September 18, 2008
PTSA Board Members:
President: Terri Errington
Vice Pres.: Frieda Wrenn
School Incentives
Treasurer: Tracy Estes
Secretary: Ann Marie Conti
Ways & Means:
Leigh Owens
Volunteer Coordinator:
Cathy McClintock
Membership: Suella Day
Reflections: Lori Looper
Hospitality: Paula Durham
Tammy Stephens
Newsletter: Kim Van Beek
Publicity: Leigh Bostic
Red Ribbon: Becky Friddle
Landscaping:
Sandy Sierputowski
Box Tops/Campbells:
Starr Hammond
Teacher Representative:
Calendar
Parent Night………….…..…..9/22
Parent/Principal Breakfast….10/02
SPIRIT WEEK……….10/06-10/10
Parent Night………………...10/13
School Closed………………10/17
School Closed………………10/19
Parent/Principal Lunch……..10/23
Red Ribbon Week…...10/23-10/31
Report Cards………………..10/30
Chillin’ on the Green……….10/31
Please visit Bryson’s website for
more detailed information on
calendared events or additional
information of newsletter items.
A Message from Mr. Davie
Hello everyone.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank each of
you for your hard work and support. We have had a
wonderful opening to the 2008-2009 school year, and
look forward to the many things our students will
accomplish in the coming weeks.
We have implemented some new things this year that
we hope will have a positive impact on the overall
academic and social life of our students. In the past, we
have had four core classes and two exploratory classes.
The four core classes consisted of Language Arts, Math,
Science, and Social Studies. We have adjusted our
master schedule to include five core classes this year.
We still have Math, Science, and Social Studies, but
have split our Language Arts Class into two classes,
which now are listed as English and Reading. We still
have two exploratory classes as before. With this new
schedule, our students have seven class periods each
day of about fifty minutes each.
A second change we are implementing deals with our
lunch periods. In years before, students in any given
grade level all ate lunch together during the same lunch
shift. This caused our cafeteria to be very crowded, and
made it difficult to move through the lines in the
cafeteria. We have split the lunch period at each grade
level into two sections. Half the students in each grade
level are in the cafeteria at any given lunch shift. The
other half of the students are given courtyard time
where they can interact with their peers through various
activities. We also have a room set up for homework
recovery during this time. Students who fail to turn in
their homework are required to do their homework in
the homework recovery room during courtyard time.
Students lose the social time, but are given credit for the
homework when it is completed. As the year moves
forward, we plan to utilize this time to offer additional
support for students who need extra assistance in their
academic classes as well.
Please take time to review your student’s progress
report and feel free to contact your student’s teacher(s)
if you would like a conference. The guidance counselor
at each grade level can schedule the conference if you
would like to meet with several teachers at one time.
We have also set aside some time on September 25th to
have our first Parent-Teacher Connect Day. Please
see our website for details regarding this time.
Again, thank you for your support. I am honored to
serve as your principal.
Phillip Davie
Guidance News
Spring 2008 PACT scores will be included with your child’s
progress report. If you would like to schedule a conference,
please contact your grade level counselor.
6th Grade- Denise Lambert- 355-2116
7th Grade- Tia Blair- 355-2117
8th Grade- Shani Brister- 355-2104
6th Grade News
The South Carolina Children's Theatre will present the
Know Way Bully Prevention program to our sixth grade
students on Monday, October 6th.
7th Grade News
Congratulations to the 7th grade students who qualified
for the Duke University Talent Identification Program
(TIP). The Duke TIP program is a non-profit educational
organization established to identify and recognize gifted
and talented students at an early age. The objectives of
this program are to follow and nurture these students’
talents through the critical middle and high school years
and to develop an effective effort to help understand the
nature of academically talented adolescents.
If you would like for your child to take the Scholastic
Aptitude Test (SAT) or the American College Test (ACT)
in December, the application must be postmarked by Oct.
1, 2008. Final postmark deadline for all other test dates is
November 3, 2008.
For questions or concerns, please contact Tia Blair at
(864) 355-2117.
8th Grade News
On Monday, October 13th there will be a Select Schools
assembly for our 8th Grade students at 9:30am. Also on
the same day representatives will be here to meet parents
of students who may be interested in attending one of our
Magnet High Schools and/or career centers when they
enter High School. The parent night will start at 6:30pm.
Schools that will be represented are as follows:
Carolina Academy, JL Mann Academy, Greenville Sr. High
Academy, Southside (IB) High, Golden Strip Career Center,
Donaldson Career Center, Fine Arts Center
If you are unable to attend the parent night, you are invited
to the student assembly.
On Wednesday, October 15th, 8th grade students who
scored Proficient or Advanced on the Spring 2008 PACT
in Language Arts and Math will have the opportunity to
take the PSAT. This program is part of the South Carolina
Junior Scholars Program, which was developed to identify
eighth-grade students with exceptional academic talent.
Students identified as Junior Scholars will have
opportunities to attend summer programs at participating
SC Colleges and Universities. Mrs. Brister will contact
students who qualify.
 Parent – Teacher Connect
Looking for a way to help your child improve
his or her grades in the classroom? Need to
get ideas on how to help your child study
more efficiently?
Parent-Teacher Connect will offer parents a
time each quarter to meet as a parent group
and to learn strategies for supporting their
children in academics. Our first meeting is
Thursday, September 25th.
As always, individual appointments can be
scheduled through our guidance department to
discuss specific grades and policies.
Parent - Principal
Breakfasts and Lunches
Bryson Middle School offers new options for
involvement to interested parents this year.
Morning, noon, and night—opportunities will be
available for parents to visit the school and to
spend time in the school environment with their
children and school staff.
Added this year, Parent-Principal Breakfast
and Lunch dates will be designated for parents to
encourage their children while visiting with faculty
and staff. Once a month, a light breakfast will be
served in the media center. Beginning at 7:30
A.M., breakfast will continue until 8:00 A.M. when
students will make their way to morning classes.
Similarly once a month, lunch days will also be
designated and will coordinate with each child’s
lunch shift. Lunches in the courtyard also will host
activities for students and parents to enjoy time
together.
2008-09 BMS Volleyball Team
Congratulations to the following
students who made the BMS
Volleyball Team:
Olivia Trone, Morgan Ginn, Madison
Stephens, Dalaney Taylor, Morgan Bross,
Ashlyn Durham, Sarah Heller, Haley
Breazeale, Logan Moody, Rachel Glanton,
Walker Broad, Caitlyn Lashley, Stephanie
Newton and Courtney Trocke.
Please check the BMS website or the school
calendar for game schedule.
Copying by The UPS Store
655 Fairview Road, Simpsonville, SC 29680
Saving Box Tops and
Campbell’s Soup Labels
Makes “Cents”
If you saw some loose change on the ground,
you would not ignore it. So, why ignore Box
Tops and Campbell’s soup labels? When you
throw out your labels and Box Tops, you are
throwing away money that could be used for
Bryson Middle School.
Please take the time to save your Box Tops
and labels. Simply cut them out and have
your student drop them off at the office.
Make sure that you put them in a Ziploc bag
or envelope with the student’s name and
homeroom. Those classes that collect the
most labels/Box Tops are awarded with
special treats.
Simply put…every Box Top is worth ten
cents. If 100 students bring in 100 Box Tops
each, the school gets a check for $1,000. Let’s
work together to make this a banner year in
collections. If you have any questions or
would like to help with this program, you may
contact me at starrlitegm@aol.com. Thanks in
advance for your help!
Starr Hammond
Box Tops and
Campbell’s Soup Labels Coordinator
Cookie Dough Sale
(Back by Popular Demand)
The PTA will once again be selling Cookie
Dough this Fall, in a variety of kinds. Order
forms will go home on October 27. And all
orders will be due on November 10. Parents,
please help support our school by purchasing
some cookie dough for the holiday season. All
orders should be ready for pick up the week of
December 8. Thanks for your help and
cooperation.
School Incentives
Parents watch for scan bars to come home
with your child so that you may reactivate
your BiLo Bonus card. This is the easiest way
to donate to our school.
Recyling Ink Cartridges - If you work in an
office that has copying machines, fax
machines or printers, you can help our school
by sending in your used ink cartridges. Just
have your student bring them to the front
office.
Shopping Scancards - If you still need a
Publix or BiLo scan card, please go to the
front office and pick one up.
NOW TWO LOCATIONS:
926 N.E. Main Street, Suite F, Simpsonville, SC 29681
(864) 228-9405
Spirit Week at BMS is Coming Soon!
October 6-10, 2008
Tired of the normal school fundraiser?
Students and Parents . . . Spirit Week will be PTSA's
MAIN FUNDRAISER for the year. Spirit Week will
be a fun way for students to participate in daily
activities to help us raise money for our school.
Chick-fil-A biscuit sales DAILY, Concessions
during Courtyard Time DAILY, Hat Day DAILY,
Buy Your Way Out of Class and much, much more.
Students & Parents, help us raise money that week by
showing your school pride. Make plans now to be a
part of it all. Tickets for all events and activities go on
sale Monday, September 29, outside the Lunch
Room. Spirit Week begins Monday, October 6.
Please see the BMS website for more information.
Mark your calendars!
Holiday Fair
Mark your calendar for Monday November 17th,
2008. The Bryson Middle School Holiday Fair/Parent
Night is in the planning stages. If you are interested in
having a table at the fair, watch the school news in the
Tribune Times or the Bryson Middle website to sign
up. Looking forward to a great evening.
Red Ribbon Week
Red Ribbon Week is October 23 thru October 31st. A
meeting will be scheduled soon. If you are interested
in helping that week, please contact Becky Friddle at
967-3193. Also, please check the BMS website for
the date of the meeting and for any other information.
Parent Night
Please join us Monday, September 22nd for BMS
Parent Night.
Evening Parent Nights will continue launched by
First Night and including fall and international
festivals, a talent show, a game show, a holiday fair,
career/education updates, and a student-faculty
basketball game. Also on the schedule is a Spirit
Week (Oct. 6-10) and quarterly Family Fun events
(dates to be determined).
Welcome!
BMS PTSA would like to welcome our new PTSA
Board Members and Chairpersons:
Frieda Wrenn –VP, Ann Marie Conti – Secretary,
Leigh Owens – Ways and Means, Cathy
McClintock – Volunteer Coordinator, Suella Day –
Membership, Lori Looper – Reflections, Paula
Durham and Tammy Stephens – Hospitality, Leigh
Bostic – Publicity, Becky Friddle – Red Ribbon,
Starr Hammond - Box Tops/Campbell’s Soup
Labels.
(864) 757-9509