Signal Mountain Middle High School

Celebrations

• Congratulations to our high school wrestling team for another successful week! The Eagles won an exciting region championship and followed that up with another sectional win to return to the State Championships next week to defend their State Duals Title! 

• Congratulations to our high school girls basketball team for their wins this week over Whitwell and Central. The Eagles will host Hixson Friday, February 3rd. 

• Congratulations to our high school boys basketball team for their win this week against Whitwell, 77-23. Way to go, Eagles!

• Congratulations to our middle school robotics team for wrapping up another great season at the league finals this week!

• Congrats to Ripley Hutcherson and Blake Wolfard on making the TFP’s Best of Preps list for Football!

• Congratulations to the middle school wrestling team for beating Hixson 78-7. Wins came by Abram Trone, Alex McLaren, Charlie Emanuel, Christian Davis, Dane McMillan, Brenden Sanko, Asher Cone, Beau Foreman, Will Elliott, Kamden Smith, Zander Moody, Adam Aboulfaida, Will Stong, and Ian Rossi. The team also had a great win over Sale Creek 82-6. Big wins came from Santi Taramona, Abram Trone, Alex McLaren, Asher Cone, JP Brennan, Cooper Woodlief, Brendon Senko, and Beau Foreman!

• Good luck to all the students participating in the Middle and High School Chess Tournament at Cleveland Middle School this Saturday- January 28th!

• Congratulations to Liv Hamilton, Grayson Holiday, Harrison Ogden, Frankie Millsaps, Hailey Kimsey and Olivia Glover for their art being selected to the Hunter Museum Teen Art Show! Way to go! 

• Congratulations to Alexia Apablaza, Josh Dulin and Rylan Stone for earning the honor of All East Tennessee Band and Orchestra.

• Congratulations to Rylan Stone for also making All State honors!! 

News and Updates

• The High School Student Council Snowball is tonight at the Tennessee RiverPlace. Doors open at 7:00, and students will present their tickets at the door for entry. Please note that we will be checking tickets at the door, verifying our high school students with a school roster, and requiring photo ID for all guests. Students who do not meet these requirements will not be allowed in the venue. Be sure to check your Managebac email for details on parking and drop-off for non-drivers. We can’t wait to see you there!

• The 6th grade team is hosting a Valentine's Bash (dance) for all middle school students on February 10 from 6-8 in the cafeteria! Students will enjoy food, drinks, a live DJ, and photo booth as well as our Royals being announced and prizes for the best dressed boy and girl! Tickets ($5) may be purchased now via the Online School Payment tab on our school website, on February 8 during Directed Studies, or on the night of the dance. To make our dance a success, we have a Sign Up Genius for parents to volunteer to send in food, decorations, and/or chaperone. Food and decorations may be brought in the week of February 6-10 and given to any 6th grade teacher!  If able, please sign up sooner than later so that we have time to "fill in any blanks'' before our bash.  Thanks in advance!

• Hearing, vision, and blood pressure screening for students will take place February 13-15 based on your selected preferences during registration. More information will be available soon. 

• Interested in color guard spinning and tossing flags and rifles? Want to see what it’s like to be a part of something new? Looking for a low commitment way to try it out? Join us on Mondays from 4:30-6:30 in the Cafeteria to experience spinning with our first ever Spin Club to introduce you to Color Guard.. Scan our QR code in your managebac email for more info or the flyers around the cafeteria and hallways!

• Extra! Extra! Read all about it!  Auditions for Newsies are being held Monday, February 6th.  This exciting and athletic musical is open to all high school students.  Prepare a 1 minute monologue and 32 bars of a song AND be ready to move, too.  Sign Up with the QR code posted outside Ms. Farrimond's classroom.

• We got trouble right here in Signal Mountain!  Don't miss the Middle School production of The Music Man next weekend!  Thursday & Friday, February 2 & 3 at 7:00 and Saturday & Sunday  4 & 5 at 2:00 on the Signal Mountain Main Stage.  Tickets are only $7 for students.  See what the trouble is all about!

• Middle school workouts for football, basketball, and baseball with Coach Roberson start January 30th. 

• Students- Have you ever wanted to learn to communicate using sign language?  Well, now is your chance! Starting in February, middle school students will have the opportunity to participate in a Sign Language Club. The club will meet for 45 minutes twice per month in Mrs. Brown's classroom learning finger spelling, word signs, and practicing ASL communication through games and activities. The informational meeting will be on Tuesday, January 31. If you cannot attend this meeting, swing by room 5022 sometime during the week to sign up. 

• Middle school golf tryouts are near! Visit the Middle School Golf webpage to signup for Middle School Golf tryouts.

• Attention travelers!- A spot has opened up for the community Spring break trip to Costa Rica. If you are interested in joining, please contact Mrs. Brown as soon as possible. The group would love to have you but need to get you signed up before all arrangements and flights are finalized. 

• 100 for Signal! Have you seen the gauge signs? It's a community challenge! We need 100 new MONTHLY donors to Signal schools! Help us reach that goal by May, and every Signal student wins a dance party at school! Fewer than half of the families in Signal schools donate to MEF. With their support, MEF funds 15 teacher salaries and more. Think what we could do with 100 more donors! Become a monthly recurring donor of ANY AMOUNT at MEFtoday.org

• Please consider supporting the SMMHS yearbook! Our yearbook is a non profit endeavor that is solely funded by yearbook purchases and yearbook ads. You can support the yearbook by honoring your senior with a recognition ad, celebrating 8th grade promotion with an 8th grade baby ad or featuring your business in our community sponsor section. All links available under parent resources/yearbooks on the school website. Thank you for your support!

• January does not have an official heritage celebration designation, but the month is a time of continued celebration for many of the cultures in our community. We hope everyone enjoys this joyous holiday season as you continue your cultural traditions! January also includes many days of importance, including Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and Holocaust Remembrance Day. 

Morning Drop Off Reminder

Please remember that students may not be dropped off for school earlier than 7:15 AM. Students should remain in their cars until that time to allow for staff to prepare the building and provide supervision and traffic control. Thank you. 

Student Driver Parking Update

SMMHS no longer has parking spaces available for students in the main school parking lot. A limited number of spaces will be available at the football stadium parking lot on a first come, first serve basis. Click Here for information on the application process for parking. Online payments are not an option for stadium parking. Once all available spaces are filled at the stadium, any students eligible may request to be on a waiting list in case a spot opens up. Students must continue to utilize other transportation to school until a parking space is made available for them.

Choose Hamilton: School Choice Lottery

HCS is preparing to open the application for Choose Hamilton: School Choice lottery options for the 2023-'24 school year! Choices include Early College/Career Programs, Future Ready Institutes, Magnet Schools, Charter Schools, and Open Enrollment Schools. Continuing again for the second year, every school with open seats will be an Open Enrollment Choice School for the 2023-2024 school year! Increasing the number of choice schools and programs provides students with a diverse range of options outside of their neighborhood zoned school. To learn more and review the 2023-'24 school choice options and see available seats at each school and grade level, click here. If you have a student enrolled in a school choice program and have a sibling you would like to attend as well, you can click here to complete the sibling preference application. 

The Learning Center

The Learning Center is excited to announce Academic Strategies will be back starting Friday October 14th during the second half of DS. Please send an email to [email protected] if you are interested in your child participating.

The Learning Center will remain open after school from 3:00pm until 4:00pm Monday through Thursday for tutoring.  If you have a student/child that would like volunteer hours, please have them fill out this form. All tutors: After School Tutor (signupgenius.com) If your child would like to join after school tutoring, please instruct them there will not be transportation after the Learning Center closes at 4:00pm. They are welcome to join after school tutoring and do not need to sign up to receive tutoring assistance.

Check out The Learning Center’s Facebook page for more updates.

Covid Protocols for 2022-23

Positive cases of COVID-19 for staff and students will continue to be reported to the school. If your student tests positive for COVID-19, please contact the school nurses to notify them. Anyone testing positive for COVID-19  must be fever free for 24 hours without the use of fever reducing medications before returning to school. School-based COVID-19 testing is available for staff or students as needed. 

Contact tracing is no longer required unless a school has the need based on a significant increase in cases. The district will continue to provide cleaning and disinfecting services. SMMHS will continue to communicate when a positive case occurs in the building. Should a significant increase in cases occur, virtual learning waivers for schools may be requested from the TDOE. For more information on Hamilton County Schools health plan and COVID procedures, please click here. Thank you. 

Receiving the Newsletter

At the end of each week throughout the school year, families should be on the lookout for a Weekly Parent Communication email.  These emails contain celebrations, informational items, and calendar items to keep everyone informed. If you see that you are not receiving our Weekly Parent Communication emails at any time throughout the year, please contact Mrs. Swan at [email protected] to verify the email address we have listed in Power School. To access school-related information throughout the year, please visit our SMMHS school website.

Mountain Education Foundation (MEF) Information and News

• 100 for Signal! Have you seen the gauge signs? It's a community challenge! We need 100 new MONTHLY donors to Signal schools! Help us reach that goal by May, and every Signal student wins a dance party at school! Fewer than half of the families in Signal schools donate to MEF. With their support, MEF funds 15 teacher salaries and more. Think what we could do with 100 more donors! Become a monthly recurring donor of ANY AMOUNT at MEFtoday.org

• MEF now has a texting platform! If you did not already receive a text message from MEF, be sure to join so you get the inside scoop and timely notice of event news, opportunities for impact and more! Join the MEF Text Tribe by texting the keyword JOIN to 423/515-1112.

• We want to remind everyone of the important role that the Mountain Education Foundation (MEF) plays in the success of our Signal Mountain Schools!

• If you have not yet become a monthly donor, would like to make a one-time gift, or want to learn more about the many ways that MEF supports all of our students at our Signal Mountain schools, please visit www.meftoday.org or email Hilarie Robison at [email protected]. Every donation is appreciated and much needed!

Calendar Items

• January 27th- Senior lunch

• January 28th- High School Snowball Dance

• February 1st- Half-day for students

• February 2nd - 5th- MS Drama Club’s The Music Man 

• February 4th- MEF Celebration for Education

• February 10th- Middle School Valentine’s Bash

• February 13th - 15th- Hearing, vision, and blood pressure screening

• March 21- Official ACT for juniors. 7:45 - noon, location: MS Gym and other spaces. ACT- (practice) for sophomores & freshmen. 7:45 - noon, location: HS classrooms