Saeger Spartan Summer Newsletter

Dear Saeger Parents:

I hope this summer has given you time to relax before the new school year begins. It is exciting to start a new year and see our returning students and meet our new kids. I have reflected on the past two school years and it has certainly been a time where we have all experienced a ton of change and have had to show our resiliency by pivoting, readjusting and switching gears, oftentimes daily. Our students have had many procedural changes specifically at school that has affected their daily routines and although they have shown great flexibility, kids do better with clear expectations, well defined rules and we do better as adult teachers with consistent systems that support our students.

Thinking about all of this, we generally start a new year with a catchy theme and center our work around that theme. When I talk with parents, friends, teachers and other school administrators, what I hear most is that all kids need to get back to the basics and learn routines and structure. With this being my 28th year as an educator working with kids, I could not agree more. We have great kids and I enjoy everything about them and know that they thrive on these structures. As we begin this year, we will be communicating this theme of "back to the basics" by teaching routines and expectations to our students.

In addition to a focus on "back to the basics", we will also be using lessons from Character Strong during our Spartan Time class in order to help meet the social/emotional needs of our students, close the gap for students who feel disconnected, and build relationships among staff and students. In the past, these lessons were created by Saeger staff. The FHSD Board of Education approved the purchase of the Character Strong resource last spring, and it will be implemented in all middle schools in the district.

Character Strong focuses on understanding emotions and regulation, empathy and compassion, values and purpose, goals and habits, and leadership and teamwork. Students will be engaged in Character Strong lessons approximately two days per week and will also participate in character challenges throughout the school year with each quarter focusing on a different topic such as commitment, kindness, selflessness and respect. These topics all reflect Saeger’s three main pillars of respect, responsibility and safety.

I often tell our teachers as well as other colleagues that Saeger is lucky to have an involved parent community that supports our school. Our PACK parent group is an outstanding group always looking for ways to support all of our students. We are a high performing middle school with high achieving students. If you have not heard, the Francis Howell School District ranks #1 in St. Charles County and #10 in the State according to Niche’s 2022 Best School Districts in Missouri. As another note, Cottleville is the safest city in Missouri as reported by Safe Wise in March of 2022. I am proud to be the Principal of Saeger Middle School and am super excited to see our kids return in August. The kids are the best part of my job! If ever you have questions, please contact me, I enjoy hearing from you.

Kandy

Dr. Kandy Worley,

Principal

Email: krisandra.worley@fhsdschools.org

Saeger Middle School

5201 Highway N

Saint Charles, MO 63304

Phone: 636-851-5600

Fax: 636-851-4138

Building Principal: Dr. Kandy Worley- 851-5459

Assistant Principal: Kelly Barber—7th grade & 8th grade letters A-L -636-851-5488

Administrative Intern: Dr. Katie Robson—6th grade & 8th grade letters M-Z - 636-851-5488

6th Grade Counselor: Dionne Smith- 851-5506

7th Grade Counselor: Samantha Schoonover- 851-5489

8th Grade Counselor: Nanette Bratton- 851-5456

Educational Support Counselor ESC: Kristin Ahlemeier-Olfe- 851-5639

Principal’s Administrative Assistant: Angie Guinn- 851-5459

Registrar/BIS: Patty Sheets- 851-5509

Attendance: Gabi Schlater- 851-5471

Nurse: Crystal Wheeler- 851-5510

Discipline: Andrea Herschberger- 851-5488

Lunch Accounts: 851-5876

Francis Howell Transportation: 851-6620

Resource Officer: Officer Jerry Gentry- 851-5462

8/11 Incoming 6th Grade Parent Night 5:30-7:30 p.m. -Saeger Gym

8/12 Student schedules released via Parent Portal

8/15 Schedule Walkthrough 9:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m.

8/18 6th Grade Transition Day 8:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

8/18 Open House 3:30-5:00 p.m.

8/18 Pre AP/Honors Curriculum Night 5:00-5:30 p.m.

8/22 First Day of School 8:15 a.m.-3:15 p.m.

9/13 School Pictures taken during PE classes

*keep reading for details about each of these events included in this newsletter

Incoming 6th grade Parent Night 5:30-7:30 p.m. in large gym. Being a new parent of a middle schooler can be exciting and sometimes overwhelming. Come to Saeger and hear all about middle school and what to expect as your child begins their middle school adventure. Parents will be able to obtain their child’s schedule so please bring all completed paperwork to turn in. If you have a 7th or 8th grader new to Saeger this year you are welcome to attend our parent night.

All student schedules will be released through the Parent Portal on August 12th. Parents will print off student schedules and locker combinations from Parent Portal via Infinite Campus. All students will be assigned a locker.

Come to Saeger from 9:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m. to turn in completed health forms, give medication to the nurse, get and walk class schedules, get information about a yearbook, students can set up lockers, etc.

Transition Day is for 6th graders or any student new to Saeger. This day runs from 8:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Students are invited to come and spend a day prior to the start of school. Students will walk the building, go through their schedules, meet their teachers, practice their lockers, eat breakfast/lunch and meet new friends.

Sixth graders MUST bring their schedules and lunch money or a packed lunch. If your child has money in their lunch account, they can use that.

TRANSITION DAY MENU 2022- ALL SECONDARY SCHOOLS (cost $3.15)

Bosco Sticks with Marinara Sauce

Chicken Patty Sandwich

Hamburger

Cheeseburger

Fruits, Vegetables & Milk

This event is from 3:30-5:00 p.m. and will be a traditional open house format where parents walk their child’s schedule, meet teachers and hear an overview for each class. Have your child’s schedule in hand and report to your child’s Spartan Time.

This presentation is from 5:00-5:30 p.m. and is for those parents interested in hearing about our advanced courses, come hear from our Core Department Chairs with a short presentation about our Pre AP/Honors courses.

School photos for the yearbook and the Saeger ID will be taken on September 13th during PE class. Ordering details will be shared out on our Enews towards the end of August by Wagner Portrait Group.

You can mail, fax, email or drop off the health form at Saeger. Please provide current cellphone numbers, work numbers, emergency contact people and numbers, current doctor names, and contact information.

Address:

Saeger Middle School

5201 Highway N

St. Charles, MO 63304

Fax: 636-851-4138

Email health form to nurse: crystal.wheeler1@fhsdschools.org

According to the Missouri State law requirements -

All 8th grade students must have a Tdap and Meningococcal immunization on record with the school BEFORE the first day of school on August 22nd.

Any student who is not in compliance the first day of school will be sent home.

Check with your doctor to see if your child has already received the needed vaccines. If so- please have them fax it to 636-851-4138 or bring in before the first day of school.

If they HAVE NOT had the mentioned vaccines- please make an appointment with your doctor for them to receive them. Other options are to call the St Charles county Health Department at 636-949-1857. You can also try the Take Care Clinic at Walgreens.

If you cannot get the immunizations before the first day of school…

· Make an appointment and have the facility fax an appointment confirmation with the date/time your child has a scheduled appointment to 636-851-4138. Your child may then attend school until the day after the date of the appointment.

· *If your student (6th & 7th) received immunizations over the summer- you can send us a copy of their record so we can update their health file.

Thank you for helping us stay compliant with Missouri State Law.

Call Crystal Wheeler, RN/BSN, if you have any questions or concerns at 636-851-5510.

Students are not allowed to bring in controlled substance medication bottles to the nursing office, unless PROPERLY PACKAGED. All controlled substances must be placed in a “sealed” envelope with the number of pills written on the outside of the envelope OR another option is to send the pills in a “locked bag”, which the school will provide.

Any controlled medication NOT properly packaged will not be given due to safety reasons. Please also review the medication policy for over the counter medications.

Call our nurse, Crystal Wheeler, if you have any questions at 636-851-5510.

To access the Online Registration Annual Verification ORAV, parents will go through their Infinite Campus Parent Portal login. If a parent has not registered for the Infinite Campus Parent Portal, parents need to contact Patty Sheets, BIS at 636-851-5509 to request their Portal access letter for their access key.

Once logged into the Parent Portal, parents will click the Online Registration button at the bottom left-side of the portal page. Families with returning students will click the button for Existing Student Registration. Review and confirm or update your household and student demographic information.

The District will release middle school students early on certain Wednesdays to allow for more teacher collaboration time focusing on student achievement. There are no afterschool activities on early release days. Note there are some Wednesdays that do not release early. The list below provides the dates on which the collaboration will take place.

The collaboration time will be used for teachers to meet and review student achievement data as it relates to goals and progress toward meeting those goals. Teachers will develop specific strategies and action plans to implement with students based on the data. This process is a vital component for positively impacting student achievement.

Please mark your calendars for the following days and 2:30 p.m. release times for Saeger.

August 31

September 7, 14, 28

October 5, 12, 19

November 9, 16, 30

December 7, 14

January 4, 25

February 1, 8, 22

March 1, 8, 15, 29

April 12, 19, 26

May 3, 10, 17

We continue to implement interventions and support for students during the day to provide more direct time for academic support. Spartan Times will meet on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.

Character Strong lessons will take place two days each week. On other days peer tutoring, study time, silent-sustained reading and community service projects, are but a few things that may take place in Spartan Time when teachers are not providing extra assistance.

Students will NOT be allowed to use their cellphones during Spartan Time.

Feel free to contact your child’s Spartan Time teacher, as he/her also can serve as a resource and key point of contact for our Saeger parents.

• Cory Carpenter, Reading
• Stacy Crane, Paraprofessional
• Leigh Ann Dyer, Art/ITD 8
• Amanda Halbert, PLTW 6/EBD 7/FACS 8
• Sara McClendon, ELA 7 & 8
• Daniela Muller-Williams, German/ITD 7/EBD 8
• Melissa Placatka, Math 6
• Kaitlin Shipp, Geography
• Jennifer Sontag, ELA 6/Reading
• Mackenzie Struckhoff, Special Education
• Stephanie Yates, Paraprofessional

PACK, Parents Actively Caring for Kids, is Saeger’s parent support organization. We welcome and need parents actively involved in our school. Let’s work together to build a strong community at Saeger, and to support our students and staff! There are many ways to get involved. We would love for you to join us!

Some opportunities available are-

· School store

· Fundraising

· Hospitality

· Staff Appreciation

· Creating posters/banners and bulletin boards

· Field trip chaperones

· Helping with end of year celebrations and events

· Dine Out Nights

How to Get Started

All district volunteers must complete the required background check and volunteer training per district policy.

The Volunteer Handbook, training videos, and forms can be found online at www.fhsdschools.org (click on Parents, then Volunteers).

Completed forms must be turned in to Angie Guinn in the Saeger office, or sent to the district office as listed on the volunteer checklist. If you need to check your volunteer clearance, or have any questions about this process, contact Angie Guinn at 851-5459.

• Sign up for Saeger Enews at www.fhsdschools.org (click on Departments, then Communication, then Enews subscription). Saeger Enews is sent out twice weekly. Enews contains school wide information, including PACK updates.
• Like us on Facebook at “Saeger PACK”. Facebook is one of the easiest and quickest ways we have to communicate. You can also view photos of PACK events here.

PACK Contacts

Please contact Darla Kitsmiller, PACK president at darla@fitwithdarla.com if you are interested in being a part of PACK or have any questions.

Activity fee letters will be mailed home in September when your child has joined a club/activity. Activity fees will not be paid until fee letters are sent. Activity fees will then be paid online via the web at https://fhsdschools.revtrak.net/

** Please do not send cash or a check to the sponsor for this fee.**

*Additional team and club assessments may still apply.*

As parents, we get a great deal of comfort knowing our children are easily accessible by phone. Although, cellphones can be used as a learning tool, they also are a source of distraction and disruption to the learning environment and can become the source of stress for our kiddos. Our cell phone/electronic device procedures are designed to help students focus on academics instead of the drama associated with social media.

We ask your help in reviewing these expectations at home and support us with our efforts.

· Cellphones MUST be turned off and put away (lockers/book bag/purse) during the school day. Students will be asked to turn off and put away their phones as they enter the school in the mornings and will be able to access them when they get back on the bus in the afternoon.

· Cellphones/electronic devices will NOT be allowed during lunches or passing times.

· Should you need to get in touch with your child during the school day or get a message to him or her, please call the main office at 636-851-5600. Administrators will share messages with students during their lunch period or later in the school day.

· Should your child be sick, he/she FIRST needs to report to the nurse and the nurse will contact you regarding possible pick up.

· Phones in use may be taken to the office to be returned to the student and/or parent. The only exception to this would be for academic purposes at teacher discretion.

SMS has implemented the following practice with regard to cell phone offenses: (Cellphone offenses is a level one offense in the District Code of Conduct.)

• First Offense—Cellphone will be “bagged and tagged” and brought to the main office. The student will be able to pick up the phone at the end of the day / dismissal from school.
• Second and Subsequent Offenses—Cellphone will be “bagged and tagged” and brought to the main office. The parent will need to pick up the phone in the main office.
• Subsequent offenses—the student will be subject to disciplinary action and will lose the privilege to have the item at school. When other issues accompany cellphone use, there are other consequences which may be assigned.

We follow the district expectations in the Code of Conduct with regard to school dress. We recognize that school clothes shopping can be a challenge for many parents. Today’s fashions that are reflected in videos and TV may not always be appropriate for creating an environment conducive to learning.

We ask as parents that you pay careful attention to what your child is wearing.

The following are NOT allowed:

· Bare backs

· Bedroom Wear

· Bellies and above exposed

· Bottoms exposed

· Boxers & other under garments exposed

· Bad language, beer, and other bad taste promoted

· Blankets

Wearing hats will be up to the discretion of the Saeger Administration. Traditions have changed in our society and where it was once considered disrespectful to wear hats in a building, times have changed. Baseball caps and other small hats that do not cause a distraction or disruption to the educational environment may be permitted until the privilege is removed. The privilege of wearing hats may be removed at any given time based on students behaviors while wearing hats.

Hoodies have also come a tradition in our society and may be worn, but the hood must be down and not be worn on the head.

BREAKFAST & LUNCH

Check out the district’s website for meal prices, payments, meal charge policy and much more.

https://www.fhsdschools.org/departments/food_services

Students Receiving Free & Reduced Lunches

• This is a reminder that families must reapply ANNUALLY for Free & Reduced Lunch status.
• Please contact Patty Sheets at 851-5509 for forms or questions concerning the Free & Reduced Lunch program.

NO FOOD DELIVERIES TO SCHOOL

Please be sure that each day your child has a lunch or money is in their lunch account.

We thank you for your support!

Dress

Students are required to have athletic shoes for PE. Students are NOT required to change into a PE uniform. However, students may bring a shirt and shorts to change if they prefer.

Doctor’s Notes for PE

· During an absence from PE due to a medical condition or situation, the student MUST bring in a signed note from his/her doctor with regard to the absence. The original signed doctor’s note is to be given to the nurse, Crystal Wheeler.

· The nurse will approve the absence and an excused note will be given to the student to take to his/her PE teacher.

· Parent notes/excuses go directly to the student’s PE teacher.

BUS ROUTES

• Check your child’s bus route via your Parent Portal under the transportation section. Be sure to check your child’s route.
• Routes should be posted prior to the start of school.
• If you have any questions regarding transportation, contact the Francis Howell Transportation Department at 636-851-6220.

PARENT DROP OFF & PICK UP PROCEDURES

Our parent drop off is in the back of the building at door #11. Doors remain locked until 7:45 a.m.

Students may NOT be dropped off before 7:45 a.m.

Parent Pick-up is also at door #11 in the back of the building. Parent pick up kids will exit that door and meet their parents on the sidewalk at dismissal time.

Parents will need to wait in the parent pick up line.

Parents may NOT park at FHC and meet their Saeger children there.

WALKER/BIKE RIDER PERMITS

The district provides transportation for students within the school’s attendance boundary. It is recommended that all students ride the bus to and from school.

Any Saeger student who wants to walk/bike ride to and from school MUST HAVE a parent-signed — “Walker Permit” on file with the office. Walkers/bike riders will report to the cafeteria at the end of the school day. Walkers/bike riders will be supervised by a staff member and will be dismissed AFTER all busses leave the parking lot. This procedure applies to whether walking home, to FHC, or to a nearby business. Walker permit forms are available in the main office or on Saeger’s website under PARENTS tab.

Parents, please make sure that you are “in the know” if your child decides to walk home. It is important that you know with whom your child is walking and to where he/she is going after school hours. Please discuss with your child the expectations to follow the traffic signals, roadway rules, and appropriate behavior while walking and when frequenting nearby businesses.

Remember that there is NO Adult supervision for walkers/bike riders. Parents who permit students to walk/bike ride do so at their own risk. There is no adult monitoring their walk home, to FHC, or to a nearby business.

Payments for yearbooks are online. Prices will go up in September. More information will go out in Enews regarding yearbooks. Cory Carpenter will be new to Saeger as well as our yearbook club sponsor.

Support your middle schoolers by helping them stay on top of things as they try to juggle, organize, and prepare for learning.

· Canvas -- Be familiar with our learning management system.

· Conferences -- Our Parent Teacher Conferences have been via Zoom and have been more efficient.

· Enews -- Sign up for Saeger—this is our main line of communication. Sign up on our website under the news tab.

· FACEBOOK

* P.A.C.K. – Join our parent group – like “Saeger Middle School PACK” page.

· Parent Portal -- Check it regularly for grades, attendance, and bus route. Call 851-HELP if you need assistance.

· School Messenger - - Sign up for the FHSD SchoolMessenger Notification System to be notified about emergencies, weather-related closures, attendance and other messages related to our mission. Sign up on our website, parent tab, SchoolMessenger.

· Twitter Follow Saeger Middle School. Some teachers have Twitter accounts as well.

· Website https://saeger.fhsdschools.org for teacher websites, information, newsletters, school supply lists, handbooks, attendance policies, dress code, code of conduct, teacher websites, parenting resources and the WEB STORE are just a few of the many items you can find on our website.