Gearing Up For the First Week

• Know your 1st period class and upon arrival to South Middle students should report to their 1st period class. In 1st period all students will be given a copy of their schedule to keep with them.
• After day one of school, breakfast at South Middle is done through a pre-order. The link will be on our website and students will be taught how to pre-order. On day one, students will purchase their breakfast in the cafeteria and take it with them to their classroom.
• Teachers will walk 6th grade students to elective classes and lunch for the first two weeks of school. Teachers will also be walking 7th grade students to elective classes and lunch for the first week of school.
• At the middle school level, cell phones, smart watches, wireless headphones, and AirPods should be turned off or silenced and put away from the time students enter the building until they leave the building after school ends. If a parent needs to get in touch with their child or pass a message on to them, please call the SMS office at 636-327-3928.
• We update our website frequently and encourage you to use that as a resource to find answers to questions you may have.
• Our teachers do a wonderful job transitioning students to the middle school. We look forward to helping your child through this process in order to have happy, successful days!

Parents please keep in mind that South Middle officially opens at 7:15 a.m. when our staff is contracted to be at work. Any student arriving at SMS before that time is unsupervised.

• Ensure your child is aware of how they are getting home prior to the start of the school day. As a reminder the SMS office does not need to know how your child is getting home. However, if plans change during the day we can relay that information to your child.
• Students should know their bus number. SMS staff will display the bus lineup for all students to view so students know where their bus will be parked at the end of the day. Our staff will also help students find their bus in the parking lot.
• Traffic on the South campus is typically pretty heavy. Please be patient with SMS, THS, and Boone Trail as our traffic typically impacts each school. Our traffic flow for drop off and pick up is on the picture below.
• We do ask that parents picking up and dropping off students do so only at the front of the building.

• All *new* SMS 7th and 8th graders will get their Chromebooks from the library on the first day of school. Please know that middle school students are expected to keep their Chromebooks in the protective case we give them. Students will also receive a charger for their Chromebook.
• For returning 7th and 8th grade students, please bring your Chromebook with you fully charged everyday, including the first day of school.
• All 6th graders at SMS will get their iPads within the first few days of school. Please know that middle school students are expected to keep their iPads in the protective case provided. 6th grade students will also receive a charger for their iPad.

Listed below are the locations PE classes will meet based off of the teacher students have. Please know we will walk 6th and 7th graders to their class.

1st hour

Small gym - Jacobsen/Wilson

Big gym - Hargrove PE/Kircher

Room 210 - Fitness

2nd hour

Small gym - Jacobsen/Wilson

Big gym - Hargrove PE/Kircher

Room 210 - Frede - Fitness

3rd hour

Small gym- Jacobsen/Wilson

Big gym- Shoshan

4th hour

Small gym- Jacobsen/Wilson

Big gym- Shoshan/Hargrove

Fitness class - Kircher - Fitness room #121

5th hour

Small gym- Kircher/ Wilson

Big gym- Shoshan/Hargrove

6th hour

Small gym- Kircher/Hargrove

Big gym- Shoshan/Jacobsen

Please read the information below and complete this form if you do not want your child to be able to check out Young Adult (YA) books that are available from their middle school library. If you have multiple children in 6-8th grades, please submit one form for each child whom you wish to opt out.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdB5LuQJxyZKO1CQD15UEI9pIfhFPwV2XJS19hoBMGGIUvE2A/viewform?usp=dialog

With the growing popularity of e-bikes, motorized scooters, and electric skateboards, we are seeing many of our students using them on school grounds.

The safety of all our students, staff and our properties remain our highest priority. Recently, the improper operation of these devices on school grounds has become a significant concern. We want to take a moment to clearly state our school district's official policy regarding non-licensed motorized vehicles on campus (Code of Conduct, Section 19).

Key Campus Expectation: The Property Boundary Rule
Students are strictly prohibited from riding or operating e-bikes, motorized scooters, or other non-licensed motorized devices anywhere on District property. This includes our parking lots, driveways, sidewalks, athletic fields, and school grounds.

• What students MUST do: A student riding an e-bike or motorized scooter to school must dismount at the District property boundary line and walk the device to the bike racks.
• Standard bicycles: Traditional, rider-powered bicycles, non-motorized scooters, and skateboards are permitted as usual, but motorized or electric versions must be walked on campus.
• Exemptions: Approved mobility devices used by students with disabilities (IEP/504 plans) are fully exempt.

What Covered Devices Include
This policy applies to all electric or gas-powered personal vehicles, including e-bikes, stand-on or seated electric scooters, electric skateboards & one-wheels, mini-bikes, pocket bikes, and similar motorized devices.

Enforcement & Progressive Discipline
To keep our walkways safe for everyone, campus staff will be actively monitoring arrival and dismissal times at the property lines. Students operating a motorized device on school property will face progressive disciplinary action. Additionally, the school reserves the right to restrict or completely revoke a student's privilege to bring an e-bike or motorized device onto school property.

How Parents Can Help
Please review these rules with your child before they ride their device to school next week:

• Locate the property line: Remind them where school grounds begin so they know where to hop off.
• Walk it in: Ensure they understand that riding anywhere past that point—even on sidewalks or through the parking lot—is a policy violation.
• Helmet safety: We strongly encourage all students riding e-bikes to wear a fitted helmet for their travel to and from campus.

Thank you for partnering with us to keep our campus, sidewalks, and parking areas safe for all students, staff, and visitors!

ABSENCES: If your child is going to miss school, please call the attendance line prior to 9:30 am and leave a message with the reason your child is absent each day they are out. If your child is going to be absent for several days, leave a message with dates and reason why they are not in attendance. That can be communicated to attendance.sms@wsdr4.org. *When your child is out of school for any reason, they can email their teachers for missed work or simply check the Canvas page for their classes to stay caught up.*

LATE ARRIVAL: In the event your child is arriving to school late, a middle school student does not need to be walked in by their parent. They can enter the building on their own through the main entrance and sign in with us in the office. If your child was at the doctor and has a note, please have them give the note to the main office. Students will use their student ID to check in this year. It is easiest to locate through the Focus app by taking a screenshot of the student ID.

EARLY CHECKOUT: You do not need to call or email the office to have your child checked out early. However, we check your ID each time prior to us calling your child out of class, so please bring your ID inside with you when you come into South Middle to check your child out.

END OF DAY DISMISSAL: At the middle school level, the office and teachers do not need to know how a student is getting home at the end of the day. However, if plans change between a parent and their child during the day, we can relay the message to the student letting them know about the change. (Ex. The student was told by their parents they would be picked up in the car rider line. The parent now wants them to ride the bus. We can pass that message on to the student.)

ITEM DROP OFF: To drop off an item for a student, please enter the main office and utilize the kiosk and cubbies to complete the Google Form and leave the necessary items. We will get the items to them as soon as possible.

REMINDER: We encourage every family to check the Focus Parent Portal and make sure that you have updated all of your contact information and the emergency contact information with names of who can check your child out early from school in the event of an emergency or family need.

FOOD DELIVERY: Please know at the middle school level we do not accept food deliveries for students from restaurants or services such as Grubhub, Uber Eats, etc.

We're excited to announce that yearbook sales for the 2026/2027 school year are now open!

Celebrate a year full of memories, milestones, and school spirit with a copy of this year's South Middle School yearbook. Our team is working hard to create another amazing edition that your student will treasure for years to come.

Order early and save!

The cost is $30 if you order by August 31. After that date, the price will increase, so don't wait!

Visit yearbookordercenter.com and enter code 8295 to reserve your copy today.

Thank you for your support, and we look forward to sharing this special keepsake with your family!

Please note that for this school year, WSD is replacing monthly Late Start Mondays with monthly All-District PK-12 Early Release Wednesdays (2 Hr). Additionally, students in grades 6-12 will now have weekly Early Release Wednesdays (68 Min).

Weekly Grades 6-12 Early Release (68-minute early dismissal)

- First Date: Wednesday, Sept. 2

- Wednesdays during full school weeks. Exceptions include the first week of school and last week before Memorial Day. Does not apply on All-District Early Release dates.

Monthly All-District PK-12 Early Release (2-hour early dismissal)

- First Date: Wednesday, Sept. 16

- Once per month for all grades.

Helpful Links:

School Start and End Times

Academic Calendar & Future Early Release Dates

Learn why this change is taking place