SMMS Weekly Update

Thanks to a local artist and friend of SMMS, Miss Alisha, for helping us create a memorable way to greet students on Tuesday.

1st Day of School

On Tuesday, August 19, we will welcome all of our students back for the start of the 2025-2025 school year. On this day, we will run an activity schedule. Students will be engaged with staffulty that day learning about SMMS and our Renaissance program. No backpacks will be needed that first day.

All student schedules are live on Schoology and we will be providing each student

a print copy of their schedule on Tuesday.

Walkers

Students who are walking from the Hammonds Mill subdivision must cross at the cross-walk and walk on the sidewalk in front of the primary school and up the sidewalk next to the SMMS side parking lot. The sidewalks are there for student safety; please use them! We cannot have students cutting between cars in the road and in the side parking lot. Students, please watch for traffic.

Parent Drop-off and Pick-up

Drop-off in the front circle ends at 7:12 – we cannot block buses from dropping off there. If you are later than 7:12, parents must enter the side parking lot and circle to drop off at the side door. Officer See will be at the side door, along with several staffulty members, to greet students.

Please encourage your student to bring their school-sponsored device to school by Friday, August 22. All students who bring their charged device that day will receive a raffle ticket to enter to

win a variety of prizes. The school iPad is a tool for learning, and we need them to maximize

student engagement daily in our lessons.

SMMS admin worked with Dean Olack, the county security officer, to design a traffic pattern for the afternoon that would create the safest situation for students. Please use the directions and image below to review our procedures.

No parking along Campus Drive.
Line up, single-file, in the primary school bus loop.
No one may park in the primary loop and pick up their student. We have permission to use the lane as a staging area, not for parent pick-up.
Once the buses leave, the cars in the primary bus loop will enter the bus loop at SMMS with the assistance of a staff member directing traffic on Campus Drive.
No left turns from Campus Drive until all the cars from the primary loop have filtered into the middle school front loop.

Please complete your Annual Forms & Information Update, which includes the following:

Acceptable Use Policy
Student handbook
Photo permissions
Emergency contacts

Scan or click on the QR code.

Dear Parents and Guardians,

As a reminder, all students entering 7th grade are required by law to have the following immunizations completed before the first day of school:

Tdap (Tetanus, Diphtheria, Pertussis)
Meningococcal (Meningitis)

Proof of these immunizations must be submitted to the school nurse prior to the first day of classes, 08/19/2025.

Students who do not have proof of these immunizations on file may not be allowed to start school until the requirement is met.

Please contact your child’s healthcare provider as soon as possible to ensure these vaccinations are up to date. You may also contact the school nurse via email at amanda.dagostino@k12.wv.us if you have questions and can't reach your provider.

If they are not up to date you may call:

Your student's physician
local pharmacies such as CVS, Walgreens, Spring Mills Pharmacy, and/or Target Pharmacy
local Health Departments: Berkeley, Jefferson, Morgan, and/or Washington County MD

Thank you for your attention to this important matter and for helping us keep our school community safe and healthy.

-Nurse Dagostino

If cell phones are brought to school, the phones are required to be turned off and kept in the student lockers. Cell phones are not permitted to be used on school property to make phone calls, take pictures, check social media, text during school hours from 7:12 - 2:28. If the student must be contacted, parents may call our school at 304-274- 5030. If a student violates this policy, the following consequences will apply:

1st Offense- Confiscate the phone and assign lunch detention. The student may be pick up the phone at the end of the day.
2nd Offense- Confiscate the phone and assign an hour after school detention. The student may pick up the phone at the end of the day.
3rd Offense- Confiscate the phone and assign a two hour after school detention. The parent may pick up the phone at the end of day.
4th Offense – Confiscate the phone and ISS will be assigned. The parent may pick up the phone at the end of the day. A phone contract may be issued.

This policy also applies to possession of a cell phone, regardless of the phone’s ownership.

SMMS offers several opportunities for students to engage in competitive athletics at the middle school level. All students need to have a WVSSAC Physical form on file at the school before you can start. All students must have a 2.0 GPA from last semester.

Cross Country

For students who are interested in running Cross Country this fall, practice starts August 25th. Practice is from 4:00-5:15. Students need to meet Coach Barnhart outside of the gym on the side of the school. Please wear running shoes and bring water. This is a club team and all are welcome to join. Contact Coach Chip Barnhart with questions: cbarnhar@k12.wv.us