Dear South Families, 

We had another month of accomplishments and exciting events for our students. Our wrestling and girls' basketball teams had a great season, displaying school pride and sportsmanship during all their competitions. 
Our student leaders, honor roll recipients, Brain Bowl team, Robotics team and various other co-curricular groups have continued their efforts and contributions to our school and community. Reflecting on all these accomplishments, it assures me that Grants Pass School District #7 has a wonderful group of young men and women who represent our district with pride and excellence.

All students will be participating in the new Smarter Balance Assessment beginning in April.  There will be more information regarding these State Assessments as we get closer to the testing date.

Two students of SMS participated in our first annual Middle School Speech tournament in February at the University of Oregon. Anna Macy and Zoey Arnette took 1^st place in Duo and Anna took 1^st place in Poetry – congratulations to Anna and Zoey.

We are holding Parent/Teacher conferences on Wednesday, March 18^th and Thursday, March 19^th from 4:00-7:30 p.m.  Our initial phone call will come from our Phone Dialing system informing you to call our school for a conference.  We are making appointments for conferences like we did in the fall.  Students/Parents receiving the phone call will be those who are not proficient in their classes at the Progress Report.   All parents are welcomed to make appointments for conferences.  There will be more information coming to you in an email regarding Parent/Teacher Conferences the second week of March.

Our Spring sport for all grade levels is right around the corner.  Track and Field practice will begin March 9^th.  Please contact our front office to assure you have all the proper paperwork in to participate. 

We have some important dates coming up that pertain to 8^th grade parent night at the high school along with our Oregon Author visiting SMS.  We will send out a separate email with all the information you need so you are informed of our upcoming events

Social media is making its way into our schools across the nation with both positive and negative effects. Your support and involvement are what make our school a safe and successful place for our children.  Please communicate with your student regarding appropriate uses of Social Media, if they are participating in a Social Media website a good practice would be, to be informed as possible.  Here are some examples of some Social Media websites:  Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat, as well as some websites apps that could lead to harassment, bullying, and forms of inappropriate picture messaging.  We try to educate our students on responsible use and being accountable for their actions when they use these sites.  If we can help educate our students on being respectful of others on these sites it would help reduce the number of incidents we experience. 

Hope to see you at Parent Teacher Conferences next month.

Sincerely,

JW

NURSE’S NOTES NURSE’S NOTES NURSE’S NOTES NURSE’S NOTES

Healthy Mouths are a Reason to Smile!

Dental health is an important part of keeping your child healthy.  Serious dental problems can cause problems with eating, sleeping, speaking and concentrating in school.  Here are some things you can do to improve your child's oral health:

• Visiting the dentist two times a year
• Flossing once a day
• Avoiding soda, juice, and other sticky sugary foods
• Eating foods that promote strong healthy teeth & gums such as                                                         

fruit, vegetables & cheese

• Brushing teeth at least two times a day (for at least 2 minutes) with fluoride toothpaste

If you don't have a dentist there are dental plans available through Oregon Healthy Kids.If flossing is a problem with your child look at your local store there are a lot of kid friendly flossing tools to make it easier.If your child does eat a sugary snack try to have them brush their teeth after to help prevent cavities.

Did you know...

• Cavities are the number 1 chronic health condition in children in the United States
• Nearly 75% of 1-3 graders in Oregon have already had a cavity, more than half of those children have untreated tooth decay.
• 9% of first graders in Oregon have never been to the dentist - currently it is recommended children see the dentist by age 1

                    For free or reduced cost dental care go online to Oregon Healthy                                 

 Kids today at www.OregonHealthyKids.gov or call 1- 877-314-5678

Adapted from Oregon Health Authority by Heather Dimmick, RN & Martha Covrig RN BSN, MPH, GP#7 Dist

SOUTH MIDDLE SCHOOL SPORTS

Track & Field

The following paperwork MUST be filled out and returned to the office at South Middle School BEFORE the first day of track practice:

1. Participation fee is $75.00 and this must be paid by the first meet. (third sport in the same school year is free – no fee).  A Grants Pass District # 7 Financial Aid/Need Application is available if needed.  Contact Mr. Henderson by 3/14 for more information (474-5750).
2. Grants Pass District # 7 Medical/Emergency Consent
3. Grants Pass District # 7 School Sports Pre-Participation Examination, Student or Parent Completes (if this is your first sport or it has been two years since your last physical)
4. Grants Pass District # 7 School Sports Pre-Participation Examination, Medical Provider Completes (if this is your first sport or it has been two years since your last physical)

Important information:

• First day of practice Monday, 3/9.  Meet in the large gym.  Be sure to get your physical and coaches card turned into the office by March 9^th.  We will practice all that week. The week of March 16^th, we will practice on Monday and Tuesday that week, but not Wednesday or Thursday, due to conferences, and there is no school on Friday, March 20^th.  The first two practices will include paperwork discussions, getting to know the coaches, event explorations, and practice recommendations for Spring Break. Practice will resume on Monday, March 30^th on return from Spring Break.  Our first meet is tentatively scheduled for Wednesday, April 8^th.  
• Practice begins at 3:30 P.M. and will end approximately at 5:00 P.M. unless arranged individually by the coach. 
• Rides need to be here no later than 5:15 P.M. and students need to be off campus by 5:30 P.M.  Please have your athlete’s ride here on time.  Thank you.

If you have any questions, please contact

Coach Wolford @ 474-5750 ex.146 or dwolford@grantspass.k12.or.us

Head Coach – Doug Wolford

Assistant Coaches – Sheryl Lellis, Christopher Rossetta, Nichole Goens,

Kregg Scarcello & Cheyenne Davis

Athletic Director – Rob Henderson

Saturday May 9th 2015 District Track Meet @ GPHS 9:30am

Coaches:

8th grade Boys ~ Doug Wolford                  8th grade Girls ~ Sheryl Lellis
7th grade Boys ~ Christopher Rossetta       7th grade Girls ~ Nicole Goens
6th grade Boys ~ Kregg Scarcello               6th grade Girls ~ Cheyenne Davis

South Middle School’s Scholastic Book Fair begins March 17^th, 18^th and 19^th in the library.  The book fair will be open all day during your student's Language Arts Class (8:40 a.m. – 3:15 p.m.), and also during conferences in the evening, March 18^th & 19^th, 4:00 pm to 7:30 pm.  Also, this year you will have the option of going online to order books.  If you go online, there are many more choices than what we will have at the book fair.  The online book fair goes from March 11^th to March 31^st.  I will be giving your student more information as the time gets closer.

When you buy books, we earn money to get more books for South Middle School’s library.  If you would like to help at the book fair, give me a call in the library, or email me at:      kwright@grantspass.k12.or.us.

Thank you!!!  Ms. Wright

Mark your calendars now for the 7th & 8th grade music concert on Monday, April 6th @ GPHS PAC at 7pm

and the 6th grade music concert featuring the middle school colorguard on Wednesday, April 8th in the SMS main gym at 7pm

See you there!

NURSE’S NOTES NURSE’S NOTES NURSE’S NOTES NURSE’S NOTES NURSE’S NOTES

A few words on Pediculosis otherwise known as head lice: just hearing about lice can make one start scratching.  Head lice are spread mainly by direct head-to-head contact with a person who already has head lice. Lice don’t fly or jump; they move by crawling. When children play close together, lice can travel from child to child.  Head lice are blood-sucking insects about the size of a sesame seed and tan to grayish-white in color. They attach themselves to the skin on the head and lay eggs (nits) in the hair.

“Getting lice does not mean you are dirty—it only means that you’ve been around others with head lice,” says Susan Walker, M.D., director of FDA’s Division of Dermatology and Dental Products.

You can check for head lice or nits by parting the hair in several spots. Use a magnifying glass and a bright light to help spot them. Lice can move fast so it may be easier to spot the nits. Nits can look like dandruff, but you can identify them by picking up a strand of hair close to the scalp and pulling your fingernail across the area where you suspect a nit. Dandruff will come off easily, but nits will stay firmly attached to the hair.

I recommend checking your children for head lice on a regular basis (daily for two weeks after having a case, then weekly), and especially if you see them scratching!  Catching an outbreak early can save you a lot of time!  Let the school know when your child has a case of head lice.  The school can then monitor and do follow-up screening when needed.  The school can provide a hand-out with guidelines for treating head lice and the care needed to prevent re-infestation.

Martha Covrig RN BSN, MPH, GP#7 District Nurse (information obtained from the following sites)  http://www.cdc.gov/parasites/lice/head/index.html  http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm171730.htm