SSMS Weekly Update
MARCH 11, 2022
Hello SSMS Tiger Nation,
We've had a fantastic week and are gearing up for Spring Break, which is March 14-18.
Here is a recap of the exciting student activities and achievements:
Last week, our 7th and 8th grade choirs wowed us at their concert in preparation for their upcoming UIL competition and our orchestra students brought the house down with their amazing performance at the high school PAC.
This week, our Symphonic band and Wind Ensemble participated in the concert and sightreading contest. Each band received the highest rating possible in stage performance and sight reading, and the evaluations received indicates that both bands performed well above the level of expectation.
Finally, in Track news, we broke or tied 8 school records this season.
5 Boys Records - Shot Put, Discus, High Jump, Long Jump and Triple Jump - and 3 Girls Records - 300meter Hurdles, Shot Put and Triple Jump.
We wish you a safe, healthy, and restful Spring Break. See you March 21!
Sincerely,
Joe Burns Interim Principal,
Mike Haase Assistant Principal, &
Karen McCollum Assistant Principal
Sycamore Springs Middle School
Health Update
SSMS has experienced an abrupt uptick in students and staff getting sick with vomiting and diarrhea, likely caused by Norovirus. Norovirus is a highly contagious virus and is generally not dangerous or life-threatening.
To help reduce the spread of Norovirus, the SSMS campus was deep-cleaned on Thursday evening and will be thoroughly disinfected over Spring Break. The district has also engaged the Hays County epidemiologists and they have confirmed the prevalence of the virus here and in surrounding areas. The rumor that the symptoms were caused by food poisoning from food served in the SSMS cafeteria is not true. As standard protocol, our child nutrition team has been engaged to ensure all food safety protocols have been followed. The district does not notify families for individual cases of illnesses like norovirus confirmed in a classroom. Right now, there are no plans to begin individual tracking or notification of cases. With Spring Break upon us, we are optimistic that the cases will be resolved after the break. AS a reminder, please keep your student home if they are experiencing any of these symptoms. Thank you for your partnership in keeping our students and staff healthy!
LOST AND FOUND - clean out 3/25/22
STAAR Interim Assessments
On Tuesday 3/22/22 and Wednesday 3/23/22, we will administer our STAAR Interim Assessments in both Math and Reading. We will be on a modified bell schedule for those two days, though school hours will remain the same. The students will take their Interim Assessments with their Tiger WIN Teachers from 9am to 10:55am.
Please make sure students bring a fully charged device these two days and headphones if needed.
The interim assessment is a tool to monitor academic improvement, especially for students who are performing below grade level. It is also used to inform interventions for students or groups of students based on predictions of their performance on the STAAR assessments, and as a benchmarking instrument at the campus or district level.
Counselor's Corner
Hope You Have a Wonderful Spring Break!!
This is just a friendly reminder about Course Selection Sheets from the counseling department. All students should have turned in Course Selection Sheets and placed their courses into Skyward. In some cases, we found Course Selection Sheets that did not match what the students entered on their own. We changed these entries to match the student’s original request. If you want to make any changes to your student’s original request, please have them login to Skyward and make the changes. This can not be done in the parent Skyward. You have until March 20 at 10 PM to do this. After that, your student's request will be FINAL except in unforeseen circumstances.
We did not have the numbers to offer Programming II or Engineering II at SSMS and will not be allowed to bus students to the High School for any programming classes, engineering classes, or any other electives.
The only courses available for 8th graders to take foriegn language at this time are Spanish II, on our campus, Spanish III, at the High School, and Spanish for Native Speakers at the High School. The only other students who will be bused to the high school are those in advanced core classes that are not offered on our campus and orchestra students.
Finally I would like to welcome Linda Snow and Crystal Winn to the counseling team. Crystal is our new LMHP and is taking the place of Ms. Bird. All referrals to Crystal are managed by Ms. Caroselli. Linda Snow is the new counselor assistant who is helping us stay organized by keeping up with all the data we are responsible for at this busy time of year.
Again I hope you have a wonderful spring break and get plenty of rest and relaxation!
La’Donna Caroselli
Linda Snow
8th grade panoramic photo will be taken Monday 3/28 during Tiger WIN
Tiger Tip Line
The Tiger Tip Line allows students or parents to report concerns about bullying, other social issues, or security matters. The name of the school must be included, and it is requested that details of an incident being reported include location, time, date, and any available information about who was involved to help administrators investigate. Tips can be made anonymously or with a name. However, please note that administrators are able to do a more thorough job investigating tips when they can contact the reporting party for additional information.
It is important to note that messages are received during business hours only as they are checked by school administrators.
CHECK OUT THIS WEEK'S SSMS NEWS STUDENT BROADCAST
Upcoming Events
3/14 - 3/18 - Spring Break
3/22 - Math Interim STAAR Assessments
3/23 - Reading Interim STAAR Assessments
3/24 - Girls Soccer vs DSMS (at DSMS) 5:00 PM
3/24 - Boys Soccer vs DSMS (at DSMS) 6:15 PM
Staff Birthdays
3/13 - Rebecca Smart
3/14 - Jason LaMirand
3/14 - Mike Haase
3/19 - Heidi Pousson
3/20 - Mary Wittman
3/21 - Jen Havlin
3/22 - Rexene Matusek
3/24 - Karen Keahey
3/26 - Courtney Childers
3/26 - Denali Lewis
Sycamore Springs Middle School
Website: https://www.dsisdtx.us/domain/12
Location: 4451 Sawyer Ranch Rd, Austin, TX 78737, USA
Phone: 512-858-3600