April 2015 - Millennium Middle School

For The Parents, Staff, Students & Community Of
Millennium Middle School
21 Lakeview Drive, Sanford FL, 32773
APRIL 2015
Issue
4
VOLUME 1
PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE
www.millennium.scps.k12.fl.us
Thank you for encouraging your students to do their very best on
the recently completed FSA Writing tests. Up next are the FSA
Reading, Math and Science tests which will begin in the middle
of April. Testing schedules will be sent home through Skyward.
So, please make sure your email and other information is up to
date in Skyward.
Once more we ask parents and guardians to assist by continually
encouraging your child to give their very best on these exams.
Further, please try to avoid scheduling appointments and trips
on FSA testing days. We know that many outside leagues
and organizations continue their busy schedules through this
time. To facilitate attendance for these exams, please provide
coaches and sponsors with these dates and ask them, if
possible, to limit the amount of practice and play that occurs
during this time. Late arrivals and early dismissals may result
in make-up testing which will disrupt your child’s daily school
schedule.
During FSA days, students should follow these important testtaking tips:
vv Get a good night’s sleep each night before the test
vv Eat a nutritional breakfast the morning of each test
vv Understand how the test is structured –teachers will review
this with you
Looking back, our third quarter has been filled with successes.
We have increased the number of students earning a grade
point of 3.5 or better and decreased the number of discipline
referrals due to our PBS program! Our Performing Arts
department participated in a number of events earning both
Superior and Excellent ratings. Other achievements from this
quarter include:
vv Students continually showcasing their talents through
productions, performances and concerts in the evening as
well as during the school day.
vv Several of our Odyssey of the Mind teams won at the
region competition and will be competing at the state level!
Good luck OM’ers!
vv Our track team was the team to beat at the District
Championships in February!
vv Students competed against other schools in Math Counts
and Mu Alpha Theta. Please help us build our SCPS
Math Festival team. This event will occur in late April and
interested students should contact Mrs. Morris for details.
We want to take a huge team to show our Falcon Pride!
Again, we want to thank you for your continued support of the
Millennium Falcons! We encourage you to check us out on
Facebook.
vv Plan your time—wear a watch and pace yourself
vv Review your answers for accuracy—use your time wisely!!
Dr. Margaret M. Gunderson
Additionally, it is important that you emphasize to your child that
they have practiced the skills required for these tests and
that we want them to be successful!
Principal
To download a PDF version of this newsletter, go to http://www.academypublishing.com/schools/millennium/millennium.php
ADMINISTRATION
Principal
Dr. Margaret Gunderson
Monday - Friday
8:30 - 4:30 pm
Phone: 407-320-6550
Assistant Principals
Gina Maitland, 8th Grade
Daniel Thompson, 7th Grade
Trina Grenon, 6th Grade
Dean
James Rish
James Oliver
Administration Manager
Deborah Smith
Our Mission
“Millennium Today...College
Tomorrow”
Educating Every Child
Every Day
Every Class
2
Millennium Middle School
Parent Teacher Conferences
Conferences are held on Mondays and Fridays from 8:35 a.m. to 9:05 p.m. Please contact Mrs.
Hayes at 407-320-6558 to schedule a parent teacher conference.
PTSA Reflection Time
The Millennium Middle School PTSA would like to thank all the students who participated in
this year’s Reflections program. Everyone did a fantastic job!! Millennium had several students
advance to the county level and a few of those continued onto the state level. The PTSA would
like to congratulate the following students for their outstanding work submitted to Reflections!
•
S. Stahl – 1st Place Visual Arts for MMS
•
L. Bass – 2nd Place Visual Arts for MMS and advanced to State Level
•
S. Miah – 3rd Place Visual Arts for MMS and Honorable Mention at County Level
•
G. Rodrigues – 4th Place Visual Arts for MMS and Honorable Mention at County Level
•
V. Tsompanidis – 1st Place Literature for MMS and advanced to State Level
•
K. Zayas – 2nd Place Literature for MMS
•
R. Bestinger – 1st Place Dance Choreography for MMS and advance to State Level
The following students received an Honorable Mention for their amazing art work submitted for
the Reflections program at Millennium Middle School:
K. Jaeb
M. Fitsmauree
J. Benninghove
M. Patel
L. Beger
A. Ranaldi
A. Koonie
M. Roth
A special Thank You to the teachers and staff who helped promote and facilitate the
Reflections Program!!
Next year’s Reflection theme is Let Your Imagination Fly…
Start working on your submission for next year!!
‘Falcon Flight Plan’
April 2015
Published Six Times Per Year
Millennium Middle School
21 Lakeview Drive
Sanford, FL 32773
Issue #4
www.HarrellAndBeverly.com
SAVE UP TO $50!
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$50. Cannot be used or combined with
any other discounts, coupons or offers;
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407-322-8415 209 W 25TH ST Sanford
3
April 2015
SEMINOLE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Attention 6th Grade Parents
An additional immunization is required by the Department of Health
and the Department of Education for all students entering the 7th
grade next school year.
Theatre Department
Schedule of Events:
A Tdap booster (adult strength tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis) is
required before your child can begin the school year 2015-16 unless a
booster dose has been received within the past five years and the school has documentation of
the student receiving the earlier booster dose.
Formal documentation is mandatory. You must present a completed Florida Certificate of
Immunization form DH 680, with an updated Part A signed by a healthcare provider or designee,
for your child to receive a schedule or enter school on the first day of the school year.
Please submit the proper proof of immunization to your child’s school as soon as possible.
If you are unsure if you have turned your child’s updated immunization in to the school, you can
check the shots that the school has on record by logging into skyward and looking in the health tab.
Your child’s healthcare provider or the Seminole County Health Department can provide the Tdap
booster. The Health Department is located at the following addresses:
Seminole County Health Department
400 W. Airport Blvd.
Sanford, FL 32771
Immunization Unit Phone: 407-665-3281
Seminole County Health Department
132 Sausalito Blvd
Casselberry, FL 32707
Immunization Unit Phone: 407-665-3410
A modern day version of Louis Carroll’s
classic Alice in Wonderland
April 2nd
Theatre 4 Production: Alice@Wonderland
Directed by Edna Bland and Peter Cortelli
7:00pm
Cost: $3.00 for adults and $1.00 for students.
Skyward Family Access
This online program allows you to view your student’s grades, attendance, and contact teachers.
Come to the school and present photo ID to create an account. If you need to reset your password,
use the link on the login screen to enter your email. All students can view their grades online at
https://skyward.scps.k12.fl.us with Login: student ID # and Password: (birthdate) mmddyyyy.
May 1st
Jr. Thespian Induction Ceremony
Millennium Hall
6:00 PM
4
Millennium Middle School
Positive Behavior Support (PBS) Corner
Last month we had a school-wide door decorating contest with the theme WE LOVE MILLENNIUM! The results are in…
A special thanks to all of the classes that participated. Winning homerooms will receive an ice cream party. Go Falcons!!!
April 2015
Odyssey of the Mind Teams
5
6
Millennium Middle School
Department News
Millennium Falcon
Social Studies
SPORTS
6th Grade Update – In World History, the 6th grade students are investigating Rome
and completing their Rome Document Based Question on the Fall of Rome. 6th grade
students will take a Standards Based Assessment that will count 20% of their 4th quarter
grade during their final exam week in May.
Basketball Schedule
7th Grade Update – Classes just completed studying the political parties. They will then
move into the election process and examine propaganda and the media. 7th graders
will take their Civics End of Course Exam during the week of May 11-15. Tutoring to
help prepare students for this test is being offered Tuesday and Thursday afternoons
from 4pm to 5pm. All interested students should see Ms. Shields for information and
permission forms.
March 11
Sanford @ Millennium (Boys); Girls @ Sanford
March 25
Rock Lake @ Millennium (Boys); Girls @ Rock Lake
April 1
Markham @ Millennium (Girls); Boys @Markham
April 8
Greenwood @ Millenium (Girls); Boys @ Greenwood
8th Grade Update – Students finished up Westward Expansion and the Reform
Movements of the mid-1800s and are now examining the events leading up to the
Civil War. This 9 weeks will focus on the Civil War and review for the Standards Based
Assessment that will be given to all students during their final exam period. This exam
will count 20% towards their 4th quarter grade.
Parents - Please check Skyward on a regular basis. You can see your child’s grades and
missing assignments as soon as they are posted.
April 15
Teague@ Millennium (Boys); Girls @ Teague
April 18
Tournament [TBA]
Language Arts
Language Arts has experienced an exciting year thus far! Students have wrapped up their
first ever year of the FSA Writing component and in April, are gearing up to tackle FSA
Reading! Although seventh and eighth grade are wrapping up their study of Evaluating
Argument through historical texts and speeches, all three grade levels will engage
in Analysis and Synthesis and Text Structures. For sixth grade, that means students
will begin a Jane Yolen author study in an effort to practice literary analysis, as well
as evaluating various text structures through Greek myths and slave narratives. While
seventh graders will also practice their Analysis and Synthesis skills through a mythology
unit, they will also explore civil rights-era issues, before learning to analyze authors’
Text Structures. Meanwhile, eight grade will begin Analyzing and Synthesizing multiple
texts, before analyzing Text Structures of historical events. Finally, April is National Poetry
Month, and that means that Language Arts will conduct a poetry unit to allow students
to analyze poetry, and even write some pieces of their own to share with peers.
April 2015
Math
Science
6th Grade
6th Grade
7
Sixth grade students are working on FSA prep in school as
well as at home. For some PRIMES students, these skills were
taught during 4th or 5th grade. There are many excellent on-line
resources to review these skills. One easy to understand website
is www.mathisfun.com. At home, please review vocabulary
words, ensure mastery of multiplication facts, and confirm that
your child does their daily math homework. Standard math is
moving into percents, statistics, and two-dimensional geometry.
Advanced math students have begun working on twodimensional geometry. Students must be able to calculate the
area of parallelograms, triangles, and trapezoids without using
a calculator. Students are also responsible for the volume of a
rectangular prism. GEMS continues to work above grade level
and will begin working on transitional geometry after Spring
Break. For more information see Mrs. Quinones’s website at
teacherweb.com/FL/Millennium/Quinones. Intensive students
continue to reinforce the 6th grade standards while working
alongside their standard or advanced math class. For more
information see Mr. Kuby’s website at mrkuby.weebly.com.
7th Grade
Seventh grade Mathematics is currently finishing up their unit
on Volume and Surface Area of 3-D objects. All of 7th grade
has started incorporating a FSA countdown practice packet
to help our students review for the upcoming assessment. The
students will have weekly assignments to prepare them for the
test. The 7th grade advanced classes will soon be starting
Pythagorean Theorem unit and the 7th grade traditional
classes will soon be working on statistics and probability.
8th Grade
The very diverse classes in 8th grade continue to work
towards their year-end goals. The high school Algebra I and
Geometry students are preparing for both the upcoming FSA
assessment and the end of the course exam. These EOCs,
as they are called, count towards 30% of the students’ class
grade. All 8th grade classes are increasing the accountability
of students to help better prepare them for the transition
between middle school and high school.
Algebra 1
Students have just wrapped up factoring polynomials and
have started graphing quadratic functions. There are only three
Modules left in their textbook. These remaining Modules all
deal with graphing. After completion of the textbook we will be
using supplemental materials to teach curriculum not covered
in the book. Students need to make sure they are completing
their homework, coming in for extra help, and keeping up with
the curriculum being taught. We have also begun the EOC
countdown practice. The test will be here before we know it.
6th Grade Kennedy Space Center Overnight Field Trip
What do you get when you cross a space shuttle, a frog, and the periodic table
of elements? Just another amazing week with our Falcon science program! An
overnight adventure to Kennedy Space Center was offered to our 6th grade
science students February 28 – March 1. With over 40 in attendance, the students
participated in many exciting activities such as an Astronaut Encounter, a shuttle
launch experience, and an “Amazing Space Challenge.” They ended the evening
by sleeping under the Space Shuttle Atlantis! It was a fantastic time and great way
to reinforce our space units. Another highlight was the alien creation activity where
students designed aliens with features and characteristics necessary to survive on
the planet of their choice. Truly unique and amazing, these works of art may be
seen in classrooms and hallways throughout the studio area
7th Grade
Venture a little further down the halls and you’ll find our 7th graders knee deep in
anatomy and physiology. They are diving into each body system in depth to better
understand how these organ systems build healthy humans. Our future medical
professionals are ready to glove-up for their biological explorations of bullfrogs and
cow eyes. A special highlight will be a unit on immunology where our Falcons will
program robots as immune system fighters to rid an organism of a dangerous virus.
8th Grade
Geometry
A few classrooms over, our Falcon 8th graders are culminating their study of the
physical and chemical properties of matter with one of the greatest ideas in science,
the periodic table of elements. From the density of matter to the luminosity of stars,
these elements make up the cosmos and the periodic table is the cornerstone to
our understanding the universe. Then, we shall break out the beakers and test
tubes for our entrance into the world of chemistry where atoms swirl and electrons
mingle to unmask new and exciting discoveries.
The last nine weeks students will be exploring the area of ALL
types of regular polygons, circles and volume. Students have
nightly homework that they should be completing and can
expect a quiz or test every week. If they are falling behind they
should come in for extra help in the mornings.
Our Millennium Science Department would like to congratulate 8th graders
E. Roberson, A. Walden, K. Smith and N. Hochuli for proudly representing us
at the 2015 Seminole County Regional Science, Math and Engineering Fair on
February14th—even at such an astounding collection of brilliance and innovation,
our Falcons beamed bright!
Millennium Middle School
21 Lakeview Drive
Sanford, FL 32773
Non-Profit Organization
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Academy Publishing School Newsletter Program™ 800-644-3541
April 2015
BETA Club
Math Club
8
Congratulations to the Math Club! Members
of math club attended the Mu Alpha Theta
competition on Saturday, March 7. They did
a wonderful job. The Math Club has also
competed in the MathCounts competition
that was held on February 21 at University
High School and a competition for Algebra
and Geometry students.
Crochet Club
We are starting our second project in Crochet
Club. Students are enthusiastic about creating
a hand bag they can use for years to come.
Check out previous projects on Mr. Kuby’s
website: http://mrkuby.weebly.com/crochetclub.html. The Crochet Club helps students
with counting, hand-eye coordination and
patterns. This fun activity allows students to
be creative and express their own individuality
through color and design.
From left to right:G. Perlstein, S. Stahl, M.
Brengman, L. Declouet, Mrs. Morris (Advisor),
and C. Hatfield