Springton Lake Middle School
Every Student. Every Day. No Matter What.
Springton Lake Middle School
Email: RSalladino@rtmsd.org
Website: https://www.rtmsd.org/2/home
Location: 1900 North Providence Road, Media, PA, USA
Phone: (610) 627-6500
Twitter: @SpringtonLakeMS
April 16, 2021
Kindness Week was a Success!
Happy Friday, everyone!
I hope that you are all doing well and that you had a great week! Our annual Kindness Week was a lot of fun and a huge success! Our emphasis this week was on spreading a wave of kindness and good vibes throughout our school. Students were encouraged to engage in frequent random acts of kindness throughout the week. Fun, daily spirit themes were used to engage students and quotes, messages, and short videos were incorporated each day as part of The Spartan Scoop. Members of the National Junior Honor Society also sponsored an activity that invited students to decorate kindness rocks that we will be distributing next week throughout the exterior grounds of our school. While it's certainly important for us all to be kind each and every day, Kindness Week provided an extra opportunity to reinforce this message and to be intentional in how we treat one another.
On the COVID-19 front, I am extremely pleased to report that we had another successful and "quiet" week. As I said last week, I recognize that things could change very quickly, so we all need to remain vigilant. For the second consecutive week, there have been no cases of COVID from in school exposure. All cases reflected in the tracker are from out of school exposures. The COVID tracker is available on the District website and is updated each Friday.
Looking ahead to next week, I will be sharing more specific and detailed information about our plans for PSSA administration that is set to begin in May. We want to be sure that everyone knows what to expect. For now, please review the PSSA information that is included below. As always, thank you for reading this weekly newsletter. I hope that you have a wonderful weekend - stay safe!
Spartan Students of the Month - April
Congratulations to our April Spartan Students of the Month. The following students were selected by their teachers for consistently demonstrating our core values of Ready, Respectful,. Responsible, & Resilient. While we traditionally honor students at a monthly breakfast celebration that is attended by family members and teachers, we are unable to continue with that tradition at this time. Instead, our Administrative Team has started visiting students’ classes to personally congratulate them and to provide them with a certificate and token of appreciation.
Aidan Crane, Emily Wernert, Benjamin Meiser, Callie Scranton, Jeremy Schneider, Emma Bilson, Wilson Li, Riley Fredericks, Lisette Perna, Brody Burbage, Ciara O'Neill, Richard Flounders III, Grace Coughlin, Timira Lee, Logan Darby, Katelyn Wascavage, Blase Persichetti, & Kaitlyn Roth.
Face Coverings - Have a "Back-up"
As we continue to emphasize masking as one of our key strategies to keep everyone healthy and safe, we are noticing an increase in the number of students who are needing us to provide replacement masks during the school day due to breakage or soiling. While we are certainly able to do so, we encourage you to have your child keep a "back-up" mask in their book bag for issues or emergencies. We appreciate your assistance!
Intramural Sports - Session #2
The second session of intramural sports activities will run from May 10th thru June 3rd. These sessions are open to students in all three grade levels. The activities for session #2 include tennis (7th & 8th grade ONLY), running, volleyball, & whiffle ball. Students and parents can use this LINK to register for the activities. All questions about intramural activities may be directed to Mr. Carr.
PSSA Testing - Dates and VERY IMPORTANT Information
The Rose Tree Media School District has been informed that the United States Department of Education will not permit states to apply for a waiver from administering standardized tests this year. The Pennsylvania Department of Education has provided school districts with some flexibility about when tests are administered. While more details will be shared in the coming weeks about our plan and process for testing, we wanted to make you aware of the testing dates as soon as possible. Students at Springton Lake will test as follows this Spring:
May 3, 4, & 5 - English Language Arts, all grades
May 10 & 11 - Mathematics, all grades
May 13 - Science, 8th grade only
May 25 & 26 - Algebra I Keystone Examination, only students enrolled in an Algebra I course
An informational letter was sent to all families from the Rose Tree Media School District earlier this week. It is very important that you review this letter and that you understand your parental options. If you intend to exercise your right to refuse your child's participation in this year's assessment, I must receive this information in writing by April 23rd. A great deal of planning goes into the administration logistics and we want to have the correct information to guide our work. Any fully-virtual student who will be participating in the assessment must do so in-person in the building. There is no option to complete the assessment from home.
Springton Lake Athletic Apparel - Store Closes on Saturday
Just in time for the Spring sports season, the Springton Lake Middle School Athletic Department has team gear and sports apparel available for purchase. The online store closes on Saturday, April 17th @ 11:59pm. The online store offers a variety of options for students to demonstrate their school and team pride!
Distracted Learning - Please Save that Text Message
We have noticed a sharp increase in the number of students who have their cell phones out during the school day. Our school expectation continues to be OFF and AWAY. As you can certainly appreciate, cell phones have the potential to be a huge distraction to the teaching and learning process. We have been reviewing our expectations with our students and we could really use your assistance with two things. First, please reinforce this expectation with your child and ask for their cooperation with the guideline. Second, please do not text your child during the school day or ask that they text you. Please save those text messages for the end of the school day - after 2:20pm. Your support is greatly appreciated!
International Travel Requirements
The Chester County Health Department is following CDC guidelines for international travel. If you are traveling internationally, the CCHD recommends that you get a COVID test 3-5 days after returning from travel and stay home and quarantine for a full 7 days after travel, even if the test is negative. If you do not get tested, you should stay home and quarantine for 10 days after travel. Please contact the school nurse to let her know your date of return and if your student will be testing and quarantining for 7 days if the test is negative or if your student will not be getting a test and quarantining for the full 10 days. The nurse will advise you how to fill out the symptom screening survey after your return.
The 2021-2022 School Calendar Has Been Approved
At their regularly scheduled March meeting, the Board of School Directors approved the official school calendar for the 2021-2022 school year. Please be sure to consult the calendar as you consider plans for trips and vacations. The first day of school is Monday, August 30, 2021 - BEFORE Labor Day.
Get Involved in the PTG!
The SLMS PTG holds its Board elections for next school year on May 11th. We have received nominations for several Board positions, but still need nominations for Treasurer. You can nominate yourself or someone else - and you don't need to be a CPA! Reach out to President@slmsptg.org or VP@slmsptg.org with your nomination or questions. Thank you for your consideration.
Important Update - Attendance Procedures
Students who are enrolled for in-person instruction are expected to attend in-person on a consistent basis unless there is an approved reason to be at home - i.e. exposure to COVID, quarantine due to close contact/contract tracing. Students without an approved reason who do not attend in-person when expected will be marked ABSENT - even if they are present on Zoom.
- Please continue to use the daily symptom screener to monitor symptoms and to let us know if your child will be attending in-person each morning.
- If your child is ill, they should not attend school.
- Students who will be absent from school should call the absence hotline (610-627-6500, option 2) and also send a note within 3 days. This step is required in order for us to excuse the absence.
- Students who will be absent for a pre-planned trip should complete and submit the pre-planned absence form.
- When a student is absent from school, they may access work/assignments on Schoology. At this time, we will also still allow students to have access to the class Zoom session if they are well enough to join - even though they have been marked absent.
Reminders from our School Nurse - Ms. Hartner
In an effort to continue to keep our students safe and healthy, please keep the following key points in mind:
Please complete the daily SYMPTOM SCREENER for your child as early as possible, but no later than 7:30 AM. This will help to minimize class disruptions for your child.
Students must wear an appropriate face covering to school every day. Neck gaiters and bandanas are not permitted and masks with valves are not considered COVID-safe.
Please keep your student home from school if they are ill. In addition to the criteria contained in the screening tool, please keep your student home for non-COVID related illnesses. Refer to the following resource for more information.
Charge Those Chromebooks!
Please help to remind your child to charge their Chromebook on a daily basis before coming to school. Many of our students have become accustomed to working with their devices plugged-in - either at home or in the classroom. With more students now back in the building, and with our efforts to provide them with as much distancing as possible in the classroom, being seated near an outlet is often not possible. Please feel free to borrow the line that I use with the students all of the time - charge your phone, charge your Chrome!
Register your Rite Aid Pharmacy Card - Support Our School!
Do you shop at Rite Aid Pharmacy for your prescriptions or other personal needs? If so, your purchases can also benefit our school. Take a moment to register and allow our school to earn funds each time that you visit your local Rite Aid.
COVID-19 Questions & Assistance
Parents & guardians who have COVID-related questions during the school day should contact our School Nurse, Ms. Hartner by email or phone - 610-627-6512. For COVID-related questions after school hours, you can reach a school district nurse. Contact information is located on the RTMSD website under District Reopening, After Hours-Covid Questions and Answers. There is a nurse available in the mornings before school from 5am to 7am, in the evenings during the week from 4pm to 9pm, on Saturdays from 10am to 2pm and on Sunday evenings from 4pm to 10pm.
Technology Resources
Need to submit a HELP DESK ticket? Let our Technology Team help!
Need assistance with HAC or Schoology? Contact Mrs. Kelly in the Guidance Department.
Weekly Newsletters - Archived Here!
Did you miss a previous week's newsletter? Need to go back to for reference or to access previous information? All of the previous updates are available to you on our website.
The Spartan Scoop - Week of April 12th
Check our this week's editions of The Spartan Scoop.