Everyone came back from spring break with a renewed energy to finish the year strong. We are happy to welcome back on campus around 45 LaunchEd students who had an instructional model change from LaunchEd to face-to-face learning.

HCMS Eagles continue to soar as we are fast approaching the FSA and EOC testing season. In preparation for testing and to narrow the learning gaps, we have been offering multiple tutoring opportunities for our students in order to support their efforts and ensure their success in ELA, Math and Science. Special invitations to join LaunchEd Tutoring or Eagle Express Tutoring were sent to parents prior to spring break. Amnesty Wednesday tutoring continues for the 4th nine-weeks. Please see dates below and I trust that our students and parents will continue taking advantage of these impactful opportunities. 

We have provided in this edition many testing tips and helpful information to make you aware of what is coming up. Please mark your calendars.

Enjoy the beautiful weather while it lasts and have a great week!

Joumana Moukaddam

Proud Principal

Hunter's Creek Middle School

March 31st: Amnesty Wednesday

April 2nd: Breakfast of Champions 8:00-8:45am

April 7th: Long Wednesday (dismissal at 3:57pm)

April 8th: FSA Writing Face-to-Face students & all ESE/ELL/504 students

April 9th: FSA Writing LaunchEd students

April 12th: SAC Meeting 5pm

April 13th: ELL Multilingual Parent Leadership Council Meeting (virtual) 6pm

April 19th-20th: 8th Graders Eagle Bucks Cashin In from last school year

1) Every Monday 4:30-6pm: Free Curbside Meal Pick Up (in the bus loop)

** The USDA has extended the deadline to allow all children aged 18 years and younger to receive meals at no charge until August 2021!**

2) Every Thursday 8-8:30am, 10-11am, 2-3pm: LaunchEd Curbside Library Pick Up (View Procedures for more information)

1) Every Monday 4:30-6pm: Free Curbside Meal Pick Up (in the bus loop)

** The USDA has extended the deadline to allow all children aged 18 years and younger to receive meals at no charge until August 2021!**

2) Every Thursday 8-8:30am, 10-11am, 2-3pm: LaunchEd Curbside Library Pick Up (View Procedures for more information)

FSA Reading Day 1 All Face-to-Face & All ESE/ELL/504 Students: May 3rd AM

FSA Reading Day 1 Rest of LaunchEd: May 3rd PM

FSA Reading Day 2 All Face-to-Face & All ESE/ELL/504 Students: May 4th AM

FSA Reading Day 2 Rest of LaunchEd: May 4th PM

FSA Math Day 1 All Face-to-Face & All ESE/ELL/504 Students: May 6th AM

FSA Math Day 1 Rest of LaunchEd: May 6th PM

EOC Algebra & Geometry Day 1 Face-to-Face (only Face-to-Face): May 6th AM

FSA Math Day 2 All Face-to-Face & All ESE/ELL/504 Students: May 7th AM

FSA Math Day 2 Rest of LaunchEd: May 7th PM

FSA Algebra & Geometry Day 2 Face-to-Face (only Face-to-Face): May 7th AM

Civics (7th grade only, more information to come!): May 10th

Science (8th grade only, more information to come!): May 10th

FSA Algebra & Geometry Day 1 ALL LaunchEd: May 11th AM

FSA Algebra & Geometry Day 2 ALL LaunchEd: May 12th AM

Make Up for ALL Tests: May 13th - 14th

On testing days, it is important that your student is on time to school and remains in school for the entire day. Although most tests should be done by lunch, technology issues can occur to extend testing times.

Here are some tips on what to bring on testing days:

For additional resources and information about the state tests, visit: https://fsassessments.org/students-and-families/practice-tests/studentpowerpoints.stml

We are sad to announce that our 2021 author, Nathan Hale, will have to be postponed because of the COVID pandemic.

Sixth and 7th graders will be able to see him when he visits next year, and we want to make sure 8th graders are invited as well if they'd like to attend. If you are interested in making sure you are invited to a Nathan Hale presentation next year, please fill out Mrs. Moye's Google Form: https://forms.gle/hA8YVWzK2Gr3REvr6.

Only 70% of our rising 7th graders have the Tdap vaccine required for 7th grade. We have about 115 students that still need to be vaccinated by the time school starts back up in August. Please email your student’s updated vaccine certificate to: 126137@ocps.net

Here are some of the kind things students said about Ms. Quiles:

Here are some of the kind things said about Ms. Shilling:

Here are some kind things said about Ms. Britos:

The Eagle Spotlight Award is given by our teacher/staff-fun organization, CHEER, and is awarded based on nominations from colleagues for awesome work that is being done at HCMS.

Please join us in congratulating our Spanish Spelling Bee winners:

Nohara and Krizia also went on to represent HCMS March 25th at the OCPS District Virtual Spanish Spelling Bee!!

Thank you so much to SGA and Raida Nowreen for hosting a virtual drawing event! Raida did a great job instructing and our participants did an amazing job with their toucans!

1) Another YouTube Community Update - this one by Dr. Vazquez, OCPS Deputy Superintendent of Schools - just came out this past Thursday. Her short message touches on state testing, summer school, the COVID dashboard, and OCPS Top Talent students:

Please click here to view Dr. Vazquez's message.

2) Campus safety is always priority 1 across OCPS and at Hunter’s Creek Middle. In fact, these new protocol posters can be found throughout the school district as follow-up to discussions/presentations we have on the safety topics all along.

3) This is an important safety reminder. Now that we have returned to Daylight Saving Time, it is darker in the morning as students wait for the bus, walk, or ride to school.

Parents, please talk to your children about staying safe at the bus stop and while walking or riding their bike. Some tips include wearing bright clothing and using extra caution when crossing the street.

If you are a driver, we hope you will be extra cautious around our schools.

Available in English, Spanish, and Creole. Please click here to register.

As a school, we are required to assess a fine for every laptop that is not functioning including but not limited to bad battery, bad motherboard and bad bios. Once sent for repair, if it is determined that the issue is a defect and not damage caused by the student the fine will be reversed.

Please ask your child to take care of their device by protecting it from spills, keeping it on a hard surface or in a padded backpack when not in use and by not downloading any extensions (these can and often do contain malware). Thank you.

Device fines can be paid through SchoolPay.

At OCPS, Student social and emotional well-being is a pillar of the district-wide 2025 Strategic Plan. To support this objective, OCPS has partnered with Character Lab since 2017, a nonprofit co-founded and led by Dr. Angela Duckworth, scientist, author, and professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania. Character Lab connects schools to leading researchers with shared interests to generate insights about developing the character strengths (like gratitude, curiosity, and growth mindset) that help all children thrive.

On Monday, March 22nd, our school participated in 30 minutes of research activities. Hunter's Creek Middle will now use data from this to identify and support the social, emotional, academic, and physical needs of our students.

To learn more, visit ocps.net/clab.

The purpose of the conference is to provide an atmosphere of open collaboration to empower and support families of students with exceptionalities. All families of students with exceptionalities are invited to attend this virtual event.

A keynote speaker will open the conference, and participants may select subsequent sessions to attend based on their interests and needs.

Participant registration for the 2021 Big IDEA Conference opened on March 22, 2021.

If you need additional information, please contact Sylvia Schaffer at sylvia.schaffer@ocps.net or 407-317-3200 ext. 2035503.

As we shared in our last edition of The Eagles' View, 4 of our HCMS students were accepted into the Winter Park Student Art Show. The Winter Park Student Exhibit can be viewed here: https://www.eventeny.com/events/schoolsexhibit-1125/

Thank you to Abuelo’s Mexican Restaurant for their kind donation for teachers/staff to celebrate the end of the nine weeks! Abuelo’s donated 120 chips & salsa for our teachers/staff to enjoy!

1) OCPS support. Please click here for information from OCPS to help both students and parents with technology support.

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 - Hunter's Creek Middle School is forbidden without written consent. Thank you for your support of the Orange County Public Schools and especially Hunter's Creek Middle School. Please contact Mrs. Joumana Moukaddam at 37895@ocps.net with any questions related to the program.

Hunter's Creek Middle | Mrs. Moukaddam, Principal | 407.858.4620 | HCMS Website