Mowat Middle School O C T O B E R 2 0 1 5 V O L U M E 3 , I S S U E 2 Ed Sheffield

Principal

Cynthia Walker Assistant Principal

Maegan DeMoss Assistant

Administrator (6th grade)

Catherine Moore Assistant

Administrator (7th grade)

Elizabeth Swedlund Assistant

Administrator (8th grade)

Mowat Guidance

767-4041

Crystal Wicker A-K

Nancy Smith L-Z

Betsy Hughes

Office 850-767-4040

Fax 850-265-2179

Principal’s Corner by Ed Sheffield

In an effort to be proactive I would like to address some disci-pline issues so that you, the parent, may have an opportunity to help your child avoid situations that could lead to suspen-sion. First, I would like to explain that fighting at school will always result in out-of-school suspension. We tell students that they always have an opportunity to simply walk away from a confrontation. If given the chance to discuss the prob-lem, our Administrators can successfully defuse a potential conflict. Tell your child to find an Administrator and make us aware of a problem so that we can help them solve it.

The other issue I will address involves drugs. If a student brings a prescription drug or over the counter drug to school and gives it to a friend, he/she will be suspended from school and may face expulsion. This includes selling or giving freely any coun-terfeit drugs. The Bay District Policy is very clear and prohibits the:

”Possession, sale, use or under the influence of any controlled substance under Chap-ter 893, Fla. Stat., any counterfeit controlled substances as defined in §831.31, Fla. Stat., model glue or other inhalant, or any over the counter or prescription drug, medication, supplement, or alcohol or commercial nonalcoholic beverage as advertised by the beer and liquor industries, or the possession, use or sale of any paraphernalia designed for use of such substances.”

I would like all Mowat parents to take a few minutes to talk to your student(s) about the drug policy and how a bad decision on their part could have a profound effect on their future.

Dates to Remember

- Wear Orange Day 10/07 (for anti-bullying)

- Columbus Day 10/12 (No School)

- Picture Make Ups 10-16

- PTO/SAC 10/22 4-5:00

- Telescope Night 10/22 (6-7:00 Weather Permitting)

-Teacher Planning 10/28 (No School for Students)

- Report Cards 10/29

- Honor Roll Ice Cream 10/30

P A G E 2

“The function of

education is to teach one

to think intensively and

to think critically.

Intelligence plus

character—that is the

goal of true education. ”

~Martin Luther King, Jr.

Please be

kind...some noses

are sensitive to

certain perfumes,

cologne, and/or

body sprays. Re-

member to keep

to a minimum.

Go Mustangs!

School Lunch

Breakfast: $1.50

Lunch: $2.75

For free and reduced meals contact the

school for an application.

For paying online visit the Bay District

Schools website and click on the school

lunches tab. (www.applyforlunch.com)

You will need your student’s

10-digit school identification number.

Class Rotation

Rotation 1: 1,2,3,4,5,6

Rotation 2: 3,4,5,6,1,2

Rotation 3: 5,6,1,2,3,4

T-Shirt Days

Oct. 9

Oct. 23

Need a little extra help?

Mr. Lee is available in the Media Center each morning from 7:30—8:00 for tutoring.

Don’t forget to save those Box Tops!!

They can be dropped off in the office,

or sent to Mrs. Piotrowski’s room, 503.

YEARBOOK

PICTURE

MAKE UP

DAY is October 16!

24-Hour Attendance Line: 850-767-4042

P A G E 3

Dress Code

Mustang’s RACE

Respect

Act Responsibly

Care for Others

Engaged

If your student is absent for ANY reason, you must contact the school.

Mowat's dress code colors are navy blue, yellow/gold, and white. Mowat students' bottoms should only be plain kha-

ki, blue jeans, or navy pants. No black, white, or colored pants. Tops, hoodies and sweatshirts have to be solid navy

blue, yellow/gold, or white, unless it is a school sponsored/school approved article of clothing. This year, shirts do

not have to be tucked in, but students are required to wear a belt. No shorts, skirts or dresses shorter than five

inches (5”) above the knee caps as measured standing up.

If students wear hoodies (tops with hoods that must be pulled over their heads), they MUST be either a Mowat

hoodie or plain navy blue, yellow or white. Students will be required to remove any non-dress code hoodie. If your

student gets cold in the classroom now, or as you are purchasing clothing for the fall, be sure they have a jacket that

fastens in the front with a zipper or buttons (must unzip all the way, not partial zipper). If your student has holes in

his or her pants, even the decorative variety, they will be required to change into another pair of pants. Parents will

be called when violations of the dress code cannot be resolved at school.

NO HOLES IN PANTS!

Ms. Cathy Everitt is thrilled to join the Mowat

Mustangs this year. She is our part-time SLP

(speech-language pathologist), who works with

students at Mowat all day on Mondays and part

of the day on Fridays. Her room is 707 in the

middle of Building 7, and she loves seeing some

of her former Patterson Rockets succeeding

here at Mowat. In addition to being an SLP, she is also an author and

public speaker. So far, she has published two inspirational gift books

of true short stories: Heart Whisperer and Listening to the Heart

Whisperer. They are available in print or e-format from any

bookseller, or get a signed copy from Ms. Everitt. She said she

acquired inspiration from students, and from her adventures

traveling in Ireland 14 times, including extended stays there for the

past eleven summers.

PTO is in need of new members. If you are interested, contact the front office at 767-4040.

Menus, nutrition information, and prices

http://chartwells.compass-usa.com/BDS/Pages/SiteMenus.aspx

NO HOLES IN PANTS!

P A G E 4

What's in a Grade?

You may have noticed that your student's teachers may have changed

their grade books to reflect a weighting of zero for formative assignments,

such as homework or practice worksheets. This change supports the

district grading policy.

What does this mean for your student? It means that practice will be just

that. Practice will not count against your student's grade. Students'

grades should give both students and parents information as to how stu-

dents are progressing toward mastery of standards. Students and parents

will be given feedback through formative assignments as students and

teachers work through the learning process. This means that doing the

formative assignments is more important than ever, as the feedback will

not only let students know where they are in relation to mastery, it will

also let teachers know what instructional changes they need to make so

that all students can get closer to mastery.

We believe that the new policy will allow students, parents, and teachers

to have a clearer picture of what students actually know and can do and

areas where they still need work. We hope that if you have any questions

or concerns, you will contact your student's teacher or Mowat admin-

istration.

ANNOUNCEMENT:

Students can no longer ride

a bus (not their own) home

with a friend due to bus

overcrowding issues.

Stay informed of the latest and greatest

news from Mowat Middle School.

Like us on Facebook and

download our app

(directions are at the end

of the newsletter)!

When your child is out sick, please call the school to let us know. The attendance line (767-4042) is open 24 hours or send in a note with your student. All notes from a doctor or parent explaining why your student was out of school need to be turned in to the office. If your student will be out for a family event, they must get a Family Leave form, located in the front office. Family Leave forms need to be filled out and signed by teachers and turned in to the office for administrative approval before the planned trip.

If you have any questions, please feel free to call the front office at 767-4040 or 767-4042. Thank you.

- Mowat Attendance Office

Parent Pick-up/ Parking Please be mindful of those picking up/dropping off students in front of the gym. If

you are parked in the traffic pattern, you are impeding progress of those whose stu-

dents are already in the pick-up zone. Parent parking is available in our sand lot in

front of the gym. Please utilize this area if you know your child may be running a

little late in the afternoon.

**Note: Please avoid pick up and drop off in our bus

loading zone, or in the teacher parking lot off of Hwy.

390.

P A G E 5

PBS, Positive Behavior Supports, is in its fourth year at Mowat. Each month, Mustangs learn a new character trait that exemplifies the acronym RACE (Respect, Act responsi-bly, Care for others, Engaged). As Mustangs prepare for high school and beyond, they are becoming responsible and building character. Students are able to earn RACE tick-ets randomly when caught following school rules or being a good citizen. Caught Read-ing tickets are earned by students caught reading during less structured time such as lunch or before school. Weekly drawings are held for prizes such as $10 ITunes cards, restaurant gift cards, candy ,trinkets, etc. A selection of novels is available to those names drawn for Caught Reading.

If you would like to donate prizes or funds to assist with this ongoing program, please contact Elizabeth Swedlund, Assistant Administrator, 767-4040.

Mustangs

RACE!

P A G E 6

Gamers Club is now open and

accepting all those who are

interested in games of all

types. There are only 80 spaces

available so first come, first serve

for sign ups. We will meet on

Thursdays @ 8:20 in Rm 912

Club Sponsor is C. Johnson

Weather permitting,

Mr. Smith will host

Telescope Night on

October 22 from 6:00

-7:00 pm here on

Mowat’s campus.

See Mr.

Smith for

details!

Peer Counseling is a student-led program that has been created

for students to have someone to talk to, and to serve as a

resource for our fellow students. We, as peer counselors, have

received training in our field. We hope to lower suicide and

bullying rates; and hope to leave a great mark at Mowat! Our

sponsor, Ms. Alexis Underwood, is helping us reach our goals.

We hope that you, as parents, will help us reach our goals as well.

We have two ways you can help Mowat this month: our food drive

and our t-shirt day! We are partnering with Beta Club on a food

drive. Our food program sends home food and toiletries with

students who need a little additional help fighting hunger.

Also this month is bullying prevention month. On October 7th,

Mowat will be having our first-ever orange t-shirt day to combat

bullying. Students will pay a dollar to wear an orange t-shirt. All

proceeds from this day will go directly to our food program.

We hope everyone will be able to participate.

Watch this space for more great ideas!

Mowat Peer Counseling

NEWS

P A G E 7

Boys Soccer Tryouts

Each tryout day, players are to report to the gym no later than 3:50. Please be dressed appropriately and

ready to play. Do not be late!

Parents are to pick up in front of the gym after tryouts.

In order to tryout, players are required to submit all paperwork (physicals and proof of insurance) to Coach

Allen no later than Friday, October 16th.

If you have any questions please see Coach Guthrie in room 506 (portables) or

Coach Allen in the gym.

Boys soccer tryouts will be held from 3:50 to 6:00 on:

Monday- October 19th for all 6th graders

Tuesday - October 20th for all 7th graders

Wednesday- October 21 for all 8th graders

Thursday-Make-up if needed

A sign up sheet is located in the Gym

The Comics and Illustration Club is off to a great start! We meet

each Wednesday (when school is in session) from 3:30-4:30

pm in Room 402 (the Art room).

Students must have a signed permission form on file in order to

attend. Permission slips can be obtained from Mr. Pongonis in

room 402.

Anyone may join. It’s not too late!

Hi Parents and Students!

There is a Military & Family Life counselor available at your school 3 days a week to help address the day to day stressors of military life and the impact of deployment and reintegration. This is a free service that complements existing military programs and counselors keep no records. The MFLC is available to meet individually and in groups with students, parents and staff as requested. The MFLC plays an active role in the JS2S program and holds military lunch groups for students to socialize with other military kids.

If you are interested in learning more about the program please call: 850-598-2727 . Your MFLC

counselor will be available Wednesday, Thursday and Friday at your school if you would like to

meet in person. Consent forms will be sent home with students during the next couple of weeks

and are available online to complete and return. These forms allow us permission to meet with

your child as needed. The MFLC will be at the Open House so please stop by to meet with her.

P A G E 8

P A G E 9

News from the Media Center

The next Books and Brownies lunch will be on Tuesday, Octo-

ber 27. We will meet and discuss the book The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau. All students are invited to borrow the book, bring their lunch and join in on the book discussion.

Sign up online

http://www.bay.k12.fl.us/Parents/ParentPortal.aspx

BYOD

Bay District Schools is committed to aiding students and staff in creating a 21st

century learning environment. Students and staff will now be able to access our

wireless network with their personal mobile devices (laptops, netbooks, tablets,

smartphones, etc.) during the school day. With classroom teacher approval,

students may use their own devices to access the internet and collaborate with

other students. Students may NOT have their devices out between classes,

before school, or in the classroom without teacher permission. All devices are

the responsibility of the student; the school will not be held responsible for lost or

damaged devices.

P A G E 1 0

Attention all 8th Graders!!!!

There is still time to register for the 2016 Philadelphia trip! All 8th graders are eligible to go.

Register today using Mowat’s Trip ID #6401231.

There are two easy ways to register:

1. Online at https://mytour.brightsparktravel.com 2. By phone-call the Brightspark Customer Service Center-1-877-

545-0070 and use our Trip ID #.

If you would like more information, please stop by Mrs. Piotrowski’s room, 503, or e-mail at PIOTRL@BAY.K12.FL.US.

P A G E 1 1

Beta Club

- Beta will have a fundraiser

kickoff at our October 13th

meeting in the cafeteria @

8:20 am.

Mowat Middle School Beta Club is

kicking off its Fall Fundraiser with Club’s Choice

Fundraising. With your help this year’s fundraiser

can be the best ever! The proceeds from this

fundraiser will go towards Our Beta Mission: “To

promote the academic achievement, character, ser-

vice and leadership among Mowat student.”

We’ll be selling Club’s Choice great tasting square

thin-crust brick oven pizzas, the very popular and

delicious garlic cheese bread, cheesecakes, cookie

dough, breakfast items, soups, mouth-watering

chocolates, and much more. Thank you for your

continued support of our school.

- The Beta Club induction ceremony will

take place on October 27 from 6-7:00 pm.

- Parents: We will attend the Beta Conven-

tion at the Renaissance Sea World, Orlando

FL this year from November 30-December

1, 2015. The deadline for registering will

be in October. Details to come.

PTO

PTO will be holding

their Yankee Candle

Sales from October 5 to

November 6. Students

will be receiving their

fundraising packet and

information during

their 6th period class

on October 5.

P A G E 1 2

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