Falcon Flash
May 6, 2022
Principal's Message
Stetson Families:
Our PSSA Testing concluded this week. I am proud of the effort and resiliency I observed in our students during our testing window . Thank you to all of our parents for getting the students prepared and to school on time. We appreciate your support!
Next week, we will work on completing all makeup testing for students that may have missed a day or two of scheduled testing days. Mrs. Stephen will be working on a schedule for all tests including ELA, Math, and Science. Please ask her if you have any further questions or concerns regarding testing. (estephen@wcasd.net)
Parents of students currently enrolled in Algebra I should have received Keystone testing information this week by email. The Algebra I Keystone Exam is a graduation requirement and will take place on May 16th and 18th. These students should have a #2 pencil, calculator, and NO electronic device (including watches) in the testing room each day. We will begin this testing promptly at 8:15 am.
Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to wish all the mothers, godmothers, step mothers, and grandmothers a Happy Mother's Day this weekend! Enjoy your special day with your family. To those of you that lost a special mother in your life (like me), this is a day to remember all the fond memories of that loved one.
Thank you for continued support!
Have a great weekend,
Mrs. Puchalla
Calendar --Look Ahead and Plan
May 8th--Day 4
May 9th--Day 5
May 10th--Day 6
May 11th--Day 1
May 12th--Day 2
Daily bell schedule
Falcon Period Schedule--Tuesday and Thursday
Technology concerns--If technical issues arise, please use the following resources:
Tech Support @ Home – WCASD website with important information:
- Schoology Support
- Laptop Support
- Additional Resources
- Schoology Parent & Student Support
If there is an issue with your 1:1 device please email SMS tech_support@wcasd.net
Teacher Appreciation Week 2022
May 2nd - May 6th marked Teacher Appreciation Week! Stetson staff wants to say THANK YOU for all the considerations. We feel blessed to make a difference in your child's life every day. Thanks for sharing them with us!
New Initiative for 4th Marking Period--PBIS Falcon Bucks!
We have started a new initiative for the 4th marking period designed to support and encourage positive behaviors and habits from our students. Some examples of behaviors where students can earn Falcon Bucks would be comforting a friend when they are upset, lending supplies like a computer charger to a friend, finding a valuable lost item and turning it into the office, a genuine and kind behavior towards another student, or being an upstander to a peer in need. Every Friday we will hold a raffle and pick a Falcon Buck out of the bucket. The winner of the raffle will be awarded a prize. We will also be doing an end of the marking period for each grade level to win a special activity like a game against their teachers.
8th Grade Dance
We are excited to announce that the 8th grade dance is June 3rd from 6:30-9:30 pm. Permission forms are past due. If your child would like to still attend, please have them bring their signed permission form to Ms. Morris or Mrs. Chavarria. The success of the dance depends upon parents to help with chaperoning, decorating, food preparation, and cleaning up. Please see the sign up link on the permission form. Thank you in advance for those who help out!
Student Council Info
Our student council has provided a new online school store for Stetson spirit wear. There is no deadline to purchase items. Please see this link if you are interested in ordering something for your child:
https://teamlocker.squadlocker.com/#/lockers/stetson-middle-school
Spring Sports
Home events next week-- start time scheduled for 3:15 pm:
5/9--Girls Lax vs Peirce
5/10--7th Baseball vs Fred S. Engle
5/10--7th Softball vs Fred S. Engle
5/12--Girls Lax vs Chichester
5/13--7th grade Baseball vs Charles Patton
5/13--7th grade Softball vs Charles Patton
Ineligibility
It is Stetson’s mission to help all students maintain passing grades, however, if a student is failing two or more academic subjects, or one academic subject, and two unified arts classes, they will be placed on our ineligibility list. Students who are on the ineligibility list are unable to participate in any extracurricular sport/activity. A report is generated every Thursday to determine eligibility status for the following week.
6th Grade Intramural Opportunity
The 6th Grade Intermural Track Program is an after school activity in which 6th Graders will learn the fundamentals of track and field, participate in a tri meet, interact with their peers and get physical exercise. Practices will begin May 3rd and culminate with a track meet with Fugett and Pierce tentatively scheduled for May 25th. If you would like to sign up your child for 6th Grade intermural Track please fill out the form in the link, 6th Grade Intermural Track . To join the 6th Grade Intermural Track page on Schoology use the access code MHSDS-STR8D. Our Practice Schedule will be posted on the Schoology page. Feel free to contact Mr. David Loescher with any questions dloeschervelazquez@wcasd.net
Hoops For Heart--May 20th, 2022
Back by popular demand, our Hoops For Heart fundraiser will take place this school year on May 20th. Stetson's goal this year is to raise $7,000 for The American Heart Association. Please read flyer to find out about how to make a contribution or have your child join in on the basketball fun!
Science Olympiad Update
The Stetson Science Olympiad team competed at the PA State competition on Saturday April 30th in Altoona, PA. The event was held at the Penn State University campus at Altoona. The competition consists of 23 different events covering different areas of science such as anatomy, geology, astronomy, physics, and chemistry. The events range from subject tests, lab experiments, and building events. It was a successful trip and the team learned a great deal from the experience.
The Stetson team earned two medals in the following events:
4th place in Disease Detective: Hannah Lefebvre and Caitlyn McLaughlin
8th place in Bridges: Hannah Lefebvre and Layla Nsereko
Congratulations to the team for your dedication and tremendous effort preparing.
Congratulations
Congratulations to Stetson's 6th grader, Maggie Perritt, for earning 2nd place in the middle school division of the West Chester Area School District 2022 E-Poetry Contest, titled Debut, celebrates her courage and her growth as an aspiring singer. Well done, Maggie! We are Stetson Proud!
Lost & Found
Our lost and found is getting quite large lately. If your child has lost any item (especially a water bottle), please have them take a look at our lost & found area. All of the items are located on a cart located in the cafeteria by the entrance doors.
Water bottles
We are asking students to bring in a refillable water bottle to school with their daily supplies. We have several water stations located around the school for them to refill their bottle to get a drink at any time. The warm weather makes us thirsty, especially after PE class.
If you child has lost their water bottle, please ask them to check the lost and found items in the cafeteria. We have several unclaimed bottles on a table in the cafeteria.
Dress Code Reminder
Please help us in reminding our students to follow our dress code policy. These include crop tops (mid-drift showing), pajama pants, slippers, and wearing hoods inside the school building. As our warm weather approaches, let's make sure our students are dressed appropriately for the school setting. Students who continue to violate the dress code will receive a consequence of after-school detention.
Cell Phone Reminder
Our personal cell phones are not permitted to be used during school hours in the educational setting. Please review the policy below with your student.
Library Information
Our second Scholastic Book Fair runs from May 23rd to the 27th.
Students will come to the book fair with their English classes – 6th grade on Monday, 7th on Tuesday, 8th on Wednesday.
We will also be open before the concerts on Monday and Tuesday.
Volunteers needed!
Please e-mail SMSLIB@WCASD.NET with your availability:
We would like two volunteers –
starting at 10am on Monday, until 3pm;
8am to 10:30 then noon to 3pm on Tuesday;
8am to 1pm on Wednesday
Thank you for supporting Stetson’s Library and Reading programs!
Announcements from PTO
PTO has had a busy couple weeks! We were happy to provide daily treats for our wonderful teachers during teacher appreciation week. We also sponsored soft pretzels and popsicles for all students at the completion of the Math and English PSSAs. Now we are moving on to the end of the year events - be sure to follow along on our Facebook Page to see all we have going on.
A small thing we can do for our teachers and staff is to provide some treats to show our gratitude. We have lots of open spaces on our teacher snack bowl signup. Please take a look and see if you can help. THANK YOU to all who have already signed up and participated in this act of teacher/staff gratitude and appreciation!
https://m.signupgenius.com/#!/showSignUp/805054aa8a72da7f94-teacher
Nurse's Corner
Attention 6th Grade Parents-
Dental exams are a PA State requirement for all 7th grade students. Your student will need to have a dental exam on file within the first 60 days of their 7th grade school year. Dental exams dated after June 1, 2021 is acceptable. Feel free to send in with your student, or email to mczerpak@wcasd.net at your earliest convenience!
Please see information regarding Lyme Disease and Tickborne Diseases
https://www.cdc.gov/lyme/index.html
If you have any health questions, please contact our school nurse by email at mczerpak@wcasd.net.
Community information
Many parents have requested to learn more about Social and Emotional Learning (SEL). Please see the attached flyers for more information and opportunities for three parent sessions coming soon.
Community Movie Night--May 7th--see info in flyer
The screening of The Upstanders on May 11, 2022 at 7:00 p.m.---a film about resilience and the power of connection to end bullying
Covid-19 has only acerbated the problem of cyber-abuse, by providing a bully-ripe environment of isolation, anxiety and an increase in screen time. Most often driven by pain, bullies are searching for that jolt of power when putting someone else down – and there is plenty of pain going around now.
The 56-minute film features in-depth interviews with kids, families who have lost their children to cyber-bullying-related suicide, and the very best experts in the world from prestigious institutions including Stanford University and Child Mind Institute in NYC. The Upstanders also includes two members of Oprah’s 2020 Vision Tour: Jesse Israel of The Big Quiet, and Radha Agrawal of Daybreaker, and author of Belong.