September 24, 2007

Dear Parents/Guardians,

This message is to let you know that Surprise Lake Middle School has started very successfully and students are engaged in the work that our staff has designed for them. 

It is our goal here to successfully transition students from the elementary setting to the multiple teacher format of secondary schools academically, organizationally and socially.  We have developed a Saber Creed this year that expresses our expectations for all students in a very simple way.  I have enclosed a copy of that creed for you to see and talk about with your student.  We are challenging our students to know this creed and give their best effort in acting upon it every day.

I also wanted to let you know that we are attempting to change some of the ways in which we communicate with you.  Our website www.fifeschools.com/slms/index.html will be updated regularly and will include both the daily bulletin and the weekly calendar which will give you the most up to date information about what is taking place at SLMS.

To find out how your child is doing academically I suggest that you use our browser based tool known as GradeChecker.  All you need to know is your student’s school identification number and you should be able to look at their current grade.  It is expected that staff update GradeChecker regularly (usually once a week), so you should be able to follow your student’s progress throughout the semester.  GradeChecker will show you your child’s current grade and if they have missing assignments, it will not, however, show you what the exact assignment is that your child is missing.  That would have to come directly from the teacher and I encourage you ask your student to get that information from the teacher as a first step, and then please e-mail the teacher if needed.  Most of our teachers will provide printed progress reports if requested.  In addition, we are happy to announce that we will offer free tutoring every Tuesday and Thursday after school beginning 9-25-07.  It will run from 2:45 until 3:30 p.m. through the entire year!

Finally, we are focusing on using your child’s Core teacher as a primary reference if you have a concern about how they are performing here at Surprise Lake.  We will have two Parent Conference Nights this year (October 17th and April 1st from 5:00 - 7:00 p.m. in the gymnasium) where you’ll be able to talk with all your child’s teachers and you can contact our school counselor Mrs. Cook at any time with questions or concerns.  

I look forward to meeting all of you at some point this year.  If you have any questions about the opportunities we offer here at Surprise Lake please do not hesitate to contact me or any member of our office team.

Sincerely

John McCrossin

Principal