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Horizon West Middle School |
HWMS Community Member,
I hope everyone has had a wonderful start to the new school year!
Just last week report cards were sent home for quarter 2 and are currently available on Skyward. Please take some time and review your child’s grades with them.
The 8th Grade Celebration Committee will have their second planning meeting on Wednesday, January 25th at 5:30 pm in the Media Center. If you are interested in helping with the dance, please attend the meeting. Also, the 8th Grade Celebration tickets are on sale NOW on school pay. Cost for admission is $30. This will be a night you won't want to miss under the stars. https://www.schoolpay.com/pay/for/8th-Grade-Dance-Tickets-/SbTj3fa
We have some testing coming up this month. ACCESS for ELLs is an assessment taken annually by English language learners. For those students testing, the upcoming dates for the Reading and Listening portion will take place January 24th and Writing portion will take place on January 26th. For the Speaking portion of the test, students will be pulled to test one-on-one.
We began our homework help program in the mornings offering support for students that need help with their Math, Language Arts, Science, and/or Social Studies and now Spanish 1 homework/classwork. This support will be from 8:00 am - 9:00 am in the Horizon West Middle School cafeteria.
The support schedule is as follows:
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Mondays - Science support
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Tuesdays - Social Studies and Spanish 1 support
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Wednesdays - Language Arts support
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Thursdays - Math support
- We will not have any sessions on Friday mornings.
If you would like your child to attend, you can drop them off at the carpool/cafeteria doors at 8:00 am on the specified day(s). Students must be present in the cafeteria by 8:30am in order to participate. Any student that arrives after 8:30am will not be able to participate in the support. Students will need to bring their homework/classwork assignment with them and have specific questions ready for the teachers that are assisting them.
Please join us in celebrating Literacy Week from January 23rd through the 27th with the theme “Take a Deep Dive into Literacy - Splash into New Worlds.” Look for information on the activities planned for the week in this edition.
2022 - 2023 Horizon West Middle School yearbooks are on sale now for $40. The deadline to order the yearbook is March 17, 2023. A second order will not be made. A limited number of Yearbook Ads to support your student can also be purchased. Links to purchase the yearbook and ads are available on the student body Canvas page.
Your Proud Principal,
Michelle Thomas
Horizon West Middle School
Pictured very top: Congratulations to the 2022-2023 All-State Honor Chorus students for a fabulous performance at the Tampa Bay Convention Center this past weekend! They worked so incredibly hard to be a part of this ensemble that is made up of some of the most talented middle school singers from around the state of Florida. They represented Horizon West Middle School so well! 🎵 Pictured are: Ms. Parrish, Adele Whittlesey, Anna Marciniak, Sarah Kron, Vaishnavi Mandadapu, Karelyz Serrano-Rio
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8200 Tattant Drive
Orlando, FL 37486
(407) 554-1570
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Jan. 12: Report cards released to Skyward
Jan. 16: OCPS Top Talent auditions open
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Jan. 23-27: Literacy Week (daily events shown further below)
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Jan. 24: ACCESS testing (ELL students)
Jan. 25: School Spirit Day (Wear your blue, yellow, and black)
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Jan. 25: 8th Grade Celebration Committee, 5:30pm
Jan. 26: ACCESS testing (ELL students)
Jan. 27: Food Truck and Game Night, 5:00-8:00pm in the courtyard
Jan. 30: Basketball at home vs. Ocoee
Jan. 30: Crush Cans go on sale (Valentine's Day special event from SGA)
Feb. 01: School Spirit Day (Wear your blue, yellow, and black)
Feb. 01: Basketball at home vs. Hamlin
Feb. 01: Reading challenge begins - "HWMS Loves Reading"
Feb. 04: Parent Academy - "Championing Your Child: Getting Them What They Need When They Need It"
Feb. 06: Basketball at home vs. Water Spring
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The OCPS Annual Stakeholder Survey is open, and we look forward to your feedback! Families with students in more than one school should submit surveys for each school.
* Parent survey responses are kept anonymous from the schools. Only the combined overall results are returned which are used for school improvement planning.
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Food Truck and Game Night (Jan. 27): |
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Coming up next month- Black History Month!
Celebrate BHM Spirit Days every Friday!
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8th Grade Dance (May 19): |
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Club News
Cooking Club / Chess Club
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Congratulations to our Students of the Week! |
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Nominated by Dr. Pagan-
“Jaiden is a very kind and helpful student. He tries his best and participates. It is a pleasure to have Jaiden in my class.”
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7th Grade-
Jillian Turpish
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Nominated by Ms. DeLury-
“I nominated Jillian because she is very kind, helpful, and respectful. She always has a smile on her face, is dedicated, and a great role model for other students.”
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Nominated by Mr. Hurn-
“I nominated Abhi because he always displays a great attitude, works hard, and is helpful and respectful to everyone.
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Nominated by Dr. Pagan (above far right) -
“I nominate Mrs. Curry as the Hornet of the Week. I have had the opportunity to work with Ms. Curry as a fellow Hornet and parent. Mrs. Curry is very professional, kind, and always willing to go the extra mile to help. In addition, her people skills combined with great communication and listening skills makes her one of the reasons our school is successful. Mrs. Curry is truly a shining star and an inspiration to all. Thank you, Mrs. Curry, for everything you do! This is why I have selected you as the Hornet of the Week! Congratulations!"
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Nominated by Ms. Curry (prior week's nominee, on the left above) -
“I have worked with “Cabrini” on 3 levels- 1. Paraprofessional 2. Parent 3. Teacher... and she remains the same throughout each level! “Cabrini” is committed, compassionate, encouraging and consistent. “Cabrini” is also a parent advocate in her community. New parents ask about policies and procedures at Horizon West and Cabrini communicates effectively making our encounter with those parents easier. “Cabrini” will volunteer to translate if she knows it is needed without being asked. She doesn’t mind giving up her planning period to assist me with registration(translating), help in the front office or wherever she is needed. “Cabrini” has captured the attention of her students and they feel safe and confident with her! “Cabrini” is One of the Angels here at HWMS. Thank you, “Cabrini”, for All you do!!! These are some of the reasons why I chose you as the Hornet of the Week! A well-deserved HONOR!!!!”
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We held our annual HWMS Spelling Bee on January 5th. Congratulations to the following students who were selected to participate (pictured from left to right): |
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Front Row- Alianna Caswell, Cleo Culler, Cayden Roop, Jacobo Castaneda, Davi Castelo Branco, Pablo Dantas, Ali Khan, Jasmin Malik; Back Row- Mr. Flanagan, Yeriel Roman, Diego Migloricia Pescotta, Ryan Gomes, Isabella (Beau) Griffin, Vidushi Venya, Sukaina Fatima, Mrs. Aulerich |
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Assistant Principal Flanagan and Reading Coach and Spelling Bee Coordinator- Ms. Aulerich pictured with:
3rd Place Winner-Yeriel Roman
2nd Place Winner- Juan (Jacobo) Castaneda
1st Place Winner- Cleo Culler
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1st PLACE- Cleo Culler
Cleo represented Horizon West Middle School in the District Level Spelling Bee on January 18th.
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Congratulations to the boys and girls that made the HWMS basketball teams! Below is the basketball schedule. Our basketball teams will play at SunRidge Middle on Monday, Jan. 23rd. Our first home basketball games will be played against Ocoee on Monday, Jan. 30th. The girl’s games will start at 5:30 PM followed by the boy’s team. Come join us in cheering on our Hornets!!
- Monday, 1/23 @ Sun Ridge Middle
- Wednesday, 1/25 Bye
- Monday, 1/30 vs. Ocoee Middle
- Wednesday, 2/1 vs. Hamlin Middle
- Monday, 2/6 vs. Water Spring
- Wednesday, 2/8 @ Bridgewater Middle
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HWMS boys team practicing after school to prep for their upcoming games |
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We are so excited to celebrate the following readers! These students continued to read and log minutes over the December break. They did an amazing job! Please join us in congratulating our top December readers:
- Darien Amirtharajah
- Alianna Caswell
- Chemiese Hall
- Madison Hixon
- Georgette Khawan Yajure
- Sarah Kron
- Harshita Ramakrishnan
- Carter Richmond
- Jillian Turpish
- Vidushi Venya
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If your student missed the chance to participate in the last Beanstack challenge, the next contest, called HWMS Loves Reading, will run the entire month of February!
Students can continue to compete by logging their reading minutes in Beanstack from Launch. The top 10 students will be invited to join our next reading celebration in March based on minutes read and challenge participation! For details on how to log minutes, check out the module called Beanstack for Students on the Student Body Canvas page. If your students doesn’t have access to books at home, please check out the ebook options that we have online at Follett Destiny in the Library Research Tools folder on Launch.
February is a great month to spend time reading with your loved ones!
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HWMS Dance Ensemble group participated in the OCPS Dance Performance Assessment Monday. The students had an amazing experience. Congratulations to Milly Farr that will perform in the All-County dance in March. Pictured from left to right above: Arden Guffin, Reese Zadzilka, Nina Maldonado Arruda, Milly Farr, Sarah Valery, Mia B Linan, Isis Warren
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Above and just below:
Mrs. Moore’s STEM Lab- Students were working together collaboratively on a marshmallow structure challenge!
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Students in Ms. Nkich’s 6th grade Science class were investigating air movements caused by temperature differences and patterns of ocean currents. |
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Championing for your Child-
Getting Them What They Need When They Need It
- Saturday, February 4, 2023 at 11:00 A.M.
- Description: Join us for a FREE day of learning and fun at Parent Academy. You will leave with all of the information and resources for supporting the needs of your child. There will be sessions from district departments and community partners as well as an exhibit hall with community partners just waiting to answer your burning questions.
- FREE Youth Academy featuring activities and games for children Pre-K through 8th grade.
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OCPS in the News!
(By Leslie Postal)
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Thank you again to our community for their support over the years. The 1/2-cent sales tax has gone a very long way in supporting our students and teachers!
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2nd Annual School Run (Feb. 4): |
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The 2nd Annual School Spirit Run, powered by Delta Dental, will take place Saturday, February 4, 2023, at Sea World Orlando!
All paid participants ($35 for adults, $20 for kids 12 and under) receive a custom t-shirt and themed finisher medal. Race day parking is FREE.
Visit https://bit.ly/Fdn4OCPSschoolspiritrun for more information and to register and call the Foundation at 407-317-3261 with questions. We’re capped at 2,000 runners – reserve your spot TODAY!
Don’t forget to choose Horizon West as your team!
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Thank you for reading. Enjoy your weekend!
Ms. Thomas, Principal
Horizon West Middle School
Friday, January 20, 2023
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Horizon West Leadership Team |
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This communication may contain information that is legally privileged, confidential or exempt from disclosure, and intended only for the use of the addressee(s) named above. If you are not the intended recipient, please note that any dissemination, distribution, or copying of this communication is strictly prohibited. Anyone who receives this message in error should notify the sender immediately by telephone or by return e-mail, and delete the message from their computer and any printout thereof. Please note that OCPS utilizes spam and junk e-mail filtration applications in its e-mail systems. That filtering process may prevent or delay delivery of certain e-mail communications. If you do not receive a timely response to an e-mail communication, please contact the intended recipient by phone. |
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Copyright Notice
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-Horizon West Middle School is forbidden without written consent. Thank you for your support of the Orange County Public Schools and OCPS-Horizon West Middle School. Please contact Ms. Tiffany Stanley at tiffany.stanley@ocps.net with any questions.
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