December 7 to 11 - Winter Testing

December 8- SAC Meeting at LNMS Media Center 5:00 PM

December 9- Modality Change Request for Quarter 3 Deadline at 4:30 PM

December 10- OCPS Virtual Parent Academy - "Navigating Educational Opportunities" - 6:00 PM

December 11- Spelling Bee

December 12- Saturday Learning Lab - 9:00 AM - 1:00 PM

December 15- Sports Packet Dropoff in Gym

December 17- Sports Packet Dropoff in Gym

December 18 - End of Second Marking Period

December 21- PTSA Spirit Night at Jeremiahs

December 21 to January 4, 2021 - Winter Break - School Closed

January 5 - 3rd Marking Period Begins

January 5- Volleyball Intramurals Begins

"Manning the rails" has become a traditional way to honor the USS Arizona Memorial when all U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard, and U.S. Merchant Marine vessels transit Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Pictured above, a Sailor salutes the USS Arizona Memorial as their ship enters Pearl Harbor for a port visit. As the ship goes by, it renders honors by sounding, “Attention,” and all hands topside render a hand salute until the ship has passed the memorial and “Carry on” is sounded.

Seventy nine years ago on the morning of December 7, 1941 aircraft of the Imperial Japanese Navy launched a surprise attack upon the island of Oahu in Hawaii striking Pearl Harbor and other military bases. On board the battleship USS Arizona, 1,177 Sailors and Marines were lost. 

During the Winter assessment window, students enrolled in courses with one of the following 3 assessments must complete the associated exam: Semester 1 CFE, i-Ready, and PMA. In the interest of creating a testing environment that will allow students the amount of time needed to complete the assessment without interruption, we will implement a block schedule for the week of December 7th.

Please review the attached schedule with your child, specifically noting the days where there is a change in the normal bell schedule. To maintain the security of the Common Final Exams (CFE), students will be required to share their camera during the CFE administration.

**Monday & Tuesday testing schedule below. Please click here to view a larger image and see all 4 testing days (PDF).

Ms. Chenia Thate, the 6th/7th grade dean, will assume the position of SAC Coordinator for the remainder of the year. Ms. Wood began her retirement on November 20th after 43 years of service in education.  This is a reminder that this month we are moving our SAC meeting back on campus.

We will begin our meeting at 5pm on December 8th in our school media center located on the second floor. Please remember you will need to have a mask on to attend these meetings. CDC guidelines will be followed.

Congratulations to 7th grader Jessie Del Villar for constructing a wonderful essay submission for the Spreading the Dream Symposium. Each year, OCPS 7th graders have the opportunity to submit an essay in response to a prompt involving the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Jessie wrote an essay, based on provided readings, in which she explained why courage was important to Dr. King in his fight for equality and social justice. Jessie’s essay was chosen as the LNMS winner and she received a gift card and other prizes as well.

Great job representing the Kingdom!

We would like to send a HUGE SHOUT OUT to our Support Facilitators and their students for an AWESOME JOB during their Academic Support Day in the Media Center! They are pushing towards great academic success as we close out the first semester.

Due to the influence of many factors around us, our brains are wired to scan the environment for negatives. By completing this challenge, you are actively working to rewire your brain to identify the positive things around you.

Please click here for the 21-day tracking chart and a list of a few more benefits that can directly support our Knights.

Her name was Star. Her letter to Santa didn’t ask for presents, clothes or anything for herself. She had one simple request, “Please bring my mommy eyes that never cry.” Her mom was single and working two jobs just to get by. Eleven year old Karla wanted ice skates but told Santa, “It’s okay if I don’t get them but clothes for my little brother would be very appreciated.” Karla’s single mom could barely make ends meet.

Although the U.S. Post Office in New York began receiving letters to Santa Claus more than 120 years ago, its involvement was made official in 1912 when Postmaster General Frank Hitchcock authorized postal employees and citizens to respond to the letters.

Today, the popular holiday program is known nationwide as Operation Santa. Thousands of volunteers work with Post Offices to respond to letters from children of all ages listing their holiday wishes.

Short video from a TV network in the New York City metro area:

One mother wrote Santa to ask, “Please make this Christmas a happy one for my three children, it has been a tough year.” USPS has a policy for “adopting” children’s letters to Santa that’s designed to protect their privacy.

This has been a very challenging year as we all know. Operation Santa kicked off on December 4th and kids sending letters should do so by December 15th. Please take a moment to learn a little about Operation Santa and see if you might be able to adopt a wish this year. Thank you for your kindness and HO! HO! HO!

Fax 407-858-5530 | EEO Statement

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 OCPS - Lake Nona Middle School is forbidden without written consent. Thank you for your support of Lake Nona Middle School and the Orange County Public Schools. Please contact Mrs. Cheryl Wood at Cheryl.Wood@ocps.net with any questions or for further information.