Weekly Wildcat Newsletter - Nov 17
Northwestern Middle School News and Notes
Happy Friday Wildcat Country!
In my 5th year as Principal my appreciation for this school community has only increased with time. It is a pleasure to work alongside our staff and teachers. Their hard work and dedication make a difference for kids everyday. I am grateful for the relationships I have with so many parents and community members. The support we receive from this community is unwavering and always appreciated. This school is good because of the kids who walk through the door everyday. There is nothing I would rather do than work with kids. I am truly thankful to serve this school community.
I hope next week is filled with family, friends, and good food. Enjoy every moment. When we return after Thanksgiving, there are only three short weeks until the Winter Break.
Our school has 203 parents who have completed the Georgia Parent Survey. That's 25 more than last week. How high can that number go? Your opinion matters!
Georgia Parent Survey: https://gshs.gadoe.org/parents
I hope all our families enjoy their Thanksgiving Holiday. If you need anything, please don't hesitate to email me at petersonj1@fultonschools.org.
I can't wait to see our students again after Thanksgiving!
Upcoming School Events
- November 20th - 24th - Thanksgiving Holidays - School Closed
- November 28th & 30th - iReady Testing
- December 4th - 7th & 8th Grade Band Holiday Concert - 6:30pm
- December 5th - PTO Meeting - 9:30am
- December 6th - Orchestra Winter Concert - 6:30pm
- December 7th - Chorus Winter Concert - 7:00pm
- December 8th & December 11th - 14th - Basketball Tryouts - 4:15pm
Northwestern Lunch Menu
Holiday Food Drive
The homeroom in each grade level with the most donations will win a pizza party! Let' see if we can beat last year's donation of over 1000 items!
Thanks for your support!
FCS Student Holiday Wish List 2023
Staff Member of the Month
We would like your feedback and input to help select our Teacher and Professional of the Month. Often times, parents and students have great interactions with teachers and staff that administration doesn't see or is not aware of. We would like to include you in our process to select our Teacher and Professional of the Month. Use the links below to make your nominations. Nomination window for November awards will be open until December 2nd.
Northwestern MS Website
Under the Academics Tab, you will find a list of department chairs, a curriculum guide, as well as the assessment calendars for each grade. Take a look to see any upcoming test or quizzes for your student. A list of all study sessions available to students is provided, as well. Links for the website, Assessment Calendars, and Study Sessions are below.
Lost and Found
Lost Glasses???
2023 - 2024 Yearbook
Latin Trip in 2025!
Communication at NMS
Important PTO Information
From Co-Presidents Victoria Tucker & Tracy Lynn Drye
Thank you to everyone who joined our PTO meeting this week and learned about Bark Technologies & the Bark Phone. Please join us for the next PTO meeting on Tuesday, December 5 at 9:30 in the Media Center.
Volunteers Needed - Lost & Found Clean Up
This is an opportunity once a month for several people to clean out the lost & found closet. It should take less than an hour. Sign up link with the full instructions is below. Please reach out to Victoria Tucker (victoriabuter@comcast.net) with questions.
Sign Up: https://northwesternpto.membershiptoolkit.com/volunteer/117964
Volunteer Interest Form
Please complete this short survey to indicate your volunteer interests for this school year & we will reach out with opportunities.
https://northwesternpto.membershiptoolkit.com/volunteer/114130
Business Partners
PTO is currently recruiting new Business Partners for the 23-24 school year. Do you own/work for a small business and would like more exposure for your services while at the same time supporting your child’s school? This is also a great opportunity for real estate agents, lawyers, accountants, etc. to support our school in many meaningful ways and receive promotion for your business through multiple channels reaching NMS families. Please email northwesternmspto@gmail.com for more information on partnership levels & benefits or sign up here: https://northwesternpto.membershiptoolkit.com/form/m/237949
Tom's Place: Our Wildcat Serving Food and Clothing Pantry helps our very own Wildcats in need.
WINTER COATS AND WARM WEATHER ITEMS DRIVE NOV 15th-DEC 15th:
It's getting cold outside. If you clear out your closets, keep in mind, we need winter coats and cold weather items for middle school students. Please send in gently used or new coats and winter wear including: Hats, scarves, gloves, coats needed. New underwear and socks are needed for both girls and boys too.
PANTRY ITEMS NEEDED:
Please consider stocking the pantry to fulfil the needs and necessities aiding students in our community. Single serve food items and microwavable single serves are appreciated. Signup for specific items needed here: https://northwesternpto.membershiptoolkit.com/volunteer/117111
Purchased and donated items may be dropped off to the front office. Please label or tell them it's for Tom's Place.
If you would prefer to make a monetary donation to this cause you can do so through the Wildcat Cares Fund:
https://northwesternpto.membershiptoolkit.com/form/m/232683
Thank you in advance for supporting this effort. Should we have excess winter coat and warm item donations this season we will donate additional items to local charities that also support students in need in our area.
Study Skills Webinar
NEW end of semester webinar about Study Skills and Course Recommendations for the next school year!
Exclusive Online Webinar for parents of 6th – 8th Graders at NWMS
Choose between 2 dates: 11/14 or 11/30/23 @ 7:30pm
We know that there are less than 7 weeks in the Fall Semester! Time is moving quickly!
Wondering if this valuable webinar is for you, read the questions below.
- Is your child struggling with studying (takes too long, not sure how to study, not making the grades they want, etc)?
- Are you looking for tools & strategies to help your child improve their study habits?
- Is your child capable of being in a different level class, especially in Math and Language Arts?
- Are you wondering how course recommendations are made for Fall 2024 and beyond?
- Does your child need study and time management strategies to implement tomorrow?
- Have you thought about what academic path your children should be on when they begin and end middle school? How about in high school?
If you answered ‘yes’ to half or more of the questions above, this webinar is definitely for you!
The last 2-3 years have been difficult for many of us and especially children in K-12. Many crucial skills have been lost such as studying.
The importance of your children setting goals is key here as the goals lead to a plan over the next 4-6 years!
Come find out how we help parents and kids with all of this!
**The price of the webinar includes the following:
- The webinar led by 2 educational experts with an abundance of prior experience in middle and high school
- A free 20-minute consultation from 11/27 – 12/8.
- Invitation into a private Facebook group where valuable information is provided on a regular basis and questions can be answered
The Northwestern Middle School webinar price is only $29 with $10 going back to the NWMS PTO each time someone registers.
Once the registration form (link below) and payment are received, a Zoom link will be sent to you for the date you have chosen (see payment options on Registration Form).
Click on this link to register and reserve your spot as seats are limited: https://bit.ly/40baccO
**Bonus: The first 10 who register for each date, get a FREE study skills resource list for their middle schooler.
If you have any questions, please text Helen Panos at 770-282-9931 or email helen@dynamislearningacademy.com
Stock the Candy Jar
The front office likes to have a stash of chocolate and candy (non chocolate) for the staff to access and get them through the day. Please help us keep their stash stocked. After all, most of us can relate to stress eating! Sign up here: https://northwesternpto.membershiptoolkit.com/volunteer/111882
NMS Spirit Wear
Thank You to our 2023-2024 Business Partners!
**** What’s your FAVORITE PIE this Thanksgiving****
Our partner Southern Baked Pie is providing great options and flavors for us to pre order for Thanksgiving!!! A wonderful way to support our partners this holiday season, sit back and enjoy some delicious pie!
Happy Thanksgiving Holidays to everyone from Aurora Cineplex!
Movies and Mini Golf OPEN Extended Hours during the holiday break—
OPEN Thanksgiving Day
10am-10pm—Friday Nov 17th—Sat Nov 25th
10am-8pm Sun Nov 26th
Playing New Movies—
The Marvels, The Hunger Games, Next Goal Wins, Hunger Games, Napoleon and more!
Located at -Aurora Cineplex—5100 Commerce Parkway, Roswell, GA 30076 Ph-770-518-0977
NMS Clubs and Student Activities
Northwestern will offer many clubs and student activities for our students during the 2023-24 school year. Check back often for more information!
If you have a question about starting a new school club, please email Beth Wylie at wyliee@fultonschools.org.
Extramural Sports
NMS Student Newspaper
Northwestern Garden and Environmental Club
The NMS Student Garden was established in 2011 as a permaculture and wildlife garden. It has gone through many iterations. Its most recent additions (2023) are a no-till section (which is affiliated with the Rodale Institute for Organic Research) and five new fruit trees (planted in celebration of Earth Day). If you would like to contribute (monetarily) to the maintenance of this site and its research, then you can use the link below. If you have any other questions about the site, please free to contact Dr. Bartlett at: bartlettj@fultonschools.org. Thank you for your continued support of Northwestern MS 🙂
NMS Music Programs
Family Resources for Social Media & 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
Northwestern Middle School
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!