Otwell Middle School

August 5th - August 9th

Collective Commitments

DAWG Initiative

Grade Level Administration Team

Mrs. Seema Dholakia

6th grade

Phone: 790115

Email: SDholakia@forsyth.k12.ga.us

Mr. Will Howell

7th grade

Phone: 790119

Email: whowell5@forsyth.k12.ga.us

Mrs. Antonia Alberga-Parisi

8th grade

Phone: 790117

Email: AAlberga-Parisi@forsyth.k12.ga.us

2024-2025 Quarter 1 Schedule

2024-25 Student Calendar

6th Grade Information

Science: We are so excited to begin this year in Earth Science. We finished up our first week with Lab Safety and a quiz on Friday. If you have not returned the Safety Contract with your signature, please do so ASAP. We cannot participate in labs until we have a Safety Contract from every student. We will begin our first unit next week in astronomy talking about models of the universe and the Big Bang Theory. Please make sure your student has a science binder with 5 dividers for class.

Advanced Science: This year advanced science students will participate in a school science fair, so as we learn about observations and inferences next week, we will also get into the types of variables in lab experiments. By the end of the week, we will start our astronomy unit by learning about early astronomers.

Math: We will review absolute value and learn about the coordinate plane. Quiz 1.2 will be Thrusday, then students will begin their study guide to prepare for their Unit test 1 on 08/20.

Advanced Math: We have been learning about opposites, comparing and ordering integers, absolute value, and coordinates. Next week, we will learn about reflections. There will be a quiz next Tuesday covering coordinates and reflections. We will have our first test over all the topics next Friday, August 16.

Accelerated Math: Next week we will be finishing up our first unit on integers, opposites, absolute value, and the coordinate plane. Our focus in the beginning of the week will be plotting points and finding the distance between points. Then we will have a review for our first test, which is scheduled for Friday.

Enrichment: This week we set up or notebooks, checked out books from the media center, built independent reading stamina, did a book tasting, played Four Corners, completed a reading interest survey, and explored Fluency Friday. On Monday, we will do our first Lexile level check on MyOn and conferences will begin. We have really enjoyed getting to know your students.

ELA: Greiner/Kuhn/Padgett/Salazar: We will finish up our parts of speech review and begin story elements. We will be reading Flipped and exploring how characters change and grow throughout the novel. Students will learn about plot, theme, perspective and characterization as we move through the novel. Students will also begin using our vocabulary program Membean.

Advanced ELA: Students will begin reading their chosen novels for unit one. Novel reading is taking place on the students’ own time. Students are encouraged to bring their novel to every class so they can read once they have finished classwork. Student groups will meet every Tuesday and Friday to discuss portions of their novels together. In addition, students will analyze elements of their novels that relate to what we are learning in class. Unit one is narrative and focuses on characters who change and grow.

Social Studies: In social studies, we began our geography unit (Unit 1) with practicing our map skills! Going forward we will be using our geography vocabulary to describe maps and social studies themes. Students will also be able to identify the continents and oceans. At the end of this unit, students will have the opportunity to create their own civilization using the terms they have learned throughout the unit.

Upcoming dates

Finkelstein-

8/14: Geography Vocabulary quiz

8/21: Map quiz

9/6: Civilization Project Due

Morris-

8/16: Map Quiz

8/23: Geography Vocabulary Quiz

9/6: Civilization Project Due

Advanced Social Studies: Students will continue their study of geography vocabulary and have a quiz on Tuesday 8/13. Students will then begin studying the basics of government.

7th Grade Information

Science with Mrs. Joseph, Mrs. Pennington, & Mrs. Roth

Students are working on identifying the characteristics (processes) of living things:

composed of one or more cells
obtaining nutrients & removing waste
reproduction
growth and/or development
o response to stimuli

Math with Mrs. Coley, Mrs. Kittrell, Mrs. Moore, & Mrs. Smallwood

7th grade math will be exploring the rules for adding and subtracting integers, which are positive and negative whole numbers. Students will look at situations where integers are used in the real world and will be able to represent these situations and their solutions on a number line.

Advanced Math with Mr. Bruce

Next week we will be reviewing operations with rational numbers (specifically, fractions & decimals). We will have a quiz over rational number operations on Thursday or Friday, depending on student readiness.

Accelerated Math with Ms. Moore

We started the year with a review of expressions & solving equations. Your children are coming to class with smiles on their faces and they are ready to learn!! I am enjoying getting to know them!! Next week we will continue with application to real world scenarios and literal equations. I hope you have a fantastic weekend!

Social Studies with Ms. Foley, Mrs. Perkins, & Mrs. Jaeger

This week we will continue learning about the geography of the Middle East. We will discuss population distribution, water scarcity, and religious groups within the region. Please be sure to check Canvas for important formative and summative updates as well as important resources.

ELA with Mrs.Lazaro, Mrs. Jaeger, & Mrs. Wolff

In 7th grade ELA, we're wrapping up the first few days of school and gradually diving into Unit 1: Generations, exploring how past and future generations influence each other. Students are also reviewing parts of speech and identifying various genres and subgenres, setting a strong foundation for the year ahead.

8th Grade Information

Spanish 1:

Students will continue learning about the Spanish alphabet and pronunciation. There is an oral quiz on this on August 14. Students should have their notebooks with their dividers put together by this time and parents/guardians should see them studying or reviewing the material in the notebook at home.

8th ELA (On-level & Advanced):

Next week we will begin our study of narratives in earnest as students work to analyze how setting and plot relate to characters and themes in stories. We will read several stories in class to start our analysis. We will also continue our work with Membean and No Red Ink.

Georgia Studies On-level:

Students will continue learning about the geography of Georgia and create a project that will wither be an informational display for aliens who have invaded our state, or a state brochure. This project will be due at the end of class on Monday 8/12. On Wednesday, we will review with GLOW GAMES. Our test on Georgia’s geography is Thursday 8/15. The week will end with the class learning about Lake Lanier.

Advanced Georgia Studies:

Students will continue learning about the geography of Georgia and create an informational display for aliens who have invaded our state. On Tuesday we will review with GlOW GAMES. Our test on Georgia’s geography is Friday, 8/16. The aliens project is also due on Friday, 8/16.

Science:

In science students will be learning all about matter! Students will be able to model and identify the four phases of matter, along with their properties. Students will also be able to analyze and interpret heating and cooling curves to better phase change information on the states of matter. Students will have a formative assessment on Wednesday 8/14 and Tuesday 8/20. The summative assessment will be Wednesday 8/21. Advanced Science formative assessments will be on Monday 08/12 and Wednesday 08/14. The Matter Summative will be on Friday 08/15.

On-Level Math:

Students are going to solve multi-step equations using inverse operations.

Accelerated Math:

Students are working on adding, subtracting, and multiplying polynomials. We will also start simplifying radical expressions.

OMS PARENT INPUT

Celebrate OMS Employees

Become a Partner in Education!

PTO Information

Last day to buy spirit wear is Aug 18th & click here to order https://www.otwellpto.com/omsspiritwear?category=All

Come Support Otwell Football

ONN and DAWG TALK!

Calling all 7th and 8th grade students! Mr. Walkup has opened applications for ONN and DAWG Talk! ONN is our student broadcast team and DAWG Talk is our student-led podcast team. ONN is only for 7th graders and DAWG Talk is only for 8th graders.

This year we are adding a sports camera operator position for ONN that will eat and travel with the basketball teams, get some free swag, and record game footage!

Come by the media center for an application or visit: https://www.forsyth.k12.ga.us/Page/56312 to print out applications today! Applications due to Mr. Walkup, Mr. Miller, or Mrs. Flowers in the Media center by September 3rd!

Bulldawgs Unleashed Podcast

Join us as we talk with our Head Football Coach and Athletic Director, Brian Sudderth. In this episode we talk with Coach Sudderth and one of his football players about the upcoming season.

Buzzsprout: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2119366/15540463

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6iod8CbItv0nuSN3PpbqB6?si=NaYIhS-ZRP2tTPAmjxKdgQ

Message from The Nurse

If your student has a chronic medical condition or illness requiring assistance/support while at school, or needs to carry emergency medication with them while at school (i.e. inhaler, epi-pen, etc.), a medical plan is required to be on file with the school nurse. Please click the link below to access the forms needed, complete the forms in partnership with your student's doctor, and return them to the school nurse as soon as possible. Medical forms are only valid for one year; therefore, new forms must be completed each school year. Please be sure to include all signatures before submitting. Blank forms can be located here: https://www.forsyth.k12.ga.us/Page/54762

All 7th grade students will take part in a Vision Screening during the month of August. If your student wears vision aids such as glasses or contact lenses, please help them prepare for this very important health screening by ensuring they bring their glasses/contact lenses to school. Thank you for your support in this process!

All 6th and 8th grade students will take part in a Scoliosis Screening in the month of September. If you would prefer your student be screened in the privacy of their doctor's office, please ensure a Scoliosis Refusal Form is turned in to Nurse Michelle, or the electronic form is signed within Parent Portal, prior to September. Scoliosis Refusal forms and opt-out procedures can be found here: https://www.forsyth.k12.ga.us/Page/54763

Email Nurse Michelle with any questions or concerns: mwinsness@forsyth.k12.ga.us

Attendance

All medical notes must be submitted to OMSAttendance@forsyth.k12.ga.us Thank you!

Check in: If a student arrives after 9:00 am they must check in at the front office.

Check out: Please bring a government issued ID, and make sure you are listed on the student pick up list.

There will be no checkouts after 3:45 pm. Please plan appointments accordingly.

https://forms.office.com/r/wBSD2ypALk

Counseling Corner

Welcome to a new year at Otwell!! We are so glad you are here and are excited to see all of our students filling the hallways. If you are a 6th grader, or just new to Otwell, please be sure to check out the OMS Counseling website that includes valuable information. Click here for a look at the new 6th grade website.

Meet the Counseling Team

Counseling Registrar Mrs. Simpson f44818@forsyth.k12.ga.us

6th Grade Dr. Walker f23790@forsyth.k12.ga.us

7th Grade Mrs. Morlanne cmorlanne@forsyth.k12.ga.us

8th Grade Mrs. Clark declark@forsyth.k12.ga.us

We are excited you are at Otwell this year!