SMMS Weekly Update

1st Day of School

On Tuesday, August 19, we will welcome all of our students back for the start of the 2025-2025 school year. On this day, we will run an activity schedule. Students will be engaged with staffulty that day learning about SMMS and our Renaissance program. No backpacks will be needed that first day.

All student schedules are live on Schoology and we will be providing each student

a print copy of their schedule on Tuesday.

SMMS admin worked with Dean Olack, the county security officer, to design a traffic pattern for the afternoon that would create the safest situation for students. Please use the directions and image below to review our procedures.

No parking along Campus Drive.
Line up, single-file, in the primary school bus loop.
No one may park in the primary loop and pick up their student. We have permission to use the lane as a staging area, not for parent pick-up.
Once the buses leave, the cars in the primary bus loop will enter the bus loop at SMMS with the assistance of a staff member directing traffic on Campus Drive.
No left turns from Campus Drive until all the cars from the primary loop have filtered into the middle school front loop.

Please complete your Annual Forms & Information Update, which includes the following:

Acceptable Use Policy
Student handbook
Photo permissions
Emergency contacts

Scan or click on the QR code.

Dear Parents and Guardians,

As a reminder, all students entering 7th grade are required by law to have the following immunizations completed before the first day of school:

Tdap (Tetanus, Diphtheria, Pertussis)
Meningococcal (Meningitis)

Proof of these immunizations must be submitted to the school nurse prior to the first day of classes, 08/19/2025.

Students who do not have proof of these immunizations on file may not be allowed to start school until the requirement is met.

Please contact your child’s healthcare provider as soon as possible to ensure these vaccinations are up to date. You may also contact the school nurse via email at amanda.dagostino@k12.wv.us if you have questions and can't reach your provider.

If they are not up to date you may call:

Your student's physician
local pharmacies such as CVS, Walgreens, Spring Mills Pharmacy, and/or Target Pharmacy
local Health Departments: Berkeley, Jefferson, Morgan, and/or Washington County MD

Thank you for your attention to this important matter and for helping us keep our school community safe and healthy.

-Nurse Dagostino

Welcome to the new school year-it's an exciting time for all of us! We re looking forward to a great year of learning and growth. Our schools will do everything they can to make this the best one yet for your child.

As we begin this year, there is an important subject I want to highlight: Attendance. Good attendance, coming to school on time and staying all day, every day are key to your student's success. Not just in school, but in life, too. That is why we are asking all students to STRIVE FOR LESS THAN 5 days absent.

It doesn't take many absences to de-rail your child's learning and make it hard for them to catch back up. Even a series of appointments during school hours or leaving school early a few times a month can interfere with student learning. Missing school is missing out!

Policy Highlights:

If your student does miss school, it is important that you communicate with the student's school. Parents may utilize the online attendance note link for submission of absence information.
Berkeley County School's attendance policy allows up to ten days of illness or injury, without doctor verification, to be submitted by the parent.
Absences related to vacations or out of town visits are no longer consider valid. The WVDE Attendance Policy 4110 requires that these absences be marked as unexcused.
Truancy, absent from school without valid cause, is considered a misdemeanor offense.
Please provide required documentation to your child's school, within 72 hours of the student's absence, to ensure compliance with attendance standards.

STRIVE FOR LESS THAN 5 encourages all students and families to make regular school attendance a priority. We are asking that every family strives for less than 5 absences per child this school year.

We look forward to your partnership as we work together to boost your children's attendance and keep them learning and achieving. Have a great school year!