News and Spotlights

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.

SHMS does not accept food deliveries for students from outside companies.  Students should either bring a lunch/snacks from home or utilize our cafeteria for purchasing food/snack items.  If a family member is dropping off items from a local restaurant / fast food chain, we ask that items are only purchased for their child. 

SHMS 8th grade students have the opportunity to take an exciting and educational trip to Washington, D.C. from April 30-May 3, 2024! Mr. Neuwirth will be leading the group, with additional staff members attending as needed. SHMS partners with the professional travel company Student Adventures.

Students will visit the nation's capital and learn firsthand about historical figures, landmarks, and events. All trip information will be shared at a virtual parent informational meeting on Wednesday, September 18 at 6 p.m. Refer questions about the meeting or trip to Mr. Neuwirth (aneuwirth@bloomfield.org).

Join by meeting link

Meeting link:https://bloomfieldhillsschools.webex.com/bloomfieldhillsschools/j.php?MTID=m1a145bb62fea394e3349f90380d19e53

Meeting number:2344 086 0826

 

Password:shdctrip2025

Host key: 168255

Join by video system

Dial 23440860826@bloomfieldhillsschools.webex.com

You can also dial 173.243.2.68 and enter your meeting number.

Join by phone

+1-408-418-9388 United States Toll

Access code: 2344 086 0826

Host PIN: 6466

 

 

Thank you and have a wonderful day,

Alan Neuwirth, Ed.S.

8th Grade Language And Literature

“Never believe that a few caring people can’t change the world.  For indeed, that’s all who ever have.” – Margaret Mead

aneuwirth@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 North 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

In order to be issued a student schedule and virtual password, the student's annual online registration must be complete. See details here if you have not completed the online forms yet.

We have received some questions from families over the past days. We want to share that schedules are still being finalized and that families should reference the ParentPortal for schedules on Saturday, August 31. Anything shared prior to tomorrow may not be accurate.

• With the exception of an unscheduled/open class period, all schedules are final.

• A hard copy of individual schedules for grades 6, 7 & 8  will be distributed on the first day of school.

The first day of school is always an exciting time.  Some students are new to South Hills so we want to help make the first day as easy as possible.  After entering the building, administration and staff will guide students to their grade-level hallway.  The sixth-grade hallway (red hallway) is at the back (left) end of the building, the seventh-grade hallway (blue hallway)  is at the back (right) end of the building, and the eighth-grade hallways (green hallways) are located in the center of the building.

Upon entering their grade-level hallways, students will find their grade-level counselor waiting as well as their teachers and building staff ready to direct and support them from there. Throughout the first morning, time will be spent connecting and building relationships with students while making sure students are comfortable and getting a feel for where things are located.  Toward the beginning of the day, each student will receive a paper copy of their full schedule.  Shortly thereafter, teachers will give students a tour of the building to help with their familiarity with our different spaces and to help them locate their various classrooms and learning spaces.  We are looking forward to a great first day, and we will continue to support students in this way throughout the first week until everyone is confident and familiar with their surroundings.

Fall sports include girls basketball, cross country, football, boys soccer, and girls tennis. Let's go Black Hawks!  Find all the Fall Sports Details in the link

The first day of school is Tuesday, September 3. Details about start times, transportation, free school breakfast and lunch, and more can be found on the back to school webpage

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.

Bus stop location, morning pick up time, and afternoon drop off time are now viewable in ParentPortal under the "Transportation Info" tab.

If your child rides the bus, be sure you're connected with the Stopfinder app. Invitations will be emailed directly from Stopfinder on August 28 - so check your inbox for details on how to get connected. If there are delays or changes with routes, we will be sending notifications through the app. 

If you need help logging in to ParentPortal, or if you haven't received your Stopfinder invitation email by Thursday morning, please ask for help at communications@bloomfield.org.

Construction and traffic can be a challenge for our buses as they navigate through the district. Please be courteous of buses on the roads and in our parking lots.

The transportation team is looking for staff members to join them! Open positions are posted.

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.

To ensure a smooth start to the school year, please review the BHS middle school dress code with your child prior to the beginning of the school year. Thank you, families, in advance, for supporting the dress code and assisting us in achieving an appropriate learning environment for our students.

If students wear clothing to school that is not acceptable, they will be asked to change. If they do not have anything to change into, they will remain in the office until someone brings appropriate clothing. The dress code remains in effect for activity afternoons, athletic events, and all other school-sponsored events.

BHS Middle School Dress Code

We wish to maintain an educational environment with clear expectations around responsible electronic device usage that is devoid of unnecessary distractions and see the middle years as foundational for the development of lifelong habits. Thank you, families, in advance, for supporting the Electronic Devices Policy and assisting us in achieving an appropriate learning environment for our students. Please read the attached document carefully and continue the dialogue at home.

Electronic Device Usage Guidelines

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.

SHMS Clubs are starting in October!  All parents/guardians who wish to sign their SHMS student up for a club should do so using the club survey form only.  Sign up will close at midnight on Saturday, September 29, 2024.

Parents/Guardians, before completing this selection form with your student, please review the Club Summary with your student, then complete the form. 

• Please send questions about a specific club to the sponsor's email address which can be found on the summary at the link above.

• Fill out and submit a separate Club Selection Form for each of your SHMS students. After you have submitted the form, you will have an option to "submit another response", then make club selections for another student. Forms submitted with more than one student listed will not register correctly and will be voided.

• Make sure to hit "submit" at the bottom to ensure that the form is sent. If you have correctly submitted the form, you will receive an email confirming your responses. 

• Club sponsors do their best to accommodate as many students as possible. However, each club does have a maximum. If interest exceeds the club capacity, sponsors will use an equitable method to determine club members.

• Meeting information and room location will be verified in an email from the club sponsor.

• After school clubs do not meet on 1/2 days of school. There are no clubs on days when there is no school.

Please Note: Clubs must have a minimum of 12 members

Participation Fee

All 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students must pay a participation fee to be eligible to participate in sports and/or clubs for the school year. For students in a "no-cut" sport, the fee is due at the start of the season and for students trying out for the "cut" sports, the fee is due once they have made the team.

• Sports & Clubs: $200
• Clubs Only: $95

LEGO DONATIONS NEEDED FOR THE LEGO CLUB!!

Middle School sports will start the first week of school. Fall sports include:

7th and 8th grade football

6th, 7th and 8th grade girls basketball

6th, 7th and 8th grade girls tennis

6th, 7th and 8th grade boys soccer

6th, 7th and 8th grade boys/girls cross country

South Hills offers a variety of sports teams throughout the school year for students in grades 6, 7 & 8. Coach contacts and start dates, as well as meeting dates for athletic teams will be sent via an email from Athletic Coordinator Avis Najor (avnajor@bloomfield.org) and will be communicated in the South Hills Weekly Update as well as posted on the South Hills Athletics webpage when available. Most fall sports will start during the first days of school.

All students must have an updated Athletic Physical form on file in the South Hills office before tryouts or participation. Only physicals dated 4/15/2024 or later are valid for the 2024-2025 school year.

ATHLETIC PHYSICALS NEED TO BE BROUGHT INTO THE OFFICE-NOT SENT TO THE ATHLETIC DIRECTOR. PAY YOUR PAY TO PARTICIPATE FEES ON THE LINK BELOW.

All 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students must pay a participation fee to be eligible to participate in sports for the school year. For students in a "no-cut" sport, the fee is due at the start of the season and for students trying out for the "cut" sports, the fee is due once they have made the team.

Sports & Clubs: $200

Clubs Only: $95

The South Hills Curriculum Night was held on Monday, September 9.  If you were unable to attend, had to split time between sessions or just have some questions, please go to our schools webpage for links to grade level slideshow presentations and videos.  As always our team is here to support and help you.  If you have any questions please don't hesitate to contact us.

Bus route information is available through the Stopfinder app and on Parent Portal on August 29. In Parent Portal, under your student's name, select the "Transportation Info" link on the left side.

Parents/guardians will also receive an email invitation directly from the Stopfinder app on September 1 to access bus information for the children in their home.

Please check your child's bus information again the night prior to the start of school due to new student registrations that may require the adjustment of routes and times for all riders.

Please note that due to new students enrolling throughout the year, pickup times are subject to change. Any bus changes throughout the year will be updated on the Stopfinder app.

Students should be waiting outside at their stop (not indoors) at least 5 minutes prior to pickup time. Ridership fluctuates daily based on after school sports/clubs and therefore the times listed as drop off are a baseline. For afternoon drop offs, families should note a 15-minute window prior to, and after, assigned stop time. Kindergarten and 1st grade students will be dropped off only if an older sibling on the bus or a guardian/authorized adult is at the stop to meet the child. If this is not the case, your child will be taken back to the schools latchkey program.

South Hills is extremely happy to announce our new 7th grade counselor Mrs. Kim Deptula. Mrs. Deptula has quickly become a wonderful addition to our support team and she looks forward to working closely with our school community. WELCOME Mrs. Deptula!!!!

South Hills has three counselors (one for each grade level). For the 2024-2025 school year, counselor caseloads will be as follows:

6th Grade - Mrs. Kesner: lkesner@bloomfield.org

7th Grade - Mrs. Deptula: kdeptula@bloomfield.org

8th Grade - Ms. Schlenker: cschlenker@bloomfield.org

Please feel free to connect with your grade level counselor at any time for help and support.

All students will be issued a locker in their grade-level hallway. Locker combinations are shared during our Open House and will again be shared with students on the first day of school (also available beginning Saturday, August 31 in Parent Portal). If your child is concerned about using a locker, please know our staff is here to help. A suggestion to support students who need assistance with their locker is to practice doing a combination pattern on a padlock prior to the start of the school year. Once school starts, our staff will be there to help as well!

Regarding locker decorations, students are allowed to decorate the INSIDE of their lockers.

Not Allowed: Wallpaper (contact paper or any other type of paper to cover the inside of the locker) and stickers - please no sticky adhesive. Students should not use paint or markers to decorate the inside of their locker.

Allowed: Magnets, small magnetic whiteboards, pictures, small swatches of carpeting, disco balls, and any other easily removed items.

Suggested school supply lists available here.

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. 

 

South Hills Middle School 8th grade students transported their delighted audiences to the land of Agrabah as they performed Aladdin Jr.

The IB Learner Profile Trait for September: CARING

It’s been a fantastic week back at both of our new middle schools!  As we welcome back students, we are seeing friends reuniting and new friendships forming.  Perhaps your student has mentioned that teachers are talking about the ‘learner profile’ in classroom conversations, or perhaps you have seen the ‘learner profile’ highlighted on posters for classrooms and hallways around the school.  This is because the "learner profile" is a key element in the Middle Years Programme.  As the MYP Coordinator, I will be sharing resources and learning experiences in connection to the learner profile each month. 

Learner Profile Focus for September: Caring
In our IB middle schools, we feature one Learner Profile trait each month. While all of the traits are addressed in classrooms throughout the year, a different trait will get some extra attention each month. In September, we will spend time thinking about, talking about, and developing the Learner Profile trait of Caring. This connects perfectly with several of our school district’s Portrait of Learner dispositions (taking responsible action, respectful dialogue, and understanding multiple perspectives). 

Join us for an after-school club experience at South Hills Middle School as students explore animals and composting with Mr. Watters and a guest from Bowers Farm. 

Please remember that nuts of all kinds are restricted at South Hills because of students with severe and life-threatening allergies. The restriction is in effect in the entire building and at all times, including during the school day, after school, evenings, and weekends.  As a result, please carefully read and review all food packaging before sending food items to school. For further information on food allergies, consult www.foodallergy.org.  We appreciate in advance your full cooperation.

South Hills will be hosting conferences on November 19, 2024 and November 22, 2024.   Stay tuned for more detailed information regarding specific times and how to sign up.  For now we wanted to get the dates on your calendar.

Dear South Hills School Community:

It has been another wonderful week at South Hills with many great happenings.  Beyond Chromebook deployment for all students and our annual Picture Day, it was great to see so many families here on Curriculum Night.  If you were unable to attend, had to split time between sessions or just have some questions, please see the article below that will include links to grade level slideshow presentations and videos.  As always our team is here to support and help you.  If you have any questions please don't hesitate to contact us.

"Life's most persistent and urgent question is, What are you doing for others?"
-Martin Luther King, Jr.

Sincerely,

Randy English

 

A/B Day Schedule for the Week:

• Mon., Sept. 16th - B Day

• Tues., Sept. 17th - A Day

• Wed., Sept. 18th - B Day

• Thurs., Sept. 19th - A Day

• Fri.,  Sept. 20th - B Day

 

KEY DATES COMING UP:

• Tues., Sept. 17 PTO Meeting 9:30 a.m.
• Wed., Sept. 18 Virtual 8th Grade DC Informational Night 6:00 p.m.

On Tuesday, September 5, school starts promptly at 8:25 a.m.  The school day will begin at the start time of 8:25 a.m. (new this year the front doors for student drop off will open at 8:05 a.m. instead of 8:15 a.m.) and will dismiss at 11:40 a.m.    VERY IMPORTANT NOTE: Tuesday is a half-day.  Dismissal on half days is at 11:40 a.m.

Hello from the 2024-2025 South Hills Middle School PTO!

Join us at the first PTO meeting of this school year on Tuesday, September 17 at 9:30 a.m. Principal English will update us on all important back to school items.

Please join the South Hills Middle School PTO! As an organization, we hope all families will choose to join and get involved. Dues are suggested at $40 per family. Your dues help fund fun and enriching activities for students, families and staff throughout the school year. You can pay your family dues by logging into your parent portal account and choosing the "Accounts" tab, then "Click here to make purchases/payments" and follow the prompts. Additional donations are always accepted and appreciated and can be applied through the parent portal.

Additional updates and information can be found here: 

South Hills PTO Facebook Page

Future PTO Meeting Dates

Tuesday, Sept. 17th 9:30am

Tuesday, Oct. 15th 9:30am

Tuesday, Nov.19th 9:30am

Tuesday, Dec. 17th 9:30am

Tuesday, Jan. 21st 9:30am

Tuesday, Feb. 18th 9:30am

Tuesday, March 18th 9:30am

Tuesday, April 15th 9:30am

Tuesday, May 20th 9:30am

The South Hills school community celebrated its new school with a ribbon cutting ceremony allowing families to tour the new spaces.

Please check out our website for the full details.  Should you have any questions please contact our head coach, Mrs. Eve Pierre: epierre@bloomfield.org