Scarborough Middle School
Family Newsletter for 09.11. 2026
Hello Scarborough Middle School Families,
It was great to see so many of you at the Open Houses that were held on Wednesday and Thursday evening. We are hopeful that it was helpful for you to meet many of your child’s teachers and learn more about their day. As a reminder, our teaching staff want to partner with you and, as such, please reach out at any time. We all share the same goal of supporting our students!
Respectfully,
Kathy Tirrell, Principal
Chris Murphy, Assistant Principal
SEPTEMBER:
Early Release - Wednesday, September 16
Dismissal at 12:55pm
SMS Picture Day
September 18- During school day
7th Grade Vision Screening
- September 24
OCTOBER
Picture Retake Day
- October 23
No School
- October 9th- STAFF ONLY DAY
- October 12- Indigenous Peoples Day
Early Release Day
- October 1
MTYA Testing
- October 15 Reading
- October 16 Math
SMS Flu Shot Clinic
- October 21- See below for more information
End of Quarter 1
- October 30
Looking Ahead
MAY
6th Grade Dance
- Friday, May 7 from 5:00pm-7:00pm
7th Grade Dance-
- Friday, May 21 from 5:00pm-7:00pm
JUNE
8th Grade Celebration and Dance
- Friday, June 11
We go through many boxes of tissues here at SMS and we are running low! With cold and flu season approaching we could use your help in stocking up. If you could please donate any boxes of tissues it would be greatly appreciated! Please have your student drop off any tissue donations with the main office to be distributed around the school. Thank you in advance for your help!
We have added tissues to the amazon wish list check it out here.
Picture Day is coming on Friday, September 18!
You can place your order on mylifetouch.com using your Picture Day ID: EVTNJ6ZNC. Order before midnight on Picture Day to get FREE shipping!
Your child can also bring their completed flyer with cash or check on Picture Day. Orders after Picture Day must be placed online on mylifetouch.com
SMS Clubs and Activities are open for registration!
On the SMS website under Activities you can find all of our offerings and the link to register. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to the Club Advisor or Nicole Marceau at nmarceau@scarboroughschools.org
The link to pay for clubs can be found here.
MS Theater Team sign ups will open on October 8th.
Yearbook club, SMS News and Student Council are all waitlist clubs. Students will need to get an application from the club adviser.
This week we are attaching our Grading and Reporting Guide for this year. The Parent Portal is always open in PowerSchool and you have access to your students grades and assignments.
Here are some helpful links on how to use and navigate PowerSchool:
PowerSchool Parent Access InformationParent Portal Information: Take a look at this informative guide of how to navigate PowerSchool and be able to check your students grades and assignments!
All 7th grade students will have a vision screening on September 24th. The school nurses would like to remind any student who wears glasses or contacts to wear or bring them that day.
To our SMS Friends and Families,
The clinic is in need of your help. We are looking to stock some commonly asked for items that fall just outside of our yearly budget in the clinic. These are items that over the years we have been able to provide mostly through donations and purchasing some with our own funds. As the need for frequent snacks has increased, we are now turning to our community and asking for help to stock our clinic with the extra things our students need. Sometimes it's a simple request like, “do you have any deodorant I forgot to put some on this morning”. Other times it’s more pressing, the need for menstrual products, bathroom accidents or soiled clothing. And while sometimes parents are able to get right over to school with fresh clothes, that's not always the case.
We have included the link to an amazon wish list with items that would be most useful to us in the clinic. If you don’t use amazon and would still like to donate please take a look at the list and feel free to drop something similar off to the middle school.
Please help us continue to support our students in as many ways as possible.
Nurse Amanda and Nurse Laurel
If you look at the embedded photo above which shows you what our newsletters look like when you open them on a computer, you will see that every newsletter we send has the ability to translate to 90 languages!!! Harnessing the power of translation tools in Smore is an essential step in making sure ALL of our families are included and have the most up to date information.
The picture to the side shows the translate feature on a mobile device.
Dear Scarborough Middle School families & caregivers,
We are so excited our school has chosen Amplify Desmos Math this year! Amplify Desmos Math is a core math curriculum built with student-centered instruction at its heart. We believe students learn mathematics best when they have opportunities to explore ideas, make connections, explain their thinking, and make sense of challenging problems.
Rather than simply memorizing procedures, students are encouraged to figure out how math works. They will communicate their mathematical thinking verbally and in writing, listen to and learn from the ideas of others, ask questions, and build confidence as problem solvers. Teachers will support students in developing both the skills and the conceptual understanding they need to become flexible, confident mathematicians.
Each lesson provides opportunities for students to build on what they already know, connect mathematical ideas, develop fluency, and apply their learning to new situations. The curriculum also allows teachers to respond to individual student needs by using classroom evidence and assessment information to determine when students need additional support, practice, or opportunities for enrichment.
Here’s what you can expect:
Student-centered, interactive lessons that blend paper-based and digital learning.
Opportunities for students to explore, reason, and problem-solve rather than simply follow a set of procedures.
Mathematical discussions and collaboration that encourage students to explain their thinking and learn from one another.
Practice opportunities that support fluency and help students revisit and strengthen previously learned concepts.
Personalized learning opportunities through Boost that allow teachers to provide additional practice, support, or challenge based on individual student needs.
A variety of assessments that help teachers monitor your child’s understanding and progress and make informed instructional decisions. Students will take a benchmark assessment aligned to grade level standards called mClass.
Resources within each lesson to support learners with different needs and levels of understanding.
Caregiver resources for each unit that include explanations of key mathematical concepts and problems you can try with your student at home.
Our goal is to help every student see themselves as a capable mathematician—someone who can make sense of problems, persevere through challenges, communicate mathematical ideas, and use mathematics in meaningful ways.
Per Maine State law and Scarborough Public Schools Board policy, students are prohibited from carrying (on their person), wearing, using, or accessing personal electronic devices (PEDs) with Internet or cellular connectivity during the school day. PEDs include, but are not limited to, cell phones, laptops, smartwatches, AirPods, tablets, e-readers, gaming devices/consoles, and smart glasses. Exceptions may only be made for a student’s Individualized Education Program, Section 504 plan, Individualized Health Plan, or translation needs when no other option is available.
Please familiarize yourself with Scarborough Middle Schools’ Personal Electronic Device Expectations.
All breakfast and lunch meals for all students in Scarborough Schools are free for the 2026-2027 school year. You can view the breakfast and lunch menu online at the School Menus Page or using the Nutrislice app. Please note that if your child has special dietary restrictions (dairy free, gluten free, vegetarian or other allergy) their lunch needs to be ordered through Nutrislice as these would be made custom for your child.
A la carte options are available in the cafeteria for purchase at an extra cost. To add money to a lunch account. Go to the School Payment Portal Information website.
Families should report their middle school student's absence from school by calling the SMS main office at 207-730-4800 or by email at msoffice@scarboroughschools.org. A reason for the absence must be stated, otherwise SMS office staff will reach out to determine the reason for the absence.
Excusable reasons for an absence:
- illness
- appointment
- religious holiday
- family emergency
- planned absence
For Planned Absences (a day out of school which is not illness or medical appointment related), families should fill out the Scarborough Middle School Planned Absence for which is found here.
For questions about attendance, please contact the Scarborough Middle School main office at 207-730-4800 or email us at msoffice@scarboroughschools.org
Scarborough Middle School
Email: msoffice@scarboroughschools.org
Website: https://sms.scarboroughschools.org/
Location: 21 Quentin Drive, Scarborough, ME, USA
Phone: (207) 730-4800
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/scarbmeschools/
Twitter: @scarbmeschools