PTSA Updates

• OMS PTSA is excited to offer NEW spirit wear designs! Review the flyer and visit our Givebacks store to purchase. 

• Fall Dance: Nov 13th following dismissal. 

  • • Purchase tickets and monetary donations here. 

    • Join the planning committee by emailing Meghan Brown at meghanelainebrown@gmail.com. 

Smart Lunch 

• Smart Lunch is available each week for students during lunch and recess. Each subject has a specific day, but students are welcome to attend whenever they need. This time provides an opportunity for students to make up work (if still within the allowed time frame) or receive additional help with class content. Attendance is optional but encouraged for students who want extra support or need to catch up on assignments.

  • • Team Spartans will hold Smart Lunch

      • Monday - Science (Lenhart)

      • Tuesday - ELA (Sigler)

      • Wednesday - Math (Merritt)

      • Thursday- Social Studies (rotating teachers)

    • Team Titans will only hold Smart Lunch 

      • Monday - Science (rotating teachers)

      • Tuesday: ELA (Joines)

      • Wednesday: Math (Kiger)

      • Thursday: Social Studies (Stephens)

Infinite & Canvas Access

• Many teachers use Canvas to share assignments and classwork. Parents are encouraged to set up a Parent Observer account—[Click here for directions]. Make sure you also have access to Infinite Campus, and don’t forget to review the OMS Grading Plan to stay informed. 

🤝 Get Involved with PTSA

• Interested in helping the PTSA? We’d love to have you!

  • Email: orangemiddleptsa@gmail.com

  • Join Here: [Link to Join]

  • Facebook: Orange Middle School PTSA

  • Instagram: OMS PTSA

Students are finishing up their Non-Fiction reading in order to learn about the science of fear and embarrassment. We have read and are finishing the texts Embarassed? Blame Your Brain and Fears and Phobias in our HMH textbook. We will also be introducing our narrative writing unit this week! Students will be writing an essay about a time they faced or conquered a fear. Be on the lookout for more information on this, as it will serve as a test/project grade for this unit!

If students need to access the text at home, please follow these steps to find the online textbook. 

Book projects were due this past Friday, October 16th! Please note that per the OMS grade policy, Book projects will not be accepted for a late grade after Friday, October 23rd. Book project grades will be added to the second quarter report card. 

Mrs. Sigler’s Class:

The end of the quarter will be here sooner than you know it! Please note that any late or missing work must be turned in no later than October 19th for it to be graded and accounted for in their first quarter grade. If you have any questions about your child’s grade or progress in this class, please do not hesitate to reach out! Students can always work during smart lunch or complete work at home if they need extra help or time.

Please see the OMS grade policy for further information about our grading procedures and late work policies. 

Mrs. Joines’ Class:

• Please make sure students are bringing their laptops to school each day charged and ready to go. 

• Students and Parents can view grades and missing assignments in Infinite Campus. Please remind students to check their planners, Canvas, and Infinite Campus frequently for due dates and missing work. Late work is accepted within 5 school days of the due date, after that it will become a zero in the gradebook.

• The last day that I will accept any open assignments to be graded before the end of the quarter is October 20th.

Math teachers hold Smart Lunch every Wednesday. Our curriculum this year also has a parent site with resources for helping at home. Make sure to check out Envision Family Engagement Website! 

Mrs. Kiger’s Class: 

Upcoming: 

• Assessments:

  • Binder Check: MONDAY 10/19 

  • Unit Test on Integers, Coordinate Plane, Adding and Subtracting Integers - MOVED TO WEDNESDAY, 10/21

• Assignments: 

  • Classwork: Savvas 2-4 Coordinate Plane: Final due date with deductions 10/21

  • HW: Distances on CP: Final due date with deductions 10/19

Grades:

• The end of the quarter is quickly approaching. All missing work that can still be turned in will be due by October 20th.

• Please make sure you are checking CANVAS daily as this will reflect the most accurate grade. Grades in Canvas update as assignments are submitted, and Infinite Campus is updated each Friday. 

• Weighted Grading: Just remember all assignments are weighted, 40% for classwork, 30% for tests, 20% for quizzes, and 10% for participation (homework). Keep this in mind when prioritizing missing work to complete! 

• Late work is accepted within 5 school days of the due date, after that it will become a zero in the gradebook.

Helpful videos

• How to access Savvas (The icon has changed a little)

• How to navigate Canvas

Mrs. Merritt’s Class: 

• The end of the nine weeks is coming quickly. All missing work is to be turned in no later than October 19th. 

• Please check students Infinite Campus as it will be updated with all quiz corrections entered and grades updated by Sunday the 18th.

• We will test the Integers unit on the 21st of October. This will cover: plotting points on a number line, understand real life integers meanings (debt of $20 is -20), plotting an ordered pair on a coordinate plane, identifying the different parts of the coordinate plane, finding distance on a number line & coordinate plane, finding the perimeter and area of a rectangle when given the points, finding the missing point of a rectangle when given 3 of the 4 points, reflections on a coordinate plane, adding integers, and subtracting integers.

  • A study guide and practice will be given; please make sure that your child completes the study guide and the practice test. 

• It is important that if they need support, they come to Smart Lunch. 

• Savvas is one of the practice programs; this coming week we will also start using deltamath.com to supplement the practice. 

• Please feel free to reach out if you have questions.

Science has been all about ENERGY! We have started our energy unit with thermal energy transfer. Friday, we had a popcorn lab and observed the different ways heat can be transferred with a microwave, an air popper, and jiffy pop. Soon, we will be looking at circuits and will make some light up cards with conductive tape and LEDs. 

Team Titans: Energy Unit test will be on Monday, October 26th!

Students are learning about their first Ancient Civilization, Mesopotamia! We will be investigating the features of this civilization and its technological advances. We may even get to make our own cuneiform!

Social Studies Assignments:

• Team Titan Social Studies assignments are on Infinite Campus. Please check Infinite Campus to view assignment due dates and any late or missing assignments. 

• Team Spartans Social Studies assignments are located on Canvas. Please access the Canvas page to view assignment due dates and any late or missing assignments.

Hello Orange Middle School AIG Families,

First, welcome to the new school year. Mr. Hulbert and I make up the AIG department here at Orange Middle School. Mr. Hulbert works primarily with the ELA department, and I work primarily with the math department.  The first month of school is busy with paperwork and starting to get to know your scholars. Starting early in September, we sat down with each individual AIG-identified student and had conversations with them to create their Differentiated Education Plan (DEP), which states how we work to support your student here at OMS. Now that those are all done, we can send them home for you to sign. Please be on the lookout for the DEPS in your student's backpack. Second, the district wanted to let people know that for single-subject acceleration testing: all required assessments must be completed by June 15th.

Math Update: We have started both our boot camp and our Continental Math League. Roughly once every couple of weeks, we check our students' understanding of the unit we are currently teaching. Depending on how students score on that assessment, students are placed into different “Bootcamp” groups by need, be it reinforcing skills or enrichment activities. I often run the enrichment activities. So far, we have already completed two Bootcamp cycles, and I’m excited to continue this model. One of our Bootcamp enrichments was participating in The Continental Math League. This is a math competition where students check their math skills against students from other states. I hope we can place highly this year!

ELA Update: Students are mastering the ACES (Answer, Cite, Explain, Summarize) writing strategy - a structured paragraph model aligned with high school curriculum standards. This framework teaches students to answer prompts directly, incorporate textual evidence, and clearly articulate how an author's words support their claims. Having already practiced the foundational ACE format, students will soon incorporate the final summarizing step. Next, we will analyze authorial choices such as diction and mood in the short story "The Ravine," culminating in analytical paragraphs on how specific word choices build suspense.

Have a great day,

Mr. Thayer and Mr. Hulbert