From SBMS: It's the SCOOP!

It's the SCOOP for February 20, 2020

Your weekly news from Santa Barbara Middle School

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENTS

SMART TUITION UPDATE

Dear parents of returning students,

BOTH PARENTS MUST SIGN THE CONTRACT FOR THE CONTRACT TO BE COMPLETED. Due Friday, 2/21/20.

The Business Office would like to apologize for any distress caused by the transition we are making to the Smart Tuition program for enrollment. We acknowledge that this is a brand new system for us and there have been some unanticipated consequences that many of you have experienced. The good news is that we have learned.... a lot! Although we knew there would be some growing pains, we are sorry that some of you had to experience that pain. We have identified a need in our school administration to increase our efficiency and save valuable staff time. To help with this goal, we have implemented various systems that have taken us toward a goal of being mostly paperless. Smart Tuition is the latest and most ambitious of these efforts yet. We appreciate our current set of parents being the unintentional 'guinea pigs' and ask that you not suffer in silence! Please give us your constructive criticism/feedback. To do this, please send an email to brandi@sbms.org . For your efforts, we will have a special treat for you next time you stop in the business office.

Below are a few more helpful hints and common situations that we would like to help you avoid if you have not yet 'dived in' to Smart Tuition!

Common situations:

'I don't feel comfortable entering my bank or credit card account information'

'Someone else is helping with my child's tuition and can't pay in ST.

'I need to pay in cash'

Solution: Although Smart Tuition is a very secure site, we understand that there are families who are not comfortable or who, for one reason or another, need to pay in a different way than the options provided. If this is your situation, please contact Brandi Cass at Brandi@sbms.org to set up a different method. Brandi can adjust your contract to enable signing in the system without paying the deposit in Smart Tuition.

'I want to have a payment plan that is different than the options displayed'

We encourage you to choose one of the payment plans on the drop down list of options. However, if you have a special situation, please email Brandi@sbms.org for help.

'Can I pay via check or cash?'

Yes, if can send payment directly to Smart Tuition via check or pay with Cash at CVS or at the School using your Smart Tuition ID. If you've signed up for automatic withdrawal, please be sure these payments are received prior to the due date in order to avoid payment being withdrawn.

Pro-tips :

We have several payment options available. In parentheses after the payment plan is a month - that is the start date of the plan. For example, Annual Tuition (May) is 1 payment due May 1st, where as 10 Payment Plan (July) is 10 payments beginning July 1st. This is because we have changed our policy for payments to be due beginning May 1st, but wanted to extend an offer to existing families to continue offering July as the start date.
Credit Card Fees are 3%

For any other questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to Brandi at brandi@sbms.org

LICE CHECK AT HOME!

This time of year in preparation for the upcoming March expeditions and for preventative measures, the SBMS Health and Safety team always sends out the following request. We would like all parents to do a "lice check" on all family members. A handful of cases have been reported at school and although not a serious medical condition and one that does not spread disease, lice are highly contagious and should be attended to immediately. If you discover lice, we request that you address the problem and let the SBMS Office know. Resources and the full email sent yesterday can be found here .

SONGFEST COMMITTEE

Thank you to Lauren David for chairing Songfest 2020! You don’t want to miss this event. If you are interested in being on the committee, please come to the first meeting, Tuesday, March 3, 2:45pm at the picnic tables outside of the Deli.

SAVE THE DATE

8th Grade Humanities Night is Tuesday, March 10 at 6pm. Don't miss their spectacular performances. Th e Eighth Grade will also give their Humanities Presentation to all the students on Wednesday, March 11, 2:00pm. There will be another presentation at Heritage House on Thursday, March 12 at 2:30pm.

SCHOOL DANCE - February 28

The SBMS School Dance will be held next Friday night at 7pm at the Veteran's Center. Tickets will be sold at the door for $10 and the theme is glow-in-the-dark!

PICKLEBALL TOURNAMENT ROUND II

The Pickleball Tournament was a smashing success! CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL TOURNAMENT PARTICIPANTS & TO OUR CHAMPIONS - Nate Keshen, Giacomo Gabrielli & Elliott Blinderman

Sign up at Diamond Time this upcoming Monday and Tuesday for our second tournament and help support Cycling Without Age with a $10 donation to enter.

This community event and fundraiser is made possible by

an amazing group of volunteers.

We need help with item donations, sponsorships, and decorations that shimmer!

PLEASE SIGN UP HERE AND JOIN THE FUN!

THE WEEK AHEAD

Monday, Feb. 24

N/A

Tuesday, Feb. 25

N/A

Wednesday, Feb. 26

N/A

Thursday, Feb. 27

N/A

Friday, Feb. 28

6:45am Sunrise Swim

7pm School Dance

ATHLETICS

Tuesday, February 25 @ 3:45pm

Girls Varsity Basketball vs. Crane at Crane
Boys JV Volleyball vs. Crane at Crane
Boys Varsity Blue Volleyball vs. Crane at Crane

Thursday, February 27 @ 3:45pm

Girls Varsity Basketball vs. Marymount at SBMS
Boys JV Volleyball vs. Marymount at SBMS

SUNRISE SWIM REMINDER

Friday, February 21

Thank you to this week's coffee and donut angels Erin and Troy Blakely and Cat Vallance.

Temperature: 51 ^°

Water Temperature: 58°

Wind: ENE 2 mph

Weather: Sunny

COMMUNITY & EVENTS

BOOK CLUB

Our next adult book club meeting will be on Thursday, March 5, at 8:30am in the Library. We're reading The Storyteller’s Secret by Sejal Badani and would love for you to join us!

PARENT INFO SESSION: SUBSTANCE ABUSE PREVENTION

Tuesday, April 7, 7pm - 8:15pm

Alex Zemeckis, MA, SBMS alum and CEO/Founder of The Grounds Recovery Center, where he is at the forefront of addiction and substance abuse in young adults ( see more here ) , will provide insight on the social, emotional and physiological reasons teens use and abuse drugs and alcohol. We're collecting anonymous questions about vaping, drugs and alcohol use in young adults ahead of time HERE so that Alex Zemeckis can cover your questions during his session. Alex will be presenting to our 8th and 9th grade students during Life Skills class earlier in the day. Questions? Contact Kelly .

MID-YEAR TRIP GEAR

Mountain Air Sports is offering a special 10% discount to SBMS students as you prepare for mid-year expeditions. Check out their flyer here ! Shop locally and be sure to put your name on everything so it does not end up in Dorkage. Thank you for planning ahead!

THE MUSIC MAN

LightsUp! Theatre Company presents The Music Man on March 5, 6 at 7pm and March 7 at 1pm. Hosted at the Marjorie Luke Theatre with tickets available at lightsupsb.com/tickets/. Come support many of our SBMS students who are in the cast!

BIANCA'S BLURB

Does staying "on track" actually ensure our kids succeed? In an article in The Atlantic the authors would argue that no, life suggests otherwise. According to the author, people who have followed a straight trajectory to success comprise only 10% of people surveyed. "The remaining 90 percent are folks who have taken risks, failed, changed course, recovered, often failed again, but ultimately found their stride." As parents, however, it can feel so daunting when our children begin to stray from the straight path. We get nervous and concerned when things start to become squiggly. I remember how concerned my own parents were when I told them that I was taking a leave of absence from San Francisco Unified School District to teach abroad. I threw everything into storage and took off for Thailand. Nine years and many countries later, I returned with a wealth of experience that I would argue constitutes the most transformational time of my life. It is important to remember that our children and their sometimes not-so-straight path does not mean they are doomed forever. It just means that they are exploring and figuring out who they are, what they like, and what matters to them. It can be painful and nerve-wracking to watch on the sidelines, but remember the teenage years are meant for this ever so important journey of self-discovery. Here are a few poignant quotes from the article:

"In the enclaves of privilege in this country, part of the culture is more and more centered on a narrow notion of what success looks like and how to attain it."
"Too many of us are worried about how our kids will compete globally and are baffled by the desirability of jobs whose titles mystify us."
"We fervently believe that staying “on track” beats wandering around. However, reality suggests otherwise. And instilling this concept of success as a straight line can set kids up for unrealistic expectations and disappointment."
"Encouraging children to follow a linear path makes them cautious and competitive when what they are most likely to need are curiosity, a willingness to take risks, and a talent for collaboration."
"What exactly constitutes success is, of course, open to a world of meaning."
"Financial independence is one way to measure success, a sense of doing meaningful and fulfilling work is another, and raising a healthy family and contributing to one’s community yet another. Sometimes these varying definitions converge; sometimes they don’t."
"More often, a meandering and unexpected path is what leads to success."