I know our students and staff are looking forward to a long weekend. And maybe the Principal too! Whether you are traveling this weekend or staying home, I hope all of our families enjoy the extra days together.

This long weekend is a Balance Break. Students will have no homework over the break and no assessments the first two school days we return. See below for more information.

We need more volunteers for Scoliosis Screening on Wednesday, February 22. Please see the volunteer information linked below.

I hope all of our families have a wonderful, 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 Wednesday!

• 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.

Friday, May 12 - 8th Grade Dance (7:00-9:00 pm)

Friday, May 19 - 8th Grade Block Party (6:00-7:30 pm)

Monday, May 22 - Monday Funday (All grade levels)

Wednesday, May 24 - 8th Grade Promotion Ceremony at Milton HS (2:00 pm)

This is a reminder about another balance break weekend. These breaks are designed to provide students and families time without homework or pressure to study for assessments.

Students should not be assigned any schoolwork Friday, February 17-Tuesday, February 21. We hope our families enjoy this break from schoolwork.

Students should not have any assessments (tests or quizzes) on Wednesday or Thursday next week. The first assessment day after this balance break is Friday, February 24.

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.

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!

Our Green Up Store is now Live in Toolkit:

We are live and posted the Green Up Fundraiser store to PTO social media tonight so we are now actively selling for Green Up! The PJ & T's purchase deadline will be 2/22.

Our Green Up Fundraiser store is now open! Purchase deadline is 2/22!

All proceeds of funds raised will go to the STAR House Foundation!

What is Green Up?

SGC and PTO are working together to bring a school wide Class Spirit event for the month of March. Classes will fundraise for The STAR House Foundation via Green Up T-shirts, PJ pants and donations, as well as be judged on door decorating & wearing the most Green Up Gear and Green on 3/17! Winning classes take a trip to Starbucks with Principal Peterson!

When we hit our fundraiser goal of $7,500, we'll toss some Green Slime over Mr. Peterson that day too!

(Be sure to indicate the lunch teacher when purchasing for competition credit!)

https://northwesternpto.membershiptoolkit.com/form/m/222770

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!

Milton High School is hosting the GHSFL (Georgia High School Fencing League) Individual Championship on February 25th (Saturday) at MHS cafeteria. Please come out to support MHS!

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!