Todays weekly update has more than usual. Please pay close attention to course verification information, book fair, PTO fundraiser, and more! Lots of new information today.

Please make plans to join us next Tuesday morning for our monthly PTO meeting. We'll be in the Media Center at 9:30!

The sign up page for our Wildcat Guardian opportunities is now live! Come work with us next week!! Please see below for sign up link.

If you haven't already, please RSVP for Let's Talk About Sexting. You will not want to miss this parent and student event on March 8. See below.

How can I help you? Please let me know! I hope all of our families have a wonderful weekend!

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

• Tuesday, March 8 - March PTO meeting (9:30 am)
  
• Friday, March 11 - Teacher Workday (No School)
  
• Monday, March 14 - Professional Development Day (No School)
• Monday, March 21 - Early Release (2:05 dismissal)

• Reading Teacher
• 8th Grade Physical 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.

Monday, March 7th Exceptional Children’s Week Celebration

• Research a famous or historic person with a disability or exceptionality and think of ideas to decorate your classroom door.
• Stomp out the R-Word (wear your coolest shoes)

Tuesday, March 8th, See the Able, not the Label.

• Wear your coolest glasses or sunglasses.

Wednesday, March 9th, Walk Down Memory Lane

• Dress up from a favorite period in time
• Door Decoration Contest – highlighting the famous or historic person you researched on Monday.

Thursday, March 10th, 100 Years!!!

• Students/Staff view video of how technology has changed over 100 years: https://youtu.be/eLIsfVaf5vU
• Don’t Be Tacky, Be Aware (tacky/mismatch outfit)

Friday, March 11th – No School

Dear Parents/Families of Rising Northwestern 7th and 8th Graders:

Teachers recently completed Course Recommendations for the 2022-2023 school year. At this time, we are asking you to review your student’s Northwestern Course Requests for the 2022-2023 school year (Verification #1). We would like to stress the importance of completing this process because due to the complexity of the master schedule, we will not be able to make mass changes in August. Please note, the courses that are currently requested for your student will be the courses on your student’s schedule for the 2022-2023 school year.

To view your student’s Course Requests, log in to Campus Parent. If you do not have an account, your student can access through their Student Portal in ClassLink. Directions are attached. The deadline for Verification #1 is Friday, March 18th. This feature will be disabled in Infinite Campus to allow for the scheduling process to continue.

A few things to note: This is a verification of courses and is not your child’s schedule. The courses that should appear include the following: Math, Science, Reading/World Language, Social Studies, Language Arts, and a Performing art if selected. No general Connections courses will appear until the final schedule is received in August. A course with a .2 indicates a TAG course, 40/60 at the end indicates advanced, .9 indicates a team-taught class (students with an IEP), and .8 indicates a resource class (students with an IEP). If your child is in the Services for Exceptional Children Program, course placement will be based upon your child’s most recent IEP. If your child is not presently in this program, team-taught classes may not be requested.

Next year we are asking families to begin thinking about connections pathways. Please complete the following form to select your student’s connections pathway, please note that if Art or Drama are selected the expectation is that the student will take the high school course in 8th grade. If your student is a rising 8th grader and has not already been selected they need to speak to Mr. Novak or Ms. Moore. https://bit.ly/3pyBeK1

At this time, you may request your child be placed in a lower-level course than what appears on the form/in Infinite Campus, or you may request that he/she be moved from World Language to Reading. If you desire to place your child in a higher-level course, against the teacher’s recommendation, the Waiver Form, https://bit.ly/3toCKzp, must be completed and emailed to the appropriate grade level administrator, rising 7th Deana Skimel – skimel@fultonschools.org or rising 8th Ashley Poston – postona@fultonschools.org.

If you have a question about a particular placement for next year, please consult your student’s teacher.

The final deadline for submitting any changes/updates to your student’s course recommendations for Verification #1 is Friday, March 18th. If approved, updates will be visible during Verification #2.

Thank you for helping us ensure your student’s schedule is correct in the Fall.

To confirm your student’s placement recommendations or to make changes/updates, please click the button below to complete the form.

Welcome to Moe’s School POP-UP!

$5.00 from each kit sold goes to your school for 1 to 50 kits sold!

$10.00 from each kit goes to your school after you reach 51 kits sold!

Moe’s Southwest Grill will be delivering to Northwestern Middle School on Tues. 3/15 at 5:00. Order and pay online in advance, drive up to 12805 Birmingham Hwy., (car pool line) and we will put the order into your car and off you go.

Moe’s Taco Kit- Feeds 4 to 6 people

White Meat Chicken, Ground Beef, Black Beans, Rice, Shredded Cheese, Shredded Lettuce, Sour Cream, Pico, Salsa, Queso, Chips, 12 Flour Tortillas

ALL ORDERS MUST BE PLACED BY: Mon. 3/14 by 4:00PM

NMS is excited to announce our upcoming Scholastic Book Fair! Mark your calendars for March 21 - March 31. Every purchase from the Book Fair earns rewards for NMS, so please stop by and support your school!

Congratulations to all the students representing NMS at the Linguapalooza Middle School Spoken Language Competition last Saturday, February 26th, 2022 at Autrey Mill Middle School. They did an amazing job!! Way to go Wildcats!

Our vison to add this CTAE course at Northwestern has become a reality. After getting feedback from parents, teachers and students it was clear Healthcare Science was the course our school community wanted to add to our CTAE curriculum. We are set to add the Healthcare Science courses officially in Fall 2022, but we have already hired our Healthcare Science teacher ahead of schedule. Ms. Dana Konop will begin teaching during the 4th quarter of this school year to get a "head start" on the Healthcare Science program.

We have been working with the district CTAE department to plan for a facility alteration this summer. We are hoping for a complete remodel to turn our old FACS lab into a new Healthcare Science lab before school starts next August. We can't wait for our students to experience the Healthcare Science course!

Please join me in welcoming Ms. Konop to Wildcat Country!

We are working toward a partnership with Pathways2Life to better support our students with substance prevention. Pathways2Life is an organization that has a history with other north Fulton schools. Please make plans to attend the next PTO meeting on March 8. We will be hosting the Executive Director of Pathways2Life to learn more about how they can support our school community.

Scoliosis Screening will be held on Thursday, March 31, 2022, for 6th and 8th grade ONLY. It is mandated by the state for each child to be screened for Scoliosis unless you return the yellow DO NOT SCREEN form. It must be returned to the homeroom Teacher by March 25th.

We need Parent Volunteers for Scoliosis Screening on March 31st! All volunteers must register with Fulton County Schools prior to March 30th. Please contact our Cluster Nurse, Marian Buckle, at 678-472-7534 if you have any questions.

School Nutrition to begin accepting Meal Eligibility Applications to support P-EBT Benefits

To support P-EBT eligibility benefits for students, the School Nutrition Program will process Free & Reduced Price Meal applications. By completing an application it may help you to qualify for P-EBT Benefits for next year, however it is unknown at this time if P-EBT benefits will be extended for another year. Thanks to USDA waivers, students will continue to receive school meals at no charge this school year. The Free & Reduced Price Meal application is online for parents/guardians that wish to apply for meal benefits. Visit www.fulton.schoollunchapp.com to begin the online application.

We are excited about the event we announced a couple weeks ago and have shared a couple times with our school community. Let's Talk About Sexting is a parent and student event that is being hosted by Titania Jordan from Bark. Titania and a panel of FCS staff (including yours truly) will be sharing about the dangers of sexting during this event on March 8.

This issue is affecting our students at Northwestern Middle School. Students in all grade levels are engaging in this behavior or they know someone who is engaging in this behavior.

Please make plans to join us on March 8. We ask that you RSVP. If you have any questions about this event, please email me directly at petersonj1@fultonschools.org.

Wildcat Guardian Volunteer Opportunities

Wildcat Guardians can volunteer for a single lunch period/shift or multiple lunches/shifts on a single day. Volunteers will be required to complete a FCS Volunteer Application and must also meet with Mr. Peterson or an Assistant Principal prior to their first shift.

Sign ups are now live on the PTO website -

Cafeteria Guardians (Up to 3 per lunch)

Help our Assistant Principals and Counselors in the cafeteria. Wildcat Guardians get to interact with our students during lunch.

6th Grade Lunch: 11:00-11:45

8th Grade Lunch: 11:52-12:37

7th Grade Lunch: 12:44-1:29

Recess Guardians (Up to 5 per recess)

Help our teachers at outdoor recess. Recess Guardians get to interact with and help keep students safe during recess.

6th Grade Recess: 11:00-11:45

8th Grade Recess: 11:52-12:37

7th Grade Recess: 12:44-1:29

*Please note on rainy days and when fields are wet, or when temperatures are too cold/hot, students will participate in indoor recess. Recess Guardians can support the Cafeteria Guardians on indoor recess days.

Atrium Guardians (1 per shift)

Help support our Administration by serving as an Atrium Guardian. Atrium Guardians help supervise student movement in our Grade Level Atrium.

*Atrium Guardians can work at a desk provided in the Grade Level Atrium.

Morning Shifts: 9:30-10:30, 10:30-11:30, 11:30-12:30

Afternoon Shifts: 12:30-1:30, 1:30-2:30, 2:30-3:30

Georgia Milestones testing is scheduled for April and May. The Georgia Department of Education (GaDOE) is reminding all districts and families that Milestones testing will be required, and that the results will be used for College and Career Ready Performance Index (CCRPI) and other important school level and school system rankings. 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. Participation will be critical.

Mr. Peterson will share information in the coming weeks about the participation requirement for all students and how Georgia Milestones directly impacts our school and community.

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 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!

Registration will be open until 6/30/22.

Rising 9th grade students interested in playing football at Milton next season:

We will begin after school workouts Monday, March 7th, 4:20-5:00 in the high school weight room. Workouts will be every Monday and Thursday at that same time through April 21st.

Rising 9th grade Spring football practice will be April 26-29 from 4:30-6:00.

A current physical is needed to participate. Please email Coach Ben Reaves if you have any questions - reavessb@fultonschools.org.

Come support the Milton Baseball program at our annual Diamond Dinner fundraiser event. Enjoy a fun night out with music, trivia games, dinner and great auction items: March 5th @ Atlanta National Golf Clubhouse 6:30-10. Buy Tickets or donate: https://www.miltonbaseball.net/diamond. Questions: contact miltondiamonddinner@gmail.com

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

Our next PTO meeting will be March 8 at 9:30 in the media center. Please join us as we get updates from Mr. Peterson and discuss plans through the rest of the School year. Please think about joining the PTO as a board member or committee chair next year!

Additionally, we will have Ryan Stringfield, the Executive Director of Pathways2Life to discuss a partnership with Northwestern Middle School. See the flyer linked below about Pathways2Life.

PTO is asking for lottery ticket donations in denominations between $1-$5 for the March Teacher Appreciation treat. Please deliver them to the front office by March 15!

Lucky Lotto Tickets https://northwesternpto.membershiptoolkit.com/volunteer/70825

Yearbooks are on sale and can be purchased directly from the Balfour website https://www.balfour.com/georgia/alpharetta/northwestern-middle-school

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!