an associate degree at no cost to families. To learn more, visit www.wwcsd.net/earlycollege
Stevenson Staff GEM Award
Do you know of a staff member at Stevenson Middle School that is consistently Going the Extra Mile (GEM) for your child? Please take a moment to nominate them for our Stevenson GEM award. They will be put into a monthly drawing for a prize for their hard work to make Stevenson such a great place for our students.
Order Your Yearbook Today!
Elective Class Fundraiser Coming Up
IRS Update
The Internal Revenue Service wants to share the following information with families.
Child Tax Credit (CTC): The CTC is a credit that may reduce your tax by as much as $2,000 for each child who qualifies you for the credit. To qualify, the child must be a U.S. citizen under age 17, have a Social Security number, be claimed as a dependent on the taxpayer's tax return, and more. Use the IRS Interactive Tax Assistant tool to determine eligibility: Does My Child/Dependent Qualify for the Child Tax Credit or the Credit for Other Dependents? For more information, please see: Child Tax Credit | Internal Revenue Service (irs.gov)
Other Dependent Credit (ODC): The ODC is a credit that may reduce your tax by as much as $500 for each eligible dependent. The person is claimed as a dependent on your return; the person can’t be used by you to claim the CTC or Additional CTC; the person was a U.S. citizen, U.S. national, or U.S. resident alien. Again, use the IRS Interactive Tax Assistant tool to determine eligibility: Does My Child/Dependent Qualify for the Child Tax Credit or the Credit for Other Dependents?
Note: The credit amount for family’s CTC or ODC may be reduced if their modified adjusted gross income (AGI) is more than $400,000 for married filing jointly filing status or $200,000 for all other filing statuses.
Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC): One refundable tax credit for moderate- and low-income families is the Earned Income Tax Credit. The IRS estimates there are millions of workers who qualify but don't claim the EITC - missing out on thousands of dollars every year. The EITC is as much as $3,995 when claiming one child, $6,604 when claiming two children, and $7,430 when claiming three or more children. Use the EITC Assistant to learn if you're eligible for the tax credit. For more detailed information, see Publication 596, Earned Income Credit.
Note: Adjusted gross income limits are used to qualify families for EITC.
Child and Dependent Care Credit: Taxpayers who paid someone to care for their child, spouse, or dependent so they can work, be a full-time student, or look for work may be able to reduce their tax by claiming the Child and Dependent Care Credit. The total expenses that you may use to calculate the credit may not be more than $3,000 (for one qualifying individual) or $6,000 (for two or more qualifying individuals). Use the IRS Interactive Tax Assistant tool: Am I Eligible to Claim the Child and Dependent Care Credit? For more information, please see: Publication 503, Child and Dependent Care Expenses or Topic no. 602, Child and dependent care credit | Internal Revenue Service (irs.gov).
Attendance Update
Regular attendance is crucial for your child's academic success. Please make every effort to ensure your child attends school on time every day and stays throughout the whole day. Consistent attendance throughout the school day allows your child to engage in learning and maximize their educational opportunities fully.
Illness: If your child is not feeling well and cannot attend school, please notify us immediately. Students who are ill should not attend school to prevent the spread of illness to others.
Excused Absences: We understand that there may be instances when your child needs to be absent due to illness, medical appointments, family emergencies, or other legitimate reasons. Please notify the school in advance whenever possible to classify the absence as excused.
Unexcused Absences: Unexcused absences negatively impact your child's education. Absences without valid reasons will be considered unexcused, and appropriate actions may be taken per district policy.
Timely reporting of absences helps us maintain accurate attendance records and ensures that your child's absence is properly documented. Absences must be reported within 24 hours.
There are two convenient methods for reporting your child's absence to facilitate efficient communication and accurate attendance records.
You can notify your child's school through the dedicated attendance line. Please leave a detailed message stating your child's name, grade, and reason for absence.
You can report absences directly through MiStar, our secure online portal for student information. MiStar provides a user-friendly interface that allows you to submit absences.
Thank you for your ongoing support in creating a positive and productive learning environment for all our students.
Family Resource Center Information
Mental Health Support
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If you ever have any questions or concerns, please reach out to one of us directly at domank@wwcsd.net (Student Last Names: A-Lei) or phillipsae@wwcsd.net (Student Last Names: Lel-Z).
Sincerely,
Mrs. Doman and Ms. Phillips