I hope this letter finds you recovering from your Thanksgiving feasts and gearing up for the holiday season. Our staff spent the Thanksgiving weekend nursing their aching bones from the annual Dodgeball staff versus students tournament. We raised over $1000 to purchase food gift cards for local veterans.

Our students are busy with full basketball, volleyball and wrestling seasons underway. Our band and choir students are preparing for their annual concerts on December 11th for band and December 13th for choir. Both events are at the high school and I highly recommend coming out to see our students perform and catch a little holiday spirit!

In our own building, you may notice the large mural in the cafeteria undergoing a new update, thanks to Mr. Lay and the Art Club. We will also welcome our district assistant superintendent Mr. Janisch to share with each grade level about how a growth mindset will help students set goals to improve their own abilities through hard work and help from others.

The month of December will be busy as our Explore rotations prepare to end and our core classes wrap up units before break. We have three full weeks and three days of student attendance before students are released back to you! We do have an early release at 11:10 on December 9th. Dismissal for Winter Break will be at 1:10 on Wednesday, December 21st.

From our family here at SMS and my own family, I wish you and yours a joyous and happy holiday season.

It’s hard to believe that the end of 2022 is almost here! We have been having a wonderful school year and are so proud of all the hard work the students have been putting forth every day in all of their classes. It’s been a lot of new routines and expectations to get used to.

Language Arts classes will be finishing up the novel, Bud, Not Buddy and then doing some review of what we’ve learned so far about fiction.Instructional Language Arts is working on writing sentences with correct grammar and punctuation, and capitalization, as well as identifying possessive and plural possessive nouns. Students are working hard on our Lexia PowerUp program, which target reading comprehension, word study, and grammar.

Social Studies classes will be studying the ancient Greeks. We will be focusing on the geography of Greece and discuss the Sparta and Athens city-states. We will discuss the beginnings of the democratic government and the Persian Wars.

Science classes will be finishing rock and minerals. They’ve explored what the life of a rock could look like and the processes that change them over time. We will be digging into fossils and Earth’s history to wrap up the second quarter.

It’s been algebra fun in all the math classes! In regular math class we will be finishing our chapter on algebraic expressions and doing some “fun” math activities. Students will be acting as crime scene investigators as we approach the winter break. Accelerated and AT math classes will be finishing up 2 step equations as well as being investigators this month. Please ask your student how they set on pencils as many have used up what they have.

A special round of applause to our two 6th grade students of month:

Sierra LaPorte and Ethan Phouangphidok!

They are exceptional students who always put forth a great effort. We enjoy having them in our classrooms and appreciate their hard work!

We have just a few reminders to help your student be successful. Please sit down with your student on a regular basis to look at Google Classroom. You can see the status of the work by going to the “classwork” tab on the top. Then, on the top left, click on the “View Your work.” Please keep in mind that Google Classroom will NOT show your student’s grade, so please check Tyler for grades. Also, please check with your child to make sure that they have the supplies that they need to be successful in school.

Students may want to bring a refillable water bottle with them to school to stay hydrated throughout the day. Please note that only water is allowed in the classrooms. Also, please make sure that your student is bringing the necessary supplies to class each day. It is very important that students charge their Chromebooks every night to be ready for the next school day.

The 7th-grade Students of the Month are Keri Munch and Josh Ahmeti. Great job. Keep up the good work.

Amazingly, we are already into the holiday season. This year seems to be flying by! We continue to be very proud of our students. They have figured out Google Classroom, and they seem to be doing really well. Please continue to ask your child to show you how Google Classroom works, and also, please continue to check Tyler to see if your child has any missing assignments.

History: In history the students just finished up their unit on WWI and are in the midst of studying about The Jazz Age. There will be a focus on the Red Scare, the Harding and Coolidge presidencies, the Roaring Twenties, and the economic boom associated with Henry Ford’s assembly line.

Language Arts: The students will be starting “Flowers for Algernon” in their myPerspectives book. Throughout this unit, we will be reviewing the elements of literature and plot. We will also be discussing figurative language and how it applies to the story.

Instructional Language Arts:

Instructional LA students continue to work hard to improve their writing skills, really focusing on making sure that our sentences are complete and grammatically correct. We are also working on a variety of comprehension skills, finishing up tone/mood skills and moving forward to predicting and questioning. We are continuing our novel unit, The Cay by Theodore Taylor and will finish up before winter break.

Math: In math class the students just started Unit 3 - Functions. We have been translating tables and graphs into linear equations, representing relations using tables and graphs, finding functions values and completing function tables. We will be ending the quarter by comparing properties of functions represented in different ways, finding and interpreting the rate of change and initial value of a function, determining whether a function is linear or nonlinear, graphing quadratic functions, and sketching and describing qualitative graphs.

Instructional Math: In Instructional Math, we learned about patterns, graphs, and functions. After the winter break, we will return to our book to learn about expressions and equations. Until then, we continue to brush up our basic math skills through daily practice on our warm-ups, fun holiday-themed activities, weekly iXL time, and real-world problem solving strategies. Even though students are required to complete at least 50 iXL “starred” problems (those problems indicated by a yellow star and that were assigned by the teacher) each week, they are more than welcome to work above and beyond those 30 problems -- in any skill area -- for extra credit.

Science: In science, students will be finishing up their study of matter and chemical changes. They will finish with rates of reaction, reaction energy, and chemical compounds such as acids and bases. We will review and test during the week of December 12th.

6th Grade Dental Reminder:

Completed Proof of School Dental Exam forms are required for current 6th grade students by

May 15th. If you are unable to obtain the required dental exam, please complete the Dental

Exam Waiver Form.

Attention 8th Grade Families! It’s not too early to start planning for next school

year!

It might seem to early to think about, but your soon to be 9th graders will be required to have a physical

exam and up-to-date immunizations completed before the first day of school next year.You will be

receiving more information in the near future with more specific information, but scheduling physical exam

appointments early can ease the stress that goes along with back to school and physicals done from this

point moving forward will be valid for next school year.

Healthy Sleep for the HOLIDAYZZZZ

Make the most of the season by staying well-rested with these science-based sleep tips:

● Kids 12 and under need at least 9 hours of sleep each night.

● Try to keep a consistent sleep schedule by having your family go to bed and get up at the same

times every day, even on holiday breaks or when learning remotely.

● Avoid caffeine and avoid large meals right before bed.

● If you want to nap over the holiday break, aim for a 20-minute nap, which experts say is the best

time length to wake up feeling refreshed and ready to go.

● We sleep better when the room is between 60 and 67 degrees Fahrenheit (65-70 degrees for

babies and toddlers).

● Make sure to stay active over the holidays, as physical activity during the day can facilitate better

sleep at night.

● Turn all screens off at least an hour before bedtime.

For more health sleep ideas, visit http://www.Healthiergeneration.org/smartersleep

As always, if your student has a special health concern, medication to be

taken at school, or you have any further questions please don’t hesitate

to reach out to me via email at sjoiner@sandwich430.org.

Substitute Teacher, Paraprofessional (teaching assistant), Custodian, Bus Driver, Bus Aide

Want to be a sub teacher or paraprofessional in the district? If you have a Bachelor or Associates degree and would like to consider becoming a substitute in Sandwich CUSD 430, the DeKalb County Regional Office of Education (ROE) can answer all your questions and guide you through the necessary steps of becoming certified. Call the ROE at (815) 217-0460; or visit the ROE office at 2500 North Annie Glidden Road, Suite C, DeKalb, Illinois 60115

Student Fees

We want to send a reminder to all families that it is time to pay your student fees for the 2022-2023 school year if you haven’t already done so. To check your status or to make a payment please follow the steps below.

• Login to Tyler

• Fees and billing will be located on the left side of the screen.

• Click on fees and billing then select online payment at the bottom right corner of the screen.

*If you have multiple students, you can toggle between students by using the drop-down arrow at the top middle of your screen.

We ask that all families complete payment on their student fees by Thursday, December 1.

• December 1 Student Fees Due

• December 9 Early Dismissal 11:10 am (School Improvement)

• December 21 Early Dismissal 1:10 pm

• December 22 Winter Break Begins- No School

• January 5 School Resumes

7th & 8th Grade - Tryouts will be held on December 5th,6th, & 7th from 3:00PM-4:30PM.

All players must have a current physical turned into the SMS office in order to participate in practice. The sports fee for volleyball is $75. Please contact the SMS office with any question or concerns.

The carry over period for students who were receiving free/reduced lunch for the 2021-2022 school year ended on October 3, 2022. If a new 2022-2023 application has not been submitted your child has automatically been put on paid breakfast and lunch.

Please click on the link below to apply for free/reduced breakfast and lunch:

2022-2023 Free/Reduced Application