It's October Next Week?

This school year is certainly flying by.  We have another exciting week of activities at SMS on tap. All of the fun times next week can be found on the weekly activities calendar below.  This week we could use some help with concessions and on the chain gang.  More information regarding upcoming volunteer opportunities is also below and on my website.

For those of you that like to plan ahead, there has been a change to the 8th grade football schedule. The game versus Rapid City North on Thursday, October 9th has been moved to Southwest Middle School.

SMS Weekly Activity Schedule

 Week of: 9/29/14-10/4/14

Day	Event	Opponent	Location	Dismiss	Bus	Time
Monday	7/8 Volleyball	Custer	SMS Gym			4:00
Tuesday	Middle School Booster Club Meeting		SMS Library			6:00
Wednesday	ER SLL		Governor’s Lab			1:00
Thursday	Cross Country		Sturgis	12:35	12:45	2:20
Thursday	7/8 Volleyball	Lead/Deadwood	Lead	2:50	3:00	4:00
Saturday	Saturday SLL		ALAC Room			8:00
Saturday	Knowledge Bowl		Sturgis			9:00
Saturday	7/8 Football	Belle Fourche	SMS Field			9:00

Volunteer Opportunities

• Volleyball Concessions, Monday, September 29th.  First match at 4:00.
• Football Concessions, Saturday, October 4th.  First game at 9:00
• Football Chain Crew, Saturday, October 4th.  First game at 9:00

Booster Club Meeting

If you are interested in participating in the SMS Booster Club, we will be meeting on Tuesday, September 30th at 6:00 pm in the middle school library to discuss:

1. Role and purpose of the SMS Booster Club
2. Organizational structure
3. Regular meeting schedule (if any)
4. Activities and goals for the 2014-2015 school year

All interested parties are encouraged to attend. 

Expect Respect

At Spearfish Middle School are developing a community of respect and excellence.  To this end we support learning and appropriate student behavior through the elucidation of community core values.  You’ve probably noticed that when you visit SMS you see “PRIDE” banners and posters in every area.  “PRIDE” stands for the community core values of Preparedness, Respect, Integrity, Determination and Excellence.

This year as part of our continued implementation of Positive Behavior Intervention and Support (PBIS), there will be extra focus on the core value of “R”- respect.  In order to help students develop the tools and capacity necessary to build our desired community, we are utilizing the Expect Respect program.  Through this program every student will receive instruction throughout the school year on how to respond to disrespectful behavior whether they are the recipient, the perpetrator, or a by-stander.  Students will be trained in responding to disrespectful behavior using a school-wide stop phrase, how to respond when there receive the stop phrase, and helping their fellow students confront disrespectful behavior appropriately when they witness it.  All students play a role in eliminating negative behaviors and this program is part of an integrated effort to give them the skills necessary to do so.

In addition to the Expect Respect training all students will receive, a core group of students will have specific training so they can mentor and model methods of recognizing and appropriately handling disrespectful behavior. On December 1^st and 2^nd, a program called A Day of Understand will be held.  The program includes a large group session and small group sessions on December 2^nd that will be led by student leaders that were trained on December 1^st.   In the spring, selected 7^th grade students will participate in training for a peer mentoring program that will be launched in the fall of 2015.  By giving students the skills they need to be successful and to build a community respect and excellence.