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
BACK-TO-SCHOOL EDITION - AUGUST 27, 2021
Welcome Back!
It's my pleasure to officially welcome you to the start of the 2021-2022 school year! In just a few days, our doors will open and our students will arrive to kick-off the new year. Our teachers returned to school this week and they have been busy preparing their classrooms. Our custodial team has the building shining and our food services team are prepping meals for everyone. In short, we are ready and we can't wait to see our Spartans!
Our summer events - 6th grade Transition Camp, our schedule release party, and this week's open house all went extremely well. We hope that these events served to generate some buzz and excitement and that students feel comfortable and prepared to report to the building next week.
As a reminder, the first day of school for 6th grade ONLY is Monday, August 30th. ALL grades will report to school on Tuesday, August 31st. These days are normal school days - 7:55 am to 3:00 PM and we are in session next week through Friday. The opening days of school will focus on building relationships in the classroom, establishing routines, and generating excitement about the learning that will take place. I know that students are also anxious to see their friends. We are looking forward to a positive, productive, and fun start to the year!
Please take some time to review the information contained in this newsletter. You can expect a similar update from me each Friday afternoon throughout the school year. This will be your one-stop place for all of the news and information about our school.
Enjoy the "final weekend of summer"!
Health & Safety Information
Keeping our students healthy, safe, and learning will be a top priority for us this school year. Previously, I shared the Health & Safety Plan that was approved by the Board of School Directors. If you have not already done so, please take a few moments to familiarize yourself with this information. As we begin the school year, face coverings will be required for all students and staff. Students may remove their face coverings when eating, when outdoors for lunch, physical education, or recess, and during designated mask breaks. Please be sure that your child comes to school with a face covering and we strongly encourage that they keep a spare in their backpack. Our classrooms have also been configured to provide at least 3 feet of spacing between students - and more, when possible.
All district information related to the impact of COVID-19 will be posted to the RTMSD website. The website will also be updated on a weekly basis to reflect any changes to the masking requirements for students and staff in grades 7-12.
IMPORTANT - Complete the Online Contact & Nurse Form
The Rose Tree Media School District will be taking advantage of an online parent portal to provide some of the information that would typically be included in hardcopy form in the back-to-school mailing. Parents will be able to sign-off and acknowledge receipt of several forms, including the Student Handbook and the Chromebook Loan Agreement. The online portal will also be utilized for parents to update the student emergency card. Parents received instructions to access the portal via email directly from the Rose Tree Media School District earlier this week and about 50% of our families have already taken the required action. If you have not already completed this process, please do so prior to the first day of school. Sixth grade students will not receive their Chromebook until this process is complete and the Chromebook Loan Agreement is acknowledged. We appreciate your attention to this important process.
BACK-TO-SCHOOL NIGHT FOR PARENTS - THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 2nd
Back-to-School Night will be held for ALL grade levels on Thursday, September 2, 2021, beginning at 6:00 PM. This will be an opportunity for you to meet your child’s teachers and to learn more about what they have planned for the year. In light of recent developments related to COVID, we have decided that this year’s Back-to-School Night will be virtual via Zoom. On Tuesday, August 31st, we will provide a document to families that contains the Zoom links for the evening. Please note - while the main portion of the program will begin at 6:00 PM, there is an informational session about athletics for interested 7th & 8th grade parents that will begin at 5:15 PM and optional drop-in sessions with the school counselors and other specialists starting at 5:40 PM.
Chromebook Distribution
Students in 6th & 7th grades will be receiving a BRAND NEW Chromebook to begin the school year. Devices for 6th grade students will be issued in the afternoon on Monday, August 30th. Students in 7th grade will "swap" their old device and charging cable for a new device and charger during homeroom on Wednesday, September 1st. Students will retain these devices for the next several years, so appropriate use and care is essential. We strongly encourage students to place their devices in some type of padded case - hard shells do not provide very much protection to the computer. A recommended case is available for purchase in the Main Office for $30. Families may also purchase their own case for the device. The model that we will be using is the ACER C722-K4CN. Please review the Chromebook Loan Agreement form that is contained in the online parent portal for more details.
Lunch Information
The Food Services team is looking forward to welcoming students back to The Spartan Cafe! We are pleased to continue with the USDA’s Seamless Summer Option (SSO) into the 2021-2022 school year. Springton Lake Middle School students will be eligible to receive one no cost breakfast and one no cost lunch meal during their school day. Any additional meals and a la carte snack items and beverages will be available to students for purchase if funds are available on their meal account. Account balances that remained at the end of last school year will be immediately available for your child’s use. Additional information from the Food Services Department is included in the online enrollment portal for families.
Spacing of students at lunch will be 3 feet. In an effort to de-densify the cafeteria, students will have the option to eat inside in the cafeteria or outside at tables that will be set-up in the courtyard and parking lot area. When the weather is not cooperative, we will make use of some "satellite" eating locations in the auditorium lobby and the pool lobby. Students will rotate through these areas by homeroom. When seated and actively eating - or when outdoors - students will be permitted to remove their face covering. As with many aspects of COVID-planning, we will evaluate and adjust this plan, as needed.
Transportation Information
Transportation information for the school year has been posted to the Rose Tree Media School District website. If your child will be using the school bus, please review this information to determine pick-up time and the bus number for the morning and afternoon - sometimes these numbers are different. Please be sure that your child knows their afternoon bus number to allow for a stress-free dismissal. Face coverings are required on all buses and siblings should plan to sit together in the same seat on the bus.
Student drop-off and pick-up occurs in the lane directly in front of the building. Parents may not drop off or pick up in the parking lot area. It is unsafe for students to cross the lane of traffic to get to the lot. In order to keep traffic flowing on the campus, students should plan to exit the car at any point along the sidewalk area in the front of the building. By doing so, several cars will be able to unload at one time. With the large number of parents dropping-off and picking-up, it is simply not feasible for this to occur one at a time at the main entrance. We also ask for your patience and understanding, as the campus does become very busy and congested in the morning between 7:45 AM and 7:55 AM. Please note – morning drop-off is permitted beginning at 7:40 AM.
Get Involved - FARE & PTG
Parental support and involvement are a large part of what makes our school a great place for kids. We invite you to get involved throughout the school year and to be a part of our two, formal parent groups - FARE & PTG.
The Family Alliance for Respect and Equity - FARE - is a parent group that is open to any caregiver who has a current student enrolled at Springton Lake. FARE strives to encourage diversity awareness, build relationships and support unity. If you would like to learn more, please attend the first FARE meeting of the school year on September 21st from 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM. A zoom link will be included in this newsletter the Friday before the meeting.
The Parent-Teacher Group - PTG - supports school-wide activities and events and coordinates volunteer opportunities. Information about volunteer opportunities and payment of the annual PTG dues is located on the website. The first PTG meeting of the school year will be held on Tuesday, October 12th at 7:00 PM. More details will follow.