News. Contact Elective or Health/PE teachers directly to schedule conferences. RESPECTFUL RESPONSIBLE PRODUCTIVE -

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1 SPARTAN News Stafford Middle December 2017 Fall Parent Conference Night December 7 3:30 6:30 pm To set up a conference: 6th Grade: Contact your child s 1X teacher 7th Grade: Contact Mrs. Hawkins at hawkinskd@staffordschools.net 8th Grade: Contact Mrs. Schmiedel at schmiedelam@staffordschools.net Contact Elective or Health/PE teachers directly to schedule conferences. Friday, Dec 1 RESPECTFUL RESPONSIBLE PRODUCTIVE - The Spartan Way Mark J. Smith Principal smithmj@staffordschools.net Jeff Howard Assistant Principal howardjd@staffordschools.net Lindsey Conn Assistant Principal connle@staffordschools.net STAFFORD MIDDLE SCHOOL 101 Spartan Drive, Stafford, VA Phone: Fax:

2 8th Grade Civics In civics Mrs. Fredette and Mr. Bolke's classes have been studying political parties and how the president, members of Congress and state officials are elected. The students now know the functions, similarities and differences of political parties. Mr. Bohlke's class has spent extra time studying the high cost of running for elections. In December the students will begin studying the national government. They will learn the various powers of the different branches, including who makes the laws (legislative), who carries out the laws (executive) and who interprets the laws (judicial.) They will also learn about separation of powers and checks and balances. In January we will begin studying the state and local governments of Virginia and preparing for the semester exam. The exam will include everything the students have studied since the beginning of the school year. 6th Grade English During the month of December, our readers will continue to focus on analyzing short stories. We will take a closer look at themes, author s purpose, and using our inferencing skills. Students will also continue improving their grammar and writing skills with our unit on various parts of speech, using reference materials, and writing workshop practice. Keep on reading! Have a wonderful Winter Break! 8th Grade English 8th grade English team has been continuing to work on grammar topics such as commas, apostrophes and parts of speech. Along with our focus on grammar, the team has been introducing irony, authors purpose, fiction and nonfiction and figurative language. Mrs. O'Connor's class has been working on a Career project that stems from Mrs. Carey's career lesson she taught to the 8th graders before break. This project asks students to interview someone who works in the profession they are interested in which allows students to get a good idea of what their desired profession requires. Ms. Jones' class is currently working on an irony mini project where they are asked to rewrite Alanis Morrisette's song "Ironic" to make it ironic. Students will end the project with some classroom karaoke to show us their version. Students are continuing to take their STAR test to track their reading comprehension.

3 Join us for our Winter Concerts Chorus December 5 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm SMS Gym Strings December 6 7:00 pm-8pm BPHS Band December 12 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm SMS Gym The Stafford Middle School Student Council, students and staff, collected 393 canned green beans for the Fredericksburg Area Food Bank. Congratulations to the top three collectors: Mrs. Palosky, Mr. Kelly and Mrs. Rodriguez s homeroom!

4 Girls Schedule Mon, Dec GMS Matthew J. Wed, Dec 6 Fri, Dec 8 Mod, Dec 11 Wed, Dec 13 Fri, Dec 15 Tues, Dec RTMS VS AGW Tourney Tourney Championship ~For Fun~ Amazon will donate 0.5% of the price of your eligible AmazonSmile purchases to Stafford Middle School PTO whenever you shop on AmazonSmile. You can select a different charitable organization after signing in. AmazonSmile is the same Amazon you know. Same products, same prices, same service. Support your charitable organization by starting your shopping smile.amazon.com

5 Nurse Notes... H ello everyone! Although Strep Throat can occur at any time, winter and early spring are peak seasons for Strep and for this reason I would like to share some information with you about this illness. Strep throat is the most common in kids and teens but many adults get it too. It occurs in about 15% of all sore throats and because it is caused by the bacterium, group A streptococcus, it usually requires treatment with an antibiotic. When medical care is received with lots of rest and fluids, you should be feeling much better and be able to go back to school and other activities within a few days. Strep throat can be spread more often during the school year when children are in closer surroundings. It is spread through sneezing, coughing or shaking hands. It is less contagious than a cold virus but the infection can be spread from one person to another. For this reason it is very important to teach kids to wash their hands as this can decrease the chance of contacting illness. nose, cough and congestion and will usually clear up without the need to see a Dr. If the following symptoms occur in a child within about 3 days it may be strep throat and a medical evaluation is recommended. Symptoms of Strep Throat: Red and white patches in the throat, trouble swallowing, headache, upset stomach, fever, rash, loss of appetite, tender or swollen glands in the neck, red and enlarged tonsils. You may or may not have all of these symptoms. Important reminders: If your child is diagnosed with Strep throat, he/she will need to be on an antibiotic for 24 hours prior to returning to school. Remember to change your toothbrush if diagnosed with Strep Throat to prevent re-contamination with Strep!! I wish everyone a healthy December!! Donna Fisher RN Information sources from kidshealth.org and LSJ.com Sore throats are generally caused by viruses and occur along with other symptoms such as a runny

6 December 2017 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 1 Picture Retake Day GMS 5 SMS Choral Concert 7pm- 8pm 6 RTMS Winter Strings Concert BPHS 7 pm 7 Fall Parent Conf. Night 3:30-6:30 pm 8 Girls vs HHP AGW 12 SMS Winter Band Concert 7pm-8pm 13 Girls Tournament Girls Tournament Girls Championship Early Release All Grades 12:20pm Winter Break Winter Break 31 WORD OF THE MONTH: KINDNESS