Springton Lake Middle School
Every Student. Every Day. No Matter What.
Springton Lake Middle School
Email: RSalladino@rtmsd.org
Website: https://www.rtmsd.org/2/home
Location: 1900 North Providence Road, Media, PA, USA
Phone: (610) 627-6500
Twitter: @SpringtonLakeMS
October 1, 2021
Feeling Like Fall
Happy Friday, everyone! I hope that you are all doing well and that you had a great week.
As we turn the calendar to October, we continue to get back to some of the things that make the middle school experience enjoyable. Our student athletes began competing this week and demonstrated their Spartan Pride out on our fields and courts. Our 6th grade students were able to participate in their "signature" Fall field trip to Paradise Farms. We are excited that our 7th grade students who missed out on this experience last year will have a chance to attend Paradise Farms in the coming weeks. Many of our non-athletic clubs will be kicking-off next week - see below for more details.
On the COVID-19 front, we continue to manage things quite successfully. Our plans have shown to be effective and students have largely been cooperative and compliant. We have had no in-school transmission and the number of students in quarantine due to out of school exposures has been minimal. All of our COVID data is updated weekly in the tracker that can be found on our website.
As always, we appreciate your cooperation and support. Thanks for taking a few minutes to review this week's newsletter. Have a wonderful weekend!
Clubs & Intramural Sports
Now that our students have settled into a routine, we are ready to launch all of our non-athletic clubs and also our intramural sports that are specifically geared to our 6th grade students. On Monday, students will have an opportunity to "attend" a virtual club fair during Core Extension. Students will have access to video introductions to each club, with a chance to express their interest in participating. Please plan to discuss with your child next week their intentions for getting involved with clubs. Details regarding our school musical are being finalized and will be shared separately with students in the coming weeks.
In addition to our clubs, we are also ready to launch our 6th grade intramural program. Mr. Carr directs this program. Our first rotation will include flag football, running, and basketball. The links to register a student to participate can be found below. New intramural offerings will be announced throughout the school year.
6th Grade Intramural Flag Football Sign-up
Fall Fundraiser Kicks-off
Our fall fundraiser, sponsored by Student Council, officially kicked-off today. After taking a break from this activity last year due to COVID, we are again holding a cookie dough and magazine sale. Students attended a short, virtual assembly today during Core Extension where they received all of the information in order to participate. Please ask them about this and have them share the information packet with you. I have included links here to my letter and the program details. There is also a brief video that explains the program. For ease and efficiency, we are encouraging everyone to place their orders online. The sale will run until October 13th. Funds raised will be used by Student Council to support activities, special events, and school beautification. Participation is, of course, voluntary. On behalf of our students, thank you for your consideration and support!
IMPORTANT REMINDER
We have asked students to add two additional items to their daily routine of coming to school ready to learn each day. Students should bring with them...
1. A water bottle that can be used and re-filled at the bottle filling stations around the building. We are not currently permitting students to drink directly from the water fountains.
2. An extra face mask just in case there is an issue with the one that they are wearing at the start of the day. This is particularly necessary if students are using a disposable mask - the elastic on these masks is not very durable all day in a middle school.
Students not having a spare continues to be an issue this week.
We appreciate any reminders that you can offer at home!
Calendar of Events & Activities - UPDATE
Early this past summer, we posted our Calendar of Activities & Events for the entire school year. The slate of offerings closely resembles what we have done in a pre-COVID world. Since this information was shared with everyone, things have obviously changed a bit in terms of the status of the pandemic and the associated restrictions. While we are not making any sweeping changes to the calendar at this time, we wanted to let you know that we will need to evaluate each event as it approaches to determine if it will still be feasible and, if so, how it might need to be adjusted.
The All-School Dance slated for Friday, October 8th has been cancelled. We hope that having dances will be possible at other points later in the school year.
Please continue to look for updates in this weekly newsletter about other events and activities.
Parent Involvement Opportunities
Parental support and involvement are a large part of what makes our school a great place for kids. We invite you to get involved throughout the school year and to be a part of our two, formal parent groups - FARE & PTG.
The Parent-Teacher Group - PTG - supports school-wide activities and events and coordinates volunteer opportunities. Information about volunteer opportunities and payment of the annual PTG dues is located on the website. The first PTG meeting of the school year will be held on Tuesday, October 12th at 7:00 PM. The meeting will be VIRTUAL. A link to attend will be shared in next week's newsletter.
The Family Alliance for Respect and Equity - FARE - is a parent group that is open to any caregiver who has a current student enrolled at Springton Lake. FARE strives to encourage diversity awareness, build relationships and support unity. The next FARE meeting will take place on November 10th.
Student Arrival & Departure
Despite the volume of traffic on our campus, arrival and departure are going well. We could still use your assistance with a few items...
Morning drop-off is permitted starting at 7:40 AM. Some students are arriving earlier, but we do not have supervision prior to that time. Please do not drop-off prior to 7:40 AM.
Drop-off and pick-up are not permitted in the parking lot. Please only use the lane that is directly in front of the building.
Finally, please adhere to the speed limit whenever you are on campus. Throughout the day, students are outdoors for recess and physical education classes.
By Popular Request - SLMS Car Magnets NOW AVAILABLE!
Show your family's Spartan Pride wherever you travel around DELCO. Pick-up the new Springton Lake car magnet in the Main Office for just $5.
Magnets are going FAST - get yours before they are gone!!
Health & Safety Information
Keeping our students healthy, safe, and learning will be a top priority for us this school year. Previously, I shared the Health & Safety Plan that was approved by the Board of School Directors. If you have not already done so, please take a few moments to familiarize yourself with this information. As we begin the school year, face coverings will be required for all students and staff. Students may remove their face coverings when eating, when outdoors for lunch, physical education, or recess, and during designated mask breaks. Please be sure that your child comes to school with a face covering and we strongly encourage that they keep a spare in their backpack. Our classrooms have also been configured to provide at least 3 feet of spacing between students - and more, when possible.
All district information related to the impact of COVID-19 will be posted to the RTMSD website.