Poplar Grove Post
October 2019
NOTES FROM THE ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL:
Hello PGMS families,
With September’s close and the arrival of Fall, we are excited about all the things taking place during the month of October. We have packed a lot into the first quarter of school! Students and teachers alike have been working hard to grow and learn in the classroom, and everyone deserves a Fall Break. Friday, October 4th we will have a House Day, Pride Time, and 11:30 early dismissal. When we return from break we will be kicking off our primary fundraiser, Fall Fest, which will take place on October 31st this year. There will be games, prizes, food, and lots of other fun activities to help students earn money for our school. More information will be coming soon, so be on the lookout for anything Fall Fest related after October 14th. Lastly, please remember how very important it is to continue to meet with teachers for parent-teacher conferences. Conferences have been taking place and will continue to take place through October 18th. This is an excellent time to meet with teachers, ask questions, and make a plan for continued success.
We are sure that October will be busy, so please be sure to mark your calendar for the following events:
October 4th House Day, Pride Time, and Early Dismissal (11:30)
October 7th – 11th Fall Break
October 14th Fall Fest Kick Off
October 17th FHS IB program informational meeting (PGMS Library 6 p.m.)
October 18th PBS Celebration
October 21st Advisor Monday
October 24th Chick-Fil-A Spirit Night
October 31st Fall Fest Event
CLINIC NEWS FROM NURSE LIZ:
Hello Parents!
October is Sudden Cardiac Awareness Month.
PGMS is a “Heart Safe School!” We have a cardiac emergency response team and received our “Project Adam” certification last spring. Being Project Adam certified is important. Sudden cardiac arrest can lead to death without intervention. Our rapid response team members are prepared to respond to a cardiac emergency. CPR and AED’s save lives!
The FSSD is partnering with the Williamson County Health Department, offering Flu vaccinations to PGS students the week of October 21. Watch for more information about this to come home in your child’s Tuesday folder in the next couple weeks.
Happy fall ya’ll!
Nurse Liz
COUNSELOR'S CORNER
Middle school students who feel good about themselves have an advantage during the tween years. They’re less dependent on impressing others, and they tend to face challenges with confidence. Here are some ways to build self-esteem in your child.
1. Be realistic.
2. If a youngster is like many middle graders, her view of herself (outgoing or shy, artsy or athletic) is based on where she fits in among her peers. But instead of comparing herself to others, urge her to recognize her strengths and pursue them.
3. Choose friends wisely. Encourage your child to spend time with people who build her up and avoid those who put her down or talk behind her back.
4. Help Others:. Making a difference in another person’s life can boost your middle grader’s self confidence. She will take pride in being a leader and a role model. Suggest that she tutor younger students or volunteer with children’s programs at a community center or place of worship.
2011 Resources for Educators
GRADE LEVEL NEWS:
5TH GRADE NEWS:
In science, 5th graders were challenged to create a solution and prototype to help solve a very real problem in Tennessee's waterways. A non-native species, Asian carp have invaded the habitats of native fish in the Cumberland and Tennessee River systems. The invasive carp are taking over the food sources and habitats of the native fish. One specific species of Asian carp, the silver carp, is not only a danger to the native fish populations, it is also a danger to boaters. This carp is known to jump up to eight feet out of the water. Silver carp can grow to be as large as 60 pounds. Several boaters have been injured when struck by the jumping fish. If the size of the Asian carp population continues to increase, it could mean the extinction of some native fish species.
The 5th graders worked in groups developing many amazing possible solutions and prototypes. Some groups thought to use drones with weighted nets, sound waves to annoy the fish, and even learned that silver carp like corn.
Miss Woodruff and Miss Cochran are so pleased with the awesome teamwork students used to follow the Engineering and Design Process.
Mrs. Jefford's students have been diligently writing their own personal narratives.
6TH GRADE NEWS:
This month, students started working on different projects in classes, taking tests and quizzes. We want to celebrate the time we had to support other PGS kids by purchasing items at the bake sale and cheering on 2nd grade runners at Groovin' at the Grove! We were also able to receive tons of participation in our PBS incentive by having snow cones during recess!
7TH GRADE NEWS:
7th grade students in Science made density columns earlier in September and recently made models to demonstrate differences between elements, compounds, and mixtures.
Language Arts class in "Book Club."
Students have the chance to delve into the real world of a book club with their peers. They choose the book together, and come together to discuss the book once a week.
8TH GRADE NEWS:
Students in Mrs. Pearson's 8th grade English Language Arts class are working hard on their narrative essays. The students finished reading a class novel from 13 different character's perspectives. Their assignment was to add a 14th character and finish the book from their own character's perspective. This assignment requires creativity and critical thinking... it always ends up being favorite from 8th grade ELA.
RELATED ARTS NEWS:
LIBRARY NEWS:
Library Book Dedication
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. Your child can come to the library and choose from one of next year’s VSBA nominated-books in a library-bound format. An honor plate will be placed in the front of the book so that PGMS students will remember your honoree for years to come! Visit the library webpage or click here for more details. This year's Battle Book and next year's VSBA - Lifeboat 12 was donated in honor of Dexter's birthday in April.
SPANISH NEWS:
Students enjoyed using Barbasol Shave to learn new vocabulary. They interacted with vocabulary by using their fingers to write the new words down on the desks. This was a very fun way to engage all the students and learn the vocabulary. Thanks to all the parents for their donations.
5TH GRADE STEM NEWS:
Students were challenged with the task of building the tallest tower. We are learning about strong foundations and strong shapes (triangles). Also, bridges must be able to withstand forces like compression and tension, pushing and pulling respectively.
6TH GRADE STEM NEWS:
We love our collaboration with Vanderbilt University! Students video our gallery walk as other students explain their diagrammatic models of an ecosystem. We will complete embodied models and computational models of ecosystems soon!
7TH GRADE STEM NEWS:
Students from House Coraticus are ready to battle with their Hydraulic Arm Bot! We will be headed to FMS for a tourney soon! May the best team win!
8TH GRADE STEM/TECHFIT NEWS:
Gio Castro is working on wiring our Nanocontroller for upcoming event at the Factory. TECHFIT students are learning valuable skills and demonstrating lots of innovation and problem-solving!
EXTRACURRICULAR NEWS:
CONGRATULATIONS:
Reese Brown 2nd place overall as a 6th grader!!
Andrew Bechtel 2nd Place
Zack Swiger 10th place
The girls finished 4th and the boys finished 5th overall.
Lastly, congrats to 5th grade who endured tough practices and broke PR’s in the final!
Atticus Orman
Gabe Shepler
Colten Rawson
PBS NEWS:
September has been a very eventful month for Positive Behavior Support at PGMS. We hosted our first quarterly student incentive and students were able to earn extra recess and a snow cone! In order to participate, students had to meet criteria that demonstrates our three school wide expectations: Be Responsible, Be Respectful, and Show Pride! Our next quarterly incentive will be on Friday, October 18th.
Thank you to all of those that attended the PBS Lock-In! It is always a fun filled night for the students and the teachers. The students had a blast playing Nerf wars, dancing, locking their friends in jail, posing for a fun photo, and much much more! The PBS Lock-In funds all of our House events, House t-shirts for new students, student and staff PBS incentives, community service projects, and the PBS end-of-year celebration. If you would like to donate prizes, items for the PBS cart, or items for the end of the year celebration, please email iturriton@fssd.org.
This quarter we have been focusing on Kindness and will be giving Pride Awards to our exceptionally kind students on October 4th. We have been doing many activities in Advisor Group that focuses on the character trait Kindness such as writing positive Post Its and taking a Kindness Challenge. Next quarter we will be discussing the character trait COURAGE, so it is a good time to talk with your child about what that looks like at school, at home, and in the community.
POPLAR GROVE COMPETITION CHEER:
TECHFIT NEWS:
TECHFIT: TECHFIT students, Kaleb Martin and Blake Green, demonstrated a snippet of last year’s ESCAPE ROOM exergame at a Williamson Inc event at the Factory on September 17. Congratulations to all TECHFIT students helping to make this event a success! TECHFIT students are already generating great ideas for this year’s exergame!
CHICK-FIL-A SPIRIT DAY & NIGHT!
On Thursday October 24th PGS is hosting a Spirit DAY!
Anytime between 6:30 am – 10:00 pm stop by the South Franklin Chick-Fil-A (Columbia Ave.), order your food, and tell the cashier team member you are there to support Poplar Grove Elementary; a portion of your sale will be donated to Poplar Grove.
Mom or dad can stop by for breakfast before heading to work, grandparents can take younger siblings for lunch, and families and teachers can come in any time after school or sporting events are over and enjoy a great meal with friends! “Eat more chicken” and help make this ENTIRE DAY a success!!
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