Bear Bulletin
February 8, 2021
Welcome to SBMS, Rising Bears! ¡Bienvenidos a SBMS, Osos!
Our Newsletter Can Be Translated! ¡Nuestro boletín se puede traducir!
Click on the translation feature button to the right and select your language of preference using the drop down box. Voila! The newsletter will be translated for you!
Haga clic en el botón de función de traducción a la derecha y seleccione su idioma de preferencia usando el cuadro desplegable. ¡Voila! ¡El boletín será traducido para usted!
دائیں طرف کی ترجمانی کی خصوصیت کے بٹن پر کلک کریں اور ڈراپ ڈاؤن باکس کا استعمال کرکے اپنی پسند کی زبان منتخب کریں۔ نیوز لیٹر آپ کے لئے ترجمہ کیا جائے گا!
单击右侧的翻译功能按钮,然后使用下拉框选择偏好的语言。 瞧! 时事通讯将为您翻译!
Click on the Picture Below for A Sneak Peak at SBMS!
Topics Included in this Newsletter
- Note from Mrs. Spencer
- 2021-2022 6th Grade Staff Introduction
- Information Related to Course Selection and Parent Night
- Staff Roster for SBMS
- Sample Schedule for 2020-2021
Message from Mrs. Spencer
Dear Parents of Rising 6th Graders,
We are so excited about getting to know our rising 6th graders both in this transition process, but also as we begin next school year. Having served as an elementary principal for many years, I know that the jump from elementary school to middle school seems large, but I know of no other staff that can better assist students from seven feeder schools transform into one campus culture than our SBMS Bear staff.
Within this brief newsletter, you will find course schedule forms that will be shared with your students, advertisement videos for our elective courses and an invitation to a parent meeting to be conducted over zoom that will allow you and your family to hear our main presentation and go to follow up sessions over zoom with two electives of your choice. Not all of the electives are represented in those follow up sessions. For this purpose, we have selected the electives that involve more lead up preparations and questions on the part of the parent and student.
Additionally, you will find a few slide decks and articles related to SBMS to help you become acclimated with our school. Once the end of July rolls around, newsletters like this will be sent regularly to all students, including rising 6th graders, to highlight back to school events, chromebook roll-out, schedule pick up and school supply list information. Until that time, we look forward to seeing you at our parent meeting and are here if you need anything.
Sincerely,
Stefanie Spencer
Principal
Key SBMS Staff: Happy to Support New SBMS Families!
Stefanie Spencer, Building Principal
Steve Barry, 6th Grade Principal for '21-22
Marissa Richie, 6th Grade Counselor for '21-22
Parent & Student Transition Meeting: March 2nd at 6 p.m.
Electives Advertisements
Beginning next week or the week thereafter, elementary counselors at each of our feeder pattern schools will be sharing information related to SBMS and the course selection process. In the next week or two, parents and their rising 6th graders will be invited to attend a 6th Grade Transition Meeting over zoom that will encompass a general meeting and opportunities to visit with two electives a bit further to answer any questions you may have.
Rising 6th Grade Parent and Student Transition Meeting
March 2, 2021 at 6 p.m.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://springbranchisd.zoom.us/j/95371214278?pwd=Nk43QWNqMVZGTEhkVzljOW5pOGNqUT09
Passcode: 168451
Interested in hearing from a few of our electives teachers on the 2nd? Be sure to find the links to those meetings occurring directly after the main meeting here.
Eager to View Course Selection Sheets, Elective Advertisement Videos and More?
To review the pertinent documents, elective videos and other advertising tools we use at SBMS, you may click here.
Can't Wait to Meet Our Staff? Click Below for Staff Roster Slide Deck!
Sample Bell Schedule for SBMS
Interested in learning more about how a middle school day looks for a student? Check out the schedule for this year posted above! While there will likely be adjustments to our schedule for next year, but the key components in place for this year will transfer to next year, as well:
- BPT (Bear Pride Time): This is an advisory time where we help students plan for the week, review deadlines, find missing assignments and review their grades. In addition to that, we also cover: Character Strong (Character Education program), Community Circle Discussions, and Study Hall. All students will be given planners for next school year to help with this work.
- Lunch: Students are provided a 30 minute lunch each day and eat in our cafeteria and snack bar. Students may also choose to eat lunch with a teacher if they are invited to do so by that teacher.
- Four Minute Passing Periods: At SBMS, we haven't used lockers the last year or two since most textbooks are online which allows us to keep passing periods to four minutes. This gives students ample time to get to and from each class, regardless of where they are in the building.
What may change for next year?
- Language Arts will be double blocked (two periods allocated for that subject) for sixth and seventh graders to honor the literacy work we are doing with TCRWP (Teacher's College Reading and Writing Program). Sixth and seventh graders will only have two electives for next year, as a result, but more time to deeply read, write and grow in literacy.
- Adjustments to timeframes and frequency of BPT may occur.
Spring Branch Middle School PTA
Spring Branch Middle School is so fortunate to have a vibrant Parent-Teacher Association in our SBMS PTA.I know they would love to invite all of our incoming families to join our PTA next August and become active members in our school community! The SBMS PTA uses Membership Toolkit for membership registration, our directory and school spirit/event tickets for purchase.
Our 2020-2021 PTA Executive Board Members are:
President: Kelly Murphy
VP Way and Means/LRP: Jen Moss
VP Auction/Fundraising: Trish Kyle and Molly Ferguson
VP Communications: Amy Reeves
VP Community Relations: Andrea Ferruzzo and Courtney Robertson
Recording Secretary: Alicia Kimmel
Treasurer: Stephanie Pancioli
Look for more details in July and August! We look forward to having every parent and family represented in our PTA membership!