Spartan Update 4/22/24

Good afternoon SBMS Community,

Track!

Nice work SBMS Track at their meet on Thursday! The students competed really well! It was a great time on a beautiful sunny day in TrackTown! Thank you to our paid coaches (Head Coach Kelley Pearce and Assistant Coaches Ian Brown and Carson Quam). I also want to deeply thank our volunteer parent coaches- Amelia Reising, Richard Sweet, and Loren FiField.

School Behaviors

In the spring schools typically see an increase in misbehavior by students. While the large majority of SBMS students are following all of our expectations (and speak out, speak up, or make a report if they do see misbehavior), we have seen an increase in discipline referrals sent to the office. On Thursday we cancelled FLEX time so that students in advisory could watch a video where I explained 3 big areas of concern: bias incidents (specifically- slurs, antisemitism, comments about national origin, and homophobic or transphobic remarks), sexual harassment, and bullying/cyberbullying. I also discussed consequences for misbehaviors at school and how to get help at school. Again, I want to reiterate that while almost all of our students are not engaging in these type of behaviors, the instances in which they do happen are are incredibly impactful on our school community. By being clear about what misbehaviors are and their consequences, we hope that the lesson will be one part of stopping current misbehavior, prevention of any future infractions, and at the same time inform the students who have been subjected to mistreatment that they aren't alone and that they can get help.

Quarter 3 Report Cards

Quarter 3 report cards will be put in the mail on Monday. You should have them shortly after that. Some of the report card envelopes also contain Day of Kindness permission slips that need an additional parent signature or two and then be returned to the school.

Keep in the Know!- ParentSquare

If you haven't yet signed up for ParentSquare and downloaded the app I recommend that you do that in order to continue to receive instant notifications of information on your device. The district's communication is shifting away from text messaging to ParentSquare and signing up is very easy (next year individual schools won't have the ability to send text messages at all). This week's Spartan is the last one that will arrive as a link in your text messaging box (although they will still arrive in your email). The app is handy, and as a parent I have found it to be a useful way to find previously sent information when compared to digging around my home email inbox. If you have children in more than one school the app makes it even easier to keep track of information. More information is below.

Thank you for your time in reading this week's Spartan Update. If there is anything that I can do for you, please feel free to contact me at nolan_p@4j.lane.edu, 541-790-8300, or by clicking the Contact Paula button at the bottom of this newsletter.

Have a nice day,

Paula

Paula Nolan

Principal

Spencer Butte Middle School

Each week you receive the Spartan Update message in your inbox and via text. Next year the district is switching our mass messaging platform to ParentSquare. The biggest difference you will see is that we will no longer have the ability to automatically push text messages to your phones next year. However, if you download the ParentSquare app from your app store of choice and create an account, our messages can be sent as notifications and if you still want texts you can also go into your settings and enable text messages. You will start seeing some messages from SBMS coming via ParentSquare, and we will use text messaging for the Spartan Update for this week (week of 4/15) and the week of 4/22. After the Spartan Update for the Week of 4/22, we will no longer push this info out via text.

By going to this site or downloading the app you can get registered in a few minutes. Setup is pretty easy (I recently did it for my own parent account). Basically, you'll create your account and then you'll be asked to link your children to your account. The site or app will walk you through the process. If you need any help with it, please call us at 541-790-8300.

This platform is being used at all schools and I encourage our community to download it so you get the instant notifications in addition to emails.

The SBMS Community will be providing lunch on May 8th for the teachers during teacher appreciation week at SBMS. We will be serving a Nacho Bar! We would love your help providing this meal.

You can sign up at the link below and drop items off on May 7th and 8th in the office.

Thanks for your help supporting our amazing staff and teachers. Please email Sara at sbmscommunity@gmail.com for more information or if you have any questions. Thank you!

It is spring allergy season and we are out of tissues! If you would like to send your child to the school with a box, we would be most appreciative. This is completely optional.

To order a 2023-2024 SBMS Yearbook please use the link below.

We do order a set number of books each year based on enrollment, so we recommend placing an order as soon as you can to ensure order fulfillment. Thanks for supporting our yearbook.

Each year we set aside a page in the yearbook for parents/guardians to submit a brief message to their 8th-grade student. A short message you have composed reflecting on their year, words of encouragement for next year, or anything along these lines will be appreciated. Please limit messages to 25 words or less so that we'll be able to fit as many as we can on this one page. Submissions must be received no later than Friday, April 26th, and will be added in order of receipt, in case we run out of room. Email to Jennifer Kotlarek (kotlarek@4j.lane.edu). Thank you for supporting our yearbook!

We love to showcase in the yearbook all the wonderful extracurricular activities, as well as drama performances and band concerts, that SBMS students are involved in throughout the school year. If you have pictures you'd like to share, please email Jenn Kotlarek (kotlarek@4j.lane.edu). Be sure to include student name and details of the activity. Thank you for supporting our yearbook.

If your child is interested in an optional SBMS Track and Field t-shirt we are selling them in the office for $20.00. They can come in before or after school to make a purchase. If your child would like a shirt and your family needs assistance paying for one, please call the office and ask to speak to Heather or Stephanie.

Any 8th grade girl interested in playing basketball at South Eugene High School next year is invited to come and begin Spring workouts with the coaching staff. Workouts from April 9th- May 27th are focused on skill building, fundamentals, learning the offense and our defensive strategies.

Come meet the coaching staff and begin your journey with South Eugene Girls Basketball!

Summer schedule, May 29th-June 29th to come!

April 9th-27th- Meet in big gym

Time and dates:

· All times are 4:15-5:15 each Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday for strength and conditioning

· April 9th-May 27th

Monday-Wednesday-Thursday: 4:15-6:15

Questions: Contact Coach Clark at: clark_j@4j.lane.edu

We are here as a part of your child's team. Whenever I have the opportunity to speak with a parent about something involving a class I always ask if they've had a chance to connect with the teacher. I ask that question because involving the teacher is the most powerful thing that we can do to help your child in class.

Our teachers love to hear from parents. Whether there is information about something happening in the student's life, a fun story about when your child spoke about the class at home, concerns about academic progress, or questions about the class, connecting with staff is the first and most important step in helping your student to succeed.

There are many ways to connect with staff. Sending an email or message in Canvas is the most direct way of reaching teachers. You can also call the school at 541-790-8300 and leave a message for a teacher to return.

Contacting Teachers Via Email

To find a teacher's email address, please access our directory below.

[Link to SBMS Staff Email List: https://spencerbutte.4j.lane.edu/staff-e-mail-list/ ]

Contacting Teachers Via the Canvas Parent App*

You may find the Canvas Parent app the easiest way to send a message. When in the app you can send a message by tapping on a course name and then the speech bubble emoji in the bottom right corner. Alternatively, you can also navigate to the inbox, tap on the speech bubble emoji, and then select the teacher/course you are intending to send the message to.

Canvas on Desktop*

If you are accessing Canvas via desktop you are able to send a message through the Inbox feature. To use that, follow the directions below:

1. Click on the Inbox logo/name on the left hand side of the screen.
2. Once you are in the Inbox, look at the top of the webpage and then click the pictogram that looks like a pencil writing on paper.
3. After you do that, you can select the course/teacher you are attempting to contact.

*Information about how to access Canvas is below.

This newsletter is produced by Spencer Butte Middle School for the benefit of our school community. Please feel free to contact us directly.

In addition to contacting teachers, Canvas is also the tool that you can use to keep apprised of your child's grades in class.

How can I access Canvas?

You can access Canvas via the Canvas Parent app (available in the Google and Apple app stores) or by going to https://4j.instructure.com/login/canvas

How do I connect my account to my child's?

In Canvas, parents are called Observers. From the 4J Canvas webpage we learn that "As an Observer you will be able to check grades, monitor assignments and due dates, as well as communicate directly with your student’s teachers."

The key part of becoming an Observer is to pair your parent account with your child's account. To do that, you need a pairing code from your child. There are two ways to get your child's pairing code.

Student Supplied Pairing Code

If you would like to get the pairing code directly from your student, please click on the link below with your child to learn how to get the code:

Link to Creating a Pairing Code for an Observer Video: https://www.loom.com/share/33d85e2c1c7d4b6087ae0a708d63afac

Paula Provides the Pairing Code

Another way to get a pairing code is to contact me directly (nolan_p@4j.lane.edu, 541-790-8300, or click the Contact Paula button at the bottom of the page). Once I receive your request, I will generate the code and email it to you.