March 12- 19: Spring Break

March 15- 18: Spring Break Camp (9-1)

March 22: Quarter 4 Begins

March 22: Track Intramurals Begin

April 6: SAC Meeting

April 8: FSA Writing

Algebra EOC Boot Camp – students who are in Algebra and want extra practice and review standards taught in Q1, Q2, and Q3 with an Algebra teacher to better prepare them for the Algebra EOC.

8th Grade Science FSA Boot Camp – students who are in 8th grade science and want extra practice with review prior standards taught in Q1, Q2, and Q3 through hands on practice with an 8th grade science teacher to better prepare them for the 8th grade Science FSA.

Grade Recovery Boot Camp – open to ALL 6-8th grade students who failed a class in Q3 and are NOT currently in Edgenuity. Students will complete lessons and assignments from Q3 to bring up their Q3 to avoid summer school.

Edgenuity Boot Camp – students who are currently in Edgenuity. They will continue working on their course recovery.

On Thursday, March 11 LNMS hosted a STEAM Day in place of the traditional Sun Games. (Sun Games was cancelled statewide this year due to Covid) Throughout the day, students participated in various STEAM activities in different classes.

* In our world language classes, students learned about French and Spanish scientists.

* In photography class, lava lamps were created and students then photographed them to understand textures, colors, and light.

* 8th graders in Mr. Rasmussen’s Digital Information Technology class practiced their coding skills, as did Dr. Stawser’s PLTW 1 classes with a hands on design simulation from MetroPlan Engineering.

* In PLTW 2 classes, students created robotics from an Exploding Bacon lesson.

* 6th grade life science classes learned forensic science principles from the OPD CSI members and they shaded their own shoe prints.

* 7th graders in Mrs. Berkes’ and Mrs. Bayona’s math classes and 6th graders in Ms. Beyhl’s math classes worked with Mathnasium and played Budgeting Bingo!

* 8th graders in Ms. Poole’s science classes built a Rover.

* 8th graders in Mr. Menard’s science classes built balloon powered cars from kits.

Last week our PLTW students engaged in an activity which most of our students probably never knew they would have the opportunity to participate in- dissecting sheep brains! In this lesson, our young medical engineers were engaged in learning about the anatomy and function of the human brain. To do so, they identified the major hemispheres and lobes of the brain. The sheep brain is similar to the human brain except for proportion. The sheep has a smaller cerebrum and the sheep brain is oriented anterior to posterior (more horizontally), while the human brain is oriented superior to interior (more vertically.) Fun and educational!

This school year has been and continues to be challenging in so many ways, yet our teachers persevere and rise to the challenge daily. Students were asked to give a shout out to a teacher who deserves some extra recognition. Each week we will feature the comments from our students.

Mrs. Jaquez- She is so much fun! She makes me excited to learn about history and makes it really great. It shows she likes the topic as much as I do. She is a great teacher, she's really pretty, and she's smart! She is also there if anyone needs help! That's why I think she's so cool.

Mrs. Kramer- Excellent science teacher. She is kind to her students, and she genuinely cares about the subjects she teaches.

Mrs. Meiers- Thank you so much for all you do for yearbook! You work so hard and put so much effort into designing this year's yearbook. You have truly made Journalism one of my favorite classes and your dedication to its success inspires me.

Mrs. Ostheim- Mrs.Ostheim deserves a shoutout for many reasons but some reasons she deserves a shoutout are #1 she makes learning fun#2 she always is checking in on her students #3 she never leaves anyone out #4 she is very approachable #5 and she is smart #6 works hard #7 always available.

Mr. Hall- He works so hard for each and every one of his students. I have not yet met a teacher more dedicated than him.

SGA student Abigail Kirkland seems to like almost everything about Lake Nona Middle School. She enjoys all of her classes and teachers but mostly “my two favorites are Ms. Warner, my theatre teacher, and Mrs. Ostheim, my world history teacher.” Teachers aside, Abigail enjoys all of her classes even though some of them tend to be a bit loud at times. Other than that, she wouldn’t leave this school or her friends here. One thing that Abigail enjoys most about Lake Nona is its wide variety of books, such as Percy Jackson and Harry Potter.

Outside of school, Abigail doesn’t attend any sports. “I used to dance, but it wasn't fun anymore so I stopped doing it.” She loves to read and write because it helps her to relieve stress. Abigail doesn’t think that she would ever want to go back online since it is full of distractions and she also just likes having interaction with other people physically, instead of sitting down in front of a computer all day.

Mr. Burghdurf comes from a long family of teachers; his aunt was his music teacher and his uncle was part of the school board. Mr. Burghdurf didn’t realize that he could be a teacher until his 20s. He finds the best part of teaching is to get students to love math. If anyone has some trouble understanding the concept or paying attention, he just relates math to money, as it is something that would help in real life, too. This year is Mr. Burghdurf’s 16th year teaching. Before Lake Nona Middle School, he taught at Freedom Middle School and Meadow Woods Middle School.

Out of 6th, 7th and 8th grade, he finds teaching 8th grade to be the best and he wouldn’t teach any other subject because he loves math. In Mr. Burghdurf’s free time he watches Yankee baseball, as he is from New York and really enjoys watching the games. He has been to 46 out of the 50 states and 8 different countries, which had to be an amazing experience.

After school Wednesday, March 10th, the remaining teams moved on to the semi-finals. On field one, the All-Stars played the Blazers. The All-Stars switched up their team’s line up moving Ian Aviles into goal and Yariel Morales into the defense. This change proved to be beneficial for the team. All-stars moved the ball around the field successfully. The movement between teammates allowed Geroge Loufti to put away the first goal of the game. The Predators came back with one goal by David Camarao and one goal by Lawson Osani off an indirect kick outside the box in the last 2 minutes of the game, Brandon Calderin snuck the ball to George Loufti, who placed the ball in the back of the net. The official time ended the game at 2-2. The teams moved to penalty kicks to determine the game winner. All- Stars won the coin toss and chose to kick first. Shooters took turns up at the net, until the Predators took the lead in the number of penalty kicks made. The Predators advanced to the Finals against the Originals.

On the other field, the Originals took on the Blazers. The defense on the Blazers, consisting of Mia Ruiz, Madison Hanchi, Shakyra Jimenez, Amanda Lamb, Lara Carvalho and goalkeeper Kristhina Gallow, were able to hold the Originals away from their goal for most of the game. The offense; Chloe Le, Adeleyn Dapano, Pamela Abraham and Juan Castellanos worked together to get the ball forward. Jose Djorki was able to put away their only goal of the game. The Originals also played well together getting the ball to Santiago Guedez, who scored their two goals of the game (2-1). The Originals advanced on to the finals.

The Final game was played by the Predators and the Originals. Both teams came out ready to prove themselves as the Champions of the 2020-2021 Soccer Intramural Season. Santiago Guedez scored the first goal of the game. Lawson Osani and Lucas Brizolin countered with a goal each, giving the Predators the lead. However, the lead was taken away with a goal scored by Juan Arias. Both teams continued to fight until the end of the official time. The game ended at 2-2 and moved on to penalty kicks. Each team selected 5 of their own players to shoot.

The Predators took the victory and title of Champions! Not only were they able to put the ball into the back of the net, Basilio Pestana made tremendous saves from the start to the end of the season.

The Thursday before Spring Break begins is always a fun day in the Kingdom. This year, our NJHS, National Junior Honor Society, sponsored a hat day to add to the fun. Students paid a $1 fee, which goes towards the payment of their annual dues, in order to be able to wear a hat for the day. Eighty-four students and staff participated. The variety of hats our students and teachers wore was definitely entertaining!

In addition to meals, approved applications may also provide needed benefits to you in:

Parents and/or guardians must reapply yearly for these benefits. The free-and-reduced meals application is found at: https://www.ocps.net/departments/food_and_nutrition_services/breakfast_and_lunch_prices/free_and_reduced_application_info

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