SMS Newsletter

November 2024

Message from the Principal

Greetings SMS Families,

I'm pleased to share that on November 7th our 8th-grade students, under the direction of SMS Social Studies teacher Mr. Beiter, will honor our local veterans as part of their ten-week study on the major wars in American History. Students will begin their day by participating in a panel discussion with local veterans from the following organizations:

American Legion Post 431 of Concord
Felton Burns VFW Post 5260 of Springville
Amvets Post 219 of Boston
Concord Veteran Care Project of Springville

During this time, students will hear about the sacrifices these veterans have made, veteran perspectives on Veteran’s Day, the problems facing veterans today, what their sacrifices mean to all of us, and why honoring veterans is a pillar of our American life. The panel discussion will be followed by a reception and a trip to Springville’s Shuttleworth Park off Main Street in the village. During the ceremony at the park, students will view the memorials listing the names of soldiers from our community who died in conflicts ranging from the War of 1812 to those more recent; they will also lay a wreath, hear reflections from the veterans who were on the panel, and listen to “Taps” played by SMS students under the direction of Mr. Brawn, SMS Music Teacher, as well as hear the National Anthem sung by several students with their Choral Director, Mrs. Cummings.

This is truly a beautiful day for our students and staff. Everyone at SMS is excited for the continuation of this event as it becomes a valued tradition.

Sincerely,

Dr. Fisher

SMS News

Guest Visits

Historian Visits Seventh Grade

Kristin Glaspy from the Buffalo History Museum came in today to talk to Mrs. Deutschman's and Mrs. Jasinski's seventh-grade classes. She told them all about the French history of Old Fort Niagara and the surrounding area to prepare them for their field trip. She also talked about her own archeological dig at the fort and explained to them the basics of how a dig site works. Kristin brought several artifacts from the museum collection to show the students: a piece of French armor from the 1700s, various pieces of ammunition and French regimental buttons from the 1700s, and a purse made by a Tuscarora artisan from the 1800s.

Local Artist Visits Sixth Graders

Eric Jones, 2023 Guinness World Record Holder, winner of Food Network's Outrageous Pumpkins and finalist in Food Network's Halloween Wars spoke to SGI's 7th-grade students to share what he does for a living, how his career began and what motivates him. In addition to competing in competitions, Mr. Jones uses his talents and skills to create artwork for the Buffalo Bills and other local businesses, to raise money for important causes and charities and to bring a smile to children who have health issues through his non-profit Sculpting for Smiles.

Character Education Winners

SMS has kicked off a new character education program where we focus on different good character traits every 5 weeks. The first trait we focused on was citizenship. Students who demonstrated what good citizenship looked like were given a ticket to celebrate their actions!

Staff saw many awesome examples of good citizenship, including students helping other students pick up dropped belongings, students cheering each other on, students helping clean up areas of the school, and many more.

One of Mrs. Kocz's class periods really exemplified what we were looking for! Mrs. Kocz shared that for the class's first monthly raffle, Jordan stood out with an impressive number of entries. Out of five available prizes, he won four — an incredible achievement! What truly distinguished Jordan, however, was his selflessness. Instead of keeping the prizes for himself, he generously chose to share them with his classmates. As Jordan won prize after prize, the entire class erupted in applause, celebrating his good fortune without a hint of jealousy. His actions not only exemplified outstanding citizenship but also fostered a spirit of community and support among his peers.

Lessons on War

Mr. Beiter's eighth-grade social studies class recently started their first unit exploring the causes of war. The unit started with an introduction to World War I, trench warfare and the impact on soldiers' health during and after combat. Students wore plastic helmets, held up paper gas masks and hid behind tables representing trenches. Then they went to the front of the class to roll dice and the loser would draw a paper out of a helmet with bad news or good news. Although the lesson starts out with a unique classroom activity, the end goal is for students to understand and appreciate the sacrifices of those who serve.