Sycamore Springs Middle School

Hello Sycamore Springs Middle School Families,

Happy Sunday! It is hard to believe that this is the last week for the 2024-2025 school year!

This past week was filled with exciting events at our school, starting with the 6th and 7th grade award ceremonies, where we celebrated our students' hard work and achievements. Our 8th graders showcased their inspiring passion projects, many of which focused on giving back to the community. We also welcomed our rising 6th graders from all five Dripping Springs elementary schools for our annual Tigers Rise event. It was so fun having them in the building meeting and connecting with other Tigers! The week culminated in a memorable 8th-grade graduation, with the traditional clap-out, and a chance to celebrate the year listening to the SSMS Jazz Band in our new courtyard! Thank you to all the staff, parents, community, and PTA for your support in making the 8th grade celebration such a huge success!!!

Final exams start this Tuesday. Please make sure to complete your students online verification form by Friday, May 23. Also, if you would like for your student to keep their Chromebook over the summer, make sure to complete the technology checkout form (step 15 of the online verification form).

As we close out this school year I would like to think our families, students, teachers, and entire community for such an amazing school year! I would also like to wish all of our 8th grade students good luck on their journey of academic success at DSHS. You are an amazing group of 8th graders who are not only academically talented but also great athletic competitors! I would also like to welcome all of our rising 6th graders from Rooster Springs Elementary, Cypress Springs Elementary, Sycamore Springs Elementary, Dripping Springs Elementary, and Walnut Springs Elementary schools. It was so great to have you on our campus last and we can't wait for you to join us in the fall!

We have a lot of reminders to share before we close out the 23-24 school year, so please take a minute to read over this week's newsletter. As always, if you need anything or have any questions, please contact your student's teacher, counselor, or administrator.

Go Tigers!

Sincerely,

Kelly Miller

Principal

1. Yearbooks should be here this week!!! In preparation for their arrival, students who purchased a yearbook will receive a "ticket" on Monday during Tiger Win. Please tell your student to NOT LOSE THE TICKET. As soon as yearbooks arrive, the yearbook staff will set up station before school, during lunch, during review class periods, and after school for student pick up. Students will need to present their "ticket" to the yearbook staff to collect their yearbook.

2. 2025-2026 Student Schedules - This week will be the last opportunity to change your 2025-2026 course requests before the end of the school year. Skyward Family access is open until May 23 at 4pm, so families can review schedule requests for the next school year. If you have questions and or want to make changes to your student’s schedule, please contact your Middle School counselors. Schedule change requests after this period will be depended on class availability and will require administrator or counselor approval. Please see the list of classes to choose from for each grade level HERE.

3. Our Lost & Found is overflowing! All Lost & Found items are in the front of the school and/or the Rotunda area. Items will remain on display through Friday, May 23 at 12:00 PM. After that time, any unclaimed belongings will be bagged up and donated to a local organization.

4. MAP Testing During Finals Week -Your child will take their end-of-year ELA and Math MAP assessments during their final exam block for each class. This is an adaptive assessment that is used to help with tracking students’ growth and understanding and is individualized to meet students where they are at. Students do not need to prepare for this assessment beyond ensuring a good night’s rest and breakfast. Thank you for reminding your child to bring their fully charged device to class on their testing day.

5. Spring Final Exams start this Tuesday. Click HERE to see the schedule. Please note that Friday, May 23 is an early release day. Students will be dismissed at 1:10pm.

6. Message from the SSMS Athletic Booster Club: Athletic uniforms for the 2025-2026 school year are available to purchase from the vendor. Uniforms are required for students enrolled in PE, Lifetime fitness, Strength & Conditioning or UIL Athletics. Orders will be shipped directly to homes over the summer. The deadline to purchase is June 9. The link to order is below.

• Uniforms will also be sold at Tigers Ready but inventory may be limited.
• A uniform guide was created to help families better understand what items are required. Click HERE to visit the booster club website. The uniform guide and other important information is on the first page. Please read the details very carefully.
• Questions? Email president@ssmsathletic.com

From the Vendor: The Sycamore Springs MS 2025-26 is now open!

SHOP DETAILS

• Shop Now: https://bsnteamsports.com/shop/DBufLHRbZZ or click HERE
• Store Open From: May 12 - June 9, 2025
• Youth & Adult sizes are available.
• NOTE: Youth options are labeled with a green box. All other options are adult and are unisex even though some may say Mens or Ladies.

7. Changing Schools OR Leaving DSISD Next Year? Please click on this link to complete a short form if your student will NOT be returning to SSMS next year or will NOT attend 9th Grade at DSHS for the 2025 - 2026 school year. Email our SSMS Registrar Jen Havlin with any questions. jen.havlin@dsisdtx.us

8. If you have students returning to DSISD for the 2025-26 school year, please renew your Technology Checkout Form for device checkout (this form can be found in Step 15 of Online Verification in Skyward). In order for your student to take a Chromebook home for the summer, this step must be completed before the last day of classes on May 23, 2025. If you are not planning to return next year or do not plan to keep the device over the summer, please ensure that your student returns any issued devices to the campus library during the last week of school.

9. If your child has medication stored in the nurse's office, please ensure you arrange to pick it up by 1:00pm on May 23, 2025. Medications cannot be sent home with students. Please see this notice from Nurse Blair for more details.

10. Our school supply lists are now available. We are also offering School Supply Kits that will be shipped directly to your house. The deadline to order your School Supply kit is July 1, 2025. Click HERE to place your order today.

6th Grade Supply List

7th Grade Supply List

8th Grade Supply List

11. SSMS XC Needs You! Calling all SSMS runners! SSMS cross country is ready to run and needs you! All runners are welcome and try-outs are not required to practice with us! We practice before school (times TBD) four days a week and our team is open to any 7th or 8th grader. You do not need to enroll in Athletics to participate with SSMS Cross Country. Our first practice will be on Thursday, August 14th. You must have a completed physical submitted in order to participate. In addition, please complete the cross country interest form below as soon as possible from your DSISD Google account. See section below for more information! https://forms.gle/41NHp2ZowdavPArW6

12. Attention 6th Grade Families - There are required Immunizations for all 7th grade students; 1) Tdap and 2) Meningitis. Nurse Smith needs updated immunization record OR a notarized Affidavit from the State of Texas found here: https://co-request.dshs.texas.gov/. You may bring updated records to the school or email a copy to blair.smith@dsisdtx.us. For more information, visit https://www.dshs.texas.gov/immunizations/school or call Nurse Blair at 512-858-3604.

13. SSMS Attendance - Thank you for everyone support in making attendance a priority this year. The final average isn't in with one more week, but it looks like 6th grade might have met our attendance goal of 96.6% for the 24-25 school year! Way to go 6th grade. 🐯💛

We hope you all had a great weekend!

Just a friendly reminder that Skyward will be open until May 23, so families can review schedule requests for the 2025-2026 school year. If you have questions and or want to make changes, please contact your Middle School counselor. Please see the list of classes to choose from for each grade level HERE.

8th grade parents and students, you should have already received an email from the high school about freshman class changes for next year, but we wanted to include that here as well:

Course Requests are visible in Skyward. You have until the last day of school, Friday, May 23 to request any additional changes to the courses you have requested for next year. I want to make sure your schedule is what you want, so please read carefully: Schedule changes after this date will be limited to a set of very specific reasons: DSISD schedule change policy.

Please use this form to request changes to your course requests for next year: Course Request Changes in Skyward Google Form. This form will close on May 23 at 5 p.m.

• Ensure you are logged into your DSHS Google account to open the change request form.

• Please look ONLY in Skyward to see what you have chosen (see below for a screenshot showing where to look).

• If you want to make an update, please use the link above to request a change.

• All changes MUST be made to this Google form. Changes will not be accepted if you email your counselor directly.

• If you would like to drop a class, you MUST have a class you want to add. If you don't tell us your updated course, we can't drop the class.

• Every student should have eight classes, including off periods. Make sure you have math, English, Science, and social studies classes on your schedule. If you don’t, please let me know right away!

DSHS Course Quick Guide- any classes crossed out on this doc are no longer available for next year.

May is Mental Health Awareness month. Please see the LMHP Newsletter for May for resources and tips for good mental health.

Have a great week!

Keep an eye out for the 25-26 DSISD annual enrollment verification, as parents will need to complete the 25-25 Technology Terms of Use if your child plans to use district technology in the coming school year.

If your child is returning to DSISD for the 2025-26 school year, please ensure that you renew your Technology Checkout Terms of Use Form to continue using your district-issued Chromebook and charger. This form is located in Step 15 of the Annual Verification process in Skyward.

• Deadline: The form must be completed before May 23, 2025, the last day of classes.
  
  

If your child isn’t returning next year or no longer needs a district-issued device, please make sure the device is returned with the charger to the campus library during the last week of school.

• Eighth-grade students will take their devices to DSHS (Dripping Springs High School).
  
  

Please note:

• If devices are not returned or renewed via Skyward by May 23, 2025, they will be disabled.

• Devices will also be collected when a student withdraws or no longer needs the device.
  
  

Important Reminder: A device will only be exchanged for a different device if the issued device is no longer functional.

Other note regarding library books.

All library books are due Friday May 16th. If your student still has a library book checked out the final week of school, they will be notified with a paper notification and pass to check in with Mrs. McCoy. On the last day of school, if any books are still not returned they will be marked lost on your child's library account along with a fine to replace the book. Thank you for any help in the matter. The shelves are the happiest when all the books return for the next group of eager students ready to read them.

Our Lost & Found is overflowing! To help students and parents easily check for missing items, we will be relocating all Lost & Found items to the front of the school and/or the Rotunda area starting Monday, May 12. Items will remain on display through Friday, May 23 at 12:00 PM. After that time, any unclaimed belongings will be bagged up and donated to a local organization.

We encourage you and your student to stop by and check for jackets, water bottles, lunch boxes, and more before it's too late!

Calling all SSMS runners! SSMS cross country is ready to run and needs you! All runners are welcome and try-outs are not required to practice with us! We practice before school (times TBD) four days a week and our team is open to any 7th or 8th grader. You do not need to enroll in Athletics to participate with SSMS Cross Country and I am willing to work with you if you are balancing other activities or sports.

Our first practice will be on Thursday, August 14th. You must have a completed physical submitted in order to participate. In addition, please complete the cross country interest form below as soon as possible from your DSISD Google account.

https://forms.gle/41NHp2ZowdavPArW6

In addition, please download the SportsYou app and join our page to stay up-to-date on SSMS XC. The access code is 84JBNG7Q

Our season is quick (District Meet is tentatively scheduled for October 1st) but will include great trails, amazing sunrises, endless memories, personal bests, incredible friendships, and hopefully, YOU! Please email me if you have any questions at nicole.mcgilvray@dsisdtx.us

Happy Trails!

Coach McGilvray

Spring Final Exams start on Tuesday, May 20. Exam periods will be 2 hours long. We will not have Tiger Win on Final Exam days. Friday, May 23 is an early release day. Students will be dismissed at 1:10pm. The cafeteria will NOT be serving lunch on Friday, May 23.

If your child has medication stored in the nurse's office, please ensure you arrange to pick it up by 1:00pm on May 23, 2025. Medications cannot be sent home with students. Please see this notice from Nurse Blair for more details.

Our school supply lists are now available. We are also offering School Supply Kits that will be shipped directly to your house. The deadline to order your School Supply kit is July 1, 2025. Click HERE to place your order today.

6th Grade Supply List

7th Grade Supply List

8th Grade Supply List

Texas school immunization requirements are determined by the state legislature and set by the Texas Department of State Health Services, in conjunction with the Texas Education Agency.

All incoming 7th graders are required to have two immunizations:

1. Tetanus, Diphtheria and Acellular Pertussis-containing vaccine (Tdap): 1 dose within the

last 5 years to be valid.

2. Meningococcal Vaccine (MCV4): 1 dose of the quadrivalent vaccine on or after a student's

11th birthday to be valid.

or

Reasons of Conscience Exemption

If your child has already received these immunizations, you may drop off, fax (512-858-3699), or email (blair.smith@dsisdtx.us) the updated record at any time.

Please note: We can only accept a record from an electronic health record system if it includes the clinic's contact information and the provider's signature/stamp. A screenshot or print-out from your child's patient portal does not satisfy this requirement.

Your child’s immunization status is available for you to view in Skyward. Go to Family Access and click on the ‘Health Info’ tab located on the left side of the page.

Class schedules will not be released and students will not be allowed to start on the first day of school, August 13th, 2025, until an updated immunization record has been provided. Thank you for your understanding.

Please contact me with questions.

--

Blair Smith, RN, BSN

Nurse|Sycamore Springs Middle School

512-858-3604

Fax 512-858-3699

Happy Birthday to all our SSMS Faculty and Staff! We ❤️ You! Go Tigers! 🐯

🎉 Congratulations to Tiger of the Week!

Boy's End of Year Athletic Awards - May 21

• THANK YOU to everyone who joined PTA, donated to our fundraising efforts, volunteered their time, and interacted with us on social media. We appreciate your time and effort to support us, so we can support the amazing staff and students at SSMS! If you haven't joined yet, please consider! It is open all year to new memberships. Go to joinpta.org to join.

• Be sure to Like and Follow our Facebook and Instagram - we post information and updates daily throughout the school year, and we’ll show up more often the more you react to the posts! We’ll take a break for summer, and we’ll be back in your feeds in August!

DSISD Employee Recognition Program

Are you looking for a way to honor a Dripping Springs ISD employee? Whether you are a staff member wanting to recognize a co-worker for a job well done or a parent who is impressed by your child's bus driver for going that extra mile, this is the program for you! Anyone can nominate any DSISD employee through the district's employee recognition program, Tiger Stripes for Staff.

The program invites DSISD staff, students, parents and community members to participate by leaving a positive note about a staff member. Please click HERE to go to the district Tiger Stripe page.

Dripping Springs ISD’s annual online verification process for all students is now open. According to state law, this process must be completed each year for all students – those who have previously been enrolled in DSISD and those who are new to our district and previously completed registration in the spring.

Family Access logins are used to begin this process. Parents received a reminder email with their Family Access login information. If you do not have a login or cannot remember your password, please follow the directions in the reminder email.

Please complete online verification for each child in your family as soon as possible; this process should be completed by Thursday, May 22. During the verification process, parents complete back-to-school forms. This process takes approximately 30 minutes to complete.

If you have problems with the online process, please contact your child’s campus and ask for the Skyward Family Access contact/Student Records Specialist. Computers are available at campuses for those who do not have one available at home.

Monday, 5/19 - A Day

National Speech Pathologist Day!

NJHS Induction; 7pm in Cafeteria

Tuesday, 5/20 - B Day

Final Exams; 5th & 7th periods

Wednesday, 5/21 - A Day

Final Exams; 1st & 3rd periods

Thursday, 5/22 - B Day

Final Exams; 8th & 6th periods

Friday, 5/23 - A Day - Early Release

Final Exams; 2nd & 4th periods

Counseling Advisory Council; 8:00 am in Sycamore Room

Last Day of School!!! 😎

6/2 - Tiger Belles Pre-Camp; 8-4 in big gym

6/9 - 6/12 - Tiger Belles Line Camp; 8-5 in big gym

6/30 - 7/3 - District Holiday - All campuses closed
7/1 - The deadline to order your School Supply kit. Click HERE to place your order.

7/22 - Compacted Math - Parent Information Meeting; 5pm @ CLL

7/23 - 7/25 - Cheer Spirit Kick-off Week; 11-2 in big gym

7/29 - 8/1 - Band Camp