GothaMiddle School

Principal's Message

Hello, Gotha Families.  Here is your update for the week of August 12, 2019.

It was so great to see so many students at parents at our Meet the Teacher event last week!  Seeing so many students excited to come back made me extremely happy!!

I have just a couple of updates for this week.  We will continue the device distribution for those who were unable to make an appointment.  Each student will have a device by the end of the week.  

Our new Student Information System, Skyward, will be going live early next week. This system replaces Progressbook. To access Skyward you will need to create a Launchpad account ahead of time. Directions for Launchpad are at the following link. 

https://www.ocps.net/UserFiles/Servers/Server_54619/File/Students%20and%20Parents/Skyward/Skyward%20Family%20Access%20thru%20LaunchPad%20073119.pdf?fbclid=IwAR3CvQ7UfltDnXYQmWwMnEpGDGQXUgZ0LirMAnzT_wsklZREXcdt5wDV05c

The schools are not providing logins/passwords as in previous years, you will need to set up the account to access all information including: grades, schedules, test scores and more. If you have a problem while setting up an account we will be more than happy to assist you.

As I spoke about last year, we are following the OCPS Code of Student conduct in terms of students having personal devices on campus.  A personal device is defined as devices such as cell phones, tablets, laptops, gaming devices, earbuds and any device that connects to the internet or a cellular network.  We understand the importance of communication between students and parents, particularly when it is essential or in emergency situations.  You can contact the school directly at 407-521-2360 if there is an emergency.  However, we also recognize that instructional time is precious and school time must be protected from unnecessary disruptions. There is also growing evidence that increased screen time and social media use is linked to teenage depression and anxiety.  During the school day, student’s personal devices must be off and concealed in their backpacks.  We will spend the first three days reminding students of this policy.  Beginning Thursday, if a student has their cell phone out, consequences will be issued as follows:

• 1st Offense - Student can pick up his/her device in the office after school
• 2nd Offense - Student can pick up his/her device in the office after school and parent notification is made by staff
• 3rd Offense - Parent or parent designee over 18 years old must pick up the device in the office anytime while the office is open
• 4th Offense - Lunch detention and parent or parent designee over 18 years old must pick up the device in the office
• 5th Offense – After school detention and parent or parent designee over 18 years old must pick up the device in the office
• 6th Offense - Lunch detentions to complete a research assignment and presentation regarding the impact of cell phone/personal device use on learning (amount of time will be until the project is complete) and parent or parent designee over 18 years old must pick up the phone in the office

Continued offenses may result in school suspension.  We want to ensure that our students are safe and focused on learning while they are here at school.

If you haven’t yet seen our Welcome Back Video - Be Nice - please check it out on YouTube https://youtu.be/JkXS7HOVoWQ when you can!  We’re going to be working with the kids a lot this year on ways to be kind and the importance of celebrating our differences and being nice!

Please stay connected to the school.  Follow us on Social Media.  We update with information almost daily.  

I hope everyone had a great summer.  I’m excited to get back to work.  This year is going to be even better!  As always, remember, it’s a GREAT DAY TO BE A GRIZZLY!

Monica Emery
Principal

www.ocps.net