Counseling Center
Meet the Team:
Nick Jenkins, SMS Counselor
njenkins@scappoose.k12.or.us
Rob McQueen-Jensen, CCMH Counselor- working at SMS on Wednesdays
Justin Engstrom, SSD Counselor- working at SMS on Tuesdays and Thursdays
jengstrom@scappoose.k12.or.us
Forecasting
- Class Descriptions
- Math Placement at SMS
- Language Arts Placement at SMS
- Intervention Placement at SMS
Class Descriptions
Forecasting for incoming 7th and 8th grade students classes begins early March each school year. Mr. Jenkins will be presenting to these students explaining the different elective courses that are offered at SMS. Each spring students are asked to forecast for the next school year by filling out an electives survey. The survey is electronic and asks that students selected their top 3 electives in addition to two alternates.
While we cannot guarantee that each students will get their top 3 electives, we will do our best to see that they get at least one elective of their choosing.
Below you will find those course descriptions for the 2024-25 school year:
Art Electives:
BEGINNER ART: In Beginner Art, students will explore drawing, design, and color using basic elements of art such as line, shading, space, perspective, shape and form. Basic color mixing from the primaries will include secondary colors, intermediates and warm and cool. Three dimensional art using wire and paper will also be explored. Famous artists from different cultures will be entwined with learning.
ADVANCED ART: In Advanced Art, students will be in a continuation of the Beginning Art class. Students in this class need to have already taken Beginner Art as this class will be a continuation of developing students skills and will increase their understanding of the art making process. In this class students will focus on learning to mix colors and color matching, developing your skills with Acrylic and water color paint mediums, further develop drawing skills, and learn more about art history.
DIGITAL ART + DESIGN: Students in Digital Photography learn the basics of using a digital camera and imaging software. Students will also focus on telling a story with just a photograph. Through the use of Vocabulary, Composition and understanding some technical aspects of a good photo, students will compare the work of various photographers. Each student will develop a small portfolio of their own work.
Music Electives:
BAND: Band is open for all 7th grade students that have previous band experience. (Students without band experience will need to schedule their own private lessons outside of class time). Instrumental music students are refined in the areas of tone, range, rhythm, accuracy, and scale proficiency. Concert attendance is mandatory and grades are determined by instrumental playing assessments, practice reports, and concert attendance. Field trip costs are additional, but are a very nominal fee for bus transportation.
ADVANCED BAND: Band is open for all 7th and 8th grade students. Advanced Band is for students that have previous band experience. Instrumental music students are refined in the areas of tone, range, rhythm, accuracy, and scale proficiency. Concert attendance is mandatory and grades are determined by instrumental playing assessments, practice reports, and concert attendance.
CHOIR: Choir is a coed vocal musical ensemble open to all students that would like to learn how to sing. During the course of the year, students will learn basic singing techniques. Students will study a wide variety of choral styles and literature and will perform in school concerts, field trips, and festivals. Good attendance and citizenship are essential for success, since most instruction takes place in class! All performances are required and serve as midterms and/or final examinations
STEM Electives:
STEM: Students discover the design process and develop an understanding of the influence of creativity and innovation in their lives. They are then challenged and empowered to use and apply what they’ve learned.
STEM ADVANCED: In Advanced STEM the name of the game is expanding upon the skills gained in Beginning STEM while also learning a few new skills as well. Once again all students start by getting a refresher on knowing how to properly measure. After that we hit the ground running and jump right back into our CAD designs to design and print larger scale projects that take much more skill and attention to detail. The laser cut project in this class is to create 3D artwork or practical objects, a huge jump from the basics they learned in Beginning STEM. Once this is complete they will expand their 3D knowledge by designing their own puzzle cube and testing it for difficulty on their friends and family. After these CAD skills are mastered, the Advanced STEM group gets to learn a new program for much more intricate, artistic, and practical design using Adobe Illustrator. Using these skills students will design multicolored stickers, a new logo for the school, t-shirts, posters and/or banners, and a lot more.
PE Electives:
SPORTS TRANINIG: Looking to become the best athlete you can be? Wanting to take the next competitive step but need some help and guidance along the way? Come join advanced sports training! This is an elective class with Mr. Weaver where students will learn about and focus on improving their strength, endurance, speed, agility, mental and physical toughness. Each student will develop a personalized workout routine developed specifically to help them improve at the sport(s) of their choice.
WOMENS LIFETIME FITNESS: Women's Lifetime Fitness is an elective PE class for those students that want to continue to learn lifetime skills, develop a healthy routine and develop lifetime fitness habits. This class will focus on weight training for women, endurance training with walking and running, fitness style group classes as well as relaxation yoga.
Support Electives:
ACADEMIC ENRICHMENT: Academic Enrichment provides a structured study hall environment for students. In this class, students will get support with organizing their schoolwork, reviewing their grades, completing missing assignments, and communicating with teachers. All of this will take place in a quiet learning environment.
STUDY HALL: Study Hall is an elective class that provides place for students to get caught up on work. This class is for students who are self-motivated and know what they need to do but simply need a space and more time to do it. The students who take this class will be expected to keep themselves busy if and when they've completed their work.
*Student on IEP's may be placed in a Resource class
Math Placement at SMS
7th Grade:
Placement in Math at Scappoose Middle School will be based upon the following criteria:
- 6th Grade teacher recommendation
- State test scores
- District (FastBridge) testing scores
The majority of seventh grade students enter middle school ready for 7th grade math. If a student nearly qualifies for placement in a higher class, according to the criteria above, the student will be placed in the less advanced class and monitored to determine if moving to the more advanced class is appropriate. Should initial placement need to be adjusted, moving forward rather than back is more advantageous for a student. If necessary, placement will be adjusted before the second quarter.
8th Grade:
Placement into 8th grade math classes will be based on data and recommendations from the 7th grade math teacher.
*Students transferring into SMS from a school outside of the district may be placed into a class equivalent to the one they were taking before transferring. This can be adjusted based on final grade, and student/parent feedback.
Language Arts Placement at SMS
7th Grade:
In Semester1, all 7th grade students are placed into regular language arts classes. During this time, the language arts teacher will use work samples, test scores, and other data to determine who would be a good canidate for honors beginning Semester 2. At the beginning of Semester 2 students who have been identified as such will be placed into a 7th grade Honors class for the remainder of the year.
8th Grade:
Placement into the 8th grade honors language arts class will be based on data and recommendations from the 7th grade language arts teacher.
*Students transferring into SMS from a school outside of the district may be placed into a class equivalent to the one they were taking before transferring. This can be adjusted based on final grade, and student/parent feedback.
Intervention Placement at SMS
SMS currently offers a variety of interventions to support students that are struggling in the areas of math, reading and/or study skills. The decision to place a student into an intervention is made by a team of teachers, the principal and the school counselor. An Intervention class is taken in place of the student's elective.
Academic Resources
StudentVue/ParentVue
The Scappoose School District uses a student information system called Synergy, which maintains records of your student's grades, attendance, schedule, etc. This information is available to you online using the links listed below.
You can help your student experience success by reviewing attendance and grade book information regularly, and contacting your child's teachers as you encounter questions.
For families who prefer to access this information via a smart phone or tablet, Synergy offers apps for both parents and students to stay on top of grades. Please use the appropriate links below for download instructions. Currently, Synergy does not have an app for Windows Phone users.
Math Support
ALEKS
- ALEKS is an online math support program integrated with our current math curriculum to help students focus on targeted skills that they are ready to learn based on an initial knowledge check. They can select skills that we are working on in math class as well as other skills they may have missed or have yet to master. Their skills are based on what they already know and focused on the content for the year of math to come.
- Log into Canvas
- Click on McGraw Hill - this should be on the left-hand side in the drop-down-menu. If it isn't there, they may need to open the three lines at the top to see it.
- Once there, students will be able to see their online textbook, ALEKS
Math Tutoring
- After school we will have an educational assistant available for math help in the SMS library from 3:20-4:00pm.
- You can reach out to our school counselor (njenkins@scappoose.k12.or.us) who can put you in contact with the district tutors.
Help from Teacher
- Math teachers are available most mornings from 8:00-8:15am and after school from 3:20-3:45pm to help students with math. It is a good idea to make arrangements with your math teacher before hand to ensure they are free to meet with you
- 7th grade can be reached through email: Mrs. Futter- tfutter@scappoose.k12.or.us
- 8th grade can be reached through email: Mrs. Baggett- cbaggett@scappoose.k12.or.us
Kahn Academy
- Kahn Academy offers many thorough videos that offer the current math content in a different way and can be super helpful if students have missed notes or content from being absent
- This site allows students to search by topic, unit, and grade level
- It offers many practice problems as well as videos at the start of the topic explaining the content
- All of the content through this site is free and easily searchable with the curriculum taught at SMS
- 7th grade link
- 8th grade link
- Algebra 1 link
SchooLinks
Mr. Jenkins will begin classroom guidance which will include introducing students to a program called SchooLinks. SchooLinks is a tool that will help students learn about potential career pathways and college exploration based on their interests, skills, and abilities. These lessons will take place 1-2 times a month, and take place in students' science classes for a bout 30 minutes per visit. It's never too early to start thinking about life after high school!
For more information about this program watch this video.
If you have any questions about this program, you can reach Mr. Jenkins through email: njenkins@scappoose.k12.or.us
