GothaMiddle School

Welcome to Gotha Middle School!

Update - Week of 10/14/2024

Hello Gotha Families!

I hope everyone fared well during and after the storm.  Thank you to the students and families who came out last week to ensure the school would be ready to welcome back students, staff and teachers.  Despite some downed trees, the school stood strong!  Due to the number of instructional minutes built into the current school schedule, we only need to make up one of the hurricane days.  That day will be Friday, October 25th.  

Tuesday is the beginning of the second quarter.  I encourage you to stay on top of your student’s grades by monitoring through the Skyward Family Access through Launchpad.  Directions for setting that up can be found here.     

In partnership with HNH Immunizations & Health Heroes, it is our pleasure to offer on-site flu vaccinations to students this year on October 15th.  Health Heroes flu vaccination clinics are completely voluntary and are offered to ALL consented students.  If you wish for your child to participate, please COMPLETELY fill out and sign a consent form.  This form needs to be returned to school as soon as possible to secure a dose for your child.  If you have additional questions or concerns, please contact the School Clinic/Main Office . You can also find more information at www.healthherousa.com.

Our PTO Gotha Groove Silent Disco Fundraiser is back on!  Thank you to everyone who has already donated.  To date we have raised $12,400.  Because we’ve met our second milestone goal of $10,000, Coach Davis and I will be water ballooned on Wednesday!  This year our goal is to raise $20,000 for new purple and teal benches for the front of the school and the courtyard, as well as restroom improvements and other campus enhancements.  Please register your student at mybooster.com and share with your network.  Every dollar helps and donations show up from the most unlikely sources.  We currently have pledges from 31 states and 6 countries!  Help us get all 50 states by Friday.  The Silent Disco has been rescheduled for October 25th.  

Vote-by-mail has begun for this year’s general election which takes place Nov. 4, 2024. A referendum at the end of the ballot will ask voters whether to continue the half-cent sales tax for another 10 years. Proceeds of the half-cent sales tax fund construction, replacement and renovation of schools, capital renewal - such as air conditioning and roofing projects, as well as school technology, safety and security.  You can learn more about the issue at youdecide.ocps.net.  If the referendum is continued, we are scheduled to have a renovation project that will address plumbing, restrooms and roofing.  

The fall family survey will be open on October 15th,  To facilitate access for families, the district (http://ocps.net) and the school webpage (http://gothams.ocps.net) will include a tile that links directly to the family survey. You can access the survey through those tiles, using the links and QR codes included in reminder messages, or by navigating to the link: bit.ly/ocps_families. All families with a student in grades K-12 are eligible to take the survey. The survey includes two questions and one ThoughtExchange. We need 200 families to respond.  We use the data from these surveys to continue to make Gotha the best OCPS middle school! 

LITERACY FOCUS OF THE WEEK
Because we missed so much school last week, we will continue with last week’s roots!  Make sure your student knows that if they find me and use a root in a word and can tell me what the root means, they can get a Bear Buck!  Several students have been taking advantage of this opportunity to show what they know!

SCHOOL WIDE EXPECTATIONS
On Tuesday we will run a Wednesday bell schedule so students can review the code of conduct for the second quarter.  The code of conduct can be found here.  Students will also be able to use that time to complete the student fall survey.  

I also want to remind families about monitoring student use of social media.  We’ve had an uptick in inappropriate Gotha Instagram pages.  There is research that shows middle school aged children are often not yet capable of processing negativity online.  Please take a moment to read through the following articles when discussing social media with your student.

How Social Media Affects Your Teen’s Mental Health: A Parent’s Guide
Why Social Media Is Not Smart for Middle School Kids

THIS WEEK AT THE SCHOOL
Monday 10/14 - Teacher Work Day (no school for students)
Tuesday 10/15 - Flu Clinic; Wednesday Bell Schedule (code of student conduct)
Wednesday 10/16 - 
Thursday 10/17 - 
Friday 10/18 -

Follow us on social media, as we post frequently to Facebook and Instagram.  Encourage your student to make choices that are confident, responsible, reflective, innovative and engaged, and as always, it’s a GREAT day to be a Grizzly!

Monica L. Emery
Principal
Gotha Middle School 

2024 LipDub!

Facebook - Gotha Middle School

Instagram - gotha_middle_school

Reminders:

FORTIFY FL APP
FortifyFL is a suspicious activity reporting tool that allows you to instantly relay information to appropriate law enforcement agencies and school officials. Students have access to the app through LaunchPad. 

WHO’S WHO
Need to know who to contact with questions?  Check out our Who’s Who for 2024-25.  

SCHOOL COUNSELORS
Ms. Soper - 6th grade and 7th grade A-K
Ms. Lewis - 7th grade L-Z and 8th grade

TALKING POINTS
Instructions on how to get the app can be found below.

English
Spanish
Portuguese 
Haitian Creole 

PARKING
When you come on campus, you may see some beautifully decorated parking spaces!  As part of a fundraiser, some staff members have purchased a spot.  We appreciate your effort to not park in any labeled, blocked off or painted parking spot.  

YEARBOOKS
Yearbooks are already on sale and can be purchased for $40 on our school website by clicking on “Students” and then “Yearbook”.  Ads can also be purchased for 8th grade Grizzlies for an additional charge.  You can reach out to Mrs. Miller at [email protected] if you have any questions.

GOTHA PTO
I encourage all of you to join our WONDERFUL Gotha PTO.  With our PTO, you can choose your level of involvement, but it’s a GREAT way to always be in the know with all things Gotha.  Go to https://gothapto.ptboard.com/home to register.  You can also purchase Spirit Wear for your student.  Every Wednesday is Gotha Spirit Day and we encourage all things purple and teal!

ATHLETICS
Aktivate Athlete Registration Guide/Tutorial- English Click Here
Aktivate Athlete Registration Guide/Tutorial- Spanish Click Here
Athletic Physical Packet Click Here

Deadline Dates for completed Athletic Packet submitted
Basketball- Deadline is January 3rd @ 11:59 P.M.
Track- Deadline is February 27th @ 11:59 P.M.
Contact Info: [email protected]

http://www.ocps.net

 Office Hours
8:00a.m. - 4:30p.m., Mon-Fri

School Hours
9:30a.m. - 4:04p.m. (MTRF)
9:30a.m. - 2:54p.m. (W)