SMS Weekly Update

We have some fantastic events happening this fall. Freaky Friday is sneaking up on us, but this will be one you surely do not want to miss! Our Parent Support Organization has been working hard to make up for lost time, and this year’s event should be spooktacular!

Thank you for taking the time to review the following information.

October 12

• Early Release, dismissal at 2:20pm

October 13

• Professional Development Day, NO SCHOOL

October 14

• Statewide Inservice Day, NO SCHOOL

October 19

• Early Release, dismissal at 2:20pm

October 21

• Picture Retakes

• Freaky Friday Carnival & Dance, 5:00pm - 9:00pm

October 26

• Early Release, dismissal at 2:20pm

October 27

• Conferences, 4:30pm - 8:00pm

October 28

• Conferences, 8:00am - 12:00pm

November 3

• Fall Band Concert, 7:00pm - 8:00pm

November 7

• PSO Meeting, 9:00am - 10:00am

November 10

• Veterans Day Event, 8:00am - 9:30am

November 11

• No School

Additional events may be viewed on the Sherwood Middle School Calendar.

FROM YOUR STUDENT EVENT PLANNERS:

Do you have gently used or never worn items that could use a new home? We will be hosting a clothing and essentials drive to support local organizations like Helping Hands Outreach. More details to come!

Do you have a veteran in your family or community who we can honor for Veterans Day? Sherwood Middle School will resume its traditional in-person Veterans Day Event in November. Students will be bringing home more information in the coming weeks with details on how to invite the veterans in their life to this event.

Sherwood Middle School staff and students will face off in a friendly flag football game on November 18th. Students will have an opportunity to put their name in a raffle. The raffle will determine the roster for each grade level team. Sign ups will happen in their Flight Time class.

If you have not already done so, please sign up for FlashAlert to receive the most timely alerts for events such as school closures or delayed starts.

FlashAlert is a free subscription service that alerts users via text or app notifications. Sign up at www.flashalert.net/signup or by downloading the FlashAlert app on your smartphone. If you have signed up for FlashAlert previously, please sign in to make sure your subscription is current. If you are not subscribed to our channel, you can search for "Sherwood Sch. Dist." to sign up for our district's alerts.

Students are not required to change into PE-specific clothing, but they should wear or bring shoes and clothing that will allow them to participate in PE activities. In both locker rooms, students who want to change into PE-specific clothing will have the opportunity to use private stalls in which to change, should they choose to do so.

If you have ordered SMS PE clothing:

Your items have arrived and will be distributed to students on Monday and Tuesday, during their PE classes.

Offered every Tuesday during Flex Time

Your student can sign up to learn about various occupations and the path individuals took to find their career!

Tuesday, October 10th: Occupational Therapist

Meet Tara Dewar! In her job as an Occupational Therapist, she treats injured, ill, or disabled patients through the therapeutic use of everyday activities.

Beginning October 20th, meetings will take place every Thursday, from 3:25pm - 4:25pm in the commons.

This club will be led by Lars Rowberg, licensed mental health professional.

In order to participate, students will need to submit a Parent Permission form and pay a $10 club fee. This fee will be directly applied to the costs of purchasing supplies for the club. Please stop by the main office to obtain the permission form. Signed permission forms and payment may be submitted to Aubrey Urdahl, through the main office.

October 21st

If you missed picture day or want to retake your picture, here’s your opportunity!

You can find order information on mydorian.com by searching for your school. A student wishing to have their picture retaken should bring their original package back to school and return it to the photographer on retake picture day.

On October 24th and 25th, our school will be administering the Oregon Student Health Survey to our 6th and 8th grade students. The survey data will be used to develop and evaluate the effectiveness of a variety of projects and programs that promote healthy adolescence in Oregon. On Monday and Tuesday of next week our health and PE teachers will be distributing opt-out forms. In order to opt out, completed forms must be turned in by October 17th.

Please see the following link for more information: https://drive.google.com/file/d/11V3JYKXumsgiZFqNl3Pb8S7h-5pJeKjn/view?usp=sharing

Students will need their Chromebooks to access curriculum during the school day. Please make sure that Chromebooks are charged overnight and that chargers are labeled with the student name and brought to school each day. Thank you!

SMS requires all electronic devices (including cell phones & listening devices), to be put away during instructional time. Parents, thank you so much for partnering with us to make this policy shift successful. If you do need to contact your student during the school day, especially during classroom time, the most effective way to do so will be via the main office. All students should expect adults to redirect and restrict the use of any electronic device during any type of school activity. When the bell rings for class, or a student enters an instructional space, electronic devices should be silenced and put away.

Thankfully, the testing and reporting process within our school district is not as invasive as last year, but we still need your help as we continue to navigate this virus. This is just a reminder to keep your child home from school if they are exhibiting any COVID-like symptoms (fever, persistent cough, congestion, sore throat, unusual prolonged headache). Please let us know if your child has tested positive by reporting a positive test result to your child’s school, or by contacting our Health Services Department at 503-825-5093. The required isolation after testing positive with Covid-19 is still 5 full days. Per the Oregon Department of Education and Washington County, we are obligated to continue to notify parents/guardians when their child has been exposed to the virus. We realize this may involve multiple emails and we apologize for any inconvenience. Please let us know if you have any questions and/or concerns surrounding COVID-19 and we will do our best to support you. Thank you.

If your student will be absent, please call the attendance line at 503-825-5510 or email SherwoodMiddle_Notification@sherwood.k12.or.us by 8:30am. Please leave your name, your student’s name and the reason for the absence. This is a 24-hour line. Parents of students who are absent each day will be called if the school has not been notified.

We are not currently able to receive absences through ParentVue, we are working to resolve this matter as soon as possible.

Being on time is an essential skill that SMS believes students must master by the time they matriculate. It is also disruptive to the classroom community when a student is late. If a student is late to school, they should connect with the front office to receive a hall pass prior to attending their class.

Being on time to class is equally as important as being on time to school. When students are on time, it shows that they are engaged and feel a sense of responsibility about their own learning. This also demonstrates respect for their teacher, and the classroom community.

Being on time to class means:

• Students are in the correct classroom when the bell rings.

• If students are in the hall when class starts, they will be marked tardy or absent by their classroom teacher (more than 15 minutes late to class = skipping). Seven tardies in a week, across all classes, will result in a consequence. Tardies were officially marked in Synergy this week.

We recognize the impact that returning to paid school meals this year can have on family budgets, and encourage parents/guardians to complete an eligibility application to determine if your family qualifies for free or reduced meals -- even if your family may not have been eligible under federal guidelines in past years. The Oregon Expanded Income Eligibility Group (EIG) supports families who do not qualify for meal benefits using federal income guidelines. It provides meal benefits to households with incomes above 185%, but not exceeding 300%, of the federal poverty guidelines.

To apply for either Federal or EIG free/reduced meal eligibility, please complete the Online Free and Reduced Meal Application. For more details on income-based eligibility, please click the image below to access the Federal and Oregon Expanded Income Eligibility charts for the 2022-23 school year.

If you have additional questions about school meals or free/reduced eligibility, please contact our Nutrition Services Department at nutrition@sherwood.k12.or.us, or by phone at 503-825-5009.

Hello SMS Parents,

Let’s talk about social media safety, something I have also discussed recently on the Sherwood Police Department’s Facebook page. I know the last time I posted about this topic, some parents thought I was advocating for invading their kids' privacy. I want to be clear-I’m not suggesting that. I simply try to educate parents about current issues so that parents can have informed conversations with their children, and can make informed parenting decisions.

Teens these days really aren’t using Facebook. Some are, but not like you and I are. They’re on Instagram, Tik Tok, and Snapchat.

Snapchat is a social media application which allows its users to send text messages, picture and video messages. Photos and videos sent using Snapchat will disappear forever after a certain time once the other party has “read” the message - as long as neither person saves the message or screenshots it. When kids say they are “texting” their friends, they usually mean messaging them on Snapchat.

Snapchat also has a secret picture vault that most parents are not aware of: “My Eyes Only.” Kids use this to hide pictures from their parents and other prying adult eyes. Some students keep nude/partially nude photos and videos of multiple of their classmates and themselves, ready to send out or show someone at a moment’s notice.

As parents, it’s a good idea to know what your kids may be keeping from you, especially when it comes to nude photos or videos - for more information on that topic, please see my previous post on the SPD’s Facebook page about “sexting.” You may be saving your kid’s life (or another child’s life!)

Here’s how to check your kids’ secret Snapchat vault:

1. Open the Snapchat application on their phone (yellow icon with white ghost). This will open up the main picture taking page; you should see a live image ready to take a photo.
2. Below the “take a photo” button (large circle at bottom of the screen) there is a small icon that looks like two playing cards. Press the two playing cards icon. You will be in their memories photos which are some of the photos they have taken with the Snapchat camera.
3. Along the top of the photos you should see some labels “SNAPS, CAMERA ROLL, MEMORIES, and MY EYES ONLY”. Press the MY EYES ONLY button.
4. If you don't see MY EYES ONLY this means the MY EYES ONLY is not being used and you need not worry yet.
5. If the phone pops up with a PIN entry keypad you will need the code from your kid. Standard answers when you ask your kid for their PIN is that they forgot or they never set it up. They’re more than likely lying to you. You’ll need to have a different conversation with them at this point about getting you the passcode. If you need help with this conversation, please feel free to reach out to me at the high school.
6. Once past the secret pin, you will see the photos your kids usually don’t want you to see. Understand you are still not seeing the private disappearing Snap Chat messages they send back and forth to each other.

There will be more to come on this topic in the coming weeks. Stay tuned!

Happy parenting,

Officer Wolfer

Order your 2022-2023 SMS Yearbook now. You can begin personalizing your yearbook right away with back to school photos, fall sports/activities, summer vacation memories etc. Please click here for or more information.