September 2016

Winter Dance/End of second quarter

12/21

Winter Break 12/23-1/6

No School /MLK Day

1/16

Pep Rally 1/20

PTO meeting @ 4pm in the Library

1/23

2nd quarter awards assembly in Aud.

1/27

Dear SMS Families,

As we look forward to the beginning of the second semester, many

parents and guardians ask about how they can help their middle school child

to be successful in school. The sixth grade year is crucial for success in mid-

dle school and future success in high school. Seventh graders should continue

establishing good homework habits as their classes become more challenging.

For eighth graders, in particular, their last semester of middle school is what

transitions them into high school and can help or hinder their academic per-

formance in ninth grade and beyond. Below I share a few friendly reminders

on how parents can continue to support their middle schooler’s learning at

home.

Homework is a valuable aid in helping students makes the most of their

learning experience at school. It reinforces what has been learned in class,

provides independent practice, and helps students develop essential study hab-

its required for future success in high school and college. Completion of

homework and other forms of practice is essential. It helps teachers to moni-

tor students’ progress in mastering the standards and helps students prepare

for assessments. When homework is assigned, it is intended to be meaningful,

not “busy work.” Written homework is assigned when the teacher believes

that the students can complete the work accurately and independently. If no

written homework is assigned on a given day or if students complete it by the

end of the day, at home students should:

Read for 30 minutes

Practice their band or orchestra instrument for 30 minutes

Review their notes, vocabulary terms, and spelling words

Redo incomplete or incorrect homework for make-up

Play educational computer games

If you feel that your child needs additional practice or more challenging

work, please contact his/her teacher, who will be happy to provide that for

him/her. If your child is struggling with class work or homework, please con-

tact the teacher, who can provide additional help before, during, or after the

school day. Also, students can register to attend our Excel2 program, which

provides before and after school tutoring and after school enrichment free of

charge Mondays through Thursdays. You can access the registration from on

the Excel2 website at: https://sites.google.com/a/sahuarita.net/sms-e/home

Thank you to all the SMS parents and families for supporting your child's

learning at home and encouraging high academic achievement! We appreciate

you and your partnership with our teachers. Together, we make SMS a great

place for students to learn. On behalf of all the staff at SMS, we wish you a

very happy holidays and a safe winter break!

Dates/Times subject to change

Altar Val-ley@SMS

11/17

SMS@ Anza Trail 11/22

Emily Gray @SMS

11/29

GIRLS BASKETBALL, BOYS

SOCCER, WRESTLING, AND

CHEER

* Girls Basketball Tryouts:

January 10 and 12th!

Have a Happy Holidays!

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

CALENDAR OF

SPORTS EVENTS

Coming Soon!

SAHUARITA

MIDDLE SCHOOL Mrs. Stephanie Silman, Principal

PAGE 2 SAHUAR ITA M ID D L E SSC HO O L

Thank you to all the parents who brought in food for our holiday staff appreciation brunch. Our next

PTO meeting will be held on January 23th in the library at 4pm. We are looking for parents to vol-

unteer to help with The Expanding you Horizons afterschool STEM event on January 18th. Set up

begins at 2pm. If you can help please let Mrs. Farmer know. Please go to the SMS PTO Facebook

page for the meeting minutes: https:://www.facebook.com/groups/5590250095364

Congrats Spelling Bee Winners:

Hyrum Thompson-6th

Quinton Hardy– 7th

Amaru Bonds-8th

Ashton Varner-7th

*Alternate– Lilliana Sanchez-7th

These students will go on and compete

in the SUSD District Spelling Bee

on January 24th at 9

a.m. in the auditorium.

Good luck, Jaguars!

December 2016

I can not believe it is the end of my first semester here at SMS! What a great

year so far! Thank you to all the volunteers who have helped enrich the lives of our students and staff. Thank you to the PTO for all your help with our first Family Fun Night. Thank you MyChurch for donating the mountain bike and to Common Ground

Church for the family holiday help. The new year brings new opportunities for us all

to volunteer!

If you would like to volunteer, please email me at jfarmer@sahuarita.net or 625-

3502, ext. 1413.

Jamie Farmer, SMS Volunteer Coordinator

Student Leaders in Character: December: Corwin Wallen

Employee of the Month:

Liz Bassan

*We reached our first semester goal of 25,000 bottle

tabs. Let’s do it again! Keep collecting bottle tabs for

NJHS to help support the Ronald McDonald house!

PAGE 3 SAHUAR ITA M ID D L E SSC HO O L

Ms. Fairbanks sharing with families about her Excel2 drama enrichment class.

FAMILY FUN NIGHT Sponsored by the PTO and

the SMS Excel2 Program

Once families had gone through the Enrichment stations, we

ended the night with a huge “desert” snowball fight in the gym.

CONGRULATIONS!

SMS GIRLS

SCOCER TEAM

who won the

league Champion-

ship against

Anza! The first

SMS undefeated

team

in 9

years!

Hailey Hinkle won the give-

away of a Mongoose mountain

bike donated by MyChurch!

PAGE 4

350 W. Sahuarita Rd.

Sahuarita, AZ 85629

Building 18

Sahuarita Middle School

Office hours: Monday-Friday

7:45 a.m.-4:00 p.m.

First Bell: 8:20 a.m.

JAGUARS Principal: Mrs. Stephanie Silman Assistant Principal: Mr. Robert Beachy

We are on the WEB

http://www.susd30.us/middl/

Sahuarita Middle School

Phone: 520-625-3502

Mrs. Stephanie Silman, Principal, Ext. 1402

Mr. Robert Beachy, Asst. Principal, Ext. 1403

Mr. John Haas, Guidance Counselor, Ext. 1404

Ms. Isabel Correll, Attendance, Ext. 1407

Ms. Bailey Ledesma, Health Office, Ext. 1409

Ms. Darlene Lewis, Prevention Specialist, Ext. 1405

Nominations are now being accepted

at www.tucsonvaluesteachers.org

and click on Teacher Excellence

You can earn cash for your child’s

school by clipping Box Top coupons

from hundreds of participating prod-

ucts. Students can also earn out of

dress code passes when they bring in

25 box Tops. For participating products,

see the website listed below.

For the safety of our students, district policy states that all

parent/ guardians are required to show a photo ID when

picking up a child/student during school hours. If a family

member or designated emergency contact will be removing

your child from school, a note must be provided with the

individual’s name for that child to be released to that individ-

ual during school hours.

DISTRICT POLICY

http://www.boxtops4education.com/earn/clip/Brands.aspx

Student Council serving Hot Chocolate on a cold morning!