Happy Friday! Thank goodness for a short week. I think most of our students and staff were excited to be back, but I could tell not everyone was used to being awake early and productive all day. I think a weekend will be good for everyone before we start back strong on Monday!

Semester 1 grades were finalized this week. Report Cards will be accessible on Friday, January 12 in Parent Portal and we will send home a copy with your student that day as well.

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!

• Saturday, January 6 - All-State Band Auditions
• Tuesday, January 9 - PTO Meeting (9:30 am)
• Tuesday, January 9 - 6th Grade Band Concert (7:00 pm)
• Thursday, January 11 - 8th Grade Chorus Concert (7:00 pm) - Alpharetta Presbyterian Church
• Friday, January 12 - Junior Theatre Festival
• Saturday, January 13 - Junior Theatre Festival
• Monday, January 15 - M. L. King Jr. Holiday (School Closed)
• Tuesday, January 16 - Professional Development Day (No School for Students)

Rising 9th Parent Night

· Milton Counseling will host the Rising 9th Parent Night in the Milton Auditorium from 5:30-7:30PM.

· Due to the large number of attendees, once we fill the Auditorium, we will direct overflow to the Cafeteria. Both groups will receive the same presentation.

· Private school students and/or parents are encouraged to attend one of these sessions to familiarize themselves with Milton HS and what we have to offer.

· We will not be holding Rising 9th Tours. Please attend the Rising 9th Parent Night or reach out to the registrar to schedule a walk through with a student escort.

We would like your feedback and input to help select our Teacher and Professional of the Month. Often times, parents and students have great interactions with teachers and staff that administration doesn't see or is not aware of. We would like to include you in our process to select our Teacher and Professional of the Month. Use the links below to make your nominations. Nomination window for November awards will be open until December 2nd.

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.

At Northwestern Middle School, we believe effective and timely communication is essential to our mission. NMS staff, students, and parents/guardians should maintain open, honest, and respectful lines of communication. Working together is the best way to help each student achieve success!

From Co-Presidents Victoria Tucker & Tracy Lynn Drye

Thank you to everyone who came to our meeting on Tuesday. 12/5. The next PTO meeting will be January 9 at 9:30 in the Media Center. We will celebrate our FCS police officers and our Milton PD School Liaison Office on National Law Enforcement Appreciation Day. Our featured speaker will be from our school partner Pathways2Life who will focus on prevention education.

Volunteers Needed - Lost & Found Clean Up

This is an opportunity once a month for several people to clean out the lost & found closet. It should take less than an hour. Sign up link with the full instructions is below. Please reach out to Victoria Tucker (victoriabuter@comcast.net) with questions.

Sign Up: https://northwesternpto.membershiptoolkit.com/volunteer/117964

Volunteer Interest Form

Please complete this short survey to indicate your volunteer interests for this school year & we will reach out with opportunities.

https://northwesternpto.membershiptoolkit.com/volunteer/114130

Business Partners

PTO is currently recruiting new Business Partners for the 23-24 school year. Do you own/work for a small business and would like more exposure for your services while at the same time supporting your child’s school? This is also a great opportunity for real estate agents, lawyers, accountants, etc. to support our school in many meaningful ways and receive promotion for your business through multiple channels reaching NMS families. Please email northwesternmspto@gmail.com for more information on partnership levels & benefits or sign up here: https://northwesternpto.membershiptoolkit.com/form/m/237949

Looking to purchase a gift for your student's teachers? Want to know what things they like?

PTO has assembled a list of the staff's favorite things!

Don't see your teacher listed? Just means they haven't had a chance to complete their form. Keep checking back...PTO will be updating the document as lists are added.

Hello NMS Families,

Looking for the perfect and safest Holiday Gift for your kiddos!! Look NO further than the NEWEST BARK PHONE!!

Plans start at just $29/month with no contract required.

We’re proud to announce we've joined the Bark Community Partners Program! As a Bark Community Partner, our parents have ongoing access to up-to-date digital parenting resources, top-tier subject matter experts, and free social media safety tools.

As an added bonus, our NMS PTO will receive $100 when a NMS family orders a Bark Phone.

Why families need the Bark Phone?

Off-the-shelf Androids and iPhones aren’t built for kids — and there are tons of ways that they could encounter digital dangers and inappropriate content. The Bark Phone was built by parents, for parents, and it lets you control nearly everything your child can do, from contact requests to when they can open up YouTube.

What makes the Bark Phone safer than other kid’s phones:

●GPS location tracking

●Texts can’t be deleted

●Monitoring of messages and social media

●Alerts for potential dangers

●Screen time schedules

●Website & app blocking

●Tamper-proof settings

Learn More and purchase NOW using the link below!!

Tom's Place: Our Wildcat Serving Food and Clothing Pantry helps our very own Wildcats in need.

PANTRY ITEMS NEEDED:

Please consider stocking the pantry to fulfil the needs and necessities aiding students in our community. Single serve food items and microwavable single serves are appreciated. Signup for specific items needed here: https://northwesternpto.membershiptoolkit.com/volunteer/117111

Purchased and donated items may be dropped off to the front office. Please label or tell them it's for Tom's Place.

If you would prefer to make a monetary donation to this cause you can do so through the Wildcat Cares Fund:

https://northwesternpto.membershiptoolkit.com/form/m/232683

Thank you in advance for supporting this effort. Should we have excess winter coat and warm item donations this season we will donate additional items to local charities that also support students in need in our area.

The front office likes to have a stash of chocolate and candy (non chocolate) for the staff to access and get them through the day. Please help us keep their stash stocked. After all, most of us can relate to stress eating! Sign up here: https://northwesternpto.membershiptoolkit.com/volunteer/111882

Northwestern will offer many clubs and student activities for our students during the 2023-24 school year. Check back often for more information!

If you have a question about starting a new school club, please email Beth Wylie at wyliee@fultonschools.org.

The NMS Student Garden was established in 2011 as a permaculture and wildlife garden. It has gone through many iterations. Its most recent additions (2023) are a no-till section (which is affiliated with the Rodale Institute for Organic Research) and five new fruit trees (planted in celebration of Earth Day). If you would like to contribute (monetarily) to the maintenance of this site and its research, then you can use the link below. If you have any other questions about the site, please free to contact Dr. Bartlett at: bartlettj@fultonschools.org. Thank you for your continued support of Northwestern MS 🙂

Our School Governance Council has discussed the need to do more as a school community to better understand our student's use of social media and cell phones, and provide education for students and families around this issue. This school year, our students will engage in more discussions with staff around safe and responsible use of cell phones.

Representatives from Bark presented at one of our previous PTO meetings. As a company, Bark provides monitoring service and resources for families. I will be sharing information from Bark and other sources weekly in our newsletter.

There is also a Facebook group that is a great resource: Parenting in a Tech World

Parenting in a Tech World | Facebook

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: Teach Hard, Love Harder - The Wildcat Way!