CONNECTIONS GRADE REPORTS MARCH 15 th

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1 The OSBORNE OBSERVER March 14, 2013 Volume 9, Issue 30 CONNECTIONS GRADE REPORTS MARCH 15 th Connections grade reports for the third nine weeks will be sent home on Friday, March 15 th. Students will receive the reports from their homeroom teachers. The grade reports do not need to be returned to school, and parents should contact the teacher who issued the grade if they have any questions. Academic classes are on semesters and will not be included in this report. MILL CREEK HIGH SCHOOL INFORMATION FOR RISING 9 th GRADERS Friday, March 15 th Registration forms for 9 th grade sent home with current 8 th grade students. Tuesday, March 19 th Rising 9 th Grade Parent Night from 6:30-8:30 P.M. at Mill Creek High School. This meeting will provide parents with an understanding of the registration process, courses of interest, high school expectations, etc. Friday, March 22 nd Ninth grade registration forms are due to homeroom teachers.

2 OMS CHEERLEADING MEETING There will be an informational meeting on Friday, March 15 th, at 8:20 A.M. for any 6 th OR 7 th grade girls interested in trying out for the OMS Cheerleading Squad. The meeting will take place in the Media Center and parents are welcome to attend. Try-outs will be held on Monday, May 6 th, Wednesday, May 8 th, and Thursday, May 9 th, from 4:15-6:00 P.M. Try-outs with judges will be Friday, May 10 th from 4:30-6:30 P.M. 8 th GRADE EVENT T-SHIRT CONTEST This year, the 8 th Grade Event will take place on Friday, May 17 th. This is an incredible event held exclusively for eighth grade students to celebrate their success in middle school. Eighth graders will spend the day with their friends enjoying a catered lunch, a fantastic talent show, and inflatable attractions. In addition, students will receive an event T-shirt featuring an original design created by an eighth grade student. This is a perfect opportunity for eighth graders to utilize their artistic skills and create a unique design that encompasses their experience at Osborne. Designs must be limited to three colors and be school-appropriate. All designs must be turned into the 8 th Grade Office no later than Monday, March 25 th. Eighth graders will vote on the winning design directly after homeroom on March 27 th. Interested students should ask their homeroom teacher for more information and an entry form.

3 MEDIA CENTER NEWS Readers Rally News The Readers Rally team will meet Friday morning, March 15th, at 8:00 A.M. in Mrs. Quinn's room on the Harrier Hawk Hall, and Friday afternoon after school in the Media Center. We will have our final practices for our Readers Rally competition, which will be held this Saturday, March 16 th at Berkmar High School. Good luck to all of the Readers Rally Team Members: Andreea Boaca, Vanessa Brown, Imiri David, Abby DiMassimo, Sierra King, Meredith Lysaught, Jessica Montoya, Eugeane Park, Megan Price-Williams, Jessica Terry, and Andrea Young. Library Book and Textbook Fine Payments Osborne is currently participating in a pilot program that allows parents to pay library book and textbook fines for damaged or lost materials through MyPaymentsPlus. We hope this new program will be more convenient for parents and students. Student READ Poster Contest If you would like to participate in the Media Center's "Get Caught Reading" READ Poster contest, please stop by the media center for more details. We are looking for pictures of students who have been "caught" reading. The image must show both the student's face and the title of the book he or she is reading; images of groups of students reading are also acceptable. All images are due to the media staff by Monday, April 1 st. YEARBOOK ORDERS The final date to order your yearbook is Friday, May 3 rd, while supplies last. The cost is $ You may reserve your OMS yearbook online at Please contact Paulette Reynolds with any questions Paulette_Reynolds@gwinnett.k12.ga.us or (678)

4 CRCT TESTING DATES The CRCT is scheduled for all students April 22 nd through April 26 th. Please make sure these dates are on your calendar and avoid scheduling appointments or trips for your child during these important testing days. USA TESTPREP USA Testprep provides an effective and comprehensive online solution for the Georgia Middle School CRCT test. USA Testprep is a program that covers the fundamentals of the Georgia Middle School CRCT test in an easy-to-use, interactive format. Benefits to Students: User-friendly design - Students can log on from any computer with an Internet connection. Students may also log on using a handheld device, such as a phone. Just type in m.usatestprep.com. Data analysis features - Students can analyze their performance results to identify elements that need special attention. Unprecedented variety - Students never see the same test twice because of the enormous database of questions aligned to the Georgia Performance Standards. Engaging format - Keeps students interested with fun, educational games and interactive quizzes. Please have students use the following information to log on to the site. Website: School ID: osbornemiddlega Username: student ID number Password: s + student ID number

5 Performance evaluations are an educational tool used to help band directors provide a better music education for students. Using a set of criteria established at a national level, bands are judged in concert as they play music. Music is selected from a list that is graded according to difficulty; level one (easiest) to level six (most difficult). Performance evaluations are non-competitive as bands are graded against a high standard of performance rather than against each other. Bands earn individual ratings of Superior (I), Excellent (II), or Good (III), depending upon the quality of the performance. Friday, March 8 th, the Osborne Middle School Band performed at East Jackson High School before an audience and three judges. Judges gave musical critique of the performance. A very mature performance. What a wonderful gift you have given us today. Thank you and Bravo!, commented one judge. Comments were both critical and complimentary and will be used to improve future musical concerts. After the band performed, they proceeded to a separate room to sight-read music never before seen. Several minutes of study is allowed, followed by a performance of the piece from beginning to end without stops. Since there are usually performance mistakes in this part of the process, an audience is not present. One judge listens to the group, giving commentary, and an overall score. At the end of the day, the Osborne Middle School Band earned superior ratings in all possible categories. This performance for our band represents much appreciated commitment and effort from the students and parents of our band program here at Osborne Middle.

6 Osborne Middle School Relay for Life Shirt Order Form Support a great cause and show your OMS School Spirit at the same time! The OMS Relay for Life Team is selling these short sleeved t shirts for $10.00 each!! Purchase a shirt and all profits go to the American Cancer Society through our Relay for Life Team. In addition, you can honor a loved one or friend who has battled and survived cancer, or battled and succumbed to cancer, by selec ng the op on of having their name printed on the back. His or her name will appear along with the names of other honorees. If you would like to honor or remember someone in this special way, please fill out the order form below and return it to Paule e Reynolds via your child s homeroom teacher between March 8th and March 22nd. We thank you for your support! Our Relay for Life team members will wear these shirts during the Relay for Life Event on May 10th and 11th, as well as other days such as our Student/Teacher Volleyball Game on April 18th (which also benefits the American Cancer Society). The shirt will be bright colors with lavender le ering (lavender ribbons represent the fight against all cancers). The shirt will have our theme, LINKING TOGETHER FOR A CURE, on the front and the names of those honored on the back. NAME OF PERSON/STUDENT PLACING ORDER: HOMEROOM: GRADE LEVEL: I would like to have the following name(s) printed on the back of the shirt for an addi onal $5 per name. PLEASE PRINT IN HONOR NAMES: MAKE CHECKS PAYABLE TO OSBORNE MIDDLE SCHOOL SHIRT COLOR Youth M Youth L XS S M L XL 2X (+$2) $10 x # of shirts $5 x # of names NEON ORANGE NEON PINK SAPPHIRE BLUE LIME GREEN TOTALS FOR EACH COLUMN *Add $2 per 2X shirt TOTAL COST:

7 FREE HEART SCREENING FOR STUDENTS On Sunday, April 7 th, there will be free heart screenings for the middle and high school students of the Gwinnett County School District. The screenings are hosted by Simon's Fund, a nonprofit organization from Philadelphia that has been providing free heart screenings to students for the past seven years. It has checked 5,500 hearts and helped 49 students discover heart conditions. Simon's Fund reached out to us after learning about the passing of Coach Ryan Daniel, Adam Smith and Jeremy Nelson. The heart screenings will be held at the offices of the Cardiovascular Group in Lawrenceville. Physicians from this practice, as well as Children's Cardiovascular Medicine will be administering the exams. The address is 755 Walther Road in Lawrenceville. The screenings will run from 8:30 A.M. - 4:00 P.M. Each student should expect to be at their screening for minutes. Prior to their screening, students need to register and complete a consent and medical history form. This is done online. At the screening, students will receive an ECG exam and a physical. Some students will also receive an echocardiogram, if needed. Prior to leaving, the student will know if there are any issues. If so, the student will be referred to a cardiologist (of his/her choice) for follow up. Based on past screenings, one out of every 100 students will discover an undetected heart condition. Registration opens on March 6 th. There are 300 spots available. Go to to register for a screening. If you have questions, please send an to info@simonsfund.org.

8 Important Dates Friday, 3/15 Readers Rally Team Meeting 8:00 A.M. School Council Meeting 8:00 A.M. OMS Cheerleading Informational Meeting 8:20 A.M. Readers Rally Team Meeting 4:00 P.M. Connections Grade Reports Issued Tuesday, 3/19 Rising 9 th Grade Parent Night at MCHS 6:30 P.M. Friday, 3/22 Faculty Meeting Teachers unavailable until 9:00 A.M. Coming soon 3/29 Student and Teacher Holiday/Snow Make-Up Day