Hello PGMS Families,
We are excited to see such a great start to the school year! September is here already and we are happy about the successes we have seen so far. Our faculty and staff are working hard to challenge our students academically, and the school community just celebrated with our first big House Day! Please continue to ask your child about their school day, explore their homework assignments, take a look at their planner, and reach out to their teachers when you want to share something.
A few important reminders -
Please be sure you are not dropping off car riders in front of the middle school. This is the bus loading zone.
Remember to always provide a parent or doctor’s note when a student has been out sick.
Look for our weekly news on Friday afternoons (Next Week's News). It will list information about what we have going on from week to week.
Be sure to sign up for Parent Square if you haven’t done so already.
Catherine De Leon, 6th Grade ELA and Social Studies Teacher
Catherine De Leon is from Houston, TX. She attended Texas A&M University. She recently moved to Franklin with her husband who had a job opportunity. He recently graduated with his PhD and will be working at Mars Petcare as a Formulation Nutritionist. Mrs. De Leon enjoys working out, reading, and spending time with their two dogs, Lady and Goose.
Christopher Dollar, Aerospace Teacher
Christopher Dollar grew up in Pigeon Forge, TN. He holds both a Bachelor of Music degree from Tennessee Tech and a Masters of Music Education Degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo. He has had his private pilot certificate for 20 years and has been an aircraft owner for 8 years. During his time as a Music Teacher, his program was recognized for the distinction for "Best Communities for Music Education" for 11 consecutive years and he was nominated twice as a quarter finalist for a Grammy as their Music Educator of the Year. He looks forward to having this same level of excellence in our Aerospace Program! He and his wife are both excited to be back in Tennessee where they both grew up and look forward to raising their 4 year old son, Preston.
Renee Ives, School Nurse
Renee Ives is originally from Tulsa, Oklahoma. She has lived in Tennessee for 35 years. She has her BSN in Nursing from Belmont University. She is married and has 6 grown children and 2 grandchildren. She enjoys yoga and snow skiing. Montana is her new favorite place to ski.
Kimberly Jefferson, Student Support
Kimberly Jefferson spent the last 14 years teaching in K-4 and she is now excited about working with 5-8 students. She lives on her husbands' family farm where they raise cows for beef - they taste delicious! She has 2 sons, Landon (Senior at Franklin) who went through PGS and Reid (2nd grader) who is currently at PGS. She is proud to be a part of house CORATICUS!
Heather Mack, 5th Grade Teacher
Heather Mack is from Goodlettsville, TN. She graduated from Trevecca Nazarene University. She worked in Sumner County teaching for 13 years and Williamson County for 4 years as a teachers assistant and substitute teacher. She and her husband live in Brentwood with their 2 daughters, 2 sons, and their dog name Ranger. She enjoys playing pickleball, working out, reading, traveling, and watching her kids play sports.
Ginger Norton, 6th Grade Math and Science Teacher
Ginger Norton is excited to be a part of the PGMS team! She grew up in Danbury, CT, but spent most of her adult life in Colorado. She started her education career many years ago with a BA from Wheaton College in IL. This year marks her 21st year in education, and her 12th year teaching. In addition to teaching, she has been an instructional coach and an elementary principal. She moved to Tennessee in 2020 to be a caregiver to her dad. While here, she earned her Master's in Organizational Leadership from Trevecca University. She has a furbaby, a dog name Joey. She enjoys movies, game nights with friends, and exploring the state.
Jodi Suggs, 7th and 8th Grade Math Teacher
Jodi Suggs grew up in Franklin and was lucky to attend school in the district! She attended the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. This past summer she and her husband moved back to the area after being in Knoxville for his job the past year. This school year will be her 6th year teaching. Last year, she taught at Farragut Middle School in Knoxville as a 7th grade math teacher. She previously taught at Freedom Middle School as an 8th grade math teacher. She is really looking forward to the year ahead and being here at Poplar Grove!
Kniambi Jarrett-Walker, Health and Physical Education Teacher
Kniambi Walker is originally from San Diego, CA. Kniambi is an incredible athlete and awarded several scholarships to play volleyball. She graduated from the University of North Alabama. She moved to Tennessee in 2017 from Alabama. She has been married to her husband Andrew for 6 years. She has a 12 year old daughter Kaliegh and a 13 year old step-daughter Andrea. She received District Coach of the Year in 2020 in Rutherford County. She enjoys singing, playing beach volleyball, and watching lots of reality tv.
It's always a joy to have students back in the building! As we come together again, there's one thing we should all keep in mind with large groups gathering, colds and flu tend to spread more easily. As we enter the cold and flu season, please remember to follow our illness guidelines to keep everyone healthy. We've already noticed an increase in illnesses, so let's all do our part.
This time of year also marks the start of our annual health screenings. Our PE teachers, speech pathologists, and clinic staff will be conducting screenings for BMI, hearing, vision, and blood pressure for all 6th and 8th-grade students.
Caitlin Otto, Guidance Counselor
Hello PGMS Families!
My name is Caitlin Otto and I'm the School Counselor. I'm so excited for another year and can't wait to help your children be successful during their time here. My email is ottocai@fssd.org and my office phone is 615-472-3993 if you ever need to contact me.
8th grade parents: If you would like your student to take the PSAT, please send cash or a check in the amount of $14.00 before September 13th. Our 8th grade students from FSD have been invited to a WCS Industry Night/College Fair on Sept. 10th from 4:30-7:30 at the AG Center. This will be a great opportunity to explore career and college options before high school!
Thank you!
6th Grade
Sixth graders are settling into the routine of the school year. In science they are learning about potential and kinetic energy. Students completed an inquiry lab, How High Does a Ball Bounce?, to explore new concepts. Through this activity, students were able to discover where energy is greatest.
Computer
This quarter, our 5th-7th grade classes are learning how to code with our Finch Robots! In 5th grade, students are learning how to program their robots to run through a series of mazes. 5th and 7th graders are also learning how to code their robots to light up, dance, and sometimes sing along with music! In 6th grade, students are getting prepared to compete at coding their Finches to be the fastest at running an obstacle course! Finally, 6th grade is also creating beautiful Mondrian-style artwork with the Finches drawing a series of different shapes.
6th Grade STEM students learning about chemical changes along with what is needed to help plants thrive! For their Plant Investigation, students decided to test whether or not their seeds/plants need 'regular air', oxygen (only), carbon dioxide (only), or 'no air' to thrive. With the oxygen only test, students used a PEM cell and the process of electrolysis to produce a chemical change with water going into a PEM cell filling two syringes: one with oxygen and the other with hydrogen. The syringe with oxygen is squeezed into the "oxygen only" bag! Which bag will allow their plants to thrive? (All four bags contain soil, seeds, and water)
Best Buddies
Our Best Buddies chapter will be accepting applications beginning in September. Best Buddies is a program that fosters one to one friendships between students with and without intellectual disabilities. Best Buddies helps create an inclusive culture so all students have the opportunity to build meaningful friendships.
If your child is interested in learning more about the program or if they would like to join our chapter, please have then stop by Mrs. Nash’s classroom anytime during the month of September to pick up an application. Mrs. Nash will be holding an informational meeting on Thursday, September 26th from 7:00am-7:25am in room 312. We look forward to seeing many returning members and new members! If you have any specific questions, please reach out to Mrs. Nash at nashgen@fssd.org.
Drama Club
The PGMS Drama Club will be performing Frozen Jr. this spring! Auditions will take place in December. If you have any questions, please contact Chris Strelecki at streleckichr@fssd.org or Mark Saltz at saltzmar@fssd.org.
WPGS News Broadcast
PGMS students have been invited to join our WPGS News Team. This group of students will work together to record a morning news broadcast to share daily announcements, sports news, interviews with faculty, staff, and students, and more with our PGS Community. For more information, please contact Kaci Holz at holzkac@fssd.org.
STEM/Invention Convention
On Thursday afternoons, students will have the opportunity to learn more about the design process. Students will design a prototype, a trifold for display, and a 2-5 minutes pitch. Some of these students will have the opportunity to participate in contests for entrepreneurs. This club will start after Fall Break. For more information contact Deb Shuler at shulerdeb@fssd.org
Our Early Fall Sports are in full swing. We have competitive cheer, cross country, football, golf, tennis, and volleyball going on right now. Please check the following link for more information on our seasonal sports at https://poplargrovemiddle.fssd.org/extracurricular/athletics and our daily calendar for dates and times https://calendar.google.com/calendar.
Both boys and girls soccer tryouts were last week. Our girls soccer coach is Coach Natalie Horel and our boys soccer coach is Coach Chris Strelecki. They will reach out to parents for any updates.
A sports physical and final form must be completed before participating in any of our sports.
Come on out and support our teams! - Coach Jennifer Levine, Athletic Director
We want to welcome all of our new 5th graders and new to PGMS 6th-8th grade students to our school community. We are so excited for our first House Day with our new members on Friday, August 30th! These will always fall on our Early Dismissal days. Our schedule on these days will include Pride Time, Advisor Groups, lunch & recess with their housemates, and service learning projects.
We will also be electing our new 8th grade House Captains on our first House Day. We have many outstanding candidates this year, and we are excited to give all of our students and teachers an opportunity to vote for our leadership.
Our next House Day will be Friday, October 4th. We invite students to show their house spirit by dressing in their house colors for these events!
New this year! If you have taken any photos of your child during any of our events that you would like to share for our 24-25 yearbook, please use the link below. If you enjoy taking photos and willing to share your talents, I would love to hear from you! Yearbooks are also available to purchase NOW! There will be a price increase in January. (See attached flyer below)
Link to share photos is yearbookshare.com and the school code is PGSLIONS.
Thank you,
Andrea Herrero, PGMS Yearbook Editor
615-790-4721
