Southridge Middle School
December 2017 Newsletter
Motto
SOUTHRIDGE MIDDLE SCHOOL
From Your Principal’s Office
We have now reached the mid-point of the 2017-2018 school year. I am not sure about everyone else but I sit back and say, “Wow that went fast.” The older I get I am reassured my parents were correct when they told me that time does fly the older you get!
We have had a great semester so far and we are looking forward to having a great second semester. I want to take time to thank all of you for the questions and concerns that have been brought to my attention. You may be wondering why I would thank parents for questions and concerns. The reason I do this is because we, at SMS, truly value the parents’ opinions on the educating of their children. We are of the mindset that we can continually be better at serving the students and we appreciate all comments and concerns that come our way. An open line of communication is the ONLY way that SMS gets better at serving our students so THANK YOU!!
The staff at SMS has been working hard researching and implementing best practices. My dad once told me, “Son, the minute you quit trying to get better is the minute you need to quit.” I have used this quote with our staff as I believe it accurately portrays our mission at SMS. We are continually looking for the “best” way to serve the students. I am continually pleased at the work and effort of the staff at SMS. One of the ways we are meeting this goal is weekly team meetings. Each grade and myself are currently putting together a schedule to meet, as a team, each and every week. This will give us the time to collaborate on best practices and to get updates on student performance in the classroom. I am very excited to be a part of these meetings starting next semester.
I hope all of you have a wonderful Christmas season. I trust you all will take time to relax and spend some precious time with your children. I for one and realizing how quick time goes as my son only has 1.5 semesters of high school left!!
Go Raiders
SWDCS Technology Integration & eLearning Day Plan
Southridge Middle School Spelling Bee
On Friday, December 8, the doors to the SHS Auditorium were opened to the students of Southridge Middle School. A somewhat noisy group of sixth, seventh, and eighth graders made their way to the empty seats. These students had already been told that they were expected to be on their best behavior, or else...!
On stage sat thirty ( yes, I said thirty ) of their classmates nervously watching their friends come into the auditorium. Sitting front and center on a stage in front of their friends, teachers, and invited guests was no easy task. However, that was the easy part. Just a few minutes later, these thirty individuals became a part of the 2017 School Spelling Bee.
As each individual student took a deep breath and began to spell their given word, you could feel the tension rise. This was serious business. The winner of this competition would advance to the next round of competition.
Each grade was represented by ten students. Participating from the sixth grade were: Alyssa McPeron, Calib Sherman, Maddox Vernon, Madeline Vernon, Erika Candelario, Joselyn Hernandez, Kamren Neukam, Daniel Uhrick, Reilly Eckert, and Carter Anderson.
Representing the seventh grade were: Jazmin Uresti, Joselyn Uresti, Brayden Reinman, Gabe Boeglin, Caitlyn Frick, Kim Echeverria, Ali Buening, Emma Arroyo, Reilly Lechner, and Scott Painter.
And, last but not least, were the eighth graders: Cory Abell, Tyler Laughlin, Cameron Fuesler, Karly Barnett, Mito Posada, Kaden Neukam, Wyatt Sherer, Michael Bonifer, Nolan Schoenbachler, and Olivia Lopez.
Five Minutes to Chill
Sometimes it's nice to have a little bit of down time. During some free time in Mrs. Durcholz's class, a group of eighth graders came to the library to return and get new books. The jigsaw puzzle on the table caught their eyes.
Melissa Macias and Maddie Lau were excited to get some pieces to fit together! This is a rather exciting achievement considering the current puzzle has 2000 pieces to it. Congratulations, girls!
Some of the teachers have even been known to work on the puzzle while their students look for new books to check out. Mrs. Hochgesang, who supplied this 2000 piece puzzle, joins some of her students on a recent Thursday.
Spelling Bee W-I-N-N-E-R
The 2017 SMS Spelling Bee was held on Friday morning, December 8, in the high school auditorium. You could definitely feel the excitement in the room as the students cheered on the contestants who were seated on stage. Mrs. Jen Schutte served as the master of ceremonies. The distinguished panel of judges consisted of Mrs. Leigh Hochgesang, Mr. Aaron Wiles, and Mrs. Alison Lindauer, our seventh and eighth grade language arts teachers. The announcer was Mrs. Nichole Riehle.
Pronouncer
Distinguished Panel of Judges
Master of Ceremonies
And then there were two. The final two contestants were Caitlyn Frick, grade 7, and Alyssa McPheron, grade 6. On the outside, both girls appeared cool, calm, and collected. On the inside, that was probably a different story. Like their fellow contestants, these girls did an amazing job. However, only one could and would be declared the winner. Congratulations goes to Alyssa McPheron, our SMS Spelling Bee Champion for 2017. Alyssa will move on to the next round of competition in Evansville at a later date.
As a side note, Alyssa's brother, Jackson, was the runner-up in last year's SMS Spelling Bee.
Congratulations go to all of our contestants for all of their effort and hard work. The words that they were asked to spell were not the words they would normally use in day to day activities. Super job to all of you! Our winner and runner up are pictured below.
New Additions to the Library
The SMS Library recently received 5 boxes of new books which are currently being displayed for the students to see. These books were placed on display Thursday, December 7, for the teachers and staff to look at. The teachers and staff were encouraged to sign up for a drawing later in the day. Even though some teachers wanted to rig the drawing so that their name would be drawn, a fair and square drawing was held with Mrs. Michel selecting the winners. The two winners were Mrs. Margaret Fleming and Mrs. Honey Sturgeon of the Special Needs Dept. Congratulations, ladies.
This new shipment of books contained several books that were in Spanish along with many other popular titles that are being requested by the students. The library is happy to see such an interest in these new books. SMS encourages its students to read, and the library strives to keep their interests alive.
December Students of the Month
Southridge Middle School has announced the names of its December Students of the Month. The teachers in each grade nominated the following students to receive this honor.
Named as the Sixth Grade Students of the Month were Hudson Allen and Emma Blessinger.
Courtney Blackgrove was chosen to represent the Seventh Grade as Student of the Month, and the Eighth Grade Students of the Month were Angel Nunez and Haydee ( Crystal ) Gonzalez.
Hudson Allen
Emma Blessinger
Courtney Blackgrove
SMS Technology Teacher of the Month
7th Grade Spreads Christmas Cheer
On Thursday, December 21, after the last finals were taken, the preparations began. Rolls of scotch tape were seen leaving the office in anticipation of gift wrapping and card making. At times, it was tempting to wrap some of the students up as gifts, but the teachers refrained. The residents of The Waters might not have been able to handle those gifts!!! Christmas spirit was starting to kick into high gear.
Sixth Grade Book Talks
Christmas Dance
As We Close Out the Semester...
MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL