Page 1 Locust Grove Middle School Home of the Wild Cats April 2015 Georgia Milestones Testing Schedule Georgia Milestones testing begins the week we return from spring break. Be prepared by knowing the testing schedule and bell schedule. The GaDoe has proposed that 30% of students test online. All read aloud administrations will test online. Henry County schools will target Grades 4 and 7 and all high schools for online testing along with all read aloud administrations. Tony Townsend Principal Kevin Van Tone Assistant Principal Dr. Robin Collins Administrative Dean - Discipline Ingrid Zabala Administrative Dean - MTSS Locust Grove Middle School 3315 South Ola Rd. Locust Grove, GA 30248 Phone: 770-957-6055 Fax: 770-957-7160
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Classroom Happenings Page 3 Mrs. Trujillo and Mrs. Hesting have been working hard at providing opportunities for their students to succeed. In the following pictures, the two 8th grade math teachers combined their classes and paired students to work on: 1. A matching game regarding tables, slope, y intercept, equations of lines, and graphing lines or 2. A lesson on the ipad from Straight Ace The students had a chance to work on both activities switching midway through the class. Mrs. Trujillo exclaims, We hoped to provide them with diversification (working with someone from a different team), differentiated instruction, and an opportunity to have access to 2 teachers! For those struggling with this concept, we first had them match tables to a line (using the coordinates from the table) and then once we checked it we added on the next piece which was calculating slope, until they eventually matched all four cards together. The collaboration of classes proved to be effective and beneficial!
Classroom Happenings, continued... Page 4 Mrs. Szymanski and Mrs. Gardner challenged their students to participate in the National History day competition by creating either a website, a research paper, a display, documentary, or a drama on someone in history who has left a legacy through their leadership. Through many weeks of intense research, construction, and study four students were able present their projects at the regional competition. Congratulations to the following students for winning top honors in the National History Day regional competition: Sean Prisk, Alex Szymanski, Jasmine Hughley, and Amber Fraley will advance to the state competition in Macon. Good luck to all as they move on to the next level!
Fine Arts Page 5 Congratulations to our illustrious chorus and amazing director for a terrific performance at the large group evaluation. The students were fantastic and Ms. Gatlin was truly inspirational. I love seeing when her passion meets performance. - Mr. Townsend Personalized Learning is the act of engaging students in the process of their education where they are in the learning, providing support when and how they need it, and matching passion to the learning environment. This idea recently manifested itself in an extremely powerful way with our Locust Grove Middle School Band's Large Group Performance Evaluation. Over 50 passionate LGMS musicians did an amazing job in an event that is the equivalent to a band state playoff. This year, Mr. Kreg Biffle innovatively used the personalized learning environment at LGMS to build an intermediate and symphonic band performance that amazed the audience and received top scores in the county. Congratulations Wildcats!!! See the band s performances here: https://youtu.be/pdem6trh8ts https://youtu.be/j8qqdirgdrc Video from the 6 th grade concert: http://youtu.be/ssxgcqbsopq
Fine Arts, continued... Page 6 A note from Mr. Kreg Biffle on the band s Large Group Performance Evaluation: The band is judged/evaluated in their performance of three prepared state approved selections by a panel of three adjudicators. The judges give a rating on 15 different performance indicators during the performance and then based on those they assign an overall rating of 1 (Superior), 2 (Excellent), 3 (Good), 4 (Fair), or 5 (Poor). After that performance we move to the sight-reading room where we are evaluated by one adjudicator. In the sight-reading process, the kids are given a piece of music they have never seen and we have 6 minutes to prepare the piece with me giving verbal instruction and guidance but without actually playing the instruments. After the 6 minute instruction period we perform the piece to the best of our ability. To me, this part of the process is where groups have the opportunity to truly show the most mastery of what they know and that they can take what they know and transfer that knowledge into a new piece of music in a matter of minutes. In some ways, the SR portion of the process is more rewarding for me from an educational standpoint than the performance on stage. Anyway, our Concert Band (first year taking a Concert Band for evaluation) made a 1-2-2 in their performance and a 1 in SR. Symphonic Band made all 1 s in performance and SR! To give you a little more perspective on the results, the judging panel this year was a very tough (but fair) panel. We had 34 bands perform in 2 days and of those 34, there were 3 schools who scored all superior ratings (our Symphonic Band, Ola, and Pointe South from Clayton County). Beyond that there were only 6 more who scored a combination of 1 s and 2 s (including our concert band). So 25 of 34 bands scored some combination of 2 s, 3 s, 4 s or 5 s. I know it s not about comparing ourselves to others but I think this information just gives some insight into where we stand. I think it s important for kids to understand (and hopefully appreciate) that the opportunities they are getting here are more positive than many other kids their age. Thanks again for all of your support of me and the kids. Have a great day!
See What s Happening in our Clubs! Page 7 Guest speaker, Ms. Mary Ann Carp, speaking to the Ag Science club about the Lovejoy City Garden.
Club Happenings, continued... FBLA members presenting their projects: Page 8 FCA has collected over 40 bags for the homeless!
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8th Grade Information Page 11 CLASS OF 2019 ~ 8TH GRADE ACTIVITIES May 1, 2015 Royal Wildcat Ball (6:30 p.m. 8:30 p.m.) Semi-formal attire is encouraged. Girls should wear knee to ankle length dresses and/ or dress pants or suits. Boys should wear dress slacks and shirt and/or suit. A tie is preferred. There will be a photographer on site. Keep in mind that this NOT a prom, no limousines, tuxedos, formal ball gowns, and/or extravagant attire. All attire MUST meet the standards of the HCS Dress Code. You must be present the ENTIRE school day to attend this event. There will be NO early checkouts. (Fee-based activity ~ Tickets WILL NOT be sold separately!) May 15, 2015 Picnic in the Grove (11:40 a.m. 1:50 p.m.) A catered picnic lunch will be served for the 8th grade students. Students will wear their exclusive Class of 2019 t-shirts. Students are encouraged to bring a picnic blanket and sunscreen. May 21, 2015 Ice Cream Social/Q & A Session (2:30 p.m. 4:00 p.m.) The Ice Cream Social is for 8th grade students only. There will be a brief question and answer session with LGHS administrators, counselors, and student council. May 28, 2015 Wildcat Honors Night (6:00 p.m. 7:00 p.m.) LGMS will honor outstanding 8th grade students for their achievements throughout the year. This is an invitation only event. Parents and family are invited. May 29, 2015 Farewell Ceremony (10:00 a.m. 12:00 p.m.) LGMS will hold its 6th Annual Wildcat Pride Walk Ceremony. This will be a formal event. All 8th grade males must wear a white, button down shirt with a collar, black slacks, and dress shoes. The school will provide a Royal Blue necktie. All 8th grade females should wear a white dress or skirt/pant suit with dress shoes. There will be guest speakers and many of the 8th graders will be on the program. The whole family is invited to attend. At the end of the ceremony, eighth graders will walk the halls of LGMS for the last time. Parents are encouraged to bring signs and banners for the child s final walk. Yearbooks are coming! Be sure to order yours here: http://www.jostens.com/apps/shop/ yrbk_catalog.asp?cid=275426&pfid=2014073104160711373&affiliateid=1864594
Page 12 More information found at: http://schoolwires.henry.k12.ga.us/cms/lib08/ GA01000549/Centricity/Domain/5510/TAACT%20Application%202015%20.pdf
Page 13 More information found here: http://schoolwires.henry.k12.ga.us/cms/lib08/ga01000549/centricity/domain/5510/dual-enrollment-parent-flyer- June-2014.pdf
Community Information Page 14 The LGHS Chick-fil-A Leader Academy is having a Carnival/Movie Night on the Locust Grove High school football field on Saturday, May 2 nd to raise money for one of our students who is battling cancer. People will pay to enter the football stadium and all money will go directly to the family. The carnival is from 4-8pm followed by a family-friendly movie around 8:30.
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