M 'n M

Happy August,

We are so excited to have our staff and students back for another great school year! Please see the information below to help you as we approach our first days of school.

We are especially excited to see our new 6th graders this coming Friday. Please see the assigned time for your student to attend.

Thank you for your patience as our counselors return this week to finalize scheduling. Schedules will be viewable on PowerSchool on August 15. In the event you have questions please contact your grade level counselor via email.

Enjoy your last days of summer and we look forward to seeing you soon!

Mrs. Boytim

First Day of School: August 16, 2023, 7:55-3:00 (Doors open at 7:40)

Open House: August 17, 5:00-7:00 p.m.

Picture Day: August 25th

ARRIVAL:

See the parking lot diagram below- It is imperative that ALL CAR RIDERS entering the school lot follow this diagram strictly.

* PLEASE DO NOT PARK AND WAIT for entry until 7:40. The loop is meant for movement not standstill. Feel free to drop your student off at an entrance prior to 7:30 if you arrive prior to the doors opening. They will not have entry to the building, but can wait by the doors

Bus riders ONLY will enter the main entrance.

Car Riders- Enter Door Q and R

DISMISSAL-

Cars need to wrap the building, similar as drop off. You can notify your student where in the loop you are if they have a device to look at when they finish their day. Students will exit the back and side doors to find their cars. Bus riders will exit the front doors.

DO NOT PICK UP your STUDENT IN THE FRONT MAIN LOT- this will block special bussing that loops in the front of the building.

Please do not encourage your student to meet you in other nearby locations to get into your car- this creates a HUGE safety issue as cars are exiting and entering, and affects our Pearl Road traffic. If we efficiently use our system and are patient, we hope to get all out of the lot efficiently and timely. Following these rules models to your student your support to SCHOOL RULES and following them as requested. Thank you.

Parents/Guardians and Students:

Please access our handbook HERE. It is also available on the website. Students and parents should review this together. Students will also review this with staff as well the first week of school.

As the start of school is a few weeks away, all transportation information has been uploaded to PowerSchool. To view this information, you will need to use a web browser like Chrome, Safari, or Edge. Do not use the PowerSchool app. CLICK HERE for a short video tutorial on how to find your student’s transportation information.

All students must have a lock on their locker at all times. If they do not bring back their own lock, they may purchase one from the main office for $6.60.

Students will receive their locker information on the first day of school. Teams will assign lockers to students.

6th Graders and any new student to SMS will receive their school lock on Wednesday and will have time to practice this the first week of school.

CLICK HERE for directions on how to unlock a combination lock at school.

Students can bring their school supplies to their team pods the first day of school. Students begin their day with PRIDE Time/Intervention and Enrichment. They will arrive and go directly to their pods on the first day. Staff will list their assigned PRIDE TIME room in their pods- students will see this when they arrive that morning.

During this time, team teachers will assist students with their locker assignments and organize student materials.

Students can add more additional materials and items to their lockers during Open House 8/17 5-7p.m. with their families if desired.

• HERE are you supply lists for your grade levels next year.
• All students have VOYAGER classes, Guardians' materials are for specific students.

Breakfast is offered daily in our cafeteria for $2.25

Lunch is available for all students for $3.65

Payment: Cash or check in person, or you can put money on your student's account to purchase with their student ID at check-out. Your student can also bring money or check into the cafeteria to put money on the account as well.

HONORS SUMMER WORK assignments HERE. This is located on our website as well. Please follow individual class guidelines for each assignment and prepare to complete this work prior to returning in August for the 23-24 school year. Be prepared to turn this in to your teacher on the first day of school.

In an effort to increase the efficient use of our available resources, we are requesting that all SCS families that are eligible for transportation services, yet do not plan to use busing services to fill out a form to opt out. Please note that all eligible students can still receive busing services, but knowing which students will not be riding a bus will help us in creating the most efficient routes prior to the upcoming school year. If you do not plan to have your child ride the school bus next year, CLICK HERE to opt out by June 16, 2023. Please submit a separate response for each student you are opting out in your family. Should your transportation needs change after you submit your response, just reach out to the Transportation Department and we will adjust accordingly.

As a reminder, all school fees that have not been paid are now considered past due. To check the balance and pay outstanding school fees, go to www.payschoolscentral.com. In addition to Pay Schools Central, school fees can be paid with your student's building secretary: hmalloy@scsmustangs.org.

With the start of fall sports and the beginning of the new school year, per Board of Education policy, any students with outstanding prior year school fees will be prohibited from participating in any school extracurricular activities (i.e., athletics, student council, school clubs, etc.), field trips, and school sanctioned dances/events that require a purchased ticket. Should you be interested in a payment plan, please contact Dawn Evangelista with questions. Maintaining a current payment plan (monthly payments), allows your student to retain all extracurricular activity privileges.

Over the summer, the district expanded our partnership with Blocksi to include student content filtering and alerts. We no longer utilize SecURLy for these services. CLICK HERE to view an informational flier about joining the Blocksi Parent Portal to gain insights on your student’s online behavior with their scsmustangs account and set parental controls beyond the school school. If you have any questions, contact Dave Binkley, Director of Instructional Technology at dbinkley@scsmustangs.org.

With students in grades 3-12 keeping their Chromebooks over the summer break, they are responsible for keeping them in working order for use next year. If your student does experience any issues with their Chromebook over the summer, please click HERE or visit bit.ly/scssummertechticket to submit a Tech Ticket. A Tech Department member will contact you within two business days to assist. If you have any questions, please contact Dave Binkley at dbinkley@scsmustangs.org.

LifeTouch

School Name: Strongsville Middle School

Picture Day Date: Friday, August 25

Picture Day ID: EVTX2XJMJ

Building is Open 7:30-3:30 Monday-Friday

School Counselors will be back in the building August 9th.

• Mrs. Gerber-6th grade
• Mrs. Pietrocini- 7th grade
• Mrs. Marozsan- 8th Grade

Main Office: 440-572-7090

Building Secretary: Mrs. Hallie Malloy, hmalloy@scsmustangs.org

6th Grade Principal: Mrs. Justina Peters jpeters@scsmustangs.org

7th Grade Principal: Mr. Chris Howell chowell@scsmustangs.org

8th Grade Principal: Mr. Bryan Szczepanski bszczepanski@scsmustangs.org

Strongsville Middle School Principal: Mrs. Jessica Boytim, jboytim@scsmustangs.org

Parents/students have access to our anonymous reporting system. CLICK HERE to access. The more information shared when reporting, the better chance we have to investigate and support.

Follow SMS on Instagram @STRONGSVILLEMIDDLESCHOOL

Email: jboytim@scsmustangs.org
Website: https://sms.strongnet.org/
Location: 13200 Pearl Road, Strongsville, OH, USA
Phone: 440-572-7090
Twitter: @mrsboytim