SMMS Weekly Update

We value your input and perspective as an essential member of our school community as we strive to provide the best possible education and environment for our students. To help make this happen, please take a few minutes and participate in our annual school Climate Survey. This survey is completed each year by the members of our school community including parents, students, and staff.

The information collected will be used solely for the purpose of improving our school's learning environment. Your honest feedback is invaluable to us, and we appreciate your time and effort in completing this survey.

The Climate Survey opened Monday, March 25th at 7:00 AM and will close at 7:00 PM on Friday, April 12th.

Thank you for your continued support,

Spring Mills Middle School

Lately, parents arriving for afternoon pick-up have been parking on both sides of Campus Drive, creating a safety concern. In response, Dean Olack, the county security officer, provided insight and suggestions for how we could adjust our afternoon traffic patterns. Please use the directions and image below to review our new procedure.

• 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.

We piloted our new protocol this week, and it seems to alleviate the concerns on Campus Drive and speed up our parent pick-up. Thanks to all of our parents for their patience as we work to refine this process.

As you may know, a member of our SMMS family, Scarlett Fuller, was diagnosed with a serious illness recently.

After Spring Break, we hosting a community member who will be selling t-shirts, the proceeds of which will benefit Scarlett and her family. Each shirt will be $10. We would also like to take a school-wide picture once we all receive our shirts. Thanks to Mr. Clark for helping to organize this project and Rebecca Fuss at our local Michael's for helping with the cost of the shirts.

Our very own Mr. Scheller is coaching at Wilson College and shared this opportunity as well.

• When: April 14th, 2024
• Where: Wilson College Softball Field (see map attached)
• What: Games begin at 1pm, pre-game honoring will begin at 12:30

We will be honoring Scarlett Fuller at the game, and she (or someone in her honor) will throw out the first pitch. She will also be serving as our team manager this year.

Marshall University Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine sponsors the Health Care Pathway Initiative (HPIC) program for high school students entering Grades 8-12. HPIC allows high school students to learn about careers in health care, engineering, technology, and science during a summer camp on Marshall University's Huntington campus. This camp will be offered June 2-27, 2024. Click here for more information and a link to register. The deadline to apply is April 4, 2024.

On April 9, we are hosting a program sponsored by the WV Department of the Treasury. All 8th grade students will be invited to visit a variety of stations in the cafe to mimic the process of managing a household budget.

We are looking for several volunteers to help us that day. If you are available for all of part of the day to help, please email Mr. Hartka, our 8th grade assistant principal, directly at paul.hartka@k12.wv.us

Please see the attached PDF for information about the 8th grade field trip to Hershey Park.

Please see the attached flyer about the 6th grade field trip on April 30.

This week, we hosted surprise Bingo games for RenCard holders in each grade level.

Our 7th grade students enjoyed Bingo on Tuesday.

We wowed the 8th graders with our Bingo app on Thursday!

Reminder to all parents of 6th graders. The Tdap and Meningitis vaccines are required for all students entering 7th grade. Please make your appointment now to have these completed and submit an updated copy of your child's immunization record to Mrs. Dagostino, School Nurse.

Thank you for keeping our students healthy and in school ready to learn!

Any questions, please contact Mrs. Dagostino at amanda.dagostino@k12.wv.us or 304-274-5030.

Please see the message from Ms. Voigt about our new after school volleyball club.

If you don't already know me - my name is Ms. Voigt I am currently one of the four Physical Education teachers here at Spring Mills Middle School. I wanted to start this club after seeing a lot of our students have an interest in the sport Volleyball, so I am looking forward to allowing our students this wonderful opportunity to learn, build connections, and have fun in a non-competitive atmosphere. If this sounds like something that interests you, please continue to read below and sign up ASAP - Limited space will be available (20 students).

A big congratulations to the 8th Grade Concert Band for receiving a rating of Excellent at the Region IX Concert Band Festival at Martinsburg High School on March 21, 2024.

This week, our 6th grade students planted herbs in Ms. James's class. Hopefully, they can use those herbs in one of their cooking assignments.

• March 29-April 5- Spring Break: No School for Students
• April 8- Two-Hour Early Dismissal
• April 10- Spring Picture Day
• April 11- Group Yearbook Photos
• April 22- Interims Issued
• April 24- LSIC Meeting
• April 29- Choir Concert at 7:00 p.m. at SMHS
• April 30- 6th Grade Field Trip
• April 30- Band Concert at 7:00 p.m. at SMHS
• May 6- Strings Concert at 6:45 at SMHS