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Principal’s Message
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Volume 17 Issue 2
December 2016
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Dear Parents, Students and Community, Let me begin by saying that I sincerely hope you each had the opportunity to spend valuable time with your family and loved ones during this Holiday Season. I also hope you had the chance to rest up because we have a busy second half of the school year ahead of us! We are now half way through the school year, can you believe it? The second quarter begins on January 4th. Please make sure to continue to check progressbook to ensure that your students are keeping up to date with all of their assignments. We want to thank those parents and community members that have provided support to our families in need during the holiday season. Lee Middle School and our families are very appreciative of the many kind deeds! We would like to remind you about our IB Open house on Thursday, January 12, 2017, which will begin at 6PM. The event will offer opportunities to meet the teachers and see current student work
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and projects. There will also be a question and answer session. For more information about the IB Open house you can contact our IB Coordinator Ms. Alvarado at wanda.alvarado@ocps.net. Parents, we also want to emphasize that you keep your contact information current with us. It is important that phone numbers be current in case of an emergency and to make sure we have the ability to update you about daily issues that may impact you and your child. Updating your contact information can be completed in the guidance office. In closing, report cards will go home on Friday, January 13th, 2017. Please take advantage of opportunities to discuss academic concerns with your child’s teacher and guidance counselor to pave a clear path to success. Sincerely, Cynthia Haupt Principal
Lee Middle School Vision Our school is a positive learning environment that enables and inspires all to acquire the skills, knowledge, and attitudes necessary to succeed in a rapidly changing, multicultural world. “Our goal is for students to learn and achieve. We invite you to give your input on our instructional program. You may request an Administrative FeedbackSurvey for any administrator who is assigned the responsibility for evaluating the performance of instructional personnel by contacting your principal.” To download a PDF version of this newsletter, go to http://academypublishing.com/schools/lee/lee.php
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Join the SAC Team!
As a parent or guardian, you are an important part of the Lee Middle Scholl community and we want to know your opinions about our school and its plans for the future. We hope you will consider becoming a member of our Sc hool Advisory Council (SAC). The School Advisory Council is a team of people that represents various segments of the community – parents, teachers, students, administrators, support staff, business/industry people, and other interested community members. They meet to discuss our school’s academic plan and progress, and help create the School Improvement Plan (goals and objectives for the school). The purpose of the School Improvement Plan is to increase student performance. Parents and families are the heart of the education process. You can make a difference by becoming a SAC member. By working together, we can provide a positive educational experience for every student. SAC meets on the first Tuesday of every month. We hope to see you there!
Wellness
It is that time again, the after holiday blues, time to lose the weight you’ve been wanting to lose. Stop and think: do I really need that bag of chips? Could I drink water instead of sweet tea or soda? I could order a salad instead of a hamburger and fries at the drive through. Take time to consider your options, walk the stairs, park further away, why don’t you walk the dog? Stop and think to stop and lose!
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FamiLEE Volunteer Opportunities
Come to a reading class once or twice a week for an hour to allow students to read to you. • Help plan a global village garden with plants from Asia, Latin America, and Europe (that would grow in mostly shade and be drought tolerant) • Participate in planning and holding an International Multi-Cultural Celebration All volunteers must register as an ADDitions volunteer at https://ocps.samaritan. com/custom/503/ so ensure safety for our students and for Lee to be credited for your efforts. Thank you for giving of yourself for our students’ future.
PTSA will continue to support our students, staff and administration next year. We are looking forward to helping sponsor the monthly “Bring Your Best” events and make them better and better every month. We will roll out our PTSA matching grants in January and continue our support of the General’s Club Program recognizing students for academic achievement. In the spring we will also start looking for the new faces to join the PTSA board for the upcoming year, so if you are interested please let us know. To learn more, please join us on Jan 10th at our PTSA meeting and the second Tuesday of every month at 6:30 in the media center.
Lee IB Middle Years Programme
The Lee Middle School Middle Years Programme has had a busy year both in the community and on campus. Students and parents have represented the MYP at various functions like Holiday on the Drive and the OCPS Magnet Fair. Several beautification days have resulted in various areas of the campus being spruced up. Students, teachers, and parents have planted flowers and shrubs and have mulched around those areas. Eighth graders are working hard on their community projects for the year. They are working individually or in small groups of up to three to identify needs within the community and develop action plans to help meet those needs. A community project presentation night will be held at the end of the year for these students to showcase their hard work. Our IB Open house will be held on Thursday, January 12, 2017, at 6PM. The event will offer opportunities to meet the teachers and see current student work and projects. There will also be a question and answer session. For more information about the IB Open house you can contact our IB Coordinator Ms. Alvarado at wanda.alvarado@ocps.net.
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Media Center/Library
Celebrate Literacy Week is January 23-27. The Florida Department of Education, Orange County Public Schools, and Lee Middle School recognize and celebrate the importance of reading for success! Many special activities are planned for the week, including a reading marathon, book trivia contest, and a visit from the Orange County Library System for our 7th Grade students. The Spring Book Fair will be here soon! The book fair will feature exciting new books, posters, and gift items. Students, Parents, and teachers can visit the Media Center from March 6-10 to browse and shop the fair. All purchases will benefit the Media Center, including funding the purchase of the Sunshine State books each year. Please consider taking a moment to log in to Destiny to discuss your student’s current library checkouts. If you checked out a book before the winter break, please renew or return it as soon as possible. http://destiny.ocps.net All Lee Middle students have access to thousands of free digital books with MyOn Reader. Books are available at a variety of reading levels, languages, and genres. Students can access the database of books by visiting launch.ocps.net and clicking on the myON icon. Is your student working on a research project or paper? Don’t forget about the “Library Research Tools” on the OCPS Launch dashboard. Students can access Encyclopedia Britannica, Infotrac (articles, images, & more!), and American Music Company. OCPS Launch is also the portal to online textbooks, Edmodo, and many other useful tools. Visit Launch.ocps.net and explore these wonderful resources today.
‘Current Lee’ December 2016 Published Four Times Per Year Orange County Public Schools PO Box 271 Orlando, FL 32802-0271 Issue # 2
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Reading classes are supporting content area subjects very closely this year. Since all subjects of study involve reading skills, students who may struggle with reading often fall behind in academic classes. This year our 6th and 8th grade reading teachers plan with Language Arts teachers to provide background knowledge and pre-reading of the materials used in those classes. Seventh grade reading plans with Civics to support their analysis of primary documents and understanding of historical perspectives. If you would like to volunteer as a reading buddy please contact Ms. Roby at candis.roby@ocps.net. We would love to have parents or grandparents come to just listen to a student read to them!
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Language and Literature
6th Grade: Ms. Guillaume and Ms. Brooks During the month of January, sixth grade students will finish up their work on argumentative and informative writing by focusing on characters’ decisions and actions in literature. Students will also work on their Woodmen Oration Speech on the topic of “Heroes.” In this process, students will focus on generating clear ideas, being organized, using their inner voice, choosing the right vocabulary to enhance their writing, varying their sentence style, and using appropriate conventions in grammar, punctuation and spelling. Students will work in groups to enhance and receive feedback of their work to show share with their friends, family, and peers. Don’t forget to check out our page: www.lms6thgradelit.weebly.com. 7th Grade: Dr. Ford, Ms. Zehren Beginning in January, 7th graders will focus more intensely on their writing skills. Specifically, they will concentrate on context and structure, employing organizational structured that serve the context and intention of both writing and literature. This will serve them well as we move towards the Woodman’s Oration Contest. We will work to hone skills necessary for competition at the classroom and school levels that will serve well for County competition. As we progress into Black History Month, students will study a broad range of subject matter and information in the form of facts, historical data and literature that will give them a greater appreciation for multicultural and ethnic contributions to both this country and the world. This knowledge will be explored through various writing topics for short and extended responses. The development of varied writing types are intended to yield clear and coherent writing appropriate to task, purpose and audience. 8th Grade: Ms. Benjamin, Mrs. Olowu, and Mr. Twachtman Lee’s 8th graders are continuing to explore the many facets of the writing process. The actions of planning and outlining go hand in hand with thought and research. Research and curiosity are part and parcel with stylistic choices and vocabulary development. We even have managed to include a smattering of grammar into the mix! This idea is for our writers to not only have the mechanical ability to assemble paragraphs into a meaningful whole, but to go further and to write pieces that are nice to read. To be certain, that is a tall order. Writing is a skill, like any other. Not all will take to it; that is true… but all can have be exposed to the skill set, and in so doing aspire in their own writing and recognize it in others. This means that as part of our efforts to cultivate the fertile ground of our students’ fund of knowledge, we also continue to delve into the world of literature, to sow the seeds of love of reading. In this way we hope to not only grow an appreciation of the craft of writing as exhibited by those who have done it best, we also hope to give guidance to the nascent talents lying dormant in each student, ready to burst forth. In addition, 8th graders will work towards the completion of the action portion of their Community Projects at home and will have an in-class assignment, reaching out to the community to invite others to observe their explorations into global citizenship.
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Mathematics
6th – Mrs. Dietz, Mrs. Seaver and Mrs. Coriolan-Vilus Sixth grade math will start the new year modeling and solving equations and inequalities. Work will also involve measuring distance in the coordinate plane and completing an IB summative assessment measuring and drawing a town. The nine weeks will end with solving volume and surface area problems. 7th – Ms. Fontana, Mrs. Hurst and Mrs. Coriolan-Vilus Seventh grade math will begin the third nine weeks modeling and solving problems involving Pythagorean Theorem, followed by work with probability and statistics. The nine weeks will conclude with solving the area and volume of geometric figures. Pre-Algebra/8th – Ms.Carten, Mrs. Dorsey, Ms. Fontana, Mrs. Rea and Mrs. Weitzel Pre-Algebra will start off working with probability and statistics problems. Next comes the study of angle relationships in parallel lines and triangles. And, finally a unit study on transformations. Algebra I – Ms. Carten, Ms. Marshall, Mrs. Rea and Mrs. Weitzel Alg. I will begin studying Probability and Statistics, followed by rational exponents and radical expressions. The term will finish with modeling and graphing exponential functions. Geometry – Ms. Marshall Geometry students will begin studying quadrilaterals, and work on the properties of polygons and circles during the course of this nine weeks. In March, all math classes will begin the FSA Review with a series of competitive review games and lots of practice.
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Sciences
In Science News for the 3rd Quarter we will be studying: Life Science • Human Body Systems and Homeostasis - 01/04 - 02/10/17 • Reproductive System and Sexually Transmitted Infections 02/13 - 02/17/17 • Infectious Agents - 02/21 - 03/03/17 • Classification - 03/06 - 03/16/17 Earth/Space Science: • Weather and Climate - 01/04 - 01/27/17 • Interactions of Earth’s Spheres and Earth Systems - 01/30 - 02/24/17 • Earth’s Processes - 02/27 - 03/16/17 Earth/Space Science Honors: • Earth’s Layers - 01/04 - 01/13/16 • Plate Tectonics - 01/17 - 02/03/17 • Earth’s Changing Surface - 02/06 - 02/17/17 • Geologic Time - 02/21 - 03/01/17 • Ocean Circulation - 03/02 - 03/16/17 Physical Science: • Introduction to Matter - 01/04 - 01/20/17 • Properties of Matter - 01/23 - 02/03/17 • Changes of Matter - 02/06 - 02/24/17 • Atomic Theory and Periodic Table - 02/27 - 03/08/17 Physical Science Honors: • Introduction to Chemistry - 01/04 - 01/18/17 • Atoms - 01/19 - 01/30/17 • Electrons and Interactions - 02/01 - 02/14/17 • Understanding Chemistry - 02/15 - 03/02/17 • Chemical Reactions - 03/03 - 03/10/17 FCAT Wednesday- All Lee Middle School students will be reviewing Life, Earth and Physical Science Standards.
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Civics- Mrs. Bilbao, Mrs. LaCoste, Mr. Ogden As we start the new year students will be looking more in depth on our governments structure. Students will be learning about the Three Branches of Government, our U.S. Court System, and Elections and Campaigns. Finally students will look at how our government interacts with other countries of the world in our unit on Global Policy. The coming quarter is one of the most informative and exciting as students will understand how our federal government functions. Furthermore many students will end the quarter traveling to Washington, D.C. and will have the opportunity of firsthand experience on what we just covered all quarter. U.S. History- Mrs. Shackelford, Mr. Ogden, Mr. Berger As we continue into the 3rd Quarter, students will be learning about the Jefferson Era, Westward Expansion, Industrial Growth, and the Age of Reform in America. As we navigate through these time periods, students will learn about: • The major domestic and international economic, military, political, and socio-cultural events of Thomas Jefferson’s presidency. • The causes, course and consequences of the United States westward expansion and its growing diplomatic assertiveness. • The technological improvements that contributed to industrial growth. • The experiences and perspectives of significant individuals and groups during America’s age of reformation.
Electives
Students in ICT, Information Communication Technology, and DIT, Digital Information Technology, have started their game designing and industry certifications. The 7th grade students are building their digital portfolios and have received their professional headshots to upload courtesy of their teacher, Ms. Clarke.
A few spots are left! We need you!
Advertise in the Current Lee! This is a wonderful way for your company to get community recognition and exposure, and at the same time help support your local schools!
Alexander Carr
alexander.carr@ocps.net
Lee Middle School
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NJHS
The National Junior Honor Society will start fundraising for gifts for the students at Grand Avenue Primary School in January. We will host a series of breakfasts with potential NJHS members.
Chess Club News
Lee Middle’s Chess Club meets twice a month, on the 2nd and 4th Thursday, at 8:30 a.m. in room 819. We start each meeting with a strategy lesson and then pair up and play! Chess Club is open to everyone, so if you would like to come check it out, come see Mrs. Dietz, in room 819, to get a pass and then join us on one of our chess days. A few of our chess club members have joined a tournament group (through chessdr.com) and will meet 5 times this year, on a Saturday, to match their skills against players from other schools. The tournaments are held at different schools around Orlando and give players a chance to hone their skills and be challenged in a tournament setting. If you are interested, let Mrs. Dietz know. You can still join (there is a nominal fee and parents have to register their student) and play in the remaining 3 tournaments this year. The dates are Dec. 10, Jan. 7, Feb. 4 and Feb. 25. What are the benefits of playing chess you ask? Come join us and find out! Mrs. Dietz Chess Club sponsor Laura.dietz@ocps.net
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Alexander Carr alexander.carr@ocps.net
Lee Middle School
BETA Club
Beta Club Update/ General Meeting Dates – First Thursday of each month unless noted. BETA Club is still on the lookout for club officers. Many students have expressed an interest but only a few applications have been submitted. Students that are interested in running for an officer position should see BETA Club sponsors, Mrs. Berry and Mrs. Hurst for an officer application. Officers will meet once a month in addition to the monthly BETA Club meeting. (Officers will meet twice a month) All meetings will be held in room 159 unless noted. Students should begin working on their community service hours. As a requirement of being a BETA Club member, students are required to complete 5 hours of community service. If students need help with community service ideas, they can meet with Mrs. Berry or Mrs. Hurst for suggestions. Dates and Times are Subject to Small Changes — Check each month for updates!
SGA
Student Government officers are forging their way this first year of having the organization on campus. Our first fund raiser was the bake sale table at Lee’s Winter Market on Saturday, Dec. 3rd. SGA’s goal for this year is to accomplish one campus beautification project. Our meetings are every other week before school on Wednesday mornings. If you would like to volunteer as a gardener or donate materials for our beautification project, please contact Ms. Roby at candis.roby@ocps.net.
Project Lead the Way (PLTW)
All classes have completed the initial Engineering and Design Unit that is important for the first year of the program. In future years, this will be taught in 6th grade and reviewed in 7th and 8th grades. The unit included learning about the design cycle, technology, and engineering. We also began practicing the skills of using client letters to create design briefs, using decision matrixes, and students had their first big design project, Fictional Furniture where they designed stage furniture for a fictional character that could be used in a children’s play. Currently, the Intro to Tech classes and finishing the Applied Chemistry Unit with the problem of how to clean up an oil spill. They also completed activities on chemistry, ice cream, and a project on glue. The Aerospace classes learned about the history of flight and space through activities like presentations and videos, a project on building models, and practicing storyboards. Their problem for this unit is creating an “infomercial” based on the working models that they built in class. They will film and edit the videos based on a storyboard that they create.
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Riding the School Bus is a Privilege
Transportation safety guidelines are established to help ensure the safest ride possible for your student on the school bus. Riding the school bus is a privilege. Each student extended this privilege has a right to a safe, non-coercive environment on the school bus while riding to and from school or related events. Each student has the responsibility to follow the direction of the driver and established safety guidelines. Failure to do so adversely affects the safety of all other passengers and will result in action being taken. This action may include but is not limited to assigned seats, detention, and/or suspension of riding privileges. Printed below are the safety guidelines and consequences: At the bus stop: • Get to the bus stop five minutes before your scheduled pick-up time. The school bus driver usually cannot wait for late students. • Respect the property of others while waiting at your stop. • Keep your arms, legs, and belongings to yourself. • Use appropriate language. • Stay away from the street, road, or highway while waiting for the bus. Wait until the bus stops before approaching the bus. • After getting off the bus, move away from the bus. • If you must cross the street, always cross in front of the bus where the driver can see you. Wait for the driver to signal before you cross the street.
• No fighting, harassment, intimidation, or horseplay. • No use of alcohol, tobacco, or drugs. On the bus: • Immediately follow the direction of the driver. • Sit in your own seat, facing forward. • Talk quietly and use appropriate language. • Keep all parts of your body in the bus. • Keep your arms, legs, and belongings to yourself. • No fighting, harassment, intimidation, or horseplay. • Do not throw any objects. •No eating, drinking, or use of tobacco or drugs. • Do not bring any weapons, cigarette lighters, or other dangerous objects on the bus • Do not damage the bus. Consequences: • Verbal warning, seat re-assignment. • First referral: Conduct report issued, parent notified, possible detention. • Second referral: Conduct report issued, parent notified, possible detention and/or one to five (1-5) day suspension from bus. • Third referral: Conduct report issued, parent notified, possible suspension of riding privileges for up to full school year. Conference may be scheduled with parent, administrative representative, and transportation representative.
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Lee Middle School
Non Profit Organization US Postage PAID Orlando, FL Permit #885
Orange County Public Schools P.O. Box 271 Orlando, FL 32802-0271
Volunteers
Our volunteers and chaperones are a valuable commodity to Lee Middle School. The instructions below will walk you through the volunteer application process. ADDitions: An application must be submitted/updated EVERY year. Please list every school where you would like to volunteer. Chaperone: This application must be submitted for EVERY field trip. (An ADDitions application must also have been completed) For ADDitions: To become a school volunteer simply 1. Go to the Community Resources web site: http://volunteer. ocps.net 2. Click on ADDitions Online Application. 3. Enter your information into the online application; remember you must fill in the highlighted red boxes to have your form accepted. Move from box to box using the tab key. OCPS EEO Non-Discrimination Statement
4. Make sure to indicate Lee Middle School as your choice for volunteering. One application can include up to four schools if you need to register for other schools. 5. When the application is completed, please review all information for accuracy. 6. Click on the “send” button to submit. For Chaperone: To become a field trip volunteer: 1. Fill out the online ADDitions application (if you have not already done so) 2. Go to the Chaperone Volunteer form: http://volunteer.ocps. net. Then click on Chaperone Application. 3. Print the application, fill it out and send to your child’s teacher. Thank you for all of your time and commitment to Lee Middle School. It is truly appreciated. If you have any questions please feel free to contact the ADDitions Coordinator Allison Correa or 407-245-1800 Ext. 5132236.
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The School Board of Orange County, Florida, does not discriminate in admission or access to, or treatment or employment in its programs and activities, on the basis of race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, marital status, disability, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other reason prohibited by law. The following individuals at the Ronald Blocker Educational Leadership Center, 445 W. Amelia Street, Orlando, Florida 32801, attend to compliance matters: ADA Coordinator & Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Supervisor: Carianne Reggio; Section 504 Coordinator: Latonia Green; Title IX Coordinator: Gary Preisser. (407.317.3200)