Weekly Wildcat

We had a great week of school in Wildcat Country! Our students have done an awesome job this week. Learning new routines and meeting new friends was the goal this week and I think we've done that. Our enrollment is about 1170 and we have had some new students start everyday this week. Monday started with a DJ and today everyone had popsicles during lunch. I am so proud of our school and community after a great first week!

Our carpool line has gotten faster and our busses are leaving earlier each day. By next week our dismissal should "normalize" and everyone will get home a little earlier than this week. Thank you for your patience. If you are picking up your student in carpool in the afternoon, please note students cannot walk to the NMS parking lot to enter your car. They must be picked up in the carpool circle or across the street at Milton. This is purely for student safety given the amount of cars moving in our parking lot during dismissal.

Please note a big change to the student device policy this year. All students must use a FCS issued device. See more about student devices below.

Our school Club Fair is next Friday before school. Please encourage your student to join a club! Our clubs help students find connections at school and meet new friends.

I hope all our families enjoy their weekend! If you need anything, please don't hesitate to email me at petersonj1@fultonschools.org.

I can't wait to see our students again on Monday!

• Monday, August 12 - The Little Mermaid, Jr. Auditions begin - 4:15pm
• Thursday, August 15 - New Parent Coffee with Mr. Peterson - 9:00 am
• Thursday, August 15 - PTO Meeting - 9:30am
• Friday, August 16 - NMS Club Fair - 8:05 am
• Monday, August 19 - Soccer Tryouts begin - 4:15pm (Physical Paperwork Required)
• Monday, September 9 - Curriculum Night ***New Date***
• Monday, September 23 - Tennis Tryouts Begin - 4:15pm (Physical Paperwork Required)

Golfers Wanted, Sponsors Needed & Auction items Welcomed!

Northwestern's Wildcat Open & Auction will be here before we know it:

Date: September 23, 2024

📍 Location: Echelon Golf Club

⛳ Join us for a day of golf, fun, and fundraising

🎁 Great auction prizes (in-person and virtual), swag and more!

What is it? Golf tournament Fundraiser

Who can play? Parents, students are welcome to play but must be accompanied by an adult excused absence possible and community members welcome.

Why? We are fundraising to update our front entrance, add a led sign for communication, as well as other campus improvements, i.e. support pest control and additional school and academic needs.

Secure your spot on the green in the Wildcat Open today! Sponsorship and Donation opportunities for companies and families available.

Don't play golf? Make a donation, sponsor a pin flag (that you'll get to keep) or participate by bidding on auction items 9/23!

Putt Putt with Principal Peterson available for an on campus event to play putt putt coming in October! You can sign your student up to play in the Peterson Putt Putt club @ school too...

Deadline August 30th

Students will be taking iReady Diagnostic Testing next Tuesday, 8/13 & Thursday, 8/15 during homeroom. We will be using an alternate bell schedule on those days.

All FCS students will participate in Student Success Skill during the 2024-2025 school year. Our Student Success Skills lessons will begin the week of August 19th during homeroom time.

Student Success Skills are a set of standards that will be taught in all

schools, to all students, by all teachers throughout the school year.

These standards include six skills that are broken down into several

standards across grade levels. Teaching these skills will support

students in creating a foundation for managing emotions, healthy

relationships, understanding and empathizing with others, being

responsible and safe, and learning to cope with difficult life situations.

For more information on Student Success, use the link below.

All Northwestern MS students will receive a school issued device this year. Students are not able to bring their own device this school year. All students need a FCS device for assessment and Classwize. Our plan is to have devices issued to every student by Wednesday of next week.

Please review carpool procedures before the first day of school. When in doubt, follow the person (car) in front of you. Please be courteous to our staff and other parents in the carpool line. Mostly, please be patient the first week or so. The carpool line will move a little quicker everyday and eventually get to a point that everyone will be picked up and on their way home within 10-15 minutes.

• Enter from School Road and drop off your student(s) anywhere along the sidewalk.
• Pull up as far as you can, and then let your student out at that point.
• The faster students get out of the car, the faster the line will move.
• If you need to talk with your student, let them finish their breakfast, or park for any reason, please do not block the carpool line. Use the parking lot.
• All students enter through the Wildcat Den doors.

• VIP carpool spaces (10) are marked with yellow stars. Do not line up here.
• The carpool line starts at Red #1.
• Once the line of cars reaches Red #2, all other cars should line up in the staff parking lot.
• The staff parking lot carpool line starts at Red #3.
• Follow NMS staff directions at all times. If you are asked to move your car, please do so.
• Parents may pick up their student in the MHS parking (Red #4). They will need to stay on the sidewalk and cross the street in the crosswalk.
• Students may not be picked up in bus loop (Red #5), or anywhere on School Road.
• Students may not enter the staff parking lot to meet your car. Students must be picked up along the sidewalk in the roundabout.

Our annual Student Club Fair will be Friday, 8/16 at 8:05am in the gym. Encourage your students to stop by the gym and explore all the exciting opportunities available at NMS!

NMS teachers will use Canvas to communicate classroom assignments, assessment calendar, and other important course information. Parents/guardians are strongly encouraged to use a Canvas Observer Account to stay informed about their student's progress during the school year.

Please review the Canvas resources before school starts.

• Canvas for Families Flyer: Overview of the benefits and features of Canvas for families.

• Observer Account Instructions: Step-by-step guide on creating a Canvas Observer account.

• Canvas for Families Website: For more detailed information and additional resources, please visit our public-facing website: Canvas LMS - Fulton Schools.

Starting on July 15, families will be able to make payments for the student locker fee, student activity fee, and other school related fees (music programs, etc.).

The school locker fee is required for all students and will be $15.00 this school year. Students will be required to keep their cell phone in their locker.

The school student activity fee is required for all students and will be $5.00 this school year. This fee will help fund our PBIS/Rrroar program. All students benefit from our Rrroar program with events and special treats throughout the school year.

Our school was challenged with increased student to student situations which were considered to be harassment by our Code of Conduct definition. The way students talk to one another has increasingly been an issue in our school. Kindness is our expectation. Students will hear this loud and clear during the first week of school. We have a no tolerance stance on harassment at Northwestern Middle School. Please review the pages in the Code of Conduct dealing with this rule. The first offense for harassment will be an Out-of-School suspension.

Harassment is defined as any unwanted gesture, writing, verbal, physical act, or electronic communication that a reasonable person would perceive as creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive educational environment that is motivated by any actual, perceived, or assumed characteristic of the victim(s), such as race, color, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender/gender identity, ancestry, national origin, physical attributes, socioeconomic status, physical or mental ability or disability, or any other distinguishing characteristic.

It is Northwestern policy that students must keep their cell phone in their locker during the school day. Students will use their locker periodically during the school day, with regular opportunities to access their school materials and supplies, or check their phone for messages from home.

It is a new Northwestern policy, that students will carry their device in their backpack to each classroom during the school day. Device damage was at an all-time high last year, so we are changing our policy to cut down on device fines and loss of instruction. Students will be provided with a device sleeve, and will carry the device in their backpack for added protection. The school will provide the device sleeve for every student.

Student lockers are 29" tall, 12" wide, and 11" deep. Please be mindful of these dimensions when purchasing a back-pack and lunch box for your student(s).

We recommend backpacks that are no bigger than 18"x15"x9" so it fits easily in the locker when needed, and does not become too heavy for students during the school day.

Do you want to shop for school supplies online? Use this link to access the specific grade level list with options to purchase from several vendors. Supply Lists (osmsinc.com)

All 6th graders (new or coming from a feeder school), all 7th graders, and any new enrollees to Fulton County Schools MUST provide TWO documents for residency verification. If you have a returning student in the 8th grade, you will need to submit proof of residency if there has been any address change.

An email address has been created strictly for submitting proofs of residence starting July 15. Please make sure you attach a photo of your document.

· You may email your attached two acceptable documents to NMSResidency@fultonschools.org starting JULY 15.

· Please make sure that in the SUBJECT line, you list the student’s complete name, parent’s complete name and grade.

· If you are moving into a new home, you may provide an email from the Utility company stating the following: your name, date service is to start and the current address.

The approved documentation list is below.

Important note: When you email your residency documents, you will not receive a confirmation email. You will be contacted if the school needs additional information.

Tracy Lynn Drye & Victoria Tucker
Northwestern Middle School PTO Co-Presidents 2024-2025

______________________________________

Keep Connected with your PTO:

Website:

Northwesternpto.membershiptoolkit.com

Email:

northwesternmspto@gmail.com

Facebook Groups:

Northwestern MS PTO

NMS Cat's Pride: A Parent Page

Instagram:

@northwesternpto

Great opportunity to start the school year with a family photo shoot on Sunday, August 25th for all NMS families -

$35 NONREFUNDABLE DONATION TO NORTHWESTERN MIDDLE SCHOOL PTO INCLUDES YOUR FAMILY PORTRAIT SITTING AND 11X14 FAMILY PORTRAIT PRINT

PARENT EVENT:

Future-Proofing Our Children

Inspiring kids to think, empathize, and thrive in the A.I. era

Registration Link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/914763431047

Date: 8/10/2024

Time: 2–3:30pm

EVENT DESCRIPTION:

The esteemed mathematician and educator, Professor Po-Shen Loh will be visiting Shaker Heights, OH as part of his 2024 national tour, which was covered in Wall Street Journal (https://www.wsj.com/articles/chatgpt-ai-math-po-shen-loh-1e9f80dc?st=aq9570oajc7gi2b&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink).

As AI advances at shocking speed, what is the future of humanity? How should people develop skills that will still be useful in a world filled with automation? The speaker, Carnegie Mellon math professor Po-Shen Loh, traveled to 100 cities last year, speaking with (and learning from) thousands of audiences on this topic, on a tour which was even covered by the Wall Street Journal. His perspective combines insight from having served as the national coach of the USA Math Olympiad team for a decade, together with his firsthand experience inventing new solutions for large-scale real-world problems from pandemic control to problem-solving education. In this talk, he will share his latest recommendations on how to lean into what makes us human, how to navigate the future landscape of education (including college), and how to learn how to solve unfamiliar problems. Many of his recommendations are quite different from how students and parents currently approach life. To substantiate this advice, he will also share his own story of how he used these principles to invent some of the real-world solutions mentioned above.

Po-Shen Loh is a social entrepreneur and inventor, working across the spectrum of mathematics, education, and healthcare, all around the world. He is a math professor at Carnegie Mellon University and served a decade-long term as the national coach of the USA International Mathematical Olympiad team from 2013–2023. He has pioneered innovations ranging from a scalable way to learn challenging math live online at comparable engagement to live-streaming entertainment, to a new way to control pandemics by leveraging self-interest.

As an academic, Po-Shen has earned distinctions ranging from an International Mathematical Olympiad silver medal to the United States Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers. His scientific research considers a variety of questions that lie at the intersection of combinatorics (the study of discrete systems), probability theory, and computer science. As an educator, he was the coach of Carnegie Mellon University’s math team when it achieved its first-ever #1 rank among all North American universities, and the coach of the USA Math Olympiad team when it achieved its first-ever back-to-back #1-rank victories in 2015 and 2016, and then again in 2018 and 2019. His research and educational outreach takes him to cities across the world, reaching over 10,000 people each year through public lectures and events, and he has featured in or co-created videos totaling over 21 million YouTube views.

Po-Shen received his undergraduate degree in mathematics from Caltech in 2004, graduating with the highest GPA in his class. He received a master’s degree in mathematics from the University of Cambridge in 2005, where he was supported by a Winston Churchill Foundation Scholarship. He continued his studies at Princeton, supported by a Hertz Foundation Fellowship and a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, where he completed his Ph.D. in mathematics at the end of 2009, and has been on the faculty at Carnegie Mellon University ever since

Our school website is full of information! The calendar is constantly updated with events from PTO, Fine Arts, Athletics and other school activities. There is a staff directory where you can get the email address of any staff member. Information on carpool, attendance, student handbook, bell schedule and more are located on the 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.

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: This is where you belong!