MIDDLE SCHOOL

FOR THE PARENTS, STAFF, AND COMMUNITY OF JACKSON HEIGHTS MIDDLE SCHOOL

VOLUME 16 l NUMBER 4fEBRUaRy 2015

To download a PDF version of this newsletter, go to http://academypublishing.com/schools/jacksonheights/jacksonheights.php

five Star School Jackson Heights is a florida Department of Education a+ School again for 2013-2014!

Principal’s MessageHello JHMS Parents and Students, It is hard to believe that we are already half way through the 2014-2015 school year. Our staff and students continue to make us proud. Our cross country track season ended with JHMS students placing in all the Boys and Girls JV and Varsity Events. Our dance team performed at the UCF game and had lots of top 10 results in their competition at Disney. Our cheerleaders and colorgaurd performed at the Oviedo MLK parade and we had three band students perform at the All-State Band Concert in Tampa. These are only a few of the many accomplishments of our students have achieved over the last few months. We are also proud to say that Mrs. Byrony Krauss has been named the JHMS Teacher of the Year. Mrs. Krauss teaches AP US History and US History in 8th grade. She is also the curriculum leader for the history department. Mrs. Karen Rehrig has been named the JHMS Employee of the Year. She has been instrumental in our media center and recently moved to the position of Guidance Secretary. JHMS was recently approved for a Program of Exploration. We will be offering additional Bioscience, Robotics, Multimedia classes and

adding Geographic information Systems. Our staff is very excited about the opportunity to offer more STEM related electives that will better prepare our students for our changing global society. As you can probably see our construction project is moving along very well. At this point we are on schedule and will be moving into our new and existing facilities in August. On May 30, 2015 we will be moving out of every building on campus so that the new heading/air, electrical, security, fire and lighting can be installed. After May 30, 2015 our front office will be located on the back side of campus in one of our existing portables. We will have signs to help direct you to the correct location however, I wanted to be sure to give you a heads up. As we approach the 4th quarter of our school year our students will be taking the new Florida Standards Assessments (FSA). Please know that it is our goal that all students are learning at JHMS. Our teachers are teaching the standards and doing what is right for our kids. This new assessment tool will simply assess student progress on the new Florida Standards. If you have any questions regarding

Administration

Mrs. Sarah Mansur-Blythe Principal

Kellie CashionAssistant Principal

Brandon HanshawAssistant Principal

Cynthia WoodsAssistant Principal

Siobhan PittersDean of Students

‘Bobcat Tracks’February 2015

Published Four Times Per YearSeminole County Public Schools

400 E. Lake Mary Blvd.Sanford, FL 32773

Issue # 4continued on page 2...

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the FSA, I encourage you to check out http://www.fsassessments.org/students-and-parents . The first FSA assessment we will be taking is FSA Writing. The writing assessment will be administered between the dates of March 2nd and March 12th, just in time for spring break. School will be closed for spring break starting on Friday, March 13th through the following Friday, March 20th. The students will return to school on Monday, March 23rd. We wish everyone a very relaxing, safe, fun-filled spring break.

Sincerely, Mrs. Mansur - Blythe

PrinciPal’s Message...continued from cover

green TeaM, Box ToPs, and PoP TaBs Our Green Team continues to recycle as much as we can on campus. Paper, water bottles, and soda cans are still collected weekly by Dr. Cerasale’s class. I know I am not alone in enjoying a visit from these happy and smiling students. Our snack bag campaign has been fantastic. To date we have saved almost 5,000 bags from the landfill. Sadly were not able to grow our winter garden due to all of the construction on campus. We will try to start our spring garden within the next few weeks. Our pop tab containers are slowly filling up in the cafeteria. We have one for staff (ahead at the moment) and each grade level. Please remember to either collect, label, and turn into to Mrs. Gibson or put your pop tabs in the container according to grade level. There are donor cards on the bulletin board to proudly display your name. The pop tabs all go to help the Ronald McDonald House. Each year many of the schools in Central Florida join together to help this great cause. Our PBS program will soon be purchasing a cooler for their snack days they hold twice a week. So far box tops have paid for a speaker, mascot costume, and now a cooler. Please continue to collect/label and send to Mrs .Gibson

Yearbooks for the 2014-2015 school year are now on sale! Purchase your book online by going to www.yearbooks.biz, and select order #2065. The books can be purchased in person for $35 by bringing exact cash, or a check made out to JHMS, to 3-002 during homeroom on Wednesdays. We have several copies of the ’13-’14 yearbook and ’10-’11 yearbook for sale. They have been discounted to only $10. Don’t miss this opportunity!

social Media Are we friends? Like us on Facebook! Then, follow us on Instagram, and Twitter, to see exactly what we are up to.

facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JacksonHeightsMiddleSchoolSCPS

Insta

Instagram: JHMSBobcats

Twitter: @JHMSBobcats

Also, if you’d like to receive important updates directly on your cell phone as a text message, please sign up for our Remind service. Text: 929-244-4340 with the Message: @jhmsp

s-P-e-l-l-i-n-g B-e-e… “sPelling Bee”

We have our winners! In first place we have Nevada Cullen (8); runner up is Lara Voelker (6). Congratulations to both students on their achievement. Nevada will be moving on to the next level to compete against the other middle schools in Seminole County.

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3sTudenT council Fundraiser

Penny Wars is a fundraiser where JHMS students can compete with each other to donate their money to a worthy cause. The idea is “Who can donate the most?” and the winning grade will receive a prize at the end of the program. This has already been used in several schools, from middle to college. In one school, over $1,300 was raised to be donated! All proceeds will be donated to the Nemours Children Hospital, and every coin donated counts. It’s a great way for students to see which grade can do better than the others, and for them to help out in the community. It seems pretty confusing when you hear about it, but this is how it works: Each grade puts pennies in the bucket for their grade. Every penny is a point to your grade. Easy right? Now comes the hard part, losing points. If someone from another grade puts a silver coin or dollars in your grades’ bucket, you lose a point. Different coins have different values.

* Penny: +1 point

* Nickel: -5 points

* Dime: -10 points

* Quarter: -25 points

* Half-Dollar: -50 points

* Dollar Coin (Dollar): -100 points

Student Council is looking forward to a little friendly competition between grade levels to benefit a worthwhile cause. Watch the morning news for specific dates and prizes.

guidance deParTMenT It is that time of year again to start thinking about the 2015 -2016 school year. Guidance has been busy visiting our feeder elementary schools this month. We are looking forward to our incoming 6th grade registration and curriculum fair on February 3rd at 6:00 PM in the JHMS Gym. Guidance will be visiting our rising 6th and 7th grade classrooms to review the curriculum guide and registration form. The course registration forms are due back by February 20th. Please look over the curriculum guide and course selection form for next year. It is very important to choose each class carefully. The course registration guide can be found on the JHMS website. Oviedo High School and Hagerty High School have visited our 8th graders to discuss transition into High School. Please be on the lookout for curriculum guides and registration forms. If you need another copy they can be found on each high schools web site. Hagerty registration forms are due by February 8th and Oviedo registration forms are due by February 3rd. Each school will be holding a curriculum night the information can be found on their websites. If you have any questions please contact your child’s Guidance Counselor: Alison Johnson (last names M – Z) or Kamya Taylor (last names A – N).

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science Fair and science FcaT sTaTus The Science Department would like to celebrate all of the Science Fair winners from our school fair on December 10, 2014. All of the winners are listed by category on the table. You can support our JHMS students who are moving on to the next level of Science Fair by visiting the Regional Fair for Seminole County at the Seminole Towne Center on Saturday, February 14. We also would like to thank all of the students who participated in and attended the school Science Fair. We are always amazed by the high level of work that our students produce in Science at JHMS. Thanks for all of your support with Science and STEM learning! We are also just a few months away from the Science FCAT in April. All 8th graders will be taking this test to show their understanding of 6th, 7th and 8th grade Science content. The 8th Grade Science team will begin to review Earth, Space, Life, Physical and Chemical Science concepts with students this month. 8th grade students will be expected to complete FCAT review projects, activities and practice tests leading up to the test in April. The students will also be taking a final DE test to indicate their progress in Science and to predict an approximate score level for FCAT. Students will bring this data home to parents to discuss in February. They will then set their own goals and plans for improvement. There is an FCAT review page on Ms. Wasson’s class website that contains all of the resource guides and links for helpful information relating to the Science FCAT test (at http://www.mswassonsclass.com/fcat.html). You can also contact your child’s Science teacher for more information. We know that our students can rock this test!

Category Place Student Name Grade Teacher Project TitleBehavioral & Social

1st Caitlyn Pham 8th Wasson Action Reaction2nd Tori Colasuono 8th Wasson Do You Hear What I Hear?3rd Connor Cleveland 8th Wasson Total RecallHM Olivia Harshey 8th Wasson Age and Illusionary Perception

Biochemistry

1st Caroline Byington 8th Wasson Protein Power2nd Nevada Cullen 8th Wasson Sweeteners: More than Meets the Mouth3rd Addie Atkins 6th Moreno This Science Fair is Driving Me NutsHM Alani Long 6th Frye Electrolysis

Botany

1st Adrianna M. Vasquez 6th Moreno Growing Energy2nd Luke Skillington 6th Bennett What Can pH Do For Your Garden?3rd Colton Bundy 7th Moreno Plants on MedsHM Rori Vigliotti 7th Keene No Sugar Tonight

Chemistry

1st Kaitlin Gallagher 8th Wasson Lotions or Potions?2nd Audra Menard & Alexis Mitchell 8th Wasson Hidden Caffeine2nd Bethany Jablon 6th Moreno Are You Stuck on Stickers that Don’t Unstick3rd James “Britton” Daniel 8th Keene Comparing Evaporation Rates of LiquidsHM Murhaf Hamed 6th Moreno Correlation Between Shelf Life and Level of

Acidity of Common BeveragesHM Evan Bogert & Teddy Schwartzhoff 7th Moreno Delicious and Nutritious HM Lauren Lee 7th Keene Die Packing Peanuts, Die

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Category Place Student Name Grade Teacher Project TitleComputer Sciences

1st Paul Curtin 7th Moreno Dr. RAM2nd Caroline Martinelli 6th Moreno The Adwords3rd Travis Koenig 8th Wasson Interference of Wiring with WiFi SignalsHM Caroline Hickey 6th Bennett Main or Minor

Earth & Planetary Science

1st Michael McNamara 8th Wilt The Highs and Lows of Wind Speed2nd Jenna Davis 6th Moreno Go With the Flow…The Story Behind Ocean Currents3rd Zach Beckenhaupt 6th Moreno How Does Wind Affect Measuring Rainfall

Engineering Materials (EN1)

1st Jordan Treibitz 6th Bennett What Type of Tape is the Strongest?2nd Nicole AmRhein 8th Wasson Beat the Heat!3rd Charles Ellis 6th Moreno Having a “Ball” with Surface DensitiesHM Jesse Fei 8th Wasson Ferrofluid Fun

Engineering Electrical (EN2)

1st Ryan Nelson 8th Wasson Electricity Out of Thin Air2nd Roberto Vasquez 8th Wasson Hot Potato…Cold Potato3rd Sunwoo Ha 7th Perez Stronger PaperHM Sam Evatt 6th Moreno Can you Build a Better Swim Fin?HM Elliot Mooney 6th Moreno Slip vs. Grip

Environmental Management (EV2)

1st Nidhi Ohri 8th Wasson Clean Renewable Energy Source of the Future: Splitting Water (into H2 and O2) Year 22nd Gaby Serrano 6th Moreno Burger-Burners3rd Deborah Velez 6th Bennett Evading ErosionHM Kiley Miller 6th Christopher Let’s Bust the Rust

Environmental Analysis (EV1)

1st Juanita Cabrera 6th Moreno Beach Test2nd Natalie M. Ortiz 8th Frye Pollutants’ Effect on Drinking Water3rd Alec Wilcox 8th Christopher Preventing Beach Erosion3rd Colton Woolsey 6th Frye Now You See It, Now You Don’tHM Katie McClellan 6th Moreno The Effects of Acid Rain

Mathematics

1st Ian Mitchell 8th Wasson Best of the Best2nd Gracie Davidson 7th Moreno Pick A Card, Any Card3rd Samantha Marino 6th Christopher Zeotrope: The Original GIFHM Daniel Gomez 6th Christopher The Bounce of the BallHM Matthew Hagglund 7th Moreno Premier Soccer Goal Keepers

Medicine and Health

1st Reagan Pomp 8th Wasson Sunscreen: Examination of Degradation in Water (Year 2)2nd Katelyn Spurlock 6th Frye Blood, Sweat and Tears3rd Chloe Cunningham 8th Frye Are Twins as Close as you Think?HM Olivia Gatchev 6th Moreno What’s in Your Drink?HM Francesca Rignanese 8th Keene What’s in Your Drink?

Microbiology

1st Ryan Self 8th Wasson Dirty to Clean2nd Kaitlin Yap 8th Wasson Is this water clean?

Physics and Astronomy

1st Zac Begey 7th Moreno Which Fin Will Go Sky High?2nd Duncan Clarke 7th Moreno Magnet Power!!!3rd Joseph Harrington 6th Moreno A Nerf Gun MysteryHM Kevin Miceli 7th Perez It’s All About That Drag…No Pressure

Zoology

1st Sophie Von Kalm 8th Keene Competition Between Drosophilia Species2nd Brad Geiger 6th Moreno Darth Vader’s Worms: Going to the Dark Side3rd Emma Spicuzza 6th Moreno What is a Ladybug’s Favorite Color

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sTeP uP To research Reading classes have been working on The Step Up to Research Units. These units offer students the opportunity to integrate the discrete skills, strategies, and sets of knowledge that they are learning in Reading Edge and their content area classes to produce original intellectual products that are designed to persuade and inform others, or to support a claim. These units provide short, focused opportunities for students to research questions that they generate and gather relevant information from multiple sources, cite sources correctly, draft a written product, and present their findings to an audience. Step Up to Research units have four-lessons and provide a structure for the research process and for the presentation and evaluation of research products.

MaTh Math students at JHMS are working hard with Amplify projects as well as the new Florida standards in preparation for the FSA in the spring. We just completed district assessments and will modify our instruction based on the analysis of the data of them. Prospects for the Math Festival have been selected and we will begin working on preparing for that during homeroom on Wednesdays. An Algebra/Geometry Boost Camp will be offered and will be spread out over the course of the year to help assist students with those high school credit classes. Information has gone home with students. If you didn’t receive any information and are interested, please contact Ms. Mouton at michelle_mouton@scps.k12.fl.us. We look forward to a spectacular second semester.

Math Club Math Club is off to a great start. We have several students from all grade levels participating and are having a great time on Wednesday afternoons. It is still not too late to join. Meetings are every Wednesday after school in Ms. Mouton’s room (2-206) from 3:00 – 4:15pm. Competitions will begin on January 31 at Lake Brantley High School. If you need additional information on joining the Math Club, you can contact Ms. Mouton at michelle_mouton@scps.k12.fl.us.

english/language arTs, Where “laFs” coMe naTurally

The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, and the students are getting ready to tackle the FSA Writing and FSA Reading assessments. The window for all students to complete the FSA Writing assessment is March 2nd-March 12th. The FSA Reading portion will take place during the fourth quarter, from April 13th- May 8th.

What can you do to help1. Make sure your child is reading! Good readers are good writers; you cannot have

one without the other. 2. Track your child’s Discovery Education progress. Constant support and supervision

are the number one indicator of student success. 3. Have fun! We live in a result driven society, but too much pressure makes for kids

that are too stressed to succeed. Times of fun help kids recoup and reinvigorate.

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social sTudies corner 6th grade In World History our students participated in a Confucius Gallery Walk, analyzed multiple primary and secondary documents about the building of the Great Wall of China, and completed a DBQ essay answering the question “The Great Wall of Ancient China: Did the Benefits outweigh the Costs?” while learning about ancient China. Next our journey through history will take us to ancient Greece where we will learn about the Persian and Peloponnesian wars, the birth of democracy, influential Greeks, and the differing beliefs of Athenians and Spartans.

7th grade We hope all of our students had a restful Winter Break and utilized it as an opportunity to digest some key concepts we covered in the beginning half of the year. Our Civics classes entered January learning about the Judicial Branch, their final piece to the United States Government puzzle. This quarter is one that elicits great enthusiasm and many questions for students as we explore our American Legal System and embark upon key Supreme Court Cases. With this area of study comes a bit more complex vocabulary that the students should be diligently practicing at home. The most interesting factor regarding our upcoming units is the great connection that the topics have to the real world and current events. We encourage parents not to shy away from sharing school appropriate news with their students in order to help them apply the concepts they are learning- You will be amazed at their level of understanding and may even learn something new yourself! In order to further help students process this information we will be holding various “Boost Camps”- please be on the look out for further details on these events that will aid our young citizens in becoming civics’ masters!

8th grade Students in the new Pre-AP U.S. History class have been digging into exciting historical research through the DBQ project. Students explore such topics as the death toll at Jamestown, the hardships at Valley Forge, and the growth of democracy under Andrew Jackson. Through critical thinking and primary source analysis students become true historians. All 8th grade Advanced and Pre-AP students recently participated in the History Fair (part of National History Day). Their final project was due January 13th and students presented their research in a variety of ways. The effort and quality of work was truly amazing. The SCPS History Fair will be held at Markham Woods Middle School on February 21st and JHMS will be well represented. Please come out to support these amazing students.

JhMs lady BoBcaT dance TeaM

The Lady Bobcat dance team started 2015 out with 7 Top 10 finishes at the UDA Florida Regional Dance Championship. The event was held at Disney’s Wide World of Sports on January 19th. The team is preparing for several upcoming school based performances as well as their final competition at Oviedo High School on February 28th. Interested in joining the fun? Try-outs for the 2015-2016 team will be held Wednesday, April 29th and Friday, May 1st after school. You must attend both days to be eligible to make the team.

Non-Profit OrganizationU.S. Postage PAID

MID-FL 32799Permit #10002

MIDDLE SCHOOLSeminole County Public SchoolsJackson Heights MS41 Academy Ave.Oviedo, FL 32765

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Date of Board Adoption: May 21, 2013Definition of Descriptions:Schools Closed = Teachers and students not in attendance; Educational Support Center open for business Schools Closed for Students – Students not in attendance; Teachers are working & Educational Support Center is open for business School System Closed – Teachers, students, and employees at Educational Support Center not in attendance

February 16 School System Closed

March 12 End of 3rd Quarter

March 13 Schools Closed for Students / Teacher Workday, Student Make-up Day #3, If Needed

March 16-20 Schools Closed

March 23 Classes Resume - Start of 4th Quarter

April 3 Schools Closed

May 22, 26-27 Early Dismissal for Students (Last three days of 2nd Semester)

May 25 School System Closed

May 27 Last Day of Student Attendance – End of 4th Quarter

May 28-29 Teacher Workdays

seMinole counTy PuBlic schools sTudenT calendar 2014-15