Wednesday, February 10, 2021 |
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Horizon West Middle School |
HWMS Community Member,
We are just a little less than 1 month from Spring Break and the end of the 3rd quarter of school. With all the excitement in the air for warmer weather and a whole week off, we cannot lose focus of our mission to educate and keep our Hornets safe.
Please be sure to take some time and review your child’s grades. Look in both Skyward for their actual grade and then check Canvas, for assignments they may need to complete.
Also, take a moment and make sure your child has a clean mask ready for school each day and a spare in their backpack.
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We also encourage our families and community to regularly check our OFFICIAL social media outlets (@horizonwestocps) and school website.
Just this last week we also started our Show Us Your Mask campaign. We are asking families to post pictures of them wearing masks and helping to #stopthespread. Tag @horizonwestocps and we will be sure to share your images. This campaign has gathered support from partner schools, local officials and government representatives who are proud of the work Horizon West is doing to keep our community healthy. #WearAMask
Thank you again to all our parents, students, teachers and community members - you all are what makes it great to be a HORNET!
Your Proud Principal,
Michelle Thomas
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8200 Tattant Drive
Orlando, FL 37486
(407) 554-1570
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February Calendar & Special Events |
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February brings us another month closer to Summer Break. Check out the events that we have planned for February and honoring Black History Month. |
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Check out some of the murals and displays our students and teachers have placed around school to honor Black History! |
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This month our Hornet’s normally celebrate Valentine's Day by sharing cards of friendship, candy and small gifts As we have all experienced, this year is very different as we work to reduce the spread of COVID-19.
As part of our health and safety protocols this year, students will not be permitted to share/handout Valentine's cards or gifts. Items brought to school will be kept in the front office and returned to the original owner.
Thank you for understanding this necessary change, we greatly appreciate the support of our Hornet Families.
Safe Ways to Celebrate Valentine’s Day ...
- Friday, Feb. 12 is Black Excellence Day on campus to support Black History Month. Dress up in your best formal attire to look spiffy and honor Black History and celebrate valentines.
- Wear a special Valentine’s patterned mask to campus. We are always staying safe, so why not show off your valentine’s spirit.
- Post a digital Valentine to your friends on Instagram. Tag @horizonwestocps
- Read a poem and recite it to your friends
- Transition music from class to class with be “Valentine’s Themed”
- Read a book that has a “love” theme. If you stop in the media center, they can always make a great suggestion.
- ... And most importantly, just use your words and tell your family, friends and teachers how much you appreciate them!
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Partner In Education Spotlight |
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Teacher of the Month
Special thanks to our Partner in Education Majestic International Pageant and UPCD for supporting our Teacher of the Month program. Throughout the year we allow our students to vote on a teacher they would like to get recognized and our Partner in Education presents them with a custom made crystal plaque. We are so thankful for their continued support. |
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Parent Survey- Tell Us About Horizon West |
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Go to. . .
to complete this year’s parent survey. This survey displays all new questions from years past. So, be sure to read each question carefully and select your best answer.
The survey comes in multiple languages as well for our multilingual families.
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Horizon West Middle School Wins State Award for Literacy! |
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Congratulations to our Horizon West Middle School Literacy Team. Horizon West has been recognized as the Middle School Winner for the state! |
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Check out our students who got up early one recent morning and joined us for Power Hour. Remember all students are invited to participate, Monday - Thursday from 8-9 am online or F2F. Each day students have time to work on iReady, Khan Academy and receive homework help from one of our Hornet teachers. |
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Earbuds Needed for Testing |
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February Reading Challenge |
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"We Love Reading February" |
As a reminder, our Beanstack reading contest for February - "We Love Reading February" - is already underway. Directions to register can be found in the Media Center Information under Modules on the Student Body Canvas page. Our Hornets can find the link under Beanstack on Launch.ocps.net. The grand prize is Apple AirPods!
- Please also don't forget about our new book club! The first meeting was February 3.
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Literacy Week - Door Decorating Contest Winners |
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Students and teachers,
THANK YOU so much for celebrating and making Literacy Week a huge success!!!!!!!!
We are excited to announce the door decorating winners:
1st Place – Ms. Wilson
- Celebrating the theme: Humanity Tells a Story: What’s your next chapter?, Ms. Wilson’s digital art classes were challenged to use their editing and type setting skills to share their cultural diversity and individual dreams.
2nd Place – Ms. Rodgers
3rd Place – Ms. Faulkner
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National School Counselor Week |
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A special THANK YOU to our counselors, Mrs. Farrell and Ms. Ferrand for all your help and support of our students. We honor you and are so lucky to have you as part of our Horizon West team!
Here are just a few of the tasks they are responsible for:
- Student schedules
- Counseling students who are not passing their classes
- Checking credits for our students going to the high school
- Advising students and parents on high school courses
- Orientations for the incoming 6th grade students
- Career planning for high school and beyond
- Counseling students who are in crisis or just need to talk
- Parent conferences
- Coordinating with our feeder high school for our 8th graders going into 9th
- Coordinating with Orange County Virtual School and Florida Virtual School
- Coordinating our Orange TIPS program
- Working with our 8th grade students on scholarship opportunities
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THE HIVE . . . this is where the students can meet our Counselors. |
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Students need to remember that each day they are to have a mask on when they arrive to campus and wear their mask properly during the school day. Noses and mouths should not be exposed at any time and masks should fit snuggly. Please also be sure to send your child to school with an extra mask. |
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On Monday, February 22nd, Horizon West will be hosting our next SAC meeting. If you would like to attend, please complete the below survey:
We will be hosting this meeting live and online.
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The seventh grade has been learning about Evolution, Natural Selection, and Adaptations. The students really enjoyed this lab learning about how different bird beaks are adapted to their food source. |
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Yearbooks are now available for pre-order. |
Students and parents- Would you like to add some pictures to our yearbook? If so, email those pictures to [email protected] or [email protected] and some of your great memories may be selected to add to this one of kind yearbook. |
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Journalism with Ms. Aulerich |
Check out what your yearbook class is up to? Ms. Aulerich and her 6th period journalism class is doing amazing work. They have the whole yearbook planned out and putting it together as we speak. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to get your yearbook. Be sure to order it now. |
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Boys and Girls Club - After School Zone |
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Students who enjoy Science, Engineering, and Problem Solving will love our STEM Club. They meet once a week, on Thursdays. Email [email protected] for more information. |
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Our community partners have requested that we remind all parents that car riders should be picked up only in the car loop located by the cafeteria building. Parents should not be using private roads or other parking areas to pick up students off campus.
Please help us maintain positive community relationships with our neighbors as we respect the local homes and roadways at dismissal. Thank you for your cooperation.
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Intramural Sports are Coming . . . |
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Volleyball – Feb. 22 / Soccer – Mar. 29 / Track – Apr. 26 |
If your student is interested in Sports intramurals, please know that all Face to face and LaunchEd students can participate as long the student meets the following criteria:
1. An Annual Sports Activity Participation Form is completed prior to the 1st day of each sport. Note that 1 form requires a doctor’s signature and stamp. This form can be found on the HWMS school website under Athletics, then under, Athletic Physicals. Completed forms can be turned into the front office or directly to Mr. Evans. Incomplete forms will be returned and your student will not be able to participate until it’s complete.
2. Your student has a cumulative 2.0 GPA in Middle School.
3. Students are demonstrating proper behavior in class. Please contact Mr. Evans, our Athletic Director, if you have any further questions.
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Our inaugural Horizon West Lady Hornet Volleyball Team. |
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OCPS is looking for our talented Hornets! |
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This Week's Motivational Moment! |
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Wisdom To Live By from Successful African Americans
(February is Black History Month)
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Tomlin On Taking Action
It’s not about what we say, it’s about what we do.
~ Mike Tomlin, youngest head coach to win a Super Bowl game
Washington On Priorities
Do what you have to do, to do what you want to do.
~ Denzel Washington, actor
Michael Jordan On Confidence
You have to expect things of yourself before you can do them.
~ Michael Jordan, basketball star
Colin Powell On Fundamentals
Success is the result of preparation, hard work and learning from failure.
~ Colin Powell, former U.S. secretary of state
Parks On Honor
Each person must live their life as a model for others.
~ Rosa Parks, civil rights activist
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An early Happy Valentine's Day for next Sunday and please remember that we are releasing student progress reports for the 3rd quarter this week!
Ms. Thomas, Principal
Horizon West Middle School
Wednesday, February 10, 2021
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Horizon West 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 OCPS 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 OCPS-Horizon West Middle School is forbidden without written consent. Thank you for your support of the Orange County Public Schools and OCPS-Horizon West Middle School. Please contact Mrs. Heather Rodriguez at [email protected] with any questions.
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