SHARK MAIL
Saturday, December 5th
Saturday Message:
Happy Saturday, Sharks!
We hope everyone enjoyed the fall/Thanksgiving break. It has been a busy week as we get back into the swing of things. The students have done a great job getting quarter two rolling and already starting to look ahead to SOL tests for 7th and 8th graders and (hard as it is to believe) looking at electives for the 2021/2022 school year. We have met with both 6th and 7th-grade students to discuss elective options for next year. We also held a family night for our 6th and 7th-grade families, and another for our 8th-grade families, to share what we know so far. We are posting all of our information online on the Sutherland website. To find elective descriptions and all sorts of other information, please use the "Transition 2021/22" portion of our website. That can be found here.
For our 8th graders, please make sure you keep up with the upcoming dates posted on the 8th to 9th page. Things will happen quickly before Winter Break. The Academy Interest Forms are now live and due after Winter Break. On December 7th, we have the AHS Curriculum Showcase (see below) and students will be able to start registering for high school classes on ParentPortal. Mrs. Wright has posted a bunch of videos on the 8th to 9th-grade page for all the help you need regarding this process.
Finally, on Monday, we will have 6th and 7th-grade students fill out an interest inventory during CHOMP where they rank their elective choices for next year from most important to least. No worries, no commitments at this point. We do this to gauge interest levels with our students to know which electives to offer next year. Later in the year, we will mail home their ranking along with math recommendations for the next school year for you all to edit. Lots of information about classes can be found on the transition page.
Phew, that's a lot to take in. We'll do our best to help make the process easy to understand. Thanks to all of you who came out to the family meetings this week. It was great to see you. Take care and have a great weekend!
News from SMS:
- Two upcoming family forums may be of interest to you. Managing Screen Time, Getting a Cell Phone, Cyberbullying, Social Media & More and another on Social Media, Gaming, and Mental Health can be found here.
- The PTO has its December meeting scheduled for Wednesday, December 9th at 7:00 PM. We hope to see you there!
- Only one grade-level newsletter this week: 6th Grade Newsletter
8th Grade Showcase
Attention 8th grade: New! Virtual ACPS High School Curriculum Showcase
What is the ACPS High School Curriculum Showcase? The Showcase can be accessed through our SMS website and through Schoology (if your child has registered for the group "ACPS High School Curriculum Showcase) and features the following:
- Available courses organized by academic departments
- Course description from the ACPS Program of Studies
- Video introduction to the course
- Associated career pathways for each course
- Academies of Albemarle options
- Connection to school counseling and academic advising
Library Materials
Thank you for returning overdue materials. Please continue to have students check their K12 email accounts for overdue or lost item notifications.
All students can search the catalog and place a hold on two items. Materials are available for 30 days. After we prepare the materials, students receive an email notification that they are ready for pick up. Checked out books and the return bin are located in the front foyer of the school. The foyer is open Monday - Thursday from 8: 00 A.M. - 4:30 P.M. and 8:00 A.M. to 3:00 PM on Friday. All returned materials quarantine for at least three days before they are checked back into our system and shelved. Let's keep our students reading!
Not sure what to put on hold? Fill out the I Need a Book Form to receive a customized order based on individual interests.
8th Grade Academy Open House Information
Attention 8th-grade families: Repeating from last week - 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.
- 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
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