Ms. Keppler's sewing club is not only learning to sew, but they are sewing for a great cause! Project Linus, the sewing club's new community partner, is an organization that provides blankets for foster children in need. Project Linus was named after the adorable security blanket-toting character from the Peanuts comic strip and today nearly 300 chapters exist with more than 7 million blankets delivered to children since 1995. Ms. Keppler was gifted some old sewing machines and members of Project Linus have helped to get them running so our students can begin to make blankets. This year alone, our sewing club has donated their time and talent to:

-making items for the patients at the Veterans hospital.

-made items for the homeless.

-collected cold-weather items for the needy.

Thank you to Ms. Keppler & the sewing club for your amazing service to our community!

We still have very limited Internet access in the building and Schoology is not functioning for staff or students at this time, unless you have Schoology on your phone app (that apprears to be working). To contact a teacher, please try to use their email listed on our website under OUR SCHOOL - MEET OUR STAFF - STAFF DIRECTORY, rather than Schoology, but be aware that they may not see that email until later in the day or evening since Internet access is limited.

Also, student email addresses have been disabled temporarily as we work on restoring the network & computer systems. Students will not have access to school email or Microsoft Office online.

Our Technology Integration Specialist, Ms. Deavers, is still conducting regular Chromebook checks this month so students do not lose their devices. The 6th & 7th grades already had their Chromebook checks; 8th grade will have a Chromebook check on Thursday, Feb 23rd. Ms. Deavers suggests that students lock their devices & chargers in their lockers at school or keep them in a safe place at home until they can be used again on the school network. We also have several locked charging stations at school for Chromebook storage.

If you are the parent of a student who is being dropped off in the morning, PLEASE DO NOT PARK IN OUR SCHOOL PARKING LOT. Teachers have not been able to get into the building for work because all of the parking is being taken by parents. If you do not want to wait in the drop off line running down the access road between the school and the Rec center, we ask that you park at the Rec center and have your student walk across the field to the school. We need our staff to be able to park their cars and get inside to work. Thank you for your help with this matter.

Last Saturday, February 11th, North Middle sent several students to the County Social Studies Fair. Students who earned first place will advance to the regional competition on March 18th! Congratulations to those NMS students who placed in their respective categories:

Anthropology

3rd- Liam Kradel- "Death in Different Cultures"

Economics

3rd- Olivia Butts- "Why Do We Have to Pay for Healthcare and Medications?"

Sociology

3rd- McKenzie Langevin- "Creepy Cryptids and Their Impact"

Honorable Mention-Macy Hernandez- "Bullying Yesterday and Today: How It Affects Children"

State & Local

1st-Riley Martirano- "Monster Myths and Legends of West Virginia" (ADVANCES TO REGIONALS!)

U.S. History

2nd- Bella Potts- "The Angel of Gettysburg"

Psychology (Group)

1st- Kiana Rogers and Aubreigh Rogers- "How is Bi-Polar Disorder in Men and Women Different?" (ADVANCES TO REGIONALS!)

U.S. History (Group)

2nd- Aliyah Greenberg and Allura Kent- "Mae Jemison, An Inspirational Life"

3rd- Sara Hyatt and Mersadiez Gisler- "Catching Coca Cola"

Both the boys and girls varsity basketball teams ended their seasons this past Monday with winning records! We are so proud of their hard work this season!

The girls basketball team will have a final practice/ party to celebrate and turn in jerseys. Details will be sent out soon by the coach!

We want to thank all of the players, coaches, parents, and teachers/ staff who made this basketball season possible. A HUGE SHOUT OUT goes to our games manager, Mr. Scheller for all of his hard work in setting up each and every basketball game!

Permission slips for the James Rumsey/ Blue Ridge field trip on March 3rd are due to Ms. Jackson NO LATER than February 22nd (Wednesday). This is a great opportunity for 8th grade students to be introduced to higher education opportunities.

Every year, 8th graders all over the State of West Virginia participate in the Golden Horseshoe competition. Students take an essay and multiple choice test about WV history, culture, geography, & economics. The top 250 students in the state will be invited to a special ceremony in Charleston, WV in the Spring. It is quite an honor to be one of the "Knights of the Golden Horseshoe." North Middle has been honored to have students named to the top 250 in the past and we look forward to it again!

This year, the essay portion of the Golden Horseshoe test will take place in social studies classes on February 21st. The multiple choice portion is tentatively scheduled for March 2nd. Eighth graders, please see your social studies teacher for more information.

Current 7th & 8th graders - This is your last chance to apply for the West Virginia Governor's STEM Institute! The application deadline is February 22nd! Check out the links below for more information or see Ms. Jackson in the guidance office.

ABOUT GSI

HOW TO APPLY

APPLICATIONS & FORMS

The Spring Mills freshman track season starts March 6th. Practice will run from about 3-4:30 daily. Interested students need to have a physical and have family ID updated in order to practice. Students or their parents can join our the Spring Mills track Facebook group ("SMHS Track & Field" on Facebook) to get additional information or contact Coach Matt Smith at Spring Mills High School.

Each August as teachers begin a new school year with a new group of students, they often find themselves teaching rules & procedures. For example, we teach students how to appropriately walk in the hallway, dump their trash in the cafeteria, and when to ask to sharpen a pencil or use the restroom. Teaching behaviors often helps kids know what is expected of them so they can rise to the occasion.

The same type of instruction can be helpful for parents as they allow their children to use cell phones. Many students do not know how to appropriately use a phone and can quickly get into trouble with their new-found freedom. With the help of the bark app, we have adapted an optional Family Tech Contract for parent use. Perhaps even just discussing some of the behaviors and guidelines on this document could open up a helpful conversation between you and your child about their technology usage. The blank lines allow you to create your own procedures tailored to your own home, child, and available technology. We hope this is a helpful resource for you as you navigate 21st century technology with your child!

Click on the downloadable copy below if you would like to print one for your family's use.

We have also included a link to several parental control phone apps for your information.

Our school partners with Shenandoah Community health to provide health services to our families. The clinic opens every Thursday on our school campus and interested students/ families can contact the school for more information or permission forms. You can also refer to the flyer below for information on their vaccination program for Covid-19.

From 5-8pm on June 8, 2023, FREE SPORTS PHYSICALS will be available at the Dorothy McCormick Center. Save this date on your calendar! More details will be available as the date grows closer!

AMAZING things are happening all over our building! Here are just a few examples:

*Mr. Malcolm's 6th grade reading class is creating board games on their class novels (Hunger Games & Holes)!

*Ms. Long's Family & Consumer Science classes created Valentine's Day cooking kits and sold chocolate-covered strawberries this week to make money for their cooking program.

*Ms. Linton & Ms. Tang helped students learn how to bake snickerdoodle cookies.

*Ms. Gantt's class went on a nature walk during the warm weather this week to make observations and connect Earth's systems like geosphere, biosphere, atmosphere, and hydrosphere. This was an activity to help students realize our planet couldn't function without each component.

*Ms. Mangold and Coach B's gym students are in the middle of their unit on badminton! The tournament is underway!

*Students in Ms. Kyker's social studies class have been busy making Black History Month board games, Civil War one pagers, etchings and reformer trading cards!

*Ms. Franze's math students participated in a Breakout Box escape room activity to review math. For every set of problems the students finished correctly, they got a clue to the code for the Breakout Boxes!