Saline Middle School Hornet Highlights for Sunday, April 11, 2021

 Principal's Message:  

Thank you for a very successful first week of 4 day continuous instruction!  We appreciate everyone's patience and cooperation in order to make this happen for our virtual and in-person students.  We are still working out some kinks, but in general, things went very, very well!

As we transition back with the majority of our students in the building, the drop-off loop in the morning has become a bit congested and some students are not making it to their first hour classes on time.  It may be worth leaving your homes a few minutes earlier in the morning.

Also, the front loop (by the main office) is for extenuating circumstances only.  It should not be used as a regular drop-off space.  Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Finally, we are noticing that many students are tardy to their classes because we have reduced the passing time from 10 minutes to 6 minutes.  We will begin implementing tardies beginning on Monday.  Please review the student handbook with your student for more details concerning tardies.

SALINE MIDDLE SCHOOL WEEKLY SCHEDULE:

LUNCH SCHEDULE FOR TUESDAY, APRIL 13th (8th Grade PSAT Day):

SALINE MIDDLE SCHOOL DAILY SCHEDULE FOR ALL STUDENTS:

New and Important Information for the Week:

NEW:  Please bring your charged devices with a power cord. A friendly reminder that in-person learners are expected to bring their changed devices to school each day. While we provided loaner devices for some students last week, students are expected to bring their device. 

NEW:  What is the PSAT?  Click this link to learn more about what the PSAT is and is not. Click here for the PSAT April 9th communication to 8th-grade families.

NEW:  HEART and SOLE (GIRLS ON THE RUN)-STARTS Monday, April 12, 2021

Physical isolation and related stressors of the COVID-19 pandemic have undoubtedly affected our children. Girls on the Run creates a safe and supportive place for girls to connect, grow and thrive. Trained and caring coaches lead 6th-8th grade girls through 16 interactive lessons culminating with a non-competitive 5K event. The research-based curriculum establishes lifelong healthy habits and instills critical social- emotional skills at a time when girls need it the most.

To ensure the safety of our girls the program has been modified to include physical distancing precautions and the ability to seamlessly transition to virtual programming should the need arise. 

Heart & Sole creates a safe and supportive place for girls to connect, grow and thrive! The research-based curriculum was developed to meet the unique needs of middle school girls. Trained and caring coaches lead the girls through 16 interactive lessons culminating with a non-competitive 5K event. The program is accessible to all girls regardless of athletic ability or fitness level and considers the range of ages and varied experiences of middle schoolers. Heart & Sole establishes lifelong healthy habits and instills critical social-emotional skills at a time when girls need it the most!

The details:

Practices will be held on Monday’s and Wednesdays from 5:30-7:00pm at the Saline Middle School. 

First practice is April 12th and runs through the first week of June.

Registration link: 

https://www.girlsontherunsemi.org/program-registration-2

NEW:  Builder's Club Members:

We are excited for SMS Builders Club to meet SHS Key Club members for a combined effort to help out Mott's Children's Hospital. 

Builder's Club - Join us for a blanket tying event on Thursday, April 15th from 3:00-4:00 pm in the SMS media center.  Your efforts will provide comfort to children in need at Mott's. Please note that you must sign up for the event in order to attend. (check our BC agendas for more information).

NEW:  Current 8th Grade Football Players  

Introducing Middle School Rowing with the National Erg Education Program

Families, we are excited to share with you that we are partnering with the Washtenaw Rowing Center and their Erg Education program during the 2021-2022 school year. The rowing center won a national grant partnering with Ann Arbor Public Schools to incorporate rowing education into their district wide middle school PE curriculum. They are 1 of 12 locations Nationally which has this on offer. With Saline being in such close proximity and also offering High School rowing, AAPS and WRC felt it would be great to share the grant with Saline Middle School as well. WRC will be working to prepare Saline Middle School PE teacher's in time for the 2021-2022 school year, welcome to the family! 

If you would like to find out more information about Washtenaw Rowing Center and on water opportunities they have this spring, please check out the flyer below.

Are your students interested in engineering?  Click here for the link.

Washtenaw Area Council for Children Virtual Summer Camp Link

State Testing Information

The Michigan State Testing Window will begin after Spring Break.  Please click on this letter for further information. (La carta en español está aquí)

NWEA will be May 17th-20th (Not a state assessment, but a district assessment).

TRANSITION INFORMATION:

Please click on the link if you were not able to attend the informational

Webinars or missed emails.

• Class of 2028 (Current 5th Graders)
• Class of 2027 (Current 6th Graders)
• Class of 2026 (Current 7th Graders)
• Class of 2025 (Current 8th Graders)

Upcoming Dates:

For information about clubs, athletics and school events, subscribe to the Saline Middle School calendar or go to the Saline MIddle School Website.

Tuesday, April 13th:  PSAT for 8th Grade Students

Monday, April 19th-22nd:  8th Grade M-STEP (Science and Social Studies)

Monday, April 26th-29th:  7th Grade M-STEP (Math and English Language Arts)

Monday, May 3rd-6th:  6th Grade M-STEP (Math and English Language Arts)

Covid-19 Related Items:

Covid-related absences:

• If your student is currently in quarantine for testing positive or having symptoms within the past 10 days or are awaiting test results
• If your student has been identified as a close contact to someone who has tested positive within the past 10-14 days   
• If you have traveled outside of the United States in the last fourteen days

The attendance line can be reached at:  734-401-4600; press #1 for attendance OR use the Google Form.  

Updated COVID-19 information from the Washtenaw County Health Department:  If You Test Positive, If You Test Positive (en español), Quarantine/Isolation FAQ, Saliva Testing Site

What Happens When Someone Gets Covid

Flowchart for Symptomatic Individuals

New Saliva test released

Here is the latest version of the SAS Connected Learning Plan. This includes updates to sample schedules and a new flow chart for health scenarios.

From the SMS PTO:

PTO No Hassle Fundraiser.  Please donate at this link:  http://mspto.weebly.com/fundraising.html

Box Tops:  Happy Holidays Saline Middle School Families! Have you downloaded the Box Top$ for Education app yet? Please keep box tops In mind while you are grocery shopping this holiday season. It is now easier than ever to submit box tops via the box tops for education app. Just scan your receipt within 14 days of purchases and the app will check for eligible items in order to give our school credit. If you’re shopping online for groceries or get emailed receipts, you can still earn Box Tops for our school. Download the app and start earning today.

Repeating Messages:

Attendance Change for 3rd trimester in-person students:  In-person students are expected to be in-person to be marked "Present." In-person students will be marked "Absent" if they call in for any reason that is not related to COVID-19.  Students would still be allowed to Zoom if they wish, but they will be marked "excused or unexcused absent" depending on the reason if they are not physically present at SMS.

Bring Your Own Device Presentation

Thank you to those who joined the BYOD+ Q&A session on March 24, 2021. Attached below is a copy of the presentation, which can also be found on our SHS BYOD+ page.

• BYOD+ 3/24 Presentation
• SMS BYOD+ Resource Page
• SHS BYOD+ Resource Page

Here are the details for the Continuous 4-day/week learning plan. (Same as the link in the principal's message)

Attendance Reminder:  We are finding that students are electing to learn virtually on a given day for a variety of reasons unrelated to a COVID-19 situation and this is becoming very difficult to track for classroom attendance, particularly in 7th and 8th grade.  

If your student is currently attending in-person for hybrid instruction, please send them to school on a consistent basis UNLESS they are showing the symptoms in the COVID-19 health screener graph below.  If your child is showing symptoms of COVID-19, then we would ask that they either get tested for COVID-19 or see their pediatrician.

If your student prefers to remain virtual for the remainder of the trimester, please email Laura Washington at washingl@salineschools.org

Item Drop Off and Pick-Up Times:  The Saline Middle School vestibule doors will be open from 7:00 am-4:00 pm Monday-Friday this week for drop off and pick-up of items.   

Report Cards:  Report cards are now available in the PowerSchool Parent Portal.  If you are having difficulty accessing the Powerschool Parent Portal, please email  powerschool@salineschools.org.  Thank you for your patience as we have had difficulty sending report cards electronically this trimester.

NWEA Scores are now available in Powerschool!  Here are the directions to access them.

Food Pantry Locations: If you or someone you know are in need of food and food items during this difficult time, here is a list of food pantries in the area.

Need tech help?  The SAS Tech Department is here to help!  Fill this form out with your tech questions and problems.

Attendance:  Please remember that if your child is going to be absent, even remotely, please call the Saline Middle School front office to report attendance at 734-401-4600; press #1 for attendance OR use the Google Form.  

Grades:  Please check Powerschool or Summit Platform as many teachers have begun to enter grades.  Please contact the technology department here if you are having difficulty accessing Powerschool.

Breakfast and lunch continue to be free for ALL students as long as Federal funding allows.  

A new Covid-19 saliva test has now been released!  Here is the press release from the Washtenaw County Health Department.

Here is the At-Home Learning Toolkit released by the SAS Elementary buildings.  There is a lot of useful information that may also help our secondary students.

Michigan Family Alliance. https://www.michiganallianceforfamilies.org/upcoming-events/