A parent may report a student absent by calling the school.  Please leave a voicemail on the attendance line (610-282-3700 selection #1).

If students are late, they must report to the main office before attending class.  Excessive tardiness will result in disciplinary action.  If students have been absent from school, they must return a parental excuse for their absence upon their return; State law requires a written excuse.  Usually, this excuse from a parent is sufficient; however, if a student is absent for 10 days or more, an excuse from a physician may be required for each absence following.  Failure to submit an excuse from a family physician at this point will be documented as an unexcused and illegal absence(s).  These procedures are in accordance with Pennsylvania’s Compulsory Attendance Requirements (24 PS 13-1327)

New truancy laws were signed into effect by Governor Wolf Nov. 2016.  For detailed information, please check the Truancy Law on our Website.

Activity period is held every Friday.  

Students who are involved in the select music programs and/or clubs (Student Council, Builders Club, and Studio 22) meet with their advisors at this time.  All other students are given the opportunity to sign up for activity choices that are submitted by the teachers.  

Past offerings have included: Homework help, Poetry, Soccer, Field Hockey, Writing for an Audience, Book Review, Library Helpers, Competitive Games).  These offerings are available on a first-come, first-served basis, and sign-ups are done on a rotating schedule.

For a complete list of sports available at the Middle School please visit the SLSD website and click on Athletics.

• Students who are failing two or more subjects at the same time will be ineligible to participate.  
• Students must follow all attendance, academic and behavioral expectations as outlined in the Athletic Code of Conduct 

Students are discouraged from riding their bicycles to school.  Due to safety reasons, we strongly suggest that students use district-provided transportation to and from school.

If you chose to allow your student to ride their bicycle to school a note needs to be kept on file in the office.  The school is not responsible for loss or damage to bikes or accessories.  

For further information please see the student handbook. 

Bus forms are required anytime a student will be taking a bus other than the one assigned by transportation.  Forms are found on the website and are available in the office.  

Bus forms must be filled out and signed by a parent prior to the student submitting the form for approval in the office.  All forms must be approved/authorized by the office.

What courses are offered at the Middle School?  Click here to view them on our SLMS Guidance page.

Important information for both parents and students is located in our code of conduct.  Please review the student code of conduct with your child before the first day of school.  

Information regarding grading/homework procedures, attendance, athletics, and discipline are key topics to review.

Middle School Code of Conduct can be viewed here.

Regular medical and dental care appointments should be arranged so they do not conflict with school hours; however, the principal may permit students to have medical and dental appointments on school time when absolutely necessary.

A parent/guardian written request that the student is permitted to leave school before the regular dismissal time, or for a specified period of time during the day, must be presented to the reception desk before or during the homeroom period that morning.  Early dismissal slips are then given to the students.

An “Early Dismissal Permit” is to be signed by teachers so that the student receives any classwork for the missing class period.  The student must then return the slip to the office before leaving the building. Parents are to meet students at the front doors to be signed out.

There are many field trips and other educational opportunities that occur outside of the Middle School building.  

Trips to PUTT U, The Constitution Center, and the PMEA Band Adjudication in Hershey are just a few examples.

Students who will be attending a field trip out of the building will need a signed permission form from their parent/guardian.

The Middle School has a health room that is staffed by a certified school nurse and a health para-professional.  

If a student is feeling ill, they need to obtain a pass from their teacher before reporting to the health room (except in cases of emergency illness when they may report directly to the nurse's office).  

Students should not text or call their parents to pick them up.

More information is available in the student handbook.

If a student is absent for 1-2 days, please have the student utilize their own sources for attaining missed assignments.  If a student is absent 2 or more days, call the student absence line, choose #1, and provide the following information to voicemail:

• Student name
• Reason for absence
• Student’s teaching team
• Dates that homework is requested for
• Date and time when work will be picked up; keep in mind that you must allow 24 hours for requests to be completed.

Homework can be picked up at the student services office.

If you have arranged for work to go home with another student, be sure you have notified that student.

Students are expected to be in class by the late bell 7:40 Students arriving after the 7:40 bell (even if there is traffic) will need to report to the office for a late pass.  

If a student opts to NOT take district transportation, please be aware that High School and Middle School traffic is heavy in the morning, so plan accordingly.

Students who have reported to the office will submit a tardy pass to the teacher.  If you notice a pattern of tardiness, you need to submit a disciplinary referral through Sapphire.  Students who are late to school (unexcused) 3 times will need to serve a detention through the office.  Late students should be documented accordingly in Sapphire.

 If the student has a legitimate excuse for lateness, they must have the teacher who caused them to be late sign their agenda and/or pass indicating so.  The pass should be shown to the teacher whose class the student is entering late.

P.E.A.K. stands for Planned Entertainment and Activities for Kids.  

The SLMS P.E.A.K. program has some exciting activities offered for all of our students.  Each middle school child is invited to attend as many of these after school activities as he/she chooses, as long as the sessions are not full.  Due to the fact that many of these activities do fill to capacity, we will not be able to offer refunds if you sign-up but then are unable to attend.  

Activities are announced on the morning announcements and can be viewed on the website or in the area outside the cafeteria.  Past examples of P.E.A.K. activities include: Roller-skating, bowling, Phillies baseball outing, select movies at the RAVE, egg decorating, indoor games.

Students who are scheduled for parent pick-up at the end of the day will report to the auditorium for dismissal until after all buses have left. Parents will line up on the driveway between the middle school and the intermediate school and then come into the bus circle behind the buses. Parents should not call the office to schedule a last-minute pick-up.

It is important for students to be aware of emergency plans due to early dismissals or other situations.

Please discuss with your student your family’s emergency plan.

Students are encouraged to be responsible school citizens.  This includes being prepared for school.  Students are encouraged to create a checklist to ensure they have all items in their school bag.  This will help minimize forgotten items (lunch bags, homework, laptops, and books).

Students who take their laptops home are encouraged to leave their charging unit at home.  Laptops are required to be fully charged for the school day. There is limited access to power for the students and there is a cost to replace a lost charging unit.

Grade 8 

• Backpack (recommended, not required)
• 1 three ring binder (with dividers)
• loose leaf paper (Math)
• pencil case for 3 ring binder 
• blue or black pens 
• AMPLE supply of pencils 
• Post its – any size, color, shape is fine 
• Scientific calculator, a TI34 multi-view (recommended, not required)
• (5) single subject spiral notebook 
• Highlighters 
• (5) Pocket folders (1 for each class) 
• Glue Sticks/Scotch Tape
• Colored pencils 

Grade 7 

• Backpack (recommended, not required)
• Page Protectors 
• Fine Tip Black Marker 
• Colored Pencils 
• 2-3 three ring binders with 5 dividers (at least 1”) 
• loose leaf paper 
• pencil case for 3 ring binder 
• blue or black pens 
• AMPLE supply of pencils 
• Post its – any size, color, shape is fine 
• Scientific calculator, a TI34 multi-view (recommended, not required)
• 4 spiral or composition style notebooks 
• Highlighters 
• Pocket folders (1 for each class) 
• Glue sticks/Scotch tape (to be used in class throughout the year to secure papers into a spiral notebook or a composition book). 

Related Arts 

• AMPLE supply of pencils 
• Pocket Folders with prongs (for STEM, World Language, CTE, FCS, Chorus) 
• 3 ring binder, Spiral Notebook or Composition book (World Language, Music, Health) 
• Earbuds or Headphones (Music) 
• Colored Pencils (Art)
• Colored Markers (can be water based or permanent your choice)
• 1 Fine Line Black permanent Marker (like a Sharpie, but any brand)
• 1 Thin Line Black permanent Marker (like a Sharpie, but any brand)
• Unlined White paper (Art - doesn’t have to be drawing paper, but must be unlined)

Student drop off is permitted beginning at 7:15 am. If you are dropping off your student after 7:15 am and before 7:40 a.m., the drop off area is located in the front of the building.

For safety reasons, students should not be dropped off in the bus lane (side of MS, facing the HS) due to bus traffic.  

Students who arrive after 7:40 should be dropped off at the front of the building.  All doors are locked at this time and entry is only permitted through the front entrance.

All students should carry their student ID card with them at all times.  In addition to providing for a safe school environment, the student ID card is used to purchase lunch in the Cafeteria and check out books in the school library.  

Every teacher at Southern Lehigh has an active web page.  Teacher pages can be accessed by clicking on teacher pages on the Middle School website.

Cell phone use is not permitted during the school day.  Students will not be excused from class to make or receive a call.  Social arrangements should be made before coming to school.  Phone calls seeking parent permission to accompany a friend home that afternoon are not considered an emergency.  

The telephone in the office is for the convenience of students for use before and after school hours.  

In cases of illness or emergency, students should go to the nurse or office.  Students are NOT permitted to use their cell phones during the day and will receive disciplinary action if they do not comply.

Incoming calls for students will be accepted and relayed only in cases of emergency.  Students are not permitted to text or call from their cell phones during the school day. Students will be permitted to use the office phone for important phone calls between the hours of 7:30 a.m. through 8:00 a.m., during the first 10 minutes of their lunch periods, and during activity period on Fridays. 

There are a variety of methods that the Middle School uses to communicate our upcoming events.  Weekly Announcements are posted on the Sapphire Portal.

Important messages will be communicated through our district notification system, Blackboard Connect.  

For less urgent information and school happenings, items are shared on the SLMS website, SLMS Facebook Page, SLMS Twitter feed, and/or the Parent Portal on Sapphire. 

Parents are encouraged to volunteer to chaperone events and field trips.  Please visit our Volunteer Informational page for more details