August 13, 2018

From Principal Frazier’s Desk: Greetings!!I want to welcome you to the 2018-2019school year. Now that summer is coming to a close, I want to provide you with some important information related to the opening of our school.

In case you missed the great news, Silver Trail Middle School is once again an ‘A’ school as graded by the State of Florida. Not only are we proud to be an ‘A’ again, but our students’

performance showed significant increases from previous years. Our school accountabil-ity report is posted on the website with specific details about our students’ outstanding performance this past school year.

We are entering this school year with a new theme: This is based on the Walt Disney organization’s creative philosophy

and will inspire us in our commitment to encourage our students to ‘shoot for the stars’ and believe that all through their lives they can go as far as their dreams may take them. Our students will be welcomed with a campus beautifully decorated with Disney images and characters. Further, each academic team will be named after a Disney character. I am confident this is going to be a magical and inspirational school year.

In the next few days, you will be receiving a variety of information, documents, and special requests from our teachers and staff. We want to provide you with a convenient tool to stay connected with us and with events related to your child’s education. I urge you to frequently visit our website www.silvertrailmiddle.com -- especially during the first 2 weeks of school. In it, you will have immediate access to every important an-nouncement and deadline. For now, I want you to jot down two very important dates:

Wednesday August 29th at 6 p.m. will be our first Parent Teacher Student Association (PTSA) meeting. Our award-winning PTSA plays an instrumental role in the climate and success of our school. If your schedule allows, I encourage you to become an active volunteer or become a member of the board; we can always use a hand. At the very least, please join as a dues-paying member to show your support.

Thursday September 6th at 6 p.m. will be our Open House. Following the success we had last year, this will be a one-day event for all grade levels. Parking will be tight, so please plan to be at the school early; we begin the presentations promptly. Also, please make every effort to leave your children at home on that evening -- space is tight.

I am excited to see my returning students and meet our new ones. I also hope to person-ally meet you when you’re visiting our campus. You have my commitment to provide your child with a safe, positive and successful middle school experience. I can’t do it alone, however. Don’t forget each student’s success depends on our ability to work to-

gether as partners. With your assistance, we will make this

!

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

School Forms .......................... 2

Safety and Security ................. 2

Clubs and Athletics ................. 2

We Need Your Help……………...3

PTSA ........................................ 3

SAC and SAF ........................... 3

Campus Connections .............. 4

Under Re-Construction………...4

Silver Trail Middle School Newsletter

“School safety and security is and will always be our top priority at Silver Trail Middle School.” Principal Steve Frazier

We are very proud of the effort that we place yearly at STMS to keep our students and staff safe. However, the Marjorie Stoneman Douglas HS tragedy last winter hit very close to home. It has heightened our awareness of the security protocols and processes we have in place here at The Trail. While the safety and security of all students and staff has always been paramount, we have learned some lessons from the recent shooting.

All Broward schools will be implementing enhanced security measures to improve safety by limiting access to individuals who do not have a purpose and/or do not pass identification screening. As you may expect, these additional protocols will also cause a higher degree of inconvenience to our stake-holders. We expect our school’s parents and visitors to afford us their patience and understanding. Indeed, these inconveniences are a small price to pay to ensure our students’ safety. We hope we can count on the cooperation and support of our parents and community members.

The most visible changes in security are as follows:

• There will be a security monitor posted at each of our gates anytime that they are open. Visitors coming onto the campus will be asked the purpose for the visit, and they will be logged-in at the time of entry. We will also be recording the license plate number of the vehicle.

• Our students and staff will receive a detailed training coupled with monthly drills on Code Red (active shooter/intruder).

• Our closed-circuit surveillance system has been revamped giving our security monitors and leadership team internet-based access to all campus cameras. Also, the number of cameras was increased; we still expect more to be installed as the school year progresses.

• Our leadership team will continue to have debriefing sessions after each safety drill and will be attending training offered by the school district to enhance security measures and expand safety awareness.

• Our school will have a large number of construction workers on campus this year due to our re-

roofing project. Strict security measures have been discussed between Principal Frazier and the

construction management team to ensure there is no contact between our staff/students and the

construction crews.

Here We Go Again!!!

The Good Ol’ Start-of-the-Year School Forms...

REINFORCED SECURITY MEASURES FOR 2018-2019

With every new school year, comes the annual deluge of documents and forms we need from you. These forms are now posted on-line, are easy to complete, and the data is protected and secure.

We would appreciate your taking the time to complete this process as soon as possi-ble. Our ability to efficiently and effectively communicate with you could be compro-mised otherwise. You will find the link to the forms on our school website: www.silvertrailmiddle.com.

If you have multiple children attending Broward County Public Schools, some in-formation will only need to be entered

once. Please use the ‘Back to School Wiz-ard’ button to quickly step through the pro-cess. You will need your child’s identifica-tion number. Forms are available in Eng-lish, Spanish, Haitian-Creole and Portu-guese.

If you are not able to complete the online forms in one session, you can resume where you left off at another time. It is recom-mended that you set aside approximately 20 minutes for this process. Once you com-plete and submit the forms, you will receive an email confirmation. Print and return the confirmation to your child's 1st period teacher by Friday, August 31, 2018.

HERE ARE SOME OF THE CLUBS AND ATHLETICS AVAILABLE TO

OUR STUDENTS:

CLUBS:

DRAMA

COLORGUARD

CHESS

FIRST PRIORITY

ECOLOGY

STUDENT COUNCIL

ART

HOPE SUNSHINE

DIVERSTIY

BUILDERS/’ CLUB

ROBOTICS

NATIONAL JUNIOR HONOR SOCIETY

ATHLETICS:

SOCCER

BASKETBALL

TRACK

VOLLEYBALL

FLAG FOOTBALL

GOLF BOYS/GIRLS

CROSS COUNTRY

CHEERLEADING 2

Cyberbullying: We Really Need Your Help!

Reported data shows an increase in electronic bullying amongst middle school students in Broward County. According to the 2017 Youth Risk Behavior Survey, Broward County Public Schools’ middle school students report a significant increase in being the target of electronic bullying. Broward's rates rose from 12.8% in 2013, to 14.5% in 2015, to 18.7% in 2017.

Therefore, we are encouraging our teachers to build internet safety curriculum into their content lessons this school year. We feel confident by targeting appropriate digital eti-quette we will maintain a positive school climate.

We cannot do this work alone of course. Teaching the appropriate use of electronic devic-es and social media begins at home. Thus, we encourage you to couple our efforts by tak-ing time to engage with your child and discuss your expectations as a parent. You are wel-come to access the aforementioned tools as part of your conversations with your children.

Internet safety curriculum options include:

Think B4U Post Internet Safety Program

https://www.browardprevention.org/violence/internet-safety/internet-safety-curriculum/

Digital Citizenship Week Toolkit

https://www.commonsense.org/education/toolkits

We will be celebrating Digital Citizenship Week beginning October 16 to October 22, 2018 with our students. This is a time to remind students of the importance of navigating the digital world safely, while appreciating the responsibility they hold for their choices and actions while using the Internet, cell phones or other digital media.

As most of you know, we strive to implement pro-active measures in order to maintain a

high priority on providing our students the safe and comfortable school our students de-

serve at STMS.

PTSA at STMS

Our school’s success is directly tied to

the high level of involvement from our

parents and community. The Parents,

Teachers and Students Association

(PTSA) at Silver Trail Middle School is

an award-winning organization that

works untiringly to help in just about

every one of our yearly goals. We are

who we are and enjoy life at STMS be-

cause of their hard work. On August 29,

2018 at 6:00 p.m. PTSA will hold its

first General Meeting of the year. Come

and join us, become a member and

volunteer for the many activities that

take place all year long for the benefit of

our students. PTSA may be reached via

email at stmptsa@gmail.com.

SAC and SAF

Our School Advisory Council (SAC) and

School Advisory Forum (SAF) meet

monthly and their meeting dates are

listed on the school’s calendar located

on the school’s website silvertrailmid-

dle.com

SAC and SAF are organizations that

assist us on our decision-making pro-

cesses and look forward to the input of

all of our stakeholders. Do you have

good ideas that would lead to the better-

ment of our educational institution? You

may want to join our meetings and learn

about how to make them a reality.

VOLUNTEERS

We accept application of volunteers all

year long. Helping hands are truly wel-

come at STMS and they can make a big

difference for our students. To become

an approved school volunteer simply go

to getinvolvedineducation.com and

follow the instructions for the applica-

tion.

You may also contact our dynamic vol-

unteer liaison Mrs. Annette Suarez at

annette.suarez@browardschools.com

On August 8th, 2018 STMS teachers returned ready and looking forward to another successful year.

3

Our school’s administrators (from left to

right): Dr. Rick Garcia, 7th Grade Asst.

Principal, Mr. Steve Frazier, Principal,

Ms. Claudia Ruiz, 8th Grade Asst. Princi-

pal and Dr. Jessie Thomas, 6th Grade

Asst. Principal.

“All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them…”

Walt Disney

Our staff members are cer-

tainly looking forward to a

magical year!! From left to

right above: Team Toy Story

members, Ms. Detellis, Ms.

DeMatteo, Ms. Olmeda and

Mrs. Hicks. Below: Team

Jungle Book members, Mr.

Westerman, Mr. Gutierrez,

Mrs. Varon and Mrs.

McCoy.

At STMS we are proud to have a Before and After School Care Program named Campus Connec-tions for the benefit of parents who may not be able to adjust their work schedules to the hours that their children attend school. The goal of Campus Connections is to serve the community by offering a high quality after school child care program of de-velopmentally appropriate activi-

ties in a wholesome and safe environment. The program promotes the physical, intellectual, emotional, and social development of each child. We encourage our students to become life-long learners and foster partner-ships with parents, students, staff, and the community. Campus Connections provides professional care, supervision, recreational and educa-tional activities. This program allows children to experience activities within an envi-ronment planned to compliment the philosophy and value system of the school and family. We strive to provide individual attention, security, consistency, and fair treat-ment form children and working parents. Campus Connections is staffed by employees of the School Board of Broward County. Many are on staff during regular school hours and work with your children during the regular school day. All staff members have been fingerprinted and cleared to work for the Broward County School system. We work together to help each child grow in maturity and self-respect and understand-ing for others is realized. We also understand that children need fun-filled activities as well as educational ones. Fees:

• $25.00 Family Registration fee per school.

• $53.00 per month for the Before Care program.

• $108.00 per month for the After Care program.

• $20.00 per month for Activity Fee. Prompt tuition payment and prompt pick up by 6:00 p.m. is the responsibility of the parent. It operates only on days when school is in session. There will be NO After Care pro-vided on days that students are not in school. This includes teacher workdays and holi-days. Before Care Campus Connections is open from 7:30 a.m. until 8:30 a.m. and after school from 3:40 p.m. until 6:00 p.m. on school days. On “early release” days, after care begins at 1:40 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

STMS Is Now Under Re-Construction!!

As part of the SMART Bond, within the next 3-4 weeks our school will begin construction of a new roof and a total

restoration of our air conditioning system. It has been a long wait for all of us, but very soon the roof problems that

affected us during the last few years will disappear. Last July, the School Board awarded the contract to CB Con-

structors Inc. and consequently, we are now officially on the way to a well-deserved facilities update. Construction

projects, of course, bring their own set of inconveniences and thus, we have called this year the “pardon our dust”

school year. We will, however, make sure that the delivery of instruction to our students continues uninterrupted

and that strict security measures are in place to keep everyone safe. Should any of our stakeholders have any ques-

tions or desire to learn more about this project, please contact us directly, and we will be more than happy to share

all of the information available to us.

PLEASE PARDON OUR DUST!

STMS BEFORE/AFTER CARE