Sycamore Middle School
150 Maplewood Dr. Sycamore, IL 60178
January 2018 Newsletter
Main Office: 815-899-8170 Attendance Office: 815-899-8182 www.syc427.org
From the Principal... Happy New Year! With January comes the halfway point of our school year, and it brings with it a time for us to reflect on the first half of our school year, as well as sharpen our focus on the rest of the year. As we look at our school year, the lens we always use is our district’s strategic plan. This document, developed by a group of community members, teachers, and administrators, shares with us the vision and focus of our district. As we develop curriculum, help our students, and go about our daily business, the strategic plan gives us a guideline as to what education in Sycamore should look like. The foundation of our strategic plan lies in our core values. The district and community have listed values that we believe are the basis of being a contributing community member as well as a learner in our school system. Honesty, integrity, trustworthiness, loyalty, fairness, caring, respect, citizenship, responsibility, and cooperation all receive focus in our building and in our classrooms throughout the year as we work to develop strong community members. We appreciate all that the parents do at home to enforce these core values as well. Spring brings with it MAP and PARCC testing, PARCC replaced ISAT testing. These will be two of the tools that we use to gauge the performance of our students. As March approaches, our efforts to prepare our students will intensify. We would appreciate your support for these valuable tests as well. Ensuring that your child has a good breakfast on these testing dates, gets a good night’s sleep, and comes with a positive attitude will go a long way towards providing an adequate assessment of your child’s learning. MAP and PARCC testing can provide you and your child with information about their academic performance as compared with other students in our building, as well as across the state. The test scores also provide a Lexile score, which can help your child select books for independent reading. You can find out more information about Lexile levels at www.lexile.com. As always, thank you so much for your involvement in your child’s education. We truly appreciate the importance that our families place on their students’ education. The success of our children is directly related to the core values that you have instilled in your student. We continue to urge all parents to become actively involved in your child’s academic achievement. Remember, success comes when we all work together. Jim Cleven Principal
Dates to Remember 1/15 - MLK Day NO SCHOOL 1/18 - 5th/8th/HS Band Concert @ SHS 7:00 PM 1/19 - PTO Dance 7:00-9:00 PM 1/22 - 8th Grade Curriculum Night @ SHS 6:30 PM 1/23 - 8th/HS Choir Concert @ SHS 7:30 PM 2/5 - Completed Schedules due for 8th Graders
ATTENDANCE OFFICE
815-899-8182
If your child will be absent from school or has an appointment in the beginning of the day that will make them late for school, please call the main office at 815-899-8182 by 9:00 AM. Voicemail is set up for your convenience to call in absences/late arrivals anytime between 4:00 PM and 7:30 AM.