The eScoop
December 7, 2018
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Upcoming Events
December 21
| Last Day of School Before Winter Break
Visit the
Online Calendar
and filter by Shaker Heights Middle School for more upcoming events.
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Hello Shaker Middle School Families!
Thank to the PTO and the Human Resources department for sponsoring the Middle School’s annual
Heart Healthy Challenge
again this year. Congratulations to Mrs. Zucca, Mrs. Abrams, Ms. Roche, Ms. Roth, and Mrs. Wheatley. Each received a gift card of $25–$50 to a store that promotes healthy eating and living.
The SMS student government in partnership with the Shaker PTO Community Builders is asking for your help in collecting new unused tubes of lip balm and unopened packs of chewing gum. Your donation will be a part of the items that will be collected and donated to those less fortunate during the
MLK Day of Service
in
January 2019.
Students may drop off your donations beginning Wednesday, December 5, through Friday, December 21, in the specially marked boxes in the main office, library, and security desk at the front entrance.
We have many items in our Lost and Found, which is located in the Middle School Cafeteria. If your child has misplaced items at school, please ask them to check the Lost and Found. All unclaimed items will be donated or disposed of on Friday, December 21. We will also have locker clean out on Thursday, December 20.
The
Annual Barnes and Noble Student Showcas
e, featuring talented students and staff, is next
Saturday, December 14.
This is the only fundraiser that supports SMS Library Literacy activities and incentives and it's so much fun, too. We'll need student gift wrappers (with a supervising adult), greeters, announcers, performance groups (large and small), activity center guides, storybook readers (for the wee ones), and of course, shoppers! The in-house Starbucks Cafe is a great place to relax and chat and those purchases also count toward our fundraiser. Before you check-out, please see Mrs. Quarles, our school librarian, for the Shaker Middle School code.
UPCOMING EVENTS
December 13
| Mrs. Boris & Mrs. Canady's Classes to Southpark Mall
Week of December 10
| Winter MAP Testing
December 21
| Pep Rally (Assembly Schedule)
December 21
| Only 3pm buses available; no 4pm or 5:45 buses
Sincerely,
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From Your PTO Co-Presidents
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Dear Parents,
Happy Friday from the SMS PTO!
December is here and it will be 2019 before you know it!
Thank you to all who attended the recent Ladies' Night Out fundraiser at Juma, for the
8th Grade Washington, DC trip
. And great thanks to the event chairs, Mity Fowler and Meredith Camp, for organizing! The trip is shaping up to have the greatest number of students attending since the annual event was started! This is a major event for 8th grade students and is heavily supported by the PTO.
There will be
Superintendent Community Search
meetings at the High School on December 12 & December 13 at 6pm. All are welcome to get involved in this important endeavor for our district. You may also complete the
Leadership Priority Survey
online. The survey is open through December 14. More information is available on the
district website.
The PTO is hosting a
Staff & Teacher Appreciation Luncheon
on December 14, from 11am–1pm, in the SMS Library. We know teaching and supporting education is hard work and we are happy to give back to the people who are educating our kids. Please reach out to
Elizabeth Roeder
or
Maria Koutroumanis Pelletier
to contribute or find out more information.
Let us know if you need anything or have any questions about the PTO.
Your PTO Presidents,
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Teacher & Staff Appreciation Luncheon
Friday, December 14
On Friday, December 14, the SMS PTO will be holding our
Teacher & Staff Appreciation Luncheon
. The PTO is providing a "Chili" lunch from Zoup but would love to have donations for drinks, salads, and desserts from parents.
Click here
for the Sign Up Genius. Items can be dropped off as of 8am that morning at the SMS front office.
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Teacher Grants at SMS
Thank you to our PTO for providing $4,000 in grant funds to Middle School teachers for completing the teacher grant process. Grants were awarded to the following recipients:
- Mr. Bishko: pilot program aimed at a positive behavior intervention system
- Ms. Moss: uniforms for the drill team
- Ms. Priestly: cheerleading competition fees
- Ms. Doles: Carnival of Literature & Math
- Mr. Schwenn: ping pong table for the extracurricular game club
- Mr. Abraham: headphones for his Google classroom
- Ms. Clouser: orchestra and choir performance costs
Due to the success of the Rainbow Run, the PTO will be awarding another $3,000 in teacher grants in February. Applications for the grants will be available on the PTO page of the SMS website on December 1. This is one more way the PTO is able to support all of our students! If you have any questions, contact
Christine Wolken.
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Stay Up to Date with Facebook
Did you know that there are Facebook pages for the graduating classes of
2023 (8th grade)
and
2024 (7th grade)
? Join now to stay up to date on breaking news and events, connect with other parents, and share tips and tricks.
Most classes have a page set up when they start Woodbury, so search for other years to find the right page for all your students.
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Heart Healthy Challenge at SMS
Throughout October and November, nearly 30 SMS staff took part in the
Heart Healthy Challenge
. This challenge had SMS staff choose from a wide variety of healthy activities to be completed on their own or with their students. If a staff member completed at least 10 activities, they received raffle tickets for a drawing at the end of November. Raffle prizes included gift cards to healthy establishments in our area like Dick's Sporting Goods, Whole Foods, and Heinen's. A special thank you to the SMS PTO, the Human Resources Department, and the Communications Department for donating these great prizes.
Click here
to see pictures of SMS Staff in action.
Gift Card Winners
$25 Giant Eagle*
| Tania Zucca
$50 Heinen's**
| Chamaine Abrams
$50 Dick's**
| Ashley Roche
$50 Whole Foods** |
Linda Roth
$50 Dick's** |
Maria Wheatley
* prize courtesy of the Shaker District Human Resources Department
** prizes courtesy of the SMS PTO
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Donate Today to Help Local Children & Teens Experiencing Homelessness
On January 21, MLK Day of Service, Shaker Heights School students, families, and staff will gather together to help youth experiencing homelessness and home insecurity in our community. We will make sleeping mats and fleece scarves to be distributed by Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless and we will assemble over 800 teen survival kits for Bellefaire JCB and MetroHealth Foster Care Team. What is a teen survival kit? It is a gallon Ziploc bag with a small water bottle, granola bars, raisins, bandaids, thick socks, rain poncho, lip balm, antibacterial wet wipes, gloves, and a personal card. We will also be making fleece blankets for children who enter the Bellefaire JCB homeless and missing youth program.
We need your help! Please donate today. Every $5 helps. To donate, go to
PayForIt
,
select "Fundraisers" and scroll down to MLK Day of Service. Choose your amount. You can also contribute using PayPal
https://www.paypal.me/SHPTO
. We will be collecting donations through January 14. Thank you!
Click here
to see photos of past MLK Day of Service activities.
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Escape the Cold with a Trip to Kalahari!
On
Thursday, January 17, 2019,
Kalahari is offering Shaker Heights Schools’ families a discounted rate of $129/night (regular rate $199+) including water park admission starting after school on January 17 through 3pm on January 18 (no school that day)! Plus,
Kalahari will donate $10 per room to Shaker Heights PTO Council.
The money donated will go to help the MLK Day of Service events and other Council community events.
To make a reservation, call 877-525-2427 and ask for the Shaker Heights PTO Fundraiser Room Block.
Please reserve before December 17 as this rate and availability are only guaranteed through then.
Kalahari is an indoor water park resort in Sandusky, Ohio, a little more than an hour's drive from Shaker Heights. There are pools and water slides geared toward both older and younger children, arcade games, mini golf, restaurants, spa, hotel rooms, etc.—a fun place for kids and adults, and it will be even more fun with a bunch of Shaker Schools’ families! Hope to see you there!
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Know Anyone Who Doesn't Receive the eScoop?
Send them
here
to have the
eScoop
delivered directly to their email. The
eScoop
is the Middle School PTO newsletter which provides essential information to families including upcoming Middle School and community events.
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SMS Orchestra News
Did You Know?
Regular practice develops self-discipline that goes way beyond music. You can help you child by creating an environment for practice that is positive and engaging. Consistency is the key!
Help Your Child Be Successful by Setting Up A Routine
If a child knows that they are to practice every day at a specific time, it becomes part of their daily routine and increases focused practice.
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The Parent Mentor Program
The Parent Mentor Program is a parent-to-parent resource available to families in the Shaker Heights City School District who need information, guidance, or support through any phase of the special education process. Funded by a grant from the Ohio Department of Education, the program provides assistance to families of children with disabilities at no cost to the family. The goal of the program is to help families effectively navigate the special education process in partnership with school district personnel and to enable parents to make informed decisions on behalf of their children
.
If you are concerned your child is struggling in school, may have a learning disability, or needs additional support, please speak with your child’s classroom teacher first. At any point feel free to contact the Shaker Heights parent mentor, Holly Palda at 216.295.4372. For more information
click here
.
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The SMS Yearbook Needs Your Help!
Throughout the school year, the yearbook committee is looking for photos from SMS sports events to add to the yearbook. Please email pictures to
Tania Zucca
and include in the subject line the name and date of the event. Thank you for your help!
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Box Tops
Clean out your kitchen junk drawer and send in your Box Tops. We receive 10 cents for every Box Top turned in. Such an easy way to earn money for our school! Thank you!
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Heinen's Teaming Up for Education
Don't forget: when you use your Tasteful Rewards Card throughout the school year, Heinen's will donate 1% to Shaker Middle School. Be sure to select SMS as your preferred school this year, either online at
Heinens.com/schools
or in-store at the Customer Service Desk.
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The Shaker Heights Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) is dedicated to facilitating the active and informed involvement of all parents and families to achieving the educational success and well being of children. You are receiving this email because you have expressed an interest in Shaker Heights Schools PTO. Add
[email protected]
to your address book so we'll be sure to land in your inbox!
You may
unsubscribe
if you no longer wish to receive our emails.
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STAY CONNECTED WITH SHAKER SCHOOLS
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