Knight Life

Cheers to another upcoming week of learning!

Mid-Year Academic Progress Monitoring Assessments

As we continue through December, our focus has shifted toward important upcoming assessments. Over the next couple of weeks, students will begin preparing for and taking the Florida Assessment of Student Thinking (FAST) Progress Monitoring 2 (PM2). FAST PM 2 helps us measure growth, identify areas for support, and ensure we are on track for success as we move into the second half of the year. Thank you for encouraging your student to be present, well rested, and ready to do their best.

Attendance Streak Challenge

This week, we’re launching the Southside Knight Time Attendance Streak Challenge!

Here’s how it works:

For each homeroom with 90% of students present, the homeroom class will earn a🔥 streak flame.

Your goal? Ensure your student attends school each day! Help students build the longest streak, climb the leaderboard, and earn fun rewards along the way.

Everyone starts at zero on Monday. Each student helps their homeroom build its attendance streak.

Show up strong on Monday, and let’s see which homeroom rises to the top of the leaderboard! 🔥🔥🔥

Rooms and ParentLink

Let's get connected! It is important for there to be a strong connection between home and school. Parents should have a ParentLink account to stay connected with your child's teachers via Rooms

Quick reminders:

• Attendance matters every day: please arrive on time and ready to learn.

• Stay focused and finish the quarter strong.

• Represent Southside with pride at all events and throughout the school day.

Educationally,

Dr. Taylor

Great job to the Southside Middle School Scholar Bowl team for participating in the DCPS tournament! Special shout out to Coach Pajic and Coach Portlock for cultivating such a great team!

Southside Middle School desires to start at Parent, Teacher, and Student Association. We need a minimum of three members to officially get started-a President, a Secretary, and a Treasurer.

If you are interested in becoming a part of making history at Southside with starting a PTSA, please complete the form at the link below.

PTSA Interest Form: https://forms.office.com/r/uPzvpMxHLN

FREE EVENT - In partnership with Greenfield Elementary and Feeding Northeast Florida, Southside Middle School is participating with Feeding Northeast Florida in their brand-new Grocery Game!

Students can test their grocery shopping and budgeting skills. Southside Middle School Families are welcome to participate in this event. The event will be held at Greenfield Elementary on December 11 at 5:30 pm.

There are only 40 spots available -- register today!
(One registration per student participant.)

Here's the direct link to the registration page: https://www.givebacks.com/causes/greenfield/events/fneflgrocerygame

• Instructional time is 9:30 AM - 4:25 PM.

• Students arriving after 9:30 AM are tardy and must be signed in by a parent or guardian.

• Breakfast will be served daily during Knight Time Homeroom.

• The latest time for signing a student out is 3:45 PM.

• Anyone visiting our school and/or signing a student out will be required to present a valid Driver’s License or ID and must be listed on the student's emergency contact list.

Follow Southside Middle School on Social Media! Please like and follow our Southside Middle School pages:

Instagram: @smsknights64 -https://url.usb.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/tfOnC93z1ViwX5xvTof0CqQdr4?domain=instagram.com

Facebook: Southside Middle School -

https://www.facebook.com/SMSKnights64/

Volunteers are a vital part of student success at Southside Middle School

We’re grateful for the many volunteers who support our schools each year. If you plan to volunteer during the upcoming school year, please be aware that Duval County Public Schools has updated its volunteer background screening policy in our effort to strengthen student safety as be in alignment with state law. The biggest change is that some volunteer roles now require a Level II background screening which includes a fee. This applies especially to volunteers who serve as chaperones for field trips and may not be in direct view of district employees. Both current and new volunteers will be impacted. Please read more about the volunteer background screening policy on our website.

• Level I Volunteers. These volunteers will always be in the direct view of district employees and are never alone with students. Level I volunteers undergo our standard Level I screening procedures, which includes being checked against the Dru Sjodin National Sexual Offender Public Website.

• Level II Volunteers. This group of volunteers most commonly includes chaperones for field trips and events or may not be in direct view of district employees. By requiring these volunteers to undergo a Level II background check, they’ll be screened for felonies and criminal violations, in addition to being checked against the Dru Sjodin National Sexual Offender Public Website.

We ask that parents take the time out this summer to complete the DCPS volunteer screening if you plan to attend any field trips with your students or volunteer at our school. Anyone, including parents, who will visit the campus more than once to help must complete the process.

Link to complete Volunteer Application:

Volunteer Registration

FortifyFL is a suspicious activity reporting tool that allows you to instantly relay information to appropriate law enforcement agencies and school officials. Please click the link below if you would like to report any type of emergency situations.

https://getfortifyfl.com/