Jets in Action!
Monday, March 4, 2024
From the Flight Deck
Legacy Community Member
MA3 Exams (Civics & Science)
This week, students in Civics and Science 8 will take their third Progress Monitoring Assessment of the year. These results will assist us in further guiding and leading our students to success. Please be aware that we may make modifications to your child’s schedule to position them in the possible situation to succeed on upcoming state assessments. Our modified bell schedule is included below. Please review the times and dates that we will have block scheduling by period below.

Text Messages
You should have received a Connect Orange message last week from me outlining the what, how, and unfortunately, the why, of sending out text messages for students who are recorded as absent unexcused in their first period class. We will continue this practice until new options are made available to us. Again, I encourage those of you who have our number blocked to unblock us and opt-in to receive text messages. Directions on how to opt-in can be found below.

2024 Panorama Parent Survey Window:
March 4th – April 12th
Families, research shows that when schools successfully engage families, students earn higher grades, score higher on tests, develop better social skills, and are more likely to graduate. The Family-School Relationships Survey was developed at the Harvard Graduate School of Education to provide schools with a clear picture of family attitudes about several key topics.

We ask that you carve out a few minutes of your day and complete our Panorama Education Family Survey. Your input is very important to us. Thank you.
New Business Partners
On a positive note, I’m pleased to announce that Legacy Middle School has partnered with A+ Tax Services and Maria Amor of La Rosa Realty. OCPS’ Mission is with the support of families and the community, we create enriching and diverse pathways that lead our students to success. We are excited about these two new Partners in Education.

Have a wonderful week!

Mr. Jiménez
Principal
Legacy Middle School

Pictured very top: Legacy is proud of its community partnership between Orange County Sheriff’s Office and Orange County Public Schools. We appreciate the service and support that SRO Velez and all police officers provide to ensure that our schools are safe and secure. 
Happy 179th Birthday Florida!
Statehood: March 3, 1845 (#27)
Useful Links
Please click on the image above to access a number of links helpful to our Legacy families.
Please go to Linktr.ee/LegacyMS and scroll to "ADDitions Volunteer." This is a quick & easy step and we greatly appreciate our Legacy volunteers!
Connect with Legacy
11398 Lake Underhill Rd.
Orlando, FL 32825
(407) 658-5330
Modified Bell Schedules this Week
PMA Testing Schedule March 5 – 8.
Please ensure that your child is on time to school and has their fully charged laptop and charger.
Jet Spotlight
All hands on deck! Mrs. Milliman provides small group instruction support for students who have advocated and requested help. 
Eighth grade students have earned the privilege of accessing our beautiful courtyard during their lunch period. Students know that they must keep their area clean in order to continue enjoying this time to relax and socialize with their friends.
Dates to Watch For
March 6: Tdap Vaccinations – Legacy Clinic (See below for more information)
March 5-8: PMA 3, Civics & Science 
March 10: Daylight Savings Time (Set clocks ahead 1 hour)
March 12: SAC @ 5:30pm in Media Center (School Advisory Council)
March 12: PTSA @ 6:30pm in Media Center
March 15: Teacher Work Day / Student Holiday 
March 18-22: Spring Break
April 2: B.E.S.T. Writing
Attention Sixth Grade Parents
Tdap shot is required before starting 7th grade.
The state of Florida requires students to have all of their required immunizations in order to attend school. This is a reminder, if you have an eleven-year-old they are eligible for the Tetanus-Diphtheria-Pertussis immunization also known as Tdap. This is a required shot before entering 7th grade and required documentation is needed to be turned into the school.

If you would like additional information just visit ImmunizeFlorida.org. Those with private insurance or Medicaid can go directly to their medical care provider and obtain these same services. Once your child receives the immunization, you’ll need to submit the Florida 680 form that the doctor gives you to the school.
The following vaccines are required for children entering preschool and grades K-12: Tetanus-Diphtheria-Pertussis(whooping cough), measles, mumps, rubella, polio, varicella (chickenpox) and hepatitis B.

Visit ImmunizeFlorida.org to learn more about the required immunizations.
Please visit our school website for consent forms.
Important Text Messages from the School
Please accept important text messages from the school regarding your child should they occur. Make sure our phone number is unblocked and use the text messaging service below:
Device Fines
Total laptop computer & accessory fines exceed $10,000
Legacy Parents, 

Please take a moment and review student fines on our website. Unpaid fines have risen 25% to $10,096.40! To avoid device and charger shortages, take immediate action and support our supply chain efforts.  


● Digital Accessories/Chargers/Gumdrop Case: 

● Device Fine (Student Laptop Computer): 
Meet Our New Media Specialist!
Ms. Acquilano
Hello Legacy Community!

I am honored and excited to be your new Media Specialist! Originally from New York, where I enjoyed a successful and rewarding career as a professional ballerina, modern, theatre dancer and actress, and earned a Master of Science in Physical Education, from Hofstra University and relocated to Orlando to continue performing for Walt Disney World to teach K-12 Health, Science, Physical Education and Dance throughout Central Florida.

After an incredibly rewarding career leading movement-based curriculums at the elementary, middle, and high school levels; coaching middle school volleyball, starting an elementary running program and working with high school cross country students; teaching teachers how to implement dance, stretch, and Pilates and Yoga into their PE programs; and being a certified personal trainer, health coach, and fitness instructor, I decided to make a career change into working with students and teachers in a new way.

During the pandemic, I began earning my 2nd master’s degree. While enrolled at FSU, I worked at Home Depot and discovered a skill set in inventory management and mentorship and began to focus my studies on technology, management, digital collections, and reference. I recently completed an internship at UCF College of Medicine’s library, overseeing a project on digital device surplus and graduated with my master's degree in information from Florida State University in December ‘23. 

It is an honor and a pleasure to be selected as your new media specialist. I hope to motivate and inspire the Legacy community of learners to help them know that with the right tools and with a positive mindset, nurturing environment, goal setting, and determination, anything is possible!

Nicole Acquilano
Media Specialist
Legacy Middle School
March 4, 2024
Superintendent's Weekly Message
Dr. Maria Vazquez, OCPS Superintendent of Schools
This week on Mondays with Maria presented by Addition Financial, Dr. Vazquez sits down with our 2024 Stellar Awards winners for Principal, Assistant Principal, Support Person and Teacher of the Year!
Daily Attendance
Please review our average daily attendance stats:
  • Average daily attendance for the last 7 days = 92.26%

  • Average daily attendance for the last 30 days = 90.89%

  • School year-to-date attendance = 91.23%

GOAL = 95.0%
When students are absent, they miss nuanced instruction and the benefit of learning alongside their peers. While Canvas will always provide students with assignments and a record of work to be completed, our instructional superstar teachers aren’t able to reach students when they’re absent. Please ensure that your child attends school every day.
Legacy Robotics Team
Highlights from the State Robotics Championship
The Legacy Robotics Team competed at the State Robotics Championship on Saturday, March 2. For the second year in a row, Legacy Middle School placed as the runner-up, falling just short of bringing the Championship title home. During one of the qualification matches, Legacy’s teammate’s battery became unplugged, but our students were able to win that match solo. 

Legacy has one of the best Robotics teams in Florida! With most of our students returning next year, our team is positioned to be one of the top teams in the United States and the world.
8th Grade Gradventure
Permission slip and full payment is due by Thursday, March 14th
This is a reminder that Gradventure is a celebration for 8th graders for completion of middle school. Students will be disqualified from attending if:

● They have more than one Level III Referral
● They have a Level IV Referral
● They have lower than a 2.0 GPA

After March 14th NO refund will be issued. This information is also listed on the Gradventure permission slip packet.

ALL device fines must be reconciled and payment received before tickets will be sold.

If your child currently owes an obligation, please remit payment soon. Thank you.
Curriculum
The FRAMING Routine
In an effort to provide our teachers and students with a robust suite of instructional strategies and learning approaches, our teachers this year have immersed themselves in the world of the FRAME. Teachers use the Framing Routine to transform abstract main ideas and key topics into a concrete representation that helps students think about and talk about the key topic and essential related information.
Nearby pictures: 
Students in Ms. Ladino’s 6th grade Life Science class enjoy their lesson with the introduction and enhancement of the FRAME routine. The FRAME routine takes complex items and breaks them down into manageable pieces to support understanding.  
Above:
Thanks to our district support staff, Ms. Vogel, Ms. Kanji and Carmen McQueen, Director of Instructional Support for Exceptional Student Education, our teachers were provided with further professional learning in the FRAME routine to enhance their instructional practices.  
Students were invited to attend the Spoken Word Poetry Event at the Dr. Phillips Performing Arts Center hosted by renowned speaker, Shawn Welcome. Mr. Welcome has also previously spoken to Legacy’s staff (below) leaving a lasting impression through the art of poetry.
* Shawn’s mission is to inspire, entertain, encourage, and educate all people through the gift of performance poetry and speaking. He believes that modeling these artforms and sharing life lessons on the journey to increasing influence, will inspire others to live out their fullest potential, entertain organizations, encourage those in need of uplift, and educate all people on the revolutionary impact of spoken word poetry.
Dance Team
Legacy Dance with Ms. Henry:
Legacy dancers were invited to a spectacular rendition of Orlando Ballet’s Sleeping Beauty at the Dr. Phillips Center.  
Mrs. Henry’s dancers were impeccable in their Out of the Box performance on Thursday night.  
Mrs. Henry wants to give a huge thank you to all that showered baby Sebastian Henry with such a beautiful breakfast last Thursday morning. She feels so grateful to be part of such a loving community that fosters love and so much support. Baby Sebastian Isaac Henry came on 2/28 at 8:21 am.
Local Business Partners
Meet two new businesses who support our Jets!
A+ Taxes & More
Maria Amor, Realtor
Community Resources
Catholic Charities
This agency serves people who experience a crisis and are seeking financial assistance to remain in their homes, provide important resources to people in need who are facing the threat of eviction or other crisis and provide services that are convenient for people in need to access for housing.

Call to make an appointment: 407-839-4357
Address: 1771 N. Semoran Blvd Orlando, FL 32807
Food Pantry:407-658- 1818
Hours: M-F (not Tues) 9am-11am and 1pm-3pm
Valencia Horizon Scholars (8th Grade)
The Valencia Horizon Scholars – Take Stock in Children Program has extended their application deadline for eligible 8th grade students for the 2023-2024 school year to April 1, 2024! The Valencia Horizon Scholars – Take Stock in Children Program is a scholarship, mentoring, and college readiness program looking for economically disadvantaged students who are interested in continuing their education after high school with a scholarship and would benefit from personal, professional, and academic support throughout high school. 
Legacy Economics Corner
An occasional look at economic indicators that might impact our Legacy families.
Savings Challenges
More than half of Americans report it's either difficult or impossible to save enough money to cover all their expenses. Less than half of people say they could handle an unexpected cost of $1,000 or more. However, it is important to remember that even saving $25.00 a month can really add up, if given enough time.
Monday's Motivational Moment!
Learn From Mistakes And Turn Them Into Future Success
Mistakes are bound to happen. After all, nobody's perfect. But you can learn from mistakes and turn those missteps into future wins.

"No matter how successful you are, whether it's as an business person, educator, athlete or professional in any field, there are going to be ups and downs," said Amy Edmondson, professor of leadership and management at Harvard Business School and author of "Right Kind of Wrong." "Your ability to weather the downs may be the most important skill you need. There's no straight path to success."

People should embrace learning from failure rather than beating themselves up if things go wrong, Edmondson says. That comes from taking smart risks even if you fail.

"I'm a fan of recognition that sometimes you'll get it wrong and that's OK," she said.

Frame Failure As A Growth Opportunity

Eileen McDargh, Dana Point, Calif.-based executive coach and author of "Burnout to Breakthrough: Building Resilience to Refuel, Recharge and Reclaim What Matters," doesn't even like using the word failure. She views setbacks as challenges and opportunities.

"To grow in a changing environment means taking risks," she said. And sometimes those risks don't work out.

She views resilience not as bouncing back but as growing through a challenge or opportunity. She points to Thomas Edison's well-known comment that he found 10,000 ways not to make a light bulb.

"Figuring out what not to do is as important as figuring out what to do," McDargh said.

Succeed Later If You Learn From Mistakes Now

Look at your own role in the failure and be honest about it, Edmondson says.

"Failures aren't just there to shrug off and move forward," she said. "You've already paid for it so you might as well get your money's worth and get the insights from it. You can develop a healthy attitude toward it. Shift from a backward-facing mindset to a forward-facing mindset, so you can do better next time."

Learn From Mistakes Rationally

Train yourself to learn from mistakes by being rational about the failure, Edmondson says. Not everything goes according to plan. She opened her book with a quote by author Louisa May Alcott: "I am not afraid of storms, for I'm learning to sail my ship."

"There are storms out there," Edmondson said. "But you can be rational about reality and learn to navigate those storms."

Remember others have been in the same boat. "Everybody has experienced failure," Edmondson said. "Be honest and talk to your friends about it. They'll probably say, 'Oh, that happened to me, too.'"

When Edmondson worked on her first research project as a doctoral student, the data she compiled showed exactly the opposite of her original hypothesis. She questioned whether to continue in the program. But the unexpected result later led her to uncover some more important findings.

"If that failure hadn't happened, I probably wouldn't be talking to you now," she said. "It pointed me to another direction that had far more potential."

Sources: Harvard Business School, Amy Edmondson (author), Eileen McDargh (author)
Florida flag
Thank you for reading. Have a wonderful week!
Mr. Jiménez, Principal
Legacy Middle School
Monday, March 4, 2024
Social Media
Stay Connected with Us
Leadership Team
Principal: Mr. Jason Jiménez - [email protected]
Assistant Principal: Ms. Carla Thomas - [email protected]
Assistant Principal of Instruction: Dr. Jessica Torres - [email protected]
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.
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 Legacy Middle School is forbidden without written consent. Thank you for your support of the Orange County Public Schools and especially OCPS - Legacy Middle School. Please contact Mr. Jason Jiménez at [email protected] with any questions.