Weekly Wildcat Newsletter - Apr. 22
Northwestern Middle School News and Notes
Happy Friday Wildcat Country!
I hope everyone had a great week. The weather is warming up which means summer is around the corner. Please be sure to communicate often with your student's teachers if you need any support. We want our students to finish the school year strong!
I have updates below about our 8th grade events - including 8th grade promotion.
Also, there are several important updates and opportunities below from our PTO.
I'm looking forward to seeing our students again on Monday!
Important Upcoming Dates
- Saturday, April 23 - Junior Beta Service Saturday
- Tuesday, May 10 - Band Spring Concert (6:30-9:00pm)
- Thursday, May 12 - Chorus Spring Concert (7:00-8:30pm)
- Friday, May 13 - 8th Grade Dance (7:00-9:00pm)
- Monday, May 16 - JA Biz Town 6th Grade Field Trip
- Tuesday, May 17 - Orchestra Spring Concert (7:00-9:00pm)
- Friday, May 20 - 8th Grade Block Party (6:00-7:30pm)
- Monday, May 23 - Monday Funday (NMS PBIS Carnival & More!)
- Tuesday, May 24 - FCS Remote Learning Day
- Wednesday, May 25 - 8th Grade Promotion Ceremony at Milton HS (2:00-3:00pm)
- Thursday, May 26 - Last Day of School
Pizza With Peterson Volunteers
8th Grade Events
- Hosted in NMS cafeteria
- All NMS 8th grade students may attend.
- No non-NMS guests are allowed.
- There is no cost for this event. The NMS PTO is sponsoring the dance.
- Students will need parent permission to attend. Details & sign up coming soon!
Dress Code:
- Young Men - khaki pants/dress pants and collared shirts. Shorts and jeans are discouraged. Polo/golf shirts are acceptable. Coats and ties are also acceptable.
- Young ladies - strapless dresses are prohibited. Straps of any width are acceptable. Dress length should be appropriate for school and no midriff or cleavage exposed.
8th Grade Block Party - Friday, May 20 from 6:00-7:30pm
- Hosted at NMS (outside behind front office)
- All NMS 8th grade students may attend.
- No non-NMS guests are allowed.
- There is a small cost for this event. Online payment details to follow.
- Students will need parent permission to attend. Details & sign up coming soon!
Dress Code: shorts, t-shirts (casual)
8th Grade Promotion Ceremony - Wednesday, May 25 from 2:00-3:00pm
- Hosted at Milton High School gymnasium.
- No limit to number of guests per student. No tickets are needed to attend.
- 8th grade students do not need to attend school on Wednesday 5/25 to participate.
- Students who don't attend school that morning must arrive to NMS and report to their homeroom no later than 1:00pm. Students will receive important event directions from their homeroom teacher at 1:00pm. (Think ceremony "practice")
- Students will walk from NMS to Milton HS with their homeroom teachers at 1:30pm.
- Parents/guardians and guests cannot arrive to Milton HS before 1:00pm. Strictly enforced due to MHS dismissal at 12:30pm.
- Students will be dismissed to their parents/guardians after promotion ceremony.
- 8th grade students do not have to attend school on Thursday, 5/26.
Dress Code:
- Young Men - khaki pants/dress pants and collared shirts. Shorts and jeans are discouraged. Polo/golf shirts are acceptable. Coats and ties are also acceptable.
- Young ladies - strapless dresses are prohibited. Straps of any width are acceptable. Dress length should be appropriate for school and no midriff or cleavage exposed.
New Assistant Administrator at NMS!
Employment Opportunities at Northwestern MS
Campus Security Associate - School Year 2022-23
Education: High School Diploma or GED required
Certification/Licensure: Must hold or be able to obtain within 12 months of employment date: National Incident Management System Certification Levels 100, 200 and 700, CPR & AED Certified Experience: Minimum 3 years of related work experience required; Previous law enforcement or military experience preferred
Please email Mr. Peterson at petersonj1@fultonschools.org if you are interested in this position for next school year.
8th Grade Yard Signs
8TH GRADE MOVIN’ ON UP SIGNS!
Order your 8th grade promotion yard signs for your rising Milton, Cambridge or other High School student. Deadline is May 1st!!
Click here to order: https://northwesternpto.membershiptoolkit.com/NmsEOYgear
PTO Moes Fundraiser
Milton High School Shoe Drive
Date: April 18th - May 6th
In cooperation with: http://www.soles4souls.org
Group's Mission:
- Turning unwanted shoes into opportunity by keeping them from going to waste and putting them to good use
Focus Areas:
- Providing relief for both natural and man-made disasters
- Fighting global poverty through the women's empowerment as micro-entrepreneurs
- Protecting the planet by reducing the amount of items going in landfills
Please bring your used and unwanted shoes to Northwestern office between April 18th and May 6th.
A drop off box will be be in the office where student can pickup items.
Thank you for your help in advance for this worthy cause,
Riley O'Connor (Milton Junior & FBLA Member)
As we head towards the end of the school year, mandated testing will play a crucial role in assessing how much our students have learned throughout the year. One of those tests happening soon is the Georgia Milestones Assessment, which measures how well students have learned the knowledge and skills in language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies. Students in grades 3 through 8 take an end-of-grade (EOG) assessment in each content area, while high school students will take an end-of-course (EOC) assessment for each of the courses designated by the State Board of Education, which counts for 20% of the students’ grade.
Participation will be critical. With the absence of significant testing data from the last two years, this year’s scores will be used to establish a new baseline for the schools and districts. The results will be used for College and Career Ready Performance Index (CCRPI) and other important school level and school system rankings.
Georgia Milestones Assessment Dates:
- Elementary Schools
May 4th-12th - Middle Schools
April 25th-May 6th - High Schools (American Literature and Composition, Algebra I, Biology and U.S. History)
April 25th-29th
FCS Annual Perception Survey
Fulton County Schools encourages parents to take the Annual Parent Perception Survey between April 11th and April 22nd. Your answers to this survey will help the district make improvements to our schools. The survey is anonymous and confidential and should take about 25 minutes to complete. Please complete one survey per school where you have one or more students enrolled. Additionally, students in grades 4-12 will take the Annual Student Perception Survey between April 11 and 22nd during the school day. This survey is also anonymous and confidential.
Milestones Testing Bell Schedule
Student Device for Testing
If your student has chosen not to receive a Fulton County laptop and to exclusively use a personal device, please know you can request that a laptop be checked out to your student at any time. They would receive a newer model Dell or Lenovo (depending on inventory). If you choose not to have a Fulton County device, one will be provided to your student for Milestones testing.
There are a number of important updates that must be run on all school devices before we begin the Milestones testing process. If your student has a school issued laptop, please help them go through the update process:
- Make sure the laptop is charged
- Type “check for updates” in the search bar and click on “check for updates” when it appears
- Follow the prompts (even if the device looks like it’s been updated, still click on “Check for Updates” in Settings)
- Let the updates run. When prompted to restart the computer, restart from the Windows icon in the lower left corner.
- If there are lots of updates, several complete restarts may be required. Some laptops may spin for a long time before the updates are fully installed.
Attendance Emails from Infinite Campus
FCS Curriculum Hub
The Curriculum Hub provides a variety of resources to assist parents in supporting their student's learning in the areas of English Language Arts/Reading, Mathematics, Science and Social Studies including:
- A year-at-a-glance for each course with the standards taught in each unit
- Unit plans detailing the specific learning targets to be mastered
- Parent resources to preview or review concepts and skills taught in each unit
Breakfast and Lunch Fees
Family Resources for Social Media & Cell Phones
Representatives from Bark presented at one of our previous PTO meetings. As a company, Bark provides monitoring service and resources for families. I will be sharing information from Bark and other sources weekly in our newsletter.
There is also a Facebook group that is a great resource: Parenting in a Tech World
NMS Clubs and Student Activities
Northwestern will continue to offer many clubs and student activities for our students during the 2021-22 school year. Check back often for more information!
Northwestern Middle School FCA
Milton High School Cross Country
Milton High School Feeder Football
Registration is open for Milton Feeder Football. If you have a rising 7th or 8th grade player, we’d love to have you join our program. Registration link is: https://miltoneaglesfootball.sportngin.com/register/form/848174291#_ga=2.113829127.1285979072.1650543636-38946591.1650543635
Come join one of the best football feeder programs in the State of Georgia! #MPIRE
Cambridge High School Band
Milton High School Volleyball
MILTON VOLLEYBALL SAVE THE DATES:
*Milton Volleyball Tryouts for the 2022-2023 season for rising 9th-12th grade girls:
May 16th and May 17th from 5pm-8pm in the Milton main gym.
*Parent Information Night: April 28th at 7:30pm (location MHS Media Hub). Please plan on attending to learn more about the program and tryouts, as well as the volunteer commitments and fundraising requirements.
*All students who plan to tryout must have the following documents completed: online registration form BEFORE TRYOUTS and upload medical information to DragonFly MAX (www.dragonflymax.com). Please follow the link below to register: https://forms.wix.com/6a0a435b-b6a5-4b40-b0ad-b83a7044a3fb:17a6eefa-3c44-4226-b8e3-f3d710655ba0
*TRYOUT DRESSCODE:
9th Grade: GRAY shirt
10th Grade: WHITE shirt
11th Grade: BLUE shirt
12th GRADE: RED shirt
For more information, please check out the Milton Volleyball Website @miltoneaglesvolleyball.com or you can follow us on Instagram @ladyeaglesvolleyball or email questions to miltoneaglesvb@gmail.com
Brickhouse ATL
Crabapple Derby Dash
Crabapple Derby Dash 5k is on Kentucky Derby Day, Saturday, May 7th at 11am. This family-friendly, Derby-themed foot race event will begin and end at The Green in Crabapple. Come check out the live music, food, drinks, inflatables and therapy horses(brought to us by Byrdhouse Ministries).
How can you participate in the Crabapple Derby Dash…?
1) register to run/walk the race – kids/strollers and dogs are welcome. Link to register: https://www.active.com/milton-ga/running/distance-running-races/crabapple-derby-dash-5k-2022
2) you can sponsor the event as a family or a local business. To donate and sponsor (individual/$75 getsyour family name on our race t-shirt), use the PayPal website link:
https://thebyrdhouseministries.com/give
(please go to Payment and choose “Crabapple Derby Dash” in the dropdown menu)
For a complete list of sponsorship opportunities for your local business, please email us at CrabappleDerbyDash@gmail.com
3) you can be a spectator and cheer on the participants - it can be just as fun at an event like this!
Come out for a fun outing for the whole day!
Your Crabapple Derby Dash Team,
Georgia Hine
Marnie Nessen
Anna Carlson
Vanessa Aquino-Dick
Cambridge High School Softball
CAMBRIDGE HIGH SCHOOL SOFTBALL TRYOUTS
Tryouts will be held May 9-11th from 4:30-6:30pm (rain day May 12th if needed). All players/parents are required to register via our Google Form and visit dragonflymax.com to complete player information, including uploading a current physical form by May 4th. A mandatory parent meeting will take place for those who make the team on Monday, May 16th.
IMPORTANT: Do NOT use a mobile device to access DragonFly as you will not be able to enter the needed information.
CAMBRIDGE HIGH SCHOOL SOFTBALL SUMMER CAMP
Join Coach EJ Francis and players from our 2021 GHSA Elite 8 Varsity Team and our winning JV team for our Summer Softball Skills Camp! Camp will be held June 6-9th from 9am - Noon. Register at www.cambridgebears.com. Cost of the camp is $160 ($175 after May 29th).
Please reach out with any questions you may have at chsbearssoftball@gmail.com. GO BEARS!
Milton High School Volleyball
MILTON VOLLEYBALL TRYOUT INFORMATION AND COACH ANNOUNCEMENT
Milton Volleyball is excited to announce the return of Marc Jones as our Varsity Head Coach! Marc brings 15+ years coaching at the club level (both indoor and beach, as well as the high school level with 6 of those years at Milton). Marc has a proven track record to develop volleyball talent and bring home the WINS, titles and championships! He has personal professional experience playing beach volleyball for #1 ranked teams in Turkey, Germany and the USA. Currently Marc is the Head Coach for the 18-1’s team at A5 where his team has earned multiple national bids. We are excited to have Marc leading our program for this upcoming season!
SAVE THE DATES:
*Milton Volleyball Tryouts for the 2022-2023 season for rising 9th-12th grade girls:
May 16th and May 17th from 5pm-8pm in the Milton main gym.
*Information Night for Parents: April 28th at 7:30pm (location TBA)
For more information, please check out the Milton Volleyball Website @miltoneaglesvolleyball.com or you can follow us on Instagram @ladyeaglesvolleyball or email questions to miltoneaglesvb@gmail.com
Milton High School Colorguard
Milton High School Flag Football
Milton High School Softball Camp
Registration is open for the Milton Summer Softball Camp! The camp will be for rising 1st – 8th graders on June 13-16th, 2022. Rising 1st – 4th will meet from 9am-12pm. Rising 5th - 8th graders will meet from 1pm – 4pm. Activities will include drills for stretching, throwing, fielding, hitting, base running and other fun games! The registration fee is $110 through June 5th and $130 after June 6th so register early! Register online at miltonsoftballcamp.cheddarup.com. For more information, please contact Lynne Siders at lsiders@comcast.net.
Milton High School Chorus
Cambridge High School Feeder Football
NMS Student Newspaper
Monday Funday!
Northwestern Wildcats are in for some end of school year fun! MONDAY FUNDAY is May 23rd, which will include Carnival Activities, Outdoor Lunch, Yearbook Signing, Field Day Activities and More!
Volunteers are Needed!! To be exact, 36 volunteers PER GRADE LEVEL!!! 😀
Clicker HERE for volunteer opportunities!
Donations are needed as well to help keep our kids hydrated and having fun on an expected warm day!
Click HERE for needed donations!
Teacher Appreciation Week - May 2-6
Teacher Appreciation Week is just around the corner! The PTO has great plans and would appreciate drink donations to help show some love to our teachers!
Click HERE for needed donations!
Assistant Principals Appreciation
Thank you to Ms. Manganelli, Ms. Poston, and Ms. Skimel for all you do! And to Dr. Shaffer as well who's currently filling in for Ms. Poston!
Wildcat Guardians Needed!
WILDCAT GUARDIANS
Wildcat Guardians are parents, guardians, grandparents, aunts and uncles, and other participants from our community who volunteer at Northwestern Middle School to help with carpool, in the Atrium during arrival and dismissal, during lunch and during recess. Administration would like to have extra hands and eyes during these times of transition and free time. Click HERE to sign up!GUARDIANS
PTO Board and Committee Positions Available
2022-2023 School Year Positions
Executive Board Positions
Co-President
Treasurer
Communications
Legislation
Educational Enrichment
Student Enrichment
Red Ribbon Week
School Services
Wildcat Guardians
Staff Appreciation (1 of 3 spots remaining)
Student Services
PBIS Liaisons
Club Fair
MembershipBusiness Partners
Spiritwear
Dinner Fundraiser
Yearbook
If you are interested in finding out about any of these NMS PTO Board and Committee positions, please send an email to northwesternmspto@gmail.com!
Northwestern Spiritwear
Spirtware is available for purchase! A wonderful amount of different NMS Wildcats items for purchase and shipped directly to your home! CLICK HERE!!
PTO Membership Packages
Northwestern Middle School
Home of the Wildcats!
Email: nmsfrontdesk@fultonschools.org
Website: https://www.fultonschools.org/northwesternms
Location: 12805 Birmingham Highway, Milton, GA, USA
Phone: (470) 254-2870
Twitter: @TheNMSWildcats
Thank you for your continued support of Northwestern Middle School!
Sincerely,
Joel - Principal
Northwestern Middle School: Teach Hard, Love Harder - The Wildcat Way!