The Kingdom's Chronicle. 

school front
Monday, January 18, 2016
mlk

Note. Established in 1983, MLK Jr. Day was first celebrated in 1986,
30 years ago.
Number of the Week

literacy week

Upcoming Jan. 25-29, 2016
(see details in Media Minutes) 
Connect With Us
Lake Nona Middle School
  

There will be no school on Monday in recognition of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday. We just finished the second quarter (43 days) and the first semester of the 2015-2016 school year. We officially enter the second half of the school year when the students return on Tuesday, Jan. 19. Here are a few statistical highlights from the quarter based on our weekly success indicators (table below):

Weekly averages from the second quarter:
  • Both student and staff attendance averaged better than 97% per week which is quite good
  • While tardies to school in the mornings rose, tardies between classes fell
  • Media Center library usage increased (chart)
  • ProgressBook usage by our community improved by better than 6%
  • The administrative team carved out time each week to observe at least 70 classrooms
  • Both the morning and afternoon buses improved their on-time rates (see table)
  • Math remained the most popular after school tutoring subject with our Knights
As a reminder to LNMS parents/guardians, we will be issuing second quarter report cards on Friday, January 29.

I hope this Dr. MLK, Jr. holiday edition finds you enjoying the weekend. As always, thank you for reading our weekly updates and best wishes for the week ahead.

In Knight Pride,

Stephanie R. Minter
Principal, Lake Nona Middle School

Upcoming Events
The 3rd Quarter begins this Tuesday, Jan. 19
    
Jan. 18: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday
Jan. 21: Celebration of Student of Month and Citizen of Month
Jan. 25-29: Celebrate Literacy Week
Jan. 25: Freshman Elective Fair at Lake Nona HS, 6:00 pm
Jan. 26: Monthly Box Tops Challenge Deadline
Jan. 29: Unified Knights at Tavares
Jan. 29: Q2 Report Cards
Jan. 29: SGA Movie Night (cafe)
Jan. 30: OCPS Parent Academy (STEM) - Register
Feb. 1: PTSA Meeting (6:00-7:00)

Basketball Schedule

Jan. 27: at Legacy - Wed.                 
Feb. 2: Orange County Preparatory Academy
Feb. 3: Discovery - Wed.
Feb. 10: Corner Lake - Wed.        
Feb. 17: Union Park - Wed.
Feb. 18: Arbor Ridge - Thurs.
Feb. 24: at Avalon - Wed.   

Valentine's Day is Coming!
Get your PTSA Valentine's Gram . . .

Valentine Grams will be going on sale for only $2.00 each during lunch periods on Feb. 9 & Feb. 10. Choose from a pink carnation or Candy Gram to your friends!

Valentine's Grams will be delivered at 7th period on Friday, Feb. 12. You must know your friend's 7th period teacher for delivery.
Vital Signs


Performing Knights
Chorus and Orchestra students

spotlight The following students will represent Lake Nona Middle School in the 2016 All State Chorus. They were selected out of hundreds throughout the state who auditioned - we are proud of these musicians!

  • Aidan Vega *
  • Jayden Kumar
  • Antonio Miranda-Zapata
  • Axel Castro
  • Manuel Gonzalez
  • Justice Cintron
  • Cassandra Cruz
  • Noemi Gonzalez
  • Mariana Garcia
  • Pia Hernandez
  • Anna Colletto
  • Avery Morris
  • Samantha Scaletta
  • Gabriela Mercado
  • Alyssa Raghunandan
* Note. Congratulations to Alden Patenaude for being one out of only 8 bass players chosen from the whole State of Florida to be a part of the All State Middle School Auditioned Orchestra. He will  be in Tampa rehearsing with the All State Orchestras this Thursday-Saturday. Go Knights!

Athletics - LNMS Unified Knights

sports
At LNMS it is not just learning the sport of basketball, but the importance of
teamwork and persistence. Go Knights!

Science
2015-2016 Science Fair Examples

stem Earlier this year, our students were given the opportunity to participate in the Lake Nona Middle School Science Fair. Those that chose to participate experienced Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) activities that required them to use their problem solving and communication skills in a variety of problems that impact our daily lives.

All of our students performed admirably. Samples of their work are now displayed in our Media Center (see below) Later this week, a few will be selected to move on onto the Yin Expo (District Science Fair Competition) on February 22, 2016.

The students' hard work and dedication had made this selection process a challenging one. Their creativity, scientific thought, skill, and clarity has being above expectation. Congratulations to all.

*** Examples of Science Fair Projects Displayed in the LNMS Media Center ***

sf 1
How Does Smell Affect Taste?


Do All Liquids Evaporate at the Same Rate?
Raft Powered by Surface Tension
Candle Powered Carousel


Science Fair projects have all been displayed in the Media Center;
several will be selected now for district-level competition


Media Minutes: End of Semester Review
A look back at our top readers and Media Center events during the 1st semester . . .

Ravenous Readers
Top patrons for the 2nd quarter - LNMS "Ravenous Readers." These students checked out the most amount of books from the end of October until the middle of January. They will be invited to a celebration of their success! 
  1. Rodriguez, Melody (77)
  2. Hale, Leah (73)
  3. Maldonado Maldonado, Emilmarie (20)
  4. Lewis, Sarah (19)
  5. Turner, Mikarah (19)
  6. Zetino, Douglas (18)
  7. Smith, Ryan (17)
  8. Kristjansson, Evan (16)
  9. Rivera, Sebastian (16)
  10. Barry, Victoria (15)
  11. Rodriguez, Dave (15)
  12. Campbell, Jelani Mekhi (14)
  13. Goodson, Ta'Niyah JaNae (14)
  14. Vause, Eilidh (14)
  15. Aguero Celis, Paola (13)
  16. Nunez Gomez, Nicole (13)
  17. Quintero, Maria (13)
  18. Aranguren, Denisses (12)
  19. Rivera, Allen (12)
  20. Sanchez, Valentino (12)
Note. Number of books checked out in parentheses


eye of the storm Top Book Titles for the 2nd Quarter
  1. Eye of the Storm by Messner, Kate (49)
  2. This Journal Belongs to Ratchet by Cavanaugh, Nancy J. (49)
  3. The Testing by Charbonneau, Joelle (45)
  4. The Eighth Day by Salerni, Dianne K. (44)
  5. Stung by Wiggins, Bethany (42)
  6. Counting by 7s by Sloan, Holly Goldberg (32)
  7. The Night Gardener by Auxier, Jonathan (30)
  8. Tesla's Attic by Shusterman, Neal (30)
  9. Jungle of Bones by Mikalesen, Ben (29)
Note. Number of times each book was checked out in parentheses



Looking Ahead: Just Read, Florida Celebrate Literacy Week!      
Celebrate Literacy Week will be January 25th through January 29th 2016.  

The following activities will take place during the week:
  • literacy fl Book talks and book trivia on the morning news
  • Students who check out books will be entered into a daily drawing for a Barnes and Noble gift card
  • A student designed bookmark contest will take place. Prizes will be awarded for the top three bookmarks which celebrate literacy, books, reading, favorite characters. etc
  • Wednesday morning a book swap will be held in the media center. Students can bring in a gently used, age appropriate book and swap it for another title .
  • Wednesday will also be  Spirit Day!  Students are invited to dress up as their favorite character!
  • A door decorating contest will be held during the week. 1st period classes are encouraged to decorate their doors and win the top prize of a donut party!

PTSA

UPCOMING EVENTS:
Jan. 21: "Souper Bowl Teacher Appreciation Lunch" - Volunteers Needed - Thank You (sign-up)
Jan. 26: Box Tops for Education due to be eligible for monthly pizza draving
Jan. 26: PTSA General Meeting, 6:00 pm
Feb. 1: PTSA Board Meeting, 6:00 pm
Feb. 12: Valentine Grams Delivery (see below for student details)
Feb. 19: LOCAL BUSINESS FAIR before Harlem Wizards Event, 4:30 - 6:30 pm
Feb. 19: Harlem Wizards Event, 7:00 pm (doors open at 6:30 pm) -

TICKETS are on sale NOW online at www.harlemwizards.com and just go to schedule/dates and choose the Lake Nona, Orlando date of February 19 - List of all Lake Nona area ticket sales locations

SPONSORSHIPS AVAILABLE - if you would like to be a sponsor at our event, please contact Stacey Vega at lnmsptsapresident@gmail.com to find out about GOLD level sponsorships or to be a part of our LOCAL BUSINESS FAIR before the event! HURRY sponsorships going FAST!

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED - if you have not yet signed up to help, please click on the link to volunteer below OR please attend our meeting on Monday, Jan. 11 at 6:00 pm at Giovanni's and come joins for Food and Fundraising Planning FUN!

Guiding Knight (Reminder to 8th Grade Families)
Eighth grade families mark your calendars!!!

Lake Nona logo II On January 25th at 6:00pm Lake Nona High School will host an incoming freshman elective fair! Please arrive to the event 15 minutes early, the presentation will begin promptly at 6:00pm. There will be also information provided about the different academies that are offered at Lake Nona High School.
 
Lake Nona High School offers three different academies: Collegiate Academy, Health Careers Academy and Digital Media Academy. Click Here for the Lake Nona High School website to find more information about each of the academies. Applications are required for admission to each program and must be submitted to the Lake Nona High School Student Services Department by Friday, February 12th  at 2:30pm.
 
Thank you,
 
Veronica Pragel, 8th Grade Guidance Counselor

Leading Indicators
Weekly averages for both the 1st and 2nd quarters of 2015-2016
Goal
1st Qtr.
2nd Qtr.
Classroom walk-throughs by the administrative team
100
74
70
LNMS family member ProgressBook logins
800
846
903
Attendance:



Teacher attendance
96%
96.9%
97.5%
Attendance (6th)
95%
97.4%
97.4%
Attendance (7th)
95%
97.2%
97.1%
Attendance (8th)
95%
96.9%
97.3%
Tardies to school (lower figures more favorable);



6th grade
25 max.
20
24
7th grade
25 max.
26
36
8th grade
25 max.
30
42
Tardies to class (lower figures more favorable):



6th grade
50 max.
47
28
7th grade
50 max.
56
53
8th grade
50 max.
73
57
Media Center activity:



Book check outs (6th)
100
104
114
Book check outs (7th)
70
55
85
Book check outs (8th)
70
22
17
On-time buses - AM
100%
93.8%
97.2%
On-time buses - PM
100%
69.3%
76.2%
Tutoring (# of students)



Math
---
64
48
English Language Arts
---
4
9
Social Studies
---
21
11
Science
---
59
11

a) Credit: Working with the cooperation of various departments, Asst. Principal Wood compiles LNMS' weekly results each Friday.
b) After school tutoring got underway in October and the weekly averages only reflect those weeks where results were turned into to A.P. Wood.
c) 2nd quarter is an average for 8 vs. 9 school weeks as the final week was not available at production time.

Leadership Team

Principal: Stephanie Minter stephanie.minter@ocps.net
Assistant Principal: Wessal Kenaio wessal.kenaio@ocps.net
Assistant Principal: Vaughnsha Thompson vaughnsha.thompson@ocps.net
Assistant Principal: Cheryl Wood cheryl.wood@ocps.net
Administrative Dean: Wanda Perkins wanda.perkins@ocps.net
Administrative Dean: Damian Rosado damian.rosado@ocps.net

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