Sutherland Blog

Last week, the jazz band concert was amazing!!  It had some great music and was lots of fun to listen to!  Mr. Gregg had an awesome solo!  Congrats to all the jazz performers, you did a great job!

If you see Austin in the hallway, congratulate him on winning the blog t-shirt!  Many surveys were turned in, and the drawing was very intense.  Finally Austin can have some stylish clothing.  Keep a eye out for future blog shirt give-aways! Thanks to all of those who participated.

This week, we interviewed our substitutes Mr. Tyler Wilson and Mr. Kenny Swabb on the spread of the flu. There has been rumors that they have been purposely spreading the flu in order to get more substitute work. Although they denied all accusations, here are some ways YOU can stop the flu from being spread. :) Wash your hands often (especially after you sneeze or cough) Get good sleep Go to a doctor's office and get your flu vaccine Drink lots of water (" Hydration is the key!"- Kenny Swabb)

The 7th grade language arts classes had a Seder dinner and a gallery walk about World War II. The gallery walk introduced them to Devil's Arithmetic, the book they were about to read. The Seder Dinner was to show you what a Seder Dinner from Passover was like. The food at the dinner was traditional Jewish food so it was very cool to try the different food that they ate. These activities helped explain what happened in the book.

Think fast! 12+9, 5x8, 16/4 ! Were you able to get each fact in under a second? As students and parents alike know, many SMS math classes are beginning to use Reflex as a teaching resource to help kids learn their math facts, so they will be able to answer any question automatically.  From the Reflex math website, "Reflex   is a game-based system that helps students of all ability levels to develop instant recall of their basic math facts (addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division).  Math Fact Fluency is the quick and effortless (automatic) recall of basic math facts."  The students have to answer math facts to go through the games, which are listed below. They can create an avatar, buy accessories, and grow a math fact tree.   http://www.reflexmath.com/home

 We would like  you  to fill out this blog survey below to see how well we're doing. Students, if you do, you have the chance to win a free, official SMS Blog t-shirt! The t-shirt will be given away on Friday so hurry. http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/5QPWGPK

The SCA is having a scavenger hunt and it ends next Friday (Dec. 14).  The items will be donated to various organizations.  If you bring in items you will receive prizes. 4 Quarters dated in the 80's or 4 state Quarter (substitution: $1.00 in change dated in the 80's) 1 gently used college t-shirt in child or adult size 1 box of tissues 1 dozen of #2 pencils (substitution: a dozen pens in any color) 1 can of veggies or soup 26 ounces or greater (substitution: 2 cans that add up to 26 ounces or greater.) 1 box of Mac-N-Cheese, packet of noodle, or rice mix 5 box tops  10 soda can tops 1 piece of old technology: phone, video game, movies, etc. 1 gently worn pair of child or adult shoes 1 SPCA item- blanket, toy, or food 1 flavor packet for a 16 oz bottle of water If you bring in: 1-3: ring pop 4-6: skittles 7-9: large chocolate bar or bag of skittles 10-12:  Ice Cream coupon 12:  Raffle Tick...

There was a very successful cornhole tournament on Friday. Yet, out of 44 teams Chris and Sam took home the belt!! We raised 1600 dollars for the HEADStrong Foundation to help the study of cancer.  Thank you for all those who helped out with the cause!

Next week is spirit week! Geek squad day, Twin day wacky tacky day, pajama day, and whiteout day! Keep posted for pictures!

Hey Readers! We would like you to fill out this blog survey below to see how well we're doing. Students, if you do, you have the chance to win a free, official SMS Blog t-shirt! http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/5QPWGPK

On Friday, December 7th there is the black light dance! There will be dance contests with prizes. Wear a white shirt (if you would like) and decorate it with highlighters. Admission is $5, and snacks and drinks are available for purchase. It is from 4 to 6:00. This is one of the most popular dances of the year, so you don't want to miss it!

After school on Friday, November 30th SMS will be hosting the Cornhole To Crush Cancer Tournament. It's $10 per team, and you can turn your money in to mr. Schwalm, Mrs. Parmiter, or Mr. Criscione. If you don't want to play but still support this great cause, come on out. Admission is $1 or two canned goods to people not playing in the tournament; free to people in the tournament. There will be food, drink, music, computer lab, and half the gym open to play basketball. All proceeds go to the HEADStrong Foundation to help fight cancer. date: November 30th Time: 4:00-6:00 pm FOR MORE INFORMATION: Talk to Mr. Criscione or Mrs. Saxon

http://www.symbaloo.com/mix/animalevolution

Today the functional skills class hosted an Open House Thanksgiving Feast to celebrate the season and thank all that have helped them throughout the year.  The gathering got rave reviews from all whom attended, Mrs. Lamm stated that "the food there was much better than I could ever dream of cooking up". Thank you for all that helped pull off this wonderful event, here is a video showing the amazing spread along with some of the highlights!

The girls on the SMS Albemarle Girl's Feild Hockey League did an awesome job in their tournaments! Check out this video to learn more! YouTube Video

Mrs. Pfaff's and Mr. Briesemeister's class are preparing a Thanksgiving meal for themselves, as well as for teachers and administrators on Tuesday, November 20th. The students created the menu and went shopping for the food items. They have put together this meal to thank all of those that have helped out in their classroom.

Mr. Munsey's Language Arts class decided to do something new this year.  Instead of doing regular book reports on paper, they are doing video book reports. All the content of a regular book report is put into a video. It is put onto a QR code and is posted in the front of the book! So next time you go to the library...check it out!! Check out a student's video book report at: http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=fXEh0ow3Ku0

For all of our readers from other countries, a new feature has been added. If you look at the bottom of our page, there is a Google Translate drop down menu. This allows you to change the SMS Blog into other languages! Students in Sra. Asoline's spanish class have reading spanish as a homework assignment. If you have this assignment, a helpful tip would be to read our blog in Spanish, and get your homework done while having fun, and learning about what's going on in your school.

The new school magazine, Escuela Viewpoint, is now released. Students wrote stories about the beach, Halloween costumes, celebrity gossip, White House ghosts, homework advice, video games, fashion, chicken-road jokes, and more!

As some might have noticed there is a little more facial hair these days at Sutherland. Mustache Madness has started again with the purpose of raising money to support cancer research. Students can help the cause by buying mustache raffle tickets which will be sold for a dollar at lunch. The raffle ticket will give them a chance to win some amazing prizes that were donated by some local businesses. Another bonus to buying the mustache raffle tickets is that once certain amounts have been raised teachers will be required to sport a mustache to school on Dec. 1st. As some may recall from last year there were many creative 'staches here at Sutherland, including Mr.Guy's amazing fu-man-chu and Mr. Crow's sweet handlebars! ( http://smssharks.blogspot.com/2011_11_01_archive.html ) Here are some pictures showing just some of the wonderful prizes. - Stay tuned for more information regarding Sutherland's Mustache Madness Posted using BlogPress from my iPadi...

In drama, students were learning pantomime and learning to play roles in different scenarios. They learned to incorporate short stories through pantomime. Through these activities they learned emotional control for the over all performance. Also, drama students learn to communicate actions and scenarios through movements.

Due to Sandy the Cornhole tournament had to be postponed to the end of the month.  Please check back for more information when it becomes available.   Check out the videos below for more information and some of the most amazing cornhole shots you will ever see.

            This Friday, the Seventh Grade is hosting a dance! Come from 4:00 to 6:00 for a night of fun and dancing. D. J Cle Logan will be here on Friday, deejaying the BEST dance of the year! Admission is $5.00; snacks and drinks are available for purchase. So come, and "live while you're young"! :)

Students in Mr. Schwalm's homeroom have been working on team challenges during Sharktime and just finished their first Ultimate Challenge!  The challenge was to work together to transport a marble from his class room all the way to Mr. Roger's office using strips of pvc.  The rules were that they weren't able to move their feet or touch the marble, if the marble dropped they had to start over from the beginning.  Students worked on this a few times a week for three weeks.  During the process the class engaged in conversations focused on having empathy for others and three main concepts that go along with that: respecting others' ideas, including everyone, and active listening. Here is a video of the class completing the Ultimate Challenge.

We know a lot of people love the blog, but here is a preview of some of the countries around the world that have looked us up! Pageviews United States 10902 Russia 239 Japan 135 Switzerland 81 Germany 51 France 49 Poland 40 Canada 34 Hungary 32 South Korea 32

The second night of parent / teacher conferences is tonight from. 4:30 -7:30 and teachers along with some students are getting prepared.  One teacher, Ms. Harris, does her conferences a little differently than the other teachers.  Ms.Harris' students participate in student lead conferences where the kids not the teacher leads the conference to tell the parents how they are doing in class.  We interviewed some students to explain how this works and it's effectiveness.

Some of the 7th graders currently taking science went on an overnight field trip with the Green Adventure Project at Triple C Camp .  Here is a video showing some of the many highlights of the trip.  Thanks to all of the staff at the Green Adventure Project for making it a memorable experience.

All SMS students are able to vote in Sutherland's very own Presidential election! Yet, you can only vote if you are registered, so make sure to register!! On October 8-11 registration starts, so register outside the cafeteria. It is just a short form to fill out. If you don't register, you don't vote, and you won't want to miss this!!!!

One of the activities was doing hair. The students had lots do fun with their new braid styles. Mrs. Asoline did their all of their hair, so here is a picture of the finished product.

One of today's ICA activities was Lego building. The students were able to build whatever they want!

Congratulations to Gage, Damon, Emma, Omari, Misha, and Elizabeth, who are now on the SCA! Gage as president, Damon as vice-president, Emma as corresponding secretary, Omari as recording secretary, Misha as treasurer, and Elizabeth as social director. We are going to have a wonderful year! Gage, SCA President: Damon, the new Vice President:

Students in 7th grade science have finished working on their cell analogy projects.  They had the choice of 5 different projects or the option to create their own project.  The students were very creative in developing all different types of projects including a rap music video, a Mine Craft map, a play mobile airport, movie of a One Direction concert, and a cell game.  Here are just some of the projects created by the students.

Here are pictures of classes excited for the first dance!

A couple of our teachers had the surprising opportunity to meet the president, here is Mrs. Evans' recap of the experience.....

Former competitive skydiver, Mr. Munsey tells us about his heart-pounding experience skydiving. Unfortunately the bloggers were not at the scene to capture this footage, but here is an interview with Sutherland's very own skydiver. Also check out Mr. Munsey's favorite video:

The PE department is introducing some new ways to get kids active this year.  The first one being STEP!  Check out a video showing how well the students are doing already.

Applications to run for SCA are due September 12, and the assembly speeches will be given on September 19th. So if you want to run for any position make sure you fill out an application and turn it into Mrs. Pease. Hurry! Deadline is soon! Here are some suggestions for those that are running.

          This Friday is the first dance! Admission is five dollars, and you can buy your tickets at lunch on Friday or at the door. All food and drinks are $1.00, so come and get ready to party! The dance ends at 6:00 and make sure your ride is here promtly. Make sure you practice your dance moves like the AHS teachers here in this flash mob.

Here are some words that the seventh grade said that describe their first day of school. Eager, crazy, exhausted, interesting, fast, ongoing, tired, hungry, sleepy, and nervous. I hope the rest of the school had a school day that was fun, exciting, and awesome!

It's true. Summer is almost over. Time for back to school shopping and last trips to the pool. Time to finish those summer workbooks! If you never got a summer workbook, it would be a great idea to check the Sutherland website to get yours, or your child's. Supply lists are also available there. Sutherland's Open House for new students will be from 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM on Tuesday, August 21st. Also, Student schedules will be available soon through ParentPortal. If you have not yet received your password, please stop by school for a copy. See you on August 22, for the 2012-2013 school year!

The interviews are in, and the new bloggers have been chosen! Congratulations to Sara, Kathryn, and Lauren as the new eighth grade bloggers! And to Nan, who has followed in her sister Madison's (a former Sutherland blogger) footsteps, as our intern. Sorry to all those who tried out and didn't make it, and to all those who missed the deadline. Good luck to the new bloggers next year!

Happy summer vacation! Have a great break, and students, we'll see you next year!

Some of the 7th grade science students went on a field trip with the Green Adventure Project at Triple C Camp.  Here is a video with some of the highlights of the trip. For more information on programs the Green Adventure Project offers visit: http://greenadventureproject.org/Green-Adventure-Project/Home.aspx