Annemarie Engdahl ,
Interim Principal
204-2100
  
Main Office: 204-2100
Safe Arrival: 204-2110
Spanish BRS: 204-2088
Nurse: 204-2100   
FAX: 204-0501
Important Dates
Wednesday, August 1

Tuesday, August 21

Tuesday, September 4

Wednesday, September 5
(all 6th, 7th and 8th grade students)
Dear Sherman families
and community,
I hope that you are all enjoying the slower pace of these summer months and you have had some time to breathe, reflect, and renew your sense of self. I wanted to update you on some of the work that we have been engaged in during my first three weeks as interim principal. We have accomplished a lot and I am grateful to the incredible staff here at Sherman who have been working to ensure we are set up for success for the upcoming school year.  The AVID teacher and I will be spending next week at a conference learning more about the links between technology and AVID and this learning should bring even more exciting next steps for our Sherman family. I hope to see you soon after I return. 

Kindly,
Annemarie 

PS: I know that this communication is a little long, so I bolded the most important sentence in each section for your convenience. I hope that makes up for the length.  
Day of Service
We have some very exciting news. I recently submitted a donation proposal to American Family for a day of service as a signal that we are kicking off our year of renewal. American Family has generously responded by not only agreeing to donate $15,000 for supplies and a number of volunteers for the day, but they have also donated the expertise and work of their interior design experts, landscaping experts, and their printing department. 

The day of service will take place on Tuesday, August 21st. Participation is completely voluntary. We will be working on the following projects: “Staff Lounge Makeover,” “Community Room Makeover,” “Grounds Refresh,” “Bathroom Makeovers,” “Playground Area Renewal,” “Hallway Refresh,” and “Classroom Setup.” We will be engaged in physical work and unfortunately we are not able to provide childcare. So, if you are unable to join us we appreciate you sending us your positive thoughts and well wishes. All are welcome to to join us for lunch from 11:30-12:30. Lunch will be provided.

If you are interested in joining us, please sign up at this SignUpGenius link so we know how many people to expect. I believe it will be an energizing day and that it will be important for us to come together to work to improve Sherman as a family. I hope you can join us.
Listening Sessions
Thank you to so many who have engaged with me during both our group and individual listening sessions. I have had five group listening sessions and approximately 20 individual listening sessions so far. I am looking forward to those sessions that are still to come. I have learned so much already. I will be sharing the trends along with my next steps and entry plan once I have completed my analysis.
Staffing
We have interviewed multiple candidates and have hired highly qualified staff based on a rigorous interview process.  I currently have four-and-a-half teaching positions to fill and four non-teaching positions to fill. I am confident that we are on track and will be fully staffed by the start of the school year.
Online Enrollment and Student Schedules
As you may know, middle school enrollment is now available online. Starting August 1, you can enroll your student at www.mmsd.org/enroll . There is no longer a need to come to the school to register on August 15. We will still be present at Sherman on August 15 if you need assistance with enrollment. Note that this year we will not be handing out schedules on August 15 during enrollment.  Student schedules will be handed out during a family event that is currently being planned for the week of August 27 - more details to come. If you can not attend the event, schedules will be available after that date.
Our SIP (School Improvement Plan)
Our school based leadership team has been working hard to set up systems for next year. Our initial draft of our School Improvement Plan will be finished this week and we are looking forward to getting feedback from a variety of stakeholders in the upcoming weeks.
PTO Revival
I have received a lot of communication about a desire to restart a PTO (parent and teacher organization.) I am in full support of this work. I would like to connect all interested parties. Please fill out this short Google poll if you are interested in working with other parents to restart the PTO. Thank you for your support. I am looking forward to our continued partnership here at Sherman Middle School.