April 6 2018 Southern Middle

BUILDING CAPACITY

in a

Building of COMPASSION.

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Vapes/Juul…………....2

6th Grade News ……..3

Hoops/Heart………….4

Save the Date

Nurse info …………....5

Let me Intro-

duce……………………...6

Magnet Info

Night………………….....7

IEP Process Work-

shop………………….…..8

Bulldog Newsbites

SMS STUDENTS LEARING FROM

EACH ANOTHER

Vapes and Juul are items that just a couple years ago were unheard

of. Not surprising these items have, due to their

Popularity, made their way into schools and even into Middle Schools.

Designed originally for current smokers to assist in kicking the habit.

Studies have shown that now it is used more by teens and pre-teens

leading them to quick addiction.

Equally troubling is the lack of knowledge of the damage the chemicals

are doing to the smoker.

Above are pictures of items confiscated here at SMS. Please talk with

your child and inspect their belongings. These are obviously are illegal

and will result in suspension from school and students being enrolled

in an anti-tobacco class they will need to attend.

3

6th Grade news

6th grade welcomed the warmer weather during a successful PBIS event on Wednesday, March 28th. Students were able to spend time outdoors with their friends before their much anticipated Spring Break. Parents, keep an eye out for winter coats and other school supplies as students were able to clean out their lockers before their break as well.

Language Arts has begun their novel study.

Math continues to simplify algebraic equations.

Social Studies is exploring imperialism in Africa.

Science is learning about ecosystems and human impact.

Each content will have a quarterly assessment to wrap up the 3rd Marking Period as the quarter ends on April 12th. We hope everyone enjoyed their Spring Break!

Hoops For Hearts

Our Hoops for Heart event is next week, April 10th! We want to have one final challenge before our event to help the American Heart Association save lives! And to help us reach our goal!! The chal-lenge is as follows:

Every student who raises or increases by $50 ONLINE from Friday, April 6th - Monday, April 9th will be put in a drawing for a BASKETBALL GRAB BAG!

Every student who raises or increases by $75 ONLINE from Friday, April 6th - Monday, April 9th will be put in a drawing for EXTERNAL BATTERY PACK!

All winners will be announced on Tuesday!

Need help getting registered or raising donations? Here are some quick and easy ideas to try! 1. Register to Southern Middle at www.heart.org/hoops.

2. EMAIL - Login to your HeadQuarters and use the email tool to ask friends and family to support you with a donation. And we've made it easy for you by providing a pre-written fundraising letter! 3. DOWNLOAD THE MOBILE APP and fundraise on the go - Download the (free) Jump/Hoops app for iPhone or Android. Share your fundraising page on Facebook, Twitter or by text! Thank you and keep up the great work!

4

Just this past month our PTA received a check for $53.

Thank you!

Special Event—Save the Date**** ***** For 7th graders interested in attending a magnet School. ********

See Flier Attached!

23 April 18: SAVE THE DATE! Current fourth and seventh grad-

ers and families are invited to attend our Magnet Fair at Old Mill

High to learn about Magnet Programs as part of students' options for

Fall 2018 application (October 15-noon on November 30).

6-7 PM Fourth grade students are invited to the Cafeteria to

gather brochures and talk with Magnet teachers concerning the

Magnet options, in addition to learning about co-curricular activi-

ties. Seventh grade students are invited to the Auditorium for the

formal presentation during this time period.

7-8 PM Fourth grade students attend the formal presentation in

the Auditorium, while seventh grade students go the cafeteria to

gather information. Departure for all at 8 PM.

5

The whole purpose of education is to

turn mirrors into windows.

Sydney J. Harris

From The Desk Of The School Nurse:

VACCINE REQUIREMENT FOR 7th Grade

The Maryland State Department of Health issued im-munization requirements for students entering 7th grade. The required vaccines are MCV4 for meningitis and Tdap for tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis/whooping cough. These immunizations are also required for any student in 8th grade in 2018-19. Written verification that your child received both immunizations must be pro-vided to the school nurse before the first day of school be-gins in the fall. Without the immunizations, your child may be excluded from attending classes next year. If you have any questions about these immunizations please speak with your child’s health care provider. Please care for this before the end of this school year if possible.

Thoughts to Ponder

Calendar of

Events:

April 10—Student/

Staff B-Ball Game

April 11-12 2 Hr

Early Dismissal—End

of MP.

April 17—2 Hr Early

Dismissal

April 19—Arts Are

Everywhere

April 20—Report

Cards Distributed

April 25—PARCC

Testing Begins

I grew up in Crofton with my

mom and dad. My dad is a ’79

Navy grad, Mom is a wedding/

event planner.

I left Crofton for college where I

attended

Elon University, majoring in

Communications.

In middle school I was usually

pretty quiet but could become

talkative under the right (or

wrong) circumstances. I enjoyed

being in classrooms with very en-

ergetic and especially passionate

teachers.

LET ME INTRODUCE YOU

TO…...

Jeff

Gerheiser

When/Why did you decide to become a teacher?

Decided a few years ago after being a substitute teacher. After working in

several different fields I loved teaching far more than anything else and I

strongly believe that a school is vital for a child to have a successful upbring-

ing, and I want to be a part of that community.

One of my goals is to travel internationally once per year. I’m going to Hong

Kong this summer, and hope to go to Japan in 2019, which has been a life-

long dream of mine.

SMS is very lucky to have

Mr. Gerheiser!!!

Grade

6

Social

Studies