Shepherd Middle School

Announcements: Friday, May 23... Results from the Track Invitational yesterday at Central Montcalm. The boys team won the invitational taking 1st place out of the 14 teams that competed and the girls team took 5th place. Congratulations to the following for Qualifying for the Megastar track meet: Gabe Smith in Pole Vault. Ellie Davis in the 55m Hurdles The girls 4x800m Relay Team of Josie Eisenberger, Brianna Roberts, Brooklyn Nethers, and Meghan Moeggenborg The boys 4x800m Relay Team of Caleb Cahoon, Tucker Berry, Will Robb, and Brayden Rountree June 16-19 The Marilyn Chapman Shepherd Youth Golf Clinic will be held at the Maple Creek Golf Club. This is a FREE event and open to all boys and girls entering Grades 3rd through 12th. Registration forms are in the office. Anyone interested in participating in the Youth Police Academy in Mt. Pleasant this summer, pick up a flyer in the MS Office. Deadline to sign-up is June 6. Shepherd Boys Basketball Summer Camp will be held on June 19 and 20, for all boys who will be in 3rd through 8th grade next fall. Pick up a flyer in the MS Office for registration and more information. All 8th graders will be eating lunch during A Lunch today. After 3rd hour, they will get their lunches and take them back to Mr. TerBurgh’s, Mrs. Verhaar’s, Mr. Roed’s, Mrs. Goodspeed’s or Mr. Baker’s classrooms to eat. After eating lunch they will be getting ready to walk to the Cemetery for their project this afternoon. Today during SOAR is Finish or Free Friday. 8th Graders, make sure you have everything printed off and ready for this afternoon at the cemetery.

Announcements: Thursday, May 22... Good Luck to the Track Teams as they travel to Central Montcalm for an Invitational Meet this afternoon. All those participating in the meet will go to A Lunch after 3rd hour this morning, and then you will be dismissed from the cafeteria at 11:45 and the bus leaves at Noon. June 16-19 The Marilyn Chapman Shepherd Youth Golf Clinic will be held at the Maple Creek Golf Club. This is a FREE event and open to all boys and girls entering Grades 3rd through 12th. Registration forms are in the office. Anyone interested in participating in the Youth Police Academy in Mt. Pleasant this summer, pick up a flyer in the MS Office. Deadline to sign-up is June 6. Any 8th grade girls interested in playing HS volleyball in the fall should fill out the google form on the Shepherd Volleyball Program's Facebook page. Any current 6th or 7th grade girl interested in playing Middle School Volleyball please sign up using this link. The link was emailed to all 6th & 7th grade students in your school email. Any current 8th grader interested in playing HS Boys or Girls Basketball next year, please sign up in the MS Office so coaches have your name and contact information. The sign-up sheet for Middle School Cross Country for next fall is outside Mrs. Gimmey’s room (318). 8th Grade please stop into the office and sign up for locker partners for next year in High School. You have until the end of the school day on Thursday to sign-up or you will be assigned a locker partner at random by the High School. 6th Grader, we will be asking you to sign up for locker partners next week. 7th graders, you do not need to sign up since you will be getting individual lockers next year. Today during SOAR today students are to check their grades in PowerSchool and then send an email to parents. Then it is Silent Reading for the remainder of the class period.

Announcements: Wednesday, May 21... June 16-19 The Marilyn Chapman Shepherd Youth Golf Clinic will be held at the Maple Creek Golf Club. This is a FREE event and open to all boys and girls entering Grades 3rd through 12th. Registration forms are in the office. Any 8th grade girls interested in playing HS volleyball in the fall should fill out the google form on the Shepherd Volleyball Program's Facebook page. Any current 6th or 7th grade girl interested in playing Middle School Volleyball please sign up using this link. The link was emailed to all 6th & 7th grade students in your school email. Only one sign up per athlete is needed. Middle School Volleyball Any current 8th grader interested in playing HS Boys or Girls Basketball next year, please sign up in the MS Office so coaches have your name and contact information. The sign-up sheet for Middle School Cross Country for next fall is outside Mrs. Gimmey’s room (318). 8th Grade please stop into the office and sign up for locker partners for next year in High School. You have until the end of the school day on Thursday to sign-up or you will be assigned a locker partner at random by the High School. 6th Grader, we will be asking you to sign up for locker partners next week. 7th graders, you do not need to sign up since you will be getting individual lockers next year. Today during SOAR all classes will be working on their SecondSteps Lesson 25, which we postponed due to online webpage issues we had on Monday.

Announcements: Tuesday, May 20... Any 8th grade girls interested in playing HS volleyball in the fall should fill out the google form on the Shepherd Volleyball Program's Facebook page. Any current 6th or 7th grade girl interested in playing Middle School Volleyball please sign up using this link. The link was emailed to all 6th & 7th grade students in your school email. Only one sign up per athlete is needed. Middle School Volleyball Any current 8th grader interested in playing HS Boys or Girls Basketball next year, please sign up in the MS Office so coaches have your name and contact information. The sign-up sheet for Middle School Cross Country for next fall is outside Mrs. Gimmey’s room (318). 8th Grade please stop into the office and sign up for locker partners for next year in High School. 6th Grader, we will be asking you to sign up for locker partners next week. 7th graders, you do not need to sign up since you will be getting individual lockers next year. Today during SOAR students are to work on their Math IXL.

Announcements: Monday, May 19... Any 8th grade girls interested in playing HS volleyball in the fall should fill out the google form on the Shepherd Volleyball Program's Facebook page. Any current 8th grader interested in playing HS Boys or Girls Basketball next year, please sign up in the MS Office so coaches have your name and contact information. The sign-up sheet for Middle School Cross Country for next fall is outside Mrs. Gimmey's room (318). Today during SOAR, 6th & 7th graders classes work on ELA IXL this morning. The SecondSteps online platform is down today. We will come back to SecondSteps tomorrow. 8th grade will be going to the gym for a talk regarding their Memorial Day Projects at the cemetery on Friday.

Announcements: Friday, May 16... Any current 8th grader interested in playing HS football next year should sign up by today (5/16) either in FinalForms or in the MS Office. There is an INCOMING FRESHMAN PARENT/PLAYER meeting this evening, May 16th, in the media center from 6-7pm. Any 8th grade girls interested in playing HS volleyball in the fall should fill out the google form on the Shepherd Volleyball Program's Facebook page. Any current 8th grader interested in playing HS Boys or Girls Basketball next year, please sign up in the MS Office so coaches have your name and contact information. Today we are wearing green, which is the international symbol of mental health. Green can represent energy, hope, and fresh starts- all great things when it comes to mental health! Moving your body is an example of behavioral activation, which is a great way to break the cycle of inactivity and boost your mood! To get moving, boost our mood and help improve our mental health, following announcements this morning, we are all going to head outside to the MS walking track. At the end of announcements I will release students by grade level out to the MS Playground, where we will walk around the walking track, in a counter-clockwise direction, the same direction you run on a track. This will go until the end of SOAR class, and which time students will go to their 1st hour class.

Announcements: Thursday, May 15... Any current 8th grader interested in playing HS football next year should sign up by Friday (5/16) either in FinalForms or in the MS Office. Any current 8th grader interested in playing HS Boys or Girls Basketball next year, please sign up in the MS Office so coaches have your name and contact information. Any 8th grade girls interested in playing HS volleyball in the fall should fill out the google form on the Shepherd Volleyball Program's Facebook page. Today’s spirit day is Thinking Cap Thursday! Today we want to highlight the power and importance of our thoughts! What you tell yourself in a situation can have a huge impact on your mood and your actions! Remembering the good things in our life and practicing gratitude is a great habit to help improve our mental health. Additionally, questioning our thoughts is a great way to come up with more helpful thoughts. We can ask things like, “Do I have any evidence for this thought?,” “Is this thought helping me right now?,” or even, “What would I tell a friend in my situation?” For tomorrow’s Mental Health Awareness activity, it is.. Friday - wear GREEN! Students will be planning a game of capture the flag during recess and we will have the outdoor mental health walk during SOAR. This morning we will be helping to send off this year's Senior Class of 2025 with the Senior Walk. Once everyone has gone to their 1st hour class, I will be making an announcement for all 7th & 8th grade band students to go to the band room. Then a few minutes later I will be releasing all students to the Bus loop, where we will be joined by the students and staff from all of Shepherd Schools as we send off our Seniors for the last time in the Senior Walk. All Middle School students and staff are to line up on the curb of the bus loop in front of the Industrial Arts and Art building. To allow enough room for the seniors to walk through, we are asking all students to stay on the curb and sidewalk and not stand out in the bus loop. We will release at about 8:35am and the walk should be completed before 9am. At that time students will be returning to their 1st hour class. Today during SOAR students are to check their grades in PowerSchool and email parents. Then it is Silent Reading for the remainder of the class period.

Announcements: Wednesday, May 14... Results from the Jack Pine Conference track meet last night. The boys finished in 4th place and the girls finished in 7th place. The track team has another meet next Tuesday at Grand Ledge. Any current 8th grader interested in playing football next year should sign up by Friday (5/16) either in FinalForms or in the MS Office. Any current 8th grader interested in playing Boys or Girls Basketball next year, please sign up in the MS Office so coaches have your name and contact information. Any 8th grade girls interested in playing high school volleyball in the fall should fill out the google form on the Shepherd Volleyball Program's Facebook page. Today’s spirit day is Water Wednesday, which highlights the importance of taking care of our physical health. Taking care of our physical health is a foundational step to support positive mental health. Doing things like limiting how much time we spend on screens, getting at least 8 hours of sleep each night, eating healthy meals, drinking plenty of water, and moving our bodies often are all great ways to stay healthy! Mental Health Awareness Activities for the rest of this week Thinking Cap Thursday - Student council would like to do this as a fundraiser and charge students $1 to wear a hat in school. Friday - wear GREEN! Students want to plan a game of capture the flag during recess and we will have the outdoor mental health walk on Friday. This walk has been changed to Friday morning after announcements during SOAR. Today during SOAR all students are to work on their Math IXL Recommended Skills.

Good luck to the Track Teams as they have the Jack Pine Conference Meet here tonight. Those participating will be released at 2:05, after checking into their 6th hour class, and then meeting in the MS Gym, as they will be heading over to the track together at 2:15. The track meet begins at 3:00. The Native American Office will be closed today. Any current 8th grade girls interested in playing golf their freshman year please meet in the middle school gym today (5/13) at 3:00pm. Any current 8th grader interested in playing football next year should sign up by Friday (5/16) either in FinalForms or in the MS Office. Any current 8th grader interested in playing Boys or Girls Basketball next year, please sign up in the MS Office so coaches have your name and contact information. Today is Twin/Squad Day! Twin/Squad Day highlights the importance of having supportive people in your life. Friends and family can help support our mental health. They can help bring a smile to our face or even do something as simple as being a good listening ear. They might even provide good advice! Water Wednesday - wear blue/dress up like you are going to the beach (no swimsuits). Activity: Stickers will be available at recess for students to put on their water bottles. Thinking Cap Thursday - Student council would like to do this as a fundraiser and charge students $1 to wear a hat in school. Friday - wear GREEN! Students want to plan a game of capture the flag during recess and we will have the outdoor walk for the last 30 minutes of the school day Today during SOAR all students are to work on their ELA IXL Recommended Skills.

Announcements: Monday, May 12... Any current 8th grade girls interested in playing golf their freshman year please meet in the middle school gym Tuesday (5/13) at 3:00pm. Any current 8th grader interested in playing football next year should sign up by Friday (5/16) either in FinalForms or in the MS Office. Any current 8th grader interested in playing Boys or Girls Basketball next year, please sign up in the MS Office so coaches have your name and contact information. This week is Mental Health Awareness Week, and our Student Council has teamed up with Mrs. Gall in the Counseling Office to help spread awareness of the importance of mental health. They have come up with dress up days and activities to bring awareness to mental health. Today’s spirit day is Music Monday! Listening to music can be a great way to relax. Using relaxation and mindfulness techniques everyday can help to decrease overall levels of stress and anxiety! Twin/Squad Tuesday - match with a friend and use sidewalk chalk at recess to write kind messages, fun pictures, etc. Water Wednesday - wear blue/dress up like you are going to the beach (no swimsuits). Activity: Stickers will be available at recess for students to put on their water bottles. Thinking Cap Thursday - Student council would like to do this as a fundraiser (I think) and charge students $1 to wear a hat in school. No scheduled activity for this day Friday - wear GREEN! Students want to plan a game of capture the flag during recess and we will have the outdoor walk for the last 30 minutes of the school day Today during SOAR all classes will be working on SecondStep Lesson 24.

Announcements: Friday, May 9... Results from the Track meet last night at Breckenridge: Both boys and girls were runners up at the Husky Invitational out of 16 teams. Brayden Rountree qualified for Megastar in the 800 meters. Any current 8th grade girls interested in playing golf their freshman year please meet in the middle school gym next Tuesday (May 13) at 3:00pm. Any current 8th grader interested in playing football next year should sign up by Friday, May 16th either in FinalForms or in the MS Office. Any current 8th grader interested in playing Boys or Girls Basketball next year, please sign up in the MS Office so coaches have your name and contact information. # The kitchen is hosting their annual picnic lunch today, where hotdogs and brats will be served in the bus loop. All middle school students will have lunch at 11:25 (after 3rd hour) and lunch will be extended until 12:10. During lunch, those who want grilled hotdogs or brats will go to the bus loop, while those who want pizza, chicken or other menu items will get their lunch in the regular serving line. After getting your lunch, all students will be going directly to the MS playground area to eat their lunch and stay until 12:10. At that time all students will go to their 4th hour class.

Announcements: Wednesday, May 7... Results from the Track meet yesterday at Bullock Creek: The boys team won against Bullock Creek and Pinconning and lost to Pinconning. The girls team won against Meridian and Pinconning and lost to Bullock Creek. Caleb Cahoon qualified for Megastar in the 1600m run. The next track meet is tomorrow (5/8) at the Breckenridge Invitational. Good Luck to the Band classes as they perform in the annual Spring Concert this evening in the Auditorium at 6:30pm. Any current 8th grade girls interested in playing golf their freshman year please meet in the middle school gym next Tuesday (May 13) at 3:00pm Any current 8th grader interested in playing football next year should sign up by Friday, May 16th either in FinalForms or in the MS Office. Please use a styrofoam tray if you need to take your lunch from the cafeteria. Also, gum belongs in the trash cans, not on your tray or stuck under our serving counters. During SOAR today all students will be working on their Math IXL Recommended Skills.

Announcements: Tuesday, May 8... Good Luck to the Boys and Girls Track & Field Teams as they travel to Bullock Creek this evening for a Jack Pine Conference meet. Students will be dismissed at 2:05pm, after taking attendance in 6th hour and then the bus will be leaving at 2:15pm. Any current 8th grade girls interested in playing golf their freshman year please meet in the middle school gym next Tuesday (May 13) at 3:00pm During SOAR today all students will be working on their ELA IXL Recommended Skills.

Announcements: Friday, May 2... Track & Field from last night's Invitational Meet at Ithaca: The boys team finished in 3rd place out of 14 teams The girls team finished 6th place out of 14 team Congratulations to Brayden Nestel for qualifying for MegaStar in Pole Vault. Next MS Track Meet is on Tuesday (5/6) @ Bullock Creek Tomorrow (5/3), Shepherd High School will be hosting the MITES regional competition, as well as the High School and Middle School Art show. Stop by the high school gym and atrium anytime between Noon and 4pm, and see what our Industrial and Visual Arts students have created. During SOAR today all students have a short CKH survey to complete on their homepage. This will take no more than 10 minutes to complete. Then it is Finish or Free Friday time.

Announcements: Thursday, May 1... Good luck to the Track & Field athletes going to the Ithaca Invitational today. Those attending will be going to A LUNCH after 3rd hour, and those who normally have B Lunch will go to the MS Gym after lunch until it is time to get on the bus. Mock Rock auditions are today after school. Meet at the auditorium doors at the bottom of the stairs near the HS office by 3:15 for instructions. Please ask Mrs. Byrne if you have any questions. Native American Office is closed today. During SOAR today all students will check their grades in PowerSchool and then email parents. After that, students are to Silent Read for the remainder of the class period.

Announcements: Wednesday, April 30... Track Results from yesterday: The boys and girls teams both lost to Clare and beat Harrison. Their next meet is the Ithaca Invitational tomorrow. Track student-athletes attending this meet will all eat lunch during A Lunch. Students will be dismissed from class at 12:15 and the bus leaves at 12:30. I would like to thank all of you for participating in the Spring Spruce-Up clean-up day yesterday. I know it was a little windy out, and you had extra time than was needed, but your work cleaning up the school campus was greatly appreciated. I received thank you’s from our school maintenance crew and members of the community for the work you all did yesterday. It was greatly appreciated. 7th graders will be attending the Pow Wow this morning. They will be leaving at the end of SOAR class and returning by approximately 11:00am. 7th grader attends this event every year. This educational Pow Wow field trip helps students learn about Native American cultures through dancing, music, and storytelling. It’s a great to understand Native American traditions, history, and the meaning behind the celebration. Native American Office is closed today and tomorrow (4/30-5/1). During SOAR today all students will working on their Math IXL Recommended Skills

Announcements: Tuesday, April 29... Good luck to the track & field teams as they travel to Clare this evening for a Jack Pine Conference Meet. The bus will be leaving at 2:15pm. Today is our Shepherd Spring Spruce-Up Day, where we will all be going outside to clean-up around our school. This afternoon, rather than going to 5th hour, all students will return to their SOAR classes. Then we will have an PA announcements releasing all track & field athletes to the MS Gym. Since they are leaving early, they will be forming their own clean-up group. When you are in SOAR classes your teacher will tell you what your classes assigned area for clean-up will be. The goal of today is to pick up all trash on the ground, no matter how small, and also pick up any rocks or stones that are in grass areas. This activity will take until 2:40pm, at which time you will return to your SOAR classrooms for dismissal. During SOAR class this morning, all students are to work on their ELA IXL Recommended Skills.

Announcements: Monday, April 28... Tomorrow afternoon, during 5th and 6th hours, we all will be helping to take care of our community and school, following the Maple Syrup Festival, in an event we are calling the Shepherd Spring Spruce-Up. We will be split into groups and assigned areas to clean up and take care of. The weather looks like it will be in the mid-70s, so it will be a nice day to get outside, but I recommend you wear shoes tomorrow that you don’t mind walking around in the grass with. We will have more details tomorrow, but this will be a great opportunity to get outside and to help take care of our community. For our outdoor event tomorrow afternoon, all Track & Field Athletes attending the track meet in Clare tomorrow, you will be placed in your own group, so you can help with the clean up activity and then return at the appropriate time to get on the bus. The track bus leaves tomorrow at 2:00pm. Today during SOAR, 6th & 8th Grade classes will be doing their SecondSteps lesson 22, while the 7th grade will be coming down to the MS Gym for a presentation about the Pow Wow they will be attending on Wednesday (4/30) morning. Kindness Quote for this week is: Be kind to yourself, and let that kindness overflow to others.

Announcements: Thursday, April 24 Today we are on our half-day schedule. Each class, 1st through 6th hour, will be for 25 minutes each. School will be dismissed at 11:00am this morning. Today we will also be having our Mid-Trimester BlueJay Renaissance Rally for those who qualified. Tickets will be passed out during your 1st hour class this moring. If your ticket is incorrect or you did not receive a ticket, see Mrs. Cahoon in the Counseling Office. Teachers, any extra or incorrect tickets you still have left, please have someone bring them down to the office during 1st hour this morning.

Announcements: Wednesday, April 23... Congratulations to the Boys and Girls Track & Field Teams. Last night at their meet at Ogemaw Heights both team beat Ogemaw Heights and Standish-Sterling. The following student-athletes also qualified for the Megastar meet: Casen McMeel in the 70m dash Thor Henry in the Pole Vault Sawyer Huckins in the Shot Put The next MS Track meet is next Tuesday (4/29) at Clare. Mock Rock song approval is due to Mrs. Byrne by tomorrow (4/24). Please email her with your song selection, lyrics, and group member names. Auditions are next week Thursday, May 1st, after school in the auditorium. Tomorrow is a half day of school and we will be on our half-day schedule, with no SOAR class and each class period being approximately 25 minutes. School will be dismissed at 11:00am. Tomorrow (4/24) we will be holding a BlueJay Renaissance Mid-Trimester Rally. This Rally is where only students who qualify will attend. Today during SOAR all students are to work on their Math IXL Recommended Skills Today is Administrative Assistants Day, and we want to give a huge shoutout to our amazing secretaries, Ms. Rosie and Ms. Heather, for everything they do to keep our school running smoothly. From helping students and teachers to keeping things organized in the office, we appreciate them more than words can say!. If you get a chance today, stop by the office and tell these two wonderful ladies thank you for all they do for us.