Midway Middle School

NEWSLETTER September 2016

Prowling towards excellence… 2016-2017 School Year

The 2016-2017 school year is off to a great start! Students are learning new routines and procedures and are settling in to the content of their classes. Each month we will be sending home a newsletter to keep parents informed. Each team and department will be providing the “need to know” information for our Panther Parents.

Attendance

September is Attendance Awareness month. Regular attendance is one of the most influential factors in a child’s success in school. Children can’t learn if they aren’t present in school, so attendance is a MUST.

Helpful Tips:

*Tell your child the importance of attending school everyday

*Avoid scheduling appointments or family trips during school hours

*Have students get plenty of rest middle school 8 1/2 to 9 ½ hours each night

*Be a role model

Each month we will be rewarding students who come to school every day, all day.

***If students must be absent, please send a note or email (mmsattendance@liberty.k12.ga.us) to excuse their absence.***

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iPads & Insurance

All students were issued iPads during the month of August. Each student received a brand new iPad Air 2, a new STM case, and new charging cords and blocks. Students were instructed to leave the cords home so that they could easily charge their iPads each night. If you have not yet purchased the iPad insurance, it is not too late. Students can bring $30 in cash, check, or money order made out to Midway Middle, to the Media Center. They will be given a receipt to bring home. Credit or debit can be used to purchase insurance on the LCSS website. With the insurance, the first damage to the iPad is covered. Each damage after that will result in a $25 deductible. Damages without the insurance are $50 for each occurrence. If you have any questions, please call the Media Specialist, Mrs. Dover, at (912)884-5643.

iPads & CyberSafety

T o assist in keeping our students safe from questionable apps and internet content, the LCSS has put in place several precautions. First is the blocking of the App Store and its replacement with an app called LANRev. LANRev is preloaded with apps approved by faculty and staff of LCSS. Students can no longer download any other apps. The second is the removal of the Safari and Chrome internet browsers. Students will now use Safe Browser. This browser will ensure that the content they are viewing on the web is still being filtered for inappropriate content, even when not on the school system network. A third precaution is monthly cybersafety lessons. The Media Specialist will be teaching these lessons during ELA class media center time. Topics will include safe online talk, being yourself online, cyberbullying, internet scams and schemes, and digital footprints.

PBIS/Capturing Kids Hearts (CKH)

MMS has adopted a process for creating a safer and more effective environment for our school. Students are reminded to be Responsible for their own actions, to always do their

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best and to take pride in themselves and their school. Students receive Paw Points with positive affirmations when caught on the "Panther Path." When students are responsible for their own actions, they can check themselves and each other and help encourage everyone around them to follow the Panther Path. The signals are shown above. When fouls are called, students must respond with two positive affirmations. Time out is a signal to get everyone's attention. “Check yourself” reminds students to check their behavior to ensure they are remaining on the Panther Path. Please encourage students to stay on the Panther Path and model positive affirmations when they are excelling at home or at school.

J.J. Watt Foundation Grant

Thanks to Coach Porretta and her awesome grant-writing skills MMS received a grant from the J.J. Watt Foundation for new uniforms for many of our athletic teams. Here are some of our Panther football players modeling their new jerseys.

Starting September 1 MMS is accepting all of your PETE1 plastic bottles and aluminum cans! This year we are eligible to compete for the Grand Prize of $25,000 to be spent on green improvements to the school. MMS was a national winner two years ago and would like to repeat this honor! Students may bring bottles to the recycling room on the 500 hall, across from Ms. Kennedy’s class, room 521. Parents and community members may drop off bottles and cans in the public drop off at the end and start of the 8th grade hallways.

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Team 6-1

Mrs. Adams-Blackman (special learning), pictured above, leads her and Mrs. Shelton’s ELA students in class propaganda technique practice in Kahoot. Mrs. Parker (math), Ms. Hill (science), and Ms. McGonagle (social studies) comprise the remainder of the team and are excited to be working with their sixth grade students and parents.

Team 6-2

Mrs. Brown (math), Mrs. Barrett (science), Ms. George (ELA), Mrs. Adams-Blackman (special learning), and Ms. Broadnax (social studies) make up Team 6-2. They are eager to assist students in their learning and on the Panther Path.

Team 7-1

Ms. Tyndale’s science students experiment with lemon juice and vinegar to see which cleans a copper penny best. Mrs. Probst’s social studies students enjoy working together on vocabulary to race to the finish in quizlet.live. Team 7-1 is rounded out by ELA teacher Ms. Pickett and math teacher Ms. Floyd.

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Team 7-2

Mr. Stokes (math) and Mrs. Owens (social studies) add positive notes to the team affirmation wall. Mrs. Laboy (science) and Mrs. Hardy (ELA) round out team 7-2.

Team 7-3

Students in Mr. Johnson’s first period are learning how to correctly write constructed responses. With the assistance of their iPads (and Nearpod), students were able to cite their evidence and participate in an in-class, on-line discussion about one of our writing pieces. Fun, fun, fun! Mr. Johnson’s team is also made up of Mrs. Dubberly (math), Mrs. White (science), and Mr. Jackson (social studies).

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Team 8-1

Team 8-1 is composed of Mrs. Turner (math), Mrs. Robertson (special learning), Mr. Williams (Georgia Studies), Mrs. Wilbanks (science), and Mrs. Layton (ELA) is off to a great start! They would like to extend a welcome to all their Panther Parents. You can check out their websites and email addresses on our school webpage: www.midwayms.org.

Team 8-2

Ms. Polk (math), Mrs. James (science), Mrs. Brown (social studies), Mrs. Rohlfing-Wargula (ELA), and Mrs. Baker (special learning) are Team 8-2. They welcome parent input and interaction!

Team 8-3

Students in Mrs. Smith’s Georgia Studies class check out arrowheads and pottery shards during a lesson on the early native inhabitants of Georgia. The standard being covered in the lesson is SS8H1: The student will evaluate the development of Native American cultures and the impact of European exploration and settlement on the Native American cultures in Georgia. a. Describe the evolution of Native American cultures (Paleo, Archaic, Woodland, and Mississippian) prior to European contact. b. Evaluate the impact of European contact on Native American cultures; include Spanish missions along the barrier islands, and the explorations

of Hernando DeSoto. c. Explain reasons for European exploration and settlement of North America, with emphasis on the interests of the French, Spanish, and British in the southeastern area. Ms. Boone (math), Mrs. White (science), Ms. Golden (ELA), and Mrs. Ragland (special learning) make up the rest of Team 8-3.

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Connections

Art

What do prehistoric cave paintings and astronomy have in common? Both are a result of studying the night sky! Recently it has been discovered that prehistoric artists were also prehistoric astronomers. They studied the constellations and painted animals on the ceiling of caves that line up with the stars in the night sky. Amazing! In keeping with our “limitless possibilities” theme this year, MMS students created their own night sky using black paper, soft pastels, glue, glitter and most in important of all… their imaginations!

MMS students are currently studying ancient Egypt. They learned that the Egyptians believed in over 2000 anthropomorphic gods and goddesses; that is, they had the body of a human and the head of an animal. Students are having fun sculpting an animal of their choice that is doing something that people do – such as playing video games, reading a book or playing basketball!

Annual Art Contest for Kids Each year, Lions clubs around the world proudly sponsor the Lions International Peace Poster Contest in local schools and youth groups. This art contest for kids encourages young people worldwide to express their visions of peace. For more than 25 years, millions of children from nearly 100 countries have participated in the contest. The theme of the 2016-17 Peace Poster Contest is "A Celebration of Peace."Students, ages 11, 12 or 13 on November 15, are eligible to participate. Each poster is judged on originality, artistic merit and expression of the theme. Posters advance through several judging levels: local, district, multiple district and international. At the international level, judges from the art, peace, youth, education and media communities select one grand prize winner and 23 merit award winners. International winners will be notified on or before February 1.

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● One international grand prize winner will receive $5,000 and a trip to a special award ceremony.

● Each of the 23 merit award winners will receive a cash award of $500 and a certificate of achievement.

To learn more about the Lions International Peace Poster Contest, contact Mrs. Wulforst, the

Art Teacher, in room 207 for more information.

Physical Education

Coaches Porreta and Mallard have been focused on improving students overall fitness by administering the Fitness Gram test during the month of August. Students completed a 20 meter pacer test, push-up and a curl up test. Students also tested their flexibility and recorded their height and weight. Students in P.E. have also been working on small lead up games such as Poly Spot basketball where they improved their passing, dribbling, and shooting skills. Spike Ball, one of the fastest growing recreational sports, was successfully introduced to the students this month. The P.E. Department is looking forward to cooler weather so that we can venture outside to work on our football and soccer skills.

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