Sugar Land MS Titan News
Week #3 - August 31, 2020
Greetings Titan Families,
We hope you are doing well as we start the third week of school. There is much going on this week. We appreciate the time each of you takes each week to read through the items in this weekly newsletter. Some ongoing, important content is sometimes repeated or lightly revised (indicated by "UPDATED"), and new content is added to the top, indicated by "NEW".
Please be sure to read through the new and updated items, particularly the Student Expectations for Engagement, At-Home Learning Kit Pick-Up, Student-Led Pledges, and Fall "Virtual" Open House pieces.
This newsletter contains the following topics:
- Week At-A-Glance (NEW)
- Student Expectations for Engagement & Active Presence in Synchronous Class Meetings (NEW)
- At-Home Learning Kit Pick-Up Schedule (NEW)
- Student-Led Pledges and Moment of Silence (NEW)
- Fall "Virtual" Open House - Thursday, September 3 (UPDATED)
- REN360 Screener Information (UPDATED)
- LockDown Browser Information
- Attendance Information from Mrs. LaVergne
- Cheerleader Tryout Information
- SLMS PTO Spirit Night at Willie's - September 16
Thank you for your time, and thank you for your support of Sugar Land MS. We look forward to "seeing" you at our virtual Open House on Thursday, as well as in the At-Home Learning Kit pick-up lines Monday through Thursday.
Sincerely,
Keith Fickel, SLMS Principal
Grace. Patience. Optimism.
The Week At-A-Glance
Student Expectations for Engagement and Active Presence in Daily Synchronous Class Meetings
At the conclusion of the previous school year and after our "emergency" virtual learning experience, the district received tremendous amounts of feedback from parents about how their children needed more "face time" with teachers--a concept we refer to as "synchronous" or "live" interaction with teachers. The district heeded that important feedback, and created an online learning schedule this fall that drastically increased that "face time" up to 2 hours and 35 minutes weekly (155 total minutes) per class per week. However, that still falls far short of the 240 minutes per week students would typically experience for each class in the traditional, brick-and-mortar school environment. Therefore, the 155 synchronous minutes students have per class each week is vital, and teachers are striving to make the most out of each and every minute. This means that students MUST be in attendance, both physically (virtually) and mentally, for every minute of every synchronous class meeting on Microsoft Teams. Barring legitimate Internet or connectivity issues or emergencies, students are expected to be fully engaged and actively present for the full duration of every synchronous session. This means being prepared to offer answers to questions posed by the teacher in a variety of ways so that the teacher may formally and informally assess their progress. Please support your child and his/her teachers by ensuring that this occurs.
At-Home Learning Kit Pick-Up Schedule
At-Home Learning Kits consist of the following items:
(items with an asterisk (*) will need to return with students to campus when we resume face-to-face, in-person learning)
- *Consumable ELA Textbook – My Perspectives
- *Consumable Math Textbook – GoMath!
- *Consumable Science Textbook – ScienceFusion
- A packet of documents, manipulatives, and tools—specific to course and grade level—to help students during online learning
- *SLMS Student Planner (only if not received during the New Student Welcome Parade on August 14)
- Pre-Paid School Supplies purchased online in the spring from the PTO (does not apply to everyone)
Schedule for pickup
All times are 1:30-3:30, and will occur on our bus ramp on the east side of the campus. Please also print and complete the "Car Sign" document linked below, and place it in your car window to assist us in keeping everyone moving efficiently through the line.
- Monday, August 31 – families with multiple children/siblings attending SLMS (approximately 180 families)
- Tuesday, September 1 – 6th Grade Students
- Wednesday, September 2 – 7th Grade Students
- Thursday, September 3 – 8th Grade Students
If you have any questions about these At-Home Learning Kits, you may contact Mrs. Tina Garcia at (281) 634-3117. We hope your children find these resources to be helpful, and thank you in advance for keeping to the schedule listed above.
Student-Led Pledges and Moment of Silence
We want to include all SLMS Titan students in the opportunity to lead the school in our daily pledges. We will do this using Flipgrid to record students reciting the US flag pledge, the pledge to the Texas flag, and our moment of silence. We will use one video per day, and students will view it at 9:00 AM in their first class of the day when their teacher shows the video. Students must use their Fort Bend ISD student email address for this project. All of the instructions are included in the Flipgrid topic. Click this link to go to Flipgrid to record your contribution. Select "Join with Microsoft" after clicking this link.
Fall "Virtual" Open House - Thursday, September 3
Our Fall "Virtual" Open House is Thursday, September 3. It will have asynchronous and synchronous components. Your child's teachers will record brief videos (5-7 minutes in length), which will be uploaded to their respective Schoology courses and placed at the top of the list of items for easy, consistent access across all teachers' courses. You may watch these at your leisure, starting Wednesday, September 2nd (adjusted a day because of the school closures on August 26 and 27). The live, synchronous event on Thursday, September 3, is a 20-minute session with your child's grade level administrator and counselor, according to the schedule below. These will be conducted on Zoom, and you will be placed in a waiting room prior to the start of your grade level session.
- 6th Grade (with Dr. Rogers and Mrs. Smith) 6:00-6:20 PM (join using this Zoom Link)
- 7th Grade (with Mr. Goodwin and Mrs. Seright) 6:20-6:40 PM (join using this Zoom Link)
- 8th Grade (with Mrs. Martin and Ms. Brinson) 6:40-7:00 PM (join using this Zoom Link)
REN360 Screener Information - Testing Window is August 25-September 4
Fort Bend ISD uses Renaissance Star 360 Assessments to help teachers understand what students know and what they are ready to learn next. Typically, these assessments are given throughout the school year to monitor student progress and are administered in the school setting. Part of our normal testing plan includes a fall, beginning of the year assessment. After careful consideration, knowing the value of this data to make informed instructional decisions for your child, we will be administering the assessment remotely. Our fall testing window is this week, August 25-September 4. Please download the informational flyer below to get detailed information about these important screeners.
NOTE: The window for REN360 was extended due to the closure of school on August 26 and 27.
LockDown Browser by Respondus
Please visit https://www.fortbendisd.com/lockdownbrowser for information on installing a special browser called Respondus which will be used when students take online tests and exams. District-owned devices will need it to be installed using the following steps:
- Click on the "Start" button (four-pane Windows icon in the lower left corner of the screen, along the taskbar)
- Scroll through the list of programs for "Software Catalog", and click to open
- Look for Lockdown Browser or Respondus Lockdown Browser. Select and it will install
Attendance Information for Parents
Parent notes are required for all absences within five days from the absence date. Notes must include full student name as well as the reason for the absence (including technical difficulties). If a student misses a synchronous engagement, they are counted absent.Please email all absence notes to AttendanceSLMS@fortbendisd.com. Contact our attendance clerk, Mrs. LaVergne, at (281) 634-3089 if you have questions.
Cheerleader Tryout Information
We are excited to announce that SLMS will conduct tryouts for cheerleader virtually for the 2020-21 school year! Please note that this year’s cheer season may look vastly different than seasons past, but with our TITAN GRIT, we will make the best of it! The SLMS Cheerleaders spread school cheer, spirit and keep our teams ready for VICTORY! If you are interested, please complete the required handouts located in the virtual cheer tryout Schoology course (course code: R5RW-SQRG-N2R8P). Download the SLMS Cheerleader Tryout Information - Fall 2020 document below.
SLMS PTO Spirit Night at Willie's - September 16
FBISD Secondary Online Learning Schedule
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.
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
#InfinitePossibilities
#GracePatienceOptimism
- 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