Feb 2019 newsletter
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SPARTAN<br />
News<br />
Stafford Middle School @WeAreSMSpartans / staffordschools.net/SMS <strong>Feb</strong>ruary <strong>2019</strong><br />
RESPECTFUL RESPONSIBLE PRODUCTIVE - “The Spartan Way”<br />
Jeff Howard<br />
Assistant Principal<br />
howardjd@staffordschools.net<br />
Dr. Mark J. Smith<br />
Principal<br />
smithmj@staffordschools.net<br />
Jill Bryant<br />
Assistant Principal<br />
bryantjm@staffordschools.net<br />
Stafford Middle School<br />
101 Spartan Drive, Stafford, VA 22554 ● Phone: 540-658-6210 ● Fax: 540-658-6204
Good day, Spartan Families!<br />
<strong>Feb</strong>ruary has arrived and we are looking forward to another great month<br />
together at Stafford Middle School. Punxsutawney Phil did not see his<br />
shadow and predicts an early Spring. We will have to wait and see if his<br />
prediction is correct. In the meantime, we are going to continue our hard<br />
work at SMS as we look ahead to the 8th grade Writing SOL as well as the<br />
full slate of SOLs scheduled for May.<br />
Our winter sports are in full swing! Our wrestlers and boys’ basketball team<br />
have begun their seasons and will compete with other county schools during<br />
the month. Each season will culminate with a county tournament that gives<br />
our athletes the opportunity to earn the title of county champion. Last month,<br />
we had 14 students selected for All-District Band and our chorus students<br />
will audition in the next few weeks. Many of our clubs and activities continue<br />
to engage in building-level events as well as community outreach. Our<br />
Student Council is preparing for Valentine’s Day candy grams and a dance<br />
for the students while our Fellowship of Christian Athletes recently served<br />
tacos to the homeless citizens of Fredericksburg. Last Friday, we hosted the<br />
SMS Science Fair and many of our science fair participants will continue on<br />
to the Piedmont Regional Science Fair in Charlottesville. I am very proud of<br />
my Spartans as so many of them care deeply about the success of our<br />
school.<br />
Next month, Stafford Middle School will host Special Olympics. We have a<br />
proud tradition of support for Special Olympics basketball and are looking<br />
forward to March 1st and 2nd. If you are interested in supporting the school<br />
or school division, please visit our website for more information. Stafford<br />
Middle is very active on social media so please follow us on Twitter and<br />
Instagram (@WeAreSMSpartans). Stay in touch with us as we share our<br />
story.<br />
We continue to focus on providing the best opportunity for your students at<br />
Stafford Middle. If there is anything that we can do to assist you in your<br />
student’s journey, do not hesitate to ask.<br />
Respectfully,<br />
Dr. Mark J. Smith
In the month of <strong>Feb</strong>ruary, 8th grade scientists<br />
begin their unit on Chemistry. We will be<br />
discovering all there is to know about the<br />
Mrs. Geslock’s Class...<br />
Periodic Table of Elements and even creating<br />
our own life size periodic table! The Science<br />
Fair will be held on Friday, <strong>Feb</strong>ruary 1st from<br />
3:15-5:30. Please come out and show support<br />
for our Spartan Scientists!<br />
As we reach <strong>Feb</strong>ruary, our sixth grade English classes have just finished analyzing<br />
Types of Conflict, Theme, and Poetry. In the upcoming month, students will<br />
be continuing knowledge of common roots and academic words of the week, as<br />
well as differentiating with our LEXIA assessment. We will also be diving deeper<br />
into non-fiction texts, reinforcing common text structures, and analyzing persuasive<br />
techniques to understand the world of advertising. We will administer<br />
students’ monthly reading comprehension assessment (STAR), as well as incorporate<br />
writing into our FLEX classes to enforce students’ knowledge of common<br />
writing reminders. We look forward to seeing our Spartans make great progress<br />
in this second semester of our school year here at Stafford Middle!
Civics students will continue to review the<br />
three branches of government and their<br />
functions. Be sure to check class websites<br />
Mrs. Geslock’s Class...<br />
for updates and assignments.<br />
English students will begin the second<br />
semester by working with figurative<br />
language. Students will be challenged to find<br />
examples in both poetry and prose. They<br />
will also work on using a variety of figurative<br />
language in their own writing.<br />
Math students will begin the new semester<br />
by working with inequalities. As we all<br />
know, in math, much like life, things aren’t<br />
always equal!<br />
In science, students have finished up a<br />
CELLS Unit and learned about cell parts and<br />
their functions. They are now beginning a<br />
unit on Cellular ENERGY... all living things<br />
use energy… We will learn about Transport-<br />
Active and Passive; Cellular Respiration;<br />
Photosynthesis; Fermentation. One of the<br />
labs will be proving that a living organism<br />
produces a gas- CO2- by “feeding” sugar and<br />
water to the yeast and it will “exhale” CO2<br />
and blow up a balloon... if all goes well. :)<br />
And, as always...keep studying<br />
your Science Vocabulary on<br />
Quizlet.com.
Mrs. Geslock’s Class...<br />
~ Volunteers Needed ~<br />
Stafford Middle School is hosting the County Wrestling<br />
Tournament at Brooke Point High School on Saturday, March<br />
2nd and we need volunteers for Concessions and the<br />
Hospitality Room. Shifts will be available between<br />
7:30am and 6:30pm.<br />
Contact Kathy Mason at masonkl@staffordschools.net<br />
Your help is greatly appreciated!
Greetings and Happy Heart Month from the Health and Physical Education (HPE) Department at<br />
Stafford Middle School! The HPE Department is excited to support the American Heart Association.<br />
It is their mission to improve the lives of all Americans, by providing public health education and<br />
research. Some of those ways are right here in our own school by passing on a message of being kind<br />
to our hearts, and others!!<br />
For the month of <strong>Feb</strong>ruary, the students will be doing our Kids Heart Challenge and our Staff is going<br />
to “GO RED” in <strong>Feb</strong>ruary, National American Heart Month, to show our kids and community that our<br />
staff has HEART! No matter the size of your gift - it will make a difference!! THANK YOU!!<br />
The HPE department would also like to recognize our HPE Students of the Month for January:<br />
8 th grade: Gerald D., Aniya H., Angelo O., Isabel C., Nehemiah T., and Savannah C.<br />
7 th grade: Austin M., Melissa C., Savannah L., Nathan A., Kate Y., and Isabella K.<br />
6 th grade: Nicholas B., Baba I., Violet R., Aaron S., Elizabeth B.-S., and Camden B.
Angel E.-R. Rhyan D.-M. Daniel T. Khaloni H.
<strong>Feb</strong>ruary is National Dental Health Month!<br />
Share these healthy dental reminders with your family:<br />
Brush your teeth twice a day with a tooth paste<br />
that contains fluoride. A good time to brush is<br />
after breakfast and before bed, and don’t forget<br />
to change your tooth brush regularly, and after<br />
an illness.<br />
Children over 8 years of age should be able to<br />
start flossing teeth on their own. Floss teeth<br />
daily.<br />
Eating lots of snacks with sugar may cause cavities, so limit sugary snacks.<br />
The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry recommends a dental exam<br />
every 6 months for prevention and maintenance of good oral hygiene and<br />
care.<br />
Protect your teeth by wearing a mouth guard when playing sports.<br />
Reminder:<br />
Hearing and vision screenings for 7th grade students<br />
and new students were completed and referrals sent<br />
home.<br />
If you have not had the recommended vision/hearing<br />
evaluations done due to financial concerns please call<br />
the school nurse for possible assistance. Resources<br />
are available (Lions Club applications) to assist with<br />
vision exams and glasses.
~Boys’ Basketball~<br />
Upcoming<br />
<strong>2019</strong> BOYS’ BASKETBALL SCHEDULE<br />
DAY DATE OPPONENT<br />
Thurs Jan. 31 @ AGW<br />
Tues <strong>Feb</strong>. 2 vs DMS<br />
Thurs <strong>Feb</strong>. 7 @ GMS<br />
Tues <strong>Feb</strong>. 12 vs HHP<br />
Thurs <strong>Feb</strong>. 14 @ SHMS<br />
Tues <strong>Feb</strong>. 19 vs RTMS<br />
Thurs <strong>Feb</strong>. 21 @ DMS<br />
~Wrestling~<br />
DAY DATE OPPONENT<br />
WRESTLING SCHEDULE<br />
Upcoming<br />
Thurs Jan. 31 vs AGW<br />
Tues <strong>Feb</strong>. 5 @ DSMS<br />
Thurs <strong>Feb</strong>. 7 vs GMS<br />
Tues <strong>Feb</strong>. 12 @ HHP<br />
Thurs <strong>Feb</strong>. 14 vs SHMS<br />
Tues <strong>Feb</strong>. 19 @ RTMS<br />
Thurs <strong>Feb</strong>. 21 vs DMS
Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday<br />
1 Science<br />
2<br />
Fair<br />
3:15-5:30<br />
3 4 5 6 7 8 9<br />
3:30 Boys’<br />
Basketball<br />
Home vs Dixon<br />
Smith<br />
3:30 Wrestling<br />
@ Dixon<br />
10 11 12 13 14 15 16<br />
3:30 Boys’<br />
Basketball<br />
Home vs HH<br />
Poole<br />
3:30 Wrestling<br />
@ HH Poole<br />
Report<br />
Cards<br />
Parent<br />
Conferences<br />
3:30 Boys’<br />
Basketball @<br />
Gayle<br />
3:30 Wrestling<br />
Home vs Gayle<br />
3:30 Boys’<br />
Basketball @<br />
Heim<br />
3:30 Wrestling<br />
Home vs Heim<br />
17 18 19 20 21 22 23<br />
NO<br />
SCHOOL<br />
3:30 Boys’<br />
Basketball<br />
Home vs<br />
Thompson<br />
3:30 Wrestling<br />
@ Thompson<br />
24 25 26 27 28<br />
3:30 Boys’<br />
Basketball @<br />
Heim<br />
3:30 Wrestling<br />
Home vs Heim<br />
Model United<br />
Nations<br />
Model United<br />
Nations<br />
Model United<br />
Nations<br />
Word of the<br />
Month:<br />
RESPECT
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