Welcome to Gotha Middle School!
Gotha Update 8/8/2022
Hello Gotha Families!
Parents and guardians - you made it! We’ll go ahead and take them back on Wednesday August 10th! I hope everyone had a great summer and that the kids are ready to get back at it. Our teachers and staff members have been working hard this last week to get ready!
Please forgive this lengthy message as I have a number of reminders and some important information about Meet Your Teacher, laptops, buses and dismissal procedures, day one procedures, soccer tryouts and dress code and cell phone policies.
We invite all 6th grade families and those families new to Gotha to join us on campus for Meet Your Teachers on Monday the 8th from 3pm - 6pm. We encourage you to review your student’s schedule on Skyward or Canvas. Paper copies will be available as needed in the Media Center. We will also send out a virtual Meet Your Teacher option for our other families. Our Open House date will be announced in the near future.
If your student was unable to attend our device distribution days, they will receive a device this week. Students will be sent to the Media Center Thursday or Friday to sign out their device. All students will have their device by Friday afternoon. Beginning this year, students will keep THEIR device until they leave our school. That means if your student breaks the device or it stops working, they will receive a loner device while theirs is being repaired. They will not receive a new device.
If you are looking for bus information, go to the OCPS transportation page here. Bus route assignments for the upcoming 2022-2023 school year are now available to view. Please note that we have been told that due to a shortage of bus drivers we are not to expect any buses to arrive on campus until at least 4:30, 30 minutes after dismissal. Dismissal procedures have also changed this year for car riders and walkers. Please be patient and practice safe driving habits both on Morton Jones Rd., Gotha Rd. & in our car loop while waiting for your student. We will dismiss students by building as follows: 900 first, followed by D, E and F, then C and finally B. This means, for example, that if your student’s 7th period class is in the 900 building they will be dismissed first. As long as students move quickly off campus this will be a quick process.
Students should not arrive on campus prior to 9:00. There is NO SUPERVISION until that time. When they arrive, 6th grade students will report to the cafeteria, 7th grade students will report to the courtyard and 8th grade students will report to the gym. The first bell will ring at 9:24 which is when students will begin moving to 1st period. For the first day, please make sure your student knows who their first period teacher is by checking Skyward Family Access, Canvas, or by calling the school Monday or Tuesday. Students will receive a new schedule in first period on Wednesday.
Soccer tryouts will begin on August 10th immediately following dismissal and will run until 5:45. Tryouts will continue Thursday and Friday. Athletes MUST have their COMPLETED athletic packet turned into the Main Office by August 9th @ 4:00 P.M. The packet can be found here. You MUST print out the packet and have it fully completed by students, parents, and a doctor. Please remind your student athlete to drink water throughout the day. All students should bring their own water bottle to tryouts. It will be hot out there!
As you prepare for the actual start of school, please remember to review the OCPS Dress Code with your student. No skin should be showing above mid-thigh. This includes jeans with tears in them. Those tears should be below mid-thigh. Students are not allowed to wear their hoodies with the hoods up. Hoods must be down and hats are not allowed. All clothing should be school appropriate.
We also have a very strict cell phone policy. All cell phones must be off and concealed. Concealed means in the backpack where it cannot be seen. Cell phones are very tempting to middle school aged students and we need to make sure they are engaged with and focused on learning while they are with us. If you need to reach your student during the school day, please call the school at 407-521-2360. We will give reminders the first few days of school, however after that window if a student has their cell phone out it will be confiscated and a parent or guardian will need to come to the school to pick it up. By controlling cell phone use during the day, we’ve been able to minimize social media harms often associated with their use. Take a moment to read through this article about social media and middle school aged children.
On Friday we will run a Wednesday bell schedule. Students will remain in 7th period from 2:54 - 3:57 so we can review these and other school-wide expectations. Students will also review the OCPS Code of Student Conduct.
As a reminder, our classroom supply lists can be found below!
There are a variety of ways to support the school! Please click on the links below for more information!
Please contact the school if you have any questions at all. Have a great week and as always, IT’S A GREAT DAY TO BE A GRIZZLY!
Monica Emery
Principal
www.ocps.net
Office Hours (Summer)
8:00a.m. - 4:30p.m. Mon-Fri
School Hours
9:30a.m. - 3:57p.m. (MTRF)
9:30a.m. - 2:54p.m. (W)