SMS Raider News
Newsletter for the staff and families of Sunnyvale MS
Soaring into the New Year!
Quick Note from the Principal
Wow. Doesn't it seem like we just started school a few weeks ago? The first half of this school year has just flown by. Everyone at SMS enjoyed an amazing Fall Semester full of fun and innovative learning. I am so proud of our staff and the creativity that they pour into our students. The lessons they plan for them are top notch and make Sunnyvale ISD the phenomenal district that it is. In addition, the level of admiration and appreciation I have for our hard working students is without limits. Our students are driven to succeed and this speaks highly of the job that you, the parents, are doing with them. Aren't we blessed? It is obvious after the first semester that there is no limit to what our Raider family can achieve! So watch out world...the Sunnyvale Raiders are ready to take on anything in 2018!
GO RAIDERS!
Mr. Tunnell
Upcoming Events
Expo for Special Education and 504 Services
504 now has a specific breakout session titled, "504 from Here to There," along with a session on, "Disability Services at College." The speakers are experts in these fields who will be available to discuss and answer parent and student questions. There is also a session on, "Continuum of Guardianship," which has become a hot topic lately with multiple avenues of options for our students who need support after they become an adult.
SMS Book Fair (Feb. 12-16)
Transition Night
STAAR Testing Dates
5th Grade:
April 10th (Math STAAR)
April 11th (Reading STAAR)
May 14th & May 15th (Retest)
May 16th (Science STAAR)
6th Grade:
May 14th (Math STAAR)
May 15th (Reading STAAR)
7th Grade:
May 14th (Math STAAR)
May 15th (Reading STAAR)
8th Grade:
April 10th (Math STAAR)
April 11th (Reading STAAR)
May 8th (Alg 1)
May 14th & May 15th (Retest)
May 16th (Science STAAR)
May 17th (Social Studies STAAR)
Raider Shout Outs!
Five SMS students advance to State Competition!
Grace DuBose - 8th Grade - Visual Arts, "Melting Future"
Ephraim Mangrum - 7th Grade - Literature, "I AM MIGHTY"
Brooke Nelson - 7th Grade - Photography, "Half of a Rainbow"
Jarrett Stewart - 8th Grade - Film Production, "Dreams"
Sidney Williams - 6th Grade - "Happy, Amazing, Beautiful"
Our FLL Blue Team makes it to Regional Championships!
Special Olympics Athletes
SMS Choir places 9 in All Region!
Christen Kuruvilla
Ethan Siao
Hayden Anderson
Jabez Abraham
Kaylee Wilson
Kyrsta Rodden
Lon Hickman
Maya Easo
Olivia Ranta
One Act Play performs "James and the Giant Peach"
SMS Girls Basketball Crandall Tournament Champions
Cool things are happening at SMS
Teachers making school fun!
Engaged Learning Units (ELU)
- Cornhole Board ELU for perimeter, area and volume (students create a Cornhole board through math dimensions, then our Art students design and paint the boards)
- Art Studio is starting their National Park ELU - Where they pick a national park to research and draw out a drawing of a painting they will paint and present it to a Baylor Hospital in Downtown Dallas personnel for approval. They will paint a painting on a national park that will be hung at the Hospital as a permanent installation.
- STEAM is collecting recyclables to prepare for our Trash to Treasure Unit
- 6th grade trip to AT&T stadium. The students are learning/writing about levers and pulleys in everyday life, and will be observing many different examples of this on our trip. Using this information, ELAR & Science teachers are working together to complete writing for the students writing portfolio. They will begin their outline in Science classes and then develop their plan into an expository paper in ELAR classes.
6th Grade ELU @ ATT Stadium
Cornhole/Math & Art ELU
STEAM ELU Flyer
Celebrating our wonderful SISD School Board
Brad Cravens, President
Linda Gooch, Vice President
Janet Clements, Secretary
Michael Threet
Ryan Finch
Kimberly Ingram
Dr. Joe Quinn, DVM
Ben Wright
Ms. Henderson and her students presenting to school board
Our very talented SMS students
Mr. Ben Wright looking at some amazing SMS artwork
Parent Tech Tips
Looking for the right device?
Children will always want to own gadgets and tech products, and as they get older may ask for their own mobile phone or tablet. When buying devices for your child, it can be difficult to know what to look out for from an online safety perspective and what’s age appropriate. Our district tech guru, Buck Baskin, has put together a video that can help you through this process.
Stay up to date on the latest SMS news and what your students are doing
Reminders
Attendance and the Laws that govern it
Parents will receive communication from the school when a student begins to accrue too many absences that may place them in danger of violating one of the above mentioned laws.
Bottom line: Attendance is vital to a student's education and we must abide by state and local attendance laws.
Parent Portal is AMAZING!
- Attendance/Absences
- Grades/Assignments/Alerts
- Calendars
If you haven't signed up for it yet...here is the link and instructions: http://www.sunnyvaleisd.com/domain/37
HOUSES
Additional Sponsors/Donations needed for end of year reward
Thank you!
InstaRaiders win 2nd Quarter!
THANK YOU TO OUR HOUSE SPONSORS!
Dr. Nima and Top Smile Orthodontics (They supplied every SMS student and staff member with a House shirt!!!)
Chick-fil-a and the Encinia Family (They supplied the reward meal for the winning House in the 1st Quarter)
Sunnyvale PTA (They supplied the fun ThunderStix as the winning House's prize!)
Thank you Dr. Nima for our amazing HOUSE shirts!
Thank you Encinia Family & Chick-fil-a for our tasty treats!
Thank you PTA for our awesome ThunderStix!
SMS Connection
*Twitter: @smslearns
*Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/smslearns/
*Remind: https://www.remind.com/join/smsinfo17 or text 81010 and enter @smsinfo17
Accessibility
Sunnyvale ISD is committed to providing website coverage that is accessible to as many users as possible, including individuals with disabilities.
In helping us work toward creating an environment that will provide greater access for all users, please submit feedback or concerns related to accessibility on our website by sending an email to emily.white@sunnyvaleisd.com.
NOTE: Our site does contain links to third-party products whose level of accessibility is beyond our control.