The Launch Pad Galaxy Middle School February-March 2016 The Deltona Martin Luther King, Jr. Committee sponsored a writing contest in honor of the Martin Luther King, Jr., holiday. Middle school students were asked to write poems, minimum of ten lines, on the following topic: Sharing My Vision of America. Over one hundred Galaxy Middle School students submitted entries. Three of those students were recognized as winners and received monetary awards for their poetry at the Dream Keepers Breakfast on Saturday, January 16 th, as part of the 2016 Weekend Celebration for Dr. King. First place and $100 was awarded to seventh grader, Deisha Cintron; second place and $75 was awarded to sixth grader, Joey Barley; and third place and $50 was awarded to seventh grader, Jocelyn Rogers. We are so proud of our Rockets. Congratulations to all! Galaxy Middle School s Spelling Bee was held on Thursday, January 21 st. Congratulations to our winner, sixth grader, Ashley Sanchez, and our runner-up, eighth grader, Sierra Yeomans. Ashely will go on to represent Galaxy Middle School at the district Spelling Bee on Wednesday, February 24 th, at Port Orange Elementary School. Good luck, Ashley! Visit our website at: http://myvolusiaschools.org click the Schools tab, then select Galaxy Middle School
ATTENDANCE It is very important to call the school when your child will be absent. Parents will receive an automated phone message the evening of the absence if the call is not received by the attendance office by 4:00 pm each day. Please call (386) 575-4144 ext. 44455. UPDATES Please remember to update addresses, name changes, phone numbers, etc. It is important to have all information current so you can be reached in the event of an emergency. If you have any questions, please contact Mrs. Smith at (386) 575-4144, extension 44441. CLINIC Reminder for all students that have an Inhaler, Epi Pen or any other medical device or medication. You need to have a physicians order and care plan completed and submitted to the clinic. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Lisa Thomas at (386)575-4144 Extension 44698. VOLUNTERS WELCOME You are invited to come in and volunteer at Galaxy to share your time and talent. Please see Ms. Jimenez at the front desk for an application. We always need help with the following: Class room help PEP assemblies School pictures Scholastic Book Fair Basketball games Field trips Important Numbers to Remember: Attendance : 44455 Ms. Blanton 6th Grade Administrator 6th Grade House: 44414 Ms. Douglas 7th Grade Administrator 7th Grade House: 44422 Mr. Goodin 8th Grade and ESE Administrator 8th Grade House: 44410 Records and Registration: 44441 Media Center: 44480 Cafeteria: 44699 Clinic: 44698 A big THANK YOU to Galaxy s Business Partners Advanced Medical Center Beef O Brady s Chick Fil A Chili s Florida Hospital Harry s Towing Planet Smoothie Origami Owl-Marla Barto Subway Total Image Signs Tupperware Parents please support the businesses that support our students & our school Galaxy News and Information On-Line Ever misplace a flyer announcing a great activity for your child and wish you could find the information again? Now you can! Flyers are now posted on the district s website at http://myvolusiaschools.org. Simply select the Parents icon, locate the tool box on the right-hand bottom corner, click general information, and then click Flyers, Community Events and Programs. It s the third item from the top of page. New flyers will be posted on the 1 st and 3 rd Wednesday of each month. Be sure to check back frequently for events and activities occurring throughout Volusia County. Computers Don t have computer access at home? A computer is available for your use at our school s Media Center and at every Volusia County Public Library. Any questions call (386) 575-4144. Calendar The 2015-2016 School Calendar is available with early release Wednesday & report card dates. Go to http://myvolusiaschools.org. Visit our website at: http://myvolusiaschools.org click the Schools tab, then select Galaxy Middle School
News to Note The 2015-2016 school improvement plan is available in the front office. The 2015-2016 parental involvement plan Is also available in the front office. Please stop by and take a look at both of these important documents! Science Lock-In date is April 8th, 2016 and we need parent volunteers. Volunteers must be approved through the front office. Students can get volunteer applications from any 8th grade science teacher. "Its that time of year again! Time for Galaxy's Girls on Track season to begin! There are only 15 spots available to be on the team. All girls grades 6th - 8th are welcome to join the team. Please see Coach Hepsworth or Mr. Koref for more information on how to register! Season starts at the end of January, so don't delay!" BAND Congratulations to the following students for making the 2016 Volusia All-County Band: Katie Polcyn-Clarinet Dre lyn Nobels-Clarinet Ricardo Nivar Cortes-Alto Saxophone Angelique Smith-French Horn Nathaniel Edwards-French Horn Trinity Eloriaga-Trombone Siennah Cruz-Trombone Josh Kline-Euphonium Mark DeRosier-Tuba Media Center News I m pleased to announce that our media center has gone digital. We now stock ebooks through Follett Shelf! The ebooks are readable on phones, computers, and tablets. To read our ebooks on your phones and tablets, you will need to download an app called Follett Brytewave K-12. Once installed it will ask for your user name (1ALPHA), your password (mmddyyyy Birthday), Follett Shelf URL (wbb34166). To access from a computer or a web browser on a portable device type in destiny.volusia.k12.fl.us. Once you are on the page click Galaxy Middle School. Click Catalog. Then click Follett Shelf on the left side menu area. We have 256 new book titles. The titles with the infinity sign are unlimited access, which can be checked out simultaneously an unlimited number of times. After two weeks the books automatically check themselves in, unless they are renewed beforehand. Congratulations to the following students for making the 2016 Volusia All-County Jazz Band Christian Chase-Bari Saxophone Josh Kline-Trombone These students have worked hard and will represent Galaxy wonderfully! Congratulations, again! Science Olympiad Dates: Regionals at ERAU: February 13th States at UCF: March 19th Nationals in Wisconsin: May 20th-22 nd Visit our website at: http://myvolusiaschools.org click the Schools tab, then select Galaxy Middle School
FFA I am SUPER excited to share that Galaxy Middle FFA s Opening and Closing Ceremonies team WON their Sub-District competition!! Each team member had to memorize an officer s speaking part, present it to a panel of judges, be extremely poised, and answer judges questions upon completion of the ceremonies. These kids worked SO hard and deserve every bit of this win! Students stayed after school every Friday until after 5:00, as well as studied on their own time for questions. The team will advance to the District VI contest in January! Team members included: Jordyn Grimes (7 th grade) Maria Aldaba (8 th grade) Joshlyne Rosa (8 th grade) Nevaeh Carpenter (8 th grade) Mark DeRosier (7 th grade) Melisa Garcia (8 th grade) Richard Egan (8 th grade) SGA The Galaxy Middle School Student Government served their community this holiday season. They created holiday gift bags for the residents Deltona Nursing Home. All 120 of them!! The club purchased essentials such as lotion, hand sanitizer, chap stick, tissues, pencils/paper, and combs and then added holiday favorites, candy canes and hot chocolate. The club toped it off with festive bags closed with a ribbon attached to a hand-made card and ornament. For some residents, it is the only gift they got this year. Good job Galaxy SGA for reaching out to your community! of CRITICAL THINKING Help wash an elderly neighbor s car. Stop and assist a fellow students dropped papers. Help a mom with three young children put groceries in her truck at Walmart. Bring a bouquet of chocolate bars to a random cashier in Publix. These are just a few of the "Random Acts of Kindness" Galaxy Middle School Critical Thinking students completed last quarter. The 6 th grade class is learning how to think outside of the box. Their quarterly assignment to do something nice for someone you do not know was more than just writing a report, students had to think of an idea they could implement safely, explain the what, why and how, and when turning in their report, make sure it was not stapled! Students turned in papers that were sewn together, knitted, hole punched and many other unique methods! Almost 100 students worked on this assignment and each was eager to share what they did and how good it made them feel! Galaxy students are learning to think critically in fun and innovative ways! We couldn t be more proud!
GALAXY S EMERGENCY EVACUATION PROCEDURE In the unlikely event of a campus evacuation, Timbercrest Elementary has been designated as our alternate site. We will assemble in Timbercrest's multi-purpose room and cafeteria. Parents/guardians would report to the cafeteria to pick-up students. Emergency Notification: In the unlikely event of an emergency, we would utilize our automated phone system to inform parents/ guardians of incident. Student Transportation Services is HIRING for School Bus Operators. If you know of a parent, spouse, friend, etc. looking for a job, please have them call us at 386-258-4677 at ext. 50500. No Commercial Driver License needed to start, we will train them for it! Must have a completed application online with Volusia County School Board (www.myvolusiaschools.org) along with the FRS form completed, references, and scanned social security card, driver license and high school diploma/ged. (If they don t have a high school diploma/ged, they must successfully pass the assessment test with Human Resources). Must be a licensed driver for a minimum of five (5) years. Must have a clean driving record. Must be able to obtain permits for a Class B license and the Passenger and School Bus Operator Endorsements. Must be able to obtain a D.O.E. Physical and Dexterity Test. Wages: Paid Training; $8.05 per hour Sub/Contracted Operator; $11.11 per hour Contracted Operators will be eligible for the following benefits: Medical Dental Vision Life Insurance Sick Leave Free Annual Physical for contracted Operators Florida State Retirement