Bear Bulletin
January 23 2022
Topics Included in this Newsletter
- Note from Mrs. Spencer
- Mark Your Calendars, Bears!
- Thank You, SBISD Board of Trustees!
- Save the Date for Spring Branch Super Saturday: Unity in Our Community AND Event T-shirt Design Competition Opens!
- Congrats to the SBMS Character Without Question Nominees and Finalist!
- SBISD Math Pathway Meetings for Current 5th Grade Parents
- SBMS Needs Your Ties!
- SBMS Yearbook: Be Sure to Order ASAP!
- Mark Your Calendars for SBISD Parent: Healthy Relationships Online and In-Person!
- Information from Nurse Mulvey for 6th Grade Parents
- SBMS PTA Information for 2021-2022
Message from Mrs. Spencer
Good Morning, SBMS Bears,
I hope this finds you well. We had a great week of celebrating students during our Honors Assemblies. It always makes for a fun week when we get to stop and celebrate the work of our kids. Whether the celebration be centered on straight As, diligently showing up for extra help and making just a bit of gains or being kind to others, it is important to celebrate! Thank you to everyone who was able to make it.
On the 26th during our PTA meeting at 11:30 a.m., the SBMS PTA will welcome high school principals, Lisa Weir (MHS) and Jennifer Collier (SWHS). It should be a great meeting for everyone, not just 8th grade parents. You are welcome to share this newsletter with friends and neighbors who might be interested in making the transition to SBMS. We are hosting tours so if prospective parents wish to attend, they are most welcome to call the front office at SBMS to find out when the next few are so that they can find a time and date that works for them.
This week, please take a look at your reusable water bottle collection and determine if you might be missing one (or several). We have probably thirty in our SBMS Lost and Found that have no student names on them so we are unable to call the student to come get them. The lost and found is located in my office area- to the left of the main desk. We have jackets, books, cleats and all sorts of things that need to be reunited with a middle school-er. We would love them to stop by and find their long-lost items.
Parents regularly ask me how they can help their middle school-er become more independent and manage the stress of the world around them. Middle school is a time of emerging independence where students need to learn to manage their time, their choices, their thoughts and actions along with their responsibilities and relationships. While there will be missteps, positive growth occurs if the child is given appropriate independence and the opportunity to safely dialogue about what to do, when. I am working on finding some resources to store on this newsletter, but in the interim, I found this article on transitioning from middle school to high school you might find helpful. Be careful not to use it to create additional things for your child to do, but to look at what is currently being done and decide if it is really working and whether or not small revisions can be made for a better outcome. There are several books on the bestseller lists right now on habits that might prove helpful and interesting if you aren't sure where to start.
The only other advice I have is the provision of logical and reasonable consequences (Love and Logic is a good resource) and being sure your child comes to talk to YOU about an issue rather than turning to their friends or social media for answers. The trick is that it best works, from my vantage point, when they are turning to you as a parent who can balance guiding them and providing appropriate boundaries. They truly want the boundaries; they just want to understand them and the reasoning for why they are in place. The kids that have that as a support system seem to be the most successful holistically.
A few informational items:
- 8th grade parents: please join us at the next General PTA meeting on January 26th at 11:30am to hear SWHS principal, Jennifer Collier, and MHS principal, Lisa Weir, discuss transitioning from middle school to high school. There are so many exciting changes on the horizon for our 8th graders, don’t miss this great opportunity to kick off their high school transition with answers to all your questions.
- 8th Grade Parents: The slide deck and letter related to the school dance will be posted in Skyward Family Access and ItsLearning tomorrow after BPT for students to know in preparation for the dance on April 30th. Please be on the lookout!
Thank you to all who have donated ties for our 8th grade students- we still need a few (ok, a lot) more! Please check your closets to see if you have any you can donate!
Let's have a great week, Bears!
Stefanie
Mark Your Calendars, Bears!
Mark your calendars for a few events, Bears:
- January 26th: General PTA Mtg w/ Lisa Weir & Jennifer Collier (MHS & SWHS Principals)
- Parent U: Promoting Healthy and Safe Relationships Online and In Person: February 17th from 6-7 p.m. via Zoom.
- February 17th: SBMS 8th Grade Reading/Language Arts State Field Testing for STAAR.
- February 23rd: 8th Graders Visit Zoned High Schools
Rising 6th Grader Events (Current 5th Graders):
- February 9th: Elementary students from our zoned feeders visit SBMS during the school day.
- February 15th at 6 p.m.: Rising 6th Grade (Current 5th Grade) Parent and Student night at SBMS. Join us for a presentation on the course selection sheets and visit with our Orchestra, Band, Theater Arts and Choir staff.
Rising 9th Grader Events (Current 8th Graders):
- January 25th: 8th Grade students will visit with high school counselors during their Social Studies classrooms related to course selections.
- January 26th at 11:30 a.m.: Principal Collier (SWHS) and Principal Weir (MHS) will join our PTA meeting to discuss transitioning from middle school to high school.
- February 23rd: 8th Grade students will visit their zoned high schools, SWHS or MHS.
Additional calendar tools:
- SBMS Google Calendars: SBMS uses a few calendars to help parents stay informed on events at school. The SBMS Public Calendar covers all academic and band/fine arts activities. The SBMS Athletics Activities Calendar covers the different athletic games we offer throughout the year. Please note neither calendar is up to date as of yet. Once game schedules are set by the district and other dates finalized by SBMS in relationship to Fine Arts, we will post these to the calendar.
- SBISD Calendar: English/Spanish
Thank You, SBISD Board of Trustees!
Save the Date for Spring Branch Super Saturday (4/23): Unity in Our Community AND Event T-shirt Design Competition Opens!
Save (and share!) the date to celebrate SBISD’s 75th Anniversary at Spring Branch Super Saturday: Unity in Our Community, April 23 from 9am-noon at Tully Stadium!
Spring Branch Super Saturday will bring together the entire community to showcase the best of Spring Branch students! Designed by a team of more than 80 high school students from throughout the district, Spring Branch Super Saturday is an event for the whole community. Enjoy student showcases, food trucks, live music, arts & crafts, and SO MUCH MORE!
NOW OPEN! Event T-Shirt Design Contest!
Share with your student artists, designers, and creatives for a chance for their design to be worn by hundreds, maybe thousands of people! Deadline for submissions is Feb. 2. More details below!
Key Information:
- Submission Eligibility requirements:
- Must be Spring Branch ISD students (elementary, middle or high)
- Must complete the Google Submission Form (https://forms.gle/y5Dn89zaittZZ2dA8)
- Can be submitted by an individual or a group of students - Design requirements:
- Incorporate the event name and tagline, “Spring Branch Super Saturday: Unity in Our Community”
- Represent all of SBISD (no single school logos)
- Single-color design
- Designed for the front of a t-shirt
- No inappropriate images or phrases
Congratulations to Our SBMS Character Without Question Nominees!
Congratulations to the following students for being nominated for the SBMS Character Without Question award. These students were nominated because they each demonstrate an enduring commitment to any or all of the SBISD Core Characteristics and are individuals who do the right thing, even when no one is looking. The Core Characteristics include: academic preparedness, ethical and service mindedness, empathetic and self awareness, persistence and adaptability, resourceful problem solving capabilities, and finally, the ability to be a communicator and collaborator.
Congratulations to:
- Corinne Adams
Jake Aurelio
Anna Koenig
Henry Lanier
Ashly Neiman Garcia
Nathanael Sartelle
Andrey Tiplitskiy
Dominque Watson
Jack Zolas
Our SBMS Finalist for the Character Without Question Award Is....
SBMS Needs Your Ties!
Each year, one of our PTA subcommittees works to bring in programming for students related to Character Education. In years past, we have brought in speakers on topics like vaping, online safety and the like. This year, our focus will be on etiquette (table manners, managing place settings at a table, thank you notes, greetings) and presenting your best self. Our presenter is well known in the Houston area: Helen Perry of Eti-Cool. Presentations will be in person for our 8th graders and broadcasted at later dates to sixth and seventh grade so all students can benefit from the content. We are so excited about these presentations and are grateful for our PTA subcomittee members for heading up this work.
During one of our presentations, students will learn and/or practice how to tie a tie. To do this, we need tie donations! Please raid your closets to help our 8th graders with learning how to tie a proper tie. We will place them in the Bear closet for kids who need them afterwards for the 8th grade dance, sibling's graduation, Easter or other events. To ensure we have all we need, please donate them no later than January 24th. Ties need to be gently worn and interview-ready! IF you would like to donate brand new ties, we would be happy to take them and will raffle them off to interested students!
• Benefits of enrolling in accelerated mathematics
• How to qualify for each pathway
• Summer 2022 Jump Start Program
www.springbranchisd.com/parentu
SBMS 2021-22 Yearbook!
Yearbooks are now on sale for $65! Buy one here or go to tinyurl.com/sbmsyearbook to buy your book before they SELL OUT! There are only 100 yearbooks left for sale so get one while you can! We CANNOT order more yearbooks if we sell out when they arrive in May.
Tributes/ads for students are also on sale! When buying your yearbook, make sure you scroll to the bottom of the site and you can order a half page, ¼ page, or shoutout ad for your child. Make sure you order and finish designing this ad by JANUARY 31!
The yearbook staff would love your help gathering photos related to the following topics/events for inclusion:
-Fine arts concerts/shows or your child practicing/rehearsing for them (band, orchestra, choir, theatre)
-Basketball
-Any pics of your child with their friends/doing an activity related to SBMS
You can upload photos for the yearbook staff using the Balfour Imageshare app on your phone. You will create an account and can upload photos from your camera roll. Note: the project number is 209143 and there is NO upload code. You may also send any photos for the yearbook staff to yearbook adviser Sara Boyle, sara.boyle@springbranchisd.com. Please keep in mind we are trying to include as many students as possible so we are trying to include individual students a max of 3 times in the book!
Contact Sara Boyle, sara.boyle@springbranchisd.com with any other questions about the yearbook!
Upcoming dates:
January 31, 2022: Last day to buy and complete an AD/TRIBUTE for your student
March 4, 2022: Last day to PERSONALIZE yearbook (purchase a name stamp or activity icon for your yearbook)
March 15, 2022: Last day to send in yearbook photos for inclusion in the book
Thank you!
Sara Boyle
Journalism Teacher, Yearbook and Newspaper Adviser
Spring Branch Middle School
Buy a 2021/2022 yearbook here!
A Word from the SBMS Library
Overdue Library Books
Please remind your students to turn in overdue library books. They receive an email notice each week with a list of overdue books. There is a cart located outside the library entrance for book returns.
Aaryn Silva
Librarian
Spring Branch Middle School
6th Grade Parents: A Word From Nurse Mulvey
6th grade Parents:
If your child gets any new vaccines this school year please turn in a copy to the nurse. This will help prevent any delay in enrollment for 7th grade.
A Word from the SBMS PTA
Did you know that PTA does much more than fundraising? PTA's mission is to make every child's potential a reality by engaging and empowering families and communities to advocate for all children. We are an advocacy organization and our list of "PTA Purposes" are:
- To promote the welfare of children and youth in home, school, community and
- place of worship
- To raise the standards of home life
- To secure adequate laws for the care and protection of children and youth
- To bring into closer relation the home and the school, that parents and teachers
- may cooperate intelligently in the education of children and youth
- To develop between educators and the general public such united efforts as will secure for all children and youth the highest advantages in physical, mental social and spiritual education
Parents aren't required to volunteer and can still join without providing any time commitment.
Dues as low as $10 allow parents to become voting members, which means they have a VOICE. Parents can save money as a PTA member and receive special discounts and perks, learn how. PTA Membership provides instant support for our students. It's a great way to stay informed about what's happening at our school and connect in meaningful ways with other parents. Our motto is "Every Child. One Voice." Join us Bears!
Find us on social media. For a complete list of links, visit the SBMS PTA website
Missed Last Week's Bear Bulletin?
Please click below by date and you may access previous editions:
- November 7th Bear Bulletin
- October 31st Bear Bulletin
- October 24th Bear Bulletin
- October 17th Bear Bulletin