Woof - 6/1/2018

Good afternoon,

We’ve had four Spring Concerts over the past couple of weeks: always a sign that the year is starting to wind down! On Friday, South musicians performed at the Great East Music Festival, where the band and orchestra each earned Excellent ratings and the Concert Choir received a Superior rating. Congratulations to all our students for the hard work they put in for their performances!

UPCOMING EVENTS – Mark your calendars!

·         Sunday, 6/3, 9:00am – South 5k – http://south5k.racewire.com

·         Monday, 6/4 – Hollis & Highlands 5^th graders visit South

·         Wednesday, 6/6 – Liberty 5^th graders visit South

·         Thursday, 6/7, 6:30pm – Parent Presentation: “What Families Should Know About Marijuana & Teens” (Braintree High) – see attachment

·         Mon & Tues, 6/11-6/12 – Gr. 6 Team Days & Mass Audubon field trip

·         Monday, 6/11, 7:00pm – School Committee (Ross)

o   ALL South Media Center books due back

·         Tuesday, 6/12, 7:00-8:00pm – Special PTO Election

·         Thursday, 6/14 – Gr. 8 Veterans Project (South Gymnasium)

·         Friday, 6/15 – Gr. 8 Invention Convention (South Gymnasium)

·         Friday, 6/15-Saturday, 6/16 – Spring Musical: Annie

·         Tuesday, 6/19 – Gr. 8 to Starland

·         Wednesday, 6/20 – Gr. 8 to Canobie Lake Park

·         Thursday, 6/21, 6:00pm-9:00pm – Gr. 8 Appreciation Ceremony & Dinner-Dance

o   1:00-2:00 pm – Gr. 8 “Fly Up” to Braintree High

o   Report Cards sent home

·         Friday, 6/22 – Field Day

o   Yearbooks distributed

·         Monday, 6/25 – Last Day of School: Half day - 11:45 dismissal

SOUTH 5K – SUNDAY 6/3, 9:00 AM

Join us for the annual South 5k Walk/Run this Sunday, hosted by South's Student Council.  Register in advance at http://south5k.racewire.com or at South on Sunday morning. We step off from the school (232 Peach St., Braintree) at 9 AM.  $25 entry fee benefits two annual scholarships for South alumni ($50 family cap).  Awards will be given for all age groups, for the Stroller Division, and for the top Parent-Student Team.  Donations of water are always appreciated – small bottles, please!  Money donations for the Scholarship Fund are also accepted anytime (payable to “South Middle School”).  If you aren’t available to run/walk, please come volunteer at a water station, and cheer the racers on!

SPRING MUSICAL – ANNIE

Tickets for Annie are now on sale. Shows are Friday 6/15 at 7pm and Saturday 6/16 at 2pm & 7pm.  Tickets for the evening shows are $12 per person and tickets for the afternoon show are $10 per person.  You can order tickets online here. (If you cannot attend any of the shows or have a young child or elderly family member who may not be able to manage the crowd, please contact Producer Ms. Proulx about attending the dress rehearsal on Thursday 6/14.)

FROM THE SOUTH LMC

• All Media Center books need to be returned by June 11^th!
• Ms. Vose has a few copies of “Counting By 7s”—the required Summer Reading book for rising 7^th graders—available for purchase for $8.00.  First come, first served!

FROM THAYER PUBLIC LIBRARY

See attached flyer for summer events & volunteer opportunities! Teens interested in volunteering this summer at Thayer Public Library must email the Young Adult librarian, Christina Dufour, by Wednesday June 13^th (cdufour@braintreema.gov; 781-848-0405, ext.4415).

·         Pick from the volunteer needs listed on the attached flyer - provide your top ten programs you’d like to volunteer for (number 1 being want most, to 10 being wanted least).

·         Teens will be fairly assigned by the YA librarian and informed of their assigned volunteering positions by the end of the day Friday June 15^th.

·         Anyone who has not volunteered before will need to talk to Ms. Dufour about filling out Volunteer Forms so she can log your hours!

Volunteering is a great way to start building your resume. You can show your work ethic and get a professional reference for job applications in high school and beyond!

FROM BHS DANCE TEAM

The Braintree High Dance Team is fundraising to send the team to Nationals in Florida. They are holding a raffle for an Acer 2-in-1 convertible chromebook (see attached flyer for full specs). This is a great opportunity for any 8^th grade parents looking for a chromebook compatible with the BYOD initiative at Braintree High! Anyone interested in purchasing tickets, contact Laura Burton—lauramburton@comcast.net : 1 for $5, 3 for $10.  The drawing will be held on July 19^th. Good luck!

FROM THE HEALTH OFFICE

All students currently in 6^th grade are required by the Massachusetts Department of Education and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health to provide documentation of the following prior to the start of school in September 2018:

·         2 doses of MMR vaccine (measles, mumps and rubella)

·         3 doses of Hepatitis B vaccine (5mcg) OR 2 doses of 10mcg vaccine

·         1 Tdap given within the last 5 years

·         2 doses of Varicella vaccine OR a physician certified case of chicken pox disease.

·         Physical exam dated after 9/1/17: If your child has had a physical exam since September 2017, please send in the updated files. Your doctor’s office can also fax it: 781-356-0657

If you have any questions, concerns, or comments, please don’t hesitate to email me at damon.rainie@braintreeschools.org or call the school at 781-380-0160.

With all best wishes,

Damon Rainie

ATTACHMENTS:

·         Parent Presentation “What Families Should Know About Marijuana & Teens” flyer

·         BPS June 2018 Nurses’ Newsletter

·         Braintree Track Club flyer

·         BHS Dance Raffle flyer

·         Thayer Public Library summer events & volunteer opportunities

REMINDERS FROM PRIOR WOOFS:

LOOKING FOR WAYS TO SUPPORT SOUTH?

·         If you shop on Amazon.com, using the link below will support South at no additional cost to you. Anything you add to your “shopping cart” after clicking on this link generates a referral fee to South.

(The website will look like normal, but we get credit for “sending” traffic there. Your purchase history is anonymous & will always remain confidential at Amazon.)

·         Download the Benefit Mobile app and sign up to support “South Middle School.” Then, you can purchase digital gift cards for all your online and in-store shopping and a percentage supports South. In stores, the cashier will scan a bar code on your phone & you’ll be all set. Online, you’ll enter a code where it asks for a gift card, and the balance comes right off your total. It’s easy!

·         Register on GoodShop.com for South Middle School in Braintree. Then, add the Gumdrop extension to your web browser. Every time you go to checkout, click on Gumdrop in the menu bar and find out if there are any coupon codes for your shopping. It’s easy, quick, saves you money, and sends a benefit to South!

·         Register your Stop & Shop card to benefit the South PTO (see above)

·         Donate clothes and other linens to the Bay State Textiles donation bin behind South.  To date, we have collected 18,350 pounds of textiles! This includes bedding and stuffed animals, which most donation bins won’t accept. Your donations to Bay State Textiles help keep waste out of our landfills AND support South Middle School!

·         Donate books, DVDs, and videos to the Big Hearted Books donation bin behind South.

SEE WHAT’S GOING ON AT SOUTH MIDDLE ON SOCIAL MEDIA!

·         Our new South website is available at: http://www.braintreeschools.org/south/

·         Follow @SMSBraintree for reminders, updates, and interesting links related to middle school.  You don’t need to tweet to join Twitter; you can set up an account just to read and follow others’ postings.  If you would prefer not to set up an account, you can also receive our tweets via text message.  Simply text “Follow @SMSBraintree” to 40404.

·         Follow @SMSBraintree on Instagram to see photos from the school events.

EXTRA HELP SUPPORTS

o   HOMEWORK CLUB

South’s afterschool Homework Club meets Monday through Thursday in the Media Center until 3:15.  If you have work to do or need to use a computer, feel free to come in at dismissal.  You don’t need to sign up in advance.  You can come as often as you need to: one day, every once in a while, or every day!

o   LATE BUS

Students who regularly take a bus are welcome to take the Late Bus home if you stay after for extra help with a teacher or for the Homework Club in the Media Center.  You will need a bus pass from your teacher to board the late bus.  Late Buses leave South between 3:15 to 3:30, Monday through Thursday.

o   BEFORE SCHOOL COMPUTER LAB

If you have work to do in the morning or need a computer to print something out or submit an assignment on Google Classroom, you’re in luck!  The Computer Lab will be open every morning from 7:15 AM until the first homeroom bell.  You don’t need to sign up in advance.

YEARBOOK

Yearbooks are now on sale!  Order online at jostensyearbooks.com or by phone at 1-877-767-5217.  Yearbooks will be delivered on the last day of school in June 2018.  See Ms. Barrett with any questions.

STUDENT ABSENCE FROM SCHOOL

If your child has to be absent from school, come late, or leave early, please let us know so we’re not concerned!  Call the Main Office line – 781-380-0160 – and dial “1” to leave us a message. If you’ve gone to a medical appointment, please request a note from the doctor’s office or have them fax it to us: 781-356-0657.  Notes written by parents/guardians can help explain a student’s absence, but will not excuse it – only a letter from a professional office can medically excuse absences.