Greenwood Lakes Middle School Newsletter

Dear Eagle Families,

From the Principal

Happy Spring! As we enter the final 9 weeks, know we are committed to our school mission to provide a learning environment that addresses the academic needs of your child. The mission of Greenwood Lakes Middle School is to ensure that all students acquire the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to be productive citizens. We will continue to strive for student success as we wrap up this wonderful school year.

Along with teaching the curriculum, we are also preparing your child for the FINAL Florida Assessment of Student Thinking (FAST) in April and May. The Civics EOC, Algebra EOC and 8th Grade Science Assessments will also occur in May. These computer-based assessments will begin the week of April 1st with Writing and continue May 2nd through May 17th. Specific grade level information and dates will be sent out through Skyward Family Access and posted on our Greenwood Lakes Middle School calendar. Visit www.greenwoodlakes.scps.k12. fl.us for more details. Remember to update both your email and phone numbers in Skyward Family Access. You can do this at home by simply logging into and updating your contact information.

We encourage you to check out the types of questions your child will be asked to answer on these rigorous assessments. You can do this by going to https:// flfast.org/fast.html. You will then click on “Students & Families” and then “Take a Sample Test for Grades 3-10”, click “Sign In” (no need to change the Guest log in information), select the grade level and the Student Practice Test you would like to take. There is lots of critical testing information on the FLDOE website. We appreciate any time you can devote to you and your students understanding of the FAST.

We have many great activities coming up in the second half of the year. We encourage all families to become involved by attending parent/teacher conferences. Our 8th Graders are looking forward to 8th Grade Awards Night on Tuesday, May 14th at 6:00pm in the gym. 8th Gradventure will be Saturday, May 11th. 8th Grade Dance will be Friday, May 17th from 6 pm – 9 pm in the gym. These events are for 8th Graders only and a privilege. Permission forms went home in December and need to be returned to Ms. Smith, Administrative Dean in order to participate. Students need to see Ms. Smith if they need another form. Don’t forget Semester Exams start

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Breezi

Rendon Fletcher, Assistant Principal

Jacqueline Wick, Assistant Principal

Evan Sokolowsky

School Administration Manager (S.A.M.)

Latasha Smith, Dean of Students

Gary Fletcher, Dean of Students

Cherish

Maryann

Title I

Parents, please visit the GLMS webpage for information on Family Engagement activities, district Parental Involvement opportunities, Florida School grades, and other Title I information. You can also visit the front office to review the Title I Binder which contains the School Improvement Plan (SIP), the Parental Family Engagement Plan (PFEP), the School-Parent Compact, School Report Card, and the Parents’ Right to Know.

From the Principal

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Tuesday, May 21st and continue during Early Release Days May 22nd, 23rd, and 24th.

We believe that our students can do anything they wish to do and can be anything they wish to be. We want to provide hope and encouragement to all students to dream big and go after their dreams. If there is anything we can do to help your child, please do not hesitate to contact us.

As Always, Let’s SOAR Eagles!

State Certified and Licensed Teachers and Paraprofessionals

All Title I schools are required to employ only state certified and licensed teachers and instructional paraprofessionals. If at any time your child is taught by a non-state certified teacher, your school will notify you. In addition, you have the right to:

• Request whether your child’s teacher(s) and/or paraprofessional(s) meet the state certification requirements for the grade levels and subject areas in which they provide instruction.

• Request whether a teacher and/or paraprofessional is teaching under emergency or other provisional status where state qualification or licensing criteria have been waived.

• Request information on the baccalaureate degree major of a teacher and/or paraprofessional and any other graduate certification or degree held by the teacher and/ or paraprofessional, and the field of discipline of the certification or degree.

GLMS Events Update

Stay updated on GLMS events…visit the GLMS webpage and click on the Events tab. http://www.greenwoodlakes.scps.k12.fl.us/

The School Improvement Plan (SIP) has been finalized and posted the GLMS website! The SIP and all other school documents may be translated upon request.

PBS

Our PBS team is looking for donations to help supply our school store, The Eagle’s Nest, with supplies, snacks, and other items of interest that appeal to middle school students. We open our school store on Wednesdays and students can buy items with SOAR bucks that they earned in class for good behavior. One of the most requested items is individually wrapped snacks such as chips, candy bars, and especially Takis. If you would like to help support positive behavior on campus, we are taking donations through the My School Bucks QR Code link listed below. We are also accepting items that are brought into the school by parents and students. If you drop off items, please make sure that it is labeled PBS. Thank you for your continued support, Greenwood Lakes Middle School Positive Behavior Team

Student Services

Greetings Eagle Families!

We are gearing up for the last push of the school year! Yes, we only have one more quarter left of this school year…let’s finish strong!!!!!!! Testing season is upon us. Here are some helpful hints for students as we prepare:

• Get plenty of rest the night before any test. Limit screen time before bed and be sure to get at least 8 hours of sleep.

• Eat a healthy, protein-rich breakfast the morning of the test. Eggs, yogurt, or cottage cheese are great options that will keep a student full for the majority of the morning.

• Don’t stress! Students should absolutely want to do their best on an assessment, but endlessly worrying about the outcome is not going to help the situation. Use a calming strategy such as counting to ten, deep breathing or guided imagery. There are several websites that have different techniques that can be helpful in a testing environment. For our 8th grade families, please be sure that you have completed your registration for high school. Registration and course selection information for most school high schools went out in February and has already come due. You can go to their high school’s website for more information about the registration process!

Both school counselors met with all current 6th and 7th grade students in February to review registration cards for the 2024-2025 school year. All course requests have been entered and the administrative team is in the beginning stages of developing the master schedule for the next school year. Please note that the schedule is based upon the students’ course requests during this preliminary registration time, and it can be very difficult to change a student’s schedule in the fall. Any student who scores a Level 1 on the 2024 Math FAST and/or a Level 1 or Level 2 on the 2024 Reading FAST will be enrolled in Intensive Math and/or Intensive Reading coursework for next year (the Intensive class is one full credit and takes the place of 1 full credit elective or two half credit electives).

Math

6th Grade Standard

Students will be learning about statistics and how to use the data to analyze real-world situations. Students will be learning about mean, median, mode, range, Lower Quartile, Upper Quartile, Interquartile Range, box plots, histograms, and line plots. Students will then transition to learning algebraic skills such as variables, coefficients, expressions, constants, and equations. Students will be learning how to write and solve equations, which sets up the foundation for Algebra.

6th Grade Accelerated

Students will be learning about expressions and the properties along with how to write and solve equations, which sets up the foundation for Algebra. This may be one of the first times that students begin understanding what variables are even though they have been using them since elementary school. We are solving equations but now, students will have equations with variables. It is SUPER important that students understand and show their work with solving equations as students will solve 1 step equations in 6th grade, 2 step equations in 7th grade and variables on both sides in 8th grade. Students need to have a strong understanding of 1 step equations to be successful in other questions.

7th Accelerated for 6th Graders

Students will continue to learn about functions, solving equations and simplifying expressions containing rational numbers. Students will transition to learning about probability, comparing 2 populations and finally scatter plots with bivariate data.

7th grade Standard

Students will work on solving 2 step equations, move onto proportional relationships and finally, volume and surface area of cylinders.

7th grade Accelerated

Students will continue to learn about functions, solving equations and simplifying expressions containing rational numbers. Students will transition to learning about probability, comparing 2 populations and finally scatter plots with bivariate data.

Pre-Algebra

Students will be learning all about functions and equivalent expressions, theorems of angles and statistics including probability. We will be reviewing the topics from quarter one and two in preparation for the FAST PM3.

Algebra

Students just finished up quarter 3 with quadratics. We will now be studying polynomials with a degree of three or greater, exponential functions, and statistics. Every day students should set time aside at home to work through the “Test Yourself” from Math Nation as a review of all the topics to prepare for the E.O.C. (End of Course Exam) on May 9th.

Geometry

Students have been working diligently with similar triangles and trigonometric ratios. During quarter four, we will investigate the properties of circles in a plane and on a coordinate grid. We will wrap up with spatial reasoning and looking at formulas such as volume and circumference before the EOC. Please encourage your student to spend time each day reviewing topics to prepare for the EOC given on May 8th and 9th.

Language Arts

6th

Hello parents and students! Wow, time flew by and sadly, 6th grade is coming to an end. As we enter quarter 4, let’s prepare our upcoming 7th graders for the road that lies ahead.

What does this semester look like? What should we expect?

Quarter 4 is busy, plain and simple. Students should expect final exams, adjusted bell schedules, and unit quizzes as we wrap things up. Expectations are at their highest so preparedness, positive behavior, and effort are expected at all times. There is no time to slack in quarter 4, so irresponsible misbehavior will not be tolerated.

Quarter 4 contains a final exam, how can I help my student prepare?

As for preparing for the test, there are excellent resources located in the Q3 Week 9 module on eCampus. Studying these will definitely put your student on the road to success. While we often review in class, if a study guide is available, then it will be provided to students in advance. Let’s not stop supporting our students in reading. A good reader becomes a great writer. Athletes do not learn their sport through a mass of lectures; they watch the greats and participate. A student who reads will see how good writing should be structured and subconsciously mimic said writing in the classroom. Let’s get our students reading!

Quarter 4 is the “wrap-up” quarter. With the end of the year around the corner, we understand that students are exhausted, but this is no time to lose effort. We must encourage students to push harder now than before and support them along the way. Let’s make the road to summer a successful and productive one!

7th

Hi Eagle Families,

We can’t believe that we have made it to the fourth quarter already! The seventh graders have been working so hard this year. As students prepare for the end of the year, we will be doing many activities to help review the materials covered this year. The FAST writing assessment will take place the first week of April, and the ELA FAST test will be in May. Please encourage your students to try their best! These tests help determine their class placements for next year!

After the FAST writing assessment we will begin our new unit, Test of Time. This will be an exciting unit that answers the question “Why do we still read myths and folktales?”. This will be an exciting unit, as we will be reading an excerpt from “The Hunger Games.” Students will also find this unit to be engaging, as it includes Mythology, which many students have been waiting for!

We are looking forward to finishing this year strong! Mrs. Atkins, Ms. Hiltibidal, and Ms. Kennedy

8th

As we are approaching the end of the year, students are exploring the essential question: How do you choose the right words? Students already read the classic President Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, as well as the notable Harlem Renaissance writer James Weldon Johnson’s poetry. We are looking forward to helping our students choose the right words for themselves as they look ahead to high school next year. With a genre focus on speeches and personal letters, this Grade 8 unit helped students to understand how to get their message to the right people in the right way. We are immensely proud of all the hard work the 8th graders have put into their final year of middle school and wish them well as they continue their journey in high school. Love, Mr. Catherwood, Ms. Mitchell, and Mr. Piper!

Social Studies

Reading Hello Eagle Families,

We hope you transitioned smoothly into this new school year! The Reading Department is thrilled to welcome you back and look forward to an exciting second semester in reading class.

Students have completed their 2nd I-Ready diagnostic. This diagnostic gives students a score in the following categories: phonics, phonemic awareness, vocabulary, and comprehension. The data from this assessment is used in the classroom to help teachers provide individualized instruction to fill any learning gaps students have. Your students will take this assessment one more time this school year. Ask them about their data! They participated in one-onone data chats with their teachers regarding their results. This semester, students will be working to read and comprehend texts in small teacher-led groups, collaboratively with peers, and independently with their personalized iReady learning path.

Please reach out to your child’s reading teacher at any time with questions. We look forward to working alongside you and your family this year!

6th Grade

Hello to our 6th-grade Eagles and their families!

We are on our way to begin our last nine weeks of the school year. For the upcoming nine weeks, we will be learning about Christianity and how it relates to ancient Rome. Afterwards, we will learn about the amazing civilization of ancient India. We will then jump into the ancient civilizations of the Americas (Olmecs, Maya, Aztecs, and Zapotecs). We will end the year with a final project where students create their own unique civilization!

7th Grade

Greetings Eagle Family!

Our 7th grade Civics Eagles are working hard on wrapping up their final units of study before their End of Course (EOC) in May. For this upcoming quarter the students will be focusing on Forms and Systems of Government, Foreign and Domestic policies, and State and Local Government. This year’s EOC is scheduled to take place on May 15, 2024. The Civics teachers will send out an updated study plan for all Civics students when it gets closer to the EOC date so that all students will get the chance to review and prepare successfully for their EOC. The EOC consists of 52-56 multiple choice questions. The students will have 160 minutes to complete their exam, and to pass the EOC the students must receive a 3 or higher. Together we will ensure that our Eagles are more than ready to tackle this assessment.

8th Grade

Hey Eagle Families!

Our 8th-grade students are in the homestretch of their year in U.S. History. In Quarter 3 we finished examining the differences between the North and the South, and how the Industrial Revolution led to a larger political divide between regions. As we continue our journey through the last quarter of the school year, we will first examine how the North and the South continued to stretch apart with their interpretations of the Constitution. The final few units your student will be studying include the Civil War and the Reconstruction Era. The students will continue to compare and contrast, specifically looking at the Union and the Confederacy. The students will examine and describe the battles and aftermath of the Civil War.

Grade 6 Science

Science

Students are exploring outer space! Students compare and contrast the properties of objects in the Solar System, including the Sun, planets, and moons, to those of Earth, such as gravitational force, distance from the Sun, speed, movement, temperature, and atmospheric conditions. Students will also explore mechanics utilizing specific physics boxes that are sure to pack a lot of fun!

Grade 7 Science

Students are exploring how every organism requires a set of instructions that specifies its traits and that this hereditary information (DNA) contains genes located in the chromosomes of each cell. In May, students will participate in the comprehensive health unit that covers Family Health and Life topics. A notice from the administration with further details will be sent to students and their families.

Grade 8 Science

Students are exploring body system interactions. Students will learn how different body systems interact to maintain homeostasis to support life. Afterward, the focus will shift to reviewing all middle school science material to prepare for the Standardized Science Assessment (SSA) during the first week of May. We encourage families to help students by studying key vocabulary terms (as found in their science notebooks) and to continue working hard in class. Check your student’s Skyward and Canvas sites to keep track of missing assignments.

Band

Hi everyone,

The bands have been working hard preparing for our upcoming performances! Here are our next few concerts:

• Music Performance Assessment (Symphonic Band): April 11 @4:15 PM at Lyman HS

• Jazz Showcase (Jazz Band): April 23 @7 PM at Lake Mary HS

• Spring Concert (All Bands): May 13 @6 PM at Lake Mary HS

I hope to see you all there! Admission is completely free for all these concerts so please come on out to support!

Musically yours,

Ms. Fiorel, Band Director

Greenwood Lakes Middle School

601 Lake Park Drive

Lake Mary, FL 32746

Current Resident or/

Law and Order

We appreciate Trevor Brewer of BrewerLong Law taking the time to visit our Law and Order classes! We enjoyed his in-depth presentation about many different areas of law. Students were fully engaged during conversations about what it’s like being a lawyer. They were also very interested in his responses to their questions. We hope to have Mr. Brewer back again soon!

Art

Theater

Congratulations to our GLMS Theatre 3 students for their performances at the State Jr Thespians Festival in Orlando. Our students earned four ratings of Excellent and six Superiors, as well as Top Honors and Judge’s Choice for our own Stella Robinson! Keep an eye out for ticket information for our spring musical, Mean Girls Jr.! Our Theatre 3 production class will be rocking the Theatre room stage on April 25th and 26th!!!

Basketball

Hello GLMS!!! Please join us in celebrating winning 6 out of 9 prizes in the Red Ribbon Week Poster Contest. We re very proud of our students’ effort. The winners are as follow:

Grade 8

• 1st Prize - Ava Albertson

• 2nd Prize - Sofia Acosta

Grade 7

• 1st Prize - Eliana Lopez

• 2nd Prize - Mackayla Murdock

• 3rd Prize - Milana Arnone

Grade 6

• 3rd Prize - Rylee Williams

Basketball tryouts have concluded and the teams will be playing on the following days:

• March 27 – Markham Woods (Girls Away/Boys Home)

• April 3 – Teague (Girls Home/Boys Away)

• April 10 – Sanford (Girls Home/Boys Away)

• April 17 – Millennium (Girls Away/Boys Home)

• April 24 – Rock Lake (Girls Away/Boys Home)

JV will start at approximately 4:30 PM with Varsity beginning shortly after the conclusion of the JV game.

District Tournament will be held on April 27 (Location TBD).