October 9, 2026

Bullpup Families,

Wow, what a beautiful Fall so far!  We are loving the cool sunshine here in Bullpup Land and hope you’re getting in some fun out there, along with prepping for the winter that’s sure to follow.  We’re also getting ready for the cooler weather.  The remodeling crew gets a little closer to full enclosure every day.  The new north wing of the school is roofed now, as are the cafeteria expansion and the new library.  All of that means that we’re still very much on-schedule for this massive project.  We’re very appreciative of the many skilled workers who are laboring day-in and day-out to make a better SMS a reality, step by step!

SMS Sports are Great!

Our busy, busy Fall sports season is coming to a close and, boy, what a great season it has been.  Over ½ of our students – 262 of them! – participated in a Fall sport.  That is a very impressive number, one that speaks to our students’ engagement with their school community.  We believe deeply in the power of co-curricular activities to promote classroom excellence.  If your student did not choose a Fall sport, maybe one of our Winter sports will be a better fit?

Our first Winter sport is Wrestling for both girls and boys, starting on October 19 and running until just before Xmas break.  If you haven’t heard, Bullpup Wrestling, both Girls and Boys, is known far and wide for its excellence.  As with all sports here at SMS, no experience is necessary; we take all comers.  Do you want to know your student is in a safe place after school, being healthy and making friends?  Give wrestling a try!

After Wrestling, 7th Grade Boys and Girls Basketball and Dance Team (both grades) will be next, followed by 8th Grade Basketball, and then we’re on to Spring with Track and Golf.

There are so many opportunities to be involved in a sport at SMS.  Please encourage your student to take advantage of this rare opportunity to try a sport – you won’t regret it, and neither will they.

Orange Sale Fundraiser

Just an early heads-up that we will be running the school-wide Orange Sale again this year.  Last year, our first doing it, we raised almost $20,000. We are earmarking those monies to purchase the many small classroom items we will need when we finally walk into our new, completely bare, rooms after the remodel. The sale will launch on November 9th.  The oranges and grapefruits will be ready for pick-up here at the school before Xmas break.

The great thing about this fundraiser is that it is entirely digital – no door-to-door sales at all.  Also, our ask of students is fairly small – just one case sold per student.  They’re free to sell more, of course, and we have prizes for top sellers and some random draws, but we will hit our goal if every student sells just one case of citrus.

This year, again, we’re partnering with the Bonner Community Food Bank. Supporters who live out of town and can’t pick up their citrus can still help us out by purchasing a donation – what a great way to help our whole community and SMS at the same time.

When the sale launches on November, please help your student make the most of it!

SMS Success

We kind of hesitate to toot our own horn here at SMS, but you should know that your student attends one of the top-performing middle schools of our type in the state.  When we compare our ELA and Math scores to similar middle schools it’s hard to find one that did better on last year’s ISAT tests.  Even better, we were near the top for student growth on those four tests, too.  

In this year of change and challenges, our sole goal is to maintain that excellence.  Your engagement and support will be key in that effort.  Sit down with your student from time to time and really dig into their Schoology – are there missing assignments?  Do they know why they have the grades they have?  What can they do to improve?  Those kinds of regular conversations help us and your student to stay on the track to excellence.  Thanks for your support!

Sincerely,

Mr. Penrose