For the Parents, Students and Community of Hunter’s Creek Middle School

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Hunter’s Creek Middle School13400 Town Loop Blvd.

Orlando, FL 32837

Office: 407-858-4620

www.hcms.ocps.net

Dr. Anne CarcaraPrincipal

Principal’s MessageFlorida Five Star

Grade A+ School

May 2013 Volume 15 Issue 4

Mission Statement

The mission of Hunter’s Creek Middle School is

to prepare our students to be productive and

responsible citizens in a diverse twenty-first century through the

acquisition of skills provided by technology,

problem-solving, and positive self-development.

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Dear Parents, I find it so hard to believe that the end of the school year is almost here. It has really flown by quickly. The next month is filled with concerts, recitals, celebrations…oh my! I know the eighth graders are ready to go to high school, the sixth graders are ready to not be the youngest and the seventh graders are ready to be the oldest. It’s an exciting time of year but bittersweet to see it end. After three years, I feel sad to be losing the eighth graders. They are such a nice group of students who will truly be missed! We have our eighth grade dance on May 10th. On May 17th, we have eighth grade day which is a day filled with fun for the eighth grade students. The week of May 13-17 is designated as eighth grade week. The students will be able to represent their “SWAG” with a different theme each day. Student Council will be announcing those themes on our school news next week. To our returning sixth and seventh graders, be sure that you complete your math packet over the summer. We will have math teacher tutors available in the media center to assist you on the following dates from 10am-4pm: June 26, July 10, July 17, July 31, and August 5-9. Please take advantage of their tutoring. Our summer reading will be different this year. We are participating in the Scholastic Summer Challenge entitled “Read for the World Record”. Students will log in to record the minutes they read. There will be incentives for students who read during the summer and take Reading Counts tests. Please encourage your child to read this summer. Our media center will be open to check out books, log minutes for the Scholastic Summer Challenge and take Reading Counts tests. It will be open Monday thru Thursday from 9am-2pm except for the week of July 1 and July 22. More information will be available on the HCMS website in June. Final exams will take place June 3-5. The last day of school is June 5. To the eighth graders, I wish you the best as you leave HCMS and move to high school. You are a great bunch of students and I will miss you. To the seventh and sixth graders, have a wonderful summer. Don’t forget to read and do your math and of course, have some fun!

See you in August.Anne

‘The Principal’s Notes’May 2013

Published Five Times Per YearHunter’s Creek Middle School

13400 Town Loop Blvd.Orlando FL 32837

Issue #4

8th Grade

News

8th Grade Language ArtsMs. K. Brown-Using Our Voices Mrs. Brown’s classes will spend the fourth quarter examining moral dilemmas and ethical obligations. We will be discussing how morals are set in different groups of people, how our morals shape our decision-making, and what our moral obligations are in society. We will be writing a research paper on what moral dilemmas various subgroups in Germany faced during the Nazi occupation. We will also be learning the difference between propaganda and ethical reasoning strategies. Finally, we will be focusing on how to use our morals and ethical obligations to support various causes that impact our communities. We will be creating public service announcements about our selected causes, and then sending these to our Congressional leaders. After a year of learning how to form ideas, concepts, and theories, we will be ending the year by understanding that it is what we DO with that knowledge that makes us better citizens.

8th Grade Math Algebra I (Regular & Honors) – Daniels and Maladecki During the fourth quarter, we will be reviewing quadratic equations and rational expressions. The End-of-Course Exam (EOC) will be in mid-May. In addition to classroom review, it is imperative that students spend time at home reviewing. The following resources are strongly recommended:• www.FLAssessments.com/ePat• Algebra 1 EOC Review: http://flvs.net/myFLVS/study-tools/EOC/algebra-

review/module10/10_18a_a.htm• www.fcatexplorer.com (Math Timeline)

Honors Geometry – Daniels During the fourth quarter, we will be reviewing surface area, volume, and transformations. The End-of-Course Exam (EOC) will be in mid-May. In addition to classroom review, it is imperative that students spend time at home reviewing. The following resources are strongly recommended:• www.FLAssessments.com/ePat• Geometry EOC Review: http://melearning.flvs.net/eoc/geometry/

module10/10_10a.htm• www.fcatexplorer.com (Math Timeline)

Mrs. Murray & Mrs. Pratt – 8th Grade Math Thank you parents and students for a successful year! As we approach the end of the year, we will finish our last chapter on polynomials, practice integer operations and review Algebra skills for next year. Please continue to stay updated by checking Progress Book.

8th Grade Social StudiesMr. Ursic’s U.S. History-Division of a Nation We are now at the end of the curriculum for 8th grade U.S. History. This final quarter we will look at the Civil War; this will include how the nation became divided and ultimately reunited. We will spend the majority of the quarter on the war itself and will finish up looking at the post war Reconstruction period. Key topics include: secession, the Emancipation Proclamation, the Gettysburg Address and key changes to the Constitution that came from the war. Good luck to my students in high school next year.

Mrs. Butera’s Advanced U. S. History Class In honor of Black History Month, Mrs. Butera’s Advanced U. S. History class completed their Black History Card Project honoring a black personality from history or today. Their cards were displayed proudly. The class studied the Civil War and Reconstruction and will now do selected topics of the Twentieth Century as we finish the school year. We have already completed our first project this quarter, the Yellow Journalism Project. Watch for the next one in early May.

Mrs. Occhipinti’s American History During the fourth nine weeks of Mrs. Occhipinti’s American History classes, students learned about the Civil War and even a little about The Holocaust. They had the opportunity to experience what life was like for a worker during the Industrial Revolution as well as participate in the race for open land in the Oklahoma Territory. As the school year comes to a close, I would like to thank each and every one of you who have made this year a success. I wish everyone a wonderful summer and good luck next year!!

8th Grade ScienceMr. Barker- Mr. Barker’s Honors Earth-Space Science classes have been busy finalizing their preparation for the FCAT Science Test. All classes participated in a series of thirty lab stations to review annually assessed benchmarks from 6th, 7th, and 8th grade. Students were also assigned FCAT Science Explorer for additional review. The classes will now shift focus to finishing the year with a unit on weather and climate and will be preparing for the semester final. Daily class updates and assignments can be found at www.teachers.ocps.net/scott.barker.

Hunters Creek Middle SchoolCafé News

To everyone that has eaten in our cafeteria this year,On behalf of me and my staff we thank you!!!

Students remember breakfast in the café is delicious.We start serving breakfast at 8:00a.m. thru 9:25a.m. And your breakfast status is the same as your lunch status so

come on and join us!!!!

HCMS Reading Department

We want to congratulate all of our students for their success and hard work

so far this year. In our reading classes, we will be reading our class novels

focusing on comprehension skills and narrative elements. At home, we ask that

students continue reading 30 minutes or more every night. Only through reading will

reading improve. If you have any questions, please contact one of us: Kellee Moye Kellee.Moye@ocps.net, Caitlin Clausen Caitlin.Clausen@ocps.net, Gina Battaglia Gina.Battaglia@ocps.net

Grant Recipient Thank You Kellee Moye would like to thank the Foundation for Orange County Public Schools and PNC Bank Foundation for their support of teachers here in Orange County and specifically in my classroom. Mrs. Moye received expenses to purchase non-fiction books to supplement her curriculum.

Knights Team Wow, this school year has flown by and the Knights team teachers would like to say thank you for all of your support this year. We enjoyed having your child in 7th grade and we hope for their continuous success in 8th grade. Please continue to check progress book for updates of grades also email us any questions, comments or concerns. kathleen.corners@ocps.net, lyndsey.martinez@ocps.net, laurietta.mcnealy@ocps.net, nannette.slone@ocps.net. Mrs. Corners’ classes have wrapped up their unit on the federal courts system. The students learned about the function of our court system as well as landmark Supreme Court decisions. We are finishing up the year with units on global policy and state and local government. The students have done a great job throughout the year. I hope all of you have a relaxing summer vacation. Enjoy 8th grade and your American History Class. Ms. McNealy’s During the fourth quarter, we will be reviewing quadratic equations and rational expressions. The End-of-Course Exam (EOC) will be May 9th and 10th. In addition to classroom review, it is imperative that students spend time at home reviewing. The following resources are strongly recommended:• www.FLAssessments.com/ePat• Algebra 1 EOC Review: http://flvs.net/myFLVS/study-tools/EOC/algebra-review/module10/10_18a_a.htm• www.fcatexplorer.com (Math Timeline)

In regular math we are learning about equations and inequalities for the fourth nine weeks. We will be taking Orange County’s end of course exam. Students will review and take the exam during the last two weeks of school. It has been an honor to serve as your child’s teacher this year. Have a fantastic summer! In the fourth Quarter, Mrs. Martinez’s Science students have successfully mastered unit 10 (Energy in the Earth System) as well as taking the FCAT. We will Complete Unit 11(Weather and Climate) before the year is over. Mrs. Slone’s students finished up the school year with Greek mythology. The students read several myths along with the class novel, Lightning Thief. We continued writing our essays on Wednesdays to prepare for 8th grade. Please continue to encourage your child to read daily as that is always a plus!

Lynx Ladies Congratulations Lynx Science, we are in our last quarter with a stellar end to Quarter 3, Genetics. An impressive class average of 78% on the Quarter 3 Benchmark test, which is a reflection of every student’s hard work. Period 1’s chart topping class average of 92% was a fantastic contribution to the Lynx Science Class Average. This fourth quarter will start with interesting dialogue on Life over Time and lead to Ecology which includes Florida’s Ecosystem. We end the year with the Transfer of Energy within an Ecosystem. We will be exploring life in Shingle Creek and the importance of every organisms place on this planet to maintain a balanced ecosystem. The Lynx Math students have made Miss T proud this year. The beginning of the 4th quarter was spent reviewing all 6th grade material. Students worked in groups, pairs, and played competitive games in preparation for the FCAT. Although a little nervous, the students stated they felt ready, and all of us eagerly await the scores. The remainder of the school-year will be spent on benchmarks needing additional remediation. Advanced students are prepping for next year by learning 7th and 8th grade benchmarks. Lynx Language Arts classes seem to have survived the stress of FCAT testing. As we prepare to finish up six grade, we will be reading our class novel “The Wadjet Eye,” which coincides with their Social Studies lessons. We will complete the lesson with a research paper, on topic of their choice which relates to the book. Thank you to all students for working so hard this year. Remember to read at least two books this summer.

Panther News We will be finishing up geometry and moving on to covering Integers to finish out this last quarter in Mrs. Harker’s math classes. The children have progressed nicely through the year and I’m proud of their accomplishments. Not only have they learned valuable math concepts but they have improved organizational skills, note taking strategies and listening abilities. Please don’t let them loose ground during summer vacation. Like any other discipline practice is essential. Encourage them to review material throughout their summer break, especially reviewing all the operations with whole numbers, decimals fractions and integers. In Mr. Hulcher’s science classes students studied ecology and how energy and matter cycled in an ecosystem. They also explored factors that influence populations over time. The 2012-2013 school year has been memorable! Mrs. Holmes’ world history classes investigated the ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia, Egypt, India, China, Greece, Rome, and the Americas. We analyzed the many tools and ideas that we learned from each of these magnificent civilizations. I wish all students and parents a successful 2013-2014 school year. What a wonderful year this has been! Ms. Hobbs’ classes ended the year working collaboratively with Ms. Holmes’ social studies classes. Students completed research projects on Ancient Egypt, Rome and Greece. Congratulations on a job well done! It has been a pleasure working with each and every one of you. Please remember to complete the summer reading projects over the summer. Be safe and enjoy your break.

Tania Berrios, PA-CJoanna E. Taepke, PA-C

Ashley Sapp, PA-CMichael Hancharik, ARNPSharron McDonald, ARNP

Dr. Patrick P. GonzalesDr. John MartinDr. Lydia VanDr. Michelle De La Riva

Open Mondays thru Saturdays.We see patients from 6 year old and up,

adolescents, adults and geriatrics.Visit us at: www.swofm.com

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Now that FCAT’s are over, the Phoenix Team is going full steam ahead for the remainder of the school year. In March, we were sad to bid a fond farewell to Mrs. Fitzpatrick who moved with her family to pursue an opportunity in her hometown of Starke. We welcome Ms. Furrey to our team. She will serve in Mrs. Fitzpatrick’s place for the remainder of the year. In Mr. Tews’ Earth/Space Science classes, we have just completed units on Energy in the Earth System and Human Impact on Earth. In the latter unit, students learned about Earth’s natural resources, each person’s carbon footprint, the importance of recycling, and conserving and protecting Earth’s water, land, and air. Our final unit of the year will be Weather and Climate. Students will learn about the water cycle, climate, natural disasters in Florida, and severe weather safety. We will have multiple opportunities to go outside to observe the weather, conduct weather experiments, and experience the change from Florida’s dry season to the rainy, thunderstorm season. For the 4th nine weeks, Mrs. Zielinsky’s Language Arts class is taking everything we’ve learned this year and applying it as we explore the concepts of myths and folklore with an introduction to Greek & Roman mythology. We are reading the fiction novel The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan in class. Through comparisons we are going evaluate how different media changes how elements of a story are revealed. We will also be reading several original Greek myths and discussing how authors present themes and other messages through fiction. We will be gathering information for several research-based projects – a wanted poster for a god or goddess, developing and writing an original myth, and creating a multimedia (Powerpoint and poster) presentation to share it with the class. Picking up after the 3rd nine weeks, Mr. Przybylek’s Civics class will research and analyze the Bill of Rights and the civil rights amendments. We will then study the structure of United States Constitution. This will than lead to the process of how to amend the Constitution. We will than start a short unit explaining the separation of powers and checks and balances principles within our government. We will than begin a research paper on the Federal Government explaining what it is and analyzing the three branches (Legislative, Executive and Judicial) and their powers. Students will study from not only the Constitution itself but from a variety of secondary sources. We will than end the year studying the court system in the United States with a mock trial.

Titan News! Ms. Amburgey’s students finished up the school year with Greek mythology. The students read several myths along with the class novel, Lightning Thief. We continued writing our essays on Wednesdays to prepare for 8th grade. The year has flown by and I shall miss all of my students as they go on to 8th grade. I wish them the best of luck and again my thanks to all the parents who gave continual support throughout the year. Mr. Johnson’s Civic students are quickly approaching the end of the year. They have recently wrapped up a unit on the Constitution, the Bill of Rights and are now moving on to our nation’s court systems. The student’s will examine our country’s local courts, Court of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court. Over the last few weeks of the year, his students are going to prepare for their final exam which will take place during this time. Mr. Johnson also wants to commend every student for their hard work they have displayed over the course of this year and he wants to wish each and every student a safe and enjoyable summer! In the fourth Quarter, Mrs. Samaan’s Science students have successfully mastered unit 10 (Energy in the Earth System) as well as taking the FCAT. We will Complete Unit 11(Weather and Climate) before the year is over. Please continue checking progress Book for homework listings and grades, and feel free to email me with any questions. In Mrs. Martin’s regular classes, we are learning about equations and inequalities for the fourth nine weeks. In Mrs. Martin’s advanced classes we are introducing concepts needed for Algebra I from the Course 3 textbook. All students will be taking Orange County’s end of course exam. Students will review and take the exam during the last two weeks of school. Also, be on the lookout for a summer packet that students will receive at the end of the year to be returned at the beginning of next school year. I have enjoyed working with your students this year! I cannot believe we are entering our final weeks of the year. Thank you for allowing me to work with your students this year! Have a wonderful and safe summer!

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2013 HCMS Track ScheduleWED APR 24 HOME WESTRIDGEWED MAY 1 AWAY @SOUTH CREEKWED MAY 8 HOME WALKERWED MAY 15 AWAY @FREEDOM MS, w/ MEADOW WOODS

COUNTY TRACK CHAMPIONSHIPS:FRI MAY 17 SHOWALTER FIELD FIELD EVENTS 6-8pmSAT MAY 18 SHOWALTER FIELD RUNNING EVENTS 9am-3pm

BOY’S HEAD COACH: MR. JOHN FRIDAY john.Friday@ocps.netBOY’S ASST COACH: MS. CAITLIN CLAUSEN caitlin.clausen@ocps.netGIRL’S HEAD COACH: MS. BETHANY POPPENBERG bethany.poppenberg@ocps.netGIRL’S ASST. COACH: MS. LORI HERMIDA laura.hermida@ocps.net

Home meets start at approximately 4:30pm.

HCMSAtHletiCS

Physical Education Parents, as we wind down another great school year, the Physical Education depar tment wants you to know that we have a very, very large “lost & found” filled with your child’s jacket, jeans, shoes, etc. Please don’t hesitate to have your son or daughter come see any of the PE teachers to locate their belongings between now and June 5th. At the end of the school year we donate all orphaned clothing to charity.

HCMS Soccer – Fall 2013 Soccer tryouts next fall begin on the first day of school in August. Don’t wait until the last minute to get your athlete’s sports physical paperwork completed! Go to www.athletics.ocps.net (or, c2cschools.com) to find the necessary middle school athletics forms – click on “Athletics” header, then “Physical/Sports Forms” to locate the PDF “Middle School Sports Forms Packet” and print. Remember, your child may not participate in any middle school tryouts without the proper forms completed per OCPS guidelines. We look forward to another successful HCMS soccer campaign next season – the boys will attempt to repeat as Orange County champions!

Our county track finals are the weekend of May 17th & 18th at Showalter Field in Winter Park. The top two athletes in each event from every school are entered into our end of the year championships. If you haven’t experienced “Trackfest” before, it is an exciting event that you can’t miss. Come out and support our fine student-athletes. Go Eagles!

Orange County Public SchoolsP.O. Box 271Orlando FL 32802-0271

Non-Profit OrganizationU.S. Postage PAID

Permit # 885Orlando, FL

HCMSOCHeStrA NewS

Wow! What a great Music Performance Assessment! Both Symphonia and Chamber Orchestras were evaluated this year. Symphonia received a combination of Excellent and Superiors from the judges,

while Chamber received Straight Superiors. I am very proud of all of the Orchestra students and their dedication to their music classes. We are all busy preparing for our Spring Concert, rehearsing pieces, learning new skills, etc. Please note the date for the concert Tuesday May 21st @ 6:30 p.m., in the cafeteria. Notes will be sent home regarding this. All students will be tested on playing The Star Spangled Banner from memory May 1-3 in class, please make sure they are practicing this at home on a daily basis. Also, there will be an end of the year test for all Orchestra classes after our concert. Each student will need to play a piece from the Spring Concert for me (or a song of their choice), scales we have worked on in class, and sight read a short excerpt. I encourage all to continue working, practicing, exploring and improving your skills over the summer. If anyone is interested in private lessons, summer orchestra camps, getting a new instrument, extra help, etc. please contact Mrs. Bichler through email, and I would be glad to help you and way I can. Mrs. Bichler’s Piano Class is having their Spring Piano Recital on Wednesday May 29th at 8:30 a.m. in the cafeteria. We are just beginning our work on these pieces in class. Please mark your calendars. I can’t wait for you to hear how much progress they have made. Just a reminder to all, please make sure you have your headphones for class on a daily basis. Mrs. Bichler