Sugar Land MS Titan News
Week #11 - October 26, 2020
Greetings Titan Families,
Welcome to the 11th week of school! We are all finding our "groove" now, and we hope that life is settling in for you and your family. We continue to implement our health and safety protocols with vigilance and fidelity at school, and our students are responding as we expect them to. It takes everyone doing his/her part to make it work. It is not convenient or easy, and in some ways the implementation of the protocols is tedious and not fun. But they are vitally important if we are ever to find a way back to some degree of "normal", and everyone has a role to play in this effort.
This week we will focus on making SLMS a No Place for Hate campus. Students will have some lessons during Advisory on "B" days about NPFH and have the opportunity to sign a pledge committing themselves to the effort. See details below.
Be sure to check out the following topics in this week's newsletter.:
- Week At-A-Glance
- Upcoming Dates
- No Place for Hate
- Sugar Land Exchange Club Student of the Month
- Picture Day is Coming
- ONLINE STUDENTS: Major Grade Assessments Requires Students' Cameras to be On
- Student ID's and Color-Coded Lanyards
- Mid-Day Break with the Counselors - Thursday, October 22 - RECORDING
- Dress Code for F2F Students
- And MUCH MORE...
Thank you for your time and support of our school. Our priority is to serve our community in the best way possible.
Sincerely,
Keith Fickel, SLMS Principal
#GracePatienceOptimism
#BetterTogether
#InfinitePossibilities
#TitansOwnIt
The Week At-A-Glance
Upcoming Dates
- October 30 – Holiday
- November 2 – “A” Day (off-cycle) – meaning there are two “A” days in a row: Oct 29 and Nov 2
- November 13 – Picture Day for F2F students (online students’ portrait day is Jan 5)
- 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)
No Place for Hate (NPFH)
- I will seek to gain understanding of those who are different from me
- I will speak out against prejudice and discrimination
- I will reach out to support those who are targets of hate
- I will promote respect for people and help foster a prejudice-free school
- I believe that one person can make a difference-no person can be an "innocent" bystander when it comes to opposing hate
- I recognize that respecting individual dignity and promoting intergroup harmony are the responsibilities of all students.
SLMS 8th Grade Citizen of the Month - Sugar Land Exchange Club
Ashlyn A. is our SLMS 8th grade Citizen of the Month sponsored by Sugar Land Exchange Club. She was nominated and voted on based on her academic successes, her hard work, good character, good sportsmanship, and other amazing qualities. She will be recognized at their monthly meeting on November 2. Congratulations, Ashlyn!
Picture Day is Coming
- Face-to-Face Students - Friday, November 13
- Online Students - Tuesday, January 5 (details forthcoming...stay tuned)
Picture Day ID is EVTVMK24K
Visit the Lifetouch website for more information, and enter the Picture Day ID above.
ONLINE STUDENTS: Major Grade Assessments Require Students' Cameras to be On
For students who are in the online learning model, when a teacher is giving a major grade assessment, it is now an FBISD expectation that the student's camera be ON for purposes of proctoring the test and to allow the instructor the opportunity to ensure academic integrity of the assessment being given. If your child's device does not have a camera, please contact Mrs. Tina Garcia at (281) 634-3117 immediately to set up a time for you to pick up a district laptop for your child to use at home. It will have a camera. Thank you for your understanding and support of this requirement.
Student ID's, Water Bottles, Cloth Face Masks, and Color-Coded Lanyards
We distributed student ID badges, white student masks and water bottles to all F2F students on Monday, October 19. Students will be expected to wear their ID badge on top of their outermost layer of clothing. Students will not cover their photo or otherwise deface the ID card. Lost ID cards will be replaced at a cost to the student. Students will also use the lanyard given to them in order to identify them in the grade level to which they belong from a distance.
Recording of October 22nd Mid-Day Break with the Counselors
Dress Code for Face to Face Students
- Students wearing leggings or tights - 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 two 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.
Student Password Expiration
As the school year progresses, we are noticing some secondary student account passwords are expiring. Password expiration is a normal cycle with network accounts. The new security implementation from last year requires student accounts to change passwords at the start of a new school year. While communications were sent out for students to change passwords, many remained unchanged. Secondary students are able to manage their own passwords by going to my.fortbendisd.com. Campus staff are also able to help any students at the campus with password problems by visiting the same site. If the student is experiencing issues with logging into Skyward, Global Protect VPN, or a district-issued laptop please have them follow instructions provided in the attachment to set up a new password. Keep in mind that not all secondary students are impacted by password expiration, only students that had not previously reset their password since July 2020 are impacted. As a proactive measure, IT is sending weekly, targeted messages to students in advance of their password expiration. Both the guardian registered in Blackboard Connect as well as the Student will receive the proactive password change notification. If the student fails to change his/her password in advance of expiration, they will be locked out of the system. They will be able to regain access once they reset the password by going to my.fortbendisd.com.
Resources/Helps:
- How to Update Password guide will guide a student with password reset
- Getting Logged In video to assist with creating new passwords
PE Uniforms Now on Sale!
Dulles HS "GirlBytes" Workshops - Opportunities for Girls
Even though women make up 50% of the labor force, there are only 28% of women in STEM fields. As a result, our club is hoping to improve this statistic, even if it's by a small amount, by holding workshops for middle school girls to gain an introduction into a few coding languages. The workshops we plan to offer this year include Java, HTML, Python, MIT AppInventor, Scratch, & SQL. We've already prepared the curriculum on our own, so we hope to spread our knowledge to the middle schooler. If you are interested, please fill out the interest form at tinyurl.com/dhsgbworkshops and we'll send out more information to the email that you provide on the form regarding meeting links. See the flyer below, as well.
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.
Student Mental Health Needs Assessment -- Info from SLMS Counselors
As educators, we understand student mental health plays a key role in their ability to succeed in school. Fort Bend ISD is committed to working with you, not only in the academic education of your child, but also to ensure students reach their full potential socially and emotionally.
Each year, we provide students an opportunity to share their thoughts, feelings and social/emotional needs using a Needs Assessment. It is our priority to ensure students have timely, responsive, and effective social and emotional support continuously throughout the school year. The Needs Assessment allows us to recognize and respond to students’ social/emotional needs as well as promote the wellness and development for all students.
The Needs Assessment addresses the following areas:
- Social/Emotional supports
- Sense of belonging
- Safety
- Post-secondary readiness
- Mental health stressors
- Thoughts of harm (self and others)
The Needs Assessment may pinpoint a concern, offering us the ability to secure additional assistance for students. This means that the assessment results may be shared with targeted campus and district staff if the assessment results reveal a potential concern. All assessment results will be kept confidential, stored separately from academic records.
Sugar Land Middle School will make the Needs Assessment available to students using Naviance from October 19th to October 30th. Prior to its release, students will receive information about the Needs Assessment from their school counseling staff.
If you desire to opt-out of your child completing the Needs Assessment, please use this link: Opt-Out Form
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
- 8:00-4:00 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