Gotha Update - Week of August 3, 2026

WEEK OF August 3, 2026

To our returning Grizzly families—welcome back! To those joining Gotha for the first time—we’re so glad you’re here. We are excited to begin another great year together, especially as we celebrate earning an “A” school grade!

This year, we’ll continue building on that success by staying focused on our four core priorities: literacy across all content areas, strong classroom instructional practices, meaningful relationships, and safety and security. Thank you for partnering with us as we work together to make this the best year yet. It’s a great day to be a Grizzly!

Families often ask about homework. The most important homework your student can have is to read. Students should read nightly for a minimum of 20 minutes.

Research shows that reading 20 minutes a day exposes students to 1.8 million words per year, helps them score in the 90th percentile on standardized tests, and improves critical thinking. Higher word exposure builds a stronger vocabulary, better grammar, and advanced comprehension. Large-scale student data analyses indicate that reading at least 15 to 20 minutes a day triggers accelerated reading growth and prevents learning loss.

Please encourage your student to READ every day!

As always, the OCPS Code of Student Conduct can be found HERE.

At Gotha Middle School, we are proud to be a Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) school. We believe that teaching and recognizing positive behavior is just as important as addressing inappropriate behavior. While we consistently enforce the OCPS Code of Student Conduct, we also know that helping students make positive choices is a partnership between school and home.

One way we celebrate positive choices is through our Bear Bucks program! Students earn Bear Bucks by demonstrating our Grizzly expectations and can redeem them for rewards, including fun items from our GRIZZ Store.

Want to help make the GRIZZ Store even more exciting? Consider donating an item from our Amazon Wish List! Every donation helps us recognize and celebrate students who are making great choices each day.

https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/1FQE1N0LHF8GD?ref_=wl_share

The front office is open from 8:00 - 4:30.

Monday -

Tuesday -

Wednesday - EVERY WEDNESDAY IS GOTHA SPIRIT DAY

Thursday - Meet Your Teachers

Friday -

August 6th - Meet Your Teachers

August 11th - First Day of School/ Physical Packets Due for Soccer

August 12th-14th - Soccer Tryouts

September 8th - FAST ELA PM1

September 10th - FAST Math PM1

September 14th-18th - Start with Hello Week