SABERCAT UPDATE
October 6, 2020
Adjusting Attendance Expectations for F2F and Connect Learners
Dear Sabercat Families,
Thank you so much for all that you have done to help us get our students back in school (Face-to Face and Connect). Now that we have been through a few weeks of school and issued our first progress report, we wanted to take this opportunity to clarify information related to attendance. Please review the information listed below:
Attendance Guidelines
• All students (F2F and Connect) are required to attend each class daily, following the 2020-2021 bell schedule.
• F2F students who are sitting in class at the time attendance is taken will be counted present.
• F2F students who are not feeling well or who are quarantined may “Connect” during each class period in order to be counted present until they are able to return to school.
•F2F students and Connect students who are absent in person or on Zoom due to a doctor's appointment or illness need to provide a "Return to School" note. A doctor's note or parent note (with a copy of parent/guardian's driver's license) may be emailed to elizabeth.golsch@cfisd.net or fax to 281-213-1019.
• Connect students who are logged in at the time attendance is taken will be counted present.
• Students who are connecting virtually must be on time and remain in the virtual classroom until the teacher releases them in order to be counted present.
• If a student does not turn on his/her video, he/she will be removed from the classroom and counted absent.
• All students (F2F and Connect) who are not in class by the time attendance is taken will be counted absent.
• Teachers must “see” their students, either in-class or online, in order to be counted present.
• If a student loses connectivity and is unable to connect, it is his/her responsibility to contact the teacher (the same day) to notify of them via email of the issue. In this case, a student may be counted present by contacting the teacher and submitting any classwork by 11:59 PM that same day.
This circumstance is the exception and should not be a regular occurrence. The teacher may reach out to the parent to verify the situation if it persists – without a doubt, students will be more successful in their courses when they are fully engaged and participating in the actual class period.
Smith Middle School
Teacher Absence and Connect Learners
For our Connect students, when a teacher is absent from school we will do all we can to provide a Zoom link for students to receive live instruction from another teacher when possible. In some instances, there is not a teacher teaching that course level that period, or the electives teacher is the only one who teaches the course. The teacher will leave instructions in the Schoology course for the Connect students to complete their assignments for the day. Completion of the work will be used to verify attendance. If the student does NOT complete the assigned work that day, the teacher upon returning to campus will change the student’s attendance to “Absent.”
Connect Students Moving Back to Campus
On Oct.19th, 191 students will be joining us on campus. We will have 65% (1,126) of our students attending Face to Face Instruction while the remaining 35% (609)will be Connect learners. Students returning to campus for the first time will need to report to the cafeteria before their first period. (Students enter the building at 7:40 AM) Students will need to sit at a seat with a green check. At that time, they will be given their schedule and ID badge.
Opportunity Lab
HORIZONS Open Referral Period
Currently enrolled students may be referred for the HORIZONS program any time. Referrals must be received by the last school day in November in order for students to be assessed in early spring.
Those interested in referring students should review the information on this page, especially:
- Program Overview
- Parent Information
- Testing for HORIZONS Program
Notification of Positive COVID Cases
LIFETOUCH Online payment information
Picture Day Date: Friday, October 9
Picture Day ID: EVTD9SGDV
Smith Middle School Yearbook Crowdsourcing
CONNECT AND FACE TO FACE STUDENTS
Did you adopt a pet during covid? Smith yearbook staff wants to know.
Please consider filling out the survey below and don’t forget to include photos of your new friend!
https://forms.gle/arJLMAQd7dWJP1bn6
Do you have a photo from the first day of school you would
like to put in the yearbook?
Please consider filling out the below survey.
Late Bus Information
To find out where the late bus will drop off in your neighborhood, you will need to go to www.cfisd.net and look under Transportation/ What Bus Do I Ride. Type your home address and zip code into the boxes and hit search. Your morning, afternoon and late bus stop will appear on the map.
Student Temporary Badge Fees & Fines
Beginning Wednesday 9/23 an updated option on School Cash Online will be available for parents to pay for temporary badge fines. Please use this item IF your student has incurred a temporary badge sticker fine. Allow 24 hours for payments to be credited to the student's account.
Temporary Badge Sticker $1.00
Lanyard $1.00
Plastic Sleeve $1.00
Replacement ID Badge $3.00
Smith Middle School
Email: smith@cfisd.net
Website: https://smith.cfisd.net/en/
Location: 10300 Warner Smith Boulevard
Phone: 281-213-1010