SMS Weekly Update

Another great week has passed, and we are now just one week away from Winter Break! Yesterday's Staff vs Student Flag Football Game and student activities were so much fun, and some lucky class is on their way to earning a Doughnut Party! It's not too late to tip the scales and contribute to the SMS Food Drive (please see the details below).

December 13

• SMS Food Drive, Snack and Cereal Day! (additional details below)

• Winter Band Concert, 7:00pm - Sherwood High School Auditorium

December 14

• SMS Food Drive, Anything Day! (additional details below)

• Early Release, dismissal at 2:20pm

December 15

• SMS Food Drive, Canned/Dry Food Day! (additional details below)

December 19 - January 2

• Winter Break, NO SCHOOL

January 3

• Professional Development Day, NO SCHOOL

January 4

• Early Release, dismissal at 2:20pm

January 11

• Early Release, dismissal at 2:20pm

• Sexual Health Curriculum Parent Night, 6:00pm - 7:00pm (SMS Commons)

January 16

• Martin Luther King Jr Day, NO SCHOOL

January 18

• Early Release, dismissal at 2:20pm

January 25

• Early Release, dismissal at 2:20pm

January 27

• Winter Movie Night, 4:30pm - 6:30pm

Additional events may be viewed on the Sherwood Middle School Calendar.

The SSD School Board approved the three proposed furlough dates of March 24, June 15, and June 16, along with other calendar adjustments related to these dates. The updated 2022-23 calendar can be found here. For additional information about these changes or other information from last night's budget update to the Board, please visit the District website here.

** No School on 3/24/23

** No Spring Conferences

** No pm conferences on 4/13/23

** Normal School Day on 4/14/23

* Last Day of School for current 8th graders is 6/12/23 (It was 6/14/23)

* Last Day for current 6th and 7th graders is 6/13/23 (It was 6/15/23)

* 8th grade promotion is 6/13/23 (It was 6/15/23)

The third and final round of notices from SMS will be mailed next week.

All further notices will come from the county.

Below are important dates to keep in mind:

1/11/23 The first report is due to the County.

2/1/23 Exclusion letters from the state will be mailed to students who are still out of compliance.

2/15/23 Exclusion Day - All students out of compliance are not able to attend school until their required Immunizations are up to date or the exemptions have been completed.

Medical and nonmedical exemptions are also allowed.

• To request a medical exemption from vaccine requirements, submit a signed statement from your child's physician.
• To request a nonmedical exemption from vaccine requirements, you must do one of the following: (1) Talk to your healthcare provider and get a signed Vaccine Education Certificate, fill out the nonmedical exemption section of the Certificate of Immunization Status, and turn in both forms to your child's school; or (2) Watch the Vaccine Education Module for parents at: https://www.oregon.gov/OHA/PH/PreventionWellness/VaccinesImmunization/GettingImmunized/Pages/non-medical-exemption.aspx and print out the Vaccine Education Certificate at the end of the module, fill out the nonmedical exemption section of the Certificate of Immunization Status, and turn in both forms to your child's school.

December 6th – December 15th

There are only a few more days to donate and earn a Doughnut Party!

Bring in donation items each day to add points to your 6th period CLASS total.

All supplies are accepted every day. 1 point per item unless it is a daily special.

Each day has an assigned specific item and if you bring in that specific type of item on the assigned day, you earn your 6th period CLASS extra points!

All supplies will be donated to Sherwood Elks.

Non perishable items only. No items that need refrigeration.

No glass. No items that are already open. No expired items.

Let’s do what we can to support our community!

In honor of the season of giving, Treering will match up to 5 yearbook donations that Sherwood Middle School receives between November 29 and December 31, 2022. One community book donation = one Treering book donation*. Editors can gift these books to the principal, staff, teachers, or families in need.

Learn more about Book Donations here.

Promotion ends at 11:59 pm PST on December 31, 2022

Order your 2022-2023 SMS Yearbook now. You can begin personalizing your yearbook right away with back to school photos, fall sports/activities, summer vacation memories etc. Click here for or more information.

January 11, 6:00pm - 7:00pm

Location: SMS Commons

Parents are invited to attend this information session to learn more about the Sexual Health curriculum at SMS.

January 27, 4:30pm - 6:30pm

(more details to come)

The Sherwood School District will be hosting our annual Early Learning Fair on January 28th. If you have an after school daycare, preschool, after school activity, or other child-centered business are interested in having a vendor table at this event, please contact Alyssa Thompson for more information: 503-825-5087 -or- athompson@sherwood.k12.or.us

If you need to pick your student up during the day for any reason, please send them with a note. This will be used as their pass out of class. We try to limit the number of distractions and notes being sent to the classrooms, and we may not always have an assistant on hand to get a student right away. If something comes up during the school day and you need them to be released during class, please call in advance and we will do our best to get the student to the office on time.

Students need their Chromebooks to access curriculum during the school day. Please remind your students about the importance of bringing charged Chromebooks to school each day. A limited number of loaner Chromebooks are available to be used in place of damaged devices; these are not for charging.

Low Balance - Lunch Account Notifications

Parents, please check to see if your student has a negative lunch account balance. Low balance letters are generated via email on Mondays. You may need to check your spam folder, as it has been reported that some of these letters have been received as spam.

Condiments, Forks, and Spoons

In accordance with federal regulations, condiments, forks, and spoons are exclusively provided to students participating in the School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program.

If your student is bringing a lunch from home, please make sure serveware and accompaniments are included.

Oregon is experiencing high levels of respiratory viruses -- especially in children -- which include RSV, influenza, colds and COVID-19. In addition, schools in our district have seen an increase in absences recently, with a significant number of families reporting student illness as the cause for those absences.

Respiratory viruses can spread rapidly, so it is important for students who are sick to stay home when they have the following symptoms:

• Fever of 100.4 or greater

• New or worsening cough

• Vomiting and diarrhea

• Headache with stiff neck or fever

• New instance of difficulty breathing which is not due to a medical condition (ie; asthma)

If you have questions about when your child can return to school after an illness, please contact our office or call Health Services at 503-825-5088 for assistance.

In addition to staying home when ill, ways to combat the spread of respiratory viruses include frequent hand washing/sanitizing, disinfecting of frequently touched surfaces, covering coughs and sneezes (using tissue or the inside of your elbow), and avoiding sharing cups/water bottles/food or drinks.

For more information on respiratory viruses and other illnesses causing outbreaks in Oregon schools (such as Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease), please visit the Health Services website at https://sherwood.k12.or.us/departments/health-services/resources.

If you have not already done so, please sign up for FlashAlert to receive the most timely alerts for events such as school closures or delayed starts.

• FlashAlert is a free subscription service that alerts users via text or app notifications. Sign up at www.flashalert.net/signup or by downloading the FlashAlert app on your smartphone. If you have signed up for FlashAlert previously, please sign in to make sure your subscription is current. If you are not subscribed to our channel, you can search for "Sherwood Sch. Dist." to sign up for our district's alerts.

Please view the SMS Late Start Bell Schedule, in the case of a 2-hour delayed start.

• Snow Routes are posted on our Transportation Department page and can be found here. When Snow Routes are activated, service will be limited on all routes except for 1, 8, 9, 12, 14, and 18, which will not be affected. For all other routes, please review if your stop will be impacted during an inclement weather event.

• After Thanksgiving break, rural routes will service all grade levels together in order to improve the arrival time to our secondary schools. All route changes will be reflected in the Ride 360 app on Tuesday, November 22nd and will take effect on Monday, November 28th. Regardless of whether or not you live in a rural area, check the Ride 360 app because your bus stop time may change. If you do not have the Ride 360 app, you can find directions on how to install the app and register your student(s) at the link below. You will need your student(s) ID number(s) and the birthdate(s) must be entered in the following format MM/DD/YYYY.