The Cougar News

January 3, 2025

A Note from Principal Bame

Dear Apex Middle School Families,

Happy New Year! We hope your family enjoyed a restful and refreshing winter break. As we begin 2025, we are excited about the opportunities and successes that lie ahead in the second half of the school year. Here's what’s coming up this week:

We are thrilled to announce that Sharon Beaumont will be transitioning into her new role as Data Manager this month. Please join us in congratulating Mrs. Beaumont on this exciting opportunity!
Cougar Basketball Games: Both games this week will be home games in the AMS gym. Let’s pack the stands and cheer on our Cougars!
Tuesday, 1/7: We host Lufkin Middle School.
Thursday, 1/9: We host Holly Ridge Middle School.
On Wednesday, 1/8, all students will participate in grade-level meetings to review academic and behavior expectations. They will also receive training on the WCPSS Say Something Anonymous Reporting system, which encourages a safe and supportive school environment.

Thank you for your continued support and involvement in our AMS community. Let’s make 2025 a year to remember!

Warm regards,
Raleigh Bame
Principal, Apex Middle School

REMINDER - 2025 AMS Yearbook Now Available for Purchase!

Ensure your child receives a copy of this year’s memories! Order the AMS yearbook online by March 28, 2025, to secure your copy. Visit the Varsity Online Yearbook Center (www.yearbookordercenter.com) and enter school code 10708. Each yearbook is $40 (plus shipping and handling), and ordering online is the only way to guarantee your copy. Don’t miss out—order today!

8th Grade Yearbook Ads – Celebrate Your Student!

Make your 8th grader’s year extra special with a personal ad in the 2025 AMS Yearbook! The deadline to design and submit your 8th Grade ad or memory page is March 14, 2025. The online design center is now open, so you can start creating a unique dedication for your child’s accomplishments. These personal ads, reserved for 8th graders, appear at the end of the yearbook.

Visit the Varsity Online Yearbook Center and enter school code 10708 to get started. Choose from 1/4-page ads for $20 or 1/8-page ads for $15, with a variety of font and image layouts available. For any questions, please contact Ms. Dabagian at hdabagian@wcpss.net.

General Updates

Art Show

Please Note! Due to unforeseen circumstances, the Art Show will now be held on Thursday, January 23 from 6-7pm in the H Building!

Credit by Demonstrated Mastery

CDM is the process by which a student may earn credit for a high school course by demonstrating a deep understanding of course content, without course enrollment or seat time.
For information about Credit by Demonstrated Mastery, you can view our CDM parent presentation.

To apply to participate in the CDM process, complete the CDM Application and Agreement. Applications must be submitted to our school-based CDM Coordinator, Dana Pilkington.(dpilkington@wcpss.net)
Application Window: Oct. 14 - Dec. 20, 2024
Phase 1 Testing Window: Feb. 18 - March 3, 2025

Grade Level Updates

Student of the Month: Congratulations to the following students for being chosen for the 6th grades Student of the Month for December. These students exude what it means to be Kind.

Islander: Ellie Doyle
Explorers: Anna Cherry
Pirates: Miriam Jeffries

January Gem Mining Field Trip: All 6th grade students will attend an on-campus gem-mining field trip in late January. Students will participate in the gem mining process and a rock identification activity. Cost will be $7. Please look for more information coming home next Monday Dec 16. Payment can be made using the QR code found to the side of this message.

6th Grade Updates

ELA UPDATES:

We hope everyone had a relaxing break. This week we will continue reading monologues from our novel Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! to identify adversities. We will use these adversities to help us identify themes within the monologues/poems.

At the end of the week, the students will begin working on their End of Unit Performance Task. In this task, they will establish a claim about whether we, in 2024, still struggle with the same adversities as those faced by the people in Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Then, to support their claim, they will choose a character that has either experienced the same adversity of the children in the Middle Ages or different, and use examples from life today and from Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! as support.

Upcoming Major and Minor Assessments:

Fri Jan 10: Independent Book Project Due (MAJOR)

Mon Jan 13: STAR Reading Assessment #2 (This will NOT go on PowerSchool)
Fri Jan 17: Modern Day Adversity Task End of Unit Due (MAJOR)

MATH UPDATES:

None submitted

SCIENCE UPDATES:

This week we will be reviewing plate tectonics and the interactions at plate boundaries including divergent, convergent, and transform boundaries. In addition, we will look at how the interactions at these boundaries lead to geologic formations and process such as volcanoes, folded mountains, trenches and earthquakes.

Upcoming Major and Minor Assessments:

Earth Processes test on the 12th, Gem Mining the week of January 22nd

SOCIAL STUDIES UPDATES:

Historians will continue their study of Achievements in Ancient Civilizations. We will learn about their means of entertainment, styles and methods of architecture, and how infrastructures were designed and used.

Upcoming Major and Minor Assessments:

none

7th Grade Updates

Congratulations to Ms. Bonham’s 4th Core social studies class on winning Capture the Pig before break! Such an impressive display of skill, teamwork, and athleticism. Parents, you should be proud.
We are looking forward to a strong start to 2025 on the 7th grade hall. Here is a list of some of the 2025 “ins and outs” according to 7th grade teachers:
IN: Bringing a charged Chromebook to class, putting your name on your paper, reading directions carefully, asking clarifying questions, bringing all materials, exhibiting PEAK behavior
OUT: Missing assignments, calling out without raising your hand, not being prepared for class, being disrespectful to teachers or peers, the words “skibbidi” and “sigma”
Fun Dinner Conversation Topic Featuring MATH: We are currently in our Probability and Statistics unit in math. At dinner, ask them how they use probability or statistics in their own lives. Hint: What are the chances mom will let me go downtown after school?

ELA UPDATES

Upcoming Minor/ Major Assessments:

Mid-Unit Assessment 01/10 (Minor)

MATH UPDATES

Upcoming Minor/ Major Assessments:

Math 7

Mid Unit 8 Assessment - 1/8 (MAJOR)

Math 7+:

End Unit 11 Assessment 1/8 (MAJOR)

SCIENCE UPDATES

Upcoming Minor/ Major Assessments:

No major or minor assignments due this week

SOCIAL STUDIES UPDATES

Upcoming Minor/ Major Assessments:

No major or minor assignments due this week

AMS 8th Grade Trip to Washington, D.C.

SPECIAL NOTE!

Our 8th grade Washington, D.C. trip is rapidly approaching and we're excited! Lots of planning is happening behind the scenes.

The final payment for both students and chaperones is coming due next week. Please make that final installment payment by Thursday, January 9th by logging into SchoolCashOnline or sending in a check or cash (exact amount only, please) with your student. All cash/check payments need to be made to Mrs. Shaddix during homeroom.

Questions about the trip? Please email Mrs. Ruppert at mruppert@wcpss.net.

8th Grade Level Updates

Have a safe and joyful holiday break. We are thankful for your support!!

ELA UPDATES:

Students will finish reading A Midsummer Night’s Dream over the next week and a half. At the end of this week, students will work on summarizing the myth of “Pyramas and Thisbe.”