Sanford Middle School Newsletter

Dear Parents/Guardians and Students,

Welcome back to school! We hope you have had a fun and relaxing summer. As the new school year approaches, our teachers are back preparing engaging classrooms and learning experiences. Now all we need is our students!

The first day of school is Monday, August 31st. To help you prepare, we've included a newsletter with important information and reminders for the start of the school year.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact us at 207-324-3114. We look forward to welcoming everyone back and wish you a wonderful rest of your summer!

First Student Day - Monday, August 31st

Camp 5th Grade with School Counselors

Tuesday 8/25 @ 10am or 1pm

Please contact tcole@sanford.org to reserve a spot

Parent Information Night: Yondr Pouches & Maine's New Cell Phone Law

Tuesday 8/25 @ 5pm

Open House - Wednesday 8/26

Grades 5&6 5-6pm

Grades 7&8 6-7pm

7th Grade Ecology School Parent Information Meeting

August 26th - 7pm in cafeteria (see letter below for more information

7th Grade Ecology Week - 9/28 - 10/2

School Pictures - This information will be shared at a later date, but are typically done the beginning of October

Challenge Day - Grade 7 October 26th and 27th

Parent/Teacher Conferences

November 12th 2:30 - 6:30

November 17th 4:30 - 7:00

Infinite Campus will go live on Friday August 21st for the middle school so that parents/guardians are able to view their child's schedule. Students will receive a paper copy of their schedule on the first day of school. Please know that counselors have put a great deal of time and thought into scheduling students. Except under unique circumstances, no changes will be made until mid-October

Given Maine's new state law regarding student cell phone use during the school day, Sanford Middle School will be implementing the use of Yondr pouches beginning this school year. We invite all parents and guardians to join us for a Parent Information Night to learn more about this important initiative.

During the meeting, we will explain the rationale behind the new state law, provide an overview of how Yondr pouches will be implemented at school, and discuss what students and families can expect throughout the school year. There will also be time to answer questions and address any concerns you may have.

The Parent Information Night will be held on Tuesday, August 25, at 5:00 p.m. in the Sanford Middle School Cafeteria. We encourage all families to attend and appreciate your partnership as we work together to create a learning environment that supports student focus, engagement, and success.

Medication Drop-Offs: The nurses office will be open on August 25th, August 26th and August 27th from 8:00-2:00 for ALL medication drop-offs.

Breakfast and lunches this year are FREE to all students. If your student would like an additional meal the cost is $2.00 for breakfast and $5.00 for lunch.

Students are considered tardy if they are not in their homerooms by 7:40. Students may arrive NO EARLIER than 7:10 am. Students will be allowed to go to homerooms at 7:20. Please use our website to look at arrival and dismissal procedures once we get closer to the start of school. We respectfully ask that if you are dismissing your child during the school day you do NOT DISMISS THEM AFTER 1:45pm as it can get very busy in the main office from 1:45pm until dismissal that begins 2:10. Thank you for your help with this!

Students will be sent home with a packet of information on the first day. Please complete all necessary paperwork and return to the homeroom teacher as soon as possible. If you have an address change, phone change, new email address, or need to make changes to emergency contacts, please make those changes on Infinite campus

As you prepare for the new school year, we ask that families help students choose clothing that is appropriate for the school environment. Students should wear a shirt or top with shoulder straps, bottoms, and shoes each day. Tops should fully cover the midsection, and bottoms should provide appropriate coverage of private areas and undergarments. If wearing see-through or mesh clothing, appropriate clothing must be worn underneath. Clothing designed as undergarments should not be worn as outerwear.

Thank you for partnering with us to ensure students arrive at school dressed comfortably, appropriately, and ready to learn.

Grade 5 - Vickie Thomas - vthomas@sanford.org ext. 8772

Grade 6 - Colleen Quartararo - cquartararo@sanford.org ext. 1748

Grade 7 - Angela Avery - aavery@sanford.org ext. 1799

Grade 8 - Reuben Christie - rchristie@sanford.org ext. 1747

Counseling Office Administrative Assistant - Tracy Cole tcole@sanford.org ext. 1743

Counseling Phone: 207-324-3055

We believe that strong communication between home and school is an important part of every student's success. Throughout the school year, you can expect to receive a monthly newsletter via text message with important school updates, upcoming events, and highlights from Sanford Middle School. We also encourage you to regularly visit our website at https://www.sanford.org/o/sanford-middle-school for the latest news, calendars, and resources. In addition, teachers will communicate with families throughout the year via email and text using the district's Reach My Teach platform. If you receive a message or email through Reach My Teach, you can be confident that it is an official Sanford School Department communication and is safe to open. Thank you for partnering with us to stay informed and connected throughout the school year!

For Bus information please contact Ledgemere Transportation at 324-4888

As we prepare for the upcoming school year, we will be working hard to provide many unique and exciting opportunities for our students to become involved in various clubs, teams, and activities. We also have an activity bus that runs after school on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays. We encourage all students to become involved!

STEAM Team, Art Club, Board Games, Student Leadership, Civil Rights Club, Math Club, Mechanical Advantage, Lego Club, Environmental Club, Doctor Who Club, SMS Theatre to name a few!!!

Dear Parents/Guardians of Grade 7 Students,

This year's seventh graders have been given an amazing opportunity to attend The Ecology School's Residential Overnight Program. Our students have been given fully funded scholarships and donations, a value of more than $350 per student, to attend immersive, hands-on learning at a state-of-the-art facility. Sanford will be among districts such as Saco, Poland, Biddeford, and numerous districts from Connecticut and Massachusetts in having our students participate in this incredible experience. We will be heading to The Ecology School the week of September 28th, giving students and staff an opportunity to get to know each other in a beautiful setting while participating in many hands-on, team-building experiences—a wonderful way to start a new year!

Our students will be immersed in lessons that align with many of their seventh-grade science topics, such as watersheds, biotic/abiotic, and ecosystem cycles, that they will look back upon throughout the school year. Some example lessons like the ABCs of Ecology have students explore key concepts that create and shape ecosystems, or Living on the Edge that helps students understand factors that affect ecosystems such as sunlight and soil nutrient levels in different habitats. Other possible activities such as Food Systems will have them taking a short walk to The Ecology School's on-property sustainable farm where they will learn about healthy food systems and see where some of their food during their meal times will come from. Our students will also have an incredible opportunity to have chef-prepared, family-style meals from locally sourced products!

Meeting with The Ecology School, we have come to realize they have thought of everything: parents will have an online portal filled with information for you, an onsite nurse, packing lists, 24-hour supervision, and so much more. We will be hosting an informational meeting for parents and guardians of 7th grade students following our Open House on August 26th at 7:00 PM in the Sanford Middle School cafeteria. We will provide more detailed information and answer any questions that parents and guardians may have.

We are thrilled to be able to share this opportunity with students and families of this year's seventh graders! More information will be coming in the next few weeks. In the meantime, please feel free to check out The Ecology School website prior to our first meeting here:

https://theecologyschool.org/

Sincerely,
SMS Administration