Selma Middle School Weekly Update
Oct 20-Oct 23
Absence Reporting: Enter Student Absence Note
Written excuses must be turned in, no later than, THE DAY AFTER the student returns to school.
Full Steam Ahead: Engineered for Excellence
Upcoming Events
Oct 27-Report Cards Go Home
Oct 28-Makeup School Pictures
Athletics
Practice Schedule:
Cheer: Tuesday 3:30-5:00
Boys Soccer: Tuesday & Friday 3:30-5:30
Volleyball: Tuesday 3:30-5:30
Football: Tuesday 3:30-5:30
Games:
Wednesday, October 21 Football vs Smithfield at SSS 6:30 (PINK OUT)
Thursday, October 22 Boys Soccer & Volleyball vs Meadow at home 4:15 (8th Grade Night)
Game Recap:
Football vs Meadow 20-0
Soccer vs Princeton 3-0
Volleyball vs Princeton 0-2
Soccer vs Four Oaks 3-1
Volleyball vs Four Oaks 0-2
What’s New from Admin
Admin Update: Give a Teacher a Shout-Out! 💙💛
Railblazer Families,
Has a teacher helped your student feel more confident, worked through a challenge with them, or made them feel valued and supported? We want to hear about it!
This week, we invite you to nominate a teacher for a shout-out. Whether it was an encouraging word, extra help with an assignment, or a thoughtful check-in, sharing your story is a meaningful way to say thank you.
Click here to nominate a teacher!
Thank you for helping us celebrate the teachers who make a difference for our students and for being our partners in their success!
Learn More. Do More. Be More.
Full Steam Ahead—Engineered for Excellence!
Learn More. Do More. Be More.
🚂 SELMA STRONG! 💙💛
The Selma Middle School Administrative Team
Want to nominate a teacher? Click on this link
Community Partners
A heartfelt thank-you to our community partners for investing your time, energy, and resources in our school. Your support and willingness to volunteer help us celebrate our students and show them that an entire community is cheering them on!
Le Taquichi Taquitos
A heartfelt thank-you to our community partner, Le Taquichi Taquitos, for donating to our Custodian Appreciation Day celebration! Your generosity helped us honor the hardworking custodians who keep Selma Middle School clean, safe, and welcoming every day. We are grateful for your partnership and the care you show our school community! 💙💛
Help Students Learn the Selma Student Creed
6th Grade
ELA
Standard(s) Taught this week:
- Students will focus on gaining background information on characters and historical context of your Q2 Novel study “Number the Stars” by Lois Lowry. We’ll continue building reading skills through practice, discussion, and short assessments
Assessments Given this week:
- Students will begin practicing general comprehension through Retrieval Practice (L3) and Vocab Quiz (L5)
Celebrations:
Happy 1st Week of Q2 !! Students have been reflecting on their first quarter as a middle schooler and are ready to adjust from even more success in Q2
Math
Standard(s) Taught this week:
NC.6.NS.5 Understand and use rational numbers to: • Describe quantities having opposite directions or absolute values.
- NC.6.NS.8 Solve real-world and mathematical problems by graphing points in all four quadrants of the coordinate plane. Include use of coordinates and absolute value to find distances between points with the same first coordinate or the same second coordinate.
Assessments Given this week:
Vocabulary test Topic 1 & 2
- Topic 2 test
Celebrations:
Increase in Progress Monitoring and excitement to understand integer concepts.
Science
Standard(s) Taught this week:
New- Unit 2: Wireless Speaker
Standards Focus: PS.6.2 Understand characteristics of thermal and electrical energy transfer and interactions of matter and energy.
- PS.6.3 Understand the properties of waves and the wavelike property of energy in seismic, electromagnetic (including visible light), and sound waves.
Social Studies
Standard(s) Taught this week:
- Why do societies memorialize their important figures? (6.B.1.1 & 6.B.1.3)
- How was Egypt impacted by its environment? (6.G.1.4)
- How did Egypt impact its environment? (6.G.1.4)
- How did social structure impact the daily lives of citizens in Egypt? (6.B.1.3)
- How did the social structures of ancient Mesopotamia and ancient Egypt compare? (6.B.1.3)
- How do the achievements of ancient Egypt influence today’s societies? (6.H.1.2)
- How did religion, tradition & cultural practices influence the development of ancient Egypt? (6.B.1.1)
New- Unit 4, Topic 3 Ancient Egypt and Kush
Assessments Given this week:
Upcoming Unit Project: Ancient Egypt Artifact (due Nov. 20th) Information to be sent home shortly
7th Grade
ELA
Standard(s) Taught this week:
- Quarter 2 will begin with a focus on understanding what do details reveal about a character and their circumstances as students begin a novel study.
Assessments to Prepare for Next week:
- There will be an assessment on Friday for the Morphemes that students learned during Quarter 1
Celebrations:
- Students worked hard during Quarter 1 to meet their goals and we are looking forward to seeing where they go in Quarter 2!
Math
Standard(s) Taught this week:
- 7.RP2.RP3 & 7.G.1, Math 7 Lesson 2.3-2.4,2.5 Advance Math 8.1 and 2.6 Envision Workbook
Assessments Given this week:
- Math 7Mid Topic Assessment Advance Math 7Topic 2Assessment
Assessments to Prepare for Next week:
- Progress Monitor 7.RP1 Rates and Unit Rates on 10/20/26 for both Math 7 and Advance Math students.Math 7 will begin 2.5 Proportional Graphs. Advance Math Topic 3 Percents.
Celebrations:
- Shout Out to the students of Ms. Walker's Block 2 Class!! You guys did an amazing job with your first classroom math problem presentations! Way to Go!! It's never easy to speak in front of other... and I had students that volunteered!
Science
Standard(s) Taught this week:
- We have completed our Life Science Unit 1 about Structures and Functions of Organisms.
Assessments to Prepare for Next week:
- Students will be taking their final assessment for Unit 1.
Celebrations:
- Students enjoyed the lab this week!
Social Studies
Standard(s) Taught this week:
- We are starting our Unit on New Ways of Thinking. This unit will cover the Renaissance, Protestant Reformation, Enlightenment, and Scientific Revolution eras.
Celebrations:
- Students enjoyed learning about the different explorers and had some really thoughtful questions.
8th Grade
ELA
Standard(s) Taught this week:
- R.I. 8.3/8.6 as we begin the week focusing on informational texts on the horror genre; R.L. 8.3/8.4 for our literary text: RL.8.3: Analyze how particular lines of dialogue or incidents in a story propel the action or reveal aspects of a character.
- RL.8.4: Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative and connotative meanings.
Assessments Given this week:
- Students had the opportunity to remediate and retake their Unit 1 Final Test before the end of the quarter.
Assessments to Prepare for Next week:
- Our first assessment will be a Morpheme Review Assessment given Friday 10/23. We will be reviewing the six morphemes we have learned this year Tuesday through Thursday in preparation. Our next assessment will be the following week starting with a Progress Monitor (R.L. 8.4/8.6) and a selection test later in the week for the text The Tell Tale Heart.
Celebrations:
- Students have already said they are excited to begin a new unit focusing on the horror genre. I’m excited that they are excited to read and learn!
Math
Standard(s) Taught this week:
- 8.EE.3 Use numbers expressed in scientific notation to estimate very large or very small quantities and to express how many times as much one is than the other. 8.EE.4 Perform multiplication and division with numbers expressed in scientific notation to solve real-world problems, including problems where both decimal and scientific notation are used.
Assessments Given this week:
- Students will take the Topic 1 assessment on Friday on Real Numbers.
Assessments to Prepare for Next week:
- Students will have a progress monitor as we begin Topic 2B Linear Equations.
Celebrations:
- We are wrapping up our topic on real numbers and feeling more confident with exponent rules.
Science
Standard(s) Taught this week:
- Reviewing all Physical Science Standards
Assessments Given this week:
- Unit 1 Assessment on Wednesday, October 21st
Assessments to Prepare for Next week:
- Science NC Check in on all Physical Science standards on Monday, October 26th
Social Studies
Standard(s) Taught this week:- United States History: We are completing the Actively Learn lesson Shay’s Rebellion from the topic of The American Revolution.
Assessments Given this week:
- Students were introduced to the first second quarter Actively Learn assignment: The Boston Massacre
Assessments to Prepare for Next week:
- We will continue from US History the topic of “The American Revolution” with an assessment from the Actively Learn lesson The Boston Massacre.
Celebrations:
- We are celebrating students' growing knowledge of the events following the American Revolution.
English 1
Standard(s) Taught this week:
- Introduce precise claim(s), distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and create an organization that establishes clear relationships among claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and evidence.
Assessments Given this week:
- Students completed the Unit 1 final assessment and completed their Argument Essay.
Assessments to Prepare for Next week:
- Our first morphology assessment will be given Friday 10/23. We will be reviewing the six morphemes we have learned this year Tuesday through Thursday in preparation.
Celebrations:
- Students participated in their first Socratic Seminar last week!
- This upcoming week, we will begin
Math 1
Standard(s) Taught this week:
Transforming Linear Functions
Arithmetic Sequences
Assessments Given this week:
- Lesson 3.3 Quiz on Transforming Linear Functions and L3.4 Arithmetic Sequences
Assessments to Prepare for Next week:
- Topic 3 Unit Test
Media Center
National Friends of Libraries Week, October 18–24, 2026
Friends of Libraries Week is a time to celebrate the people who support their local libraries. The week is organized by United for Libraries, part of the American Library Association.
Friends groups help libraries in many ways. This special week is a chance to thank them, tell others about their work, and invite more people to join.
To join a local Friends of the Library group, reach out directly to your specific branch or municipality, as these organizations are managed independently at the local level.
PE/Health
Standard(s) Taught this week:
- Students will demonstrate and improve fundamental motor skills apply movement concepts participate safely and recognize how physical activity support lifelong fitness
- Fitness Initiatives: Promoting proper health skills
Assessments Given this week:
- Perform locomotor and objective control skills using appropriate technique’
Assessments to Prepare for Next week:
- Written and demonstration
Celebrations:
- Daughter is recovering well and has a big interview with the carolina panthers in the psychology department.
Student Services Updates
Updates:
October is recognized as:
Let’s Talk Month(effective parent/child communication)
Explain Feelings
Listen with empathy and without judgement.
When feelings are being expressed in a nonverbal way, ask your child to express their feelings by using words like say, angry, or upset.
Use Reflective Listening
Report back what your child says to you using different words.
Student Services Contact Information
Student Services:
The Student Services team assists students and families with identifying strategies which maximize student learning and minimize conditions which interfere with learning by providing support and connecting students to resources that will help them to become successful members of the community. We look forward to working with our students and families this year.
Meet your Selma Middle School team:
Tracy James, School Social Worker
Works to alleviate all barriers for students so they can be successful in school
Contact: tracyjames@johnston.k12.nc.us; 919-965-2555 ext. 4931
Tina Swart, School Nurse
Health concerns, Immunizations, Vision and Hearing screenings, Medical Plans
Contact: tinaswart@johnston.k12.nc.us; 919-965-2555 ext. 4933
Janet Lee, School Counselor
Works to meet the needs of students in the areas of personal/social, academics, and career and college readiness that promote student achievement
Contact: janetlee@johnston.k12.nc.us; 919-965-2555 ext. 4960
Roxanna Vargas, Family and Community Liaison
Works with students, families, and the community partners to build a stronger school community
Contact: roxannavargas@johnston.k12.nc.us; 919-965-2555 ext. 4961
Debra Worley, Data Manager
Enrollment, attendance, absence notes, tardies concerns
Contact: debraworley@johnston.k12.nc.us; 919-965-2555 ext. 4902