Scarborough Middle School

Hello Scarborough Middle School Families,

Please take a close look at this week’s Friday Family News. There are lots of important pieces of information included this week.

Respectfully,

Kathy Tirrell, Principal

Chris Murphy, Assistant Principal

OCTOBER

End of Quarter 1

• October 30

NOVEMBER

SMS Penny Wars Fundraiser- See below for more information

• November 2-November 20

No School

• Wednesday, November 11 Veterans' Day

Fall Parent Teacher Conferences

• November 12- November 20

SMS Scholastic Book Fair

• November 16-November 20

Early Release Day

• November 18

Thanksgiving Break- No School

• Wednesday, November 25- Friday, November 27

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

Parent conferences will be held from Thursday, November 12 to Friday, November 20, with all teachers being available until 7 pm on either Tuesday, November 17 or Thursday, November 19. This time is another way for you to get feedback about your child’s learning, aside from PowerSchool, and any individual communications that you might have with teachers throughout the school year. Scarborough Schools use an online format, Conference Manager, to schedule conferences.

Key points in regards to conferences:

• Conferences are set for 15 minutes each.

• Students are expected to attend with parents, as they are critical participants in their learning.

• Conferences will be held in person. If you need an alternative accommodation, please reach out directly to the teacher.

• Time constraints allow for families to sign up with one core subject teacher (Mathematics, ELA, Social Studies, Science) from your team. All teams work together in advance to collect feedback to share with you from all core classes.

• You may also sign up with Allied Arts (Health, PE, Art, Music, Chorus, Band, Technology) or World Language teachers.

• Special education teachers, counselors/social workers, and support teachers are also available to meet during this time.

I strongly encourage you to reach out to school personnel ANYTIME, not just at conferences. Staff are always available by email, and would be happy to talk via phone call or meet in person at a mutually agreed upon time as well. We are committed to partnering with you towards your child’s benefit.

Sincerely,

Kathy Tirrell,

Principal

6th Grade families when trying to sign up for a fall conference, you first need to make sure you go into your Conference Manager account under the "my profile" section and change the school from Wentworth to Scarborough Middle School.

As you (hopefully) have heard, SMS's 2026 Penny Wars will kick off on Monday. In order to make this a success, we need YOUR help as THE Bankers. Below is the Sign Up Genius. Please consider coming in to help us count some money!

This is our only school fundraiser for the year and have big financial goals, but need support to get each round counted in a timely manner. We will provide: "training", gloves, hand sanitizer, a lot of change, and most importantly... snacks!

Thank you!

Volunteer sign ups can be found here.

Scarborough Middle School was happy to partner with The Cromwell Center for Disabilities Awareness this week. Our 6th grade students took part in some great conversations about abilities, respect and inclusion. This fit perfectly with our own efforts to build kindness and respect for all students.

To learn more about this Maine non-profit and their free disabilities awareness programs, visit www.cromwellcenter.org/

It's only October but our lost and found is already growing! Please have your student take a peek to see if any of their missing items are in there.

2026-27 Yearbooks now on sale!

Visit our SMS Yearbook site for details on how to order through Jostens. The current base price for a Yearbook is $30 until January 1st, at which time it will increase to $35.

Last year we officially RAN OUT of extra Yearbooks in June! Order now to avoid missing out!

For families of 8th grade students: See the 8th Grade Info page on the SMS Yearbook site for details on submitting baby pictures and recognition ads.

Baby pictures are due Due by Wednesday, December 9th, 2026

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

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