SSIMS Weekly Newsletter

Week of October 3 - 7, 2022

About Us

Email: Karen_Y_Bryant@mcpsmd.org
Website: https://www2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/schools/ssims/
Location: 313 Wayne Avenue, Silver Spring, MD, USA
Phone: (240) 740-2750
Twitter: @SSIMSPrincipal

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Internationally Speaking, with Principal Bryant

Dear Silver Spring International Families,

Hello OCTOBER!

It's official --- the first 5 weeks of the school year are in the history books. As we embark on our second month of school, we have a few exciting events to share with you.

First, our October PTSA meeting will double as our rescheduled SSIMS Community Meeting. My goal for the meeting is to invite current and future SSIMS families to experience the building, hear information and updates about key topics impacting the SSIMS community, hear from you to learn the strengths and needs of the community, and reacquaint our community with school features, programs, and key staff. THIS MEETING WILL BE FACILITATED IN DUAL LANGUAGE FORMAT FOR SPANISH SPEAKERS. It takes place, Tuesday, October 11th in the SCES gymnasium (enter through SSIMS) at 7 pm. There will be pre-meeting opportunities to engage in that will begin at 6pm. More details to come!

One day prior, on October 10th, SSIMS will host an Open House from 8:15 am - 11:00 am for the first time in several years. Please save the date! More information about the format and registration will be published soon.

Have a GREAT weekend! 🐾

Calendar for 10/3 - 10/7

Mental Health Awareness Fair

Our Silver Spring International Wellbeing Team (including administrators, counselors, and other staff members) will be holding a Mental Health Awareness Fair in October. Additional information will be shared soon. Our goal is to support our students in grades 6-8 and promote positive social emotional wellness. Our Mental Health Awareness Fair will help us to provide our students with tools to manage their emotions, so they can feel safe, comfortable, and ready to learn. If you are able to help, we are grateful for your kindness and generosity.

Amazon Wish List for Mental Health Awareness Week at SSIMS

School Cash Online (SCO)

In August, MCPS introduced School Cash Online (SCO) as the new portal for parents to make all types of payments related to school field trips, obligations for lost or damaged items, event tickets, spirit wear purchases, and other school activities or purchases that parents may incur on during their child’s school year. Parents with an active email account on their ParentVUE account should have received an email from MCPS in mid-August, with the instructions on how to register for their SCO account, how to add their children and the student’s PIN Number.

Please note: this SCO PIN Number is not the student’s ID number, but a completely different number.

It is expected this year that all payments for field trips should be made online through the SCO portal. We sent home with students last Friday, an information flyer with instructions on how to register for SCO. If you need another flyer, we can send you another one.

Benefits of registering for your SCO account:

Students no longer need to carry money (cash or checks) in their backpacks to school.
Teachers and school staff no longer have to carry and count money .
Parents pay online anytime, anywhere, for all school-related fees.
Online payments are automatically transferred to the bank and recorded on the deposit summary with the need of any manual intervention.

Please check your email for a message from MCPS regarding the launch of SCO and your child’s/children SCO PIN Number(s). It should have been sent around mid-August. If you did not receive the email, please email Ms. Patricia Torres, Administrative Assistant at: anna_p_torres@mcpsmd.org, or Ms. Karina Perez, Counseling Secretary/Registrar at: karina_e_perez@mcpsmd.org and they will be able to look up the PIN Number(s) and send it/them to you. You may also call the school to request your SCO PIN Number.

If you wish to add money to your child’s Cafeteria account, that transaction is done through a different portal called My School Bucks. You may contact the school Cafeteria for more information on h ow to add money to your child’s Cafeteria account.

Yellow Emergency Sheets and the Annual Verification of Private Information forms

Last Friday, we sent home with students their Yellow Emergency Sheet and the Annual Verification of Private Information form. Please take a moment to review the emergency information we have on file for your child based on the sheet sent home and update any information that needs to be updated, even if you updated your emergency contact information directly in ParentVUE. We will verify that your changes were indeed saved.

Please note: if you had a change of address, you must provide new proof of residency at the new address. Please contact Ms. Karina Perez, Counseling Secretary/Registrar for assistance, at 240-740-2760 or email: karina_e_perez@mcpsmd.org

The Annual Verification of Private Information should be filled out indicating if some or all of your child’s information should be withheld. If we do not receive this form, your child’s information will be considered to be available to share.

Please send these two forms back to your child’s period 1 teacher by the latest next Friday, October 7.

Opportunities to visit SSIMS

Save the date - SSIMS Open House will be on Monday, October 10th from 8:15 am - 11:00 am. More information about the format and registration will come next week!

Parent Teacher Conferences: While MCPS sets aside formal days for schools to engage in parent teacher conferences towards the end of November, we want you to know you can have a parent teacher conference anytime you want! Simply contact your chid's counselor who can set up the conference for you. No need to wait!

October PTSA/Community Meeting: Please join us at our joint PTSA/ rescheduled SSIMS Community Meeting on Tuesday, October 11th at 7 pm. The meeting takes place in the SCES Gymnasium (enter through SSIMS). We will have a vareity of engagement opportunities beginning at 6 pm before the meeting. We look forward to seeing you there!

Jag Calendar - October

ParentVue

Are you having trouble accessing ParentVue on Synergy? Check out this website that provides information and resources for accessing ParentVue. If you still need help, please contact the counseling department for extra assistance.