Principal's Weekly Report
Principal's Update
Welcome to Week 29, Stone Families, Students, and Staff!
We are excited to begin Week 29 and kick off our March Madness Stone Challenge. We encourage all students to be sure to check in with their 4th period teacher for important information and participation details.
This week, we also invite everyone to engage in Sources of Strength Spring Week, as we continue to promote connection, well-being, and a positive school culture across our campus.
As a reminder, Spring Break begins next week. We hope all of our students, families, and staff enjoy a safe and restful break. We look forward to welcoming everyone back refreshed and ready to learn on Monday, March 30.
As always, Go Gophers!
Principal Feronti Williams
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.
"But even when students don't check their phones, the mere presence of a phone damages their ability to think. In one study, researchers bought college students into the lan and randomly assigned them to 1) leave their bag and phone out in the entry room of the lab, 2) keep their phone with them in their pocket or bag, or 3) put their phone on their desk next to them. They then ha the students complete tasks that tested their fluid intelligence and working memory capacity, such as solving math problems while remembering a string of letters. They found that performance was best when phones were left in the other room, and worst when phones were visible, with a pocketed phone in between. The effect was bigger for heavy users. The article was titled, 'Brain Drain: The Mere Presence of One's Own Smartphone Reduces Available Cognitive Capacity' " p 128
Principal: Lauren Feronti Williams
Feronti.Lauren@brevardschools.org
Assistant Principal of Curriculum: Shannon Sejeck
Sejeck.Shannon@brevardschools.org
Assistant Principal of Disciplines: Kelly Borck