Weekly Wildcat Newsletter - Jan. 29

I hope everyone had a great week! A lot to share in this week's newsletter. Please pay close attention to the following updates:

• New Attendance Policy
• SGC Candidate Declaration and Election
• 21-22 Full-time Online School Deadline
• Valentines Day Note

If you have any questions, you can email me directly at petersonj1@fultonschools.org.

Have a GREAT weekend! I'm looking forward to seeing everyone Monday morning!

We are excited to share that our NMS Spelling Bee winner, Nandana Jambulingam, placed 3rd in the Fulton County Spelling Bee last Saturday. As a finalist, Nandana has qualified for the Region 4 Bee on Saturday, February 27.

We are so proud of you Nandana! Good luck in the Region Bee!

The Fulton County Board of Health and Fulton County Schools have developed an on-line portal for FCS parents/guardians to report student COVID-19 related cases. The portal has been updated for Spanish, Korean, and Chinese. FCS parent/guardians will find a dropdown at the top right for translations. www.fultonschools.org/ReportCOVID Please make a report to the FCBOH when your student is COVID-19 positive, has a pending COVID-19 test result, or has been in direct contact with a COVID-19 positive person. Also, please use this resource for official reporting rather than alerting the school and/or teacher. If you must engage the school/teacher, please do so after you have made an official report to the FCBOH. Lastly, to ensure the protection of our school community, please do not allow your child to attend school or school-sponsored events when he/she is ill and/or has any of the above COVID-19 concerns.

Beginning January 25, parents and students interested in a full-time online school option for School Year 2021-22 and beyond may submit an application via the FCS website. During the December Board Work Session, Dr. Gyimah Whitaker, Deputy Chief Academic Officer presented information about the school, including the origination of the concept and need. Now, more details are available for potential students to review via the Full-Time Online Schools’ information page, including a timeline and key milestones, proposed course offerings, examples of a “Day-in-the-Life” for students grades 3 through high school, and how to apply. The application portal will be open 12 a.m. EST on Jan. 25, close at midnight, Feb. 5. and can be found here.

We are approaching election season for new membership in our School Governance Council. The School Governance Council has one parent/guardian and one teacher position open for election. Parents/guardians of students who will be attending Northwestern Middle School during both the 2021-2022 and 2022-23 school years are eligible to run for the parent/guardian SGC positions.

Our School Governance Council (SGC) plays a critical role in the success of our school. The SGC works with school leadership and the community to help determine the long-term direction of the school, design innovative solutions to increase academic achievement, and serve as school ambassadors to the local community. Specifically, the School Governance Council has the following powers:

· Create, approve, and monitor the implementation of the school strategic plan
· Manage the Request for Flexibility process
· Approve the annual budget recommendations and related allocations
· Participate in the hiring of the principal, in the case of a vacancy
· Provide annual feedback to the Area Superintendent on principal performance

For a video with more information about School Governance Councils, please visit the SGC page on our FCS website - https://www.fultonschools.org/Page/7358.

Candidate Declaration: 2/3 - 2/26

Elections: 3/17-3/24

You can declare your candidacy on our website:

Visit the SGC website and click on Elections for a candidate guide and/or declaration.

www.fultonschools.org/elections (Opens 2/3)

Questions for our current SGC members? Please visit our SGC website to find current members and their contacts. https://www.fultonschools.org/domain/1441

During Spring Semester, attendance will be taken by the teacher for all students each class period. For F2F learners, students who are in class will be present. Students who are not in class will be marked “absent”. For remote learners, when the class is being taught live (synchronously), teachers will mark students who log in and actively participate, as “participated”. If a student does not log in to a live (synchronous) class or does not respond when called upon, he/she will not be marked as “participated”. If a student experiences a technical issue which prohibits him/her from logging into a live class, a parent or guardian should email the grade level Assistant Principal to resolve the absence within five school days.

6th grade: Amber Manganelli – manganellia@fultonschools.org

7th grade: Deana Skimel – skimel@fultonschools.org

8th grade: Ashley Poston – postona@fultonschools.org

Attendance for offline (asynchronous) classes will be determined by work submission and as defined by the teacher. If you do not have attendance alerts set up in Infinite Campus, please take time this evening to set them up, so you will be immediately notified if your student is not attending classes.

NMS Expectations for Remote Participation

Live/Synchronous Lessons

• Remote students should be in class (online) on time each period.
• Remote students will communicate/answer questions as directed by their teacher
• Remote students will have their camera on as directed by their teacher.
• Remote students will remain in class (online) as directed by their teacher.

Offline/Asynchronous Lessons

• Remote students will submit class work/assignments as directed by their teacher.

Students/families must formally request for students to be absent for family events or other preapproved absences. These requests should be made in advance of the absence.

• Visitation with an immediate family member who is on leave from or is being deployed to military service
• Important family events/celebrations for an immediate family member (graduation, wedding, etc.)
• A specialized, supplemental, or extracurricular program/event
• Other absences pre-approved by the principal
  

E - Early Dismissal/Early Check Out

P - Absences Recorded as Present

PI - Personal Illness (Note from Parent/Guardian)

M - Medical (Note from Doctor Only)

PR - Participate Remote

T - Tardy (No more excused or unexcused)

Students can substitute up to 5 absences per semester (a max of 10 per year) with a remote learning day by meeting the remote learning participation benchmarks (listed below). This would result in the student being counted as present for the day(s) they participate remotely.

NMS Expectations for Remote Participation

Live/Synchronous Lessons

• Remote students should be in class (online) on time each period.
• Remote students will communicate/answer questions as directed by their teacher
• Remote students will have their camera on as directed by their teacher.
• Remote students will remain in class (online) as directed by their teacher.

Offline/Asynchronous Lessons

• Remote students will submit class work/assignments as directed by their teacher.

Parent/guardian must notify teacher in advance to utilize the participate remote days.

Parents and/or guardians may send an email (nmsfrontdesk@fultonschools.org)

or handwritten note to the school to document a student absence before or within five days of the absence. The following must be included in all documentation:

• Student Name
• Student FCS ID Number (lunch number)
• Parent/Guardian Name
• Parent/Guardian Email & Phone Number
• Reason for excuse

As we approach Valentine’s Day, it is important to remind our families and students that candy, desserts, baked goods (store bought/homemade), or other edible items are not to be sold or distributed during school hours. These food items will be confiscated.

Please know that taking this measure will help us maintain a safe environment for all students. 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. Also, to reduce the interaction of front office staff with visitors, valentine deliveries will not be accepted.

Thank you for your continued support in keeping all of our students and staff safe at school!

Our team has started working with our feeder Elementary Schools and High Schools on next school year's scheduling. Important information and dates to remember are shared below. The timelines are different for our feeder high schools.

During this process we will continue to update and provide information to parents/guardians and students. These communications will be sent home through messenger by our Counselors and Grade Level APs, as well as updates in our Weekly Wildcat.

Questions?

Rising 9th Grade Parents/Guardians - contact Ms. Euodia Harris at harrise1@fultonschools.org

Rising 6th-8th Grade Parents/Guardians - contact Ms. Amber Manganelli at manganellia@fultonschools.org

The Student Success Skills Inventory will be used to measure student growth across success skill standards as a result of ReThink Ed lessons. Students will complete the 15-20 item inventory between January 6, 2021 - January 29, 2021 and will take about 15 minutes to complete. The inventory will be pushed out to students in grades 3-12 using the Illuminate platform.

Students can choose to opt out of the Student Success Skills inventory. If you choose to opt out for your student(s), please send an email to the grade level Assistant Principal, with your student’s full name and student ID number.

Fulton County Schools is providing a temporary pay incentive to substitutes starting December 1st through the remainder of this school year. The following are the added incentives:

• Add an emergency substitute daily rate incentive (see below) that expires as of May 31st.
• If occurs, FCS will pay a quarantined individual substituting in the (teacher role only) a $75 flat daily rate for a maximum of 10 days during the quarantine period. The quarantine must be directed by a FCS COVID-19 Response Team nurse and the result of a direct contact with a positive COVID-19 staff/student while substituting at a FCS school. This is a one-time incentive.
• Increase the maximum number of substitute workdays per month from 17 to 20 days for the remainder of this school year.

New Substitute Rates with incentive

• Students are required to wear a face covering/mask while at school. Staff are also required to wear face coverings.
• If your child is sick, please keep them at home and make sure they are fever free for at least 24 hours before return.
• If anyone in your household has tested positive for COVID-19 and you have been advised to isolate or quarantine, please adhere to the public health guidance and do not send your student to school until after the noted timeframe.
• Encourage your student to wash hands frequently.
• If your child becomes sick while at school, you will be expected to be pick-up your child immediately.
• Please alert school administration of any COVID-19 related concerns.

We are attempting to limit visitors to the school and ask that our community only visit for essential reasons. We will make allowances for student who have forgotten things at home. There is no charge for breakfast or lunch in the cafeteria at this time, so parents/guardians do not need to deliver food for their students.

When visitors come to the school, they will be asked to complete a health assessment before entering the building. Wearing a mask is required and visitors will have their temperature checked upon entering the building. If you have to pick up your student or visit the school, please plan for these additional steps and come early.

Medications may be brought to the school. Prescription medications must be in the original container and labeled. All medications must be accompanied with proper medical forms. Please go to https://www.fultonschools.org/Page/7525 for forms and healthcare plans. Medications will be accepted by appointment only. Please call Mary Crandall at 470-254-8514 or send an email to crandall@fultonschools.org.

• In the event that your student has been exposed to Covid please inform an Administrator and your concern will be forwarded to Student Health Services for further evaluation.

• If your child develops a fever while in school, they will be isolated and you will need to pick them up immediately.

The Media Center will be closed to students until further notice. Students will have the opportunity to check out books online. These books will be delivered to students by our Media Center staff.

Northwestern is excited to offer a variety of clubs and activities this school year. Please visit the NMS website’s Quick Links and select Student Clubs and Activities to learn more about our offerings.

Don’t miss out!

Deadline to submit baby pictures of your 8th grader is Monday, February 1st.

Baby pictures can be submitted on balfour.com or via the app ImageShare

Questions??

You can find answer HERE or email the NMS Yearbook Team

Do You Own Your Own Business?

or Know Someone Who Does?

Northwestern Middle school invites you to partner with us to enhance the educational experiences of our students and support the needs of our teachers. Become a Business Partner and your financial donation will be greatly appreciated. In return, the NMS PTO would display your business logo to our NMS families in various communications, websites and on campus throughout the year. Click HERE to learn more about our Business Partner levels and ways to partner with us.

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

Our front office is staffed Monday-Friday from 8:25 am to 4:25 pm. From 4:25 pm to 5:00 pm an Administrator is on duty and available for phone calls in the front office.

Outside of these hours, you can send an email to our front office staff at nmsfrontdesk@fultonschools.org.

Thank you for your continued support of Northwestern Middle School!

Sincerely,

Joel - Principal

Northwestern Middle School: Teach Hard, Love Harder - The Wildcat Way!