The 1st quarter of the school year is officially completed. Students will have new Connections classes when they return to school on Thursday, October 12. Students will get a copy of their new schedule during 1st period on Thursday.

This long weekend is another balance break for students. We hope your family enjoys the few extra days together without any stress from school.

I hope all our families enjoy their long weekend. If you need anything, please don't hesitate to email me at petersonj1@fultonschools.org.

I can't wait to see our students again on Thursday!

• October 9 - 11 - No School for Students
• Thursday, October 12 - 1st Day of 2nd Quarter
• Friday, October 13 - Soccer Game vs. Autrey Mill MS - 5:30pm
• Tuesday, October 17 - PTO Meeting - 9:30am
• Wednesday, October 18 - Pride Wall Celebration
• Friday, October 20 - PINK OUT!

Today, October 6th marks the end of our 1st Quarter of the school year. Progress reports will be posted into Infinite Campus by October 13th. Progress reports will not be mailed home. Students will receive updated schedules on Monday, October 16th for Quarter 2.

Dear Northwestern Parents,

We've got some exciting news to share! The testing for the Talented and Gifted (TAG) program is right around the corner, scheduled for the week of October 16, 2023. This is your child's chance to shine and demonstrate their exceptional abilities, and we're thrilled to invite them to participate.

Wondering if your child qualifies for TAG testing? Check your email inbox because Mrs. Marshall sent out important notifications. But that's not all! We've made it super easy for you to access the consent forms. They've been securely uploaded to eligible students' documents in your Parent portal. Oh, and if you happen to have multiple students at Northwestern, don't forget to check each child individually.

We understand that you may have questions, concerns, or need a bit more guidance on TAG testing. No worries! Trinita Marshall is your go-to resource, and she's just an email away at Marshallt5@fultonschools.org.

October is National Bully Prevention Month. Fulton County Schools will be celebrating all month with a new theme each week, culminating with the annual celebration of Red Ribbon Week October 23rd-27th. #FCSBeKind

Week of October 9th:

STAND UP for Others Week When you see someone being bullied, be brave and STAND UP for them. Bullies have been known to back off when others stand up. If you don't feel safe get the help of an adult immediately. Be part of the solution, not the problem!

We are happy to announce that Our Pink Out bracelets will remain on sale through October 12th and Pink Out Pins will also remain on sale through 10/16 so if you missed the opportunity to purchase, you are still welcome to do so. Thank you to all the students, families and staff that pre-ordered Pink Out Gear, it will be delivered to your students homeroom the week of the event. Donations will be accepted through October 20th at 10am!

Don't forget that the homerooms with the most participants per grade will receive a lunch party and when each grade brings in over $2,000 they will turn their AP's hair pink for PINK OUT and over $6,000 will mean Pink hair for Peterson too. We still need donations to see pink hair across the board--so don't forget to donate, buy bracelets and/or $3 pins! It doesn't matter if it's a dollar or a thousand dollars, each donation and/or purchase counts towards participation for the homeroom class contest.

The homeroom race is tight, but there is still time for other homerooms to pull ahead.

As of right now here are the top 3 homerooms for our grade level competition per grade:

6th

Miller

Qualman

Echeverria

7th

Harden

Deal

Carson

8th

LaFon

Brock

Codispoti

Don't forget to wear Pink for Pink Out on October 20th!

This week I was informed by Captain Fiorenza from our School Police Department that the City of Milton has requested a traffic pattern change for our morning arrival. I would like to emphasize this change was requested by the City of Milton. The intent of this change to our traffic pattern is to keep cars from backing up on Birmingham Highway.

Our School Police Officer will be in the intersection at 8:30 am each morning to enforce a right turn only coming out of our carpool line.

School Police has not informed us of the start date, but we wanted to communicate this change to you now. I will share the start date as soon as I know.

*The map below was provided by FCS School Police.

At Fulton County Schools, we prioritize student safety. Emergencies happen. When they do, preparedness is the key to handling them well. We ask that all parents or guardians who have not listed an emergency contact to update their emergency contact list to include one person who is not the parent/guardian. If the parent or guardian is not accessible due to an emergency, it is important that the school has an approved person to contact regarding your student.

Thank you for updating your emergency contacts at your earliest convenience.

Here are step by step instructions for updating your student’s emergency contacts and a link for doing so in the Parent Portal:

EMERGENCY-RELEASE-STUDENTS.pdf

Link to parent portal:https://www.fultonschools.org/infinitecampus

Our school website is full of information! The calendar is constantly updated with events from PTO, Fine Arts, Athletics and other school activities. There is a staff directory where you can get the email address of any staff member. Information on carpool, attendance, student handbook, bell schedule and more are located on the website!

Under the Academics Tab, you will find a list of department chairs, a curriculum guide, as well as the assessment calendars for each grade. Take a look to see any upcoming test or quizzes for your student. A list of all study sessions available to students is provided, as well. Links for the website, Assessment Calendars, and Study Sessions are below.

At Northwestern Middle School, we believe effective and timely communication is essential to our mission. NMS staff, students, and parents/guardians should maintain open, honest, and respectful lines of communication. Working together is the best way to help each student achieve success!

From Co-Presidents Victoria Tucker & Tracy Lynn Drye

Please join us for the October PTO meeting on Tuesday, October 17 at 9:30 in the Media Center. Our guest speakers will be Sherri Wylie, NMS Math Department Chair to share changes to the math curriculum, placement levels & future pathways. Also featured will be Kate Smith, our school based counselor from our Business Partner Summit Counseling.

Volunteer Interest Survey

Please complete this short survey to indicate your volunteer interests for this school year & we will reach out with opportunities.

https://northwesternpto.membershiptoolkit.com/volunteer/114130

Volunteers Needed - Lost & Found Clean Up

This is an opportunity once a month for several people to clean out the lost & found closet. It should take approximately an hour. Sign up link with the full instructions is below. Please reach out to Victoria Tucker (victoriabuter@comcast.net) with questions.

Sign Up: https://northwesternpto.membershiptoolkit.com/volunteer/117964

Business Partners

PTO is currently recruiting new Business Partners for the 23-24 school year. Do you own/work for a small business and would like more exposure for your services while at the same time supporting your child’s school? This is also a great opportunity for real estate agents, lawyers, accountants, etc. to support our school in many meaningful ways and receive promotion for your business through multiple channels reaching NMS families. Please email northwesternmspto@gmail.com for more information on partnership levels & benefits or sign up here: https://northwesternpto.membershiptoolkit.com/form/m/237949

Exciting Opportunity to purchase some super soft bedsheets while supporting PTO

*****Sheets will be directly shipped home****

****** RISE UP! WILDCATS******

NMS PTO is partnering with the Atlanta Falcons this football season!

With each ticket sold, your generous support will support our special programs like Student Enrichment, Staff Support, Red Ribbon Week, and much more!!

Sunday, OCTOBER 15th - Falcons vs Commanders Game

All NMS families will be seated in the same section so kids are enjoying watching the game with family and friends together!! Tickets can be purchased directly through the link below - $5 of each ticket purchased will be donated to PTO by the Atlanta Falcons.

Tom's Place came at the request of several teachers wanting to go beyond just meeting the standard academic needs of a student and wanting to be able to help meet their social, emotional needs as well. Some students at Northwestern do not have access to the basic necessities, which directly impacts their academic success. Providing these essentials exemplifies compassion and care for these students on a personal level, which will have a positive impact on their academic standing. Tom's Place is designed to provide a discrete and individualized care space where teachers and other staff members can help these students. Tom's Place will become a place to display the passion and dedication of the NMS Staff, parents, and community to ALL students that attend Northwestern Middle School!

If you would like to donate items to Tom's Place, please use the link below to sign up. Donated items can be dropped off in the Tom's Place bin in the front office.

The front office likes to have a stash of chocolate and candy (non chocolate) for the staff to access and get them through the day. Please help us keep their stash stocked. After all, most of us can relate to stress eating! Sign up here: https://northwesternpto.membershiptoolkit.com/volunteer/111882

Northwestern will offer many clubs and student activities for our students during the 2023-24 school year. Check back often for more information!

If you have a question about starting a new school club, please email Beth Wylie at wyliee@fultonschools.org.

Oct 12 - NO FCA, due to Fall Break

Oct 19 - 8:00am in Gym

Oct 26 - 8:00am in Gym

The NMS Student Garden was established in 2011 as a permaculture and wildlife garden. It has gone through many iterations. Its most recent additions (2023) are a no-till section (which is affiliated with the Rodale Institute for Organic Research) and five new fruit trees (planted in celebration of Earth Day). If you would like to contribute (monetarily) to the maintenance of this site and its research, then you can use the link below. If you have any other questions about the site, please free to contact Dr. Bartlett at: bartlettj@fultonschools.org. Thank you for your continued support of Northwestern MS 🙂

Innovation Academy will be hosting a free STEM Saturday for all 7th and 8th grade students who are eligible to apply on 11/4/2023 from 9am-12pm.

This day each student will engage in STEM activities that will be led by our students and teachers. Registration for the day will begin at 8:30 with activities beginning at 9:00am.

Sign-ups will be available to the first 100 students who sign-up. Every sign-up after the first 100 will be waitlisted.

Deadline to apply is 10/22/23.

Any questions, please reach out to quraishyh@fultonschools.org

Looking forward to a great day!

The City of Milton invites all eligible voters to be part of our upcoming general municipal elections! Citizens must register to vote in Milton by October 10 to cast ballots for who will fill three City Council seats. (And if you have recently moved here, you’ll need to change your registration by that date.) In-person Advanced Voting starts October 16 at Milton’s City Hall, while there are 3 different Election Day (November 7) polling locations depending on where you live/are registered. For more information, go to http://www.miltonga.gov/Elections.

Students interested in joining the NMS Newspaper Staff should contact Ms. Denna Warrayat at warrayatd@fultonschools.org.

Our School Governance Council has discussed the need to do more as a school community to better understand our student's use of social media and cell phones, and provide education for students and families around this issue. This school year, our students will engage in more discussions with staff around safe and responsible use of 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

Parenting in a Tech World | Facebook

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!