Springton Lake Middle School
Every Student. Every Day. No Matter What.
Springton Lake Middle School
Email: RSalladino@rtmsd.org
Website: https://www.rtmsd.org/2/home
Location: 1900 North Providence Road, Media, PA, USA
Phone: (610) 627-6500
Twitter: @SpringtonLakeMS
September 17, 2021
We Could Use Your Help...
Happy Friday, everyone! I hope that you are all doing well and that you had a positive and successful week. After another "shorter" week of school, we are all gearing up (and resting up) for the first full, five-day week of school of the year. With our modified schedule from last year, it has been over a year and a half since our students attended in person for a five-day week. I hope that they are ready!
This week, I am asking for your help with two issues that we are facing here at school - one issue is NEW and the other issue is ongoing...
This week, we became aware of a "challenge" that is trending nationally on the social media app, Tik Tok. The challenge encourages students to cause damage and destruction within their school, including in restrooms, and/or to "steal" items from their school. The social media post encourages students to capture their actions on video and to post, with "points" being awarded for the degree of damage or theft caused. You may have seen reports of this on the evening news or in the newspaper. While I know that our students know better, I have reminded them of our expectations. After a couple of minor incidents on Monday and Tuesday that may have been connected, I addressed this issue with the kids on Wednesday via the PA system and then again today on The Spartan Scoop. Students were warned that anyone engaging in this type of inappropriate behavior would be suspended from school and held financially responsible for the damage caused.
The second issue is more of an ongoing issue - proper mask wearing throughout the day. Some students are not consistently wearing their masks correctly, with the most common issue being that they are being worn below the nose. I have been reminding students about this daily and we are all correcting students when we observe the issue. I have explained to students the various reasons that this is important. In addition to being a current state mandate and an important part of our health and safety plan, students can potentially avoid being placed in quarantine if identified as a close contact when they are consistently wearing their masks correctly.
We would be MOST APPRECIATIVE if you would take a few minutes this weekend to address both of these issues with your child. The additional support and reinforcement from home would be extremely helpful.
Thank you and have a wonderful weekend!
School Picture Day - Thursday, September 30th
Our annual School Picture Day will be held on Thursday, September 30th. All students will be photographed on Picture Day. We use these photos for student identification cards, official school records, and for inclusion in the annual yearbook. Families also have the option to purchase their own photo packages. Lifetouch is the official photographer for our school. To order and pay for a photo package online, go to mylifetouch.com and use our school's Picture Day ID# - EVTQVR74Q.
Calendar of Events & Activities
Early this past summer, we posted our Calendar of Activities & Events for the entire school year. The slate of offerings closely resembles what we have done in a pre-COVID world. Since this information was shared with everyone, things have obviously changed a bit in terms of the status of the pandemic and the associated restrictions. While we are not making any sweeping changes to the calendar at this time, we wanted to let you know that we will need to evaluate each event as it approaches to determine if it will still be feasible and, if so, how it might need to be adjusted. On the horizon is a planned all-school dance on October 8th. We plan to make a decision within the next week about this event and will share this - and any other updates with you - along the way.
Get Involved - FARE & PTG
Parental support and involvement are a large part of what makes our school a great place for kids. We invite you to get involved throughout the school year and to be a part of our two, formal parent groups - FARE & PTG.
The Family Alliance for Respect and Equity - FARE - is a parent group that is open to any caregiver who has a current student enrolled at Springton Lake. FARE strives to encourage diversity awareness, build relationships and support unity. If you would like to learn more, please attend the first FARE meeting of the school year on September 21st from 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM. The meeting will be held virtually via Zoom - here is the link to attend.
The Parent-Teacher Group - PTG - supports school-wide activities and events and coordinates volunteer opportunities. Information about volunteer opportunities and payment of the annual PTG dues is located on the website. The first PTG meeting of the school year will be held on Tuesday, October 12th at 7:00 PM. More details will follow.
Student Arrival & Departure
Despite the volume of traffic on our campus, arrival and departure are going well. We could still use your assistance with a few items...
Morning drop-off is permitted starting at 7:40 AM. Some students are arriving earlier, but we do not have supervision prior to that time. Please do not drop-off prior to 7:40 AM.
Drop-off and pick-up are not permitted in the parking lot. Please only use the lane that is directly in front of the building.
By Popular Request - SLMS Car Magnets NOW AVAILABLE!
Show your family's Spartan Pride wherever you travel around DELCO. Pick-up the new Springton Lake car magnet in the Main Office for just $5.
Magnets are going FAST - get yours before they are gone!!
Gym T-Shirts
Students needing to purchase a gym uniform t-shirt may stop by the Main Office next week to do so. The cost is $7.00. Size SMALL shirts are now BACK IN STOCK! Once the School Store is ready to open, students will be able to purchase t-shirts, as well as other items, during their lunch periods.
Health & Safety Information
Keeping our students healthy, safe, and learning will be a top priority for us this school year. Previously, I shared the Health & Safety Plan that was approved by the Board of School Directors. If you have not already done so, please take a few moments to familiarize yourself with this information. As we begin the school year, face coverings will be required for all students and staff. Students may remove their face coverings when eating, when outdoors for lunch, physical education, or recess, and during designated mask breaks. Please be sure that your child comes to school with a face covering and we strongly encourage that they keep a spare in their backpack. Our classrooms have also been configured to provide at least 3 feet of spacing between students - and more, when possible.
All district information related to the impact of COVID-19 will be posted to the RTMSD website. Dr. DiMarino-Linnen's most recent update regarding the masking order from the Acting Secretary of Health is included here.
Spartan Scoop - Week of September 13th
Thursday, September 16, 2021 SCHOOL HOLIDAY