SMS Newsletter
February 2021
6th Grade News
Goodbye, January…Hello, February….This month, our 6th graders will stay very busy in their core classes, learning even more amazing skills and content in all our subjects!
In Language Arts, we will continue our novel study of Bud, Not Buddy. We will then work on analyzing informational text and begin the process of writing a personal narrative. AT Language will finish up Where the Red Fern Grows and will be reviewing elements of fiction.
Instructional Language Arts class will be working on Informational Text and writing this month.
In Social Studies, we will be “Roaming with the Romans” as we study Ancient Rome!
Science will be exploring how energy flows through ecosystems, the importance of biodiversity and exploring the biomes around the world.
All levels of math will be working with percents, fractions, and decimals. They will also be practicing how to find tax, tip and discount. (Real world situations using percents!)
Our Students of the Month for 6th grade are Daliyah Oberhart and Nathan Olson—awesome work, guys! Especially during remote learning!
7th Grade News
Welcome back! We are so excited to have students in our classrooms again!
After winter break, we saw a drop off of grades for some students. It is essential for students to keep up on their work. Please encourage your students to keep up on their work and continue to check their grades on Tyler. We encourage parents/guardians to check the grades and check Google Classroom as well. We appreciate and understand all of the hard work and stress through this tough time on both the students and the parents.
Reminders for students:
-Wear a CLEAN mask to school, and please wear it correctly.
-Do your attendance daily.
-Check grades daily.
-Read the Stream for each class for important information.
-Charge your Chromebook at night.
Also, we will be IAR testing this year. The window for testing is March 15th - May 14th. We will let you know specifics when we get closer to the testing dates.
The Students of the Month for this month are Kai Kern and Bailey Frieders. Congratulations to both of you!
8th Grade News
February is a big month for 8th graders because it is time to think about high school! Students will hear from high school counselors and high school students to learn more about high school life and classes. The 8th graders will also choose their classes for high school! Next month (March) is the month for state testing. As of now, the IAR (Illinois Assessment of Readiness) test is happening. Even though Covid has made academic life a little challenging, we still know that our students will do their very best.
Please encourage your child to check Google Classroom everyday and complete the assigned work. Also, please ask your child to check Tyler everyday. We find that our Tyler program is the best way for students to stay on top of their academic progress.
History: We are just finishing up with World War I and will be moving onto the turbulent decades from 1919 to 1945. First we will start with the Jazz Age from 1919-1929 including the booming economy of the 1920s and the roaring twenties. Additionally, we will learn about the clashing of cultures from 1915-1928 with the passing of the 18th Amendment establishing Prohibition to Congress passing the National Origins Act revising the immigration law in 1924.
Language Arts: We completed the Holocaust Unit, and now we are going to delve into the Civil Rights Movement before beginning our next unit in the literature book, Human Intelligence. We also plan to hone a few of our skills before the IAR test in March. Specifically, the students will review literary elements and strategies. They will also practice writing extended responses.
Instructional Language Arts:
Instructional LA students are moving into their first novel study, “The Boy in the Striped Pajamas” by John Boyne. We are taking a little break from our “writing bootcamp” and going to see how we can carry over these skills to our work we do in our novel study.
Math: We will be wrapping up Triangle and the Pythagorean Theorem and moving on to Equations in Two Variables. The students will be learning about constant rate of change, slope, linear equations, and graphing on the coordinate plane.
Instructional Math: In Instructional Math, we will be finishing our work on integer operations from before the break before heading into Chapter 9 (variables and expressions) and Chapter 10 (equations). As always, we continue to work on our basic math skills through daily practice on Math Minutes, weekly iXL time, and periodic review of real-world problem solving strategies. A reminder: iXL problems that are assigned on Fridays must come from the “starred” (recommended) list since these are skills that support and enhance what we are working on in our lessons.
Science: Students will be working hard on their chemistry unit. They will learn how to read chemical formulas and understand their composition. Also, students will become familiar with chemical reactions and chemical equations, identify different types of chemical reactions, and learn about factors that affect chemical reactions.
Students of the Month: The 8th grade Students of the Month are Nicolette Romano and Payton Frieders. These are two kind, hard working students who take pride in their work. We are lucky to have them in our classes!
District #430 News
The week of May 10th, Sandwich School District will be conducting an external review with a team of Cognia evaluators. Cognia (formerly AdvancED) is a nonprofit, third-party organization that assists schools and districts in their continuous improvement efforts to improve teaching and learning. External reviews take place every five years and are conducted by a team of enthusiastic educators from around the nation. During our five-year improvement cycle, Sandwich Schools have been focusing on the following six improvement priorities:
Utilize data from a variety of sources to drive purposeful professional development at the district and building level.
Work continuously to create and formalize a process to document and track our improvement efforts at the district and school levels.
Create a formal student improvement plan (MTSS) based on a comprehensive evaluation of student support services and programs.
Evaluate, revise, update, and communicate grading policies and practices throughout the district.
Work with a safety consultant to continuously improve upon processes and practices at the building level to ensure our students, staff, and stakeholders' safety.
Work collaboratively with stakeholders to develop and implement a blended and remote learning plan for the 2020-2021 school year based on guidance from the CDC, ISBE, and IDPH.**Priority added Spring of 2020
Attendance Policy
All students must complete attendance everyday between the hours of 7:15 am and 3:15 pm. Attendance and work completion is required on a daily basis, Monday thru Friday, whether at school or at home.
You can find the District attendance policy in our Handbook (located in the front of your student’s planner) on pages 6 and 7:
Reporting an Absence:
To report an absence, parents or guardians are to call the school (815-786-2138) between 6:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. on the day of the absence. (An answering machine will take calls before 7:00 a.m.) NOTES WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED FOR A STUDENT’S ABSENCE. If a phone call is not received by 10:00 a.m., a reasonable attempt will be made to contact a parent or guardian. If contact cannot be made, the absence will be considered UNEXCUSED.
Technology News
Also, for replacement power cords (due to damage or loss), a $25.00 replacement fee will be charged to the student's account.
Important Dates to Remember
February 3rd - Picture Retakes - A students
February 15th - No School
February 16th - No School
Breakfast and Lunch Information
Until the end of the school year, free food is available through the USDA's "Free Meals for Kids" program.
Each morning that your student is in attendance he/she will be offered a “Grab and Go” bagged breakfast. Each day your student will also be able to order a bagged lunch “Grab and Go” which will be consumed in the cafeteria. If you would like your student to receive school breakfast/lunch on their remote learning day, it will need to be ordered while in person. For example, if your student attends school on an "A" day and you would like them to receive a breakfast/lunch for the next day while they are learning remotely they will need to order the remote day food while at school the day prior. Your student would then be sent home from school with bagged breakfast and lunch. If your student's last day of in-person learning for the week is Wednesday, they will be able to take home Grab and Go breakfast/lunch for Thursday and Friday. If the last day is Thursday, they can take home breakfast/lunch for Friday and Monday.
If your student is a full remote learner, meals will also be available for weekly pick up. Meals will distributed on Monday and Thursday between the hours of 8:30 am until 10:00 am. Meals should be picked up in the back of the Middle School, kitchen door #27. Monday you will receive 3 breakfast and lunch meals, Thursday you will receive 2 breakfast and lunch meals. All meals will need to be pre-ordered Thursdays by 12:00 pm for Monday meal pickup and Wednesdays by 12:00 pm for Thursday meal pickup. To pre-order please call 815-786-8881 or email: sandwichschoollunch@gmail.com. Please enter the back of the Middle School through the main parking lot and head north.
If you have any questions regarding the food service program, please contact Linda Alvarez Food Service Director lalvarez@sandwich430.org or by phone 815-786-8881.
We are looking forward to serving your student!
2021-2022 Registration Information
Sandwich Middle School
Email: smorel@sandwich430.org
Website: sandwich430.org
Location: 600 South Wells Street, Sandwich, IL, USA
Phone: 815-786-2138