FEBRUARY 2018 Dr. Colleen Murley, Principal Tina Board, Assistant Principal 1300 S. 3RD ST. ABERDEEN, SD 57401 PHONE 605-725-7900 FAX 605-725-7999 www.aberdeen.k12.sd.us SimmonsMiddleSchool.Wikispaces.com Feb. 2 UPCOMING DATES 3rd quarter midterm Feb. 2-3 All State Jazz Band-Mitchell Feb. 9 Feb. 10 Feb. 12 Feb. 12 Feb. 16 Feb. 17 Feb. 19 Feb. 20 SMS Social 3:15-5:15 pm Simmons Singers-Harrisburg PTA 6:30 pm Parent Night for 8th graders & parents - CHS 7pm NO SCHOOL Staff Development Day CHS Show Choir Invite NO SCHOOL - President s Day 8th grade band at CHS basketball game Feb. 23 SMS Play at HMS theater 7:00 pm Feb. 24 SMS Play at HMS theater 6:00 pm Feb. 23-24 Middle School All State Orchestra in Rapid City SMS SOCIAL The SMS Student Senate is hosting a spring social on February 9th from 3:15-5:15. The cost of a ticket will be $3. Students will purchase their tickets in homeroom the morning of the social. Student Senate will be selling glowsticks and leis ranging in price from 50 cents to $2. PTA will be selling pop and pizza slices for $2.00 and candy for 25 cents. PTA is also sponsoring a raffle with a movie theme. Tickets are $1 each and students can purchase raffle tickets the week of the social. YOUTH POWER Youth Power members are still able to turn in 2 yards of fleece for a YP point. If you purchase fleece and make a blanket, that is worth 2 points. This activity will continue until the end of February.
Page 2 PEP BAND NIGHT The 8 th Grade Band will be combining with Holgate s 8 th graders and performing before and at halftime of the CHS Varsity Basketball game on Tuesday, February 20. ALL STATE BAND Congratulations to Jessemy Sharp, Masyn Schutter, and Carly Comstock for being selected to the 2016 South Dakota Middle School All State Jazz Band, which will be held in Mitchell, SD on Feb. 2-3. In addition, Jessemy Sharp and Masyn Schutter were both selected to the 2018 South Dakota Middle School All State Band. The grand concert for that will be at 3:00 PM on Saturday, March 3 in the Pierre Riggs Theatre. PARENT NIGHT AT CHS FOR 9th GRADE PRE-REGISTRATION An informational meeting for 8 th grade parents will take place Monday evening, February 12, at the CHS theater beginning at 7:00 p.m. CHS teachers will be available for questions concerning 9th grade registration. NESD MIDDLE SCHOOL ORCHESTRA FESTIVAL Tuesday, March 20 in Huron Orchestra students should report to Holgate Middle School (north theater door) at 6:30am to load buses. (We will depart at 6:50am.) Festival dress is our orchestra shirt and comfortable pants. Students will rehearse with the festival orchestras from 9:00-5:00 with snacks and lunch provided. The grand finale concert is at 5:30pm. The public is invited to attend this concert free of charge. Students should bring food money for fast food after the concert. Students are instructed to call a ride about 15 minutes before we enter Aberdeen (approximately 9:00pm) and should be retrieved from Holgate. Contact Beth Neitzert with any questions...beth.neitzert@k12.sd.us.
Page 3 ORCHESTRA The following students were selected to be a part of the SDMEA Middle School All State Orchestra: Sabrina Francom, Hannah Rovang, and Judah Bobby. This is an auditioned group where the top orchestra students are chosen from the entire state. We applaud their hard work, and they are excited to perform at a concert in Rapid City on February 24. PTA NOTES Social The PTA will be selling pizza, pop, and candy at the social again. We will also have a Valentine s Basket Raffle. Students will be able to purchase tickets for the raffle during lunch time the week of the social for $1.00. Items in the Valentine's Basket include movie tickets, pop and popcorn. Donations of 16 oz pop and snack-size candy would be greatly appreciated. Conferences Also, we are asking PTA parents to donate fruit, bottled water, cookies, and/or bars for Parent/ Teacher conferences. They may bring the items to school on or before Thursday, March 8. (These items will be offered as goody bags available for teachers during conferences). Receipts & Boxtops Please remember to continue collecting and sending in Ken's and Kessler's receipts with your student. Youth Power members may earn a YP point for turning in 25 boxtops to the office as well as earning points for their homeroom. Thanks for all your help! The next PTA meeting is February 12 @ 6:30 in the school library.
Page 4 SMS LIBRARY WEBPAGE The library at Simmons Middle School provides students with a library webpage that contains many sources of information that students can use for their research projects. On the library webpage, students can access several online educational databases and the World Book Encyclopedia. These are a wonderful solution to the problem of safe Internet use by students. When a student uses the databases, they have access to thousands of magazines, journals, newspapers, encyclopedias, pamphlets, books, photographs & images, and maps. Students can use these databases at school, at home, or any place where they can access the Internet. It would be handy to have your children bookmark our SMS Library webpage as a favorite under Favorites on the web browser. Also, please encourage them to research from our library webpage and to use the databases for their research projects. To access the library webpage from home, go to the Aberdeen School District website http://www.aberdeen.k12.sd.us/ --click on Schools on the top left side of the page --Click on Simmons Middle School --Click on Library in the blue box on the left side of the page You will need passwords to access the Databases Online Resources sections from home. The passwords are provided below. EBSCO: User ID sms Password eagles All the other online resources, World Book Online Encyclopedias, and the South Dakota State Library resources have the same bar code and password. Bar Code 21583000074997 Password--simmons
Page 5 SOUTH DAKOTA SMARTER BALANCED ASSESSMENT MARCH 21 APRIL 18, 2018 All students in grades 6th, 7th, and 8th will take the Smarter Balanced Assessment in English Language Arts and Mathematics with the exception of qualifying students with disabilities, who will take the Alternate Assessment. The 8th graders will also be taking a Science test. 6 th Grade-April 10-13 7 th Grade-March 21-26 8 th Grade-April 4-9 8 th Grade Science - April 16-18 Please help your child by making sure he/she is in school, well-rested and wellfed during the testing days. Please try to avoid scheduling appointments, vacations, etc. during the testing days if at all possible. If you have any questions, please call Heather Aldentaler, SMS Counselor, at 725-7914 or e-mail at Heather.Aldentaler@k12.sd.us SMS PLAY It's the end of the world and hordes of rampaging zombies are about to kill you. What do you do? Try your hand at kung fu against the undead? Attempt to reason with creatures that would rather eat brains than use them? Turn to this handy and hilarious guide to survive the apocalypse! (Hint: sacrifice the weak is step number one.) Production dates are Friday, February 23 rd at 7pm and Saturday, February 24 th at 6pm. Both performances will be held in the theater at Holgate Middle School. Admission for the performances is $2.00 for adults and $1.00 for students.
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2 WAYS to earn points...can do these 1x per school year! 1. Taking Humane Society donations!! **make sure you put your name/ grade on your item! 2. EARN A POINT FOR BRINGING IN 25 BOX TOPS OR RECEIPTS TO THE OFFICE. February 2018 SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT 1 Attend CHS Wrestling 7 pm 4 5 6 7 8 9 S M S S o c i a l 3 : 1 5-5 : 1 5 11 12 13 14 15 16 N o S c h o o l 18 19 N o S c h o o l 25 26 Roller skate 7-8:30pm 2 3 10 17 20 21 22 23 24 27 28 Attend the SMS play held in the HMS Theater. 7pm Friday OR 6pm Saturday. Write a persuasive paragraph telling of your favorite part or character. Hand in to Mrs. McCafferty by 2/28 to receive your YP point. Page 7