SPARTAN News Stafford Middle School @WeAreSMSpartans December 2016 Presented by Stafford Middle School CHORUS CONCERT Wed., Dec. 14 @ 7 pm DEC 15 21: Themes TBA soon! BAND CONCERT Tues., Dec 20 @ 7 pm Orchestra Concert BPHS Thurs, Jan. 12 @ 7 pm Friday, Dec 2 RESPECTFUL RESPONSIBLE PRODUCTIVE - The Spartan Way Mark J. Smith Principal smithmj@staffordschools.net Jeff Howard Assistant Principal howardjd@staffordschools.net Lindsey Conn Assistant Principal connle@staffordschools.net STAFFORD MIDDLE SCHOOL 101 Spartan Drive, Stafford, VA 22554 Phone: 540-658-6210 Fax: 540-658-6204
8th Grade English... Students in Mrs. Jones' 8th grade English class took the opportunity of the presidential election to share their thoughts, by letter, with President-elect Donald Trump. The students learned how to disagree respectfully as well as to create a compelling argument so that their voices can be heard. Students' letters included many of the English skills learned so far this year, including thesis statements, figurative language, and the importance of word choice. They also brushed up on the skill of writing formal letters. The letters will be sent to the Trump transition team. PTO UPDATE Fall Parent Conference Night December 1 3:30 6:30 pm To set up a conference: 6th Grade: Contact your child s 1X teacher 7th Grade: Contact Mrs. Hawkins at hawkinskd@staffordschools.net 8th Grade: Contact Mrs. Schmiedel at schmiedelam@staffordschools.net Contact Elective or Health/PE teachers directly to schedule conferences. Remainder of PTO Meetings for 2016-2017 Wed., Dec. 15 Wed., Jan. 18 Wed., Feb. 15 Wed., March 15 Wed., April 12 Wed., May 17 This is a general membership meeting where we will hold elections for 2017-2018 PTO board. ALL MEETINGS WILL BE HELD AT SMS AT 7 PM Check the website (SMS website and PTO page) before attending a meeting to make sure no changes have occurred. News from Your ITRT Todd Kramer *A reminder to parents that are new to SMS that if you have not received information about how to login into ParentVue to check on your student's grades, please be sure to let the counseling office know that you need a ParentVue Activation letter. *Do you have good password habits? Be sure you are reminding your student to keep their passwords private from others and to use passwords that are not too simple. Passwords that include a capital letter, a number, and a special symbol can help keep accounts secure. You as a parent should have access to all of your student's personal and school accounts, so ask them if you don't know. *During December, the world celebrates the Hour of Code. Different classes at SMS will be involved in different coding activities. For more information on the Hour of Code, visit code.org and do some coding activities together as a family.
A total of 276 cans of green beans were collected for the Fredericksburg Area Food Bank! Thanks to NJHS for leading the charge! Mr. Kennedy, Mrs. Craig, and Mrs. Rodriguez were the grade level winners with the most cans collected. SMS BAND Winter Concert December 20th, 2016. Will be held in the gym at 7:00 p.m. VBODA All District XV Middle School Band Auditions January 14th, 2017 at A.G. Wright Middle School VBODA All District XV Middle School Band Event February 10-11, 2017 at Brooke Point HS Our Lost & Found collection grows weekly with lots of jackets, lunchboxes, keys, electronics, & yes, even phones! Unclaimed items will be donated or discarded before the winter break begins on December 21. Phones & electronics may be claimed in the Front Office.
2016-2017 Boys Basketball Schedule Thurs, Dec 8 2016-2017 Wrestling Schedule @ RTMS Tues, Dec 12 VS SHMS Thurs, Dec 15 VS DMS Tues, Dec 20 @ DSMS Thurs, Jan 5 VS GMS Mon, Jan 9 @ HHP Wed, Jan 11 VS AGW Sat, Jan 14 Tournament Thurs, Dec 8 VS RTMS Tues, Dec 13 @ SHMS Thurs, Dec 15 @ DMS Tues, Dec 20 VS DSMS Thurs, Jan 5 @ GMS Tues, Jan 10 VS HHP Thurs, Jan 12 @ AGW Fri, Jan 13 Tournament Wed, Jan 18 Tournament Fri, Jan 20 Tournament W e are participating in the Box Tops for Education program throughout the school year. The members of the SMS National Junior Honor Society are thrilled to be the Box Tops Coordinators for Stafford Middle. Clipping box tops is an easy way to help our school buy what it needs. Box Tops are worth 10 and they quickly add up to real cash for our school. This school year, our school s earnings goal is $1000. Lisette O. To help our school, just look for pink Box Tops on products, clip them, and send them to school. There will be collection sites in the front office and in each homeroom. For more information on the Box Tops for Education program, including a list of participating products and our school s progress, visit www.btfe.com. Be sure to become a member to receive exclusive coupons and recipes and learn about extra ways for our school to earn. If you have any questions, please don t hesitate to contact Ms. Mangione, NJHS Advisor at mangionebm@staffordschools.net.
Nurse Notes... H ello everyone! Although Strep Throat can occur at any time, winter and early spring are peak seasons for Strep and for this reason I would like to share some information with you about this illness. Strep throat is the most common in kids and teens but many adults get it too. It occurs in about 15% of all sore throats and because it is caused by the bacterium, group A streptococcus, it usually requires treatment with an antibiotic. When medical care is received with lots of rest and fluids, you should be feeling much better and be able to go back to school and other activities within a few days. Strep throat can be spread more often during the school year when children are in closer surroundings. It is spread through sneezing, coughing or shaking hands. It is less contagious than a cold virus but the infection can be spread from one person to another. For this reason it is very important to teach kids to wash their hands as this can decrease the chance of contacting illness. nose, cough and congestion and will usually clear up without the need to see a Dr. If the following symptoms occur in a child within about 3 days it may be strep throat and a medical evaluation is recommended. Symptoms of Strep Throat: Red and white patches in the throat, trouble swallowing, headache, upset stomach, fever, rash, loss of appetite, tender or swollen glands in the neck, red and enlarged tonsils. You may or may not have all of these symptoms. Important reminders: If your child is diagnosed with Strep throat, he/she will need to be on an antibiotic for 24 hours prior to returning to school. Remember to change your toothbrush if diagnosed with Strep Throat to prevent re-contamination with Strep!! I wish everyone a healthy December!! Donna Fisher RN Information sources from kidshealth.org and LSJ.com Sore throats are generally caused by viruses and occur along with other symptoms such as a runny
December 2016 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 27 28 29 30 8th Grade Field Trip Art & Dance Co Performance 9:30-1:30 1 7th Grade Field Trip Riverside Dinner Theater Fall Parent Conf. Night 3:30-6:30 pm 2 Picture Retake Day Winter Wonderland Dance 5:30-7 pm 3 4 5 6 CGS Tour @ CFHS 11:15 am 7 8 Boys Basketball VS RTMS 3:30 Wrestling @ RTMS 3:30 9 All- County Chorus @ CFHS Concert 6 pm 10 11 12 13 Boys Basketball @ SHMS 3:30 Wrestling VS SHMS 3:30 14 Interim Reports Winter Chorus Concert 7 pm 15 Boys Basketball @ DMS 3:30 Wrestling VS DMS 3:30 PTO Meeting 7 16 17 18 19 20 Boys Basketball VS DSMS 3:30 Wrestling @ DSMS 3:30 Winter Band Concert 7 pm 21 Early Release All Grades 22 23 24 Winter Break 25 Christmas 26 27 28 29 30 31 Winter Break COMMUNITY CITIZENSHIP EDUCATION WORD OF THE MONTH: KINDNESS