We had a great week of school! Several fun events including home basketball games, the 7th grade dance, and a military fly-over courtesy of one of our NMS parents.

Thank you to our SGC parents and teachers for voting to approve our SY2023-24 budget at this week's meeting. This team is also working hard on our Green Up event in March.

The February PTO meeting has been rescheduled for Friday, February 17 at 9:30 am. Please make plans to join us for this month's meeting!

I hope all of our families have a wonderful 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 Monday!

• Friday, February 10 - NMS Basketball vs River Trail MS (5:30/7:00)
• Wednesday, February 15 - NMS Basketball vs Taylor Road MS (5:30/7:00)
• Friday, February 17 - February PTO Meeting (9:30am)
  
• Monday, February 20 - Presidents' Day - School Closed
• Tuesday, February 21 - Professional Development Day - No School for Students
• Wednesday, February 22 - NMS Basketball @ Autrey Mill MS (5:30/7:00)
• Friday, February 24 - NMS Basketball @ Holcomb Bridge MS (5:30/7:00)
• Wednesday, March 1 - NMS Basketball vs Elkins Pointe MS (5:30/7:00)

Please note: middle school students may not attend an away basketball game without a parent/guardian also attending the game. Students may not be dropped off for away basketball games.

During the month of February, to honor Black History Month, we will have several students participate in our morning announcements. These students will share about African American figures - both past and present, their lives, accomplishments, and contributions to society. Our students do an amazing job!

The window for parents and teachers to declare candidacy for their school's School Governance Council opens on February 1. During this time, individuals interested in serving a 2-year term (July 1, 2023 – June 30, 2025) will have the opportunity to complete a Candidate Declaration Form available on the Charter System Website. The declaration window will remain open until March 24 with voting to take place in April. Find out more at https://www.fultonschools.org/elections.

Northwestern has one teacher position and one parent position open for election.

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 teacher or 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!

Similar to our Pink Out event in October, NMS is planning a fund student event and fundraiser for March. All proceeds will go to a local charity, The STAR House Foundation. Stay tuned for more information!

We are so excited to have our Career Fair back again for our 7th graders after 2 years

of having it virtually. If you want to make a positive impact here at NMS and inspire our students with options for their career choice, please consider volunteering for this amazing opportunity.

It will be held Thursday, March 24th from 9:00-10:45. Each volunteer will have a booth, and students will rotate around asking questions of you while completing a career exploration activity. Please e-mail Janette Hinton at hintonj@fultonschools.org for more information.

The inaugural FCS CTAE Middle School Career Expo will be held on Saturday, February 25 at North Springs High School. All middle schools in FCS are invited to participate in a day of hands-on, interactive exploration into career paths that match the CTAE pathways offered in FCS.

Stay tuned for more information as this event gets closer!

Each grade level has an assessment calendar located on our school website. These calendars can be located on the Northwestern site under Academics Home or the links are below.

The calendars have been updated through October.

The link below includes the weekly study/help sessions available for every teacher at NMS.

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!

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

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 offer many clubs and student activities for our students during the 2022-23 school year. Check back often for more information!

FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) meetings are back to normal at Northwestern and will continue take place on Thursdays in the gym from 8am - 8:45am. We will let you know when we will have another opportunity to join the Milton High School crew.

Students are encouraged to bring friends to the Thursday morning meetings.

The FCA at Northwestern is also hoping that some volunteers may be willing to become more active and attend FCA meetings on Thursday mornings or help with things such as picking up food, small group leading, or even character coaching. Not much is required other than attendance for one hour a week. FCA is also looking for part-time and full- time employees. If you are interested in volunteering and/or employment, please contact Denton Carter (FCA leader) via email (dentoncarter@fca.org).

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

Thank you to our PTO for having breakfast for our bus drivers this morning! They keep our kids safe on the roads and we appreciate them so much!

We have a few yearbooks remaining for purchase. You can place your order on the Balfour website. https://www.balfour.com/georgia/milton/northwestern-middle-school

The NMS PTO would like to give a BIG THANKS to our 2022-2023 Business Partners

When you see these businesses, please acknowledge their sponsorship for the school & dedication to the academic achievement of our youth!

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!