Orange County Public Schools Gotha Middle School

Welcome to Gotha Middle School!

Update - Week of 2/24/2025

Hello Gotha Families!

Congratulations to this week’s Cambridge Learner Attributes Students of the Week!  Maya Walters was nominated for being CONFIDENT, Kyrell Hernandez was nominated for being ENGAGED, and Javier Lassalle was nominated for being RESPONSIBLE.  

Families of car riders, please note that there should be NO stopping on Gotha Rd. to pick up students.  Cars must come through the car line.  We have the line quickly moving by 4:20.  When cars stop and wait on Gotha Rd., they are preventing other drivers AND our school buses from getting to the school in a timely manner.  We have requested road deputies to assist us with this in the afternoons.  

8th grade families - In an effort to ensure all student records are accurate and up to date prior to transitioning to high school, we are requiring all 8th grade families to provide proof of residency to the school.  Letters were sent home with 8th grade students last week explaining this process.  If you have questions, please contact our registrar @ Yete.Payne@ocps.net.  

Congratulations to our boys and girls basketball teams who have both advanced to the playoffs.  The boys will play against Arbor Ridge MS away on Monday and the girls will play home vs. Water Springs MS on Monday.

This is just a reminder that Gotha Track & Field will be starting soon.  Physical packets for track are due February 27th by 11:59pm.  Packets must be submitted on Aktivate.  If you have any questions, please contact Coach Davis at Michelle.Davis2@ocps.net.

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

It is course selection time for the 2025-2026 school year already!  You can use the links below to access information.

Rising 7th and 8th Grade Course Selection Information - remember you are choosing courses for NEXT year, so if your student is currently in 6th grade, you are filling out the 7th grade form.  

Future Titan (Olympia) Informational Video - Rising 9th grade.
Rising 9th Grade Course Selection Form

We will be hosting an information night on February 27th at 6:00 for any rising 9th grade families That may need help creating a high school path that leads your high school student to the college or career of their choice.  We will not have Olympia-specific information, however we will be able to help you with decisions regarding high school courses and electives, Advanced Placement vs Cambridge vs Dual Enrollment, Career and Technical Education, Bright Futures Scholarships and more!

Our 8th Grade Dance - Enchanted Forest Sneaker Soiree will be on March 8th from 5pm – 8pm.  Tickets are $25 (this includes dinner, dancing, DJ, and dessert).  Tickets will be sold each Friday during lunches. 

8th Grade Gradventure is May 16, 2025 from 4pm – midnight (buses will depart from the school immediately after dismissal).  Tickets are $140 (this includes tickets to both parks, a meal, shirt, and transportation) and will be on sale 3/1/25 – 3/28/25 via SchoolPay only.

If you have any questions, please let us know or contact Ms. Bellamy @ Katrina.Bellamy@ocps.net. 

LITERACY FOCUS OF THE WEEK
Here are this 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
If your student is a bike rider or walker, please let them know that when they are dismissed, they need to leave campus.  Too many students are playing around while we are facilitating dismissal for other students.  In addition, if your student rides an electric bike to school, please encourage them to wear a helmet and talk to them about not allowing other students to ride their bike.  These students must also head directly home when they are dismissed.  Those bikes are fast and they are sharing them and riding around in the front of the school during dismissal.  

As always, the code of conduct can be found here. 

THIS WEEK AT THE SCHOOL
Monday 2/24 - Girls Basketball @ HOME vs. Water Springs 5:30pm; Boys Basketball AWAY @ Union Park MS vs. Arbor Ridge MS 7:00pm
Tuesday 2/25 -
Wednesday 2/26 -
Thursday 2/27 - Rising 6th Grade Course Selection Virtual Support @ 4:30pm; Rising 9th Grade Navigating High School Course Selection @ 6:00pm - Media Center
Friday 2/28 - 

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:

Beanstack Challenge
Don’t forget to have your student join us for our Beanstack county-wide reading challenge, Let's Read, OCPS, which runs from January 27 to April 30, 2025. Beanstack is a LaunchPad application that helps students read, track their reading, and participate in reading challenges and activities. Help us reach our district goal of reading 20 million minutes by logging your minutes in Beanstack.  Our hope is to increase student reading engagement by encouraging every student to read 500 minutes.  As you enjoy reading throughout these months, students can earn virtual Beanstack badges and be entered to win special prizes.

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 

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 Maureen.Miller@ocps.net 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!

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)