It is an exciting time to be a student or a staff member at South County Middle School! Our faculty and staff have worked tirelessly to create unique experiences for our incoming and returning students. Beautifully designed classrooms, exciting learning experiences, and welcoming administrative team, faculty, and staff.

We have a new principal this year! If you haven’t met Mr. Simmons yet, you should definitely do that. Don’t miss Back To School Night!

While our incoming students may have found everything to be a new experience to them, our returning students were also in for a few surprises. Hallway traffic has significantly improved with the “walk-and-talk” procedure in place, as well as the new traffic patterns for the main staircase. It is never easy to go against traffic, so now our students can go to and return from lunch more easily. Walking on the right side of the hallway is a courtesy to all the students who need to quickly find their way to class and our students are showing respect to their peers by helping us to avoid traffic jams.

As for lunch, we are off to a good start! We had the opportunity to open the third lunch line and that has improved the time it takes for students to receive their lunch. We are adjusting lunch procedures due to feedback from Stampede, our Student Leadership group and we hope it will improve the overall flow of lunch. No phones? No problem! Our students have found other ways to relax and enjoy spending time with their peers.

Recess has been revamped, too. Everyone has chipped in to make recess an overall success. Students and staff are interacting with each other, taking a break from instruction, and really enjoying the outside time.  

Laptop distribution ran smoothly again this year, thanks to the support from our dedicated staff. We were able to give out hundreds of laptops in just two days.  While the equipment is not new and may need some TLC, we are working diligently to resolve any glitches, so we appreciate everyone who has signaled an issue by putting in a ticket so that we can address them in a timely and efficient manner. On the brighter side, who said that laptop distribution has to be boring? Not at SCMS! Mustangs’ laptop distribution is a unique event  which enjoys all-hands-on-deck support from the admin team, our teachers, and staff and all in an inviting atmosphere thanks to Mr. Pickett, our talented Technology Support Specialist's (TSSpec) use of ambient lighting and music. It is yet another opportunity to make connections and meet some awesome people!

The math department is incorporating vertical whiteboards in our classroom to promote communication, collaboration, and critical thinking. Students are building relationships with their peers to further a sense of community within our classrooms. In Ms. Miller's Geometry class, for example, students collaborated while using 10 vertical wall space stations to solve math problems. Students shared that they like being in groups that changed every time, learning from each other, collaborating with their peers, and seeking the teacher's help when needed. Ms. Miller used language such as: we need more information, this leads to a debate, and who can tell me why. All 34 students transitioned to the appropriate station in 52 seconds. Impressive!

In PE, students have started the year off strong. The students participated in several fitness tests to find their baseline. We will continue to work on fitness in the 1st quarter with track and fitness units! Yoga is starting to learn poses and how to relax!

In Orchestra class, students are off to a great start making music!

In Mr. Ewan's Computer Solutions classes, students created a character of themselves using word processing skills to introduce themselves to their classmates and their teacher.

In Ms. Flynn's English classes, students participated in team building exercises. They wrote incredible creative stories in small groups, discussed the importance of using their 'voice', and started using Lexia to help enhance their grammar, word study and comprehension skills. It was a fantastic week!

In Ms. Reaves' 7th grade English class, students were establishing community by creating their own Purple Team Classroom. Students will "Make that Change" by collaborating with their global partners to bring awareness and collective action towards the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Of course, not everything is perfect. We had an unwanted guest, but thanks to our wonderful Officer Champ, the guest was removed safely. Would you be as brave as Ms. Hendershot?

If you want to know more, come join us for Back To School Night on Thursday, September 7! We are looking forward to meeting you, getting to know more about you and your students, and sharing all the exciting learning experiences we have planned for our Mustangs this year.