SLMS Titan News
Week #20 - January 10, 2022
Greetings SLMS Parents, Guardians, Students, and Staff,
We had a great first (half) week back at school last week! Kudos to our students and staff for making it a great week. Please join us for the Parent Coffee with the Principal this Friday at 10:00 AM. It will be virtual, as for the month of January, visitors will be unable to come to campus during the day. See the posting below, including the link to join the virtual meeting.
If your child was identified as one needing an academic intervention due to not meeting the passing standard on STAAR Math, Reading, and/or Science last school year, the interventions are scheduled to begin around January 25. We will communicate your child's day(s) of intervention sessions soon. These interventions will occur at a variety of times--some during Advisory on Tuesday or Wednesday, and some after school on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. For students needing transportation home after the after school tutorials on Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday, we will be providing bus service with stops at roughly 10 locations throughout our attendance zone. Details and individual communications about all of this will be shared soon.
We continue to ask parents to help their children and our school with mental/psychological well-being through close monitoring of their childrens' use of social media, messaging (texting), and the use of their personal devices. Increasingly, improper use of these devices and platforms, even outside of school, has a negative impact on students' mental, emotional, and psychological health at school. While our expectation is that students' cell phones are turned off and stored in their backpacks during the school day, that alone does not prevent harm from being done. Parental monitoring of their childrens' social media consumption and devices goes a long way toward ensuring everyone's well-being. Thank you in advance, parents, for partnering with the school to support the well-being of every child and staff member at SLMS.
Please take some time to review this week's newsletter, which contains information about:
- Upcoming Important Dates and Events
- Grade Level Assembly Presentation
- Health & PE Instructional Resources Public Review
- Immunizations for Current Sixth Graders and Readiness for Seventh Grade
- Safety Reminders for Vehicle Traffic at Arrival and Dismissal
- Parent Coffee with the Principal - January 14
- Yearbooks On Sale Online Now!!! - Only $40
- Everyone Can Help With Yearbook Pictures!
- Birthday Messages on the SLMS Electronic Marquee
- Important Contact Information
Let's make this week a great one, too!
Sincerely,
Keith Fickel, Principal
#NewBeginnings
#TitansOwnIt
#ReturnOfTheTitans
The Week At A Glance
Upcoming and Important Dates
- REN360 Middle of the Year (MOY) Window – January 10 through 28
- Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday – January 17
- Academic Interventions (Advisory Tue/Wed, & after school Tue, Wed, Thu) – Start January 25
- Black History Month – Month of February
Grade Level Assembly Presentation
Health & PE Instructional Resources Public Review
The Fort Bend Independent School District will conduct a public review of the upcoming Health and PE textbooks and instructional materials under consideration for adoption for the 2022-2023 school year. The public review takes place from January 3, 2022, through January 21, 2022, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day at the FBISD Education Complex (located at 1555 Independence Blvd. Missouri City, Texas 77489). Parents are welcome and encouraged to attend and provide feedback on the Health and PE instructional resources under consideration. The entrance to the warehouse is located on the right side of the building, facing Texas Parkway.
Info from FBISD Child Nutrition Regarding Pork Products
The diversity of our school community makes it particularly important that we communicate clearly about everything we do at SLMS. Please take note of the information below regarding which products prepared and served in our cafeteria contain pork. The supply chain issues brought about by the global pandemic makes it challenging to ensure consistency in the products served to our students, but currently, the only item served in FBISD cafeterias that contains pork is the Pulled Pork Sandwich. All other meat items are derived from either beef or turkey. The cafeteria staff will post notifications in the serving lines if anything changes regarding this. Students and staff who cannot eat pork can rest easy in the knowledge that only one item has pork at this time--the pulled pork sandwich.
Immunizations for Current Sixth Graders and Readiness for Seventh Grade
Your sixth-grade child did or will receive the TDAP and the Meningitis vaccines at their 11-year-old check-up. If they have had these vaccines, please provide proof of this to the clinic when your child gets them. These are the required shots for seventh grade and providing them as soon as you get them will keep your child compliant. and be one less thing for you to do in preparation for seventh grade. You may email it to Nurse Patel at Shetal.Patel@fortbendisd.com or fax it to (281) 327-8745.
Our experience has been that some parents wait until the last possible minute to be in compliance with these immunization requirements. Please help us help your child be ready for next year, as it will approach faster than you think!
Safety Reminders for Vehicle Traffic During Arrival and Dismissal
Safety is important during arrival and dismissal each day. Some things we continue to notice that we want to bring to your attention include:
- Drivers on cell phones/devices while in the car rider line
- Students entering/exiting vehicles along Seventh Street instead of in the circle drive
- Students entering/exiting vehicles in parking lots on either side of the building instead of in the circle drive
- Students entering/exiting vehicles on the drivers' side rather than the passenger side
- Drivers turning left out of the circle drive (it's a posted no left turn during school zone hours)
- Speeding in the school zone and driving too fast in the car rider line
- Parents and students crossing Seventh Street in places other than the crosswalk monitored by our crossing guard
Please help us help you and your children (and our staff) to remain safe by being mindful of these concerns during arrival and dismissal.
Parent Coffee with the Principal - January 14 at 10:00 AM
Please join Principal Fickel in the monthly Parent Coffee via Microsoft Teams on Friday, January 14, at 10:00 AM. Use the link below to join the conversation.
January Coffee with the Principal
Friday, January 14
10:00-10:30 AM
Reminder about Student ID's and Lanyards
At the beginning of the school year, each student was issued a color-coded lanyard (coded by grade level), a photo ID, and a plastic sleeve to keep the ID in and to attach to the lanyard. The expectation is that students wear their ID visible at all times over their outermost layer of clothing, except when doing physical exercise in Kickstart or PE/Athletics class. As we have progressed throughout the fall semester, a growing number of students have lost their ID (some students multiple times), and we have created new ones for them, without charge. Also, an increasing number of students continue to forget bringing their ID's to school, and we issue a temporary sticker ID badge to them. Both of these processes are massively time-consuming for our staff and result in lost instructional time for students, and in the case of the replacement ID badges themselves, it has become an expense that we cannot continue to subsidize. Therefore, starting Wednesday, December 1, students who lose their ID badge and need a replacement will be charged $5.00 to offset the cost of the supplies. Also, once students have forgotten their ID for the 4th time and have been given a temporary sticker ID badge, they will begin to be issued consequences. These consequences may progress from lunch detention, to after school detention, and if needed, Saturday detention, and possibly exclusion from the ability to attend school functions after hours. Our office staff have lost a great deal of their productivity and support time to address these growing issues with ID badges, and we hope that these new procedures will help them to regain their lost time, but also to instill a level of responsibility in students to keep up with this expectation. Students are expected to have and wear their ID badge every day, just as they are expected to be in dress code each day and to bring their school supplies to/from school each day. Please help your child keep track of his/her ID badge so that it does not get lost and that it is remembered every day.
Please note that we will collect the ID badges from 6th and 7th graders at the end of the year for re-distribution at the start of 2022-23 school year, and we will create new badges for students during the 2022-23 school year once our fall portraits have been uploaded into Skyward. Thank you in advance for your understanding and support of these revised guidelines and expectations.
Yearbooks On Sale Online NOW! Only $40.00
Our yearbook staff is hard at work creating the yearbook for this year. You do not want to miss out. Yearbooks are $40.00, which is the same price as last year, and they may be purchased online by visiting this page on the Balfour website.
We still have copies of last year's yearbook available for sale, as well. They are $40.00, and may be purchased only with exact cash, money order, or check, and they are not available online. Please contact our Yearbook Sponsor, Ms. Simpson at alison.simpson@fortbendisd.com if you have any questions regarding this year's yearbook (or last year's yearbook).
Everyone Can Help with Pictures for the Yearbook
The yearbook staff cannot be everywhere to take pictures for the yearbook, but you can help them out! Download the Balfour ImageShare app to your device, and follow the instructions in the flyer below to be able to share pictures you have taken for possible inclusion in the yearbook. Pictures submitted must be school-relevant and appropriate. The yearbook staff and sponsor will determine which photos to include. Note that any inappropriate photos submitted will be referred to campus administration, and possibly to law enforcement, if warranted.
Birthday Messages on SLMS Marquee
Does your SLMS child have an upcoming birthday? Would you like to wish them a happy birthday on our new digital campus marquee? The PTO is coordinating birthday messages to go on our marquee as a means of raising funds to help meet needs of students and teachers. Publicizing your child's birthday is only $15.00. Please follow these simple steps to get your child's birthday announced on the marquee:
- Visit https://my.cheddarup.com/c/slmspto
- Scroll down to the "Happy Birthday Marquee" item
- Click "Add to Cart"; you are redirected to another screen where you will
- Enter information about your child and select the style of announcement you wish to see on the marquee
- Click "Add to Cart ($15.00)"
- Review your order
- Click "Continue to Forms"
- Enter your child's name and grade level
- Click "Continue to Payment" and finish your purchase
Note that submissions must be received at least two weeks ahead of the desired date to be posted on our campus marquee. Please contact Heather Martin of the SLMS PTO at heathermartincpa@gmail.com with questions. And feel free to order SLMS swag like hoodies, t-shirts, and more while you are ordering your child's birthday message!
Important Contact Information
- Associate Principal - Monika Martin (monika.martin@fortbendisd.com)
- Counselor - Nafecia Brinson (nafecia.brinson@fortbendisd.com)
- Assistant Principal - Dr. Dawn Rogers (dawn.rogers@fortbendisd.com)
- Counselor - Eleni Smith (eleni.smith@fortbendisd.com)
Eighth Grade
- Assistant Principal - Luster Goodwin (luster.goodwin@fortbendisd.com)
- Counselor - Kim Seright (kimberly.seright@fortbendisd.com)
Counselor Clerk - Carmen Brantley (carmen.brantley@fortbendisd.com)
Assistant Principal Secretaries
- 7th and 8th Grade - Tina Garcia (diamantina.ibarragar@fortbendisd.com)
- 6th Grade - Sherri Woodcock (sherri.woodcock@fortbendisd.com)
Attendance - Mary Beth LaVergne (mary.lavergne@fortbendisd.com)
Registrar - Tandi Phillips (tandi.phillips@fortbendisd.com)
Nurse - Shetal Patel (shetal.patel@fortbendisd.com)
Clinic Aide - Cassandra Rodarte (cassandra.rodarte@fortbendisd.com)
Executive Assistant to Principal Fickel - Mary Connealy (mary.connealy@fortbendisd.com)
Sugar Land Middle School
46 Years
1975-2021
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
#NewBeginnings
#Resilience
Office Hours
8:20-4:20 PM
Email: keith.fickel@fortbendisd.com
Website: www.fortbendisd.com/slms
Location: 321 7th Street, Sugar Land, TX, USA
Phone: (281) 634-3080
Twitter: @SLMSTitans