News and Spotlights

Way to go Galactic Gears #14791!!!!! On Dec., 6th and 7th, they were in the Pellston FTC Qualifier and won the Motivate and the Inspire 3rd place Awards. They were subsequently invited to the Michigan State Finals in Muskegon.  Awesome job, Team!!!

The students on the team are:

• Diya Chandran, 8th grade
• Saveri Rajan, 8th grade
• Finn Acosta, 7th grade
• Rekha Guha, 7th grade
• Jayson Kumar, 7th grade
• Ritwik Malhotra, 7th grade
• Andrew Hopkins, 6th grade
• Michael Sasena, 6th grade

Coaches: Corina Hopkins and Anu Malhotra.

Congratulations to four South Hills Middle School students who earned special recognition for their MSBOA All-State ensemble auditions! The Michigan School Band and Orchestra Association holds statewide honors ensembles for musicians from the MSBOA's several thousand member schools. The ensembles, which include a Concert Band, a Jazz Band, and an Orchestra, convene at the Michigan Music Conference in Grand Rapids in January. Members rehearse intensively with nationally-renowned clinicians and perform on the DeVos Hall stage. Selection for an ensemble placement or an Honorable Mention to one of these ensembles is a significant achievement, as several hundred students from around the state complete an anonymized audition for these chairs.

Students recognized are as follows:

• Grace Berakovich, SHMS '29, Bass Clarinet, Middle School Band
• Nora Grondz, SHMS '29, Viola, Middle School Orchestra
• Zoey Keiper, SHMS '29, Bass, Middle School Orchestra
• Finley Koh, SHMS '30, Flute, Middle School Band Honorable Mention

South Hills is happy to share that former BHMS teacher, Patty Kopmeyer, will be joining our 7th grade team starting in semester 2 (January 27, 2025).  Mrs. Kopmeyer was a phenomenal elementary and middle school teacher in the Bloomfield Hills School District for many years.  She has agreed to bring back to South Hills her amazing teaching skills and work closely with our students, families and staff as a 7th grade social studies teacher.  We look forward to her working with our wonderful students once again.

This additional teaching position was provided by the district after a noticeable enrollment increase in 7th grade.  The added position will allow our class sizes to significantly decrease.

Please note, in order to provide our students with smaller class sizes we will need to modify some schedules for semester 2.  This is a typical process for semester 2 regardless, but we wanted to make sure our families were aware of some of the scheduling adjustments that will be made to accommodate an extra teacher in 7th grade.  

As you can imagine, the scheduling puzzle is complicated and has many moving parts. Although we won’t be able to take requests for a specific teacher we will ensure that the student/teacher placement will be the best fit for all students.  As always, we will do our very best to keep scheduling changes to a minimum.  We look forward to having the benefit of an additional teacher in semester 2.

ONLINE EARLY BIRD SPECIAL:

Simply use the QR Code below or follow this LINK. (The school code is 15242625)

Order on or before February 28th AND pay only $35.00 that's a savings of $5.00.

Yearbooks ordered in March will be $40.00.

Yearbooks ordered in April will be $45.00. 

THE DEADLINE TO ORDER A YEARBOOK FOR THE 2024-2025 SCHOOL YEAR IS APRIL 30TH

Bloomfield Youth Assistance honors youth and adults who serve as role models by exhibiting positive behavior and who serve their community. These exceptional citizens reassure us all that our future is in good hands. Please nominate someone you feel is an outstanding leader and community contributor that meets our criteria. Recognition and eligibility information can be found in the 2024-25 Nomination Letter— All questions regarding BYA Recognition can be sent to byarecognition@bloomfield.org 

Link to Nominate Candidates  

Student Senate-  Get to Know South Hills!  

Our Student Senate is working in multiple ways to serve our school.  The students believe that getting to know the South Hills teachers, staff, clubs and opportunities will help to foster a sense of community.  The Get to Know South Hills committee would like to present Get to know…. Mr. English!

What led you to this type of work?
Mr. English started as a business owner in his senior year of high school and had a deli called the Lunchbox. He also had a landscaping company named Old English Landscaping. In his twenties, he realized that he wanted to do something different in his life. Mr. English went to college to become a teacher because he wanted to make a difference in other students' lives. He didn’t have the most supportive school system and wanted to change that. He was originally a second-grade teacher as he wanted to make an impression on kids so that they could truly enjoy school. He eventually went on to become a middle school teacher, an assistant principal, and finally our amazing principal of South Hills!

What is your favorite part of your job?
Mr. English’s favorite part of his job is working with students to make our building a better place. He enjoys helping people be the best version of themselves and giving back to our community. Mr. English also loves collaborating with students and discussing ideas to make our school even better. He always involves students and loves to help the community through service.

What is your favorite thing to do outside of school? 
Mr. English’s favorite thing to do outside of school besides hanging out with his family and kids is golf! He loves to go on golfing trips with his friends. Mr. English also loves traveling, and his dream is to go to every national park. Currently, Zion National Park in Utah is at the top of his list!

 

South Hills Middle School 7th grade ELA teachers introduced an alternative approach to address the common challenge of maintaining updated reading logs for independent reading regarding a book of the students' choice. In lieu of the reading log, students are now given three choices to show their comprehension of the book: take a multiple choice test about the reading material, present a book talk in front of the class, or schedule a book conference with Media Specialist, Jill Rilley.

Dress must comply with the Middle School Dress Code and related district Uniform Code of Student Conduct while on campus or representing Bloomfield Hills Schools.  Special school events throughout the year provide students the opportunity to dress in costumes or various themes.  Participating in a respectful, fun and safe way will always be a priority.  All students are asked to adhere to the following guidelines:

• Costumes should be INNOCENT and FUN.

• Costume masks, hoods, sports helmets or other concealing headwear are not allowed for safety purposes. We need to be able to identify all students and adults in the building.

• Non-concealing headwear: cowboy hats, visors, baseball caps, tiaras, and other similar headwear that allows students' faces to be seen MAY be worn.

• To avoid the perception of ridicule, costumes should not be of adults or other students in our building.

• To avoid any perception of offensiveness, costumes should not be of political or religious figures.

• Costumes should not be gory, bloody or depict violence.

• PROPS SHOULD NOT BE BROUGHT TO SCHOOL - This includes lightsabers, any replica swords, guns or knives, wands, etc. With nearly 600 middle school students, props become hitting devices or prime targets for students to grab or argue over.

• All Middle School Dress Code rules apply 

Middle School administration reserves the right to use discretion on a case-by-case basis and is committed to working with families to ensure the comfort and well-being of all students.

Dear South Hills School Community: 

It has been a great week here at South Hills.  This past Wednesday, our 8th Grade Choir held an impressive concert - thank you to Mr. Schumacher for his leadership and direction.  Yesterday (Friday, January 17), we had a professional development session with the North Hills Middle School staff.  We focused on the importance of creating a sense of belonging at the middle level at both of our two buildings.  We also took advantage of the opportunity to show our support for the Detroit Lions.  It was a meaningful afternoon of collaboration, planning, conversation, and fun!

As we look toward next week, we are heading into the last week of the first semester (Jan. 20-Jan. 24) and the beginning of some of our Winter 2 middle school athletic programming.  See the Winter 2 sports articles below from the district for valuable information.  In the article, you will find important information about the mandatory student physical requirements as well as Pay-to-Participate information.  

Looking at the beginning of next week, I wanted to remind everyone that there is no school on Monday, January 20 to honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.   

With an eye toward the end of next week, we will showcase our eighth-grade play “Alice@Wonderland” and “Everything You Wanted to Know About Teachers.” 

On Thursday, January 23 at 6:30 p.m. the first cast will perform “Alice@Wonderland” and later that evening a separate cast will perform  “Everything You Wanted to Know About Teachers” at 8:00 p.m.  We also have in-school performances planned on Friday, January 24 so that our eighth graders have an opportunity to perform in front of all our students and 5th grade students from Conant and Lone Pine.  

We look forward to seeing our incredible students back at South Hills on Tuesday, January 21 (A-Day).  Also please note: Friday, January 24 marks the end of the first half of the school year, and it is a half-day of school with an 11:40 a.m. dismissal.

Please check out the information below regarding important district updates, upcoming events, and news from South Hills!

“Be The Peace You Wish To See In The World!”

–Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

 

Go Lions!

 

Schedule for the Upcoming Week:

• Monday January 20th No School - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
• Tuesday January 21st - A Day PTO Meeting 9:30am
• Wednesday January 22nd - B Day
• Thursday January 23rd - A Day Grade 8 Drama Performance 6:30pm and 8:00pm
• Friday January 24th - ½ Day dismissal at 11:40am - End of Semester 1

 

Randy English - Principal

On Tuesday, October 8th, Ms. Schlenker presented the requirements and benefits of joining NJHS to all 8th-grade students during their Language and Literature class. The National Junior Honor Society chapter of South Hills Middle School is a duly chartered and affiliated chapter of this prestigious national organization. Membership is open to those students who meet the required standards in five areas of evaluation: scholarship, service, leadership, character, and citizenship. 

Students will be notified if they are eligible to join NJHS after Semester 1 (January 24th, 2025) on February 21st via email. In that email, they will receive the NJHS Pledge, due March 7th, 2025.  Signing the NJHS Student Pledge commits students to complete the following goals to become members of NJHS:

• Commitment to the 5 Pillars of NJHS: Service, Citizenship, Leadership, Character, Scholarship
• Exemplify the highest standards of character and commitment to following the SHMS Student Code of Conduct
• Earn a 3.5 Grade Point Average for Semester 1 and 3rd Quarter of the School Year.
• Secure 1s and 2s Behavior for Semester 1 and 3rd Quarter of the School Year
• Complete two Service as Action activities and complete the online reflection
  • Reflections due by Monday, May 12th, 2025
  • Online reflection form located in the 8th Grade Google Classroom
• Complete a 500+ word essay (topic will be announced on March 14th, 2025).
  • Due Monday, May 12th, 20245
• Students notified of acceptance into the NJHS: week of May 19th, 2025 (Those who have met ALL of the requirements including GPA, Behavior, Service as Action, & Essay)

If you have any questions please contact Ms. Schlenker at cschlenker@bloomfield.org

Please check out our Counselors Corner Broadcast created by our amazing South Hills Counseling Team!

Counselor Newsletter

When we do have larger events, please only park on our campus.  We want to be good neighbors.  Please refrain from parking on the surface streets of the surrounding neighborhoods.

National Honor Society students from the high school offer FREE tutoring to elementary and middle school students.  Please see the message and link below.

One of the essential foundations of our chapter of National Honors Society is tutoring, and we are excited to meet with anyone who needs some help in a class. Please complete the Elementary/Middle School Tutor Sign Up form one week in advance of your needs.

LINK TO SIGN UP

Thank you for making our recent Curriculum Night a success! It was a wonderful opportunity for our staff to share information about our teaching and learning philosophies. If you were unable to attend, please don't hesitate to reach out to the school and staff regarding anything you may have missed. We are here to support you. Below are video links from the evening, including additional teacher-specific presentations from our unified arts (elective) teachers.

When parents/guardians are going to be out of town (and their student will still be attending school), we ask that families provide a letter stating who will be in charge of their student while they are gone, the time frame involved and the person's contact information.  For emergency purposes our office wants to make sure the proper individuals are contacted.

Please Note: If your student will be absent from school for three or more consecutive days, an Extended Leave Form must be completed and submitted to the office prior to their absence.

• Forms can be picked up in the main office.
• Each of your student’s teachers must sign the form before it is turned in.

Thank you for your attention to this process to ensure that all absences are properly documented and communicated.

All progress reports/report cards are shared with families electronically. Our second-quarter report cards are available for viewing.  Please click HERE for the Bloomfield Hills Schools - Middle School Behavior and Effort Expectations.

As a reminder, progress reports and report cards can be accessed online in your Parent Portal. To log in, visit https://studentconnect.bloomfield.org/parentportal and enter your username and password.

If you do not remember your login information, use the "forgot username and password" link, enter your email address on file, and the system will email it to you. If the email is incorrect or you are still unable to access the portal, please email communications@bloomfield.org for assistance. Instructions for how to view and/or print your student's progress report (which is the same as viewing a report card) after you have logged in to your Parent Portal are available HERE.

Parents and guardians can learn the basics of the portal used for student information: demographic details, assignments & grades, report cards, and student accounts.

Parent Portal Quick Video Overview

Due to the popularity of our 8th grade Washington DC field trip, we are now at capacity for our first three buses, and a wait-list has been formed for a fourth bus for the experience.

The trip dates are April 30-May 3rd, 2025. If you are still interested in signing up your student, please register as soon as possible so that we may reach the required amount for an additional bus!

Please contact Mr. Neuwirth at aneuwirth@bloomfield.org or Mrs. Sloan jsloan@bloomfield.org.

School starts promptly at 8:25 a.m.  Students cannot arrive/enter the building earlier than 8:05 a.m.  Between 8:05 a.m. and 8:15 a.m. students will be directed to the cafeteria as this will be a supervised space for students until the entire building is open at 8:15 a.m.  For the safety of all students, students may not remain in the building past 3:25 p.m. unless they are part of a supervised program such as a South Hills sports team, club, or other activity.

Two Arrival and Dismissal Points Before and After the Start of School

1. Staff will be at the main entrance at the front of the building to greet and support students arriving and dismissing.

2. Staff will also be at the Athletic/Gym Entrance (adjacent to the pick-up / drop-off loop accessed from Wing Lake) to greet and support students and families arriving and dismissing using this car loop.

 

One Arrival and Dismissal Point During the School Day

1. The main entrance (front of the building) will be the only point of entrance during the actual school day.  Between 8:25 a.m. and 3:20 p.m., all visitors, late arrivals, and early dismissals will utilize the main entrance, and these doors will be monitored by main office staff.   

2. Families should not use the bus loop at anytime to drop off or pick up students

Our primary goal is to ensure the safety of all our students while also making the arrival and dismissal process as efficient as possible.  Thank you once again for your cooperation and patience. 

Please reference the map below of our campus to locate the car loops and bus loop. The car loops can be entered from Quarton Road and Wing Lake Road.  Families should not utilize the staff parking lot at the back of our building.  This area is for staff only and entrance ways can only be accessed with staff issued key fobs.  If you are able this weekend, visit the car loop BEFORE the first day of school to familiarize yourself with the layout and traffic flow.  Please visit this LINK to read more about the Do's and Don'ts of the South Hills Traffic Loops

The safety and security of our students, staff, and everyone within our school community is an important part of planning for every school year. We are constantly evaluating and improving our security protocols to provide a safe and nurturing environment for our school community. Below are some highlights of our security protocols that we have in place:

• All of our elementary and middle schools are equipped with secure vestibules. BHS follows best practices and the recommendations as set forth by Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Systems Based Approach to layered school security.

• The Administrator of Public Safety, Patrick Sidge, works in conjunction with district and school administrators, along with local police and fire departments to review and establish appropriate guidelines, procedures, and plans to ensure a safe learning environment at our schools.

• BHS has two School Resource Officers - Officer Lower and Officer Riney. Officer Lower has been a member of the Bloomfield Township Police Department since 2002. Officer Riney has accumulated more than 17 years of experience in various departments. Officers Lower and Riney routinely visit our schools.

• The district nurse provides staff education on issues related to school health, follows-up on health concerns, addresses student specific health conditions, and supports students with emergency plans for medical needs.

• The Emergency Operations Plan sets out a structured approach to handle, prevent, and recover from incidents in a systematic manner, and it is reviewed regularly to ensure compliance with local, state, and federal requirements.

• A secure, district-wide radio network has been established. The two-way radios in all buildings allow district administrators to have direct conversations with one another, school resource officers, and local police dispatch in a critical incident.

• BHS is committed to supporting our students' mental health by having social workers in all of our schools.

• The BHS therapy dog program continues to support our students' attitudes toward attendance, school work, and overall sense of belonging at school.

• BHS has robust cyber security as part of our technology ecosystem to protect our students and staff.

• All individuals that wish to become volunteers in our schools must have a background check completed prior to volunteering, and this has become part of the annual registration process for families.

• The Board of Education unanimously voted in favor of a resolution to periodically disseminate materials stressing the importance of secure storage of firearms and to include this information in the online registration process.

Please visit our safety and security webpage. Stay tuned for Safety Week October 21-25, where BHS will review safety protocols, share safety tips on social media, and more.

School personnel cannot administer any medication, over-the-counter OR prescription, without a completed authorization form on file in the South Hills office. Please select the appropriate authorization form.

• Authorization for Prescription Medicine Form

• Authorization for Non-Prescription Medicine Form

Turn in the form with the medication in its original container, to Mrs. Foronato in the main office. Students may not carry prescription or non-prescription medicine on them.

Please contact Mrs. Foronato at 248-341-6002, with questions.

If you qualify for free or reduced lunch, your pay-to-participate fee may be waived. We do not want any student to miss the opportunity to participate in athletics or clubs due to financial hardship. Please contact Mr. English, South Hills Principal, at renglish@bloomfield.org 

One of the most important things for you to know is that our South Hills Weekly Update E-Newsletter is the main source of communication between South Hills and our families.

It is an electronic newsletter, sent weekly toward the end of the week (usually Fridays) to all South Hills parents/guardians at their email addresses on file with the district.

Watch for your South Hills Weekly Update so you have important, up-to-date information about what’s happening at our school.

Middle School sports will start the first week of school. If your child is interested in playing a middle school fall sport, please complete the form so we can share details as the season starts.