Falcon Express Update to Families

Dear Falcon families,

I hope this message finds you well. I am pleased to inform you that report cards for Quarter 1 are now available to view on Skyward.

We had some exciting events throughout October, including the Hispanic Heritage celebration and the district math night hosted at Millennium. I would like to thank all of you who attended and supported these events. Seeing so many families come together, engage in great conversations, review student presentations, watch performances, and enjoy authentic Hispanic dishes provided by food trucks attending the event was heart-warming.

As always, the safety of our students is our top priority. We appreciate your continued support in ensuring the safety of our students during arrival and dismissal. Please remember that students should not arrive on campus before 9:05 AM, as there is no supervision before that time. Please do not permit your students to walk to campus before that time, and do not drop them off before 9:05 AM, as this is negligent and unsafe.

I would also like to call your attention to the recent increase in horseplay on campus. We are taking this issue seriously and implementing consequences for those who engage in horseplay. It is important that you speak with your students about responsible behavior on campus, especially regarding touching other students or their belongings. Horseplay creates unsafe environments, and we want to ensure that our students are safe and learning in a conducive environment.

To address the issue of horseplay, we are implementing arrival locations for each grade level. All sixth-grade students will report to Red Apple Dining upon arrival, and all seventh and eighth-grade students will report to their designated gymnasium areas after breakfast. Students will remain in these areas until they transition to the classroom buildings. This change does not impact student drop-off at the front of the school.

We will closely monitor these changes and adjust our procedures as needed in response to campus needs. We appreciate your understanding and cooperation as we work together to keep our campus safe and incident-free.

Lastly, please consider volunteering on campus by completing a Dividends application. We always need volunteers and couldn't do it without your support. You can complete the application using this link https://www.scps.k12.fl.us/district/departments/community-involvement/dividends_application.

Thank you for your continued support, and I hope you have a PRIDE-filled week.

Sincerely,

Principal Higgs

Teach-In is a perfect opportunity for parents, business leaders, and community members to let students know we care about them. Teach-In highlights the importance of bringing together teachers, school staff, parents, students, and communities in a unified effort to build great public schools.

Help shape and build the future. Step into a classroom to share great information with our students and teachers. Talk about your job or career. Have you traveled? Do you have a cool hobby? Open a door to a new life experience for our students.

Teach-In for the 2023-2024 school year will occur on November 14, 2023! Please CLICK on the image below.

This past week, we introduced students to a new management system called Minga. This campus-wide tool tracks student actions such as tardies and hall passes and provides digital Falcon bucks for positive incentives. There has been some misinformation about implementing the system on our campus, and I would like to address the concerns raised.

The implementation of Minga will not and does not alter the cell phone policy. Students are not permitted, requested, or expected to use cell phones to obtain a tardy or hall pass to transition throughout the campus. Minga is adult-directed, and the school provides the technology teachers use. Additionally, Minga is an approved district program that protects student data, and Millennium is joining six other middle schools already using the program on their campuses. If there are additional questions, please join us at our next SAC meeting on November 14, 2023, at 5:00PM in the Millennium Media Center.

Please look at the attached document for more information on how Minga will be implemented on our campus.

We want to invite you to join PTSA and partner with us. Currently, we have fewer than 100 members, which is less than ten percent of our families. We strongly believe in the power of connections and partnering with families, and we would like to see increased participation and enrollment. If you have not yet joined, please consider becoming a member.

Additionally, we are looking for members to join the School Advisory Council (SAC). This group represents the school, the community, and those closest to the students. SAC is crucial in preparing and evaluating the school improvement plan (SIP). We would love for you to join us as a SAC member, and our next meeting will be held on November 14, 2023, at 5:00 PM in the media center.

Millennium Middle School students, teachers, parents, and the leadership team were selected by the Superintendent to participate in a statewide study for potential shifts in math education. Stakeholders participated in focus groups throughout the school day, and researchers visited our classrooms before facilitating a community math night—Thank you to the parents and students involved in this initiative.

Please use this link to provide authorization for your student to attend cross-country events for the 2023- 2024 season: https://forms.gle/BbF43W3hpVSSoEvt6

SCPS has developed a plan to adhere to the requirements set forth by the Florida Department of Education’s Board Rule 6A-10.089, Section (5) which requires parent or guardian notification and permission forms for all school-sponsored events, activities, and supplemental programs. Over the next few days, weeks, and months, teachers, sponsors, and administrators will be sending notification and permission forms for any school-sponsored events, activities, or supplemental programs your child plans to attend. Please keep your eye out for these forms so that your child is able to participate.

Millennium is a full-school magnet that aims to provide our students with a well-rounded education. Our goal is to ensure that all students get to experience our Encore electives during their studies at Millennium. If your child is interested in enrolling in one of our Performing Arts, Fine Arts, or Pre-IB courses, we invite you to join us for a series of performances and information sessions about the courses available to them.

We want our students to excel like Falcons and have sharp eyesight like them too! The Florida Heiken Children's Vision Program offers comprehensive eye exams and glasses, free of charge, for eligible students. This program is available at no cost to you. If you believe that your child could benefit from this service, please complete the application before Thanksgiving (11/23/23). Ms. Neal, the school social worker, will be happy to help you fill out the application if necessary. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to email me her nealcz@myscps.us or call me at 407-320-2286.

Thank you to our Community Sponsor, Mathnasium of Lake Mary, for their ongoing support. We were happy to have them join us during the community night event, and are thankful for their partnership.