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Shark Pride Press

241 Peninsula Farm Road, Arnold, MD 21012 School Hours: 9:20 am - 4:05 pm

Office 410-544-0922 Fax 410–315-8006

SEVERN RIVER MIDDLE SCHOOL

“Every child deserves a champion – an adult who will never give up on

them, who understands the power of connection and insists that they

become the best that they can possibly be.”

Severn River Middle School Families,

As summer quickly is coming to an end, I hope this letter finds you and your family doing well. We have been very busy getting the building ready for your student to arrive and have another great year!

There will be quite a bit of information coming out on our webpage and our newsletter in the next few days. If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to call the school or email at any time.

Tuesday, September 3rd is the first day of school for 6th grade students. When students arrive they are to report directly to the cafeteria. Advisory teachers will meet students in the cafeteria and take them to their appropriate locations and distribute schedules. When 6

th grade

students return on Wednesday September 4th, they will report to directly to 1st period.

Wednesday, September 4th is the first day for 7

th and 8

th grade students. When they arrive

7th Graders will report to the cafeteria to receive their schedules then will report to 1st period. 8th Graders will report to the Gym to receive their schedules then will report to 1st period.

We have made some wonderful additions and changes over the summer to our building and staff. Our number one goal is to provide your student with the best middle school experience that can be offered. It truly takes a partnership to guide young adolescents through the middle school years. My hope is that our school and community continues the great partnership that has existed for many years. Together we will make the 2019-2020 a great year. Enjoy the rest of your summer and please visit us as the school year begins.

Sincerely,

Richard B. Tubman

Richard B. Tubman

Principal

Severn River Middle School

September

2019

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Be sure to visit our website often it will be updated with

important information and upcoming events. I

will also post a newsletter each month that will include

lots of Information.

https://www.aacps.org/Page/3914

SEPTEMBER HIGHLIGHTS

Sept. 3 - First Day for 6th Graders

Sept. 4 - First Day for 7th and 8th Graders

Sept. 10 - Back to School Night 6-8pm

Sept. 12- Spirit Day, Chic fil A, All Day

Sept. 18 - PTSO Meeting 6 pm in the Media Center

Sept. 19 - Picture Day

Sept. 30 - No School - Rosh Hashanah

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Welcome New Teachers / Staff 2019 – 2020

NAME SRMS

Melissa Wright 6th Grade School Counselor

Angela Cartron Math/Algebra 8

Tammie Britt 6th/8th Grade LA

Melissa Devlin 8th Grade Science DC

Jolene Farmer Psychologist

Katherine O’Rourke 7th Grade LA

Jill Pias P/T FACS

Luz Rivero-Engelmann Spanish/French

Matthew Robertson PE

Samuel Sheppard 8th Grade SS DC

Jessica Twentymon 7th Grade LA

Summer Borlik SPED

Diane Sorrentino-Schlauch Right Start Advisor

Sarah Kellner Access Reading/Science 7, 1 pd

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Important Parent Reminders:

• Students are not permitted to ride another student’s bus.

• If you know your student will be leaving early please send a note in

with he/she and we will give them a pass to come to the office at

the time the note indicates.

• Please do not call the front desk and ask that your child be called

to the office prior to you picking them up, if they did not come in

with a note we will be happy to call them down when you arrive.

• When coming to pick up your child please be sure to bring your

Maryland State ID, we are required to check this EVERY TIME you

come in the building.

• We do not allow a student to be released to anyone who is not on

their emergency pick-up list, if you would like to add someone you

will need to fill a new emergency card which we would be happy to

provide.

• On teacher help days (Wednesday’s), please do not drop your child

off before 8:35 am, we do not have supervision for them.

• Unless we are given a note in the morning that your child will need

to switch their original transportation for the afternoon, we cannot

call into classrooms during class or at the end of the day, This is to

avoid continuous classroom interruptions.

• If your child is absent from school please send a note to school

with he/she to bring to the main office when they return. Phone

calls are not accepted.

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If your home address has changed, you may be missing critical information

about your child’s education that is mailed to you from the school.

To make address corrections, it takes more than just a phone call.

Anne Arundel County Public Schools REQUIRES documentation be provided

every time a student’s home address changes.

Also, please let us know if your home, work, cell phone numbers,

or email address have changed.

For additional information regarding residency requirements or to change

contact information, please call the Counseling Department at 410-544-0925.

Mark Your Calendars

2019-2020

Back to School Night

Tuesday, September 10, 2018

6:00 p.m.—Cafeteria

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Instructions to Apply for Free and Reduced Meals

Go to AACPS.ORG and click on School Meals as seen below:

Next you will click on Apply for Free or Reduced Price Meals as seen below:

Once here click on green tab, APPLY FOR FREE/REDUCED PRICE MEALS HERE:

If you DO NOT have access to a computer please request a paper form be sent home with your student.

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School Meal Prices

Breakfast (full price – all schools) $1.50

Breakfast (reduced price – all schools) .00

Lunch (full price – elementary) 2.75

Lunch (full price – secondary) 3.00

Lunch (reduced – all schools) .00

Milk – all schools .55

ADULT

Breakfast 1.90

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All food and drink brought from home must be consumed only in the cafeteria. Any food or drink that is not con-

sumed at lunch must be discarded before the student leaves the cafeteria. Please keep this in mind as you pack

a lunch or give money for cafeteria items. Free and reduced forms will be sent home the first week of school.

Prepay for lunch-Information:

AACPS, Division of Food and Nutrition Services, offers you the convenience of pre-paying for breakfast, lunch

and a la carte purchases. www.mypaymentsplus.com

Q. How does the prepay system work?

A. Parents deposit money on account by cash and/or check with their child’s Student Identification #. Students

bring purchases to register, enter confidential PIN# and transaction is completed. If funds are not sufficient to

cover purchases, cash and/or a deposit may be accepted.

Q. What are the advantages to a Pre-Pay System?

A. Money may be deposited on a weekly, monthly, or yearly basis. This eliminates the need for students to car-

ry money to school every day. It also provided faster service to students, allowing more time for dining and pro-

vides an account history.

Q. How do I establish a Pre-Pay account?

A. Pre-payments may be made to the student’s account on line at www.mypaymentsplus.com or by cash or

check payable to SRMS Cafeteria or school cafeteria manager. Funds are immediately available upon submis-

sion of payment.

Include name and address of payee, student’s name, and PIN# on check. PIN# can be found on report cards

and schedules.

Households with more than one child at the same school may send one check or cash if the amount of the mon-

ey to be placed into each child’s account is designated. List the name of each child with the amount of money

designated for each child’s account. Accounts may not be hared between children.

Q. Can I check my account balance?

A. Yes, Contact the Cafeteria Mgr. for account information or sign up with www.mypaymentsplus.com

Q. What happens to the account if my child transfers or withdraws from school?

A. Upon request from the Parent/Guardian, the Cafeteria Manager will refund the balance of the money on the

account.

Q. What happens to money remaining on the account at the end of the school year?

A. Monies remain on account and are carried forward to the new school year for students who continue to be

enrolled at the same school. Graduating students and students promoted from middle school or high school will

automatically have monies refunded.

If you have questions, contact Food and Nutrition Services at 410-222-5900.

Cafeteria Information

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The Café Menu September 3-6, 2019

Tuesday

Teriyaki Chicken w/Rice

Hot Dog

Black Bean & Cheese Burrito

Chicken Tender Salad w/Pumpkin Bread

Yogurt Parfait w/UBR

Sun Butter & Cheese Combo

Wednesday

Crispy Chicken Sandwich

Italian Sausage Pasta Bake w/Garlic Bread Stick

Garlic French Bread

Taco Salad w/Corn Chips

Yogurt Parfait w/Granola

Hummus & Sunflower Seeds

Thursday

Taco w/Corn Chips

Chicken Quesadilla

Fiesta Pizza

Garden Salad w/Cinnamon Bread

Yogurt Parfait w/UBR

Sun Butter & Cheese Combo

Friday

Stuffed Crust Pizza

Fish Sandwich

Pizza Sticks

Salmon Salad w/Zucchini Bread

Yogurt Parfait w/Granola

Hummus & Sunflower Seeds

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Important Health Room News

Medication: According to Anne Arundel County Public School policy, a “Parent’s

Request to Administer Medication" form must be completed by parent and physician and

be brought to school by the parent or adult for any medication or over-the-counter

products to be administered by the health room to your child. A copy of the form is

enclosed in this newsletter on the following page. The form and the medications can be

brought to the health room starting the week of August 19th.

Cough drops and headache medications must follow these

procedures and be kept in the health room. Cough drops and

headache medication may not be taken without obtaining an

authorization form. Also please mark all medications properly.

Asthma: If your child has asthma or reactive airway disease,

please make sure the health room has an inhaler for your child. All

students take P.E. classes and will be doing exercises that could bring on sudden

asthma attacks. If your child is having asthma symptoms or getting over a respiratory

illness, such as bronchitis or pneumonia, please write a note to the health room or P.E.

teacher informing us of how many days your child should not participate in activities.

Emergency Forms: When completing the School Emergency Form, it is very important

to list all CURRENT home, cell, and work phone numbers where you can be reached in

case of an emergency. Please include the names of 2 other

adults that may be contacted in the event we are unable to

reach a parent or guardian.

Positions Available: School Health Services are seeking

individuals for positions of RN’s and LPN’s, Health

Assistants and Special Needs Aides for full time and part

time services. Please call: 410-22-6838EMERGENCY

FORMS.

Breakfast...the most important meal of the day. Some students skip their morning meals

on a regular basis because they’re sleepy, they’re running late, or they’re just not hungry

in the morning. Studies have shown that eating a good breakfast can actually enhance

your performance on a test. One study in particular shows that “Breakfast consumption

has a short-term effect in improving selected learning skills, especially work memory.”

Contact Information: Remember it is very important to keep the school informed of any

changes to your student’s emergency card which includes home, work, and cell phone

numbers, home address and email address.

EMERGENCY FORMS

Will be distributed the

1st day of school.

Please send them back

ASAP!

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Messages For Your Child

During School Hours

All students will, at one time or another, accidentally leave a lunch or assignment at home. If

a parent needs to drop an item to school during school hours, the parent may leave the item

in the Main Office. Please have the item labeled with the student’s name, grade and lunch

period. The staff will take the item to the cafeteria during his/her lunch period. This is done

so that your child is kept in his/her class as much as possible and to eliminate the need to call

into a classroom and interrupt instruction or testing.

It is not possible for the office to deliver phone messages to students during the day.

We ask that you not request a message be given to your child unless it is an emergency.

Should an emergency require immediate information to a student, the parent should ask to

speak to an administrator who will determine the best method to contact the student.

In the event that we must get a message to a student, calls must be made BEFORE the

student’s lunch periods to avoid interruption to instruction or testing. Lunch periods are as

follows:

6th grade: 11:56-12:21

7th grade: 12:52-1:17

8th grade: 11:00-11:25

We kindly ask that you PLEASE REFRAIN calling at the end of the

school day with dismissal changes. This causes much confusion for the office staff along with

interruption to the classroom instruction and/or testing. We cannot guarantee the student will

receive the message and this will only cause confusion for all involved.

Severn River Middle School is equipped with a video camera system. It covers selected inte-

rior and exterior public portions of the building and grounds. It is NOT monitored constantly,

but it is monitored during emergency situations. During certain events, when the safety or se-

curity of students may be in question, authorized personnel from local, state, or federal police

or fire emergency units may be given access to view images projected on the camera system.

If you have any questions about the system, you should call the Supervisor of School Security

at 410-222-5083.”

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School bus information will

be disseminated by the

middle of August through the

AACPS.org. Questions

relative to bus stops/routes

should be directed to Tina

Acker at the Board of

Education (410-222-2915).

For any other concerns

please contact Mrs.

Fullwood, Asst. Principal 410

-544-0922.

Cars are not allowed in the

bus area directly in front of

the school. All parents

picking up their children by

car must proceed to the

upper parking lot and must

park in a parking spot.

Please DO NOT line up or

block parked cars. Once

you park, you can walk to the

stairs located at the parking

lot crosswalk and escort your

child(ren) to your car.

Please keep the speed of

your vehicle BELOW 5mph

while in the parking lot.

According to transportation

policy, students must board

and depart from the buses at

the stop closest to their house.

To prevent overcrowding on

buses we do not allow

students to go home on a

friend’s bus.

Exceptional Transportation

Requests will only be

approved for long-term

needs. Short-term and daily

requests will no longer be

approved. All Exceptional

Transportation Requests are

to be submitted to our

Guidance office for approval.

Students may only ride a bus

other than their assigned one

with an approved Exceptional

Transportation Request form.

Activity buses run on

Tuesdays and Thursdays

after school. (dates TBD)

These buses are only for

students who are eligible to

ride a bus to and from

school. Bus stops are

different than for regular

buses.

Students staying after

school with a staff member

must tell parents the day

before to avoid telephone

calls and worried parents.

Activity buses normally

depart from the school at

4:50 p.m.

After school car riders are

to be picked up in the same

manner as the everyday car

riders in the UPPER

PARKING LOT.

Skateboards are NOT

allowed on buses

If your child is a car rider, we ask that you PLEASE do not rush into the office to

have your child called out of class near the time of dismissal so that you may

beat the buses out of the parking lot. This is a disruption to the classroom and

the front office at the end of the day instruction.

School Bus Information &

Parking Lot Procedures

After School

Activity Buses

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Student Attire and Dress Code

Students have the right and responsibility to choose their attire and to arrange their per-sonal appearance in a manner that is healthy, safe and inof-fensive, and not disruptive to the educational process.

When there is evidence that a student’s attire or personal ap-pearance violates the policy, the Principal or Asst. Principals shall intervene and take cor-rective actions, including but not limited to, requiring that the student remove or change the item, taking reasonable steps to notify the student’s parents of violation, and, for repeated violations, initiating progressive discipline for in-subordination as appropriate, which may include suspension from school.

Prohibited Attire:

• Depict profanity, vulgarity, obscenity, or violence or symbols of hate.

• Promote use or abuse of tobacco, drugs and alcohol.

• May create a health or safety hazard.

• Cannot promote gang col-ors or gang-related signs.

• Cannot show underwear.

• Cannot show bare skin be-tween upper chest and mid thigh.

• NO Spaghetti straps.

• Length of shorts– Mid-thigh.

Example of inappropriate dress:

Baseball caps, midriffs, paja-ma bottoms, leggings, tank tops, pants worn low enough to reveal underwear.

Please take a few minutes each day to check your child’s attire and ensure they are dressed properly for a good learning environment. Any student who does not adhere to the dress code could be required to wear a rental gym uniform over his/her inappropriate clothing. In some cases the student will have to call the parent/guardian to bring a change of clothing.

Parents, please help us with this issue.

AACPS Policy Num-

ber 902.04

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The following price structure has been approved by the Board of Education of Anne Arundel County:

Free/Reduced Price Meals

An application for free or reduced meals will be given to students on the first day of school. There is a 30-day “Grace” period for students who were on the free or reduced meal plan last year. If a new application is not submitted within that time period, the student will no longer receive free or

reduced meals until a new application is submitted. We will have three lunches (one for each grade level). Students will have twenty-five minutes for lunch each day.

All students will enter the building at 9:15 a.m. and go directly to the cafeteria where breakfast will

available at either free/reduced price or regular price. All students should finish their breakfast and dispose of the trash. Any student who is late to school will not receive breakfast.

AACPS now offers www.mypaymentsplus.com to manage your child’s meal account online.

Visit www.mypaymentsplus.com to register for free!

Breakfast (full price - all schools) $1.50

Breakfast (reduced price - all schools) .00

Lunch (full price - elementary) 2.75

Lunch (full price - secondary) 3.00

Lunch (reduced - all schools) .40

Milk (all schools) .55

ADULT:

Breakfast 1.90

Lunch 3.65

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…

Is to create a welcoming, respectful, and

safe environment that fosters growth,

relationships, and high academic

expectations through the collaboration of

all stakeholders.

While out school supply shopping, our Guidance

Department is in need of school supplies for our less

fortunate children. Any items you can donate would be

helpful for our students.

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Looking Ahead in October

Oct. 4 - Shark Shop Opens during Lunches

Oct. 4 - PBIS Event (details to come)

Oct. 7 - Interims to be sent home

Oct. 8 - SGA Sponsored World Cup Soccer Tournament (details to come)

Oct. 8 - Two Hour Early Dismissal

Oct. 9 - School Closed, Yom Kippur

Oct. 15 & 16 - No School for Students / Parent Teacher Conferences

Oct. 18 - PTSO Sponsored Shark Walk (details to come)

Oct. 29 - Picture Make-up Day

Oct. 31 - HAPPY HALLOWEEN