Sycamore Springs Middle School

Hello Sycamore Springs Middle School Families,

We had another fantastic week at SSMS! We celebrated our new students with our annual New Student Welcome Breakfast—a big shoutout to our PTA for providing all the food. Our PALS students shined at Monday night’s School Board meeting, and PTA hosted their first PTA Parent-to-Parent Tour. Athletics had a strong showing with exciting volleyball and football games against HBMS, and our cross country team represented us well at their Saturday meet in Marble Falls.

It was also an unforgettable Homecoming Week! Our halls were filled with school spirit during the dress-up days, our Cheer team and Tiger Belles proudly represented Sycamore in the HOCO Parade on Wednesday night, and we wrapped it all up under the Friday night lights as the Tigers crushed Akins in the big game.

Looking ahead, this week is our Cross Country's District Meet on Wednesday, our second annual eSports Tournament on Friday, and an exciting milestone for our 7th graders in Health, as they complete their first high school graduation requirement by learning CPR.

Go Tigers!

Sincerely,

Kelly Miller

Principal

1. Mario Kart eSports Tournament - You are invited to attend our 2nd eSports Tournament at SSMS, featuring: Mario Kart 8 on Nintendo Switch! The tournament will be held after school in the SSMS cafeteria on Friday, October 3rd from 4:15 to 6 PM. See below for more information or click HERE to access the flyer.

2. All students arriving after 8:50 am MUST enter in through the main office and check in. Please do NOT drop your student off in the back by the cafeteria or at the new student drop-off after 8:50 am. They will not be able to get into the building.

3. For Parents of 6th and 7th Grade Students - We have a permission form for parents regarding their child’s access to the Young Adult (YA) section of the library. Access to this section is opt-in only and requires parent/guardian approval. If your child is currently in 7th grade and you completed this form last year, there is no need to fill it out again. Please click the link below to review the form and additional details. Parent Permission to Read Form

4. Lost & Found Clean-Out Dates - Our Lost & Found fills up quickly! To help keep things organized, unclaimed items will be cleaned out and donated on the following dates this school year: October 30, 2025; November 21, 2025; December 19, 2025; March 13, 2026; and May 22, 2026. Please encourage your student to check the Lost & Found regularly so their belongings don’t get donated.

5. Advanced Academics Information Night & GT Testing - An Advanced Academics and Gifted and Talented Parent Information Night will be held on Tuesday, September 30th, from 5:30-6:30pm at the CL&L to guide families in knowing how to request testing for gifted and talented services in DSISD. The window for parents to request GT testing is open from October 1, 2025, through November 14, 2025. For additional information, and to access the referral link on October 1st or after, please visit the DSISD Gifted and Talented website.

6. Secondary Grading Information: Have you noticed we have three different categories of grades in our Skyward gradebooks? You will see a Formative category, which accounts for 30% of a student’s final grade, a Summative category, which accounts for 70% of a student’s final grade, and a Practice or PRAC, which does not have a numerical impact on a student’s grade. Summative Assessments and assignments have the greatest impact on a student’s numerical grade. They are assessments and assignments that are conducted when a student has had adequate instruction and practice to be responsible for material mastery. Summative assessments and assignments are designed around clearly defined learning targets and/or standards (TEKS). Summative assessments and assignments are not necessarily indicative of a student’s IQ in intelligence, rather, summative assessments and assignments provide information about the amount of learning or mastery of a standard that has occurred by a certain point.

7. 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. Click HERE to leave a Tiger Strip!

8. SMS Attendance Matters - Weekly Update: We're kicking off the 2nd six weeks, and our attendance continues to be a highlight! For Week 7, our overall Average Daily Attendance (ADA) was 97.3%. That is a tremendous effort that keeps us consistently above our year-long goal of 96.9%. Thank you for prioritizing your student's time in the classroom!

A huge shout-out this week goes once again to the 6th Graders, who continue to lead the school with an exceptional 98.0% ADA! The dedication of our 6th-grade students and families to being present every day is truly making a difference in their learning.

Remember, every day counts, and consistent attendance is the single biggest factor in closing learning gaps. Let’s keep this momentum going as we head into the next part of the semester!

We hope you all had a great weekend!

On October 7 & 8, our seventh graders will receive a presentation on Vaping Prevention. This will be presented by Emily Heinatz with Safe Schools in Health classes. The presentation covers the chemicals used in vapes, myths, the stress of peer pressure, and laws. Students will learn how vaping can impact their health and learn refusal skills. If you do not want your student to receive this lesson, please email their counselor and we will arrange for students to be in the Library where Ms. McCoy will monitor students.

Dripping Springs ISD has partnered with Terrace Metrics to understand & support the resiliency & well-being of our students. All 7th Grade students will have the opportunity to take this assessment on Oct. 22nd or 23rd via Tiger Win classes. Active consent is required from parents/guardians for their student(s) to participate in the evaluation. This means that we will not administer the assessment to any student with a parental/guardian consent status of no and no response consent. Only students with a parental/guardian consent status of yes will be allowed to participate. 7th grade parents will receive an email from Ms. Miller on October 6, with additional information about Terrace Metrics. On October 7, seventh grade parents will receive an email from Actionaly, which will contain the consent form. The consent form will close on Oct. 17. Before the Terrace Metrics parental consent window closes, we will host a 7th-grade parent meeting to provide information and answer questions about the Terrace Metrics Assessment. Please join us on October 9th from 9:30 a.m.-10:30 a.m. in the Pecan room at SSMS for this meeting.

September is Suicide Awareness Month. For more information, check out this flyer that has information on warning signs and steps you can take.

“The Anxious Generation” parent book study has begun. If you are still wanting to join, check out this flyer with the information and join in!

Have a great week and Go Tigers!

Ms. Dykhoff, Grades 6-8 last names A-K

Mrs. Zimmerman, Grades 6-8 last names L-Z

You are invited to attend our 2nd eSports Tournament at SSMS, featuring: Mario Kart 8 on Nintendo Switch! The tournament will be held after school in the SSMS cafeteria on Friday, October 3rd from 4:15 to 6 PM.

The races will be held in 4-player groups, raced across 4 tracks on 150cc, and with All Items. The Top 2 races in each group will advance to the next round in the "Gold Cup" bracket. But don't worry, the bottom 2 racers in each group are NOT eliminated, but they will continue on to the "Silver Cup" bracket and continue racing!

Everyone is guaranteed to have a great time competing and racing, and at the end of the evening we will crown our first ever Mario Kart Champion of SSMS! Join us for a fun-filled evening of racing and competition.

Encourage and challenge your friends AND teachers to join us on Friday, October 3rd in the cafe after-school!

Registration: SSMS PTA Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Tournament FOR STUDENTS & STAFF

Please join me in celebrating our amazing Tigers with September birthdays! Wishing each of you a day filled with joy, laughter, and lots of cake. We ❤️ You! Go Tigers! 🐯

Big cheers to our amazing SSMS teachers who earned a shout-out from their peers this week! Your hard work and positivity keep our campus shining bright. We’re so lucky to have the BEST staff around. Thank you for making SSMS the place to be!

Congratulations to the Tiger of the Week!

Our Tiger of the week is Emma Rasmussen! Thank you!

We are so proud of all our volleyball players! We especially want to recognize the following players of the game from this week's game against HBMS!

Congratulations to our SSMS XC Runners of the Week! For the week of September 15th-19th, we recognized runners who are always there for their teammates whether it's cheering them to the finish line, helping them find their pace or being a running buddy who encourages their buddy to go farther faster Congratulations to Evelyn (7G), Jack (7B), Linden (8G) and Noah (8B). Keep inspiring your teammates through your hard work, encouraging words and endless effort!

Our Cheerleader of the Week is Brooklyn! With her caring heart and subtle sense of humor, she’s like a mama bear, quietly looking out for the little ones in the sweetest ways. Brooklyn’s kind words or quick jokes keep everyone feeling supported and appreciated, and we love the warmth and thoughtfulness she brings to our cheer family!

Please help me in congratulating our Tiger Belles of the Week!!!

•SSMS PTA is looking for FIVE volunteers to help support Mr. Santos THIS Fri Oct 3rd 4-6PM for the 2nd Annual Esports Tournament: Mario Kart. You’d help sign students in, distribute snacks & water, and help as needed. No knowledge of the game or gaming systems is required.

Sign up here: SignUpGenius - Mobile

•SSMS PTA is asking for donations for some good ol’ fashion fun w/ gently used board and/or card games! Drop off in the SSMS Front Office to be given to SSMS Admin who will decide how & when to use them-ex. during student aide downtime.

You may also purchase new here on the Amazon Wish List: Amazon.com

•SSMS PTA is excited to participate in the Nat’l PTA Reflections! It encourages students of ALL ages & abilities to explore and be involved in the arts. Students create and submit original works of art in the medium of their choice— dance choreography, film production, literature, music composition, photography, and visual arts — reflecting on a specific theme. This year's theme is "I Belong". Please see rules and entry form here! We would love for you to encourage your students to participate! A box for entries will be at the front desk (w/ paper entry forms) and questions can be directed to reflections@ssmspta.org. Entry forms and rules are also available on the SSMS website Let's get creative!

•We have officially succeeded our membership total from last year with a goal of 350+ SSMS PTA Members while earning the Head Start Award for 75% or more of that total membership from last year right out of the gate!

Continue to enter if you haven’t already for BOTH upcoming raffles-our next drawing is next month, Oct 30th for a YETI Hopper Flip 12!

•THANK YOU to all our volunteers who consistently show up to free up teaching time to educate & mentor by simply volunteering to make copies in our workroom WEEKLY. Please, consider signing up for one or MORE slots that is convenient for you.

Sign up here: SignUpGenius - Mobile

Note: You must have a current background check completed with DSISD Inspiring Volunteers, Volunteering at DSISD | Dripping Springs

Questions? Contact volunteers@ssmspta.org

•Be sure to Like & Follow our FacebookandInstagram - we post information and updates daily throughout the school year, and we’ll show up more often the more you react to the posts!

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. Click HERE to leave a Tiger Strip!

Monday, 9/29 - A Day

7th Football @ HBMS; 4:15/5:30/7:00pm

Tuesday, 9/30 - B Day

8th Football vs HBMS @ SSMS; 4:15/5:30/7:00pm

Wednesday, 10/1 - A Day

CPR Training for all Health Class

Highland Lakes Middle School District Meet; @ DSHS (staggered starts)

Thursday, 10/2 - B Day

FCA Meeting; Small Gym @ 8am (must turn in permission slip to attend)

CPR Training for all Health Class

Volleyball @ WRMS; 8B/7A 5:00pm & 8A/7B 6:15am;

Friday, 10/3 - B Day

PTA Board Meeting; Sycamore Room @ 8:15am

Mario Kart eSports Tournament; Cafeteria @ 4:15pm

10/6 - 7th Football vs. WRMS @ SSMS; 5:00/6:30pm

10/7 - 7th Graders - Vaping Prevention Presentation from Safe Schools

10/7 - 8th Football vs WRMS @ Westlake HS; 5:00/6:30pm

10/8 - 7th Graders - Vaping Prevention Presentation from Safe Schools

10/9 - CAC Meeting #1; Sycamore Room @ 7:45am

10/9 - FCA; Small Gym @ 8am (permission slip required)

10/9 - Parent Meeting for Terrace Metrics (7th Grade Families); Pecan Room @ 9am

10/9 - Volleyball @ BCMS; 8B/7A 5:00pm & 8A/7B 6:15am

10/9 - Fall Choir Concert; Cafeteria @ 7pm

10/10 - Student Holiday/Teacher PD Day

10/10 - Varsity Football vs. Bowie; Tiger Stadium @ 7:30 pm (Gold Out)

10/11 - Volleyball - District B Team Tournament @ SSMS

10/13 - Student & Staff Holiday/No School

10/14 - 7th Football @ BCMS; 4:15/5:30/7:00pm

10/15 - 8th Football vs BCMS @ SSMS; 4:15/5:30/7:00pm

10/15 - Coffee & Chat w/ Principal Miller; Sycamore Room @ 8:15 am

10/16 - FCA; Small Gym @ 8am (permission slip required)

10/16 - Volleyball @ DSMS; 8B/7A 5:00pm & 8A/7B 6:15am

10/16 - Band Booster Meeting; Sycamore Room @ 5pm

10/17 - PTA Parent to Parent Campus Tours;11:30-12:15 (click HERE to sign up)

10/17 - Varsity Football vs. LTHS; Tiger Stadium @ 7:30pm (Black Out)

10/18 - Volleyball - District A Team Tournament @ DSMS

10/20 - 7th Football vs DSMS @ SSMS; 4:15/5:30/7:00pm

10/21 - Fall Picture Retakes; Sycamore Room

10/21 - 8th Football vs DSMS @ DSHS; 4:15/5:30/7:00pm

10/23 - FCA; Small Gym @ 8am (permission slip required)

10/24 - Varsity Football vs. Del Valle; Tiger Stadium @ 7:30 pm (Pink Out)

10/25 - District Band Auditions

10/29 - PTA Chili Cook-off

10/30 - FCA; Small Gym @ 8am (permission slip required)

10/31 - Student Holiday/Teacher PD Day