Freedom Middle School Community Brief
Friday, November 17, 2023
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Freedom Middle Community Member,
Here we are already at the midpoint of the 2nd nine weeks about to begin Thanksgiving break. Wow! That went so very fast.
For those who met me at the “Meet your Principal” evening this summer, you may remember my vision of the school-family partnership. This encompasses so many aspects of our students’ daily lives, from communication between stakeholders, supports here at school and at home, shared focus of academic excellence, appropriate social and behavioral expectations, and opportunities to enjoy and celebrate. Ways to help promote this vision can be found embedded in this edition of this community brief, such as becoming a partner in education, becoming an ADDitions approved volunteer, or joining our PTSA.
We are currently seeking officers for our PTSA this year and are in need of a president, vice president, and secretary. I implore you, to reach out to us here at the school become part of positive culture and partnership.
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Four of our Panthers wearing jerseys from their favorite sports teams. Student progress reports for Quarter 2 will be available via Skyward on November 30th.
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School Resource Officer of the Orange County Sheriff's Office, Deputy Waters, handing out 'Panther Pounces' in the courtyard during a class change earlier this month. |
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On a side note, I want to shed light on something that has made me so very proud to be principal at Freedom Middle School. Part of my vision when coming to Freedom Middle School has been to re-establish a student government. It is so important to have students feel as if they have a voice.
As I began to learn more about Freedom Middle School, I realized we had an organization on campus already fulfilling many of the aspects a student government would do. That group is our Latinos In Action (LIA), headed up by Mrs. Guzman (please see our LIA segment in this issue below). I cannot say enough good things about our students in LIA and their leader Mrs. Guzman. LIA has involvement in just about every cultural initiative we have at Freedom. I now meet with LIA officers each month to discuss school-related issues and how we can strive for success. I am appreciative to have such leaders on this campus.
On behalf of Freedom Middle School, best wishes to you and your family for a happy, healthy and relaxing Thanksgiving holiday. I am looking forward to seeing all of our Panthers back on campus Monday, November 27th!
Mr. Walker
Principal
Pictured very top and just below: Our Freedom Middle School chorus, under the direction of chorus director Lauren Jewell, was invited to News Channel 6 this past week to perform. They, along with many other schools, will have their performance aired throughout Christmas Day on December 25th, 2023.
Thank you to News 6 WKMG / ClickOrlando for highlighting the hard work of our kids. And a special thanks to Robert Kotek and Bob Meyers at News Channel 6 for your efforts and support.
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Mr. Walker with Ms. Jewell, chorus director, at the News 6 studio. |
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Brooke Forsyth is our November Student of the Month. Brooke is in 8th grade and made Honor Roll for 1st quarter. Her interests include animals, traveling, and playing tennis. Brooke wants to see the world and has already visited 30 countries. |
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11/20-11/24: Thanksgiving Break
11/27-12/1: Book Fair
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Our Book Fair is timed perfectly just ahead of the holiday season once our Panthers return from Thanksgiving break. Please join us this year!
11/30: Winter Chorus Concert
12/05: Chorus Field Trip to see Funny Girl, 8:00-10:00pm
12/12: Band Winter Concert, 6:30-8:00 pm
12/14: Orchestra/Guitar Winter Concert, 6:30-8:00pm
12/25-1/08: Winter Break
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Student Safety
Please remember to use the car loop for drop off and pick up. There should not be cars stopping to drop off/pick up in front of the school.
If you need to sign your child out early, please have ID ready and be ready to state your name and purpose for being on campus.
Laptops
We have noticed an increase in lost chargers lately. If you notice that your child has multiple school issued laptop chargers at home, please have them return the chargers to the Media Center to avoid being charged replacement fees.
Tardy Policy
(Does NOT include Excused Bus Tardies)
1st Offense: Verbal Warning (Documented)
2nd Offense: Verbal Warning, Parent Contact (Documented)
3rd Offense: Lunch Detention, Parent Contact
4th Offense: 30 minutes After School Detention, Parent Contact
5th Offense: 1-hour Detention (Wednesday from 3:00 pm to 4:00 pm), Referral, Tardy Contract, Parent Contact
6th Offense: Saturday Detention from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm at the Media Center), Level 2 Referral, Parent Contact
7th Offense: PASS, Referral, Parent Contact
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Testing and Progress Monitoring |
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December 2023:
- FAST PM2 ELA 12/05
- FAST PM2 MATH 12/07
- PMA 2 CIVICS 12/11
- PC 2 ALGEBRA & GEOMETRY 12/11
- PMA 2 SCIENCE 12/12
- SEMESTER 1 CFE 12/14-19
Education Acronyms
CFE - Common Final Exam
FAST - Florida Assessment of Student Thinking
PM2 - FAST Assessment #2 of 3 (mid-year)
PMA2 - Progress Monitoring Activity #2
Resources
- Be on the lookout for an announcement on Canvas for the testing schedule and testing room locator.
- You can type CTRL + F and type your student ID number to find your testing room.
- Practice what you’ve learned using IXL
Tips
- Set a goal for your next test and ask your teacher what you can do to help you get there.
- Write down your testing room in a safe place you can go back to.
- If your laptop is not working please get tech help at least 10 days before testing so it can be ready for test day.
- Students should shut down and restart their laptop the day before testing on campus to make sure their device has all the necessary updates for testing.
- Make sure your laptop is fully charge for test day
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Data and Outcomes: 2023-24 Freedom Middle Goals |
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2022-23 Math Ach % (students earning a level 3 or higher) at 60
2023-24 Goal – to increase to 61
2022-23 ELA Ach % (students earning a level 3 or higher) at 46
2023-24 Goal – to increase to 52
2022-23 Science Ach % (students earning a level 3 or higher) at 48
2023-24 Goal – to increase to 50
2022-23 Civics Ach % (students earning a level 3 or higher) at 69
2023-24 Goal – to increase to 70
* On at 1 to 5 scale where 3 = grade level proficiency
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What have Freedom Middle School Latinos In Action (LIA) students’ been up to lately?
Freedom Middle School's LIA students started mentoring at Waterbridge Elementary School on October 26. You may ask "What does LIA do over there?" LIA goes to Waterbridge Elementary every Tuesday and Thursday (headed to the school on the bus below) to help the students improve their performance in class while also creating relationships with them.
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Latinos in Action will also be participating in a community service event at JW Marriott on December 2nd. They are also working on a campus beautification project to help clean up our school. |
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Spanish Spelling Bee Registration Deadline is Today (Nov. 17) |
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Our SAFE department is in need of new or gently used clothing and shoe donations ahead of the holiday season.
* Student Assistance and Family Empowerment (SAFE)
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* We are actively seeking President, Vice President, Secretary for our PTSA. Please email [email protected] with any questions you may have. |
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IF YOU WANT HAPPINESS
If you want happiness for an hour—
take a nap.
If you want happiness for a day—
go fishing.
If you want happiness for a month—
seek fame.
If you want happiness for a year—
inherit a fortune.
If you want happiness for a lifetime—
help others.
~ Ancient Proverb
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Language Arts with Ms. Martinez |
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The nearby classroom photos are of Ms. Martinez’s class hard at work studying sentence structure. |
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* We will be ordering new books for the Media Center soon. Please visit tinyurl.com/book-suggestions to share titles you would like to see on our shelves.
* Our Fall Book Fair will take place November 27th-December 1st after Thanksgiving break. Volunteers are needed. Please sign up at tinyurl.com/book-fair-volunteer-23 if you are interested.
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* E-books and Audiobooks are available to students on the SORA App on Launchpad.
* Track your reading progress by logging it all on Beanstack.
* Battle of the Books is a team for students who are working on reading all 15 SSYRA books and want to compete in the annual Battle of the Books competition in the Spring. Please sign up at tinyurl.com/battle-of-the-books-23 if you are interested in joining the team. |
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* Reminder: FREE online tutoring is available courtesy of the Orange County Library System through their Brainfuse program. This is a great opportunity open to all of our students. Please take advantage of Branfuse. |
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Mr. Torres and Mr. Walker on National IT Professional Day. |
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Ms. Green, school secretary, doing the Macarena. |
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OCPS 2024-2025 magnet application window is now open: |
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OCPS School Bus Delay Dashboard: |
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Superintendent's Thanksgiving message: |
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Thanksgiving is right around the corner! On this week's "Mondays with Maria," Superintendent Dr. Vazquez reads to some special young guests about gratitude as a superpower. Don’t miss the big surprise at the end! |
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Happy Thanksgiving!
Mr. Walker, Principal
Freedom Middle School
Friday, November 17, 2023
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Freedom Middle School 2023-2024 Leadership Team |
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This communication may contain information that is legally privileged, confidential or exempt from disclosure, and intended only for the use of the addressee(s) named above. If you are not the intended recipient, please note that any dissemination, distribution, or copying of this communication is strictly prohibited. Anyone who receives this message in error should notify the sender immediately by telephone or by return e-mail, and delete the message from their computer and any printout thereof. Please note that Orange County Public Schools utilizes spam and junk e-mail filtration applications in its e-mail systems. That filtering process may prevent or delay delivery of certain e-mail communications. If you do not receive a timely response to an e-mail communication, please contact the intended recipient by phone. |
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Copyright Notice
Reproduction of this material, either written or electronically, including the general layout, graphics, analyses, and content topics without the express approval of Target Performance Systems, Inc., a Florida corporation, and Freedom Middle School is forbidden without written consent. Thank you for your support of the Orange County Public Schools and especially Freedom Middle School. Please contact Mr. Robert L. Walker (Principal) with any questions related to the program.
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Freedom Middle School | Mr. Walker, Principal | 407.858.6130 | FMS Website
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