Sept 28, 2018

Southern Middle

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Welcome Ladies ......... .1

Clubs / STAR time …..2

Students/Month ……...2

7th Grade News ………..3

Calendar ..................... .4

Guidance News ......... .4

PTA News …………….....5

Free/Reduced Lunch ..6

Let me Introduce you...7

Attachments:

Suicide Awareness

Magnet Program Info

CREATING

CURIOUS AND

JOYFUL

LEARNERS

Bulldog

Newsbites

OUR WELCOME LADIES

WHEN PARENTS COME TO SMS THEY WILL BE GREATED BY MS. SHERRI BAILEY AND MS. RODECCIA CARTER. THEY WANTED REMIND PARENTS TO ALWAYS BRING ID IF THEY WISH TO PICK UP THEIR CHILD.

I am a part of everything that I have read. Theodore Roosevelt

CLUBS & STAR TIME

This past week our Activity

Busses started. They will run

every Tuesday and Thursday

providing students transporta-

tion so that they can stay after

school. Star time is time allow-

ing students to meet with

teachers to get extra help, make

-up assignments or redo ones.

Clubs are also available both

days. Students came home with

a list of all the club offerings

available. Read carefully as

some require approval from

teacher. Please make sure per-

mission is granted in advance.

SMS CLUBS

INTRAMURALS

STRENGTH/CONDITIONING

SMS THEATER COMPANY

CONCERT BAND

JAZZ/ROCK ENSEMBLE

STRING ORCHESTRA

WIND ENSEMBLE

CHAMBEER ORCHESTRA

SHOW CHOIR

DANCE

SEA PERCH CLUB

NATIONAL JR HONOR SOCIETY

SMS NEWSPAPER

TERRAPIN CLUB

SGA

YEARBOOK

NAT JUNIOR ART HONOR SOCIETY

2

SMS Students of the Month—

September

Ms. Manders: Gabby Herbert

6A (Wolverines): Siena McGraw and Jayden

Phillips

6B (Avengers): Elijah Anderson and Camila

Castro

7A (Caped Crusaders): Matthew Lind and Alison

Serrano-Rivas

7B (The Hulks): Olivia Barr and Richard Ridgely

8A (The Justice League): Hunter Tippett and Edwin Amaya-Acosta

7th Language Arts is working hard on our unit of

“Choices and Consequences.” Some of those choices in-

clude plot twists and interesting settings or charac-

ters. "Members of the Caped Crusaders please keep an

eye out for the weekly homework and updated notes

on Google Classroom.”

In Math 7, students are adding, subtracting, multiply-

ing, and dividing rational numbers and applying those

operations to real-life situations. In Math 7/8, students

are learning how to find the probability of simple and

compound events, and determining whether games are

fair or not based on the likelihood of each player win-

ning.

In Science, we are learning about our first body sys-tem, the Circulatory System. We have started this topic with a lab activity to determine whether exercise has an effect on heart rate. Our Ultimate Athlete Project will be introduced in the coming week.

Our Social Studies classes are figuring out how the

Feudal System worked. They are creating visual images

and practicing point of view for feudal social classes

such as Kings & Queens, Nobles, Knights and Peasants.

Our students will be comparing the knights of Europe to

the Samurai of Japan in an extended writing. Later they

will explore the strange times of the medieval Black

Plague. Current Events reports are due Fridays.

Using contributions from our wonderful PTA, students will enjoy some PBIS events. We will have a fresh air Bulldog Block at the beginning of October, weather per-mitting. On Halloween, students can enjoy spooky sto-ries in our Media Center at lunch by purchasing a spot with ‘bulldog bucks’.

INTRODUCING….

New Cell Phone

Policy:

Please encourage

your child to follow

the county approved

policy of “off and

away”. All students

should have brought

home a copy of the

new policy to share.

Couple main points:

2nd offense = lunch

detention

3rd offense = phone

taken and parent

must pick up.

Continued offenses

will require parents

to pick up along with

other sanctions

against the student.

3

7th Grade News

Matthew Lind and Alison

Olivia Barr and Richard Ridgely

Calendar of

Events:

Oct 8—Interims

sent home

Oct 17—2 Hr Early

Dismissal

Oct 23—Schools

Closed for Parent

Conferences

Attention 8th Grade

Parents/Students:

Magnet Information

Sessions: SAVE THE

DATES!

Fall Information Sessions to

learn about all Magnets:

October 3rd at Annapolis HS

@ 6 PM AND October 6th at

North County HS @ 9 AM

*For 8th grade students in-

terested in attending a Mag-

net Program in 2019-2020,

applications open October

15th, 2018 and close at noon,

November 30, 2018* (see

flyer attached)

*The Magnet Office will also be coming to SMS to provide a

student only information session to all 8th grade stu-

dents on Sept. 26th!*

8th Grade CAT-South

(Career and Technolo-

gy) Field Trip

SAVE THE DATE: Decem-

ber 7th, 2018!

*More information to

come*

Unity Month

October is National Bullying Prevention Month. Schools, organizations and communities are raising awareness of bullying prevention and teaching students how to respond effectively to bullying situations. Southern Middle School’s Bullying Prevention week will start Monday, October 15th. We have some fun and educational activities to spread awareness about bullying and show our Bulldog PRIDE. Our goal is to ALL Unite together to put an end to bullying and make SMS no place for hate. We will join oth-er schools around the country by participating in National Unity Day on October 24th. On October 24th, we are asking students AND staff to wear ORANGE! Be creative and go all out! Wear an Orange shirt, Orange pants, Orange socks, Orange hats or even an Orange wig if you want!

Together, through a united effort of kindness, help to take a united stance to end Bullying and promote kindness at SMS!

4

Connecting with

our Bilingual

Families

On Weds Sept 26th Southern Middle school held an event to assist international families in completing the applica-tion for free or reduced meals which is available on line. Parents were in-vited to the school and were helped by the two area Bilingual Facilita-tors Alba Morales and Karen McDonough.

Almost 20 families from all the cluster schools were served!

PTA NEWS

5

Friday, September 21 is the kick off to our Claire’s Gourmet Fundraiser. Packets were distributed to students. Please check their backpacks. On the packet you will find a letter with all important in-formation and dates regarding sales and item pick up. You may also visit www.clairesgourmet.com to view the brochures and all the wonderful prod-ucts. Also, use the code on the letter to set up your participant account, purchase online and share with family and friends. We appreciate your support of this fundraiser, as it provides much needed funds." Next PTA Meeting— Thursday, October 4--PTA Meeting 6:30pm in the Media Center

Important School Poli-

cies to Know

Below are some of the school

policies we have shared with

students this week.

•Drinks in school: We on-

ly allow students to have

water. We encourage dis-

posable plastic bottles but

insist it is only water.

•Lockers: This year students

need to provide locks for

both their hall lockers and

gym locker. Securing their

belongings is essential and

responsibility of each stu-

dent.

•Book bags: Students can

use traditional large back

packs going to and from

school. During the school

day the only book bags al-

lowed are string back-

packs. Size: It must fit in

the space inside their desk.

•Hats/head coverings :

AACPS policy is that un-

less there is a documented

religious or medical need,

no hats/head coverings are

allowed. This includes

hoods.

Science Fair—Calling all Scientists

Calling all Scientist and Engineers!! You have an opportunity to show the county what SMS is all about and compete in the Intel International Sci-ence and Engineering Fair!! Letters went home in Science class the week of September 17. Anyone interested in this competition must return the bottom portion of the form to their science teacher ASAP! This year our school will be hold-ing an awards night in January for all of those stu-dents who compete in our school fair! Last year a number of our students earned special rewards at the county level, let's do it again!

SOUTHERN MIDDLE’S MISSION

THERE ARE NO LIMITS ON WHAT WE CAN ACHIEVE AT SOUTHERN MIDDLE AND WE WILL NEVER UN-DERESTIMATE THE ABILITY OF OUR STUDENTS TO BE SUCCESS-FUL .

PICS OF THE WEEK

Ms. Spafford showing off the Gold Metal recogni-

tion SMS received for our work with PBIS. PBIS is

a program that focuses on “catching students being

good” and providing positive incentives for them. A

Gold recognition goes to select schools that do this

the best!!!

School Lunches Free and Reduced Meal Applications

School lunches will be served for $3.00 Start your family’s meal bene-fits early by going online to https:// applyformeals.aacps.org/ and en-tering the requested information as accurately as possible. All data will be instantly and securely sent to the school district for processing and you will receive a letter in the mail with the status of your application. MyPaymentsPlus Free registration gives you 24/7 access to: · Student cafeteria balances and purchase history · Prepayments for breakfast/lunch, with auto-pay capability · Low balance e-mail reminders To sign up, go to https://www.mypaymentsplus.com

LET ME INTRODUCE

YOU TO…...

Alicia August-Fuhrman

It is my

pleasure to

teach 8th

grade

Science.

I was born and raised in Michigan in a very small rural town. My graduating class had 80 people in it and I had to drive 2 hours to get to a Target! I went to school at Central Michigan University and met my

golf obsessed husband, Josh, in Maryland which led me to do my student teaching out here. While I really do miss all the lakes, beaches and dare I say fresh water, I do not miss the snow storms in April! I taught in Baltimore for 6 years then my husband’s job brought us down

to Anne Arundel County last year. I have a wonderful little girl who is

almost 3 and I love spending time with her.

I love teaching and seeing the moment when a student really “gets it.” Science is such a great field and so much fun to teach. It relates to all parts of our lives and my goal is for students to see these connections and get excited about it. Another aspect of science I find important is nature. I love to get students to have a positive experience outside. Being outside can be so relaxing and so important for kids mentally and physically. I want my students to see the amazing world we live in and be excited! Especially now it's fall! Bring on the apple cider and pumpkins!

SMS is very lucky to have Ms. August-Fuhrman

Suicide Awareness

The month of September is National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month-a time to share resources and stories in an effort to shed light on this highly taboo and stigmatized topic. We use this month to reach out to those affected by suicide, raise awareness and connect individuals with suicidal ideation to treatment services.

Anne Arundel County Resources Anne Arundel County Community Warm Line for Crisis

410-768-5522, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week

Anne Arundel County Systems of Care: Connecting people to resources in Anne Arundel County

1-800-485-0041

Maryland Youth Crisis Hotline

1-800-422-0009, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week

AACPS Student Safety Hotline 1-877-676-9854, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week

National Resources Crisis Text Line:

National Suicide Prevention Hotline

1-800-273-8255, 24 hours a day. 7 days a week En Espanol: 1-888-628-9454

Tips for Talking to Your Child About Suicide:

https://www.sptsusa.org/parents/talking-to-your-kid-about-suicide/

If you’d like to become more involved in suicide prevention and interven-tion, please consider the following trainings:

Talk Saves Lives Presentation in Edgewater - free

Join us for a Talk Saves Lives Presentation, a brief introduction to suicide prevention. We will cover the general scope of suicide prevention, the research on prevention, and what people can do to fight suicide. Attendees will learn the risk and warning signs, of suicide, and how together, we can help prevent it.

Wednesday, October 17 from 7 – 8 p.m. Anne Arundel County Public Library Edgewater 25 Stepneys Ln, Edgewater, MD 21037

https://afsp.org/event/talk-saves-lives-edgewater/

SafeTALK Elkton – free

OCT. 24, 2018 - 1 P.M. – 4 P.M. 401 Bow Street, Elkton, Maryland 21921

The AFSP Maryland Chapter and the Cecil County Health Department are partnering to provide safe-TALK training for everyone interested in becoming a lifesaver.

SafeTALK is a half-day alertness training that prepares anyone 15 or older, regardless of prior experi-ence or training, to become a suicide-alert helper. Most people with thoughts of suicide don’t truly want to die, but are struggling with the pain in their lives. Through their words and actions, they in-vite help to stay alive. safeTALK-trained helpers can recognize these invitations and take action by connecting

T0 register please visit: https://afsp.org/event/safetalk-training-elkton/

Mental Health First Aid in Frederick - $10

Mental Health First Aid is an 8-hour course that teaches you how to identify, understand and re-spond to signs of mental illnesses and substance use disorders. The training gives you the skills you need to reach out and provide initial help and support to someone who may be developing a mental health or substance use problem or experiencing a crisis.

The training fee is $10. Lunch will be provided.

A big thank you to Frederick Community College for hosting the AFSP Maryland Chapter.

DATE: Saturday, October 27, 2018 TIME: 8:30am-5:00pm LOCATION: Frederick Community College- Student Center, Room H102A 7932 Opossumtown Pike, Frederick, MD 21702

To register visit: https://afsp.org/event/mhfa-frederick/