Marching Towards Spring

8th graders working to solve the "Fish Mystery" in Science class.

Happy Friday to all of our Swampscott Middle School Families!

Report Cards are now available for your middle school student in Aspen. The official report card is available as a PDF. This contains teacher comments, absence/tardy information, and grades. The PDF can be found on the main screen after you log in, under Published Reports. We highly suggest downloading the PDF version of the Report Card to your computer in the event you may need to have a hard copy in the future.

The third and final marking period is well underway. Please see below for important upcoming dates.

Beach Day: On Friday, March 23rd, SMS will be having Beach Day for all students who would like to participate.  Students should feel free to wear bright colors, shorts, t-shirts, and flip-flops during school.  If your child would like to participate, please make sure he or she wears weather appropriate clothing to and from school.  Please remember that clothing still needs to be school appropriate and bathing suits are not allowed during Beach Day.  

MCAS 2.0 Testing Window for SMS: April 2nd-May 25th

Homework Free Weekend: Friday, April 13th

April Vacation: April 16th-April 20th

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School Security Update: 
Please read the letter below from Mr. Calichman regarding an upcoming school security training:

Dear Swampscott Families,

As you know, the safety and well being of our students is our top priority. Throughout the school year, all schools in the Swampscott system practice emergency response procedures in order to attain that goal. These drills include fire, lockdown, and evacuation drills. All drills performed have three specific objectives: to improve our ability to protect students, evaluate our emergency operations plan, and improve our response skills.

With that in mind, the middle school will perform a “lockdown with a barricade and evacuate” drill in the near future during an unannounced date and time.  Assistant Principal Sanborn and I have already met with all classes in order to help prepare them for this drill, and to answer any questions they may have.

Remember, the purpose of this drill is to educate our children regarding the best practices related to school safety, to empower them with this knowledge, and ultimately, to achieve the highest level of safety for both our students and our staff. Given that purpose, we strongly encourage all students to fully participate in this drill. However, if for any reason you do not wish to have your child participate in the school’s upcoming drill, please contact me at (781) 596-8820 or by email at jcalichman@swampscott.k12.ma.us by the end of the school day on Wednesday, March 21st in order to submit this request.

While it is highly unfortunate that these drills even have to happen, the reality is that we need to prepare for any events that have the potential to compromise the safety of our students and staff.

Ms. Sanborn and I meet with Detective Cheever weekly to make sure that we are doing everything in our power to keep our kids safe.  All of our students have taken our review sessions and drills incredibly seriously. Beyond that, our student leadership has shown tremendous skill and courage while talking about the issue of school safety, as evidenced by their thoughtful planning of our school-wide event that took place on March 14th. I am so proud of all of our kids, and I’m reminded daily about the monumental task we all share in keeping them safe, happy, and educated.

Should you need any further information regarding this school safety training, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Sincerely,

Jason Calichman

Principal

Swampscott Middle School