Sugar Land MS Titan News
Summer Edition #5 - August 9, 2020
Greetings Titan Families,
We are one week away from the launch of an online school year, and your children's teachers are deep into the professional learning required to shift our classrooms into a virtual space in the most impactful and meaningful way possible. Simultaneously, there are other processes coming together to help get the year launched successfully. This newsletter has some important updates for you and your family to know and understand, and at least one of them is an action item on your part, and that has to do with the new resource launched last week called 1Link. Please be sure to read the item below related to 1Link, and practice using it this week, and ensure that your child's school login works. 1Link is the connection to how your child will arrive in his/her first class at 9:00 AM on Monday, August 17. Items in this newsletter include:
- Virtual Orientation - August 11, 12, and 13
- Sixth Grade and New Student Welcome Parade - August 14 at 4:15 PM
- Laptop/Device Distribution Phase 1 - August 5 through 14
- 1Link Information -- ACTION ITEM FOR ALL STUDENTS!!!
- Online Class Schedule -- First Week Schedule & Week 2 and beyond
- School Supplies
- Grade Level and Other Important Contact Information
- Immunizations (everyone, even online, must have current shot records!)
- Links to helpful pages on the district and campus websites
- VIDA Clinic information
Please continue to monitor your email, and visit the Fort Bend ISD and Sugar Land MS websites and social media channels, such as Twitter (@FortBendISD and @SLMSTitans) for additional updates. And remember, it is vital that parents keep their contact information (email, phone numbers, etc.) current with the district so that the lines of communication may remain open.
Be assured that we are hard at work to ensure we are well prepared for August 17. In the meantime, our staff is available to assist you and your child. Feel free to call our main line at (281) 634-3080. We look forward to seeing everyone this week during our Virtual Orientations, and we look forward to seeing all of our new Titans--sixth graders or any new to SLMS students--at our Welcome Parade this Friday, August 14 at 4:15 PM.
Sincerely,
Keith Fickel, SLMS Principal
Titan "Virtual" Orientations This Week via Zoom
We are organizing a "virtual" orientation for our students and their parents. These will be particularly important for our new students--incoming sixth graders--as well as our new seventh and eighth graders. Orientation will last approximately 45 minutes, and will conclude with a Q&A session. Our plan is to offer these multiple times in the evenings throughout the week in order to accommodate smaller groups of attendees, accommodate parent work schedules, and to provide choice as to which fits best into your schedule, given that we are simultaneously distributing devices during these same times. These will be virtual, and not in-person orientations. Our dates and times are below. They will be conducted on Zoom (download the client at zoom.us). Links to join each session are below. You will be admitted into the session after a brief wait in the virtual "waiting room." A tremendous number of teachers and staff members are involved in creating this experience, and we are excited to bring it to you! We originally had scheduled one of these to occur on Monday evening, August 10, but we will not quite be ready yet, and also because it was scheduled at the same time as the FBISD Board of Trustees meeting, for which you will want to listen the live audio stream. Our apologies if you had planned to attend on Monday evening. There will be three opportunities this week:
- Tuesday, August 11 - 6:00-6:45 PM (join using this Zoom link)
- Wednesday, August 12 - 6:00-6:45 PM (join using this Zoom link)
- Thursday, August 13 - 6:00-6:45 PM (join using this Zoom link)
We will also record these sessions, and post the recordings on our campus website after the final one is over.
Sixth Grade and New Student "Welcome" Parade - August 14 at 4:15 PM
We want this to be on the radar for our incoming sixth graders, as well as all of our new students and their parents. We are in the planning stages for having a first-ever "welcome parade" for you! We will provide a map in our next newsletter, but essentially it is an opportunity for you to follow a path around the building in your car, while SLMS teachers and staff cheer you on and welcome you to middle school, while maintaining physical distancing. Stay tuned for more details, but put it down on your calendar -- Friday, August 14 at 4:15 PM!
Please follow the instructions in the map below. For safety reasons, we need ALL participants to approach the campus from the east (from Eldridge) along Seventh Street. Persons traveling from the west (from Burney/Main) will not be able to make a left-hand turn into the main parking lot on the east side of the building where the parade will begin. This is for traffic safety.
Laptop/Device Distribution Phase 1 (August 5-14)
In order for our 100% online instruction to function, every child needs his or her own device. If you would like to obtain a device(s) for your SLMS child(ren), sign up for a time using this Sign-Up Genius. Our schedule for Phase 1 of Laptop Deployment is as follows:
- Monday, August 10 (3:00-7:00 PM)
- Tuesday, August 11 (3:00-7:00 PM)
- Wednesday, August 12 (3:00-7:00 PM)
- Thursday, August 13 (3:00-7:00 PM)
- Friday, August 14 (10:00 AM - 4:00 PM)
Phase 2 will begin the week of August 17, with a schedule that is TBD. Note, also:
- If you received a device from the district during T4 of last school year, you may continue to use it. The district has record of you having that device.
- If you received a device from the district last year but need additional devices for additional children, you may get them, as well, subject to #4 below
- Hotspots are limited, so we ask that only those with a true need request them. One hotspot will work multiple devices
- Campuses like SLMS will only distribute devices to students enrolled at that particular campus. If you have children at multiple campuses, you must go to those campuses to get a device(s) for those children (i.e. Kempner HS for KHS students, Sugar Mill ES for SME students, etc.)
Visit the district's Technology Resources page, and scroll down to the FAQ section. Look for the topic "Devices", and read the threads there. It is rich with information. If you are wanting to purchase a device for your child that he/she could bring to school when BYOD happens (bring your own device) upon return to face-to-face instruction, visit the district's BYOD resource page.
1Link is Here! Single Sign-On Tool
Online learning can open a world of new possibilities; however, it can also come with its fair share of challenges. Easy access should not be one of those challenges. This Fall, Fort Bend ISD is proud to introduce 1Link (Powered by ClassLink).
1Link is a single sign-on platform that allows students, teachers and staff to utilize one username and password to access their digital resources and tools including Schoology, Clever and Microsoft Teams. Single sign-on is an essential tool for productive remote learning. 1Link is web-based and available from the classroom or at home and can be accessed from a computer or mobile device.
All actively enrolled FBISD students can access 1Link using their district email (Ex. john.d1@student.fortbendisd.com) and network password. New student enrollees will be granted access upon completion of the enrollment process. Parents must log in to Skyward Family Access to retrieve password credentials for their student(s), which can be found in the Online Forms section of Skyward Family Access. Instructions for the retrieval of student password information can be found on the Fort Bend ISD website.
For more information about 1Link, please visit www.fortbendisd.com/1link.
Access 1Link at 1link.fortbendisd.com. Feel free to download the helpful one-page how-to document below.
School Supplies -- Slight Revision
School supplies - Although we will start the year 100% online, students will still need school supplies at some point. Over the last few years, our school supply list has been pared down to only truly essential items and to be reasonable in cost. These items will be needed when we return to face-to-face instruction, but your child will also find them helpful during online learning. If you ordered pre-packaged school supplies from the PTO, they will be delivered to the campus in early August. We will devise a pick-up plan for them and communicate it with you when the time comes. Here is a link to our school supply list.
Note: while not on our school supply list linked above, you may wish to consider these optional technology items suggested by the district:
- Universal Stylus Touch Screen Pen (Passive) (For use with touch screen devices)
- BYOD (Bring Your Own Device): Refer to “Guide to Student BYOD Devices” on Fort Bend ISD webpage: https://www.fortbendisd.com/Page/105736
- Headset/Headphone with mic (must be compatible with iPad 6th generation or greater & Windows 10 computers)
Important Contact Information
- Assistant Principal - Dr. Dawn Rogers (dawn.rogers@fortbendisd.com)
- Counselor - Eleni Smith (eleni.smith@fortbendisd.com)
Seventh Grade
- Assistant Principal - Luster Goodwin (luster.goodwin@fortbendisd.com)
- Counselor - Kim Seright (kimberly.seright@fortbendisd.com)
Eighth Grade
- Associate Principal - Monika Martin (monika.martin@fortbendisd.com)
- Counselor - Nafecia Brinson (nafecia.brinson@fortbendisd.com)
Attendance - Mary Beth LaVergne (mary.lavergne@fortbendisd.com)
Registrar - Tandi Phillips (tandi.phillips@fortbendisd.com)
Nurse - Angi Lincoln (angela.lincoln@fortbendisd.com)
Campus Secretary - Mary Connealy (mary.connealy@fortbendisd.com)
Counselor Clerk - Carmen Brantley (carmen.brantley@fortbendisd.com)
Assistant Principal Secretaries
- 6th and 7th Grade - Tina Garcia (diamantina.ibarragar@fortbendisd.com)
- 8th Grade - Sherri Woodcock (sherri.woodcock@fortbendisd.com)
Immunizations Must Be Up to Date -- Even When School is 100% Online
This is a reminder from our nurse that all students must have their shots up-to-date or have a valid exemption on file when school starts. This is regardless of whether instruction is online or in person. To find out more information regarding immunizations, visit the Texas Department of State Health Services web page.
Mental Health Partnership with Vida Clinic
We would like to welcome one of FBISD’s mental health partners, Vida Clinic to our campus. They are a resource that will offer counseling services to our campus students, families, and staff starting this summer. To schedule services with Vida Clinic, please visit vidaclinic.org or contact the Vida Clinic Care Team at 512-518-2209 or by email at vidacare@vidaclinic.org. Vida Clinic will work with each family or staff for payment of services and identify funding options to fit their unique situation.
Sugar Land Middle School
45 Years
1975-2020
Inspiring and equipping the young men and women of our community for futures beyond what they can imagine since 1975.
SLMS Campus Mission Statement
Working collaboratively, the Sugar Land Middle School Professional Learning Community will commit to creating a safe environment with high expectations leading to physical, social, emotional, and academic success for all Titans.
#TitansOwnIt
#BetterTogether
Regular Office Hours - Resuming Monday, June 27
- 8:00-4:00 Monday-Friday
Email: keith.fickel@fortbendisd.com
Website: www.fortbendisd.com/slms
Location: 321 7th Street, Sugar Land, TX, USA
Phone: (281) 634-3080
Twitter: @SLMSTitans