Spartan Herald April 2018
Building Community Empowering Learners Inspiring Creativity
SMS PRIDE Everyday!
Hello Schmucker Families,
Even though spring break did not bring spring temperatures, I trust you were able to enjoy some time with your family to relax and have some fun!
The month of March was filled with many events and celebrations. From drones in math class to science fair winners to Gold ratings in music, our students continue to excel and demonstrate their skills in all avenues of their Schmucker experience.
Students will again have the opportunity to show off all their learning and hard work during the second round of ISTEP+. Testing will begin on April 16. The schedule is listed below. It is very important that your child is in attendance each day of testing. Please remind your child to stay rested and be prepared for the assessments. They will again take the assessments on Chromebooks, so students should be sure their Chromebooks are charged each day. Cell phones and smartwatches are not allowed in testing classrooms. It is also important that students do not bring these technology devices in the classrooms. We encourage students leave these items at home during ISTEP week. During the first round of ISTEP+, I was so impressed with how students did their very best on the tests and followed directions. It comes as no surprise that our students excel in this area as well!
As you look forward to summer plans, I would encourage you to check out summer opportunities that are offered by P-H-M. The link below will connect you to academies and camps.
Summer 2018 P-H-M Academies & Camps
With your child in mind,
Lavon Dean-Null
Principal
ISTEP+ Schedule - Round 2
Summer Opportunities
As the school year comes to a close, the S.M.S. Leadership Team would like to share some of the wonderful opportunities that are available to families of middle schoolers this summer.
Junior Academies
New Foreign Language Academy
Who: Current 6-7th graders
When: July 9-27, 2018
Where: Penn High School
Register here by Wednesday, April 11
Penn Robotics Summer Camp
Design for beginners and advanced, Software (new this year), and CNC Manufacturing (new this year)
Who: Current 6, 7, and 8th graders
When: June 11-15, 2018
Where: Penn High School
Signature BAB (Build a Bot)
Who: Current 6, 7, and 8th graders
When: June 18-22, 2018
Where: Penn High School
Detailed description of each camp and registration can be found here.
Bakers Gonna Bake Camp
Who: Current 6, 7, and 8th graders
When: June 11-15, or June 18-22, 2018
Where: Penn High School
Click here for registration form.
Kingsmen Athletic Camps
Cheerleading, Boys Basketball, Tennis, Pom-poms
Who: Current 6, 7, and 8th graders
When: June 11-15, 2018
Where: Location varies
Soccer, Track
Who: Current 6, 7, and 8th graders
When: June 11-14, 2018
Where: Location varies
Girls Basketball, Baseball
Who: Current 6, 7, and 8th graders
When: June 18-21, 2018
Where: Penn High School
Dance & Flag
Who: Current 6-7th graders
When: June 18-22, 2018
Where: Penn High School
Boys Half-Day Basketball, Softball
Who: Current 6, 7, and 8th graders
When: June 25-28, 2018
Where: Location varies
Football
Who: Current 6, 7, and 8th graders
When: July 9-13, 2018
Where: Schmucker Practice Field
Volleyball
Who: Current 6, 7, and 8th graders
When: July 16-19, 2018
Where: Penn High School
Wrestling
Who: Current 6, 7, and 8th graders
When: July 23-26, 2018
Where: Penn High School
Detailed information and registration links can be found here.
Youth Theater Camp
Who: Current 6, 7, and 8th graders
When: July 30 - August 3, 2018
Where: Schmucker Middle School
For more detailed information and registration, click here.
The P-H-M website includes information on summer activities offered for students of all ages. Please explore that here. Note that registration deadlines are quickly approaching, so act quickly to plan a summer of fun and learning for your student(s)!
Spring has Sprung!
I'm sure most of you will agree with me that finally getting into the spring season is a welcomed event! With spring, comes a change in apparel. I'd like to you remind you all of the middle school dress code policies. You can find exact wording in the handbook (Student Handbook) beginning on page 20. A good rule of thumb is that dressing for school is not the same as dressing for a party, the mall, the beach, or a concert. Based on what we've seen in the past, here are a few critical reminders:
- Students are to wear clothing that covers all parts of the body from the neck to above the knee.
- All shirts, blouses, dresses, and other top clothing must have sleeves. "Cold shoulders" in girls' tops are trendy and acceptable if there are no spaghetti straps involved.
- All pants, slacks, jeans, skirts, and shorts shall remain at the top of the waist. At no time should any undergarments be visible. For boys, this means, NO SAGGING.
- Upon entering the building during the school day all students are to remove any hats and other head coverings.
- Pants/jeans with holes, tears or shreds in areas normally covered by undergarments should not be worn.
- All footwear must be secured to the foot, so flip-flops and slippers are not allowed.
This is not an exhaustive list, but covers some general parameters. When in doubt, choose something else you're certain meets the dress code. Students breaking the dress code are given the option of calling home for a change of clothing, but if needed, the school has spare clothes students will be asked to wear for the remainder of the day.
Thank you for your support and enjoy the spring weather!
~Mrs. Heerschop
Important Dates
April 2-6 - Spring Break
April 16-27- ISTEP Testing
April 25 - 8th Gd Washington DC Meeting
Check out all events on our Website calendar: SMS Calendar
PLEASE READ OUR PTO NEWSLETTER BELOW:
Note from the Counselors!
On Monday, 3/26 students received an email from Mrs. Eck with an electronic form to request their elective for the 2018-2019 school year. On this form students were asked to indicate what class they would like as an elective for next year. We ask that students read through all information carefully, as it is an important decision that cannot be changed. At the bottom of the form, a parent/guardian's electronic signature is required. Please take a moment sometime soon to discuss elective options with your student. All forms are due by Friday, April 13th. Late submissions cannot be accepted and any student who does not submit will be automatically placed in an open elective class.
Special Note: Students in Band, Orchestra, Math Remediation, and Reading Strategies will be enrolled in the same elective for next school year. If a student in Band or Orchestra would like to change their elective, they need to pick up an Elective Change Request from their music teacher. This form requires a teacher, student, and parent signature. Completed forms should be turned in to Student Services.
Please contact your child's school counselor with questions.
Stacy Eck, Students A-K
Andrea Hoover, Students L-z
Student Service Office Supports
21st century scholars
Free $$ for college!
The 21st Century Scholars program is need-based assistance which will help students have the ability to go to college who otherwise may not be able to afford it. The program can save you and your family thousands of dollars on higher education past high school, as well as connect you and your student to other great resources.
The deadline for this opportunity to enroll is JUNE 30 of a student's 8th grade year. Once this date has passed, students cannot enroll while at the high school. Please take the time to visit http://scholars.in.gov/parents/enroll/ to learn more about the program and enroll your student right away before this opportunity is no longer available. Email or call your child's school counselor if you have further questions.
Battle of the Holes Book
We had a great time Friday morning, March 23, when we had a Battle of the Books competition featuring Holes, by Louis Sachar, our One Book/One School book this year. And, what a great way to complete our 3rd quarter with this competition. Students signed up as teams ahead of time, and we all met in the cafeteria during Advisory to square off with our knowledge of Holes. Seventeen teams competed in all, and a big congratulations goes out to Team #16, an 8th grade team, who only got one question wrong out of the 20 questions.
Thanks to our generous PTO, each member of the winning team received a $25.00 gift certificate to Barnes and Noble. They certainly worked hard for those certificates.
A big thanks to Matt Reininga, our Project Lead the Way teacher, who wrote the questions and was the MC for the event.
Everyone had a great time, and we can't wait until One Book/One School for next year.
2018 Regional Science Fair Results
Three Schmucker students participated in the regional science fair at Notre Dame on Saturday. Of the three projects that were submitted, two received awards beyond their placement ribbons. Please recognize these students for their outstanding work and their willingness to do a LOT of work on their own time!
Faisal Syed (7th Grade) - 1st place ribbon for his project "The Effects of Artificial Sweeteners on Drosophila melanogaster Circadian Rhythms"
- awarded as a "Broadcom MASTERS Rising Stars Competition Junior" project
- was selected to advance to the state science fair competition (HSEF); (only SIX middle school projects from the regional fair advance to the state competition)
Greta Lannon (6th Grade) - 1st place ribbon for her project "Does the Water Content in Butter Affect How Much Cookies Spread Out?"
- won the "U.S. Metric Association Junior" award
- won the "Notre Dame Mathematics Department Award Junior"
- won the "Karen Morris Award"
Matias Dahl (6th Grade) - 2nd place ribbon for his project "Arid3a Human Oncogene?"
ISSMA Results!
The Band's and Orchestra's traveled to Penn High School on the weekend of March 16th and 17th for the Indiana State School Music Association organizational contest.
The 6th, 7th and 8th Grade Orchestra's received Gold "With Distinction"
The 6th and 8th Grade Band's also received Gold "With Distinction" as well.
The 7th Grade Band received a Gold rating. (They missed "With Distinction" by a few points)
"With Distinction" means that the scores from all three judges were very good. The Schmucker 6th , 7th, and 8th Grade Orchestra's and the 6th and 8th Grade Bands will be listed on the ISSMA website in a few weeks for getting this extra achievement. This also means that Schmucker had some of the highest scoring Middle School Band's and Orchestra's in the state of Indiana.
We are VERY proud of these results. The students handled themselves exceptionally well on and off the stage. The practice and hard work definitely paid off!!
Thank you to the parents for your continued support. We can't do this without you.
Thank you to the Schmucker faculty and staff for your help and cooperation!!
Mr. and Mrs. Carnall
VEX Robotic News!
On Saturday, March 10, Schmucker's SpartanBots, VRC Team 775 competed at the Indiana State VEX Robotics Tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. The teams competed against other middle school VEX teams from across Indiana. Our teams did quite well finishing qualifying ranked 10th, 12th, 16th and 24th out of 31 teams. Three of our teams moved on to elimination play with one team, 775Z, falling in the round of 16 and two teams, 775X and 775Y making it to the quarter-finals.
Congratulations on a great season!
VEX Robotic 2018-19 Information
Algebra lesson taught by drones!
On Thursday, March 29, eighth graders in Mr. Pinion and Mr. Krupa’s Algebra classes ran drone flight programs they created in class earlier in the week. It was a fun way for the students to put their math skills to the test … and kick Spring Break off a little early with some fun!
The objective of the exercise was for students to be able to test their flight plans by having the drone fly across the room and try and grab the hoop ring with a hook hanging from drone and then have the drone fly back across the room with the ring.
There were other fun interactive math stations for the students to do as well: a blindfolded maze, transformation golf computer game, and other learning stations. Students kept track of their scores and their progress. Students then answered the reflection questions for their grade.
Foreign Language over the Summer
PHM is again offering classes for current 6th and 7th grade students to learn a foreign language over the summer. Please review the following details to see if your child would like to take advantage of this outstanding opportunity.
- Students can choose American Sign Language, French, or Spanish.
- This is open to all current 6th & 7th graders.
- The academy runs for three weeks: July 9 - 27 from 8am to 11am.
- The classes are held at Penn High School
- There is no charge to attend.
- Families are responsible for transportation.
- The deadline for registration is April 11, 2018.
8TH GRADE - WASHINGTON, D.C. TRIP
Our 8th grade D.C. field trip is near and students and parents are getting excited. The final payments are in and the only required meeting before we leave is filled with a load of information! Students and parents will need to attend a meeting on Wednesday, April 25 at 7:00 pm in the cafeteria. Parent chaperones will need to arrive for their own meeting starting at 6:00 pm the same evening.
Athletics
After we return from Spring Break, our 7th and 8th grade girls and boys track meets will be nearly every Tuesday and Thursday throughout the rest of April and early May. Our coaches are very excited about this year's teams as we did very well last year in the Big 11. Make sure you get out to see our Spartan runners, jumpers and throwers this season! You won't be disappointed.
Intramurals
ENL News!
The English as a New Language Program and Teachers Credit Union are hosting a Community Connections Fair for our students and families who are learning English. Nicole Parker (Elementary ENL Coordinator) contacted Lucha Ramey and she will include information on the district website. She asked us to also email the information to principals and secretaries so that it may be added to each school's calendar, newsletter, etc. ENL teachers at secondary schools will be mailing the flyer home to their students, but please share the information below or the attached flyer however you reach out to your parents.
This community event is free and is scheduled for Saturday, April 21, 2018 from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm at Walt Disney Elementary School (4015 Filbert Rd, Mishawaka, IN 46545). Organizations such as HealthLinc, La Casa de Amistad, Mishawaka Penn-Harris Public Library, and many more will be in attendance. Come learn about the opportunities and services available to you in our community.
IT'S THANK-A-TEACHER TIME AGAIN!
The annual Spring Thank-a-Teacher program will run from April 9 thru April 27, 2016. 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 atwww.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.
P-H-M SILVER MILE - Bubble Bash
Remember the bubbly fun of car washes and bath time? The Silver Mile 5K run is changing into a Bubble Bash – welcoming runners of all experience levels while blasting through foam bogs along the course. It is a non-timed 5K Run/Walk that incorporates bubble stations for participants to travel through during the event. Those not wanting to run/walk a 5K, there will be an option to take a shorter loop.
The Silver Mile Run for Education will also include our amazing Silent Auction, Health & Fitness Expo, free health screenings by Saint Joseph Medical Center, and Talent Showcase! Our Talent Showcase will be expanded this year so we can include more of our incredibly talented students throughout P-H-M.
This fun-filled, family friendly event will take place on Saturday, May 5, from 8:30am to noon at Penn High School. Register by Friday, March 30th for Early Bird prices ($15 students/$25 adults) and come out with your friends and family and enjoy a morning of fun and bubbles! Register athttps://runsignup.com/Race/IN/Mishawaka/SilverMileRunforEducation (also found on phmef.org website).
For questions or more information, visit www.phmef.org or contact Amber Kennedy at amber@phmef.org
Naming Options & P-H-M Education Foundation
The menu of naming rights is ideal for alumni classes, student groups, and more!
Friends and colleagues can work collectively to name a class, lab, or hallway as a way of supporting a high school activity or P-H-M staff member (past or present) who made a lasting impact. Coming together as a group can be a lasting example of excellence in education.
Check out this link for more details.
SMS Clubs
Writing Club is meeting every Thursday in Ms. Fiegel's room #211 after school until 5:15.
Film Club is meeting every Tuesday in Ms. Turpins's room #309 after school until 5:15.
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.
How Your Child Can Connect to Schmucker Happenings
1. Each morning students produce a newscast on WSMS that highlight upcoming events.
2. Every Monday students are emailed a Student Newsletter. This publication includes the weekly menu, important dates like athletic events and clubs, and important announcements and reminders.
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.
COMMUNITY EVENTS/ACTIVITIES
Check out the P-H-M website for an online listing of non-school events & activities agencies have asked us to share with P-H-M families:
Lunch Menus
Schmucker Scrip Program
Scrip is a national fundraising program for non-profit organizations. Over 30,000 different organizations use Scrip; the district PTO’s have been running this program for years.
For more information click here for more details on our SMS website.
Student/Family Opportunities
Homework Requests
School Messenger
Protected by Raptor
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.
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