The Paw Print
Issue 2 September 2014
Dear Friends of North Middle:
Well, we finally have a name for our newsletter. I hope all of our Wildcats and parent partners find the first official edition of The Paw Print to be helpful. We will likely send a trimmed down version home with students for the first couple of releases, but I urge our community to view the online edition in order to see the photos and interactive content.
Our year is off to a terrific start! I have had the opportunity to see our Wildcats perform in a variety of settings and have been extremely impressed. I sure hope we are living up to our mission statement and revealing a true dedication to learning.
One of the phrases I hear often from our parent partners is usually some variation on how “different” school is today than when we were in middle school. Well I should hope so! One might argue that we have not changed nearly enough in light of how different our economy is today (and will be tomorrow). Anyone who has ever engaged me in a conversation over current trends in education knows that I love to talk about it. While the Paw Prints will be used primarily to highlight the good work of our Wildcats and inform our partners about upcoming events, I would like to take a small corner of the online version to share my thoughts on a variety of subjects that might be of further interest to our parents. In keeping with our goal of making this newsletter interactive, what would you prefer to hear more about:
A)Standards Based Education. This theme permeates so much of our current work that I can’t imagine not writing about it. When explained briefly, this sounds so simple that one might wonder why it is even worth discussing (or debating). The challenge lies in that it is vastly different than how we experienced school.
B)Grading and Reporting. Why the distinction between formative and summative? What is the difference? Why do we have “recovery” for poor grades?
C)Textbooks. What happened to them? Will we see them again? Should we?
D)Technology. Does my middle schooler need it, really? What role can social media play? Is the school even aware of the reach and magnitude of cyber-bullying?
E)School Safety. How prevalent is bullying? What are schools doing to stop it? What is “Bullying”?
Please find the poll at the bottom and let us know which topic you are most interested in.
I’ll sign off for now and leave you to read more about our Wildcats, their accomplishments, and their upcoming events.
GO CATS!
FCA
Fellowship of Christian Athletes meets on Thursday mornings at 8:15-8:45. (For information see - Mrs. Parham, Coach Carnes, Coach Martin). We've had great attendance for the past several meetings. Thank you for your support!
NFMS Athletic Booster Club Dance
Friday, Nov 7, 2014, 04:15 PM
3645 Coal Mountain Drive, Cumming, GA, United States
RSVPs are enabled for this event.
Basketball Tryouts
Mon. Oct. 20th - 8th grade girls (4:15-6:15) 7th grade girls (6:15-8:15)
Tues. Oct. 21st - 8th grade girls (4:15-6:15) 7th grade girls (6:15-8:15)
Wed. Oct. 22nd - 7th grade boys (4:15-6:15) 8th grade boys (6:15-8:15)
Thurs. Oct. 23rd - 8th grade boys (4:15-6:15) 7th grade boys (6:15-8:15)
**Students must have a current physical on file with Coach Hoyle, proof of insurance, and passed 5 or more classes from the Spring semester of 2014 in order to be eligible to tryout.**
Book Fair
Wildcat Cafe
The month of October is National Farm to School month and since blueberries are now Georgia’s largest crop, you’ll be seeing a lot of blueberries next month. Watch out Smurfs… NFMS is going blue.
The Café will be celebrating National School Lunch Week October 13-17.
RISE –UP and FUEL –UP Breakfast contest October 1 – October 31. Prizes will be given away every Thursday in October during breakfast. Hope to see you there.
Bingo Night
Saturday, Nov 15th 6:00 – 9:00
Come join us for an opportunity to win some big prizes!
Tech Connect
Tech Connect
“It’s picture day?!?!? Why didn’t you tell me?”
Have you noticed that children are not always the most reliable messengers? Do you find out about things like school pictures, lunch balances, long-term projects and dress-like-an-aardvark day at the last minute or after the actual event? North Middle has several ways for you to stay informed that don’t involve counting on a middle schooler’s powers of retention.
The school calendar is posted on our web page. Upcoming events are down the left side. Click the calendar icon in the top-right to see the whole month. http://www.forsyth.k12.ga.us/nfms
Sync your mobile calendar. You can sync the events on the school web calendar with your mobile device. www.tinyurl.com/NFMScalendars
ITSLearning is the place to see your child’s assignments. You can use your parent portal login or your child’s. Helpful how-to files are here- www.forsyth.k12.ga.us/Page/44389.
Get social! Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter. Many upcoming events are announced in these two venues as well. Facebook www.facebook.com/NorthForsythMS, Twitter https://twitter.com/NorthForsythMS
Parent Portal won’t keep up with upcoming events, but you can see your child’s grades, attendance, and even vaccination records. Login here https://campus.forsyth.k12.ga.us. Directions for signing up are here http://tinyurl.com/NFMSPortal
Stay on top of your child’s lunch money balance and even get notices when it drops below a level you set. There is a cost to make payments via the service, but the monitoring is free and you can send in money with your child. https://parentonline.net
Mrs. Henke's art class
NFMS Raised over $1200 for Alex's Lemonade Stand: A Cure for Childhood Cancer
Congratulations to Joy Parham: NFMS Teacher of the Year
Meet our Teachers
Each issue, the Paw Print will introduce two Wildcat teachers. This month, the spotlight is on Alex Hilton and Mike King.
Alex Hilton
Number of years teaching: 2
College Attended: Thomas Edison State College (Undergrad), University of North Georgia (grad)
Degree/s earned: Bachelors in Communications, Masters in Education
Hometown: Virginia Beach
Hobbies: Playing and watching sports, reading, spending time with church small group
Family Life: Married for almost 4 years to wife Katie, brand new daughter Charlie
Subject Taught: Special Education Language Arts
Best lesson learned from your educational experience: Education instilled a passion for reading in me.
Favorite Sports Team/s: Atlanta Braves, Washington Redskins
Favorite TV Show: NCIS
Favorite Movie: Gladiator
Mike King
# of years teaching: 32
College Attended: Clayton State College and graduated from Georgia State
Degree/s earned: Associate's degree in education and Bachelor's degree in Middle Grades Education
Hometown: Bessemer AL
Hobbies: Hunting, reading, working in yard
Family Life: My wife and I spend most of our time with our 15 year old daughter as she plays travel and high school softball. We also have a 27 year old son who works for Georgia Power Company and lives in Cartersville, GA.
Why do you teach? I love helping kids and making a difference in their lives. I truly love what I do!
Best lesson learned from your educational experience: You have to be compassionate, understanding and should the love the kids.
Favorite Sports Team: University of Alabama, Atlanta Braves & Atlanta Falcons
Favorite TV Show: anything on SEC channel
Favorite Movie: A Few Good Men
Favorite Band: Rascal Flatts and Lady Antebellum
Wildcat Football 6-0 Heading into Last Two Weeks of Season
Join us to support our UNDEFEATED Wildcats!
Tuesday, September 30 @ Raider Valley vs. SFMS
Saturday, October 4: JV @ SFMS vs. SFMS
Tuesday, October 7 @ Little Mill vs. LMMS
Tuesday, October 14: Playoff Round
Tuesday, October 21: Championship hosted by Vickery Creek
Contact Us
Website: www.forsyth.k12.ga.us.us/nfms
Location: 3645 Coal Mountain Drive, Cumming, GA, United States
Phone: 770-889-0743
Facebook: www.facebook.com/NorthForsythMS
Twitter: @NorthForsythMS
8th Grade Savannah Parent Meeting
There will be an 8th grade parent meeting for those interested in the Savannah field trip. The meeting will be held on Wednesday, October 1 at 6:30 p.m. in the cafeteria. All details concerning the trip will be discussed at the meeting. For further information, please contact Mike King mking@forsyth.k12.ga.us
Yearbook Info
Attention 8th grade parents: have you ordered your child’s 8th grade yearbook recognition ad!? October 20th is the last day to purchase your ad at the early, discounted price. In past years the NFMS yearbook staff has run out of space in the ad section because of last minute orders so get yours in today! You can create your ad by going to http://www.nfmsyearbook.com and clicking on ‘ORDER 8TH GRADE ADS’. There is also a FAQ section available there to answer any questions you may have. Be sure to purchase your child’s yearbook as well!