Surfside Middle School & Academy

As we approach the six-week mark of the third quarter, the school year is moving quickly! During the first week of February, we will be sending out retention letters to families of students currently at risk of not meeting promotion requirements. We encourage you to review your student’s progress and reach out to schedule a meeting if you have any concerns.

Please see the important campus events listed below, and don’t hesitate to contact us with questions.

Fins Up, Moving Forward!

Have a Super Shark Day! 🦈

We are incredibly proud of all the students who participated in our annual History Fair this January. From deep-dive research papers to captivating live performances, our students went above and beyond to bring the past into the present. A huge congratulations to our winners and to everyone who put in the hard work to make this year’s fair a success!

Check out our 2026 honorees below:

Group Exhibit

• 1st Place: Avery Land & Leia Johnson

• 2nd Place: Mark Petlia & Cameron Laterno

• 3rd Place: Riley Lang & Leiney Margulies

• Honorable Mention: Grayson King & Jaden Brown

Individual Exhibit

• 1st Place: Cason Gill

• 2nd Place: Sophie Culpeper

• 3rd Place: Bradley Willis

• Honorable Mention: Raielyn Rowe, Tristen McLendon

Documentary

Group

• 1st Place: Valentino Bolanos, Arnold Dolis, Brody Stearns, Adam Mor, & Morris Segal

Individual

• 1st Place: Claira Elder

• 2nd Place: Aubrey Chaffin

Historical Paper

• 1st Place: Sawyer Mandelo

• 2nd Place: Xander Conner

Live Performance

• 1st Place: Nelly Campbell, Bellanora Musicaro, Riley Nash, & Riley Wells

• 2nd Place: Sailor Brabham, Raelynn Bundy, Tracy Loyed, & Ella Myers

• 3rd Place: David McConnell & Wesley Ten Broeck

Students may purchase Valentines Grams to be delivered to a favorite friend, teacher or even themselves at lunch . Candy grams are $1 or $2; Flowers are $3. Deliveries will be on February 13th.

Another total sweep for Surfside! Our Mathcounts team absolutely dominated the county competition once again. We took home 1st place for both 6th and 7th grade, and secured both 1st and 3rd place in the 8th-grade division. Next stop: Districts in two weeks! Huge congratulations to Mrs. Bailey and Ms. Haley—your dedication makes these wins possible.

6th Grade Results

Team Awards

• 1st Place Team: Camden Hord, Nicu Perkins, Kobe Woods, Bryson Powell

Individual Awards

RankStudent

7th Grade Results

Team Awards

• 1st Place Team: Riley Spring, Ryan Phalkun, Roman Roell, Bradly Stewart

Individual Awards

8th Grade Results

Team Awards

• 1st Place Team: Raiden Castillo, Arnold Dolis, Cameron Letourneau, Sawyer Mandello

• 3rd Place Team: Brody Stearns, Micah Jones, Miles Gonzales, Tristian McLendon

Individual Awards

Beta Club students can sign up to sell Valentine’s Grams at lunch. Students can make 2 Valentine’s Cards for Nursing Home residents and turn into Mrs. Moore by February 11th.

Next month Beta Club will be doing a Bake Sale and preparing for the Student vs. Teacher Volleyball game and making Easter Baskets for the Academy.

The Surfside Middle School Jazz Band performed for the student body during lunch on Friday January 30th to revel in the Mardi Gras season. "Laissez les bons temps rouler."

The Florida Bandmaster's Association (FBA) Solo & Ensemble Music Performance Assessment (MPA) will be at Arnold High School on Saturday February 21st. Individual times are TBA. Students will begin practice with their piano accompanist before, during and after school the week of MPA and the week before. Schedules will go out soon.

FBA Concert Band MPA will be held at Arnold High School on Saturday March 7th in the Fine Arts Building. Surfside's performance time will be announced a few weeks before the event, but will most likely be from 9:00am-11:00am for Surfside. Please check the rehearsal calendar at surflifeband.weebly.com This event is essentially the FAST test for band where we receive our grade for the school year. Students should arrive dressed in formal uniform with instruments and music at the Arnold Auditorium. All are invited to the performance that is free and unticketed.

Our last scheduled Sac's meeting of the year will be February 23rd at 6pm. Please try to attended.

SAC's Mtg

Monday, February 23, 2026 · 6:00 – 6:30pm

Time zone: America/Chicago

Google Meet joining info

Video call link: https://meet.google.com/eav-pcsy-ipd

Or dial: ‪(US) +1 904-900-0123‬ PIN: ‪745 536 532‬#

More phone numbers: https://tel.meet/eav-pcsy-ipd?pin=9466032334510

Planning is underway for our Spring Semi-Formal on March 6th! Please note that this is a Positive Behavior Sponsored event. To remain eligible to attend, students must not receive any discipline referrals resulting in In-School Suspension (ISS) or Out-of-School Suspension (OSS) between January 20th and March 6th. Any student receiving ISS or OSS during this window will forfeit their opportunity to purchase a ticket.

2026 Yearbooks on sale for $55 online only at Jostens.com..

Recognize your student with a personal ad in the back of the yearbook! Ads may be purchased and created online at Jostens.com. Last Chance to celebrate your student with a Personalized Yearbook Ad in the 2026 yearbook. Ad sales will end in February 12th. Ads can also be purchased using the school's online payment system at https://osp.osmsinc.com/Bay. Ad artwork or questions can be emailed to Mrs. Moore (email: landkd@bay.k12.fl.us).

If you would like to purchase school apparel please use the link below or the QR code at the side.

https://osp.osmsinc.com/Bay/BVModules/CategoryTemplates/Detailed%20List%20with%20Properties/Category.aspx?categoryid=CE032

Medical, Vision and Dental Screenings

Pancare nurses and physicians will be on our campus for approximately 6 weeks this spring, offering clinical screenings for medical and dental exams in February and dental cleanings and vision exams in March. Please be sure you have completed the Health Screening consent form from your Parent FOCUS portal back to school paperwork if you would like your child to participate. If you would like to verify or update your consent decision, please contact the Guidance Office at 850-767-1070.

8th Graders - Information for High School - Action needed!

It is now time to be thinking about High School choices! All 8th graders will be given class selection information in the spring to request specific classes for 9th grade at their designated school.

If your student was preselected for high school advanced programs, the deadline for selection in Parent Portal/FOCUS is FEBRUARY 23rd. General School Choice will be open later in the Spring.

Loving Middle School

Middle school doesn’t have to be something just to survive, it can be a place to thrive. Here are some things you can do to support your middle schooler and help create a positive experience:

1. Remember one perspective doesn’t always equal the whole truth of a situation. When we each look at a box, we all are seeing different sides. Some sides we see overlap, but all of our perspectives together are the actual truth about the box. Situations at school are the same. Use conversations to show your middle schoolers how to see other perspectives in your own experiences.

2. Don’t flip out till you find out. Allow your middle schooler to be heard; yes, the whole story. Knee jerk reactions can place unintentional walls up between you and your student, you and the teacher, or your student and their friends. Listening for the full story gives us time to think and respond in a way that is supportive.

3. Be aware of hidden monsters, like the Drama Monster. Ignoring the hidden monsters of middle school doesn’t make them go away; it actually helps them grow. Talk about and decide a plan of how to navigate drama before it shows up. Having a game plan helps to navigate these situations when they come.

4. Limit social media and engage in meaningful conversations. It is easy to sit and scroll at the end of a long day, however limiting access to social media and engaging them in conversation will help them develop the skills needed to navigate difficult social situations. Embrace the awkward and ask the types of questions that promote conversation. Change “How was your day?” “Fine” to “What was awesome today?” or “What were you proud of today?”

5. Let them mess up, safely. Middle school is about building up to the independence of high school. Bulldozing a smooth path in front of them does not allow them to learn how to handle the speed bumps and ruts of the road ahead. Be there to support them, provide guidance through questions like “How do you think you should handle that?”, and then watch them learn to fly.

While there is not much that the Guidance Office can do to change the cafeteria food (Surfside has some good food options already!), there are ways we can help with the other difficulties of middle school if your student is not thriving. If you or your student are struggling to navigate this school year, take a moment to reach out to the school. Let us connect with you and help problem solve; you may begin to see your child thrive in middle school and just maybe begin to love your experience here too.

Sixth Grade - There are about 249 weeks of school left until Graduation.

Seventh Grade - There are about 211 weeks of school left until Graduation.

Eighth Grade - There are about 173 weeks of school left until Graduation.

Building Resiliency: www.buildresiliency.org

Dinner Table Conversation Starters

• Ask about the "Hard Thing": "What is the most challenging thing you are working on right now that will take a while to finish? What makes it tough?"

• Focus on the Future: "Imagine it is the end of the school year. What is one goal you hope to have accomplished by then, and what is one small thing you can do this week to get closer to it?"

• Share Your Own Struggles: "I remember when I was working toward [a long-term goal of yours, e.g., a degree, a promotion, a fitness milestone]. There was a point where I really wanted to quit because... Here is how I kept going."

• Discuss "Good" Failure: "Have you tried anything lately that didn't work out the first time? What did you learn from that attempt that will help you next time?"

• Identify Role Models: "Who is someone (a celebrity, athlete, or family member) that you think has a lot of grit? What kind of obstacles do you think they had to overcome to get where they are?"

Boys basketball and girls soccer season are now in full swing.

Listed below is the girls soccer schedule.

Tuesday, Feb. 3 at Merritt Brown 4 pm

Thursday, Feb. 5 at Surfside vs Palm Bay 4 pm

Tuesday, Feb 10 at Surfside vs Tyndall 4 pm

Thursday, Feb. 12 at University Academy 4 pm

Tuesday, Feb. 17 Bye date, No game

Thursday, Feb. 19 at Rutherford at the Vera Shamplain at 4 pm

Tuesday, Feb 24 at Bay Haven’s field vs North Bay Haven 4 pm

Thursday, Feb 26 at Surfside vs Breakfast Point Academy 4 pm

The boys basketball schedule

Tuesday, Feb 3 at Mowat 4:15 pm

Thursday, Feb 5 at Surfside vs Brown 4 pm

Tuesday, Feb 10 at Covenant 4 pm

Thursday, Feb 12 at Bozeman 4 pm

Tuesday, Feb 17 at Surfside vs University Academy 4 pm

Thursday, Feb 19 Bye date, No game

Tuesday, Feb 24 at Surfside vs Rutherford 4 pm

Thursday, Feb 26 at Surfside vs North Bay Haven 4 pm

Both teams will have playoffs in March.

Boys and Girls Track and Field tryouts will begin Mar 23, 2026

Students must have their paperwork completed in order to try out. The paperwork must be uploaded to athleticclearance.com. Please do not wait until the last minute to get this done.

All Schools are going to GoFan for ticketing. There will be a QR code to scan upon entering and payment will be online. The QR code for GoFan is also pictured above.

Are you interested in becoming a volunteer assistant coach? You must contact Coach Stem, the athletic director, (stemkj@bay.k12.fl.us) for more information.

Parents please keep in mind that all of our games start at 4pm and get over by 5:15pm. We expect your student to be picked up no later than 5:30. If your student can't be picked up by 5:30 they should not come to the game.

2/25 - Spring Pictures

2/27 - Kona Ice

3/13 - End of 3rd Nine Weeks

3/16 - Spring Break Starts

4/1- Fast Writing

4/3- Good Friday

4/15 - PLC Day No School for kids

4/20 - Band Trip

5/5 - Fast PM3

5/12 - Science/Civics EOC

5/19 - Fast Math and Alg/Geo EOC

5/22 - 6th grade Awards Day 9:30 am

5/26 - 7th Grade Awards Day 9:30 am

5/27 - 8th Grade Awards Day 9:30 am

5/28 - Last Day of School Early Release

Thank you to our community partners. We could not do this without you.