Dear Apex Middle School Families,

I hope you are all staying warm and enjoying the beautiful snowfall this evening! It's always a treat to see the winter wonderland outside our windows. As we head into next week, here are some important updates to keep in mind:

Upcoming Events:

• January 13th: Basketball game at home versus West Lake Middle
• January 15th: PTA General Membership meeting (in-person from 10:00-11:00 am in the Media Center) – Officer Alex and Officer Barrow (SROs) will be reviewing safety and social media
• January 16th: Basketball game at home versus Apex Friendship Middle School
• January 17th: Quarter 2 ends
• January 20th: Holiday – No school
• January 21st: Teacher workday – No school for students

New Staff Member Introduction: We are excited to welcome Ms. Cintia Serrano to the AMS Staff Family! Ms. Serrano will be joining us as our new Student Services Receptionist starting Wednesday, January 15th. She comes to us with experience working in similar roles and is bilingual, which will be a great asset to our school as she assists our Spanish-speaking families. We are thrilled to have her on board and look forward to her contributions to our school community.

Band Room Update: We are pleased to share that the county is providing a cosmetic upgrade to our band room. The project is expected to be completed by the end of January, and we are excited about the improvements. Once the updates are finished, we will be sure to share pictures of the refreshed space with you!

Thank you for your continued support of Apex Middle School. If you have any questions or need assistance, please don't hesitate to reach out.

Warm regards,

Raleigh Bame
Principal, Apex Middle School

Colder Temperatures - Morning Arrival

As temperatures drop, please remind your child to dress warmly for school, as we cannot guarantee that our classrooms will be as warm as they are accustomed to at home. Also, please note that students are not permitted to enter the building until 7:45 AM.

Lost and Found

Our Lost and Found is at capacity! We kindly request any hanger donations to help with organization. Please encourage your child to check for any misplaced items. There are many water bottles, sweatshirts, and jackets waiting to be returned to their owners! Before purchasing replacements, please ensure that the Lost and Found has been checked. All unclaimed items will be donated at the end of the quarter.

• Apex Friendship High School: Feb. 13, 2025, 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
• Apex High School: Feb. 12, 2025, 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM
• Green Level High School: Feb. 20, 2025, 6:00 - 8:00 p.m.
• Felton Grove High School: TBD
• Green Hope High School: Feb, 6, 2025, 5:30 p.m.

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!

Dear Parents and Guardians,

I hope you are doing well. I am writing to share a vital concern we are having at school and ask for your help in addressing it.

Recently, we have noticed an increase in instances of damage and misuse in the boys’ bathrooms. These behaviors include spreading soap on the floors, placing excessive toilet paper on toilets, and clogging sinks and toilets with paper towels. These actions not only create safety hazards for students but also strain our custodial team and impact the overall functionality of the facilities.

We are committed to maintaining a safe and respectful environment for all students, and we need your help to reinforce the importance of respecting shared spaces. We ask that you take a moment to have a conversation with your child about the following:

• The importance of using the bathroom responsibly and appropriately.

• The impact that misuse of the facilities has on others, including their classmates, teachers, and staff.

• The value of reporting inappropriate behavior to an adult if they witness it.

We are also taking proactive steps at school to address this issue, including increasing monitoring of the bathrooms and reinforcing expectations during class meetings. However, your involvement at home is vital in helping us resolve this problem effectively. Thank you for your attention and continued support in fostering a positive and respectful school environment. If you have any questions or suggestions, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Below are some pictures of what we experienced yesterday morning (after our discussion about bathroom respect). While this is not as dangerous as spreading soap all over the floor, it is still an example of the unnecessary behavior occurring in this space.

ELA UPDATES:

This week students will take the second STAR Reading assessment of the year. This data will be compared to the first assessment to track growth and will be used to drive instruction for small groups during WIN time. It will not go on PowerSchool.

The students will also continue working on their End of Unit 2 Task in which the students will establish a claim about whether we struggle today with the same adversities as those faced by the people in Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Then to support their claim, they will choose an adversity that is either the same as those experienced by children in the Middle Ages or different, and use examples from life today and from Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! to prove your claim.

Next week, Ms. Mueller will join the ELA classes to lead a light-hearted circle activity. Students will learn how to engage in circle conversations by answering fun icebreaker questions and reflecting on their transition to middle school.

We will also be visiting the library that day so students can check out new independent reading books for the 3rd Quarter.

• Below is the schedule of when your child’s classes will have the lesson from Ms. Mueller and Library Day:

• Grzeszczak: Mon 1/13

• Simpson: Tues 1/14

• Schroeder: Fri 1/17

Upcoming Major and Minor Assessments:

• Mon Jan 13: STAR Reading Assessment #2 (Simpson/Schroeder)

• Wed Jan 15: STAR Reading Assessment #2 (Grzeszczak)

• Fri Jan 17: Modern Day Adversity Task End of Unit Due (First MAJOR of Q3) and Adversity of GMSL Characters Chart (Skills for Q3)

MATH UPDATES:

All 6th grade students should be completing their assignments in DeltaMath and at least 5 lessons in Dreambox each week.

Math 6: This week in Math 6 we will complete lessons 17-19 in our Student Workbooks. The End of Unit Study Guide will go home with students on Wednesday and we will spend Thursday reviewing the concepts covered in this unit.

Upcoming Major and Minor Assessments:

• We will complete Unit 4: Dividing Fractions by taking our End of Unit 4 Assessment on Friday.

Math 6+: This week in Math 6+ we will complete lessons 10-14 in our Student Workbooks. The End of Unit Study Guide will go home with students on Wednesday and we will spend Thursday reviewing the concepts covered in this unit.

Upcoming Major and Minor Assessments:

• We will complete Unit 6: Arithmetic in Base 10 (operations with decimals) by taking our End of Unit 6 Assessment on Friday.

SCIENCE UPDATES:

This week we will be focusing our attention on different rock classifications and the rock cycle including weathering and erosion of rocks. Students will also be working on their review sheet and reviewing for the upcoming test covering our earth science unit.

Upcoming Major and Minor Assessments:

• Earth Science test week of Jan 22nd with a focus on plate boundaries, geologic formations, and rocks. Students will have a review sheet and review games.

SOCIAL STUDIES UPDATES:

Students will be wrapping up their Achievements unit over the next two weeks. This week, we will continue learning about science and technology advancements.

Quarter 2 ends on Friday, 01/17. Please make sure all late or missing work is completed and turned in by that date. It is important that students communicate with teachers as individual teachers/subjects may have their own deadlines for late work this week.

• Fun Dinner Conversation Topic Featuring Social Studies: Was Napoleon really as short as historical pictures portray him? Where did this come from?

ELA UPDATES

Upcoming Minor/ Major Assessments:

• Tuesday, 01/14 – Collect Gist Notes for Commonwealth Club Address (Minor)
• Wednesday 01/15 and Thursday 01/16 – End of Unit Assessment (Major)

MATH UPDATES

Upcoming Minor/ Major Assessments:

SCIENCE UPDATES

Upcoming Minor/ Major Assessments:

• Mitosis and Meiosis Quiz 1/15 (minor)

SOCIAL STUDIES UPDATES

Upcoming Minor/ Major Assessments:

• Industrial Revolution Quiz 1 1/17 (Minor)

ELA UPDATES:

Students will finish the narrative arc for “Pyramus and Thisbe.” Students will compare the original myth to the play within the play in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Students will complete the Unit 2 mid-unit assessment. On Friday students will begin preparing for an argumentative essay.

Upcoming Major and Minor Assignments:

• 1/15: MUA Part 1- complete a narrative map.

• 1/16: MUA Part 2- narrative features from a section of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

MATH UPDATES:

Math 8: This week students will review two step and multi step equations.

Weekly Agenda

Upcoming Major and Minor Assignments:

• Quiz on Friday, 1/17

Math 1: Students will take a quiz on Monday and then start parallel and perpendicular lines and how the slopes are related.

Weekly Agenda

Upcoming Major and Minor Assignments:

• Quiz on Monday, 1/13.

Math 2: Module 4, lesson 2 is about square root functions.

Upcoming Major and Minor Assignments:

• Mod 4 lesson 2 Pathway Activity One

• Mod 4 lesson 2 Pathway Activity Two

SCIENCE UPDATES:

Students will finish up water quality with a culminating activity on Monday; Socratic seminar.

Students will begin the last section of our hydrosphere unit; oceans.

Upcoming Major and Minor Assignments:

• Monday, 1/13-Socratic seminar-major Q3

• Tuesday, 1/14-Estuary WebQuest-minor Q3

• Wednesday, 1/15-Estuary Keeper Lab Follow Up-minor Q3

• 1/7-Ocean Zones Flocab due 1/22-minor-Q3

SOCIAL STUDIES UPDATES:

Students will begin the Civil War unit, starting with the growing sectionalism of the United States at that time and the events leading up to the Civil War.

Upcoming Major and Minor Assignments:

• Quiz: Causes of the Civil War

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Email: apexms@wcpss.net
Website: www.wcpss.net/apexms
Location: 400 East Moore Street, Apex, NC, USA
Phone: 9193872181