6th grade is having a food truck festival!

Students can "attend" the festival during WIN next week!

They will get to browse all the food trucks and decide which trucks are their favorite, with the best menu options and prices for this economy.

Guess what…The 6th grade homeroom class of Mrs. Misty Smith celebrated being the Top Class in the LEXIA competition for the 3rd 9-weeks of school, again. The students earned a total of 72 CERTIFICATES this time!! Although that seemed like icing on the cake, we chose to indulge with Ice Cream Soda Floats and Chips and Dip Thursday, March 19th.

What Can I say…. ALL we do is WIN, WIN, WIN no matter what! :)

Remember our Mission Statement: We will ENGAGE, EDUCATE, and EMPOWER all students to EXCEL!

The end-of-year summative assessment, also known as ATLAS, will take place from April 27th to April 30th. All students should be well-rested and arrive at school on time so they are prepared to do their best on the test. Our goal is for every student to improve their scores in each tested subject area. A new feature this year is the faster release of scores, which will be available within 24 hours of testing.

SMAC stands for Social Media Awareness Campaign. This campaign was created in response to the increase in students learning and socializing online. The purpose of SMACtalk is to bring awareness, provide resources, and increase communication for teachers, parents, and students. The links below are playlists for students and parents. More information is available on the state's SMAC website.

SMACtalk website

SMACtalk for Students

SMACtalk for Parents

Free Rice is a website where students can engage in vocabulary games while providing food to less fortunate families around the world. Every correct answer is equivalent to 10 grains of rice for the United Nations World Food Program. Visit https://freerice.com/home.

7th and 8th grade students, come and join us for a fun night! This dance is NOT formal, so come in your sneakers and be ready to dance the night away!

Middle school is a time of growth, change, and learning—especially when it comes to relationships. As students navigate friendships, group work, and social dynamics, disagreements are a natural part of the process. While conflict can feel uncomfortable, it also provides valuable opportunities for students to build important life skills like communication, empathy, and problem-solving.

At school, we work with students to approach conflict in healthy and respectful ways. While it does seem more students are feeling stressed about conflict as the end of the school year approaches, you can support gentle solutions at home by reinforcing a few simple strategies:

1. Encourage Calm Conversations
Teach your child to pause and take a breath before reacting. When emotions are high, it’s easy to say things we don’t mean. Practicing calm communication helps prevent situations from escalating.

2. Practice Active Listening
Help your child understand the importance of truly listening to others—not just waiting for their turn to speak. Encourage them to ask questions and try to see the situation from another person’s perspective.

3. Use “I” Statements
Instead of blaming or accusing, students can express how they feel using statements like, “I felt upset when…” This keeps conversations focused on feelings rather than placing blame.

4. Focus on Solutions
Guide your child to think about how a problem can be resolved rather than who is right or wrong. Brainstorming solutions together can lead to more positive outcomes for everyone involved.

5. Know When to Ask for Help
Remind your child that it’s okay to seek support from a trusted adult—whether that’s a parent, teacher, or counselor—if a conflict feels too big to handle alone.

By working together, we can help students develop the skills they need to handle challenges with confidence and respect. These tools not only improve their school experience but also prepare them for healthy relationships in the future.

If you have questions or would like additional resources, please feel free to reach out. I’m always here to support our students and families.

-Ms. Cheryl Hilser

Counselor

Big Hairy Audacious Goals Update:

Goza Middle School teachers have been challenged to reach a big goal by the summative assessment in April. These goals are from our current students' performance on the 2025 ATLAS Summative Assessment. We appreciate the efforts our teachers are making to accomplish these goals. 

It will take all of us - teachers, students, and their families to achieve this. How can you help? Reading 20 minutes aloud each day with your child goes a long way toward developing fluency, comprehension, and vocabulary. Completing lessons on Khan Academy for Illustrative Mathematics is a great way to review previously covered math content. Science is about questioning what is around them. For instance, why is the snow taking so long to melt? Or how do hand warmers work? Even baking and cooking are great opportunities to teach all three areas. More importantly, the ATLAS Practice Tests in the portal help students become more familiar with the platform. This develops confidence and stamina when completing a test. 

Our goal is to become a better school with a better school performance grade. Can we count on you as parents and caregivers to do your part to make this happen? Please feel free to contact our instructional facilitator, Ms. Miller, at della.miller@arkadelphiaschools.org for more information.

High Impact Tutoring for Math

Goza’s performance on the 2025 ATLAS Summative Assessment for Mathematics was 31%. Goza has qualified to provide High Impact Tutoring for 88 students (22 per grade level). The goal is to increase the number of students who are proficient in math. Goza stands to gain points that will improve its school performance score, now that the state acknowledges growth in student scores. 

Edmentum will provide online tutoring. Students will engage with certified educators online. We are in the final stages of planning and are excited about this opportunity to provide our students the help they need to succeed.

Curriculum Resources for Parents

Parents, we have heard your requests. This table includes direct links to student resources, which are also accessible through Clever. It also contains links to ECHO pages for students and parents, as well as a sign-up link for parents without an account.

Lexia is our ELA intervention program where students do activities in Word Study, Grammar, and Comprehension. Khan Academy offers the entire math curriculum online, allowing students to complete Illustrative Mathematics tutorials. Prodigy is an educational game like Tetris, where students compete in ELA and Math by answering questions. The Wonder of Science and PhET are excellent tools for enhancing science learning through online simulations and phenomena that affect our daily lives. Twenty minutes a day in these applications goes a long way!

Echo Student

Echo Parent

Echo Parent Account Sign Up

MyPerspectives

Lexia

IM360

Khan Academy

Prodigy

Inspire Science

The Wonder of Science

PhET