Swartz Creek Middle School

Attention 8 th grade Parents- Please see the DC Flyer for important details on the Washington DC trip.

Frau Wilson teachers our new sixth graders how to make their own do's and don't in their world language class. PBIS EVERYWHERE!

Principal SIMONSEN & the SCMS Admin team wasted no time kicking off our PBIS celebration! We taught kids our CREEK code, shared our positive reward systems, and discussed consequences when they're not followed. Kids were awesome today.!

August 26, 2024 Dragon Families, Welcome back! We are excited for the start of a new season with our Dragon Athletes! Below is a list of all rules and expectations of our spectators, please read them carefully. 1. We encourage students to attend as many school events as possible. Enthusiastic spectators help to build school spirit and encourage our Athletes. However, in order to ensure that everyone attending is properly safeguarded, it is required that all elementary and middle school students be accompanied by a parent or adult chaperone when they arrive at the event and throughout its duration. They cannot be dropped off and left unsupervised and there are no exceptions. 2. We will only allow HS students from the schools that are competing and they must show a current student ID to enter! 3. No Footballs (or balls of any type) are allowed in the stadium. 4. Please supervise any children in your care. Children should not be running unattended through facilities. 5. Fighting will not be tolerated and all actions will be enforced with school disciplinary consequences. 6. Spectators are expected to demonstrate good sportsmanship and refrain from being physically or verbally abusive toward all coaches, officials, athletes, opposing schools, and fans while attending athletic events. Attending Athletic events is a privilege that may be temporarily or permanently revoked 7. Any beverages brought into the stadium must be in a store brand, re-sealable container. No fountain drinks or containers from home are allowed. You will be asked to throw it away or return it to your car. 8. Backpacks will not be allowed in the stadium. This includes any totes, fanny packs and drawstring backpacks. All other bags/purses may be subject to searches. 9. All home spectators should enter through the main gate. PLEASE DO NOT PARK ON SIDEWALKS OR LAWNS. HS staff, HS student, Fairchild St, bus garage, and MS north are all available for parking. 10. According to school board policy all therapy dogs must have paperwork on file 10 days before the event that you are requesting your animal to attend. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out. Go FEARLESS Dragons! Sincerely, Adrian Trzebiatowski Athletic Director/Assistant Principal atrzebiatowski@swcrk.org 810-591-1809

Nothing but positive energy and excitement at the SCMS Welcome Back! Loved seeing our kids and families to kick off the 24/25 school year! It's great to be a Dragon!

📢 Calling All Swartz Creek High School & Middle School Students! Looking for a way to earn service hours for Honor Society? The Crim Festival of Races is right around the corner, and student volunteers are needed to help make this event a success! This is an excellent opportunity to give back to the community and be part of something special. 📧 Contact: Ruth Cantor at rcantor@crim.org

Good Afternoon Dragon Families, School starts on Wednesday. We are so excited to have you in the Dragon Family. 2024-2025 is going to be a fantastic school year. A couple of notes are below. Things to know: Wednesday is a half-day in the afternoon. Please check the district website under "District: School Hours" for each building's official start and end times or click here: SC HOURS [https://www.swartzcreek.org/page/school-hours] 24-25 School Calendar: SC CALENDAR [https://core-docs.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/documents/asset/uploaded_file/3693/SCCS/4261852/New_-_School_Calendar__2024-25_.pdf] We can't wait to see your first day of school pictures! If you'd like us to share them, please Email your pictures to mcorbat@swcrk.org, and we will post them on our SCCS Facebook page. Your feedback on our ZERO-TAX-RATE increase bond proposal on the November ballot is crucial. Please read the BOND FAQ and click the QR code on page 11 to submit your feedback. Your input is highly valued and will help shape the future of our school district. Thank you! SC BOND PAGE [https://www.swartzcreek.org/page/bond] We are absolutely thrilled to welcome all our students and staff on Wednesday afternoon! Let's make this our best year ever! Rodney R. Hetherton, Superintendent

Reminder: The SCMS player & parent meeting for fall athletics is Tuesday, August 20th at 6:30 in the PAC with program breakouts at 7:15! CLICK HERE for more information: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/e/2PACX-1vQafUUS_Nk9lf8bRJOUceorgYtFfQEDLSp0LquqyYNVY9kkPGWvElKRJEUlu-Oh3MlDih4HxNQYFylh/pub?start=false&loop=false&delayms=3000&slide=id.p

Check out the latest edition of The Dragon Connection—our district newsletter— filled with important updates and helpful information. This month’s issue includes: Transportation Services Free Lunch and Breakfast for All Students Kinder Camp School Bond Update Don’t miss out—click the link below to read more and stay connected with our school community! Read The Dragon Connection here: https://swartzcreekview.mihomepaper.com/pageview/viewer/SCCS#page=6 #DragonConnection

Families! This year we are continuing our student planners. These are designed specifically for our Swartz Creek middle school families. You can look at your child's planner daily to determine what work your child did not finish at school, if your child has any tests this week, any major assignments due, whether your child is at a 1 or a 5 on the 5-point emotional scale that all students are taught. You can even see how many times your child left class to use the bathroom or go to their locker. The most important thing we use planners for is to teach students executive functioning skills for life. We will be giving your child a new a planner every 4-5 weeks so they will have approximately two planners each marking period. Planners are expected to be handed out in your child's Dragon Time on Monday August 26th.

So happy to see our SCMS survivor camp leaders visiting the offices today! It's nice to have the family back together!!!!

Calling ALL actors, dancers, singers and tech students interested in joining our Swartz Creek Middle School Drama Club! Please attend this upcoming meeting on August 28th. The 2024-2025 upcoming school year we will be performing 2 shows. This fall we will perform The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Spring 2025 we will bring High School Musical Jr to the stage. We look forward to an incredible school year and seeing everyone on the 28th. Please contact Kendra Babcock with any questions at kbabcock@swcrk.org

Exciting News for Swartz Creek Community Schools! We are thrilled to announce that the state of Michigan has once again approved a budget that allows Swartz Creek Community Schools to offer FREE breakfast and lunch to ALL students in grades pre-K through 12, thanks to the Michigan School Meals program! Last year, we saw a significant increase in student participation, leading to higher reimbursements for our Food Service Program. This means we can invest more in better food, equipment, staffing, and more. We need your help! Please fill out the Education Benefit Form through the Meal Magic Family Portal. Gathering this information is crucial for securing higher reimbursements through the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP), determining eligibility for Summer Food Service Programs, and ensuring our schools receive full access to federal and state funding for educational programs. Parents can create an account or just fill out the form without creating one. Please ONLY add children who are currently registered with Swartz Creek Schools. Any other children in another District or not yet registered should be added to the “number of members in the household”. Visit our website: [swartzcreek.org](http://swartzcreek.org) and click “Food Service” for more information. The Meal Magic Family Portal is also a fantastic resource for families. Here, you can set up accounts for your children to deposit money, view purchases, transfer funds between children, and set restrictions. Both the Middle and High School offer a la carte items for all students, whether they bring a lunch or eat a free meal, they can purchase additional items for lunch. Menus are available on the food service page under the NutriSlice tab, detailing nutritional value, calories, macros, and allergens. If your student has special dietary needs, please contact our food service department directly. This will ensure that their meals are modified and documented accordingly for state compliance, and the school will be notified of any dietary restrictions. #FreeMeals #StudentNutrition

Swartz Creek Middle School Families: welcome back letters from the school office are in the mail! It's time to order your school picture packages. Visit [strawbridge.net](http://strawbridge.net) and use the online code FM441158 to place your order. Reminder: All forms in Power Parent need to be completed before students get their pictures taken and receive their school ID. Ensure everything is filled out to guarantee a smooth start to the school year! Please direct all questions about the Power Parent/Student Portal to Barb Parker at bparker@swcrk.org or 810-591-1709 for assistance.

Attention SCMS sixth grade families: If your child is registered for Survivor Camp, please drop off campers at the pool doors at 9am and pick up from pool doors (north side by the bus loop) at 12pm for AM sessions. Same for PM sessions, but drop off is at 1pm and pick up is at 4pm. Students do not need to bring anything with them. We hope they have a great experience and feel more prepared to start school in a few weeks!

Good Afternoon Dragon Families, Welcome back to a great new school year! We are so excited to kick off the 2024-2025 school year. We have many new faces and initiatives that will make this school year fantastic and memorable. Our goal is to give all our students a meaningful journey and learning experience. As always, we will be focused on relationships over the content during our first four weeks of school. Research shows that a connection at school dramatically increases the likelihood of a successful school experience. We are committed to this success and look forward to a great year with you. Here are some SCCS updates: •All principals and secretaries are back in the buildings. The principals are on retreat next Monday through Wednesday, so please email them if you need to contact them. They check their emails daily. You can also call the office to discuss general questions with the secretary. Classroom placement letters will be coming home shortly. •Our first student day back is Wednesday, August 21st. It is a half-day in the afternoon. Please check the district website under "District: School Hours" for each building's official start and end times. We are so excited to have students back. •This November, SCCS will present a crucial $38.8 million ZERO-TAX-RATE increase bond proposal on the ballot. The bond projects, which aim to bolster safety and security, upgrade learning environments, enhance classroom technology, and renovate building interiors and exteriors, are vital for our school's future. The bond proposal, which will not increase the current tax rate, will only extend the 2018 bond for two additional years. Please mark November 5th on your calendar as a reminder to cast your vote. Next week, I will share the FAQ, Press Release, and Feedback QR code for your reference. We have had a busy summer hiring season. If you or a friend are interested, we still have many support staff openings. It is a great place to work! If you are considering joining the Dragon family, please call 810-591-2300 for more information. Please see the list of our current principals at each school building: Swartz Creek High School Jamie Dammann, Principal Josh Attwood, Assistant Principal Amy Hart, Assistant Principal Adrian Trzebiatowski, Athletic Director / Assistant Principal Swartz Creek Middle School Dave Simonsen, Principal RJ Kaplan, Assistant Principal Theresa Anderson, Assistant Principal Dieck Elementary Heather Briggs, Principal Elms Road Elementary Shauntel Manning, Principal Gaines Elementary Michelle Paul, Curriculum Director and Principal Morrish Elementary Jaclyn Thompson, Principal Syring Elementary Brandie Bevel, Principal Swartz Creek VLC Kevin Klaeren, Executive Director of Compliance and Safety Swartz Creek Little Dragons Amanda Bendall, Early Childhood Coordinator Again, we are thrilled to start the year. Please contact your building principal or secretary if you have any specific questions or concerns about the start of school. They have all been working tirelessly to prepare for a great year. We are all here to make school an exciting, enjoyable, and safe place to learn and grow. We are eagerly looking forward to a great first week of school! Let's make it memorable and full of learning and fun! Rodney R. Hetherton, Superintendent

Attention 7th and 8th grade football players: Voluntary conditioning practice starts this Tuesday, July 30th from 4:00-5:00 on the middle school practice field. Wear shorts and bring water. Voluntary Conditioning Dates: (4:00-5:00) July 30th August 6th August 13th August 20th The season officially starts August 26. Please direct all questions to Coach Dan Murphy at dmurphy@swcrk.org

We're thrilled to announce the new app for Swartz Creek! It's everything Swartz Creek, in your pocket. Download for Android https://bit.ly/41IpftU Download for iPhone https://apple.co/41K06z6

Just a quick reminder for our Middle School students planning to attend the game. You must be accompanied by an adult in order to get in. Also, no balls, boards, bags, or open drink containers. Thanks for your cooperation!

📣2023-24 SCMS Yearbook Announcement 📣 Order your yearbook now while it’s on sale for $40 with 4 free icons until September 8th! 8th grade families can purchase a proud parent ad for $30. https://www.jostens.com