Dr. Gloria Fernandez, Principal
601 Woodbury Rd. Orlando, FL 32828
Phone (407) 384-1555 Fax (407) 384-1580
Office Hours: Monday, Wednesday, Friday 7:30 am - 4:30 pm
Discovery Middle is proud to be an Innovation School and Performing Arts Academy!
Explorer Weekly Update
October 1, 2021
Dear Explorer Families,
We are proud of our Boys and Girls Soccer Teams. Their successful season ended on Wednesday. I’m proud of our student-athletes who took on the challenge – in the classroom and on the field. Our next sport is volleyball and tryouts will be on Oct. 11th, 12th and 13th.
Thank you, parents, for attending our Virtual Open House. Though we didn’t meet face-to-face this year as in times past, our teachers were happy to welcome our families into their virtual classrooms.
Please join me on Tuesday, Oct. 5th at 9:30 a.m. in the cafeteria for an informal “Coffee Talk”.
As we welcome the fall season, our young musicians will be demonstrating their talents in upcoming performances. Our Chamber Ensemble Choir will perform on Tuesday, Oct. 5th at East River High School starting at 7:30 pm. Our Band, Guitar, and Orchestra Concert is on Wednesday, Oct. 6th at 7:00 p.m. in the gym.
On Thursday, Oct. 7th, PTSA is hosting their meeting in the media center at 4:30 p.m.
The end of the first marking period is rapidly approaching. Therefore, students have this week to submit any missing work to improve their grades before Friday, Oct. 8th. There will also be no school on Friday, October 8th.
If you are interested in joining the School Advisory Council, please complete the attached form and turn it into the main office. As a member of SAC, you play an important part in representing our school community in our efforts to continuously improve student learning and growth. SAC members are the liaison for information and communication among students, families, and staff at Discovery Middle School.
Please remind your children that handwashing is one of the best ways to protect themselves and your family from getting sick.
As a reminder, check Canvas for continuous updates on your child’s grades and remind your child to bring their laptop, charge their laptop and bring their earbuds every day.
Thank you for your continued support of Discovery Middle as we “Prevail in Excellence.”
The PMA’s are progress monitoring assessments. It is a check to see how well students are progressing toward the goal of passing the EOC at the end of the year. We will have additional PMA’s near the end of the 2nd and 3rd quarters. By tracking this data, the PMA scores can help students and families see if they are on track to pass the EOC.
Parents – We have noticed recently that many students are logging into personal Google accounts using their student laptops. This is a violation of their technology use agreement and it can cause conflicts with their student Google account affecting their access to important documents. If you have a student that is using a personal Google account on their school-assigned laptop, please have them delete the account. If they do not know how to do this, please have them come visit Mrs. La Sala in the media center during tech hours in 2nd or 5th period.
The soccer season has ended for Discovery. In the round of 16, both Discovery teams were eliminated. The boys lost to Maitland 4-1 and the girls lost to Bridgewater 4-0. We are still proud of our teams for a great season. To be honest, we were really worried on the first day of tryouts. Not many students tried out for the teams. Even still, we still made it to the playoffs! On top of that, the teams were well behaved and great to work with. To all the players and parents, thanks for a great season.Volleyball season is here! The parent meeting is tonight, Friday, at 6 pm in the cafeteria. This meeting will give you more information on; sports physicals, schedules, practices and game times, shirts and uniforms. Students do not need to attend the meeting however, sports physicals will be required to try out. Tryouts will be on October 11,12, and 13. The team will practice after school from 4 to 5:30 most days, with games on Mondays and Fridays starting Oct 27th. Bump out your calendars, set up the dates, and spike a great season!
Just a reminder that fall pictures will be taken on October 19th.
The next PTSA meeting is on October 7th @ 4:30 pm in the Media Center.Parent Teacher Student Associations (PTSAs) provide youth members with the opportunity to make a difference by developing leadership skills, learning about the legislative process, increasing their self-esteem, and contributing to the school and community. In turn, adult PTSA members gain a new perspective for program development and youth leadership development and acquire a better understanding of the youth of today.
Joining PTSA does not mean you need to volunteer your time, certainly, if you have time we would love to have you volunteer. Joining PTSA is giving you and your student a voice and the ability to participate and help with student and teacher initiatives throughout the 2021-2022 school year. We would love for everyone to become a member and be an advocate for our students. Hope to see you on Thursday!
The School Advisory Council is a representative body of teachers, students, parents, support personnel, and community members who assist with the preparation and evaluation of the School Improvement Plan (SIP) and decide how school improvement funds will be spent. The SAC helps the school achieve its goals and increase student learning through the School Improvement process. As a member of SAC, you play an important part in representing our school community and are the voices in helping to better our school performance. We are the liaison for information and communication among students, families and staff at Discovery Middle School. We strive to engage families in the education process by:
● being a source of information and SUPPORT to parents
● WELCOMING new families
● provide a forum to discuss IDEAS and CONCERNS
SAC meetings will be held on the 3rd Thursday of each month at 4:30 p.m in the Media Center. The next meeting will be on October 21st.
Laptop Dos and Don'ts
Do
Restart your computer at least once a week.
Use your laptop only on a hard, flat surface such as a desk or table.
Carry your laptop in a bag or backpack.
Unplug your device when it is fully charged.
Keep your charger out of reach of young children and pets.
Carry your device with both hands if moving around during classroom instruction.
Don’t
Drop your device, even when in a bag or backpack.
Cover or block your device’s air vents when in use.
Use your devices near food or drink.
Pick the device up by the screen.
Use a liquid cleaner to clean the screen of the device.
Skyward is the OCPS adopted Student Information System (SIS) for parent and student access to grades. Instructions for creating a LaunchPad parent account are included below if you do not already have an account created to view student grades.
Below are instructions on how to become an observer on your student's canvas account. This will allow you to see the content and gradebook of the different courses.
It is important that we remain consistent in adhering to guidelines to help prevent the spread of COVID-19:
Face coverings are meant to protect other people in case the wearer is unknowingly infected but does not have symptoms.
Physical distancing also called “social distancing,” means keeping a safe space between yourself and other people who are not from your household.
Physical distancing combined with mask-wearing can help slow the spread of COVID-19.
Encourage alternate means of greeting expressions to assist with physical distancing and maintain separation (i.e. minimize gestures that promote close contact, discourage shaking hands, fist or elbow bumps, and hugging. Instead wave and verbally greet them.)
Handwashing is one of the best ways to protect yourself and your family from getting sick. After you have been in a public place and touched an item or surface that may be frequently touched by other people, such as door handles, tables, countertops, chairs, sinks, shared pens, elevator buttons, and microphones. Always wash or sanitize your hands before touching your eyes, nose, or mouth because that’s how germs enter our bodies.
Health monitoring and recognizing the signs and symptoms are crucial to help reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19.
People with COVID-19 have had a wide range of symptoms reported – ranging from mild symptoms to severe illness. Symptoms may appear 2-14 days after exposureto the virus. People with these symptoms may have COVID-19:
Parents – We have noticed recently that many students are logging into personal Google accounts using their student laptops. This is a violation of their technology use agreement and it can cause conflicts with their student Google account affecting their access to important documents. If you have a student that is using a personal Google account on their school-assigned laptop, please have them delete the account. If they do not know how to do this, please have them come visit Mrs. La Sala in the media center during tech hours in 2nd or 5th period.
