Spartan Herald November 2018
Building Community Empowering Learners Inspiring Creativity
Curious Learners Sharing Their Accomplishments
Dear Schmucker Students and Families,
October was a busy month here at Schmucker! Thank you to all our families that came out to Student Led Conferences. Students had much to celebrate! From class reflections to ISTEP scores, students reflected on their progress and shared their successes. We are eager to see how students will continue to Set The Bar High and accomplish many great things this year!
In addition to students sharing their academic success, we had many other events happening during conferences. Thank you to the National Junior Honors Society for running the bake sale and pumpkin sale. They raised close to $600. I know many of you took advantage of technology support offered in the IMC and stopped by to learn more about 21st Century Scholars. Our Young Adult Program also displayed their talents at their fall sale. We were also happy to announce our raffle basket winners this week on WSMS. Again, we appreciate all of the work that went into Student Led Conferences. It was a great way for our Schmucker community to celebrate.
We hope all of you have a wonderful Fall and enjoy time with family and friends over Thanksgiving Break!
With your child in mind,
Lavon Dean-Null
Principal
State Mandated Curriculum
Parents,
Due to an new Indiana law all schools are required to provide age appropriate and research based instruction on child abuse and child sexual abuse to students in grades kindergarten through 12th. We are working with the Family Justice Center, Youth Service Bureau of St. Joseph County and the St. Joseph County Special Victims Unit to provide this instruction for our students. We need all parents/guardians to complete the online permission slip form. This must be completed for each child. This will only take a few moments of your time. Please complete this as soon as possible. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to any SMS administrator.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Sparty Party!
We appreciate everyone’s contributions to our school fundraiser! On Thursday, October 25, we hosted the annual Sparty Party to acknowledge students who contributed to the Mrs. Fields fundraiser. Throughout the first quarter of the school year, students sold baked goods to raise funds supporting a multitude of events at SMS. A bonus was that those students who sold at least three items were invited to attend the Sparty Party. In the days leading up to the party, Craig Tornquist, the fundraiser representative, worked with us to award students with prizes for their sales. Students with the highest number of sales had increased opportunities during lunch to pull the prize envelopes out of a hat. These students won various amounts of money, as well as a chance to silly string Assistant Principal Mr. Fry.
For one hour after each grade’s lunch on the day of the party itself, qualifying students went down to the gym. Students enjoyed racing each other in inflatables! The photo booth was a big hit as well and students have many pictures by which to save these memories. The Sparty Party was a huge success in both raising funds benefiting student activities throughout the school year and providing a time for students to have fun with their peers. Thank you families for all your support!
Important Dates
Nov 2 - 6th Grade Dance, 4pm.
Nov 3 & 10 - Intramural Open House, 11am - 1pm
Nov 6 - General Election at SMS
Nov 7 - 6th Grade Band concert, 7pm
Nov 7 - 7th Grade Band concert, 8pm
Nov 9 - Veterans Day Program, 9am - 1pm
Nov 14 - Fundraiser Delivery Date
Nov 14 - 8th grade Band concert at Penn called Kaleidoscope
Nov 15 - PTO Fundraiser at Chipotle
Nov 21-25 Thanksgiving Recess
Check out all events on our Website calendar: SMS Calendar
Please read our November PTO newsletter by clicking the link below!
PTO Fundraiser
Important Action Needed by ALL Families
Indiana law requires that all schools provide age appropriate and research based instruction on child abuse and child sexual abuse to students in kindergarten through grade 12. Penn-Harris-Madison has partnered with the Family Justice Center, Youth Service Bureau of St. Joseph County and the St. Joseph County Special Victims Unit to provide this instruction for our students. P-H-M School Corporation will be utilizing the Teen Lures Prevention curriculum to educate middle and high school students on a variety of safety issues. In November and early December, staff from the St. Joseph County Special Victims Unit and Youth Service Bureau of St. Joseph County will present about ways youth can prevent, respond to and report all forms of child abuse, dating violence and sexual assault. By talking openly with students about what constitutes healthy and respectful relationships, we prepare young people to better recognize and resist all forms of mistreatment. The presentations will be given either convocation style or via video to individual classrooms.
For additional information about the curriculum, please visit https://childluresprevention.com/grades7-12/.
To learn more about the program, an optional parent information night will be held at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, November 5th at Schmucker Middle School, 56045 N Bittersweet Rd.
Please sign and return the permission form below to notify us of your wishes for your student(s) to participate in this curriculum. You can also fill out an online version of this permission form on your school’s website under the NEWS section.
Click here for a printable version of this letter:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1P7ca-KY6lcVlRlVC1oWnpfVGVQQ1F2NWYzT3FybjJsemIw/view?usp=sharing
English Language Learners Family Night
Come join the PHM ELL Program community and learn about… Meet the ELL Teacher The services the English Language Program offers English Language Development standards The English language assessment WIDA Date: November 8th, 2018 Time: 6:00PM-7:00PM Where: Walt Disney Elementary cafeteria 4051 Filbert Rd. Mishawaka 46545
Learning more about our Schmucker Family
We are thrilled to welcome Mrs. Mannor, a SMS mother, and Laney Fry, Mr. Fry’s daughter. We appreciate them sharing their personal stories as students learn more about Down Syndrome. Thanks to Mr. Snoeyink for organizing this SMS community learning event!
"Life Coach" in Careers Class
Click the link below to read about Notre Dame's Assistant Men's Basketball Coach, Ryan Humphrey, giving Mrs. Deithrich's Careers class a "life lesson".
A message from our Gold Star Counselors
Parents of 8th Graders!
It's almost time to schedule the Class of 2023 for Penn High School! Here are some important dates to have on your calendar for the upcoming months:
November 27 - 8th graders visit Penn during school 12:30-3:00 p.m.
December 4 - Penn Counselors meet with 8th Grade Parents 6:00-7:00 p.m.
December 10 - Penn Showcase (Plan to attend to see classrooms and learn about electives and activities at Penn)
January 11 - Early College Scheduling with Penn Counselors (appt time will be emailed to you before Winter Break)
Jan 18-25 - Register for Summer PE Lottery on PHS website
(Summer School Dates: Dates are June 10-28; July 8-26)
February 14 - Confirm registration and pay for Summer PE if chosen for lottery
Early February (date TBD)- Have electives chosen and pink sheet turned in to SS teacher to create final Penn Schedule with SMS Counselors
August 2019 - Become a Penn Kingsman!
May 2023 - Graduate from Penn High School!
Mrs. Hoover and Mrs. Walton, (sub for Mrs. Eck) are available to parents through voicemail and email.
Students can make an appointment to see their school counselors by using the online google form.
- Go to Schmucker’s website and select “Guidance” and “Counselor Appointment Form”
- Complete the “School Counselor Appointment Form”
- Be sure to CHECK YOUR EMAIL. Your counselor will email you with an appointment date and time.
A note from Student Council!
Student Council is proud to share that our Pinktober event was a success! We raised $310.64 selling pink packs of gum during the lunch periods last week! The money collected will be donated to the American Cancer Society for cancer research.
We also sponsored a Down Syndrome Awareness Day on Friday! We wore yellow and blue to support this wonderful cause! We collected money donations in our Advisory classrooms, sold yellow and blue bracelets, blue water bottles and sold blue packs of gum during all lunch periods! We were able to raise $600.24!!! The money raised will be donated to Michiana Down Syndrome.
Thank you to all the students, teachers and families that supported these wonderful causes!
We can make a difference!
A special note from NJHS
The annual NJHS Bake Sale was a huge success! Thank you to all of the families who donated delicious baked goods and to everyone who helped sell them. Thank you to everyone who bought baked goods to help support our cause. We raised almost $600!! This money will be used to help Student Council fill Thanksgiving baskets for students in need.
IT'S THANK-A-TEACHER TIME AGAIN!
The annual Holiday Thank-a-Teacher program will run from November 12 thru December 7, 2018. This is the perfect opportunity to thank that special teacher, bus driver, office secretary, librarian, or any other P-H-M employee that has made a difference in your child's life. The minimum donation is $20 per recipient and the money received is used to fund future grants for programs that wouldn't otherwise be possible due to budget cuts. Your special person will receive a note and congratulatory pin acknowledging your donation. All donations to the Foundation are tax deductible. We are also taking credit cards as payment. Forms can be downloaded at www.phmef.org. Thanks for your continued support for the P-H-M Education Foundation where our mission is to support excellence in education at P-H-M schools! Questions can be emailed to laynabender@phmef.org
Spell Bowl
Interested in Art Club?
If students or parents are interested, please email Katie Deitrich at Kdeitrich@phm.k12.in.us
Attention 8th Grade Parents: Exceptional Education Academy Open House at Penn
Does your 8th grade student have an IEP? Come join the Penn High School Exceptional Education Academy for their annual open house. Click on the link for details!
Intramurals
Currently intramural open gym is running. The first one is Saturday, November 3rd from 11am-1pm!
Canvas
Canvas is a LMS (Learning Management System) that is used in PHM. Teachers can put content online for students, make announcements and provide assignments. All parents are enrolled in the Canvas course of their students as observers. As observers, you can see the content, but are not able to interact with it. Please access the links below to learn more.
To keep you organized, you can also download the Canvas app for your phone or tablet.
WSMS
WSMS is recorded to Youtube ALMOST every day. (Technology!) If you would like to watch our daily announcements, check it out!
Here is the link to the channel if you want to publish it to parents.
A Special Message from PHM Technology
If you missed the deadline to enroll in the school Chromebook repair plan, there is still a chance to participate. After further review, the PHM Technology department has decided to offer insurance throughout the school year. To participate you will need to bring in the filled out repair plan form, payment, and your student's Chromebook for review. The Chromebook must be damage free and in working order to participate in the repair plan.
To minimize damage to chromebooks, please remind your child to keep their chromebook in its case at all times.
Chromebooks
Every student should now have their Chromebook. I would encourage all parents to review our expectations for using technology with your child.
SMS Technology Expectations
I will use technology to achieve my learning goals.
I will be responsible with my use of technology and will remember that this is an online public representation of me and our school.
I will report to a teacher any inappropriate posts, comments or use.
I will use school-associated social media appropriately during the school day.
I will use appropriate grammar instead of texting language when communicating.
I will not reveal any personal information such as: telephone numbers, names, addresses, email addresses etc.
I will not post photos or video showing myself or classmates unless authorized by a teacher.
I will bring my Chromebook to school everyday fully charged.
- All school rules and consequences apply.
transportation policy
Consent To Publish student work and photographs
PHM requires schools to receive permission from parents to publish student photos and work. If you have not returned this document, please access the link below, print the document and return signed to school. We must receive this document from every student.
21st century scholars
Homework Requests
Families Can Get help with Lunch & Textbook Fees
School Messenger
Protected by Raptor
Wellness Information
Shorts: athletic style, any color, five inch inseam or longer (no cut offs)
T-shirt: yellow or gold - short sleeves
Shoes: tennis shoes with ties for securing to the feet - no vans, mules, canvas ballet flats
Socks
All clothing should be labeled with student's first initial and last name (no nicknames). Please visit our Schmucker website for further instructions, guidelines and policies for our wellness classes: https://schmucker.phmschools.org/pe-and-wellness-clothing-info
Student/Family Opportunities
Medication
Also now for middle school students - pain relievers, Tums and cough drops will be supplied and provided by the school's Health Office if proper documentation is on file. This form can be obtained by clicking: NON-Prescription Medication Form This option is only available to students 12 years of age and older who follow the package instructions for people 12 years of age and older. If you or your doctor request a dosage other than the recommended dosage on the bottles/packages of our stock over-the-counter medications, documentation would be required the same as if it were a prescription medication.
Student Hours
9:00am - First Bell
9:05am - Classes Begin
4:00pm - Dismissal
4:10pm - Bus Departure
Lavon Dean-Null
Email: ldean-null@phm.k12.in.us
Website: http://schmucker.phmschools.org/
Location: Schmucker Middle School, Bittersweet Road, Mishawaka, IN, United States
Phone: 574-259-5661
Twitter: @SMSSpartanPride