Sugar Land MS Titan News
Week #14 - November 16, 2020
Greetings Titan Families,
We hope everyone has been enjoying their weekend. We have a busy week ahead before we go into the much-needed week off for Thanksgiving. You probably have heard that the district calendar was adjusted last Monday evening at the BOT meeting. It is linked in this newsletter. We are also in the midst of preparing for the end of this semester and the start of the second semester.
Ending Semester 1
We expect to send you detailed information about the end of this semester soon, including the schedule for the week of December 14-18. But please know that if your child is taking a high school credit course, he/she will have a semester exam during the final week which will count for 15% of their Semester 1 grade. This exam will be comprehensive over content learned during Term 2 (the current term), and it will be a 60-minute exam for both online and F2F students. For students taking a single-semester middle school course, like PE 7, Health 7, or Kickstart 7, there will be an assessment that counts as a fourth major grade in Term 2 (T2), which will serve as a final exam of sorts, except that it will not count 15% of their overall S1 grade, as it would for a high school credit course. For all other year-long middle school courses, there will be no final exam or extra major grade this semester. That will occur at the end of the second semester. Nonetheless, attendance is expected for both online and F2F students for the entirety of the last week of the semester. Learning will continue on these days.
Planning for Semester 2
Now that the window has closed for parents to opt-into a learning model change that would start in January, we are making our plans. Changes at a glance:
- 142 students requested changes (roughly 12.3% of our students)
- 22 requested to change to online
- 120 requested to change to face to face (F2F)
- This is a net addition of 98 students F2F, for a total of 541 (up from 443) or roughly 46.8% of our students
These changes will be challenging to implement, as our goal is to not be be unduly disruptive to students' and staff members' schedules (stability is a precious commodity these days). But there will be some disruption; we simply seek to minimize it. We will very likely be going to four lunch periods, and within reason concerning appropriate social distancing, we may need to add some desks to some classrooms, as well as consider other creative avenues to meet students' needs and requests. This will require extra measures of grace, patience, and optimism from all parties. We will keep you updated.
Important Info for Returning F2F Students: If your child is one of the 120 returning F2F, we will provide you with some specific transition information later in December, and again before we return on January 7. In the meanwhile, the things you can do to start planning ahead would be:
- Ensure that you or your child completes the wellness screener in Skyward every morning, starting immediately (should be happening already, anyway; see item further down in the newsletter about wellness screenings)
- Review Dress Code expectations (see item in this newsletter)
- If your child will be a car rider, they will need a car rider number. Please complete this brief form, and we will get in touch with you with your car rider number, which is needed at dismissal
You may also visit the FBISD Re-Launch Website for more details from the district level.
Be sure to check out the following topics in this week's newsletter:
- Teacher of the Year Finalists!
- Week At-A-Glance
- Upcoming Dates
- Revised FBISD 2020-21 Calendar
- SLMS Virtual Book Fair (Nov. 8-21)
- FBISD Coding Camp - December 5
- Safety Message and Dress Code Info for F2F Students
- FBISD Announces Free Meals for Remainder of 2020-21 School Year
- And MUCH MORE...
Thank you for your time and support of our school. Our ongoing priority is to serve our community in the best way possible.
Sincerely,
Keith Fickel, SLMS Principal
#GracePatienceOptimism
#BetterTogether
#InfinitePossibilities
#TitansOwnIt
SLMS Teacher of the Year Finalists
- Tracy Anderson (Choir)
- Julie Pierce (Science 6)
- Amy Wright (SAILS)
Before the end of the semester, one of these three terrific Titan teachers will be named as our Teacher of the Year. We are so proud of all three of these ladies, as well as of all of our Titan teachers!
The Week At-A-Glance
Upcoming Dates
- November 20 - Progress Report 4 (PR4)
- November 23-27 - Thanksgiving Break
- December 1 – PSAT administration (8th grade)
- January 5 - Online student portrait day (more details and schedule forthcoming)
- February 19 – Career Day (Moved from December 3)
SLMS Virtual Book Fair - November 8 thru 21
This fall Sugar Land MS will host its first virtual book fair! A school-specific link will lead to the Scholastic Online Store, where students and their families can purchase any of over 6000 items, a much bigger selection than what is available through in-person fairs. Every purchase helps us raise money for the school library program, so we can provide even more great reading materials for our students. Make sure to use only this website to make purchases, otherwise we won’t get credit! The online store link will be live for two weeks from November 8-21. Make purchases at your leisure, then ship them directly to your home. Any questions about the book fair should be directed to the campus librarian at david.sinclair@fortbendisd.com. Thank you for helping us cultivate a culture of literacy at SLMS!
Watch a Titan TV interview with Mr. Sinclair (or click here)
The SLMS book fair website mentioned in the video:
FBISD Coding Camp - December 5
This camp is a free virtual learning event for K-8 students in FBISD. It will allow students to learn and develop skills related to coding and computer science. The camp is open to all levels of coding experience Please visit the FBISD Coding Camp web page for details and registration links.
Safety Message and Dress Code Info for F2F Students
Please review the FBISD Dress Code. This one-page document has been extracted from the 2020-21 FBISD Student/Parent Handbook. Students attending F2F must adhere to the dress code, and students online must be in dress code while on camera. Common issues and their resolutions are:
- Students wearing leggings, tights, or tight-fitting clothing - Students must wear a top whose hem goes to at least mid-thigh or lower (but not above mid-thigh). This has been our #1 item to address the last three weeks
- Shorts, skirts, etc. that are too short -- hem must be no higher than 3" above knee
- Footwear - shoes must have a back for safety reasons in our stairwells. No flip-flops or sandals unless they have a back/heel covering
- Tears/Rips in pants - cannot reveal undergarments. If rips/tears are higher than 3" above the knee (like shorts and skirts), they must have an under-layer that extends to 3" above the knee
- Pajamas - no sleep wear except on designated spirit days (this includes slippers)
The document below is extracted (p. 70) from the larger Student/Parent Handbook.
FBISD Announces Free Meals for Remainder of 2020-21 School Year
UPDATE 11/11/2020: FBISD Child Nutrition is still strongly encouraging all families to complete a Free & Reduced Meals application at www.schoolcafe.com/fbisd. However, the district just announced that student breakfast and lunch will be free to all students through the remainder of the school year (June 2021). This is for both F2F and online students. Meals at school, as well as the "Grab and Go" meals at various district sites will remain free for students.
PE Uniforms Now on Sale!
Student Daily Wellness Screenings and Clinic Information
Many parents may have concerns about their students being sent home from the clinic due to the guidelines FBISD is following (based on CDC recommendations). Here are a few important points…
List of symptoms that can be present in a person who may be potentially sick with COVID19
- Runny nose/congestion
- Sore throat
- Persistent cough
- Difficulty breathing
- Headaches
- Chills
- Loss of taste/smell
- Significant muscle pain/aches
- Diarrhea/vomiting
These symptoms are also synonymous with many other illnesses or may be caused by a variety of reasons. For this reason, I would like to share a few tips!
- Make sure your child has breakfast and drinks some water every morning. This will help ward off headaches and stomachaches
- If your child has seasonal allergies, consider giving them a daily over-the-counter allergy medication to help distinguish between allergy-related or illness-related symptoms including headache, runny/stuffy nose, and sore throats from all that drainage
Please know that the nurse cannot determine whether your child’s symptoms are, or are not, COVID related. Rather, to keep all students and staff safe, it is important to strictly follow the CDC guidelines and the FBISD policy. Thank you for understanding. Please call the clinic with any questions 281-634-8745.
Parents, if your child is absent, please remember to fill out the Wellness Screening, even if you are keeping them home. Also, be sure to fill it out every day they are absent. In addition, please call or email Nurse Lincoln. Students with illness must meet specific criteria before they can return to school and Nurse Lincoln will help you through that process.
Reporting a Positive Case of COVID-19 or Exposure to a Positive Case
To ensure the safety of all staff and students, it is critical that families report all positive cases of COVID-19, or exposures to a positive case of COVID-19, immediately. If your student tests positive for COVID-19 or is exposed to a positive COVID-19 case, please notify the District by reporting within the Daily Wellness Screener in Skyward Family Access.
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.
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)
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
- 8:20-4:20 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