Poplar Grove Post
February 2020
NOTE FROM THE ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL:
Hello, PGMS families and happy February!
We started the 2nd semester off strong, and it has been great to see all the students and teachers back in the classroom teaching and learning! January brought the installation of our new water bottle filling stations for each hall, the GaGa Ball Pit, new Promethean boards in several rooms, some great basketball games, a Volunteer luncheon, a school wide PBS reward, drama practice, and a Father/Daughter Dance. What a busy month! I’m sure that’s not everything, but THANK YOU to every person who helped make all those things so successful.
Believe it or not, February is here and we have a lot of great things going on this month, too! Please see the events and dates for February listed below and mark your calendars. Between parties, homecoming, cheer trip to Nationals, Basketball Tournaments, etc. (you get the idea!) this is going to be another month full of opportunities and learning experiences. Again, thanks to every parent, teacher, paraprofessional, student, and community member for making PGMS the place it is. We stay busy, but it’s for the benefit of ALL!
February will be busy, so please be sure to mark your calendar for the following events:
Feb. 3 - PGMS vs. USN (Home) @ 4:00
Feb. 3 - High School Career and Technical Ed Info Night @ FMS (6-8 p.m.)
Feb. 6 - PGMS vs. GCA (Home) @ 5:00
Feb. 6 - 10 Honors Testing
Feb. 7- 10 PGMS Cheer @ Nationals
Feb. 7 - 13 HVAC Varsity Tournament
Feb. 10 School Board Meeting @ PGMS (6:30)
Feb. 13 Best Buddies Valentine’s
Feb. 14 Pride Time/ Valentine’s Parties/ Early Dismissal
Feb. 17 President’s Day (No students)
Feb. 18-21 Homecoming Week!
Feb. 19 Centennial HS Registration @ PGMS
Feb. 19 Blood Drive @ PGMS (11:30 -2:00)
Feb. 20 Alumni Game @ 6:00
Feb. 21 Homecoming Dance (6:30 - 8:30)
Feb. 27 Franklin HS Registration @ PGMS
Whew! We really packed a lot into this short month! Hope you have a great February.
CLINIC NEWS FROM NURSE LIZ:
CHILDREN’S SPECIAL SERVICES OFFERED BY THE WILLIAMSON COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT
The Children’s Special Services (CSS) Program offered through the WMC Health Department assists with coverage of doctor’s appointments, prescriptions and medical equipment for children birth to 21 for a qualified medical diagnosis. If needed, please call or come see me, so I can offer assistance in getting you in touch with the individual in charge of this program.
Although Influenza activity remains high in middle Tennessee, we have not received many reports of doctors visit confirmed Influenza from PGMS parents. Our absentee rate due to illness remains what it typically is for this time of year. Most of the complaints of students coming to see me in the clinic have been gastrointestinal related.
Nurse Liz
COUNSELOR'S CORNER
2020 Rising 9th Grade High School Registration Dates
High school registration for current 8th grade students at Poplar Grove Middle will be here soon. Please review the information below and mark the dates on your calendar.
For students zoned to Centennial High School:
CHS Parent and Student Orientation – February 11th at 6:00 p.m. at Centennial High School.
CHS Rising 9th Grade Student Registration – February 19th and 20th in the Poplar Grove Middle School Library. Parents will receive a registration appointment time by mail.
For students zoned to Franklin High School:
FHS Parent and Student Orientation – January 27th, at 6:00 p.m. at Franklin High School
FHS Rising 9th Grade Student Registration – February 27th in the Poplar Grove Middle School Library. Parents will receive a registration appointment time by mail.
Registering your child for high school will take about 20 minutes. Parents are encouraged to attend their child's registration appointment but it is not required. If you would like to register your child at another time, you may call their zoned high school to make a registration appointment with a counselor.
Please be sure to complete and bring all of the necessary enrollment forms to your scheduled appointment.
English and Spanish versions of all enrollment forms needed for high school registration can be found at https://www.wcs.edu/schools/enrollment/new-student-enrollment/
If you have any questions regarding the registration process or if you need to reschedule your appointment time, please contact Keith Welch at 615-472-3993 or welchkei@fssd.org
GRADE LEVEL NEWS:
5TH GRADE NEWS:
6TH GRADE NEWS:
This month, students reflected on things they wanted to leave behind in 2019 and things they want to get better at in 2020. We wrote down our items and displayed them in the hallway as a daily reminder. For an ELA review, students searched for main ideas and their strongest supporting details. Student interacted in teams to compete to find the most correct pairs.
7TH GRADE NEWS:
Cells have been the focus for January in 7th grade science class!
8TH GRADE NEWS:
RELATED ARTS NEWS:
Extra Credit Opportunity for 5th/6th Grade ELA:
The Williamson County Public Library's Children's Dept. is hosting an event called Take Your Child to the Library Day to encourage families to come checkout what great resources the public library has available to support literacy. Mrs. Jeffords, Mrs. Phy, and Ms. Hollis are offering extra credit to students who attend. The event is Saturday, Feb. 1st, drop-in any time from 10:00-4:00. There will be a special guest author from 11:00-12:00. Be sure to sign-in at the Children's Dept. to receive extra credit.
Extra Credit Opportunity for 7th/8th Grade ELA:
The Williamson County Public Library's Teen Dept. is hosting an event called CLUED IN to encourage families to come checkout what great resources the public library has available to support literacy. Mrs. Onusaitis and Ms. Davis are offering extra credit to students who attend. The event is Saturday, Feb. 1st, drop-in any time from 2:00-4:00. Be sure to sign-in at the Teen Dept. to receive extra credit.
6TH GRADE STEM NEWS:
These students are learning about gear ratios. They will be competing soon with their cars. Which team will be able to climb the highest incline with the greatest load?
7TH GRADE STEM NEWS:
Students are learning how to cut, strip, and attach wires to complete a circuit.
SPANISH NEWS:
Making amigos in the USA
I want to surprise my students by having a valentine/letter (written in Spanish.) from each of the 50 states and most certainly all over TN. We will have a map of the USA & as we get a valentine, we will place a heart sticker on the state. Please share if you and your family would like to participate. We have already received letters from NYC and Kansas City! If you can mail these letters prior to February 14th that would be greatly appreciated.
EXTRACURRICULAR NEWS:
8TH GRADE TECHFIT NEWS:
Students are busy building their portions of exergames! We will use Nanonavigator and Scratch to program our games once prototypes, engineering design notebooks, and actual game is created!
WELCOME BACK:
PGMS and 5th grade are excited to have Ms. Phy back! We are happy she is doing well! We also want to thank Mrs. Woodruff for doing such an awesome job in her absence!
From the Building Level Instructional Technology Leadership Team:
Below is an article from Common Sense Media entitled Parents' Ultimate Guide to Smart Devices. Enjoy!
https://www.commonsensemedia.org/blog/parents-ultimate-guide-to-smart-devices
POSITIVE BEHAVIOR SUPPORTS NEWS:
We really enjoyed celebrating students positive behavior at our quarterly Positive Behavior Support (PBS) assembly where students were able to enjoy a snack, drink, and gather to watch some Disney Short Films in January. Our next quarterly incentive will be in March, so be sure to ask your child for details in the coming months.
We have been busy planning new student and staff PBS incentives for the month of February and are excited to announce that students will be able to enter PBS tickets into their weekly grade level drawings for a FAST PASS to lunch. The lucky students that are drawn will be able to go to lunch 5 minutes early to skip the lunch line, get to the microwave first, or just enjoy an extra 5 minutes of free time!
This quarters’ character trait is RESPECT. We will be discussing respect in Advisor Groups for the next couple of months, so be sure to ask your child about activities and discussions that are meaningful to them. Advisor group dates for February are 2/10 and 2/24!
SAVE THE DATE:
On March 24th at 6pm, there will be a parent presentation done by the
Williamson County Department of Health about E-Cigarettes, JUUL, and
Vaping at PGS. It is a short presentation with GREAT information. Knowledge is power and we encourage you to attend to get current information. This meeting is intended for ALL parents of ALL students grades preK-8th grade.
STAFF/STUDENT BASKETBALL GAME:
This year the Beta Club will be collecting a monetary donation for entrance into the game. Beta Club will vote which organization will receive the funds collected. Beta Club will also be selling concessions at the game! The game is February 20 at 6:00 pm.
BLOOD DRIVE:
Blood Drive: February 19th, 2020 12-5 PGMS Gym
For donors:
To schedule an appointment, go to www.redcrossblood.org enter sponsor code: PGS19. They will only see appointment times.
USED BOOK SALE:
THANK YOU!
We want to give a HUGE Thank you to Jenni Rodgers at Spruce Beauty Studio for the generous donation to our father
daughter
dance.
PGES SPIRIT NIGHT:
Bring your family and friends to Spirit Night at Chuck E. Cheese in Cool Springs on Thursday, February 6th from 3:00-9:00. Where your sticker and get 10 FREE tokens! When you order, please tell the cashier you are with Poplar Grove and PGES will receive 15% of your order! Let’s turn fun into FUNDS!
PGMS SPIRIT NIGHT AT RED ROBIN:
PGS CHEERLEADERS:
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