jacksonheightsms_feb.. - Academy Publishing, Inc.

VOLUME 16 l NUMBER 4
february 2015
MIDDLE SCHOOL
FOR THE PARENTS, STAFF, AND COMMUNITY
OF JACKSON HEIGHTS MIDDLE SCHOOL
Principal’s Message
Hello 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
continued on page 2...
Administration
Mrs. Sarah Mansur-Blythe
Principal
Kellie Cashion
Assistant Principal
Brandon Hanshaw
Assistant Principal
Cynthia Woods
Assistant Principal
Siobhan Pitters
Dean of Students
‘Bobcat Tracks’
February 2015
Published Four Times Per Year
Seminole County Public Schools
400 E. Lake Mary Blvd.
Sanford, FL 32773
Issue # 4
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!
2
Principal’s Message
...continued from cover
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
DISTRIBUTION
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PUBLISHER
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ARB HS
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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.
PROGRAMS
SENIO
PORTR RS
AITS
COLOR
Social Media
Are we friends? Like us on Facebook! Then, follow us on Instagram, and Twitter, to
see exactly what we are up to.
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!
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
3
Student Council Fundraiser
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).
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.
4
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
Behavioral & Social 1st
Caitlyn Pham
2nd Tori Colasuono
3rd
Connor Cleveland
HM Olivia Harshey
Biochemistry
1st
Caroline Byington
2nd Nevada Cullen
3rd
Addie Atkins
HM Alani Long
Botany
1st
Adrianna M. Vasquez
2nd Luke Skillington
3rd
Colton Bundy
HM Rori Vigliotti
Chemistry
1st
Kaitlin Gallagher
2nd Audra Menard & Alexis Mitchell
2nd Bethany Jablon
3rd
James “Britton” Daniel
HM Murhaf Hamed
HM
HM
Grade
8th
8th
8th
8th
8th
8th
6th
6th
6th
6th
7th
7th
8th
8th
6th
8th
6th
Evan Bogert & Teddy Schwartzhoff 7th
Lauren Lee
7th
Teacher
Wasson
Wasson
Wasson
Wasson
Wasson
Wasson
Moreno
Frye
Moreno
Bennett
Moreno
Keene
Wasson
Wasson
Moreno
Keene
Moreno
Project Title
Action Reaction
Do You Hear What I Hear?
Total Recall
Age and Illusionary Perception
Protein Power
Sweeteners: More than Meets the Mouth
This Science Fair is Driving Me Nuts
Electrolysis
Growing Energy
What Can pH Do For Your Garden?
Plants on Meds
No Sugar Tonight
Lotions or Potions?
Hidden Caffeine
Are You Stuck on Stickers that Don’t Unstick
Comparing Evaporation Rates of Liquids
Correlation Between Shelf Life and Level of
Acidity of Common Beverages
Moreno Delicious and Nutritious
Keene Die Packing Peanuts, Die
5
Category
Computer Sciences
Place
1st
2nd
3rd
HM
Earth & Planetary Science
1st
2nd
3rd
Engineering Materials (EN1)
1st
2nd
3rd
HM
Engineering Electrical (EN2)
1st
2nd
3rd
HM
HM
Environmental Management (EV2) 1st
2nd
3rd
HM
Environmental Analysis (EV1)
1st
2nd
3rd
3rd
HM
Mathematics
1st
2nd
3rd
HM
HM
Medicine and Health
1st
2nd
3rd
HM
HM
Microbiology
1st
2nd
Physics and Astronomy
1st
2nd
3rd
HM
Zoology
1st
2nd
3rd
Student Name
Paul Curtin
Caroline Martinelli
Travis Koenig
Caroline Hickey
Michael McNamara
Jenna Davis
Zach Beckenhaupt
Jordan Treibitz
Nicole AmRhein
Charles Ellis
Jesse Fei
Ryan Nelson
Roberto Vasquez
Sunwoo Ha
Sam Evatt
Elliot Mooney
Nidhi Ohri
Gaby Serrano
Deborah Velez
Kiley Miller
Juanita Cabrera
Natalie M. Ortiz
Alec Wilcox
Colton Woolsey
Katie McClellan
Ian Mitchell
Gracie Davidson
Samantha Marino
Daniel Gomez
Matthew Hagglund
Reagan Pomp
Katelyn Spurlock
Chloe Cunningham
Olivia Gatchev
Francesca Rignanese
Ryan Self
Kaitlin Yap
Zac Begey
Duncan Clarke
Joseph Harrington
Kevin Miceli
Sophie Von Kalm
Brad Geiger
Emma Spicuzza
Grade
7th
6th
8th
6th
8th
6th
6th
6th
8th
6th
8th
8th
8th
7th
6th
6th
8th
6th
6th
6th
6th
8th
8th
6th
6th
8th
7th
6th
6th
7th
8th
6th
8th
6th
8th
8th
8th
7th
7th
6th
7th
8th
6th
6th
Teacher
Moreno
Moreno
Wasson
Bennett
Wilt
Moreno
Moreno
Bennett
Wasson
Moreno
Wasson
Wasson
Wasson
Perez
Moreno
Moreno
Wasson
Moreno
Bennett
Christopher
Moreno
Frye
Christopher
Frye
Moreno
Wasson
Moreno
Christopher
Christopher
Moreno
Wasson
Frye
Frye
Moreno
Keene
Wasson
Wasson
Moreno
Moreno
Moreno
Perez
Keene
Moreno
Moreno
Project Title
Dr. RAM
The Adwords
Interference of Wiring with WiFi Signals
Main or Minor
The Highs and Lows of Wind Speed
Go With the Flow…The Story Behind Ocean Currents
How Does Wind Affect Measuring Rainfall
What Type of Tape is the Strongest?
Beat the Heat!
Having a “Ball” with Surface Densities
Ferrofluid Fun
Electricity Out of Thin Air
Hot Potato…Cold Potato
Stronger Paper
Can you Build a Better Swim Fin?
Slip vs. Grip
Clean Renewable Energy Source of the Future: Splitting Water (into H2 and O2) Year 2
Burger-Burners
Evading Erosion
Let’s Bust the Rust
Beach Test
Pollutants’ Effect on Drinking Water
Preventing Beach Erosion
Now You See It, Now You Don’t
The Effects of Acid Rain
Best of the Best
Pick A Card, Any Card
Zeotrope: The Original GIF
The Bounce of the Ball
Premier Soccer Goal Keepers
Sunscreen: Examination of Degradation in Water (Year 2)
Blood, Sweat and Tears
Are Twins as Close as you Think?
What’s in Your Drink?
What’s in Your Drink?
Dirty to Clean
Is this water clean?
Which Fin Will Go Sky High?
Magnet Power!!!
A Nerf Gun Mystery
It’s All About That Drag…No Pressure
Competition Between Drosophilia Species
Darth Vader’s Worms: Going to the Dark Side
What is a Ladybug’s Favorite Color
6
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 help
1. 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.
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.
7
JHMS
Lady Bobcat
Dance Team
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.
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 Organization
U.S. Postage PAID
MID-FL 32799
Permit #10002
MIDDLE SCHOOL
Seminole County Public Schools
Jackson Heights MS
41 Academy Ave.
Oviedo, FL 32765
Seminole County Public Schools Student Calendar 2014-15
8
Date of Board Adoption: May 21, 2013
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
Academy Publishing School Newsletter Program ™ 800-644-3541
Definition 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