Southeast Middle Cougar Families,

We have reached week 18 of the school year! This means that we are 5 school days away from Winter Break and the end of the 2nd 9 weeks. This also marks the end of the First Semester of the school year. When students return in January, they will receive their 2nd 9 weeks report cards. Upon return, we will begin our countdown to Spring testing. Please be on the lookout for phone calls from your child's teachers regarding their grades. We will continue with Midterm testing this week. Thursday, December 16th and Friday, December 17th will be make-up testing days. We will also be recognizing students who made Honor Roll the 1st 9 weeks. They will be receiving their certificates during 5th block. There is not a ceremony, therefore, parents will not be in attendance. We will be planning the 2nd 9 weeks Honor Rolls ceremony for January, so please watch for that date in the near future. Please make sure that your child is going over their study guides and completing assignments. Students should be able to have "accountable talks" with parents about how they can maintain or improve their grades throughout the rest of the nine weeks. Parents, continue to help by requiring reading and writing time as practice, limiting social media time, building home libraries, visiting community libraries for study and reading time, and monitoring proper rest and eating habits. We are working on our social emotional health as a student body and faculty and we welcome parent support to maintain a positive school culture. We have noticed when our students behave better, more teaching and learning happens, and they perform better in class. We appreciate the time parents have taken to come for parent conferences and respond to phone conferences. The parent-teacher partnership has helped to keep students engaged and we are beginning to see some improvements in all areas of the school. Check our website smsdataschool.com for any information and upcoming events. Remember, we will continue to makes sure that we make it a Great Day to be a Cougar. And remember, Cougars never give up because education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world!

Assistant Principal Regina Bennett