Principal's Weekly Report

Week 27 Welcome Message – Welcome to March!

Welcome to Week 27 and the start of March at Stone Middle School!

I would like to take a moment to congratulate our track and field athletes who performed so well at the championship last Friday. Your hard work, dedication, and teamwork truly paid off—way to finish the season strong!

As we wrap up track and field, we are excited to kick off our next sport—volleyball. Students who are interested in trying out should see Coach Vargas or Coach Hill for more information. We look forward to another great season of Stone athletics.

A reminder to families and students that this Saturday we will be hosting Fast Track to Success Saturday, an opportunity for students to receive extra academic support and stay on track with their studies. We hope to see many of our students there taking advantage of this great resource.

Be on the lookout for our March Madness Challenge.

Thank you to our parents, students, and staff for your continued support and commitment to our Stone community. Let’s make March a month of growth, success, and school pride!

Facebook: @StoneMS

TikTok: @stonegophers

Twitter (X): @stonemms

Instagram: @stonemagnetgophers

Home | Stone Magnet Middle (brevardschools.org)

See Coach Vargas or Coach Hill is you are interested in joining the Volleyball team!

Starting the 2025-2026 school year, all K-8 schools are personal electronics free per state statue. Personal electronics include cellphones, headphones, tablets, etc. As Principal of Stone Middle School an electronic free campus is important to me. Cellphone and other electronics may be silenced in backpacks to not distract the learning. Students must secure all electronic devices in backpacks before coming on campus and may use their phones after the dismissal bell. This past summer, I read "The Anxious Generation" by Jonathan Haidt and would like to share information from this book regarding teen use of electronics.

"Teens need more sleep than adults--at least nine hours for preteens and eight hours a night for teens...After 2013 [sleep deprivation] resumed its upward march. Is that just a coincidence or is there evidence directly linking the upsurge in sleep problems to the arrival of the phone-based childhood? There's a lot of evidence. A review of 36 correlational studies found significant associations between high social media use and poor sleep, and also between high school media use and poor mental health outcomes. " p 123-4

Starting this year, two automated calls will be scheduled to families regarding students' attendance. A morning call between 11:00 am and 11:15 am will take place to alert families of an absence in the morning to help verify a student arrived to school. An additional call will be generated between 5:00 pm and 8:00 pm to share with families a student's overall attendance for the day. Please remember attendance is crucial for a student's academic success.

Stone Magnet Middle School will adhere to the School Board Rules of Brevard County as cited in the Secondary Student Parent Handbook.

These are the portions most frequently referred to by parents, students, and school personnel.

The educational program offered by this District is predicated upon the presence of the student and requires continuity of instruction and classroom participation. Attendance shall be required of all students enrolled in the school during the days and hours that the school is in session.

School attendance is the responsibility of parents/legal guardians and students.

• A student who is absent from class with an unexcused absence may need to complete supplemental learning opportunities.
• Excused absences may include medical appointment of the student, pregnancy related issues, court dates, religious holidays, illness with medical documentation and chronic and extended illness, insurmountable conditions, death in immediate family, and appointments for a therapy service provided by a licensed health professional.
• For excused absences, the student shall have a reasonable amount of time, up to ten (10) school days, to complete make-up work. Principals or designee may grant extensions to the make-up time limit for extenuating circumstances.

Principal: Lauren Feronti Williams

Feronti.Lauren@brevardschools.org

Assistant Principal of Curriculum: Shannon Sejeck

Sejeck.Shannon@brevardschools.org

Assistant Principal of Disciplines: Kelly Borck

Borck.Kelly@brevardschools.org