We had a great week of school at NMS! I'm amazed by our students everyday. I enjoy watching them work in the classroom, hang out with friends at recess, and participate in after school activities. This week I was able to visit with some members of our Kindness Club after school, and I watched our girls & boys basketball teams both win on Wednesday night. I do love this job!

Please make plans to join us Tuesday, February 8 for our monthly PTO meeting. We are meeting at 9:30 am in the Media Center. See you there!

Please report any positive COVID-19 cases to the Parent or Employee portals. Pending test results and direct exposures no longer need to be reported.

If there is anything we can do to support your family, please let us know. I hope all of our families have a wonderful weekend!

I'm looking forward to seeing our students again on Monday!

• Friday, February 4 - NMS Basketball @ Crabapple MS (5:30)
• Wednesday, February 9 - NMS Basketball vs. FAST (5:30)
• Friday, February 11 - NMS Basketball vs. River Trail MS (5:30)
• Wednesday, February 16 - NMS Basketball vs Taylor Road MS (5:30)
• Friday, February 18 - Professional Development Day (No School for Students)
• Monday, February 21 - President's Day (No School)
• Thursday, February 24 - 7th Grade Dance (4:15-5:30)

• Social Studies Teacher
• Health/PE Teacher
• Healthcare Science Teacher
• Adaptive Special Education Teacher (MIMO)
• Interrelated Resource Special Education Teacher (IRR)
• Spanish Teacher
• Instructional Paraprofessional, Special Education

We will update our open positions throughout the hiring season.

Please email a resume and letter of interest to Mr. Peterson at petersonj1@fultonschools.org.

During the month of February we will be celebrating Black History Month at NMS. Each day members of our student council we will be sharing African American achievements throughout U.S. history during the morning announcements.

On Monday, February 7 from 5:00-7:00 PM, Milton High School will host a Course Verification Night in the Milton Cafeteria. This is an opportunity for parents and students to review recommended and requested courses for the 2022-2023 school year. Students who wish to take FVS/GAVS courses, change electives, or move up/down academic levels from teacher recommendation MUST turn in the signed Course Verification Form by February 11, 2022 to the NMS Front Office.

This will be students’ LAST opportunity to make changes to their course requests for next year. There will be no changes after this point. Changes must be made via the course request form. We cannot accommodate requests via e-mail, phone call, or appointments. If a family is unable to attend the evening of February 7, students’ verification forms will be distributed at school the next day.

During the 2021-2022 school year, FCS will review resources for textbook adoption for Health & PE in Grades K-12. All teachers and stakeholders are encouraged to participate in the public review from January 24, 2022 through February 25, 2022.

Please visit the textbook adoption website for additional details.

As we approach Valentine’s Day, it is important to ensure that all homemade candy, desserts, baked goods, or other edible items are not to be sold or distributed during school hours, and that appropriate store bought items are delivered to the administration. Please know that taking this measure will help us maintain a safe environment for all students with allergies, etc. You can help us protect your student(s) by requesting that they not eat anything given to them by another person, anything that they have not brought from your home or anything not in its original sealed package.

Thank you for your continued partnership in keeping all of our students safe at school!

Parents/guardians have the ability to "turn off" attendance notifications in their Parent Portal. Click on the Silhouette on the top right and select Settings. Unclick the box for the Attendance emails.

The candidate declaration phase began on Wednesday, February 2nd and will end Wednesday, March 2nd at 5pm. Candidates who wish to run for election should complete the Candidate Declaration Form below.

Eligibility Requirements for All Council Members

• May only serve on one (1) School Governance Council at a time
• May NOT be an elected official of a government entity
• Must be the ONLY member of their family serving on the Council
• Must be 18 years or older (with the exception of high school student members)

Eligibility Requirements for Parents

• Must have a child enrolled at the school for the duration of the term they declare candidacy for
• May NOT be an employee of the school
• MAT be legal guardians listed in Infinite Campus

Eligibility Requirements for Teachers

• MAY be the parent of a child enrolled at the school
• Must be a school based employee with a "home school".
• Must be paid from the teacher salary schedule.

Students interested in learning more about the field of education or coaching as a career are encouraged to participate in the Teaching As A Profession pathway! Teaching as a Profession is for students in grades 9-12 considering a career in education. The Teaching As A Profession pathway is a relatively small class composed of three levels of students: first year, second year and third year. It meets first period and the students describe the class as "family". Highlights include:

• Internship at CCES
• Job Shadow Day at CCES
• FGE (Future Georgia Educators) Club

• Educational retreats and field trips to KSU, UNG & UGA
• Create lesson plans and lead the class in interactive classroom activities
• Facilitate team building activity
• Hear from speakers representing a variety of educational fields
• College credit opportunity for students who take all three years, complete portfolio and pass EOPA

Go to bit.ly/MiltonTAP or contact Mrs. Saren at sarent@fultonschools.org for more info!

Fulton County Schools’ Office of Student Supports is helping launch a game-changing tool called Connect Fulton to all of Fulton County. Anyone - not only FCS students and employees, but also parents and community members who live and/or work in Fulton County - can go to connectfulton.findhelp.com, enter their zip code and access thousands of local, reduced-cost resources. Whether the need is for food, housing, financial, medical, clothing, job training, etc., a multitude of services and solutions are available. For more information, please reach out to Fulton County Schools Office of Student Supports at 470-254-0451.

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/Lunch Fees. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has waived fees so all students will continue to receive meals at no charge for the 2021-22 school year, allowing school nutrition professionals to focus on nourishing children for success.

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

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!

Dear Parents,

On Thursday, February 24, the Student Council is hosting a 7th Grade Dance from 4:15 pm until 5:30 pm in the NMS cafeteria. The cost to attend this event is $10 dollars per student. This cost will cover admission, pizza, bottled water, and a sweet treat. Payments must be made using the OSP system found on the Northwestern Middle School webpage. Payments can be made from 2/07/22 through 2/24/22. This is a cash free event, so payment is only made online.

In addition to payment, we must have a permission slip completed for each student attending. A digital form will be posted on the NMS website’s home page. This will go live on Monday, February 7th. Students will not be allowed to enter the dance without this form submitted.

If you have any further questions, contact Ms. Paula Perque, Student council sponsor - mailto:perque@fultonschools.org

Sincerely,

Paula Perque

Student Council Sponsor

Paint Recycling Fundraiser

Cambridge Indoor Drumline is hosting a Paint Recycling Fundraiser on Saturday, February 12, 10 am to 4 pm at the Crooked Creek Clubhouse (or you can request a pickup). Gather up those old paint cans that are taking up space in your garage! We accept latex and oil based paint – including spray cans. See the following webpage for more information: https://cambridgeband.org/fundraisers/paint-recycling-fundraiser. Thank you for supporting the inaugural season of the Cambridge Indoor Drumline!

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

The PTO celebrates Mr. Peterson’s birthday with a sign from Sign Greeters, yummy Crumble Cookies and gift cards! Happy Birthday Mr. Peterson, thank you for all you do!!

We need parents to help us welcome students on the morning of Friday, February 11th 8:10-9am in the Wildcar Den and the cafeteria. This is a great opportunity for DADS to come help and get involved as well as any parents or guardians!

https://northwesternpto.membershiptoolkit.com/volunteer/85949

Each year, NMS honors a Teacher and Professional of the Year. Donations of gift cards (restaurant, shopping, entertainment, beauty& health to name a few) or any other gift items that would be appropriate to include in a gift basket for our winners would be greatly appreciated. If you have any items you would like to donate or own/know a business that is willing to donate an item, please bring all donations to the front office labeled TOTY/POTY PTO Donation by February 9. NMS will announce the winners on Friday, February 11.

Yearbooks are ordered directly from Balfour, click HERE to place your order

Attention 8th Grade Parents

There is only one month left to submit a baby photo or

purchase a shout out or ad for your student.

We are happy to present the following options to honor our 8th grade students!

Steps to purchase/process your submission –

1. Go to www.balfour.com and choose “Shop My School”; search for and select “Northwestern Middle School”

2. Select “Order Now”; select “Add Student”, enter student info and select “Shop for this student”

3. Select the items you would like to purchase (baby photos are listed as $.01, this will be refunded to you once you are checking out). Add items to your cart.

4. Once you check out, you will receive an email within 24 hours with the subject line “Your yearbook ad space is ready”. Follow the steps in the e-mail to create your submission. If you have “ordered” both a baby photo, as well as a shout out or ad space, you can toggle in between each item by clicking the drop down at the top of the ad submission page.

FAQS

· What is the due date for submitting baby photos/ad space?

o February 1st is the deadline, don’t miss out on honoring your 8th grade student!

· How do I know if I have ordered a yearbook?

o There are 2 ways to verify whether or not you have ordered a yearbook. You can check your inbox, if you have ordered a yearbook, you will receive an order confirmation from Balfour. Or, you can log into your Balfour account and click on “My Account” on the top right hand corner of the screen, then click on “My orders” on the left hand side of the screen.

· What is the deadline to order a yearbook?

o The last day to order a yearbook is April 15.

· How do I know if I have completed the process correctly?

o We will be reviewing each order extensively. As long as you have processed your order (i.e. add your items to the cart and then check out completely), we will follow up if we have any questions.

· Do I get a proof to review?

o Since we utilize the exact image that you upload, we do not provide a proof for you to view.

· If you have any questions about your order, call 1-800-BALFOUR or email at contact.us@balfour.com.

Spirit Wear is 25% off until the end of the year. New styles have been added!

Spirtware is available for purchase! A wonderful amount of different NMS Wildcats items for purchase and shipped directly to your home! CLICK HERE!!

Support North Western Middle School and purchase a PTO Membership! All funds go right back into the school to benefit teachers and students. CLICK HERE!!

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!