Poplar Grove Post
February 2017
NOTE FROM THE PRINCIPAL:
A huge THANK YOU is in order for the FSSD Technology Department. Our Chromebooks arrived a short time after ordering and the FSSD Technology Department inventoried and readied them for student use almost immediately. The Chromebooks are now in the hands of our students!
Below are a few important dates in February.
-Tuesday, February 7 - Progress Reports
-Friday, February 17 - Early Dismissal Day
-Monday, February 20- No School for Students (District-Wide PL Day)
CLINIC NEWS FROM NURSE LIZ:
SEASONAL INFLUENZA ON THE RISE
Confirmed cases of influenza are on the rise in Middle Tennessee. Flu activity is expected to further increase in the coming weeks. Prior to our winter break, we had multiple students at PGMS, with confirmed cases of influenza. The influenza A virus has been identified as causing the most frequent flu activity. This strain does cause more severe illness. A flu shot is one of the best defenses against influenza. It’s not too late to get a flu shot and it takes 10 days to 2 weeks to take effect. The seasonal influenza vaccine is a good match for the circulating viruses this season.
Please remember that if your child has a fever, they cannot return to school until they have no fever for 24 hours, without fever reducing medication.
Nurse Liz
COUNSELOR'S CORNER:
Talk to Your Child About Using Social Media Responsibly
Social media, which kids use to take part in online social communities, is part of the life of many middle schoolers. Even if your child isn’t involved yet, chances are he will be in the future. Social media use can help students establish a sense of identity and build networking skills. But when used recklessly, it can negatively affect selfesteem and academic performance.
To manage and monitor your child’s social media use, consider:
· Privacy. Even if your child communicates online only with people he knows, they can still share what he posts with others. If your child isn’t comfortable with everyone knowing something or seeing it, he shouldn’t post it.
· Face-to-face contact. Social media can be a part of your child’s social life. But if it is becoming most of his social life, he may have a problem. Does your child like to hang out with his friends in the “real world”? If not, you may have to strictly limit social media time and encourage interactions away from the computer.
· Feelings. Social media makes it easy to hurt someone. Tell your child that posting something he wouldn’t say to someone’s face is cowardly and is also a form of bullying.
· Observation. Visit the sites your child uses and require him to let you access the information and images he puts online.
GRADE LEVEL NEWS:
5TH GRADE NEWS:
In 5th grade, we are excited for the arrival of our new Chromebooks! Students have already been using them in Language Arts, and we look forward to incorporating them in both Science and Language Arts as we prepare for an upcoming research project related to the students’ study of our Solar System.
We would like to congratulate several of our 5th graders on a job well done! At our recent 2nd quarter academic awards, the following students were recognized for their huge accomplishments in reading by joining our Century Club. This means that so far this year, they have earned over 100 AR points! Kudos to Andrew Bechtel, Dennis Morrison, Grayce Bechtel, and Tobey Jones. We have several other students that are not too far behind and will reach this milestone very soon!
Finally, we would like to recognize Andrew Bechtel for winning second place in a recent essay contest sponsored by the TN Department of Education. Andrew’s essay on why it is important to participate in elections earned him a $250 scholarship and a special trip to the state capitol later this spring. Well done Andrew!
6TH GRADE NEWS:
Several math students, Keira Yocum, Debra Zhang, Yao Xiao, Sydney Hueser, Jacob Aebie, Hannah Wimpy, Rose Lenda, Riley Sheridan, Sanjana Alokam, Logan Plowman, and Matthew Hardy, represented Poplar Grove's Math Department at Brentwood High School on January 21! There were two contests: Apollo and Poseidon. Contest #1, Apollo: Debra Zhang received 4th place. Contest #2, Poseidon: Yao Xiao placed 4th and Keira Yocum placed 11th. Our problem solving sixth graders competed against Pre-Algebra students in the 6th, 7th, and 8th grades across Williamson County!
This February, all our sixth grade happy hearts will gather for a fun Valentine's Day Party on February 14th. We will show our kindness to one another as we celebrate this holiday.
7TH GRADE NEWS:
Seventh grade celebrated awards for students who had the highest average or the most improved average for second quarter. We are so proud of the hard work of all our 7th graders! Keep up the good work!
This year our 7th graders have a wonderful opportunity to travel to the Nashville Children's Theater and lunch at the Old Spaghetti Factory in Nashville. The play is Treasure Island on Friday, February 3 with lunch following. Students should wear their PGS shirt and do not need additional money. Deadline to turn in money is : Friday, January 27. Thanks to Mrs. Webb for organizing this awesome trip!8TH GRADE NEWS:
This year, Poplar Grove Middle Students placed first, second and third! Jeff King, Associate Director, Bishop Joseph Johnson Black Cultural Center, called it a “clean sweep”. This is the first time PGMS students have won the top three places. Winning third place was Ansley Brown; second place went to Lillian Para, and first place went to Kassandra Munguia. Kassandra read her poem twice on Martin Luther King Day. She read it prior to the “Freedom March” and again later in the evening at the commemorative ceremony. Kassandra’s whole family was in the audience to see her read. They were so proud of her. Congratulations to all three of these young ladies!
Mrs. Jeffords will be tutoring after school until 4:00 Mondays, Thursdays, and Fridays. Please make sure your child has a ride.
RELATED ARTS NEWS:
Library News:
Would you like to honor someone (teacher, student, loved one) by donating a book to the PGMS Library Media Center in his/her name? This is a great way to commemorate your graduating 8th grader’s years at PGS, or celebrate a teacher or child’s birthday, or remember a lost loved one. You or your child can come to the library and choose from one of next year’s VSBA nominated-books. An honor plate will be placed in the front of the book so that PGMS students and teachers will remember your honoree for years to come! To download the form, visit our website:
Franklin Mayor Classroom Visit
Art News
Luis Melendez 5th
Caroline Young 5th
Sanjana Alokam 6th
Yao Xiao 6th
London Lewis 7th
Bella Karlsson 7th
Emma Jordan 8th
Ana Victoria Perez 8th
Diana Segovia is also our district January Birthday card artist! Great job Diana!
EXTRACURRICULAR NEWS:
Used Book Sale
Our Used Book Sale will be February 27 - March 3rd. We will still be collecting gently used children's and adult books and videos throughout the month of Feb. There are collection bins in both lobbies. The Used Book Sale is a fundraiser for our library media centers and will be held in the PGES lobby. Be sure to shop to get some great deals!
Spelling Bee
After 21 rounds, our PGMS spelling bee champion is Rohan Alokam. Bharat Bhaskar is our 2nd place finalist. Rohan will compete online to earn one of 70 spots in the regional spelling bee that will be held in Nashville on Saturday, March 11.
Dedication Books
Williamson County Juvenile Court Legal Clinic
This free legal clinic is designed to assist low income or indigent self-represented never married parties seeking information and advice about custody, visitation, and child support issues.
Location: Williamson County Public Library, Franklin Branch
Date:
February 7, 2017
Time: 4-6 P.M.
For more information please call Williamson County Juvenile Court (615) 790-5812
This grant is funded with federal funds pursuant to Section 469B of Title IV-D of the Social Security Act as amended, to provide initiatives intended to address the needs of divorced, unwed, and never married parents, emphasizing parenting time issues of non-custodial parents.
POPLAR GROVE MIDDLE SCHOOL
Email: treadwaychr@fssd.org
Website: poplargrovemiddle.fssd.org
Location: 2959 Del Rio Pike, Franklin, TN, United States
Phone: 615-790-4721
Twitter: @FSSDpgms